Lofoten Islands – Maervoll
Photo: Evening light over Maervoll, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Oct. 2011
Lofoten Coast
Photo: Rocky coastline, Lofoten Islands, Norway
Sometimes I think the Lofoten Islands are the ultimate lazy man’s photo destination. This scene is about 5 meters from where I stopped my car along the E10. Doesn’t get much simpler than that…
Traigh Lar Beach – Isle of Harris
Photo: Traigh Lar beach, Isle of Harris, Outer Hebrides, Scotland
Tatra Mountains – Poland
Photo: Krivan (Slovakia) rises in the distance, Tatra mountains, Poland
In early November I made a quick visit to the mountains of the Polish High Tatra. I had been in the region once before, in Feb. 2007, but I never made it into the mountains at the time. This time around, and with a Polish friend and fellow photographer as a guide, I was looking forward to heading up into the hills.
After an overnight car-bivy in the parking lot we headed out under clear skies into the crisp morning air up the road which forms the first park of any hike in the region. After a few kilometres we headed into the forest and up the trail towards the Five lakes Valley. A little before 10am we arrived at the hut where we would stay for the night, right on the edge of a beautiful lake and surrounded by steep mountain peaks. After a brief rest and some food we headed off with camera’s in hand to go wander about. With no plan, we headed in the general direction of Zawrat pass arriving some time later. Being November, there was a bit of snow about, but thanks to an unusually dry and mild autumn for most of Europe in 2011, we were fine in just trail runners and no winter gear. From Zawrat pass a bit of a scramble along a ridge led us to some small 2,200 meter peak with stunning views back to the Five Lakes Valley and south into Slovakia (where the highest mountains of the Tatra are). After a bit of time taking some photos, we eventually wandered our way back to the hut a little before sunset.
A side note: As an American, I have basically no experience with mountain huts. If I hike in the mountains in California, I carry a tent, tarp, or sleep in the open. I cook (crappy) food on my little stove and drink from rivers or melt snow. In winter, I go to sleep in the cold and get dressed in the cold the following morning; my boots usually frozen solid. Now for Europeans, this is almost barbaric. As much as I like wilderness and wild camping, I cannot deny that I enjoy the luxury of mountain huts. Maybe I’m just getting old. In Poland the huts are fairly cheap by European standards, with dorm bed running around 40 Zloty ($12) and dinner $3-6 (A huge schnitzel, sauerkraut, potatoes, potato pancakes, and a beer cost be about $6 at Morskie Oko hut). A warm shower after a long day on the trail is probably worth a few dollars alone. Plus the benefit of the weight savings from not having to carry camping gear means I can either travel lighter than possible back home, or load up on more camera gear. Probably better to choose the first option…
At 6am the following morning we were on the trail to Morskie Oko. We had hopes of perhaps trying to get up Rysy, Poland’s highest mountain, but upon closer inspection it would have been a rather dangerous adventure on the icy snow without crampons and ice axe. After a few hours wandering around the lakes we headed back to the Morskie Oko hut a bit after noon to a shock of surprise. Hoardes of people. Everywhere! A definite change of scene from the 5 people that had been in the Five Lakes hut the day before. But Morskie Oko is one of the most famous places in Poland. And the fact that people can be taken by horse drawn carriage the 10km up to the hut, means there is more of a city looking crowd of day tourists filling the dining room. Luckily they all leave by late afternoon and only a few smelly hikers seem to be left. After a good dinner it was off to an early night while setting my watch for 4:00 am.
Now, we weren’t getting up at 4:00 am to continue further into the mountains. It was in hopes of getting to the parking lot before the attendant and thus saving 20 Zloty. When we had arrived, on a Thursday, the parking attendant got there around 6:00am. Cool we though, get there a little before that and we should be fine. So at 4:15 am we left the hut and started the 10 km walk down the road towards the parking lot. Making near record time, we at the car at 5:30 am and started loading our gear. Then we saw the light in one of the buildings turn on and the parking attendant man come walking up towards us. Bugger, I guess someone spends the night on the weekend. 20 Zloty poorer we hit the road. So much for that genius idea. Though a bit of luck was on our side as we came across some nice light over the forested foothills a bit down the mountain (the last photo). Leaving the mountains we headed to Bielsko-Biala to visit a few more friends and spend the day eating pizza at the climbing gym.
