zircona1 wrote: Iceland was an amazing adventure. We hiked a volcano. We saw the northern lights. We ate fermented shark. We hiked a glacier and did a bit of ice climbing. We stayed part of the time in a grain silo that had been converted into a series of apartments. We went to the Secret Lagoon. (My fiancee and I didn't go to the Blue Lagoon, the other members of our family did the day before we arrived, where the winds were apparently really strong.)

Shit, that sounds grand. And a lot more active than so many's people's trips there nowadays. (No disrespect to them, but I've heard stories of people going to Iceland just to do a pub crawl, for example.)

We were lucky enough to visit back in 2000, when shoulder-season tourist there was still fairly low-key.

OrthodoxEaster wrote: Sun Nov 21, 2021 11:21 am

zircona1 wrote: Iceland was an amazing adventure. We hiked a volcano. We saw the northern lights. We ate fermented shark. We hiked a glacier and did a bit of ice climbing. We stayed part of the time in a grain silo that had been converted into a series of apartments. We went to the Secret Lagoon. (My fiancee and I didn't go to the Blue Lagoon, the other members of our family did the day before we arrived, where the winds were apparently really strong.)

Shit, that sounds grand. And a lot more active than so many's people's trips there nowadays. (No disrespect to them, but I've heard stories of people going to Iceland just to do a pub crawl, for example.)

We were lucky enough to visit back in 2000, when shoulder-season tourist there was still fairly low-key.

Yeah, Reykjavik didn't seem overrun with people when we were there, I think the peak season is during the summer, when the temps are milder. I had heard that the market crash around 2008 that caused Iceland's currency to lose half its value was a factor in it becoming a tourist destination.

Belize. Thinking of going there on a honeymoon this summer. I'm interested because of the diving (which my wife doesn't do), what else is there? Anyone here been there? Gimme the sales pitch.

Work has opened up for travel.. at least for now.

This week: Schweinfurt, Germany

Next week: Tokyo, Japan

Any recommendations for a single gay guy in Dublin 4/25-6/1?

turnbullac wrote: Tue Apr 12, 2022 12:56 pm Any recommendations for a single gay guy in Dublin 4/25-6/1?

Not gay but would be happy to meet up with anyone on here in Dublin either yesterday (I should have mentioned something earlier) or for four hours on Friday this week.

Work travel starting to pick up for me again.

Next week: Corvallis, Oregon
Week of Sept. 26: Seoul, Korea
late October/early November: Fremont, CA

If there are any FMs around those cities that would want to meet up, let me know.

Off to Seoul, Korea on Saturday and will be there all next week.

jfv wrote: Off to Seoul, Korea on Saturday and will be there all next week.

Dunno if you're much for urban hiking, but Inwangsan is a cool mountain trail, right in town, w/an excellent view of the city. There's a shamanic shrine, Guksadang, up there, and if you're lucky, you may see holy women performing esoteric rituals, convulsing, and chanting on the nearby rocks.

You should also go to Namdaemun and Gwangjang markets and eat... everything. And don't forget to visit a pojangmacha, a sort of tented outdoor bar that serves street food (usually specializing in just a few things), or three. Jongno area is full of them (or at least, it used to be). You'll definitely make some new friends. For a sharp contrast, find an upscale place serving royal court cuisine, and you'll encounter a totally different side of Korean food w/mild flavors, something akin to Japanese kaiseki.

Going to Italy next week for 10 days: Marche, Abruzzo, Umbria, Lazio, then Sardinia for 5 days. Cannot fucking wait.