Michi Photostory: bridge

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April 10, 2022

Trip to Vallersund Norway

Vallersund is a village located at the far end of the ocean in the municipality of Ørland Norway. When I first visited this place, it was part of Bjugn Kommune but after they merged, it is now under Ørland. Its landscape consists of islands, islets, rock formations, and fjords.

Vallersund Gård or Vallersund Farm

Vallersund Gård or Vallersund Farm was an old coastal trading center but since 1981, it is known as a Camphill Village. This place was based on Rudolf Steiner and Karl König’s “Anthroposophy” (wisdom of human being). The village’s main goal is to have a community where people can realize their full potential and feel that they are needed in this world. People with and without special needs form this housing community, they work together on the farm, vegetable gardens, workshops, and do household chores. There is a workshop here for people with disabilities between 18 and 25 years old.

This place is like a self-sufficient community because they plant and harvest their own crops. They take care of farm animals like cows, sheep, pigs, and chickens. They pick flowers and herbs which they dry and prepare to produce tasty products. They also have a bakery where they baked pieces of bread and pastries. And lastly, they have their own weaving mill where they weave textile products. You can buy their products at their shop. I already blogged about this place, five years ago so you can read more information here.

The Unite Hope Angel or Angel of Peace

Just like in Austrått, there are so many things that you can do in Vallersund Farm. If you like hiking or climbing mountains, then visit the Unite Hope Angel or Angel of Peace. This angel was sculptured by Lehna Edwall, a Swedish artist. This project began in the year 2005 and its goal is to spread love, light and hope to all mankind. The first seven Unite Hope Angels were simultaneously set up in different countries such as Australia, Canada, Mali, Peru, Russia, and Vanuatu. The angel that you see in Vallersund is the 13th angel, you can read about our hiking experience here.

Vallersund Gård Windmill

Five years ago, we had already seen this windmill at Vallersund Gård but we were already exhausted after climbing the mountain just to see the Unite Hope Angel so we did not bother to check the windmill view. But last month, we revisited this place and were able to see the beautiful view from the other side.

I don’t like hiking so my mom tried to persuade me that this is worth a hike and she even said, na hindi lahat nakakakita ng windmill. But I immediately told her na meron kami windmill sa Ilocos. Hehehe! Anyway, these windmills supply energy throughout Vallersund Gård. From afar, you can see the bridge and islets.

Read: 4 Days Trip in Vigan, Laoag, and Pagudpud

Jøssund Bridge

We made a quick stopover to take a picture of Jøssund Bridge. This is a single suspension bridge that was built in 1939 in replacement of the 1907 old bridge. This place is a favorite fishing spot for both Norwegians and tourists during summer days. You can catch saithe, kelp, and salmon.

Vallersund Street Art

On our way home, we noticed some street art and according to my mom, it was painted by a famous artist. As per my research, it was painted by Asbjørn Rødberg, all paintings have a local coastal culture theme.

Watch the video here

May 24, 2018

Bridge Between Two Continents in Iceland

Our third day in Iceland was exhausting because we did the Golden Circle Tour but I have no reason to complain because I enjoyed our trip to Thingvellir National Park, Geysir, and Gullfoss. I thought that it was our last itinerary for our Iceland trip but out of the blue, my cousin (second cousin) persuaded us to visit Bridge Between Two Continents.

My second cousin loves to explore Iceland so he is very knowledgeable about all the tourist spots. He was willing to tour us around on our fourth day because it was his day off from work. Unfortunately, we’re going back to Norway on that day. How I wish we had more time to visit other places. So if ever you are going to Iceland, make sure to allot one week.

It was already late at night but off we went to Reykjanes to see the bridge between Europe and North America. It was evening already but the sky is still clear, sa tototo lang hindi ko nakita na dumilim sa Iceland, maybe dahil maaga tulog ko?

If you are getting a tour, it can be part of Reykjanes Peninsula Tour but if you are renting a car, you can just go there. It is open and no entrance fee. It is just a few minutes walk from the parking lot.

When you see the bridge, you might say that “This is it?”. You won’t appreciate the small footbridge but if you know why it is there, you will learn to value the bridge. This bridge is not just an ordinary bridge. This bridge is clear evidence that the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates are drifting apart. It is estimated that the plates drift apart around 2cm/year or 2m/100 years. That is the wonder of nature, the earth moves and reshapes.

The Bridge Between Two Continents was opened on July 3, 2002. It is a symbol that illustrates the phenomenon of continental drift. The small footbridge is 18 meters long and 6 meters in height.

It was a surreal experience.

1. This bridge connects two continents, Europe and North America.
2. You can see and stand between the two continental plates above sea level. I can’t imagine that I’m standing between two continents.
3. I can go to Europe and North America in less than a minute.
4. When you cross the bridge, you see an information board “Welcome to the North American Plate” and “Welcome to the Eurasian Plate”

Welcome to the Eurasian Plate

Imagine yourself standing on the Eurasian Plate, Earth’s largest continental tectonic plate. The plate contains some of the oldest rock formations in the earth’s crust, in East Siberia on the most expansive plains on Earth.

The North American plate is drifting to the west away from the Eurasian plate, widening the Atlantic Ocean in the process. In the east, the Pacific and Philippine plates flow under the Eurasian plate and form an arc of the volcanic island. In the south, the Indian and Australian plates are drifting to the north. The collision of these plates forms the highest mountain range on Earth, the Himalayas.