Overall, I’m quite impressed with the Tatra. Though not the highest mountains in Europe, they are rugged and beautiful with a good network of trails and fun scrambles, I’ll definitely be heading back one of these days and wander around for a week or two.
Photo: Przedni Staw – Front lake, Five Lakes Valley, Tatra mountains, Poland
Photo: View of Wielki Staw – Big lake in Five lakes valley, Tatra mountains, Poland
Photo: Slovakia – left, Poland – right, High Tatra mountains, Poland
Photo: View south into Slovakia from near Zawrat Pass, High Tatra mountains, Poland
Photo: Dawn comes to Tatra foothills, Poland
Return to Lofoten Islands Feb 2012
Photo: Unstad beach in winter, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Jan 2010
At the End of January I’ll be heading beck north to Norway’s Lofoten Islands for another two week visit. Seems I can’t stay away very long these days, with my last trip being this past October.
In reference to seasons though, January 2010 was my last winter visit. So in this respect, it’s been over two years since I saw the islands with a good coating of snow. Time of year means everything in the north, even no two months are really the same. Though I’m slightly worried about the warmer than average temperatures the islands have had so far this winter. I’m hoping February sees a return to normal, or there might not be any snow at all.
While early January has only a few short hours of light, the days are already fairly long by February. At the start of my trip sunrise will be around 9:15am and sunset 3:20pm. When I leave two weeks later sunrise will be 8:25am and sunset 4:05. That’s nearly 1:45 hours more of daylight over a two week period. The days grow quite fast above the arctic circle. But the sun will still remain low in the horizon, reaching around 9˚ by the time I leave, so I should still have hours and hours of nice light to work with, weather permitting.
It’s also looking like it will be a good year for the northern lights, so as much as I was looking forward to 14 hours of sleep per night, I think I’ll end up wandering around late at night and looking towards the sky, assuming it’s clear of course.
Photo: Winter view over Kjerkfjord, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Jan 2010
Photo: Clearing winter storm at Unstad beach, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Jan 2010
Olomouc – Czech Republic
Photo: Olomouc town hall and main square at dusk
Olomouc is my favourite city in the Czech Republic and one of my favourites in Europe overall. It’s located in Moravia, in the eastern part of the country and easily reached by train (3 hours) or bus from Prague. Olomouc is a lively student town with no shortage of cobblestone roads, narrow alleys, historic monuments and churches, atmospheric teahouses for rainy afternoons, and a large variety of pubs to keep you out until all too late – there are 25,000 students among a city population of 100,000, meaning there’s always some place to go. And where else can you go have a drink in an old Soviet TU-104 airplane that sits in a parking lot near the supermarket. The restaurants are tasty and cheap with a good selection to choose from, and there’s no shortage of cafes either. Even a budget traveler can eat like a king with little need to worry about those tourist traps found elsewhere. Olomouc is basically a mini Prague, minus the kitsch and hoards of tourists. The main square even has one of those astronomical clock things on the side of the town hall.
I’m not really sure why Olomouc hasn’t become more of a travel destination than it is, especially for backpackers. For example, there’s only one hostel here (Poet’s Corner – A super cool place and one of my favourite hostels) compared to how many dozens in Prague or even in Cesky Krumlov. Olomouc is pretty much halfway between Krakow and Prague. Though maybe that’s where the problem lies; people just pass by on their way from one hotspot to the next. But maybe that is also good, as it keeps Olomouc a ‘real’ city and not some circus attraction that the other cities have unfortunately become. And for me, it’s a good thing. I look forward to my next visit.
Photo: Holy Trinity column – UNESCO historic monument
Photo: Street tram and cobblestone roads
Photo: View of the main square from the tower at St. Moritz church
Photo: Church towers fill the horizon, view from the tower at St. Moritz church
Photo: Interior of St. Mary of the Snow church
Photo: Enjoying the unique setting of a Soviet TU-104 airplane and bad 80’s dance music.
