Places for active stuff in Europe

The autonomous archipelago of Åland is Finnish, but Swedish speaking. There are more than 6700 islands and many are connected with bridges. For longer distances there are an army of ferries (the smaller ones are free), some too small for cars. The capital is Mariehamn in the far west side. It's possible to arrive by ferry from Sweden to the far west side and traverse the archipelago by road, bridges and small ferries. Though such a trip is no longer than 200 km, it can take a couple of days with all the ferry connections.

Andorra has its fair share of ski resorts, where the biggest are Vallnord, near the border to Spain, and Grandvalira, stretching from the border to France and inland. Both are composed by several areas. Vallnord consists of Arinsal, Pal, and Ordino-Arcalis, while Grandvalira covers Pas de la Casa, Encamp, Grau Roig, Soldeu, El Tarter, and Canillo. During summer, Vallnord turns into one of the biggest cross-country and downhill mountain bike parks in Europe. And for those with less hunger for adrenaline, there are always the hiking trails with splendid views.

Everyone knows the Spanish pilgrim route the Camino, but have you heard about the Amarmino? To attract more people to the nature around Copenhagen clever marketing folks have named a 29 km long route on Amager, the Amarmino. The hike starts at DR-byen (the Danish Broadcasting corporation) in the north, just 4 km from Copenhagen Town Square, and follows trails across Amager until you reach the cute fishing village Dragør in the south. The route is surprisingly diverse and easy to follow as it's marked with signs all the way. The first section takes you past the new development at Sluseholmen and under the highways. From here the route follows the coastline for a while, before it takes you along meadows with grazing cows on a backdrop of Ørestad's skyline. The open landscape is an important bird sanctuary, where rar migration birds can be seen. The route then continues through woodlands and birch forest, until you again hike along the windswept coastline. The route breaks off into the forest at Kongelunden, where it swings by one of the big wooden giants made by the scrap artist Thomas Dambo. The last stretch follows the beach trail, which is wedged between houses and the Baltic Sea. Eventually you will end up in front of Dragør Badehotel, where the journey ends. It will probably take about 6-7 hours to do the full hike. Spend some time in picturesque Dragør before catching the bus back to Copenhagen.

The Skjoldungestien is considered one of the best hikes on Zealand. The 30 km route connects the train station in Hvalsø with the train station in Roskilde and takes you through some of Zealand's finest landscapes shaped during the last Ice Age. If you want to break the journey in two, Lejre station is about midway. The route has a few sections through villages and along roads, but else it takes you over rolling farmland, through lush forest and past tranquil lakes. The section closest to Roskilde goes along Roskilde Fjord and the coastal meadows there. The most beautiful part is probably through the Bidstrup forests and past Avn Lake (pictured). The peculiar name, Skjoldunge (in English Scyldingas), refers to the descendants of the mythical King Skjold, who is mentioned in the Icelandic sagas. However, excavations of several impressive royal halls (similar to the replica at Sagnlandet) do show that the land of the National Park of Skjoldungerne was once reigned by great and powerful men during the Iron and Viking Ages, so perhaps the ancient king really did live here in the distant past.

Just because you’re in Europe for summer doesn’t mean you have to miss out on some fun in the snow. Glacial mountains are scattered across the Alps and the resort of Les Deux Alpes is one such year-round playground. The village is nestled into the foot of surrounding mountains and offers an abundance of outdoor activities for the adventurous, all within a postcard picture setting. Apart from the huge terrain park and piste skiing runs at the soaring altitudes reaching up to 3600 metres, it is also possible to partake in a vast array of summer activities, most of them being of the extreme variety. The ski resort is open 11 months of the year, closing at the end of August in preparation for the upcoming winter, not due to a lack of snow. There is a large representation of English speaking foreigners residing either by the season or year round who can make the French language barrier just that little bit easier and make your visit an awesome experience.

The Pyrenees is a rather small mountain range, but every top and every valley offer amazing nature and great trekking opportunities. In summer the French Haute Pyrene (High Pyrenees) is lush with an ever-changing carpet of alpine flowers covering the slopes. Peaks and high passes can in the early summer still be covered in snow, which will then feed the many alpine lakes and roaring mountain streams through out the summer. Staffed refuges (huts) are abundant and offer food and a bed within a day's hike, so you don't have to lug tent and cooking gear. If you have the time and stamina it's possible to trek the GR10, Grand Randonnee, that traverse the full length of the Pyrenees from the Atlantic Ocean to Mediterranean Sea, an 866 km trek taking about fifty-something days.

The Peloponnese peninsula and, more specifically, the center called Arcadia is a beautiful hiking area. The area is dotted with small stone villages where nowadays only a few old people still live. It is a typical Greek landscape with plenty of olive trees. There are several day hikes you can do. One day hike starts at the renovated 17th century Filosofou monastery, which you can visit at the start of this hike. You have to have legs and arms covered to enter but these clothes are locally provided (and make a good picture). The hike then takes you through the Lousios gorge, following and criss-crossing the Lousios river. The end of the hike is near the archaeologic site of Roman Gortys.

If you want to cool down on a hot Peloponnese summer day you can head to the sea, ... or maybe better head for the Neda Gorge.
The landscape is spectacular and the great thing to do here is river trekking. You can do it organized where you wear wetsuits and you hike, clamber the rocks and swim in the pools for several hours. Alternatively, you can just hike through the last part of the river trek where near the end you can hike and swim through a bat-filled cave and up to some small waterfalls. A short trail at the end of the gorge leads up to another but even more idyllic waterfall for some more swimming and relaxing in and by the cool water.

For the water sports fan, this is one of the places to be in Greece. Vassiliki is especially known for its windsurfing. During most of the day there isn't much more than a gentle breeze, but in the afternoons the wind picks up for about 3 hours. This is because of the layout of the mountains where the hot wind is sucked down, which creates a nice steady and strong wind at one side of the bay of Vassiliki. There are plenty of other water sports to do such as sailing, sea kayaking to beautiful sandy beaches (where you can stay overnight) and there are nice dive sites around. Also mountain biking is a good option if you can stand the heat on land or come in spring or fall.

Diving in Iceland is cold, very cold. You will need to squeeze yourself into a drysuit, but you don’t need to have any previous experience of this, and many operators offer introductory drysuit courses – these are not always necessary, but highly recommended for less experienced divers. The rewards of getting under the surface are some absolutely unforgettable underwater experiences. At the top of most divers’ list is Silfra, in Thingvellir Lake. Why? First of all, you get to dive between the North American and Eurasian continental plates – you can literally touch them both as you swim through the crack between them! Also, the water here is some of the clearest in the world: 100m+ visibility, and the water is clean enough to drink. Finally, the underwater scenery at Silfra is mesmerizingly beautiful. There is very little animal life here, but it hardly seems to matter. Snorkelling is also possible here, but keep in mind that you will still need to wear a drysuit.