BootsnAll Travel Network



Sophie’s World has moved

January 2nd, 2010

Much as I like Boots’n’All – and that very cool Tibetan temple in the heading, I needed a more flexible blog. As of 1 January 2010, Sophie’s World has moved here. The posts here will be exported to the new blog little by little.

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PhotoFriday: The Desert

January 1st, 2010

I’m drawn to the desert. So much that I sometimes wonder whether I was meant to live in it. In one way, the desert is the complete opposite of the snow and ice of home – the temperature and the relationship with the sun. In another way, the landscapes are the same: forceful, sometimes brutal, and magically beautiful.

So my first photo of 2010 is not wintry Norway, but the deserts of the United Arab Emirates. I saw plenty of desert sands last year – with and without the kids. More is to come in 2010; both Lebanon and Libya are on the agenda.

Where are you going this year?
Happy 2010 everyone – and happy travels!

PS This post is part of Delicious Baby’s weekly PhotoFriday blog. Check it out.

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PhotoFriday – Home for Christmas

December 25th, 2009

Opening the door in February, this is what met the eye. Same today. The kids are out making a snow sphinx; a typical first day of Christmas!

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Weekly photo – Wintry Drammen

December 12th, 2009

Bragernes Church

This is how Drammen looked in February – and should look in December. Not quite there yet.

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Vienna Christmas Markets

November 26th, 2009

Last Friday, I wrote a guest post for the wonderful Europe a la Carte blog about Vienna’s Christmas markets. In the article I listed a few of the markets. I haven’t seen them all yet – and the one at Spittelberg features high on my to-see list. It looks very cosy there in the narrow alleys.

Vienna is always elegant, but especially during advent. I adore the Christkindlmarkt in front of Rathausplatz (City Hall). It’s so colourful and lively. It’s also full of children, because City Hall hosts a fabulous children’s workshop, the Christkindl Werkstatt. With rosy cheeks, all flush with excitement, they run inside to make wonderful homemade Christmas pressies and to have heaps of fun.

Related links:
Europe a la Carte: Christmas Markets in Vienna

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Oslo on a budget!

October 11th, 2009

Oslo may be the world’s most expensive city, but it is possible to enjoy this beautiful Scandinavian capital on a budget – even free. Have a look at NileGuide’s Family-friendly Oslo – on a budget.

Oslo Opera House

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My Oslo City Guide in British Airways’ Business Life

May 6th, 2009

is here

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Arabian desert safari

April 12th, 2009

        

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European plans

March 3rd, 2009

With small children, it’s good to have travel plans for the neighbourhood, in my case Europe. Returning from our stay in New Zealand in 2003, I set a target to visit all the countries in Europe. Nearly there; only lacking Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Although their European-ness is dubious – or at least contested – I’ll include them. Apart from those three, I’m done. 

31 October 2003 (my birthday), I also set these 31 European goals and enjoy ticking them off:

  1. Sail the Mediterranean
  2. Hike the Alps in Liechtenstein (Sep 2006)
  3. See the old walled city of Dubrovnik (Sep 2004)
  4. Hike the Tatra Mountains – Zakopane/Poprad
  5. Visit Moldova (Chisinau, Orhei Vechul) (Jun 2008)
  6. Stay in a private flat in Transdniester (Jun 2008)
  7. Visit Macedonia (Skopje) (Apr 2008)
  8. Visit Kosovo (Pristina) (Apr 2008)
  9. Visit Montenegro (Kotor, Budva, Cetinje) (Oct 2004)
  10. Visit Bosnia-Hercegovina (Mostar, Medugorje, Srpska) (Sep/Oct 2004, Aug 2008)
  11. Read the rest of this entry »

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Lesotho public transport

February 16th, 2009

More practice at entering writing competitions – and winning second place over at Businesstravellogue, no less – here’ s a short version of my wicked bus ride in Lesotho a few years ago.

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