Butt of Lewis Winter Storm
Photo: Large winter waves crash into cliffs below lighthouse at Butt of Lewis, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Jan 2, 2012
After bringing in the new year on Berneray, we took the ferry to the isle of Harris and then drove north to the Butt of Lewis, the northern most point on the Outer Hebrides. The cliffs here are the first point of land reached by hundreds of miles of wind and waves coming from the north Atlantic. And in the gale force winds on early January 2012, the waves were pounding the cliffs with a fury and power that I normally only see in nature documentaries. While the waves can and do get bigger here, it was still quite an impressive sight and even there seemed to be a few locals turning up to checkout the show.
I tried my best to capture some images, but the combination of low light levels, high winds and my all too light tripod didn’t do much to help the situation. I couldn’t even let go of my camera or everything would blow over. I managed to find a few locations that wont overly affected by sea spay, but these weren’t always the most ideal views. If I were some cameraman a BBC documentary, it would have been one of those behind the scenes moments where they talk about extreme working conditions. I also found it difficult to show scale in the scene. I’d estimate the cliffs at about 40-45 ft in height. The lighthouse tower is 121 ft high, so that helps a bit in that image.
Photo: Watching waves crash into rocks at Butt of Lewis, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Jan 2, 2012
Scotland
Photo: Waves crash into coastal headlands at the Butt of Lewis, Isle of Lewis, Scotland. Jan 2, 2012
I woke up at 3:00 AM Monday morning to the sound of rain pattering against the car. It was my second night camping in Glencoe, a brief stopover on the way back south from a week on the Western Isles over the New Year. More rain I thought to myself. Endless Damned rain! Uggghhh. Sunrise would arrive in 5 hours, but I knew I would see nothing but a wet grey sky. So at that, I got in the drivers seat and headed into the darkness across Rannoch Moor to start the 8 hour drive back to Wales.
Now Scotland is not exactly a sunny country, but it turns out I decided to head north to catch the last days of the wettest December in a hundred years. And I have no doubt the trend was continuing right along into 2012 without stop. From December 31st on Berneray to the early days of January on the Isles of Lewis, Harris and across to Skye, a gale blew, non-stop, day and night, forever. I’m no stranger to bad weather, but usually there is some calm at some point. Not here, not for me. I never knew the wind could blow so much for so long. And it’s not as if I even caught the start of it, it has been blowing up there for weeks. It’s as if there is some hole in the atmosphere above Scotland and all the the earth’s air is escaping, though not prior to releasing an ocean’s worth of rain.
At times I could hardly walk. Sometimes hail fell so hard I though the car’s windshield would crack. Huge Atlantic swells battered the headlands at the Butt of Lewis, sending spray high into the air and seeming to make the ground shake with their power. There were even cancelations of the ferries to the islands, a rare thing. Though I’m sure a captain or two would have tried to take a boat across if he could. I think some of them must be born of the sea itself after hearing about some of their crossings.
So despite the conditions and feelings of frustration and failure, I did manage to find some fleeting moments to make some images. Maybe not the images I had in my mind, but a few decent ones none the less. And more reason to return again in the future. I’ll add more details and photos over the next days.
Haukland Beach – Lofoten Islands
Photo: Haukland Beach, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Oct. 2011
I usually end up with interesting conditions at Haukland. It’s immediately before the tunnel to Utakleiv and sheltered by fairly high peaks, making it a good, calmer, backup when Utakleiv is just too stormy to work with. The beach faces southwest, so it can be a decent sunset location for early spring or late autumn.
Rolvsfjord – Lofoten Islands
Photo: Mountain reflection at Rolvsfjord, Lofoten Islands, Norway. Sept. 2011
One of the cool things about the Lofoten Islands is how localized the weather can be. This is from a day I was driving along the southern coast from Stamsund towards Valberg and further towards the E-10. It had been raining with a pretty strong breeze until I went around another turn and found this. Perfect calm. A bit further down the road and the rain and wind were back. I think it looks a bit Lord of the Rings-ish.
Seasons On Lofoten Winter eBook
Kungsleden Trail eBook
Kungsleden Trail Hiking Guide