Svalbard reindeer standing on snowy tundra

Svalbard Photography Tour

We were hoping to see some land-based Arctic wildlife before boarding the ship, so we booked a half-day semi-private Svalbard photography tour with SeeAndExplore. It was also our first real test of our winter gear. I layered up with a Smartwool base layer (top and bottom), fleece pants, rain/wind pants, wool socks and snow boots, […]

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Snowy Longyearbyen street with Arctic mountain backdrop

How to Get to Svalbard (and what to do once you are there)

Svalbard is pretty easy to reach from Oslo — but if you’re coming from Australia, you are basically travelling to the opposite end of the planet. How to Get to Svalbard I honestly had no idea how to get to Svalbard. I didn’t even know what airport to search. From Melbourne, the most direct route […]

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Arctic ice floes at sunset beside ship walkway

Svalbard Photography Expedition

Every ten years, an Australian phenomenon occurs: the Easter holidays line up perfectly with Anzac Day, making it the ultimate opportunity to take a long break without using up a ton of annual leave. Our plan? A 9-day Svalbard photography expedition in search of Arctic wildlife in a country we’d never visited before — Norway. […]

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Weekend in Munich: Oktoberfest and Neuschwanstein

(Location: Munich, Germany) Andy had a work trip to Munich, which happened to coincide with Oktoberfest, so I tagged along for a long weekend. Oktoberfest is something you have to do once. It’s kind of like the Houston Rodeo, but stickier, and with more singing (slurring) and dancing (swaying). The entire city seems to get […]

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Hiking in Cinqueterre, Italy

In May 2007 we visited the Cinque Terre region of Italy. We flew into Genoa and took a local train about 2 hours down the coast. Cinque terre, which means “five lands”, is a bit off the usual tourist circuit. All trains don’t stop in all of the villages so you need to do a […]

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Amsterdam

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Amsterdam

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Barcelona

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Greece

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Ireland

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