Michael S. Liberman

Iceland Day 2: DC to Reykjavik 

From Dulles … again!

Yesterday was a bit of a dress rehearsal. You know … drag the luggage down the steps, take an Uber to the airport, check the bag, go through TSA, have a glass of wine and catch up with Sue and Don, find out your flight is delayed, find out the delay means you will miss the connection at JFK to Reykjavik, book another flight connecting through London, wait to get checked bags back, miss the rebooking because it took so long to get the bags back, start making calls for a new flight, and finally take an Uber home.

But today we are booked on an Icelandair flight direct to Reykjavik, arriving early tomorrow morning. We will met up with the group then begin touring on the way to Hvammstangi. The group departing from Boston arrived in Reykjavik earlier this morning. They spent the day in Reykjavik seeing the city …

The shops and cafes of Laugavegur street

Bessastaðir the official residence of the President of Iceland

Hofdi House where Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev met for their 1986 Reykjavik Summit.

The Hallgrimskirkja Church observation tower viewing deck to see the city and surrounding mountains. Hallgrímsjirkja’s 73-meter height towers over Reykjavik. Dedicated to the Icelandic poet, Hallgrímur Pétrusson, the church is home to a 25 ton mechanical action organ.

Icelandic Saga Museum for a journey through key moments in Icelandic history.

As the capitol of Iceland, Reykjavík is the gateway to the island’s natural wonders, volcanic landscapes, geothermal pools, and coastal vistas. With our delayed flight Sue, Don, and I are missing this first day, but hopefully at the end of the trip we will have some time to get to know Reykjavik and its blend of vibrant cultural life, colorful architecture, street art, music, food, and small-town charm.

Iceland Day 1: DC to NYC to Reykjavik

From Dulles as we work our way through flight delays and arranging new flights to Reykjavik …

UPDATE: Sometimes things don’t go according to the plan. Our flight to JFK was delayed so much that we wouldn’t make the connection to Reykjavik. Rebooked through London, but missed that when we didn’t get our luggage back in time. Now departing on day 2. Flexibility is key!

Iceland … The origins for this trip may go back almost 30 years ago to our 1997 trip to Alaska. While we didn’t plan this trip way back then, it was the first time that Mickey, Donna, Patty, Sue, and me traveled together. Since then most of my international travel has been with Mickey and Donna, and Patty has been on several trips as well. But this time Sue is coming with Don and we’re heading to another cold weather destination … although it was very warm on our July trip to Alaska!

I’ve always been interested in traveling to Iceland with its unique climate and landscape, and because it’s not very far from my home in the DC suburbs. I’m looking forward to seeing the volcanic terrain and lava fields, glaciers, waterfalls, geothermal hot springs, and hopefully the northern lights. And maybe there will be some interesting foods to sample along the way!

Here is the itinerary …

And here is what I’m packing …
This is a shorter trip compared to some of my more recent international travel, but with waterfalls, northern lights, and colder/wetter weather this trip still requires careful consideration of what to pack to capture the best photos and video of a bucket list trip! I’m bringing the Nikon Z8 mirrorless camera with the Nikkor Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR zoom lens but also the Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 lens. For a faster ultra-wide option I’m bringing the Nikkor Z 20mm f1.8 S prime lens for landscapes, astrophotography, and the northern lights. I’ll need a tripod in those situations, so I’m also packing the Peak Design Travel Tripod. And also in the bag is the DJI OSMO Pocket 3 for timelapse video and situations that might benefit from a gimbal camera. I’ll bring the Apple iPhone 16 for GPS location tracking through the SnapBridge app. For backup I’m bringing the Clouzen Tainer with 2TB of M.2 SSD capacity. Although I’ve traveled with the Vanguard Kinray Lite camera backpack for many years, for Italy and Greece I carried the Gura Gear Kiboko City Commuter 18L+  but I found the roll top access really inconvenient, so for this trip I’m bringing the Shimoda Designs Urban Explore 25. I usually pack an assortment of shorts, t-shirts, and pullovers for travel, but with daily temps ranging from 35°F (1.7°C) to 44°F (6.7°C) and expected wet weather conditions, my clothing pack is very different. I’m bringing a lightweight base layer for each day, a fleece assortment for mid-layers, and a waterproof/windproof jacket and pants for the outer layer. Also a couple pairs of gloves and a couple hats.

