The Katla volcano in Iceland.

Continuing on my theme of what I’ve enjoyed about living internationally, here’s part two. And in case you missed it, you can also check out part one of fun things I’ve gotten to do thanks to living in Sweden. Even the process of pulling together these photos makes me realize all over again just how lucky I am to have the opportunity to live abroad.

6. Thanks to my job on Scanorama magazine, I traveled to Reyjkavik, Iceland. This volcanic island is a land of extremes, from its landscape to its people to its light. Waterfall, geysers, hot springs, mud pots and the continental divide, this land simmers with underground activity. The Blue Lagoon is my vision of what a spa on Mars might look like – it’s both magical and odd. It was only after Robert and I had been floating in the murky waters of the lagoon for about an hour that we realized that everyone around us was getting a lot of action. Some sort of aphrodisiac  must have been in the air or water?

Vineyards in the Moselle valley.

7. A German friend from Swedish class got married to a Swedish man in the German wine country outside of Mannheim. And lucky for us, we got to go along for yet another special event. The ceremony was at a historic town hall and then immediately afterward, they sawed a log together to signify the tough work they would need to do together in their marriage. There were homemade cakes and champagne and then more later when we got to the hotel. It was a crazy hot day and the day after was even warmer as we did a sparkling wine tasting in a vineyard by ancient Roman ruins. We went to a few wine festivals and yes, we drank a lot of wine. It was such an amazing trip in a beautiful part of the world and we were lucky to get to see the sights with the locals.

Enjoying the archipelago view from the front seat of a helicopter.

8. I’ve gotten behind the scenes tours and done food and drink tastings at all sorts of interesting locations around Stockholm, from castles and palaces to the city hall. But one of my very favorite press trips ever was one that I did for Volvo. After cocktails at the luxurious Grand Hotel, I was picked up by a yacht directly outside the hotel. We drove out to our very own archipelago island and got to swim and use the sauna. After a spectacular meal outside, we were picked up by a helicopter to go back to town. We landed on a helicopter pad on the water right by Gamla Stan (the old town). I’ve never felt quite so much like a rock star.

Dog sledding at the Arctic Circle.

9. I’ve travelled to the Arctic Circle four times, twice in the winter. Summer is amazing thanks to the 24-hour light. But winter, now that is something really special to experience so far north. (Actually, I am partial to going in the spring when there is still plenty of snow around, but the daylight hours are long.) Snowmobiling, ice fishing, dog sledding. Reindeer hanging out on the roads and cooked up for dinner as well. What’s not to like about being in a winter wonderland?

10. Thanks to Robert’s work, we travelled to Shanghai, China and stayed for two weeks. It was so different from anything I expected. And I loved it. People were curious and friendly and asked to have their photos taken with me. Shanghai was this crazy mix of old world vegetable carts being pulled by hand on busy highways next to giant skyscrapers. Because I missed my flight home, I had to spend two days in Beijing on my own. Even after all the exploring I had done on my own in Shanghai, it was a little overwhelming at first. But I hiked the Great Wall of China by myself. In the snow of November. And that was awesome.

Our drive through the Mosel Valley was filled with vineyards.

One of the main reasons that I wanted to move to Europe was to be able to easily visit the rest of Europe. I wanted to do all sorts of long weekend travels – to go shopping in Paris, do a wine tasting in Tuscany or see an exhibition at the Tate Modern.

Although I moved a bit more north than I intended to in my dreams, I can still fly to Paris, London, Frankfurt and more in about two hours. In Germany last Sunday, we had breakfast in Germany, lunch in France and dessert in Luxembourg. And then we were back in Germany for a late dinner. I call that living my dream life.

The lunch in France was spectacular, by the way. We dined al fresco at Auberge de la Klauss in Montenach and had food specialties from Lorraine: cold meats, pates, salads, cheeses, potatoes, bread, all acoompaneid by some local white wines. It was all so good. I wish I could have dinner there now.

Vineyards in the Moselle valley. Photo by Robert Corkery.

Staying in the German wine country, it was bound to happen. But I still think we did overdo it a bit… and by that I mean that Robert and I came home with eight bottles of wine and two bottles of German liquor. We did a lot of wine tasting, plus secco, champagne and beer. We drove through vineyards, met with vinters, toured wine cellars and even went to a fantastic wine festival called the Herxheim Weine and Sekt Symposiomin. It was all so very good. Now I need to stop for a few days. But it’s summer and old friends will be over tonight. So maybe I’ll wait another day…

Even in the shade, it was over 100 degrees for our wine tasting.

