'The big Apple' - New York

The time was getting nearer and nearer and as exciting as New York was, we were coming to the end of time, of our summer with sister Kayla and this was not a nice thought. Kayla had become part of the furniture in Berlin and my travel buddy to all these amazing and wonderful destinations. Also to think summer in Europe was pretty much over now put the thought in my mind that we need to prepare mentally for this on our return to Germany.

Moments from landing in the US, all the thoughts and memories of my past travels to this weird and wacky continent came flooding back and I was so excited and glad to be back.
Everything was so amazing and ‘American’ from the moment we landed and muscled our way through US immigration, to getting in the famed yellow cab to our home for the next week in the birthplace of the hipster, that is of course, Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

We stayed with a group of artists in their funky gallery and home. Where do I begin to explain how cool Brooklyn is? I recall visiting this, what was once referred to as a ‘dangerous hood’ years ago, and back then thought it was cool… Now things have changed on the upscale, everything is awesome! The food, the shops, the bars everywhere oozed that New York style. We spent our days wandering around the array of vintage shops, eating the most amazing gourmet, heart attack, delicious food, from southern fried chicken waffles drizzled with sweet, sweet syrup for breakfast to mouth-watering Mexican, washed down with jalapeno-chilli-infused margaritas, to die for good old apple pie - a must in the cool autumn weather. I can go on and on about the food, but you get the picture!!

We rarely left Brooklyn except for a visit to the hustle and bustle of Manhattan to the Lower East side and when we travelled interstate to Jersey to see Dick Dale, known as ‘the King of Surf Guitar’. And that he surely was. This gig was mind blowing and I would have to say one of the BEST gigs I have ever experienced. To be able to actually say I have seen Dick perform live is even a pleasure to say.

The week flew by and the moment came when we said our teary goodbyes to Kayla and had to head back to Berlin… but we missed our plane!!

Iceland

Finally the time had come. I had booked these flights to Iceland when I was back home in Australia months ago and it was always a distant thought away. This was one of the most interesting and intriguing places I was looking forward to on our big adventure. Iceland had never been a destination I was eager to visit, until I was bombarded with amazing stories and recommendations from our friend Annabel who is so passionate about this tiny island.

We had booked to be there during Airwaves, a music festival that overtakes the city of Reykjavik for a week in the chilly months of October. There was a group of us that rented a small, funky Scandinavian-style apartment in downtown Reykjavik. It was great to have the escape from the frosty weather and also be able to re-charge ourselves with copious hot toddies and spiced-rum hot chocolates!

The festival was great! Unlike most music festivals that we know which centre around a main stage, the action was spread over the whole city, and all of Reykjavik was part of the action. There were gigs in large venues, as well as smaller venues like coffee shops, record stores, the lobbies of hostels, and pretty much wherever they could be, so long as they were out of the cold.

There was so many highlights music-wise, many being small unknown Icelandic bands to big names like Björk. We actually found out from some locals that it is very rare to have the privilege to see her perform in her home country. She played in the new 800-capacity Harpa concert hall. She performed her new album, Biophilia . The show featured an all girls’ choir, a range of specially crafted instruments, among them a digitally controlled organ, a 30ft pendulum that harnesses the earth’s gravitational pull to create musical patterns. The whole set was amazing and words can’t explain the magical experience Björk created.

A great Sunday morning/afternoon chill was at the famed ‘Blue Lagoon’ about 1 hour out of the city. The lagoon is a geothermal spa and the steamy waters are created from a lava formation. It is hard to justify taking off your clothes when the air temperature is around 2-3 degrees and bathing outside in this pool, but it was so amazing and relaxing. As part of festival there were DJ’s out there making some funky tunes - the perfect hangover cure!

The days were spent creating some amazing food with the local ingredients we could get our hands on (mostly delicious fresh fish) sipping coffee, and listening to new bands, trekking down to eat at our favourite lobster soup restaurant, drinking warm drinks to stop us freezing and just being part of this amazing island, which has now entered my Top 5!

We did take a day out from the festival to hire a car and did the tourist loop they call the ‘Golden Circle’ around 300km looping around from Reykjavik in the South of Iceland. We saw some amazing sights, from huge spouting geysers to the amazing Gullfoss waterfalls, meaning ‘golden falls’ in English. Upon arrival to the falls the crevice is obscured from view and appears as though the river vanishes into the earth.

Another highlight to this awe-inspiring day trip besides the ever changing breathtaking nature were the majestic horses. You just needed to pull up on the side of the road and herds of them came galloping towards you, they were so tame you could reach out and pat these wild beasts. All in all, Iceland is amazing and should be on everyone’s travel list.