Tag: https://visiticeland.com/

Countries, Culture, Europe

Rainy Days and Songdanes and Scandis

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For the week that’s in it with England taking on Denmark in the Euros here’s Rainy Days and Songdanes and Scandis.

And before my Finnish friend Paula starts I know Finland, or Iceland, are technically Scandinavian.

Though I have seen these Nordic countries included as Scandi in places.

Scandis and Nordis are uniting in support of the Danes on Wednesday.

And much of the world after Christian Eriksen’s collapse.

Why the three countries on the British isle don’t do the same for each other is a different story.

All of which brings us to a musical tour of these lands.

Probably Denmark

And there’s a bridge to the rest of Scandi

Whigfield, Saturday Night: ‘It’s party time and not a minute we can lose.’

Now that’s a call to arms if ever. And it’ll be easy for the Danes to change the words to Wednesday Night.

A-ha there!

Screaming and shouting for Norway

A-ha, Take On Me: And proof from the video that these Vikings from Norway are gods straight out of a storybook.

Although don’t take my word for what the Norwegians are like in their fjords. Oh, go on then, do!

Abba Fabba

Fabba Land

Abba Waterloo (Swedish version): Yes I do, I do, I do, I do, I do, I do if only Agnetha had been available rhen.

You can, of course, see Sweden’s Fab Four at the Abba Museum in Stockholm.

Where Finns started

Snow business in Finland

Hanoi Rocks, Boulevard of Broken Dreams: And maybe not the Finnish band you were expecting.

Hard Focks Hallelujah. Finland glam punk band Hannoi Rocks were thete long before Lordi and even inspired Bon Jovi and Green Day.

Ice, Ice, Baby

Remember us England

Of Monsters And Men, Dirty Paws: And we’ll finish on an Icelandic Viking mythology vibe from Iceland’s finest.

All in the setting of the Euro favourites Italy and our favourites too, though it’s for you to work out if that means football favouritism.

But that can wait… here’s to Rainy Days and Songdanes and Scandis.

Africa, Asia, Countries, Deals, Oceania

The PIGS, the big winners on the UK Green List

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All countries are created equal but some are more equal than others… let’s hear it for the PIGS, the big winners on the UK Green List.

We will all now be able to visit Portugal, Israel, Gibraltar and St Helena from May 17 from England.

Make a break for it

Keeeeep dancin’: With Judy Murray in Portugal

Portugal has always been a personal favourite and it’s also fun for all you sporty types too.

And they are being rewarded for their Clean & Safe project with this green light.

Temple of history: Jerusalem

Israel have been frontrunners from the get-go on the vaccination programme and I will be back communicating with the Promised Land through the week.

Vive Napoleon

Gibraltar and St Helena too.

I am indebted to my old colleague from the American Travel Fair Britain’s Young Travel Writer of the Year Lottie Gross for road testing Gib for us over the pandemic.

And to Napoleon for doing the same.

Through countries

Get the Braai on: Port Elizabeth township, South Africa

The one niggling issue though is the status of the through countries to get to Gib and St Helena with neither Spain nor South Africa on the green list.

St Helena remains unfinished business.

With my walk in the footsteps of Le Petit Caporal ahead of this month’s 200th anniversary of his death there cancelled at the last minute.

Ice, ice baby

Bracing: Iceland will invigorate you

But while the PIGS pushed themselves out, as they do, as the big winners on the UK Green List there are others celebrating today.

Iceland also makes it onto the list and a long-promised visit to the Iceland Phallological Museum where all the Big Dicks hang out.

While the Faroes too, between Iceland and Norway, await and are tempting us with nature and wellness and hairy Vikings.

Further afield Singapore, and Brunei are long-haul bucket list favourites.

Bonzer

Of course it used to be that being sent to Australia and New Zealand was a punishment.

And the poor peoples on those islands are still suffering, albeit different hordes now of English Gap Year students… see The Inbetweeners 2.

Falklands awe

The Falklands natives

The good folk of the Falklands and South Georgia came onto our radar 40 years ago next year when the Argentines laid their beach towels down.

It’s a long way to go for a penguin but we’re here to serve.

And so are our friends at G Adventures who have a 22-dayer from Montivideo, Uruguay to Ushuaia.

No me neither, nor how it works with Uruguay not being on the list, and near pariahs Brazil, but G Adventures will be all over it.

And we should just be glad we don’t have to go to war to get a holiday.

MEET YOU ON THE ROAD