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Author Archives: lornaofarabia
Inspiration
I love this poem. I carried and shared it on Poem in your Pocket Day on April 18, soon after we decided to come here this summer. The author lived for a time on Rousay, a small island off Orkney’s … Continue reading
Posted in Elsewhere, Islands
Tagged Ian Hamilton Finlay, Orkney, poetry, Scotland, United Kingdom
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Walking on Westray
Westray is the second largest island in the Orkneys. Its main village, Pierowall, consists of a small hotel with restaurant, two general stores, a fish vendor, a chippie (open summers only), and the hostel where we are staying. People come … Continue reading
Posted in Elsewhere, Islands
Tagged birds, Orkney, puffins, Scotland, United Kingdom, walking, Westray
2 Comments
Kirkwall
Last night we got stuck in Kirkwall. While I love Orkney (I’ve been here twice before), I had hoped to avoid its capital city, which I remembered didn’t have a whole lot to recommend it. But we arrived too late … Continue reading
Posted in Elsewhere, Islands
Tagged Kirkwall, Mainland, Orkney, Scotland, United Kingdom
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The island adventures begin
Our time in Scandinavia came to an end today with a short flight to Kirkwall, Orkney. This route makes for an easy transition between regions: Orkney was ruled by Norse kings until 1468 and there are still many cultural ties. … Continue reading
A day in Bergen
Today we made our way back to Bergen, where we spent a few hours in the train station on Saturday morning. This time we’re staying a little longer but unfortunately not long enough for me to get to the site … Continue reading
Borgund stavkirke
Andreas rented a bike today and took it on the train partway to Myrdal, then rode back. He said the views were spectacular, but since he didn’t take a camera I can’t share them with you. I headed by bus … Continue reading
Pining for the fjords
Even a budget traveler can’t go to Norway and not see the fjords. Today we took our second fjord trip – the first was the Geiranger fjord, which we cruised during our stay in Alesund. That day was a little … Continue reading
Flåm railway and Flåm
This morning we backtracked a little and took a train back along the same route we traveled last night, then at Myrdal transferred to the privately run Flåmsbana railway. The route from Myrdal to Flåm, a small village at the … Continue reading
Norway on $450 a day
When we told friends in Addis that we were going to Norway, just about every one of them said the same thing: “Wow, nice! But you know, it’s really expensive.” It’s hard to understand just what that means until you … Continue reading
Power sightseeing in Oslo
We allotted a single day to take in this major capital city. Fortunately we got an early start with our arrival on the overnight train, and had done some strategic planning in advance so we could fit in the things … Continue reading
Lorna of Arabia 