TheGunnShow 5,940 Posted November 30, 2023 (edited) 11 minutes ago, Herman said: One for you. https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2023/nov/29/faroe-islands-farmers-charge-tourists-to-visit-hotspots-as-visitor-numbers-rise Already knew about the fee at Mykines - Miss TGS and myself saw it coming and were ready. It's still cheaper by far to take the bus to Sorvagur and then the boat over to Mykines and pay that fee than it is to take any guided tour there. Just be careful with the buses from Tórshavn as they don't run all that often so you're better organising things so you get the bus before the one you really need. I ended up lashing out over £100 on a taxi to get to Sorvagur in time for the boat! EDIT: Read the rest of the article - it's not hard to fly to the Faroes. Atlantic Airways fly twice a week from Edinburgh and every day from Copenhagen. Furthermore, the taxis to and from the airport aren't badly priced as they are timed to meet the flights, so you'll end up with another traveller or two to cut costs. It's about 50 minutes to an hour from Vagar airport to Tórshavn Surprised they missed Gjógv out. That view of the village from the bridge over the little stream looking onto Kalsoy's western flank is sublime. Here it is: Edited November 30, 2023 by TheGunnShow 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheGunnShow 5,940 Posted December 28, 2023 Well, off to northern Norway in a week. Reindeer feeding and husky sledding all organised, as well as the Polar Night half-mara. Miss TGS really should have her cold weather clobber sorted out today (after that voucher for a local outdoor store she got from me as her main Christmas present). Anyone else got any wintery jollies lined up? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Canary73 160 Posted December 28, 2023 5 hours ago, TheGunnShow said: Well, off to northern Norway in a week. Reindeer feeding and husky sledding all organised, as well as the Polar Night half-mara. Miss TGS really should have her cold weather clobber sorted out today (after that voucher for a local outdoor store she got from me as her main Christmas present). Anyone else got any wintery jollies lined up? Yep - always have wintry destinations for my holidays between September and March. Been to Trondheim, Rovaniemi, Tallinn and Riga so far with Turku next month. Was in Tromso just before Christmas last year. Rovaniemi was -19 which is my kind of temperature as I don’t like the heat. The Nordic and Baltic countries are lovely at that time of year and particularly festive around this time. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheGunnShow 5,940 Posted December 28, 2023 3 minutes ago, Canary73 said: Yep - always have wintry destinations for my holidays between September and March. Been to Trondheim, Rovaniemi, Tallinn and Riga so far with Turku next month. Was in Tromso just before Christmas last year. Rovaniemi was -19 which is my kind of temperature as I don’t like the heat. The Nordic and Baltic countries are lovely at that time of year and particularly festive around this time. Yep, that third shot is THE shot for Tromso, especially in the polar night. Good shot of the Ishavskathedralen too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheGunnShow 5,940 Posted January 13 Came back from the Arctic a few days ago for a few days fun with Miss TGS (who doesn't like cold weather at all, so ended up spending a tidy chunk on proper gear for walking around in). Unfortunately we didn't see the Northern Lights this time, she lost her wallet first day in, the flight back home was delayed twice so we missed a hotel reservation in Berlin and despite ostensibly flying from Norway on the 8th, we didn't leave Oslo until the 10th. Had a grand time reindeer feeding and husky sledding. And yeah, I did a half-marathon as well. Didn't appear in any of the freaking photos. Had reindeer stew as well. Fifteen minutes or so into the half-marathon, we got weather like this. Couldn't get much photo evidence of the husky sledding, but I got dragged along for a couple of hundred metres when I missed the runners in the snow after hitting the brake, so was holding grimly onto the crossbar until the huskies slowed down a bit. Wonderful experience though at Harkin Husky Farm - so if you're up in that neck of the woods, consider that a tremendous recommendation. It also meant that I did the report for our running club for the first time. So, amongst other things, I can sorta consider myself a published "journalist" of sorts.Harriers head far and wide to compete in wintry conditions | The Bolton News 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Herman 9,770 Posted January 14 👀👀 "Thomasson ran a steady 1:52:10 in comparatively tropical conditions of around minus-nine in the wind on a largely snowbound and wind-blasted course, but the Northern Lights did not make an appearance." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheGunnShow 5,940 Posted January 14 1 hour ago, Herman said: 👀👀 "Thomasson ran a steady 1:52:10 in comparatively tropical conditions of around minus-nine in the wind on a largely snowbound and wind-blasted course, but the Northern Lights did not make an appearance." Not difficult to run in those temperatures with modern gear. A thermal base layer from Decathlon and a windproof/waterproof running jacket were all I needed on my torso. Pair of waterproof socks and my compression racers over the top, typical running shorts, and a pair of lightweight hiking pants on my legs, and one hat/one pair of gloves. Considering that parts of southern Sweden had temperatures around minus 40 a few thought "er, TGS, why are you going to Tromsø then?" but forgot about the Gulf Stream, didn't realise that Tromsø is a coastal city - and indeed that the Norway/Sweden border is very mountainous. One chap ran the marathon in a singlet and shorts. That last ten kilometre stretch off the bridge must have been a grim old slog. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Herman 9,770 Posted January 14 I think I'll leave it to you, Gunny.😂 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