A note about spelling …
Iceland has one of the most unique spelling structures using a latin alphabet that I have encountered. The Icelandic alphabet has 32 characters compared to the 26 characters found in the English alphabet. The Icelandic language is derived from Old Norse. For spelling on this trip I’m sometimes using Old Norse and sometimes Modern Icelandic.

While I’m traveling I will post daily updates here on the blog. If you want to get an email when I post an update subscribe by entering your email address in the subscription box. I’m looking forward to sharing these updates with you!

Essential Travel Gear for Italy and Greece

My last international trip to Israel was in April 2022. I noted then that because of the pandemic that it had been two-and-a-half years since my previous international trip to Brazil. Somehow it’s been another two-and-a-half years between Israel and the Italy and Greece trip. That’s a lot of time in the camera world – and no surprise that means a lot of changes to the gear I used on this trip.

Travel Gear and Workflow

So here is the Italy and Greece gear and workflow update. Every trip requires a carefully considered pack list that balances the demands of international shooting locations with the willingness (and ability!) to carry a certain amount of equipment. At three weeks this would my longest international trip by about a week. I spent a lot of time before the trip considering what to bring, how to carry it, and what I needed to do to ensure I came back from the trip with the photos and video I planned for.

As I did for Israel, Brazil, Southeast Asia, India, Cuba, Peru, South Africa, and Galapagos, here is an overview of the gear I carried to Italy and Greece followed by the photo and video workflows I used to handle the media files when I returned.

Italy and Greece Day 20: Boston to DC

July 21, 2024

From my laundry room …

This morning I checked out of the Courtyard Marriott and returned to Boston Logan for United Flight 2098 from Boston Logan to Washington Dulles departing at 9:30a.

I’m home by 12:30p and immediately out the door for a welcome home lunch from The Burger Shack and to stock up on groceries at Wegmans. A few hours later I’m unpacked and laundry is underway. I really enjoy traveling, but I also really enjoy getting home. And in the post-trip glow of feeling travel accomplished, it’s a good time to reflect back on the trip …

By far, in terms of days of travel, this has been the most ambitious international trip I’ve done. I left Virginia early on July 2 and I’m getting home nearly three weeks later. But also in terms of destinations … Venice, Florence, Orvieto, Rome, Vatican City, Capri, Sorrento, Pompeii, Tolo, Athens, Mykonos, Kusadashi, Patmos, Rhodes, and Santorini. Not to mention airports in London and Milan. Counting Vatican City, that’s five countries! (And just one passport stamp!)

And this trip did not disappoint. I’ve meant to get to Italy for years. It was amazing from start to finish and I should have done this much sooner. Each city had a different flavor. I enjoyed each one, but I’d really like to come back and see more of Venice, Capri, and Sorrento and maybe some other places as well.

This trip also provided the opportunity to see parts of Greece I hadn’t visited on my previous trip … Tolo, Olympia, Epidaurus, Mycenae, and the Corinth Canal. And the blue skies and blue waters of the Aegean Sea during our island cruise were really worth coming back to see!

But doing all this with a great group of travelers makes the experience special …

Brad has been planning and leading these trips for nearly 40 years. It’s a huge amount of work and he dedicates many hours before departure and during the trips to make sure that things go smoothly while we are traveling. You can see where his experience as a high school principal would lend itself to this sort of leadership role. He makes sure the logistics of getting a large group through airports, busses, ferries, funiculars, cruise ships, and subways always works, while letting each of the travelers experience these new places in their own way. And even though he has been to all of these places many, many times he always finds something new to enjoy. Commendatore!

