WE ARE DEREK + EMILY. WE LIVE IN A TINY HOUSE AND THESE ARE OUR TRAVELS.
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We had cut short our road trip thru Northern Ireland and [Northern] Ireland by a day due to the weather on the Wild Atlantic Way. So since we had the day off of work and the rental car still, we took a trip through the Wicklow Mountains.
Our destination was the Glendalough Monastic Site, but it is always more fun to take the back roads then to drive straight to your destination. We opted for the military road that passes through Sally Gap. This will also give you a glimpse of Lough Tay.
When we arrived at Glendalough, there was a small fee to park the car. This early Christian monastic settlement was founded by St. Kevin in the 6th century. Most of the remains are from the 11th and 12th century. Take some time to wander the trails. We took the walk to upper lake and grabbed a coffee and a hot chocolate for the walk back.
We headed out to Bray Head after Glendalough. We took in the coast and decided to have dinner at Mt. Everest of Kathmandu. The food was absolutely delicious! After dinner we headed back to Dublin.
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It has been two month since we moved to Dublin from Minnesota, we have spent that time apartment hunting and settling in (aka getting acquainted with the pubs). We thought with the long weekend over Easter, this would be the perfect time to have our first adventure. Where else would we start than a road trip with car camping to Northern Ireland to go hunt down all of the Game of Thrones filming locations. Bubba came along for the ride as well. Here is the line up:
Day 1: Dublin to Larne Day 2: Larne to Bushmills Day 3: Bushmills to Creeslough Day 4: Creeslough to Dublin via Sligo
Day 1
Total drive time: 4h Route: Dublin - Larne Accommodations: Curran Caravan Park Narrow Water Keep - Inch Abbey - Game of Thrones - Inch Abbey is a large, ruined monastic site founded by by John de Courcy. The buildings are mainly of the late 12th century and the 13th century. In season 1, amongst the ruins of Inch Abbey, Robb Stark's army sets up camp near Riverrun. The Houses of the North and the Riverlands swear his allegiance to Robb, "The King of the North", marking the beginning of the War of the Five Kings. Winterfell - Game of Thrones - Castle Ward is an 18th-century National Trust property located near the village of Strangford. The historic farmyard at Castle Ward, referred to as Old Castle Ward, was used for the filming of the Winterfell scenes in Season 1. The cost to enter the grounds is £9.50 per person. If you are expecting to actually see Winterfell, you will be disappointed as most of it is CGI. We enjoyed our time more at Inch Abbey, but we had to go, it's Winterfell! 
The Gobbins - we were really excited to do this walk, but when we arrived we found out it was closed for renovations :(. It is reopening April 28th - so we will have to go back!
We continued to Larne and found Curran Caravan Park. It was £10 to stay the night with our tent. We walked to the the restaurant Carriages in town for dinner. Day 2 Total drive time: 2h 30m Route: Larne - Bushmills Accommodations: Causeway Coast Wigwam Cushendun Caves - Game of Thrones - These caves were super fun to explore. In season 2, Stannis Baratheon orders Davos Seaworth to smuggle the red priestess Melisandre into a cave below Renly Baratheon's camp. To Davos' horror, Melisandre gives birth to a dark shadow, which creeps into the camp and kills Renly. 
Kinbane Castle - Kinbane Castle sits on a long, narrow limestone headland projecting into the sea. The castle was built in 1547 by Colla MacDonnell. We found this castle randomly on our drive and I am so glad we didn't miss it. It is a pretty steep walk down to it, but we had lots of fun exploring it.
Carrick-a-rede Bride - is a famous rope bridge near Ballintoy in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The bridge links the mainland to the tiny island of Carrickarede. We decided to skip actually walking on the bridge, it costs money and is packed with tourists. We opted to view it from a lookout point above.
