Ísafjörður

This Icelandic town with 2 600 inhabitants is a prototype of a fishing town. Ísafjörður is a town pretty much isolated from the rest of the Iceland as it lies at the top of West fjords, which makes it really hard to reach. You can either drive along 7 fjords, which is absolutely spectacular. Or you can fly with one of those tiny airplanes from Reykjavík, but because the town is right next to the ocean it happens quite a lot that the wind is so strong that the airplane cannot land.

Icelanders say that it takes 5-6 hours to get here from Reykjavík, but I honestly don’t know how crazy they drive to be so fast. It took us so much longer. We might have been enjoying the unusual views, but still driving through 7 fjords is driving through 7 fjords.

When we walked around the town, I was constantly taking pictures, so I’ve decided to dedicate one blogpost only to Ísafjörður’s buildings. Here ya go! Would you live in one of these?

SKY GARDEN

Every time I’m tourist in a city, I need to find a spot where can I overlook the city. It’s really hard in Amsterdam since it’s such a flat place. You gotta go to a hotel or skyscraper to do so. In Prague it’s the opposite. You walk up to places like Vyšehrad, Letná, Vítkov, Riegrovy sady etc. and there ya go. Prague on your hands. And in London it’s even easier. No walking uphill. It’s taking the elevator up to the 37th floor of 20 Fenchurch Street skyscraper. So little to get an amazing view over London. Another thing why I had to go to Sky Garden says the names itself - S-K-Y G-A-R-D-E-N! I like green stuff (meaning plants, flower, forrest etc.), that’s why I try to find botanical gardens anywhere I go (this one in Oslo or this one in Copenhagen). Greenhouses have their magic and I totally fell in love for them. I feel this is such a great combination. Garden on the last skyscraper’s floor. OMG!

There is a bar and restaurant in Sky Garden, but the restaurant has got to be super fancy, because no one was in it. 

How do I get to Sky Garden? 

It’s very easy. Book your visit here:

https://skygarden.london/booking

I forgot about it a little bit, so I did our booking 4 days in advance and out if 3 days, there was only one (!!!) available time. Please be wiser than me and book more in advance that 4 days before going. 

P.S.: be ready for a lot of people inside, but if you sort of ignore them in there, you will enjoy it anyway.

P.P.S.: brings snacks with you and have a picnic under a palm tree with view on Tower Bridge!

//

CZ

Když si hraju na turistu v nějakým městš, tak potřebuju najít výhled na město. V Amsterdamu to bylo těžký, je to placka a nikde jinde než z hotelu nebo mrakodrapu se to asi nikomu nepovede. V Brně vylezete na Špilberk. V Praze to je jednoduchý. Stačí vyběhnout na Vyšehrad, Letnou, Vítkov, Reigráče a tak dále. A v Londýně jsme to měli ještě jednodušší - nemusely jsme běhat na žádnej kopec. Vyjely jsme výtahem do 37 patra mrakodrapu do Sky Garden! Tak málo stačí k tomu, abyste se mohly rozhlížet na všechny strany Londýna. Další věc, proč jsem musela do Sky Garden už napovídá samo jméno - Sky Garden. Zelený věci já ráda (tim myslim kytky, rostlinky, lesy atd.) a proto jsem se vydala do botanický třeba například v Oslu nebo v Kodani. Skleníky maj svoje kouzlo a já jsem mu naprosto propadla. Celej koncept Sky Garden mi příjde naprosto skvělej. Zahrada v posledním patře mrakodrapu. OMG!

Ve Sky Garden si můžete dát drink v baru či jídlo v uzavřené restauraci a soudě podle naprosto vylidněné místnosti musela bejt restaurace asi hodně “fancy”. 

Jak se dostanete do Sky Garden? 

Prostě a jednodušše si zarezervujete vstup na určitou hodinu tady:

https://skygarden.london/booking

Já na to trochu zapomněla a dělala jsem to až 2 dny před odletem a ze 3 dnů jsem ulovila jen jeden volnej termín, takže doporučuju bookovat hodně předem! 

P.S.: bude tam hodně lidí, ale když si je odmyslíte, tak věřim, že si to užijete tak jako tak. 

P.P.S.: a vemte si s sebou sváču, ať si můžete udělat piknik pod palmou s výhledem na Tower Bridge!

What do you think? Would you come up to Sky Garden?

one year of life

Hi everyone!

I have been making little videos here and there in the past year and today is finally the day, when I put them all together. I somehow absolutely love the outcome and I hope you too. :)

click here

 to watch the video

 (somehow the youtube plug isn't working)

the best bday gift ever

Imagine travelling around Denmark for just 50 Dkk (around 6 Euros) for the whole day. What would you do? Would you stay at home or would you buy the ticket and travel all day? This amazing thing happened yesterday. Danish railways did this great campaign and I wish they would do it more often. #brokestudent

So I planned where we gonna go and all the trains, because I love trains. We firstly headed off to the northern most tip of Denmark - Skagen. Skagen is actually pretty magical place, because two seas (Baltic and North) meet here. After spending couple of hours in very very windy North, we took the train south to Aarhus - second biggest city in Denmark. We walked a bit around, had a coffee, took some pictures and then headed back home. 

I couldn't wish for better birthday gift. Karma really exists.

P.S.: I hitchhiked for the first time and thanks to that we caught the train! 

