We picked up our rented car after arriving at the Rovaniemi airport. There we spent the first night. I remember that when I woke up in the middle of the night, I looked outside to see if it really doesn't get dark at night in the summer in Northern Scandinavia. Indeed, the sky was as clear as during the day in Belgium, very strange feeling... Rovaniemi is the capital of Lapland, just south of the Artic Circle. It is also the official hometown of Santa Claus. You can even pay him a visit! After a good night sleep, we took the "artic road" to Kiruna. After driving awhile, we saw "something" at the side of the road. Unbelievable, it was the first reindeer we saw. We stopped immediately and took some pictures. What an excitement. At ... read more

Since we had so much fun when we visited Stockholm in wintertime, my wife decided to spend Valentine together in Copenhagen... What a good idea! Arriving in Karstrup (Copenhagen international airport) went very smoothly. I read in my travel guide that this is 'a silent airport,' meaning there are no boarding calls. (Un?)Fortunately we did not forget this for the flight back... One of the first things we visited was Nyhavn, the picturesque harbor. The canal was dug in the 17th century and is known for its colourful façades. We liked it that much that we visited it several times. The Little Mermaid on the other hand, was less impressive than we expected it to be. To our opinion it was rather small and there were lots of tourists... including us of course ;-). I read ... read more

When I looked back at our trip to Budapest, I have to admit that one of the first things I thought about, were the tasty cakes you can find everywhere. There was also a very nice market where we ate in open air.... read more

Budapest is a beautiful city to explore by foot. One of the first things we came across was the statue of the Little Princess (Kiskiralylany Szobor). The Széchenyi Chain bridge was the first permanent bridge between Buda and Pest across the Danube. The bridge was opened in 1849 and everyone -even the nobility (previously exempt from all taxation)- had to pay a toll to use it. From the bridge we had a great view on the Parliament. Matthias Church was the second largest church of medieval Budapest. It now has a diamond pattern roof tiles and gargoyles laden spire. Fisherman's Bastion is a terrace situated on the Buda bank of Budapest. Though it seems much older, it is built in 1905. There are seven turrets representing the Magyar tribes who entered the Carpathian Basin in the ... read more

Lucky for us, we were in Douz on thursday, ready to see the weekly market (also called the camel market). Most of the animals we saw were sheeps and goats. We saw indeed some camels, but not so many. Chott El-Jerid is an immense salt lake covering an area of almost 5000 sq km, a scene of desolation.... read more