Ballintoy Harbour - Game of Thrones - Ballintoy Harbour is at the end of the road leading down to the sea from the fishing village with the same name. The Harbour is used for many scenes throughout the show, but mostly for the Iron Islands (seasons 2, 4, and 6). The Dark Hedges - Game of Thrones - Just a road lined with beech trees planted in the 18th century by the Stuart family that is now known as The Dark Hedges. In season 2, it is used as the Kingsroad.
Portrush - We were looking for a good place to eat and decided on Kiwi's Brew Bar in Portrush. The food was absolutely fantastic. Best wings we have had since we moved here.
Dunluce Castle - We chose to see this castle from a view point above. There was a lot of traffic in the area. We would have loved to have visited it. It was built in the 13th century. Giant's Causeway - This is not a Game of Thrones filming location, but it should be. The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption. 
We found camp at Causeway Coast Wigwam. I'm not sure that they normally take tents, but the woman working was very nice and welcoming - £10 for us to stay with the tent.
Day 3 Total drive time: 3h 30m Route: Bushmills - Creeslough Accommodations: Wild Atlantic Camp Mussendun Temple and Downhill Beach - Game of Thrones - In season 1, the beach is used as a scene below Dragonstone castle where Stannis Baratheon swears allegiance to the Lord of Light and burns the effigies of the Seven Gods. Binevenagh - Binevenagh is a mountain in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. We drove one of the scenic routes through the mountain.
Murder Hole Beach - Murder Hole Beach is one of County Donegal's hidden secrets. The spooky name is rumoured to originate from the 1800s, when a young woman fell from one of the cliffs surrounding the beach however other reports say that the name is derived from how dangerous the currents are; and how perilous it is to swim there. This beach is definitely not on the map, you have to know what you are looking for, but once you make the trek thru the private farm land, you are greeted with the most spectacular view. Pictured below is super secret muder hole beach. Not pictured: the bull, the rain, and the 40 mph winds. We are happy to point you in the right direction, just ask!
Horn Head - An awesome walk that gives you great views of the cliffs. The only problem for us was the wind! It was insane. We quickly ran from the car park to the first tower to take shelter. We thought we were going to get blown away - otherwise we would have pictures to share. Still highly recommend it!
After two days of camping in the cold and wind. We decided to upgrade to a wooden pod at the Wild Atlantic Camp. It was warm and comfortable and the facilities were great. We lucked out, they had a last minute cancellation. It was a bit more than we wanted to pay, €50, but it was worth it. We went into town and ate at Rose's. The food and service were great. Day 4 Total drive time: 6h 40m Route: Creeslough - Dublin We set off for Slieve League, but took the long way thru Glenveagh National Park. The views were amazing. I love the long drives on the tiny roads through the mountains. Go get lost on the backroads! Slieve League - So there are two different view points here - Pilgrim Pass and Bunglass Point. I am laying this out here because on trip advisor and other sources I was confused. We originally drove to Pilgrim Pass. Again, the weather was not great. We saw a car continue beyond the car park on the tiny road so we decided to follow. Mistake. We turned around promptly when we realised this. This road is not for driving on. Leave your car at the car park. This would have been an awesome hike had the weather been better. We decided to skip Pilgrim Pass and head for Bunglass Point. There is a car park at the cattle gate, but open that bad boy up and keep driving. There is another car park at the top. The views were amazing even with the fog. We hiked up for a good 20 minutes before turning back down. We will be back here to hike Pilgrim's Pass!! 
Mullaghmore Head - This was a nice little drive. Plenty to see. You can also view Cassiebawn Castle from afar. You should be able to see Benbulbin from here as well. But as you can see from the pictures - it was quite foggy.
Benbulbin - a large rock formation in County Sligo. It was entirely too foggy to see any of it. We even drove to the base and around. Will have to come back to see this neat neature feature. We attempted to see Benbulbin, but it was just too foggy out. Headed home.
The plan was to spend the night around Sligo, but we decided just to head back to Dublin to get into our warm bed. We still had the next day off and the rental car, so we took a day trip from Dublin to Glendalough - you can read about it here. Overall, a great Game of Thrones and County Donegal trip. Still so much more to see for both. Will head back up North soon!