//

Představte si, že jeden den můžete jezdit vlakem po Dánsku za 50Dkk (zhruba 180 Kč). Co byste dělali? Zůstali byste doma nebo byste využili možnosti a vyrazili na výlet? Jo, tahle úžasná věc se včera opravdu stala a my vyrazili do míst, kam jsme se už dloucho chtěli podívat. Kéž by tohle Dánský dráhy dělli častěji. #studentskej život

Takže jsem vzala iniciativu do svejch rukou a naplánoval všechny místa a vlaky, protože mě hrozně bví plánovat výlet a taky mám moc ráda vlaky. Ráno jsme vyrazili na nejsevernější místo Dánska - Skagen. Věděli jste, že se tu slévá Baltické a Severní moře? No řeknu vám, že to byl super zážitek! Po pár hodinách v hodně, ale opravdu hodně větrném Severu, jsme vyrazili na jih do druhého nějvětšího města Dánska - Aarhusu. Tady už jsme se jen prošli, dali si kafe, vyfotili pár roztomilejch baráčků a pomalu vyrazili zase vlakem domů. 

Lepší dárek k narozeninám bych si přát nemohla. Karma asi fakt existuje.

P.S.: poprvé jsem úspěšně stopla auto (protože ostatní se styděli :D) a díky tomu jsme stihli vlak! 

and this is it - the northern most tip of Denmark

tak tohle je ten nejsevernější výběžek Dánska

at the top of Denmark/na vrcholu Dánska

Aarhus

(rather long guide to) OSLO

WARNING: this blogpost is really long, so make sure to grab a cup of tea with a biscuit

OSLO

Let’s start with Oslo. For someone (that someone being me) who dreamt about visiting Norwegian’s capital for years it’s been literally dream come true. If you ever come to visit, which I would highly recommend if you are already heading up to Scandinavia, be ready for higher prices, becasue Oslo is the most expensive city to visit as a tourist according to this Telegraph's article. 

Oslo opera

Royal palace

view from Sørenga on the Barcode (business area)

How to get ready for Oslo?

• download or get USE-IT map, which is awesome series of maps of European’s cities for young travellers. It is for free and you can find some cool (not so every age category) tips. 

• if you are planning to visit any of those museums than I would recommend you to get an Oslo pass, which also works as a ticket for public transport. 2 in 1 cool right? Or actually even more, because there are also some discounts in other places than just museums. Head over to their website to find out more.

• flying to and from the Gardemoen Lufthavn? You can either buy ticket for the special airport express (takes around 15 minutes to get to the main train station from the airport, cost 90 NOK each ride) or you can save some crowns and use the normal train, which takes around 20 minutes. Or there is a bus, but I hate buses, so…

• because of the Oslo's expensiveness, I would highly recommend you to rent an airbnb or hostel, where you can get some pretty cool prices easily comparable with other European capitals. 

• don’t ever use taxis. It’s even more expensive than you even think. Luckily, I never had to take a taxi, but I'm just passing a practical info to others, because sharing is caring. 

• if you are planning to buy yourself a beer in a supermarket (the cheapest place to buy alcohol, of course), be aware of their restrictions. On weekdays you can get alcohol until 8pm, Saturday only until 6pm and Sunday is a big no-no for alcohol. And as I heard the shop assistants are very strict. 

Oslo cityhall

Barcode (business area)

Places worth seeing:

• Oslo Opera ( I LOVE this building!!!)

• Barcode business area - every building has a different style, but somehow they go perfectly together

• Sørenga neighbourhood - modern buildings right next to the fjord, also with an outside swimming pool in the fjord

• Aker Brygge - in the afternoon when those who can afford it are having fancy - dinners and the seaside is filled with people

• Holmenkollen - I would recommend this only to those, who are the same freak as me when it comes to skiing

• Tjuvholmen - neighborouhood, something similar as Sørenga, but its connected with Aker Brygge

• The city center as itself - no need to mention that, the famous Karl Johans Gate street can take you all the way from the main train station (Østbanehalen) to the City hall (which holds Nobel price every year)

• The Royal palace - not so majestic as the Buckingham palace, but it still has guards and a very nice street leading up to the palace

• Akerselva - the river you can sport along to, its really nice place to walk along to start/end the day

• Grunnerløkka - neighbourhood famous for being hype place for young people (or to be honest - hipsters #noshame)

• Botanical garden - which is for free and it is part of a another park, there are some nice, this place has been actual the biggest surprise for me, because I didn’t know about it at all

My last and probably the most important tip from me is going to be "just walk". Walk around and walk a lot. Oslo is a lot about architecture. About the contrast between new and old and the best way to see it is to just walk and look up.

Holmenkollen

Sørenga

Nobel peace prize museum

Other things to be ready for in Oslo:

• 7eleven everywhere … e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e, you never heard of 7eleven? In this place you can buy newspapers, coffee, snickers or the public transport ticket. Practically anything. 

• in the city centre you see a lot of junk people, but no need to worry they won’t bother you any longer, when you say “no” to them at the first place

• people are sporty, like super super sporty. You see people running, cycling or walking. I have to admit that you see this even more than in Denmark. Is there some sort of equation that the more north you are the more active people get?

• even though that the people ride their (not shitty at all) bikes a lot, you don’t get to see a lot of cycle paths, so I guess you have to be fearless, when you are commuting on this vehicle

• after living in Denmark for almost a year I was kind of expecting the same things, when it comes to fashion, but heeell no. People don’t wear #allblack (no as much as they do in Denmark). You can see people walking in the city centre in a sporty outfit, which I kinda like and get it. 

• one more thing to compare when it comes to Denmark and Norway.  People don’t give a sh*t about red light on the pedestrian crossing. So come on Danes, man up and be rebels. :D

• you find parks or little bit of “green” every few blocks and when the sun is out people spend the long summer night chilling and eating fresh food from the grill

on the Oslo's opera

inside of the opera 

streets of Oslo

Botanical garden

Botanical garden

Botanical garden

If you made it all the way down here than you are just amazing and I love you stranger from the internet. I hope this little article will be helpful for someone or it will inspire some of you to head over to Norwegian's capital. 

xx