Sunday, August 23, 2026

A Northern Europe Cruise, Four New Places on the Map, and 35,000 Finds

August 2–9, 2026 · England, Scotland, Norway, and Iceland

I hadn’t planned to mark 35,000 finds at an event in England. I’d planned to get to Southampton and get on a ship. Then bapierson and I spotted an event close enough to the cruise terminal to fit in before we sailed. A week later, when we were supposed to be waiting at the airport in Iceland, we decided we could fit in a whole city. Apparently that was the kind of vacation we were having.

We sailed on the Norwegian Star from Southampton to Reykjavík. I came home with firsts in England, Scotland, Norway, and Iceland. The things I remember best about those firsts are who I was with and what each stop gave us time to do.

August 2 · Southampton, England

First in England: US 250 UK – Mayflower 1620, Southampton (GCBTJVA). This was the event I marked as my 35,000th find. Southampton was where the Mayflower and Speedwell set out together in 1620, and the event was close enough to the terminal that bapierson and I could meet the host and talk with local cachers before boarding. There were four-legged attendees, too. I felt right at home.

Stone walls and the tall spire of St Michael’s Church in Southampton under a blue sky. — St Michael’s Church in Southampton, one of our stops before we sailed.Photo by Steven Pierson · Original log

We spent our time ashore walking around Southampton’s old town. We stopped at Church Micro 11312… Southampton – St Michael (GC81DPR), met the owner while working on Cataclasites (GC82XZR), and got a generous nudge from the owner of Hamtun Street Mural (GC81GFQ) when it came to the Wherigo final. I’d barely started the trip and already had a reason to remember the streets around the port. August 3 was a day at sea, so we had time to settle in before Orkney.

August 4 · Kirkwall and the standing stones of Orkney, Scotland

First in Scotland: Kirkwall West Pier (GC5RC4W), the first Scottish find in my logs. The three of us went ashore in the rain, and the pier put a smiley on the map right there on the waterfront.

Our excursion took us out into the Neolithic landscape of Orkney. At the Ring of Brodgar, the standing stones curved away across the wet, open ground. In our pictures the hills behind them almost disappear into the gray. The circle dates to the third millennium BC. It’s one thing to read how old it is and another to stand there, looking from stone to stone and thinking about the people who put them there.

We also walked through Kirkwall, where the old stone buildings and narrow streets gave us a different piece of Orkney’s history. Odin Stone Kirkwall (GC5YB63) was one of our stops, and War Memorial #2104 ~ St Magnus Kirkwall (GCAT4PY) gave us a reason to look closely at the stone by St Magnus Cathedral. Construction began in 1137. We went inside, where the rows of sandstone arches made me glad we’d taken the time to go past the front door.

Steven and bapierson in rain jackets stand below the ornate sandstone entrance to St Magnus Cathedral. — A damp day outside St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall.Photo by Steven Pierson · Original log

August 5 · Bergen and a short hike on Mount Ulriken, Norway

First in Norway: Vestindien (GC2EXCB). We recognized the way two people were searching from our seats on the hop-on, hop-off bus. We gave them a friendly nudge and watched them make the find. We put Team LEGOhead in the log ourselves too. bapierson called it her first in Norway too, and LEGOexplorer logged it with the team. It turns out geocachers are just as easy to spot from a bus in Bergen as they are back home.

Rain came and went as we explored the city. We stopped around the fish market, visited Sjømannsmonumentet (GCAJGEQ), and spent time on the waterfront at Bryggen i Bergen (GC892K3). The rows of colorful wooden buildings in the old Hanseatic wharf have been rebuilt after fires, but the narrow lanes and long rows still follow the old plan. It’s a place worth walking slowly enough to see the gaps between the buildings.

A row of red, yellow, and white wooden buildings lines Bergen’s Bryggen waterfront beneath misty hills. — The colorful wooden buildings along Bergen’s Bryggen waterfront.Photo by Steven Pierson

A Team LEGOhead stamp is held up in front of Bergen’s Sailors’ Monument. — A Team LEGOhead stop at Bergen’s Sailors’ Monument.Photo by Steven Pierson · Original log

The part of Bergen I’m happiest we made time for was a short hike with my son, LEGOexplorer, up on Mount Ulriken. At 643 meters, it’s the highest of the seven mountains around Bergen.

Steven, bapierson, and LEGOexplorer pose together on Mount Ulriken with Bergen and its harbor below. — Taking in the view over Bergen together.Photo by Steven Pierson

We got a picture of the three of us with the city below, and he and I walked a little farther on the rocky upper terrain. There were small pools tucked among the rocks. From up there we could see the harbor, the ships, and the neighborhoods squeezed between the water and the hills. We’d been seeing Bergen from street level. I’m glad we also got a little time together seeing it from above.

Hikers pause on a rocky ridge on Mount Ulriken beneath an overcast sky. — Along the trail on Mount Ulriken, high above Bergen.Photo by Steven Pierson

August 6–7 · A day at sea and a change of plans in Akureyri, Iceland

We spent August 6 at sea and crossed the Arctic Circle before our day in Akureyri. The plan was whale watching, but the excursion was canceled. We took the hop-on, hop-off bus around town to try and stay out of the rain, browsed the shops around the square, and did a little caching in the rain.

First in Iceland: Akureyri wall of words#1 (GCB275Z), the first Icelandic find in my logs. We also found Landnemar (GCBA9PJ) in town. Then we took an excursion to Goðafoss, where Genesis of Goðafoss (GC4DGTX) and Columnar Basalt at Goðafoss (GC8GM84) had us looking at the rock underneath all that rushing water. I’d been looking forward to the whales, but the falls made a good case for leaving some room in the plan.

Steven stands in a dark rain jacket below the broad white cascades of Goðafoss. — Goðafoss made a fine place to spend a rainy afternoon.Photo by Steven Pierson · Original log

August 8 · Ísafjörður from the ship

We were supposed to tender ashore at Ísafjörður to see Dynjandi waterfall and Icelandic horses. Rough seas canceled the tender, so our view of the Westfjords came from the ship. I took photos of the port from aboard, then we spent the rest of the day at sea. That’s part of cruising, although I’d been hoping to see the horses.

August 9 · Reykjavík, the Blue Lagoon, and one last bus ride

We got off the ship in Reykjavík and made time for the Blue Lagoon before the flight. We soaked in the warm water and worked in Bláa lónið – Blue Lagoon (GC25643) and a look at the Grindavík Lava Flow (GCAWAHD). The black lava and the milky blue water were enough for a last day all by themselves.

Then LEGOexplorer, one of my sisters-in-law, and I caught the airport bus into Reykjavík for one more walk. bapierson and my other sister-in-law graciously stayed back with the luggage. We saw Hallgrímskirkja (GC9MHQQ), stopped at the Monument of Jón Sigurðsson (GC891NV), and got back in time to log Þotuhreiður (GCBJ777) at Keflavík Airport before the flight.

I came home with a few more places on the geocaching map. When I think about the trip, though, I picture the rain at the standing stones, the harbor from that hike with my son, and the cachers who made us feel welcome on our first day in England. Finding a way to spend a little extra time in those places was the part I wanted to bring home.

Field Notes

Trip · August 2–9, 2026
Route · Southampton, Kirkwall, Bergen, Akureyri, planned Ísafjörður tender stop, and Reykjavík
With me · bapierson and LEGOexplorer on the port outings, with bapierson at the Southampton event
Milestone · Southampton’s Mayflower event (GCBTJVA) · marked as my 35,000th in my original log
Logged on the trip · 35 geocache finds and one event attended
Missed port · Rough seas canceled tendering at Ísafjörður