It was a relief to move inside to the wine cellar, where it was so much cooler. The Wolf family has been making wines in Bad-Dürkheim since 1791.

In the vineyard, winemaker Michael Wolf led us through tasting a selection of whites and then we moved into the cellar to try the reds.

After the ceremony, Nici and Roger got down to the hard work of being married by sawing a wood block, together with a little help from Nici's dad and brother.

Our friends Nici and Roger got married on Friday. Although they live here in Stockholm, they were married near Nici’s hometown of Mannheim. There were only 15 of us at the cermony, which took place at the historic Rathaus or town hall in Deidesheim. Afterwards, the newlyweds followed an old German tradition and sawed a log to symbolize the tough working together they will need to do in their marriage.

Then we had champagne and homemade cakes by Nici’s mom, stopped at a nearby vineyard, then had even more cakes and champagne, followed by a wonderful dinner later.

Celebrating with a beer after the ceremony.

Grattis Nici and Roger!

Walking up to the Rathaus, Nici and Roger have their last minutes of being single.

The front of Deidesheim's historic rathaus.

Neuschwanstein is one amazing looking castle. Photo by Robert Corkery.

I’m not a big fan of the “see 10 countries in 10 days” approach to travel, mostly because you don’t then see anything at all. But on this trip, we did get around thanks to the German autobahn.

On Thursday, we got on the road early to continue our journey, stopping in  Mittenwald to take the Karwendel Bahn cable car to 2,244 meters or 7,362 feet for a hike and view of the northern alps. There was still snow in patches at the top, even though the day was sunny and warm.

Robert checks out the view from the top of Karwendel Bahn.

After crossing the border into Austria, we stopped in the Tyrol at Seefold for lunch at Alt Mösern, a restaurant with a panoramic view over the mountains. Both the beer – Stiegl –Salzburger Paracelsus Zwickl and the tomato soup – prepared in two ways and served in two small pots  – were fantastic. We did not want to leave.

The view from our table at Alt Mösern in Austria.

As soon as we crossed back into Germany, we stopped at Schloss Neuschwanstein or as it’s more commonly known, the Disney Castle. Although this place was definitely touristy – and packed with more Americans than I’ve seen in a long time – it was fun. We skipped the inside tour and instead walked around the grounds to check out what is truly an amazing looking castle – and I’ve seen a lot of castles!

Schloss Elmau looks so perfect it doesn't seem real. Robert was awarded a stay here as a PhD student and wanted me to see it as a surprise side trip. Photos by Robert Corkery.

The view around us at Elmau. We took an easy hike around the castle grounds and wished that we could stay longer.

After leaving Oberammergau, we drove deeper into the German Alps to the Alpengut Elmau hotel. Our balcony had a fantastic view of the Wetterstein Mountains and after a hike, we had a glass of wine there. Finally, we both were beginning to relax in the mountain air.

Dinner was at Schloss Elmau, which has an exclusive spa and resort. Although the meal was a buffet, it was by no means your typical buffet, but rather a gourmet meal including a creamy soup of bell peppers, stuffed antipasti and fillet of sea bass. And of course, there were several desserts that I had to try. But we didn’t linger as we wanted to catch the second half of the Germany world cup match with Spain. We watched at the Schloss with a room-full of Germans who had to drown their sorrows in beer over the loss.

Pilatushaus in Oberammergau.

Oberammergau was one of those places that I wasn’t sure that I wanted to go to as it is so super touristy. But while there were plenty of tour groups, it apparently was not so crowded as usual as the famous passion play was not being performed that day. Thanks to this, we could wander the streets and easily check out the brown and white stucco gabled houses, many with spectacular religious frescoes painted on their facades. (The passion play has been performed by the inhabitants of this town every 10 years since 1634 as a thank you to God for saving them from the bubonic plague.)

A close up of one of the Pilatushaus murals.

We ate lunch outside at a beer garden overlooking the beautifully painted Pilatushaus. Dating from 1784, the murals were trompe l’oeil in style, featuring turrets, cupolas and staircases. Drinking JW Augustiner: Brau Munchen beer – the brewery was founded in 1328 – and enjoying the sunshine and view made for a great afternoon.

It felt good to be back in Germany. I had forgotten how pretty it is.

One of the many great beers we had in Germany: JW Augustiner: Brau Munchen.