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Tag: April in Reykjavik (2022)

I visited the new Icelandic volcano! | iamapolarbear.com

I visited the new Icelandic volcano! | Iceland 2022

May 2, 2022

Yes! At long last I have new travel content – and new Iceland content at that! I got on my first plane in over two years and we’re starting with a bang: I visited the new Icelandic volcano! It still hasn’t been officially named, to the best of my knowledge, but it’s usually called Fagradalsfjall … More I visited the new Icelandic volcano! | Iceland 2022

1 Comment I visited the new Icelandic volcano! | Iceland 2022

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Who am I?
I'm Julie, a travel, adventure and wellness blogger. I love Iceland, I love jumping into hot water and I do love a bit of snow.

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Come for the Rock Choir Live, stay for the German-style Christmas market! While it sprawled all the way up New Street and Victoria Square with a second market on Cathedral Square, it wasn’t quite as extensive as I expected and food definitely dominated - good for me; I had pretzels and enormous cheese-filled crepes and a very tolerable (read: pretty good!) hot chocolate in a mug that had taken two days to decide were Birmingham-specific rather than so Frankfurt-inspired that they were literally just bought in from Frankfurt. No, these are definitely local mugs. I didn’t have the library on my to-do list for Birmingham but it turns out it has a great terrace for views over the square below, the research/academic library is pretty spectacular and while the normal-person fiction library downstairs is nothing very interesting to look at, it has comfortable seats in the dry and the warm and has wifi. #birmingham #libraries While my purpose in Birmingham was Rock Choir Live and my second purpose was the famous Frankfurt Christmas Market, I also had plenty of time to get to know Birmingham a bit. A particular highlight was the work of local boy Edward Burnes-Jones and William Morris in the spectacular windows of the cathedral, the Birmingham Bifröst which helped me find my way home in the evenings and a glimpse of one of the “more than Venice” canals that you don’t see in the area between New Street Station and the cathedral. #birmingham In yet another “you should be doing more with your weekend”, I spent the weekend in Birmingham two weeks ago. The main purpose was to see Rock Choir Live’s big Christmas party (featuring special guests Emili Sandé, Sam Ryder & Russell Watson, plus the legend Pat Sharp’s DJ set to get things started). The journey home from Spa was slowed down by engineering work, requiring a rail replacement bus to Pepinster where I had to wait for half an hour, a local train to Liège, long distance train ultimately to Ostende but to Brussels Midi for me, Eurostar to London and finally a South Western Railways train overdue some important maintenance back to Southampton. When in Belgium, eat waffles! Just in case there was any doubt about mineral waters in Spa… Thermes de Spa is lovely inside - although it’s much smaller, I think I prefer it to Therme Bucureşti - but the outside leaves a bit to be desired. The back is lovely, what with that huge glass wall overlooking the town. It’s just a shame about the barbed wire that keeps walkers out of the water. I know I’ve been to other pools with views and they haven’t had to resort to barbed wire. On the other hand, the front has something of a red brick 60s comprehensive about it rather than the welcoming facade of somewhere that’s about to transport you to a world of relaxation. Honestly, the difference between the outside and inside is astounding. Do go (when the funicular is running) but maybe don’t linger for selfies outside. #thermesdespa #belgium The spa at Spa is perched on top of a hill, accessed by foot via a funicular railway from the town centre, a 2-minute ride up 84m of ascent. Except when I was there, the funicular was broken and I started my lovely relaxing spa day with a very non-relaxing 1.3km hike up those 84m through the woods, which were unlit and very uneven under foot, although I only really realised that on the way back down.

About Julie

I’m a blogger, adventurer, lover of hot water, amateur paddler and polar bear who wilts in hot weather.

Time (by day, I’m a researcher) and funds keep me within Europe and I make regular trips up to the north, especially to Iceland. I like the occasional adventure across Europe by train and I’m starting to make use of my weekends for 48-hour adventures.

This isn’t my only creative outlet – I’ve written two travelogues with a third and fourth being (not to much) written simultaneously right now.

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