SCENIC MARVELS &
OLD WORLD MAJESTY
You arrived in Iceland with high expectations:
cinematic landscapes, ancient glaciers, geothermal
wonders, quirky Reykjavik and waterfalls. Roaring,
technicolour waterfalls. Seljalandsfoss is one of
them, and it looms before you, but this is no
ordinary waterfall. It’s a child’s drawing, a sublime
exaggeration of hulking cliff and glowing green
slopes with a white ribbon of water cascading
61 metres into mist. It only becomes real as you
follow a path leading to a wide cavern behind
the surreal scene, where gentle spray and a reverse
waterfall-view confirm your Icelandic expectations
were, actually, far too low.
Such reality-stretching natural wonders and cultural
treasures abound throughout Northern Europe.
Cruise the canals in picturesque Copenhagen, trek
among remnants of Scandinavia’s Viking past
in Sweden, journey to gothic Kylemore Abbey in the
heart of Ireland’s Connemara Mountains, tour the
cobbled streets of Oxford and golden-hued villages
of the Cotswolds in the UK, and more.
NORTHERN EUROPE | 169