Welcome to the North American Plate

Imagine yourself standing on the North American plate, Earth’s sixth-largest continental tectonic plate. Around 200 million years ago, it was joined with the Eurasian, African, and South American plates until this supercontinent, known as Pangaea, started to break apart. The Atlantic Ocean began to form to the south between Africa and South America about 135 million years ago, while the separation of the North America and Eurasian plates began around 65 million years ago.

The western part of the North America plate has some fairly young mountains where it collides with the Pacific plate. The eastern part of the plate, on the other hand, has the Appalachian mountain range that formed more than 250 million years ago when the supercontinent Pangaea was forming.

5. No visa is needed to cross North America. Wow, I’ve been to America without a visa. :)
6. Don’t forget to go down the bridge. America to the West and Europe to the East.
7. I saw some love locks on the bridge. I wish I had an extra lock and my husband was in Iceland too.

I’m so happy to experience this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Better to include this in your itinerary if you are going to Blue Lagoon or before going to the airport. You only need a few minutes here. You can also see the tectonic plate at Thingvellir National Park, it is located in Mid Atlantic Ridge too.

Read: Reykjanes Peninsula Tour in Iceland
Icelandair Experience
Blue Lagoon in Iceland
The Golden Circle Tour in Iceland
The Great Geysir in Iceland
Breathtaking Gullfoss in Iceland
Thingvellir National Park in Iceland

December 04, 2017

Reykjanes Peninsula Tour in Iceland

Iceland is one of my dream destination so I have a lot of places that I wanted to visit. Prior to our trip, I researched and read a lot for our itinerary but I was not able to use it. We did not book any tour for our Iceland Trip because my aunt (cousin of my mom) said that they will tour us so I just go with the flow.

Reykjanes Peninsula Tour will give you a glimpse of UNESCO Global Geopark where you can see hot springs, lava fields, craters, cliffs, black sand and geothermal activities. If you will book a tour, you will visit the following places, the places may vary depending on the tour operators that you will choose.

1. ON Geothermal Energy Exhibition
2. Strandakirkja - a small church in the area.
3. Geothermal area of Krysuvik
4. Gunnuhver - active hot spring
5. Brimketill - where you can see the huge waves from the Atlantic Ocean.
6. Grindavik - small fishing village
7. Reykjanesviti Lighthouse
8. Bridge Between Continents
9. Blue Lagoon

In Reykjanes Peninsula alone, there are so many interesting places to visit but we were only visited few places. During our first day, after we ate in my aunt’s house, we went back to the airport to pick-up my uncle (he works at the airport) and then he drove us around Keflavik and Reykjanes. One thing I noticed, walang kapuno-puno o halaman sa area. Just like in Norway, walang traffic and ang daming open space.

Check my video here so you can have a Glimpse of Reykjanes Peninsula.

Strandakirkja Church

During our road trip, we were able to see the small church in Iceland in Strandakirkja. I just don’t have a picture since we did not stop there. But do you know the reason why there is a small church in that coast?

Once upon a time, there was a farmer who was in danger, he was about to crash into the rocks but he prayed to God and promised that if he would survive, he will build a church in that shore. An angel appeared and rescued him to the shore. As he promised, he built a church. There was a church in that area since 12th century, the one that we saw was a new version.

Gardskagi Lighthouse

At Gardskagi, you will find two lighthouses. There is one small lighthouse and one big lighthouse. The small lighthouse was built in 1897 so it is the older lighthouse. It is low so it is not affected if there is a fog but since it was near the coastline, sometimes it is not visible if there is a seastorm. It now serves as bird observatory so you can see a lot of birds in the area too.

In 1944, they build another lighthouse which is just a few meters away from the small lighthouse. This is the highest lighthouse in Iceland.

Rostin Restaurant is a famous restaurant in the area, which is open from 11:30 to 20:30.

There are a lot of fishing boats here because Reykjanes is known for the fishing industry.

On the road, we noticed a lot of rock stones and we even saw this one. My son told me “Mommy, this is not Iceland, this is Rockland”. hehehe! Maybe, he was expecting that this country is full of ice but we found rocks.

I don’t know the name of this place, but you can see the view of the city here and even volcano from afar. According to my aunt, they go here if there is snow, pwede magski.

Lava Fields

Reykjanes is known for lava fields so this is the reason why you don’t see a lot of trees or plants here. Mahirap mabuhay sa bato ang mga halaman di ba? Though I’ve seen few trees, bilang lang sa daliri. Most of the time, you will see moss around the area.

Blue Lagoon

Blue Lagoon is the popular tourist spot in Iceland, it is one of the 25 wonders of the world. It is near the airport so if you want you can go here straight from the airport, just make sure that you already book your appointment. We went here during on our second day in Iceland.

Read: Blue Lagoon in Iceland

Bridge Between Two Continents

There is nothing spectacular when you see the “Bridge Between Two Continents” because all you can see is a bridge. But knowing that this bridge connects two continents, North America and Europe, you will feel impressed. This bridge connects two land masses or two continents. Wow! I will share our experience in a separate post.

Read: Bridge Between Two Continents
Icelandair Experience
The Golden Circle Tour in Iceland
The Great Geysir in Iceland
Gullfoss in Iceland
Blue Lagoon in Iceland
Thingvellir National Park