Arnarstapi fishing village: winter tranquility
In the summer, Arnarstaspi is a bustling fishing village in western Iceland, but in the winter it is incredibly quiet and everything seems to be much more relaxed. Three friends and I went to the only cafe still open in the village and enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate and a piece of freshly baked apple pie. Inside the cafe, there was only a group of three people.
The first purpose of coming here was to see Gatklettur – Arch Rock, a natural cliff eroded by the waves to create a beautiful archway standing in the middle of the sea. I also fell in love with Stapafell mountain with its white house. This scene is the easiest way to recognize that you have come to Arnarstapi. But winter brings out the beautiful colors that make the mountain more vivid than what I have seen in pictures online taken in spring or summer.
While you’re here, take a walk along the coast to see the basalt columns that formed from volcanic activity that tower up from the shore. And don’t forget to check out Bárður Snæfellsás, a rock formation that stands guard over the area in the middle of the desert.
If you go a little further, remember to visit Hellnar Church - a place with a beautiful landscape that harmonizes man-made architecture and nature.
Porvoo coloring on the snow
Porvoo is one of Finland’s six medieval cities, just 50 kilometers from Helsinki. It’s a beautiful place to experience the Nordic winter, with its colorful houses against a snowy backdrop, forests surrounding the village, and even a fun ski hill. Book an Onnibus online and you’ll be there in 50 minutes. If you book early, you’ll pay just 2 euros for the round trip.
The area around Porvoo has a long history of settlement dating back to the Stone Age. However, it was not until 1380 that the city began to take shape. This small town is built in the Nordic countryside style, with houses that are one-story or at most have just one more floor. Against the white snow, the wooden houses are painted in bright colors of orange, yellow, red, and blue, making the city stand out even more.
Porvoo is named after the Porvoonjoki River that runs through the city. In winter the river freezes and is covered with snow so thick that you can easily walk from one bank to the other.
On the other side is where you can see the most beautiful panorama of Porvoo, observe the pretty little houses and Castle Hill, where Porvoo Cathedral is located. On the other side is also the forest surrounding Porvoo, try to visit and experience the feeling of being “lost” in a Nordic forest. But because the forest is sparse, you will find your way out easily.
Hunting for the Northern Lights in Iceland
The Northern Lights are a wonderful “specialty” to experience in the Nordic countries, especially Iceland. If you are lucky, you will admire the beautiful magical light strip across the sky in the middle of the night, just one time is enough for me to know how majestic and overwhelming nature is.
Hunting for the Northern Lights was a truly thrilling and memorable experience. During the first four nights, conditions for viewing the aurora were almost hopeless with clouds, rain, snow, and all sorts of things blocking the view, and the KP index for viewing the aurora was not very positive.
In Reykjavik, there are Northern Lights tours that start at 8pm and end at 10pm. This tour guarantees you will see the lights before you pay. If you buy this tour, they will cancel the tour if the weather is not good and reschedule you to another day. If you inform them that you are going on the tour and still do not see the Northern Lights, they will let you go again the next day, until you see them. If you have to fly the next day, the tour company will send you an unlimited voucher so that you can go on this tour any time you return to Iceland.
On the penultimate night, just after boarding the safari bus, my friend in the group saw the direction of Keflavik airport on the right and the whole group ran towards it. And there it was, the “aurora borealis” appeared above our heads.
Iceland is the country with the lowest winter temperature to see this “Aurora”. The reason is that the gulf stream flows through this country, making the winter temperature in the capital Reykjavik very low, with a maximum of only -15 degrees Celsius on the coldest day.
Iceland is also a place where the Northern Lights often appear with a high KP index. The conditions for viewing the Northern Lights in Iceland are also ideal due to the sparse population and low light pollution, making it possible to see the Northern Lights even in the city at high intensity. The winds in Iceland are also among the third strongest in the world, so the clouds are always changing, making it easier for the sky to clear than in other countries.
Tallinn, the beauty of Baltic winter
Tallinn, a strange name on the travel map of many European travelers, belongs to Estonia - a Northern European country very close to Finland. From Helsinki, it only takes 2 hours by VinkingLine ferry to Tallinn (book ferry tickets at website https://goo.gl/dX3UmN). And from Tallinn, you can take a train or bus for 4 hours to Riga (Latvia) or 7 hours and 30 minutes to St. Petersburg (Russia).
Tallinn has a population of just over 400,000 and people seem to be unaccustomed to having so many tourists. When I arrived at EHE Hostel, a budget hostel in the north of the city, the receptionist exclaimed: “Where are you from? Vietnam? What are you doing in cold Estonia?” It is indeed cold, sometimes colder than Finland when the sun is not shining and the wind is blowing. But that doesn’t mean I hate the city. Gorgeous and charming are the two words I would use to describe Tallinn in winter.
Tallinn is Estonia's main political, financial, cultural and educational centre. Often referred to as Europe's Silicon Valley, it has the highest number of startups per capita in Europe and is home to many international companies, including Skype. The city is home to the European Union's IT agency. It provides global cybersecurity, with a NATO Cyber Defense Centre. The city was the European Capital of Culture in 2011, along with Turku in Finland.
