thegrims

After driving through some beautiful scenery we came across this lovely medieval town. We parked just outside the town centre and were walking towards the river when the peaceful atmosphere was shattered by the sound of at least a score of motorcycles revving their engines and honking their horns. We turned just in time to glimpse the motorcycles escorting the bride and groom in their car on their way to the wedding reception. Just as suddenly as it was shattered, the peaceful atmosphere descended once more on Skofja Loka. The bridge across the river was narrow and old and deserted. Old houses lined the river bank, some of them with very tiny fields just outside their kitchen windows, with cabbages and turnips and other veggies growing in the rich soil fed by the river. We walked ... read more

Hotel Glymur is one of the best hotels in Iceland, it certainly is one of the best we have ever stayed in and we have stayed in innumerable hotels. The service was impeccable. We had villa Nature and we had all the amenities we needed. But for me the highlight was soaking in a hot tub, heated naturally from the volcanic lava passing beneath under the moonlit sky. The sensation was weird but exhilarating. Lying there in the hot bubbling bath, feeling the icy wind blowing on the surface of the bath, looking at the moon, shrouded by darkness and silence was a fitting end to a day spent sight seeing, walking over glaciers and hours driving from one scenic spot to another. I could literally feel the stiffness leaving through my toes. The bubbling bath ... read more

Dear Nellie, I was just wondering what you were up to? Are you still eating all the juicy veggies visitors to your sanctuary dish out to you and your 4 legged friends? Are you still relishing showing off your gentle strength leaning gently against us whilst we try to push you along? Do you, the gentlest of all giant creatures ever wonder how great life would be if there were no poachers and hunters? Our visit at Tsitsikamma Forest was the most peaceful couple of hours in South Africa. We had already seen countless elephants on Safari in Kruger but having the opportunity to feed, touch and simply walk along with the elephants was simply therapeutic. Good night Nellie.... read more

Sleeping in a Snow Hotel had been on our bucket list for some time, and we were going to strike that one off. We arrived at the Snow Hotel in early afternoon, in pitch darkness. It was extremely cold but calm and we had hopes for the Northern Lights. We were shown our bedroom closed off with a curtain and bed made of solid ice blocks. The only decorations in the room were the beautiful ice carvings on the icy walls. It was cold and out of this world. The snow hotel consisted of a reception, (with the obligatory fire extinguisher, although there was nothing remotely combustible inside) and two corridors leading to a few bedrooms in the form of igloos. The restaurant and rest rooms were in another building, this time made of wooden logs. ... read more

We went to Delphi, the site where Apollo killed Python the dragon who who used to guard the navel of the Earth on the last day of the year. And it was a cold misty rainy day. It did not dampen our spirits as we walked through the ruins and heard tales of Oracles and of Olympians who gathered here every four years starting in 586BC to participate in the Pythian Games, one of four Panhellenic Games, the precursors of today's Olympic Games. It is also the residence of the prophetic Delphic Sybil, an oracle who used to foretell events. There is a small and very interesting museum on site and a short walk up the mountain there are the remains of the original stadium. Pindar's Muse was written in honour of this place: Muses, what ... read more