This is just a portion of our overall road trip across Denmark, Norway, and Scotland, so we are going to break it down by country. Here is the lineup for Norway:
Day 1: Stavanger (arrived by ferry from Hirtshals, Denmark) Day 2: Stavanger Day 3: Bergen Day 4: Geiranger Day 5: Geiranger Day 6: Geiranger Day 7: Flåm Day 8: Trolltunga Day 9: Travel to Liverpool for the British Open What we packed: Checked bag - Camping/hiking gear Checked bag - Clothes/toiletries Carry-on bag - Camera backpack Carry-on bag - Hiking backpack
Day 1
Total drive time: 0h Route: Stavanger Accommodations: Airbnb Our road trip doesn't actually begin until we get to Bergen, Norway. Prior to arriving in Bergen, we spent 2 days in Stavanger - mainly to hike Preikestolen. We took the overnight ferry from Hirtshals, Denmark to Stavanger, Norway, and arrived in Stavanger at 6:30am. The ferry port is west of Stavanger in a town called Tanager, so you will need transportation to the city. A taxi is quite expensive - 400 NK. You can make arrangements with Fjordline for affordable bus transportation to the city, which is the best option. We dropped our bags off at our Airbnb and familiarized ourselves with our surroundings. Our Airbnb was centrally located and walking distance to many restaurants, the mall, other shops, and the ferry port. Everything can be found in this area. Around 10:00am, it is time to start heading to Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock). Before our ferry for the Preikestolen hike, we went to a delicious bakery, Kanelsnurren. We crossed the street to the grocery store to grab snacks for the hike, and then walked a block to the port. No need to buy Preikestolen tickets in advance, you can purchase the ferry and bus ride tickets at the port. The ferry was about a 35 minute ride and the bus about a 25 minute ride. And now you're at the base camp of Preikestolen! Note - they've got a pretty well organized operation here. Restrooms, snack bars, a restaurant, organized bus pickup/drop-off, etc. The hike itself is absolutely breathtaking. Plan for about 2 hours to Preikestolen, at least an hour at the top to rest and enjoy the surroundings, and two hours for the way back. This hike is of moderate difficulty with some steep "stairs" combined with long flat areas. The first of these three images shows a shallow pond with some tents in the background. If you're feeling up for some wild camping, that pond is a great spot.
We arrived back in Stavanger by 6:00pm. We ate dinner at Mogul India Restaurant - the food was absolutely delicious! After dinner, we headed back to our Airbnb to shower and sleep. This is where we stayed - Airbnb - the location was super central, you could walk to everything and anything you needed, but the conditions were extremely unsanitary. We should have read the reviews more closely :(.
Day 2 Total drive time: 0h Route: Stavanger Accommodations: Airbnb We had planned to hike to Kjeragbolten, but after the ferry and hike to Preikestolen we were just too exhausted and decided to spend the day exploring Stavanger. We hit up Kanelsnurren again for breakfast. Then we walked towards Gamle Stavanger (Old Stavanger). This is a preserved historic part of the city on the west side of Vågen, the inner harbor area of Stavanger. The houses are 19th and 20th century and all of the houses are white - you can't miss it. We went to Døgnvill Burger for lunch and then to Øst to get our hands on some craft beer - we also never leave home without our travel cribbage board!
After Øst, we stopped the grocery store to pick up something for dinner (and a few beers). After dinner, we went to Øvre Holmegate, which is also known as "the colorful street." We went into Bøker og Børst and decided to split a flight of craft beers. There was an awesome patio in the back where we met some locals and played Cards Against Humanity.
Day 3 Total ferry time: 5h 30m Route: Stavanger - Bergen Accommodations: Airbnb We woke up early to catch the Fjordline bus from the train station in Stavanger to go back to the Fjordline port at which we arrived. We took the same ferry to Bergen (7:00am-12:30pm). After arriving in Bergen, we walked to our Airbnb to drop off our bags. We then headed into the city and went straight for the Torget Fish Market to eat a late lunch. We had some awesome fish and chips and also the prettiest cup of fruit.
