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Bergen
Bergen, Norway was the perfect way to end our honeymoon. It was different than any city we had visited, and we shared many memorable moments in the port city. One of our favorite moments took place at a bar and cafe while trying to escape the rain. We enjoyed beer, coffee, waffles, and awesome Norwegian music.
Another cool feature of Bergen is all of the street art. We are huge fans of this art medium, and we enjoyed going on a scavenger hunt to find pieces all over the city.
Oslo
Our first stop in Norway was in Oslo. Oslo is a beautiful, clean city. While there, we were able to balance the outdoors with art and history. We visited the Vigeland park which housed more than 200 sculptures showing humans in a variety of capacities. We also made a trip to the National Museum to view The Scream. Our other major destination was the Viking Ship museum. This was probably our favorite stop. The museum is well set up, and a video presentation is impressive and informative. Besides visiting these places, we mostly enjoyed the city by foot.
The biggest shock we experienced in Oslo was the prices. It was nearly impossible to eat out and have a meal for less than $100 for two people. Beer was about $15 for a standard lager. Although we thought Oslo was very beautiful, we were not expecting such high costs.
Copenhagen
The third destination on our honeymoon was Copenhagen. This was the city I was probably most looking forward to visiting, and it did not disappoint. We spent three nights, but a week would have been better.
Below are the pictures from my DSLR. I took many more with my phone because this place is so photogenic. This will give you a good taste of Copenhagen. Stay tuned for a podcast to come out soon about this fun city.
Warsaw
The second destination on our honeymoon was Warsaw. Warsaw and its people are very resilient. It is a city that on the brink of prosperity, saw destruction that came by bomb in 1939. Since then, it was a long, and not always successful fight whether you were a Jew forced into the ghetto, a member of the Home Army, or a resident of Warsaw dealing with the occupation. We took in not only the beauty of the city, but also its history.
Since seeing The Zookeeper’s Wife, we knew we wanted to visit the Warsaw Zoo. We had been intrigued by the World War II history, and we sought out sites to help us learn about the past. While at the zoo we went on a detailed tour that walked us through the Zabinski home, and showed us how they helped save hundreds of Jews from the ghetto.
The movie also made us more aware of the Warsaw Uprising. There are markers all over the city talking about how the 50,000 urban soldiers fought back against the Germans. They took the city over after a few days, but German reinforcements destroyed the Home Army since very little aide was supplied by the allies. There was a great museum that walked us through the timeline and showed how the people did not want to give up their city.
After the heart-breaking loss during the war, the terror continued with the days of communism. We did not have enough time to delve into the effects of communism in Warsaw, but we could see how once again the people could not be free.
This city has been rebuilt after nearly 85% of the city center was destroyed in World War II; first from the bombing, then from the destruction caused by the Germans as revenge for the uprising. They tried to rebuild it the way it was; even accounting for imperfections like leaning buildings. Although this part of our trip was faced with some challenges, like the language barrier, the difficulties were far outweighed by our experience here. The food, the history, and the atmosphere are all definitely worth another visit someday.
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Check Me Out on Etsy
It is so exciting to see my business come together. My business name is currently being published in the newspaper to become official. My amazing fiancé made a logo for me that I feel truly captures who I am. Next up, we have Etsy! I’ve had a shop on Etsy for a while now that featured my graphic design work, but now I have a shop specifically for my travel photography business. Take a moment to check it out and let me know if you’d be interested in me working with your photos.
I recently made a Venice print for myself. Below are the images I used and the final product. I think this is a great way to capture the essence of a place and its memories in one image. Perhaps you need one in your home!
Building a Business
The Liberated Traveler has returned! Although it has been a few years, I identify as the Liberated Traveler more than ever. I’ve recently started the process of starting my own business under this name. Sometimes we can’t travel as much as we’d like, so traveling needs to come to us. The goal of my business is to keep our travels memorable.
Although I will offer a variety of keepsakes, my business’s primary service is travel photo editing. When traveling to far off lands, we often capture hundreds of images that later remain locked in our devices. Let those pictures out! I will take your photos (whether taken with a camera or phone) and enhance them to professional-like quality. From there, they will be available for download or purchase. I will also put together keepsakes that will make the most out of your images that can be available for purchase. Here is an example of how photos can go from lack luster to feeling like you are there again.
One of the travel keepsakes I’m most excited about is custom word art prints. These custom travel word art prints are a great way to display the essence of a trip. I take your photos and mask them with letters so multiple images can come together to create a print. I’m excited to make a shadowbox from a couple trips I’ve gone on. Stay posted for this exciting keepsake. Here is a print I made for my aunt with her images.
New Post: Travel Journey of the Week
Since my subscribers are still being transferred, I thought I’d share this week’s travel journey. I hope you join me!
New Post: Venice of the North
While I’m waiting for my subscribers to be switched over to my new site, I thought I’d share with you a post I did today about the Venice of the North: Bruges. Check it out :).
Liberated Traveler 