Light hunting in the land of the Nordic gods

2012 was meant to be the best year in 20 to see the elusive Northern Lights. I'd tried to see them several times before, and completely failed. But the odds were better, nothing ventured nothing gained right, perhaps it was time to give them another shot. I emailed a travelling partner in rum soaked crime to gauge interest. She was in. 

Iceland wasn't necessarily the best place to see them, but a 4 hour flight from Heathrow was a damn sight easier than the Northern Norway/ Sweden options. So back to Iceland for me. I went there about 4 years ago with Kathryn, we had about 4 hours daylight, and in the 20 hours of pitch black the lights opted out big time. 

This time it would be different, for a start Nikki was involved, and worked out the best weekend for us to go to maximise light spotting potential. We hired a car. Nikki advised we pack thermals. We were focused. Come on you lights.

At the airport we also decided to each buy a bottle of vodka - we'd got that staying in a hostel must buy booze mentality. It was going to be a good weekend. Admittedly I was a little disappointed we couldn't see the lights on the airplane / in the airport car park / on the drive into Reykjavik - I've always aimed high.

We were woken the next morning by blistering sunlight entering our room - it was a beautiful clear, blue sky day. Squeal. Perfect light spotting conditions. Thermals were packed, we necked some brekkie ( good bloomin breakfast at the super cool Kex hostel) and got the monster Micra out on the road. We were going to do the Golden Circle, first stop Pingvellir national park - where along with some incredible views the lady in the shop gave us some good places to spot the lights that night. Apparently they come out between 10 til 2 - and the chances for that night were excellent. We made a pit stop at a newly opened hot spring in Laugarvatn - it was a good move - we had it for ourselves for a good hour - the sun kept shining - I was loving Iceland. A tour group arrived, so we checked out off to Geysir and Gullfoss. 

Quick stop back at the hostel to get more thermals on, and we were heading back into the national park, we wanted to try a bit of local food first. One reindeer burger and Viking beer later, the charming chef told us the lights would be out soon so it was time to make a move. We headed off to our spot and were fully expecting to wait around for a few hours. Only Jane spotted them right above us. It had finally happened. I hadn't expected them to dance. I'm not sure if it was the elation of the lights, the effect of the hot spring or the beer but Helen and I were doing a little celebratory dance. We moved on to a quieter spot to look at them. I wish I'd brought more thermals, it gets damn cold at midnight in the middle of rural Iceland. But what a day....

Blue sky Saturday came , and monster micra was off again, this time in search of near death experiences. You see there really hadn't been all that much snow the day before so I think we got lulled into a false sense of security. The problem was once we'd managed to get to the top of the 30 degree incline ice road, you had to come down the other side, I had to close my eyes. Thank the nordic gods Hels was driving. We were going to need that vodka. 

That night we went out lights spotting from a boat this time - it was the prospect of a thermal onsie they lent you that attracted me. We didn't see the lights, but we did steal whisky to add to our hot chocolate, flirted with a Norwegian who had a nice jumper on and managed to not fall overboard. Result.

Hungover, Hels and I left the girls in bed, and eased our heads in one of the public outdoor heated pools. This one ( Vesturbaejarlaug) was Bjork's favourite , and was in a little suburb about 20 mins walk from the hostel. For the bargain price of £2 we got to see how the locals spent their mornings. We alternated lane swimming with dips in the various hot pots dotted around the pool. Gorgeous. 

After such a relaxing day it was time for more light spotting. We decided to head more west this time, and literally ended up in the middle of nowhere ( we optimistically thought we'd find a local inn for dinner - tip from me - there aren't any.....). We scouted the perfect spot by a lake - when they came this time they came big time. I remember lying down on a bench and giggling to myself as above and all around me I could see this surreal, beautiful light display. Kind of like silent fireworks. Stunning. 

I'd love to explain how / why the lights appear, but I'm going to leave you to google it. It's something   do with solar wind. All you need to know is that you have to make every effort you can to find them. And visit Iceland. 

We lay in: 

 http://www.bluelagoon.com/

http://www.fontana.is/

http://www.visitreykjavik.is/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-241/492_read-510

We slept in: 

http://www.kexhostel.is/

We saw:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/video/2013/mar/25/northern-lights-footage-captured-in-iceland-video

Berlin - better than London?

After months of rain, sleet and sub zero temperatures Spring has finally turned up to the party. Happily this coincided with our first bank holiday weekend. I was off to Berlin with a Beyonce fuelled spring in my step. I had a rendezvous with the Belgian and the essentials of a great weekend were in place - city, sunshine, fun company.

I went to Berlin a few years ago, for our Alison's first weekend away without the newborn. We maxed the budget - staying at newly opened Soho House - the 3 of us had the most incredible room - complete with retro record player, sitting area and home made cookies. That and the rooftop pool meant that despite our best efforts to leave the hotel we didn't really see all that much of the city.

Another trip was needed - and the Belgian was the perfect person to explore it with. Mutual lovers of graffiti, scruffy stuff and quirky little cinemas - it was a good city for us. So all checked into a suitably plush hotel we explore the nearby area, tuck into a curry wurst at a local food stand and catch up. The next day we walk through the beautiful and huge Tiergarten and get ourselves in front of arguably the city's most famous landmark - Brandenburger Tor - the gate. From there we have a walk through the spooky field of stelae - 2,711 concrete slabs all arranged in undulating rows. The below ground museum I'd visited before - it had ( rightly) made me cry - and we didn't feel like crying on this sunny Saturday morning so our tour carried on.

We'd read about a tour along the U2 underground line - so off east we headed - getting off at Potsdamer place to admire some fine town planning in the previous no man's land, at deserted Klosterstrasse to find the remnants of the medieval city wall - fascinating. We got lost at Alexanderplatz and admired the iconic Fernsehturm. Lunch was had in the fabulous glass top floor of KaDeWe department store. The evening admiring what they've done with the city - and we lucked upon some Sushi in town and reminisced about our Japan holiday.

The next day post swim, we had reservations at the cafe at the top of my favourite building in the world, let alone Europe - the incredible Reichstag. Sir Norman Foster has designed a structure which adds so much beauty to the city - and the existing building. Truly wonderful space to explore. Booking at the cafe also means you get to skip the queues. We smugly ate our coffee and cake while others queued for hours below. After a bourgeois west berlin morning, we headed east again this time to have a look at some of the wall art at the East Side gallery - this area is so, so different to old West Berlin - huge areas of desolate space. What happened next truly made me fall in love with the city - I'd read about a foodie area in a market hall nearby. It was open. It was a cheese and wine afternoon. Full of scruffy, interesting people with beards/ tattoos/ cool trainers. In London we'd firmly be in Bermondsey territory, or my beloved Brixton Village. We ate Riesling smoked salmon at Glut and Spane, sampled wine from little producers for the bargain 2 euros/ glass , and soaked it all up.

Berlin you are cool as fuck, let's hook up more often, I see a great future for us

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