Tromso northern lights and other winter tours

Tromso northern light
For many years, I have been looking at pictures of the northern lights, longing to photograph them one day myself. I read all the information I could find about the phenomenon online: including when and where is best to travel. I came to the conclusion that my best bet was to participate in a northern light tour in Tromso, Norway in either late February or early March. I tell you why.

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Medieval churches in northeastern Hungary

Medieval churches Hungary, Vamosoroszi

Have you heard about the route of medieval churches? It is a tourist attraction incorporating medieval churches in northeastern Hungary, the Sub-Carpathia and the ’Partium’ into a themed route. During my first tour of the route, which covered most of the Hungarian part, I stumbled upon one wondrous church after another. It’s a sad fact that not only foreigners, but also Hungarians, are unfamiliar with these unique treasures. Read more

From capsules to temples – lodging guide to Japan

Koyasan
As the lightning-fast Sinkansen - that day, it happened to be a perfect Hello Kitty edition with pink and white cars and purple plush seats - pulled into Okajama train station, I pulled out the sketch my Airbnb host, Mr Takaaki, had sent me of the road to the house. A few minutes later, I was standing in front of a drawn shutter covering a sweet shop that was closed that day. If it hadn't been for the instructions, which were clearly written in a translation program, that the entrance only looked shuttered, I might have been alarmed, but I took off the padlock, pulled up the shutter and walked up the staircase next to the shop to the second floor. There I used the code from the letter to open the key safe and was inside Mr Takaaki's apartment. I didn't find out where he had been staying during those few days, as we had never met, but there was tea, coffee, some sweets on the dining table and an exhaustive English-language instruction manual next to the household appliances. Read more

God’s busy bees – Archabbey Pannonhalma

It has been a couple years since I last visited the Archabbey of Pannonhalma and I remembered only the gloominess of the church rising from the gently sloping land. But then more and more news reached me from different sources about how nicely the complex has been renovated. So I waited for the perfect moment – the opening of the annual Lavender festival – to hit the road. Read more