After the fish market, we wandered over to Bryggen - a series of Hanseatic commercial buildings lining the eastern side of the Vågen harbor. This is the old wharf of Bergen. It has a unique collection of shops behind the face of these buildings, which reminded us of a village from Lord of the Rings or something. Bryggen is on the UNESCO list for World Cultural Heritage Sites.
Just behind Bryggen is St. Mary's Church - which is a beautiful church from the 12th century.
We then wandered the streets to get to the Fløibanen, which is a funicular that connects the city center with the mountain of Fløyen, At the top, you get a great view of the city. There are snacks and souvenirs, along with a walking trail.
We grabbed a frozen pizza on our way back to our Airbnb. We ate and rested. The Airbnb was nice and central - we would definitely stay again!
Day 4 Total drive time: 5h Route: Bergen - Geiranger Accommodations: Geirangerfjorden Feriesenter - Cabins & Camping In the morning, we walked to pick up our rental car, and what a start to the day because we lucked out with a free UPGRADE to an automatic black AUDI wagon!. The drive to Geiranger was the most beautiful thing we have ever done. We lost track of how many times we stopped to pull over and take pictures. Every turn was more breathtaking than the last. The drive was filled with tunnels, mountains, fjords, waterfalls. You will not be disappointed by this drive!
When we arrived into Geiranger, we found the perfect spot to pitch a tent - at the Geirangerfjorden Feriesenter - Cabins & Camping. We took a quick drive into town for dinner at Restaurant Olebuda. After dinner, we went back to our campsite to hang and enjoy the views.
Day 5
Total drive time: 0h Route: Geiranger Accommodations: Geirangerfjorden Feriesenter - Cabins & Camping For breakfast, we hit the Geiranger Bakeri - it is on the main street into town, you can't miss it. We planned to kayak today, but it was too cold and rainy. So we waited for the sky to clear up a bit and went on a short hike, Vesteråsfjellet. We drove to the Westerås Restaurant, and the hike begins just beyond that. The hike was quick, about 25 min, but there was an awesome overlook of the fjord. We were basically walking in the clouds, which was really cool. There always seems to be a random animal somewhere.
After our hike, we went to the grocery store to grab a few snacks and drinks. Alcohol is expensive in Norway and hard to find outside of a restaurant. Aside from Stavanger, we don't recall seeing any actual bars again. We played card games in the tent while enjoying the rain and watching the cruise ships pass through. We went back into town for dinner at Friaren Bistro. The food was so-so in Geiranger. We really wanted to eat at Brasserie Posten, but reservations are required.
Day 6 Total drive time: 6h Route: Geiranger - Flåm Accommodations: Flåm Camping In the morning, we made PBJs for breakfast (we always tried to keep a loaf of bread and peanut butter with us!). We then rented a kayak for three hours, the rental was right near our campsite. We kayaked to the base of Skageflå, which is a historic mountain farm. It took us about 45 min to reach the base by kayak. We had a small map with us, so we had an idea of where the base would be. We then got out of the water and pulled our kayak out. We then had to hike straight up the side of a cliff for 30 minutes (250 meters). The hike was very challenging and there were many parts were the footing was sketchy. At the top you can see the Seven Sisters Waterfall. There were a few old buildings at the top as well. It was an awesome view. The farm had been there since the middle ages, but has not been used since 1918. We then hiked back down, which was much quicker, and kayaked back.
After kayaking, we decided to drive to Flåm. We found dinner in Øvre Årdal, The long drive was again spectacular, the route we took ended up taking us on Sognetjellet. Route 55 across the Sognefjell mountain area between Luster and Lom is the highest and most impressive mountain pass in Northern Europe (highest point 1434 meters), and it has been awarded the status of National Tourist Route because of the spectacular and wild mountain scenery it passes through in the Jotunheimen National Park. The route also took us through Lærdalstunnelen, which is the world's longest tunnel at 24.51 km - yikes! There was a cute place to grab a pastry and a coffee somewhere along the Sognetjellet. We found camp in Flåm and went to bed.