During the trip, long time Explorica tour guide Bianca was responsible for complex logistical travel arrangements, managing a sizable group of travelers through crowded tourist sites and cities, working with our drivers Antonio and Costas, and the care and feeding of the group. A highly skilled and experienced travel guide, Bianca has been imparting travel wisdom and Bianca’s Rules for Love and Life to the youth of the world for many years. “I mean, hello!”

Juan is an Explorica employee from Mexico on the trip as an employee benefit and travelled with us on the Italy and Greece portion of the trip. He is extremely knowledgeable about the travel industry and offered great insight into touring along the way.

Terry, Beth, and Patrick have done a number of trips with Brad, but none of the trips I’ve done. Terry and Beth are medical professionals and their expertise was welcomed by the group on more than a few occasions. Patrick has a great sense for the finer things in life and he shopped hard. And Patrick slays the recovery. Twice!

Cory and Hannah both work in the education field and travelled with us on the Italy and Greece portion of the trip. My first trip with both and I hope to travel with both soon! Cory first traveled with Brad when he was a student at Milford HS. He might be a future trip leader at some point.

I’ve traveled with Bernie and Jess several times and they’ve done other Brad trips I haven’t been on. It’s always great to spend time with them and catch up on Bernie’s woodworking and Jess’s beekeeping. (I need to get some of her honey.)

Brian and Elaine are friends of Bernie and Jess. This was their first trip with Brad. Brian served as a local elected official for many years. Elaine is a talented painter. Dinner conversations with both were always interesting and thought provoking. And both are part of their local arts council.

Marguerite has been on every trip I’ve done and I really enjoy traveling with her. At the age of 77 she still teaches at Milford HS and plans to teach for a few more years. She always has an interesting story to tell and photographs everything while we are traveling.

Mallory has travelled with Brad previously. She’s working through college towards an education career. Midway through our trip we were joined by her sister Jordan who surprised Mallory by flying Greece for the Aegean Island cruise. Jordan did a study abroad program in Greece last year. Mallory slays tech support. Great to travel with these sisters!

I previously travelled with Greg on the Peru and Southeast Asia trips. He’s always extremely well read on the places we are traveling to. Although I’ve only travelled before with Greg, he and his family are all very experienced travelers on previous Brad trips. Kim and I have been connected on social media for years. She is the Milford HS librarian, passionate about books, and leader of impromptu Italian roadside rest stop yoga classes. Hugh slays drums and even sat in with the jazz band on the cruise ship. Sophie slays kitties, tech support, and social media. Occasional blog proofreader. Charter member of the M&M’S.

Michelle and I met on the trip to Peru and started planning for this trip several years ago. On a trip you need a travel buddy or two. Someone to explore a new town with, find a great lunch cafe with, and to commiserate with. And occasional blog proofreader! And Michelle is an outstanding travel partner! Always up for adventure, excellent taste in wine and cheeses, on the lookout for the perfect cafe, and a great sense of humor. Charter member of the M&M’S.

Now that I’m home I can start unpacking and get to work transferring the photo and video files. Lookout for the Italy and Greece workflow post soon! And thank you for reading along as we made our way through Italy, Greece, and Türkiye!

Italy and Greece Day 19: Athens to Boston

July 20, 2024

From Boston Logan …

After nearly three weeks touring, it’s time to make our way home. Today is our return day to the United States.

After a leisurely breakfast at the Polis Grand Hotel we check out at 9a for the bus ride to the Athens airport. Traffic is light on a Saturday morning in Athens. We’re on British Airways Flight 639 from Athens International to London Heathrow. Our departure is delayed nearly an hour to load baggage on the plane and due to “air traffic control restrictions.”

After a quick layover we board British Airways Flight 203 from London Heathrow to Boston Logan.

We arrive in Boston around 7:30p. It’s been a long day of travel! After we move through passport control it’s time to say our goodbyes. The rest of the group is making their way to communities in New Hampshire. I’m heading to a nearby Marriott before flying home to DC tomorrow morning.