1,000 Places to See Before You Die

For Christmas Brian gave me a "1,000 Places to See Before You Die" calendar, adapted from the traveler's book (same title) by Patricia Schultz. We have the book too (the 2003 edition) which has just been updated for 2010. I love the book. I think it's a great guide to planning an itinerary wherever you go. There are great tips, history and suggestions.

Here are the first three countries highlighted in our 2011 calendar.

image from http://www.photoatlas.com/

January: Baltic Beauties - the suggested itinerary consists of: *Tallinn, Estonia *Saaremaa Island, Estonia * Riga, Latvia *Jurmala, Latvia *Vilnius, Lithuania and *Trakai, Lithuania.

I have never been to these countries. They were once Russian provinces and then Soviet republics but have been independent for 20 years.  The calendar says that Tallinn is a medieval and turreted city and that Saaremaa Island is rural and "a step back in time". Riga, Latvia is a gem undiscovered by tourists and Jurmala is the best-known beach resort on the Baltic. The two suggested cities in Lithuania are described as being very fairy-tale-esque.

image from http://www.metrolic.com/

February: French Polynesia - suggested itinerary: *Papeete, Tahiti * Moorea *Bora-Bora * Rangiroa * Marquesas Islands

The pictures shown for this month are gorgeous. Apparently Tahiti is the most common starting point for itineraries. The calendar suggests catamaran-ing to the island of Moorea (which is what James Michener writes about in Bali Hai. I am actually reading a Michener novel, The Covenant, and will be blogging about that soon!) and then flying into Bora Bora. Rangiroa is one of the world's best diving and snorkeling destination. The Marquesas Islands are some of the most remote inhabited islands on Earth. Sign me up for this vacation!

one of many fjords (my pic)

 March brings us to NORWAY!: suggested itinerary: Bergen, Voss, Stalheimskleiva, Gudvangen, Sognefjord cruise, Flam.

Norway, I have been to. We went with Brian's mother's side of the family in July 2007. We spent a few days is Oslo, used the above mentioned Flam Railway to Bergen and then cruised north on the fjords all the way to the North Cape. So we basically did the itinerary above. Living in North Dakota where most citizens have a Norwegian/Swedish background, the people of Norway looked like the people I see everyday in Grand Forks. (The blond-haired, blue-eyed people).

1 of 13 hairpins (my pic)

Bergen is the medieval capital of Norway and is on the water but also surrounded by mountains. The calendar suggests taking the Bergen Railway to Voss. We cruised up to Voss and then (matching the 1000 Places itinerary) hopped on a tour bus to Stahlheimskleiva Road driving along 13 hairpin bends. The rest of the 1000 Places itinerary is about going through the fjords (which we did) and then taking the Flam Railway back into Oslo.

the midnight sun. this photo was taken at 1am

The Flam Railway is one of the prettiest train trips. You train through the countryside pass streams, mountains and waterfalls. The cruise through the fjords is also breathtaking. We went during the summer so we were able to cruise during the "Midnight Sun". If you go far enough north, the sun doesn't really set - it looks like dusk so it's never truly dark. It was pretty cool. We used the cruise line -the Hurtigruten. Excellent cruises - but if you are thinking "Carnival Cruise line" you are mistaken - this  is definitely more of nature cruise so it's not a floating casino/party.

the "Midnatsol" ship of Hurtigruten

A few more days until next month!