Day 7
Total drive time: 3h 15m Route: Flåm - Trolltunga Accommodations: Trolltunga Parking Lot Our plan for the day was to do our own version of the Norway in a Nutshell tour, but honestly it was not worth it. After our two long scenic drives, I am afraid nothing will ever compare to it! We went down to the Flåm train station and here is what we booked -
The greatest thing about the tour, was the train from Flåm to Myrdal. Here are some pictures from the ferry.
Back in Flåm, there are so many cute shops, we ended up getting a lot of gifts here to take home to friends and family. That night, we drove to the Trolltunga Parking Lot, so that we would be able to get started on our hike early in the morning. We literally set camp in the parking lot in front of our car. Drive to Tyssedal (6 km from Odda) on route 13. Follow signs to Skjeggedal and Trolltunga. After about 7 km you reach the parking lot in Skjeggedal. Parking in Skjeggedal (NOK 300/day).
Day 8 Total drive time: 3h 15m Route: Trolltunga - Bergen Accommodations: Midttun Motell & Camping We picked up hiking supplies in Flåm - 6 ham and cheese sandwhiches, nuts, protein bars, fruit. The hike is 27.5 km in total and takes anywhere from 10-12 hours. We started at 7:30am, it took us 4.5 hours to Trolltunga, 1.5 hours for views and pictures, 4 hours back to parking lot. The hike can be broken down like this -
We advise that you bring a couple pairs of extra socks and clothing for all 4-seasons. Also it doesn't hurt to bring plenty of food. There are numerous places to fill water up along the way, so don't worry about that. This hike was the hike of a lifetime for us. I would do it again and again. You will not be disappointed.
After our long hike, we drive to a seedy little motel/campsite outside of Bergen. We really just wanted a cheap place to shower and rest our heads for our flight in the morning.
Day 9 Total drive time: 30 min Route: Bergen - Bergen Airport Flight: Bergen - London We woke up early to head to the airport, return our car and prepare for the last leg of our trip! Stay tuned for our next blog post of the British Open and our Scotland road trip! 1/2/2018 0 Comments Expat Life Image by Rachel Traxler Photography Hey everyone! We are kicking off 2018 right - by following one of our biggest dreams - to live overseas! I (Emily) was offered a job transfer right before Thanksgiving to Dublin, Ireland. After talking it over, we decided there is no way we could say no! We are so excited and leave at the end of the month. We have been busy deciding what to bring (thank goodness we already live tiny!) and how to get our beloved Bubba into Ireland! We will have updates soon!
Love, Em + Deke
This is just a portion of our overall road trip across Denmark, Norway, and Scotland, so we are going to break it down by country. Here is the lineup for Denmark:
Day 1: Copenhagen Day 2: Copenhagen Day 3: Møns Klint (via Roskilde) Day 4: Fåborg (via Funen) Day 5: Ribe Day 6: Aarhus Day 7: Skagen (overnight cruise from Hirtshals to Stavanger, Norway) What we packed: Checked bag - Camping/hiking gear Checked bag - Clothes/toiletries Carry-on bag - Camera backpack Carry-on bag - Hiking backpack
Day 1 & Day 2 - Copenhagen
See our previous post here - Copenhagen: A 2-day Itinerary! Day 3 Total drive time: 2h 14m Route: Copenhagen - Roskilde - Møns Klint Accommodations: Camping Møns Klint We walked from our Airbnb to pick up our rental car in downtown Copenhagen. Just a small manual vehicle with a hatchback works great. We stopped back by our Airbnb to pick up our bags and the grocery store to pick up a few snacks and started towards Roskilde. When we arrived in Roskilde, we parked near the cathedral and started to walk the streets. It was a calm, quiet area. There was even a small market going on in the town's square.
After Roskilde, we drove to set up camp at Camping Møns Klint. After setting up our tent, we started off on our hike to Møns Klint, which is just a walk across the street to get to trails and the beach.
