Europe is so varied and expansive that one could spend a lifetime trekking the landscapes and observing remnants of the historical heritage within. Whether from west to east or north to south - the variability is breathtaking. Thus, my travels throughout scattered parts of this vast continent feel equivalent to digging a hole with a toothpick. I have only covered a small portion of land as I prefer to spend more time in fewer places rather than check off a list as quickly as possible.

This gallery includes photography from Scotland (Isle of Skye), England (London), Germany (Köln, Füssen, München), Czech Republic (Praha, Kutná Hora) & Denmark (various parts of Sjælland Island) at the current time.

I experienced Scotland by train, bus & foot. Knowing that I wanted to visit the Northwest Highlands, and preferably an island, I decided to visit the Isle of Skye. I took the train up from Edinburgh. About thirty-minutes before arrival at Kyle of Lochalsh, the train broke down and terminated it's journey. This was the first of many run-ins with the notorious UK train system.

I ended up getting myself to Kyle of Lochalsh and then over the bridge to Kyleakin whereby I stayed the night at a hostel. The following morning, I ventured out and found that the fishing boats and the related early morning activity, along with the ruined Castle Moil, made for some nice, albeit rushed, shots as I battled off my first experience with midges (biting gnats) and hurried along to make an early bus.

I hopped on the bus enroute to Duntulum Castle - which is roughly located at the northern part of the island - and set off on foot in a southerly direction across various grassland/pastures, along rivers, over foot bridges and then up the very steep side of Sgurr Mor. I then generally followed along the ridgeline, overlooking the Quirang formations, and the typical tourist footpaths below. I tented next to a sheep carcass (was very difficult to find a suitable/dry tent spot) in a very scenic, but midge-filled valley a couple km east of the Quirang car-park.

The next morning I awoke to thick fog and set off for the south, continuing along the ridge. Strong winds kicked up, rains fell down, and before I knew it, I was battering down the tent hatches in what appeared to be one of the last good tenting locations on the ridge.

The next morning at 0430, there was some breakage in the cloud cover and I could see Uig to the northwest. I put on my pants, shirt and socks, all still wet (due to the significant humidity in the air which prevented drying), threw my dripping tent into my bag and set off. The winds grew stronger shortly thereafter, but the rain held off. As I increased elevation the cloud cover grew thicker and visibility decreased to 10-20 meters. The winds picked up considerably, pushing me sideways at times, an estimated 30-40 knots.

By about noon, the rain started to pelt down. With 20+kg on my back and shoulder, the hiking was becoming exhausting, both physically and mentally, as I had to keep resorting to the compass to figure out the direction to walk. I couldn't rely, as I had planned, on the ridgeline due to the severe winds and lack of visibility - walking along it for photos and navigation was somewhat out of the question at this point. Thus, I ultimately decided to leave the ridge as it appeared the weather wasn't going to let up anytime soon. I lacked a place to tent and couldn't properly navigate as I couldn't get enough visibility to see rivers and such below me, and couldn't really guess how far and quick I was walking due to the various disorientation issues and winds pushing me back & forth. Was I near Storr - where I had planned to come down? I had no clue.

I scrambled, slid and climbed down the steep grassy rock-interspersed slopes hoping to find a pathway down, avoiding precipitous drop-offs and the like. Still battling wind, although slightly less now being on the leeward west side of the ridge, and still getting hit by copious amounts of rain, it was still no good time for photographs - but the scenery was beautiful. Now that I wasn't in constant clouds, I saw a plethora of underground creeks, uncharted (per the OS Map) waterfalls, great rock formations, and all kinds of other spectacular things.

By nightfall, I figured out where I was and set up tent. The following morning I hiked to Storr, hung out for a little bit, and then took the bus down to Armadale via Portree, the ferry to Mallaig, and a train to Fort William. I had originally planned to hike from Broadford to Armadale - but due to the train & weather delays, improvisation was necessary.

The scenery between Fort William and Mallaig is utterly magnificient and deserves further investigation for certain. If you are in that area, I'd recommend taking that route whether via car or train.

When people recommend a compass and an OS map for this kind of thing - trust them. Those two items were my best of companions on this trip. If you get a shot to check out NW Scotland - do it (unless you aren't a fan of rain & variable/unforecastable weather)!

To enter the picture gallery, click here: Europe Photo Gallery