Tallinn’s Old Town is one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You can walk around for more than 3 hours without getting bored, as every street corner and every building has English signs telling you stories about Tallinn. Don’t forget to stop by the cafes in the old town, sip a cup of hot chocolate and relax in the heart of this ancient yet uncrowded Europe.
Celebrate Christmas in Reykjavik
There is something gentle, cold but warm in the heart of Reykjavik. Walking down the shopping street Skólavörðustígur, the temperature has dropped to almost 0 degrees Celsius, just putting your hands outside is enough to make your whole body shiver with cold. However, the capital of Iceland has warm spaces in the middle of the winter street that make us exclaim with joy.
Warmth came from above and left and right. Christmas lights were lit brightly. Not as colorful as in Asian countries, all decorations were faithful to the yellow light color wrapped around the pine trees placed above the houses, or wrapped around the bells hanging in the middle of the street.
Christmas in Reykjavik is busy but not chaotic. Shops stay open until 10pm, and locals and tourists mingle to create a festive atmosphere.
I wonder what people here do in winter other than sipping cappuccino, reading a good book and cuddling with their loved ones. Sunrise at 11am and sunset at 3pm make the night reign, but it is not as dreary as I imagined.
I am happy to be here now to feel a real Christmas season with the cold mixed with the wonderful warmth. Everything is enough to make the young soul more eager to live more days, months, years, to experience this short life.
If it snows on December 24th you will have good luck for the coming year and I was lucky to have a heavy snowfall across the entire capital of Iceland.
Ancient Riga and the magnificent snowy night
If you’re familiar with Renaissance architecture, you’ll want to visit Riga, the capital of Latvia, which is known as the city of Art Nouveau. More than a third of the buildings in central Riga are Art Nouveau, built during the economic boom years of 1904-1914.
Before that, the city still had medieval architecture with many stone buildings and was relatively simple. But when the economy developed, in the early years of the 20th century, the city advocated developing Art Nouveau architecture and completely removed the wall surrounding Old Riga.
For those who do not know about Art Nouveau, I will add a note. This is an art school that emerged in 1890 - 1910. This school was inspired by the curves of nature such as trees and flowers. These details were used on houses and interiors.
In addition to Art Nouveau architecture, you can still find restored structures such as the House of the Blackheads, which was built in the 14th century but bombed by the German Army in 1941. The building was later restored in the 1990s and has always been a symbol of Riga.
Riga is definitely at its most beautiful at night, when the streets are lit up with fairy lights and twinkling star lights. In the snow, Riga is even more beautiful and splendid than ever.
Jökulsárlón, the giant glacier lagoon
Located at the head of the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier, Jökulsárlón developed into a large lake after the glacier began retreating from the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. The lake has grown at different rates since then due to the melting of the glaciers. It is the largest ice lagoon in Europe, one of the natural wonders of Iceland and a must-see destination.
With an area of about 18 km2, in 2009, Jökulsárlón was certified as the deepest lake in Iceland with a depth of 248 m. This is the place chosen to film famous movies such as Batman Begins, James Bond, Lara Croft.
If you look and think that no animals can live here, you are very wrong. Under the lagoon, there are countless fish and seals living easily. When you come here, don't forget to stop by Crystal Beach next door to see the icebergs stuck on the black sand beach. In winter, with white snow on the black sand, the scenery here is even more attractive.
If you come to Iceland, go to Jökulsárlón to understand why this place is called the Ice Island.
MORE INFORMATION
Visa:All of the above countries are in the Schengen area, allowing you to travel all winter in Europe with just one visa, through 26 countries in the Schengen agreement.
Trip:Traveling to Europe in winter will make you feel much more comfortable because airfares are cheaper than in spring and summer. The places that usually have low fares are Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo because these places all require transit and do not have direct flights. If you want to go to Iceland, you must take an additional flight with WOW Air or Icelandair.
Prepare your luggage:
1. Aurora prediction application
- Basic weather app: check the weather in advance because if it is raining, snowing, or cloudy, it will not be ideal for viewing the aurora. If the forecast is cloudy or snowing, you should take a blanket to bed, don't waste your time.
- Aurora app checks the aurora intensity: If the KP index is 3, you can track the aurora. This app also has a map that tracks where the aurora is moving on Earth.
2. Wear warm clothes
- The 3-layer rule: a layer that fits close to your body, a layer of wool, and a layer that blocks the wind. If your clothes aren't warm enough, you should wear a few more layers.
- Warm gloves: required because the cold conditions outside will make you shiver and not be ready for taking pictures
- Wool hat: keep your head and ears warm because this is where body heat is most easily lost.
- Warm water: bring a pot of hot coffee or tea to help your body regulate and retain heat.
3. Photography equipment: DSLR camera or smartphone that takes good photos at night (you can totally expose with a smartphone but I don't recommend it because the photos won't be beautiful and sharp enough); tripod; flashlight or flashlight from your phone; spare battery for both camera and phone
_resize.jpg.jpg)
.jpg.jpg)