Here is the map we used to plan our hike - Møns Klint Hiking Map. We started out at Camping Møns Klint - took route 2 to the beach - hiked the beach to route 4 - took route 4 stairs up and worked our way back to Camping Møns Klint. This took one and a half to two hours, and beware of the stairs! There is a wooden staircase to get to and from the beach, and it consists of roughly 500 stairs. The white cliffs at Møns Klint are a must-see, as well as the view of the Baltic Sea. We ate dinner at the campground - which had a casual setting with wine, pizza, and a variety of other food options.
Day 4
Total drive time: 3h 22m Route: Møns Klint - Funen - Fåborg Accommodations: Nab Strand Camping We headed out early in the morning to get to Egeskov Castle. This place is magical - it truly is a fairy tale castle. This was the coolest castle we saw in Denmark. The gardens are the most magical piece, with over 15 gardens you will need at least a couple hours to fully wander. You can also explore the old stables, which now consist of museums with old farm equipment, cars, and small airplanes. This is certainly worthwhile, and you can spend the day here.
After Egeskov, take the short drive to the seaside town of Fåborg. This is a great place to just wander the streets. We had dinner at Spisehuset.
We set up camp for the night at Nab Strand Camping.
The original plan for the day was to take the ferry from Fåborg to Ærø and camp on the island. We changed our minds due to the cost of the ferry and the amount of time left in the day. So we opted to camp near Fåborg.
Day 5 Total drive time: 1h 58m Route: Fåborg - Ribe Accommodations: Ribe Camping In the morning, we headed off to Ribe. We went straight to the city center and found a place to park. We saw Ribe Domkirke, did a mini self guided walking tour of the old streets (Old Town Walk), and ended the day at the Museet Ribes Vikinger. Ribe is one of Scandinavia's oldest towns. The cobblestone streets date back to 869 AD! Walking these streets reminded us of Lord of the Rings and we really enjoyed it here.
After walking in Ribe, we headed out to Mandø, which is one of the Danish Wadden Sea Islands. This island is not always accessible due to the tide, so be sure to check the tide schedule out before you go!
On the way back from Mandø, we saw this house, which reminded me of Snow White, so I had to grab a picture!
We set up camp at Ribe Camping for the night.
Day 6 Total drive time: 1h 45m Route: Ribe - Aarhus Accommodations: Airbnb - https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/18985495 In the morning, we set off for Aarhus. We didn't really have a plan for the day. We knew we couldn't check into our room until the afternoon, and it started to rain, so we thought we would check out the ARoS Art Museum. We really enjoyed it - there are ten floors, each with a different theme. The top floor gives you a colored panoramic view of the city.
After the museum, we checked out Mollenstien Street - which is perhaps the prettiest street in Denmark.
We had dinner at the Aarhus Central Food Market and Aarhus Street Food (another market a few blocks away). Food was amazing! Lots of places to choose from, you will not be disappointed!
We wanted to get a drink at St. Pau'ls Apothek - http://stpaulsapothek.dk/ - but it was closed when we showed up :(. 
After dinner, we returned to our Airbnb and for the night.
Day 7 Total drive time: 3h 6m Route: Aarhus - Skagen - Hirtshals Accommodations: Overnight ferry to Stavanger In Skagen, we went to Grenen - Denmark's northernmost point. Here, you can walk out on a narrow sand patch where two seas meet. Parking was limited and it is a bit of a walk along the beach. If it is a nice day, it is worth going for a few hours. Next we went to check out Old Skagen, known for its yellow houses, and then had lunch down by the harbor.
On our way out of town, we stopped at Den Tilsandede Kirke, also known as the 'sand-covered church'. This church was built during the 14th century, but after a terrible sand drift, the congregation moved out. All that is left of the church is the tower.
We returned the rental car in Hirtshals. It was a bit of a hike to the ferry port (we walked it and it took us about 45 min., but we recommend taking a taxi). We took an overnight ferry to Stavanger, Norway.
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