About The Best Viewpoints and Jarda Zaoral

The Best Viewpoints brings together practical travel guides, my personal adventure stories and photography from Europe’s mountains, Scandinavia, European cities and occasional adventures beyond the old continent.

I started the blog in 2018 during my European Peaks expedition. Since then, I have shared hiking routes, winter adventures, scenic walks and viewpoints, together with the details that help you plan your own trips.

My aim is to show you what an adventure is really like: beautiful views, challenging weather, mistakes and lessons learned. Explore Hiking & Mountains, European Peaks, Scandinavia and European City Guides to find inspiration for your next adventure.

I’m Jarda Zaoral, a landscape and wedding photographer, guide, elopement planner and writer from the Czech Republic. I have lived in Sweden since 2012 and visited 70 countries, exploring mountains, cities and remote landscapes along the way.

Before building my photography and outdoor career, I worked as a business consultant at the Czech embassy in Stockholm. Today, I create the guides, stories and most of the photographs you see here.

My wife Joanne is also a writer and helps me edit the articles, improving the English and making the stories and practical advice clearer. She is also my biggest support behind the scenes. The Best Viewpoints is an important part of our life together.

The adventure that started this blog was European Peaks. During 2018–2019, I climbed the highest point of every European country which means all 45 mountains in the 47 countries in my project, completing the expedition in 361 days. It changed my life and became the foundation of my first book.

Here are some of my other favourite adventures in Europe:

• Czech mountain ranges: climbing the highest peak of every range above 1,000 metres, in both summer and winter. These journeys became the foundation of my second Czech book, Koruna Česka.
• Lofoten Crossing: a ten-day journey across the islands with camping equipment.
• Kungsleden, Abisko–Nikkaluokta: travelling the route in both summer and winter.
• Örebro–Stockholm: skating more than 200 kilometres on natural ice in two days.

During six months abroad as a student in Macau, I explored Macau, Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Myanmar.

My backpacking travels have also taken me through the United States, Canada, Chile, Bolivia and Peru.

The biggest adventures happened in the mountains:

• Patagonia: completing the O Trek in Torres del Paine.
• Stok Kangri, India: climbing a mountain above 6,000 metres.
• Everest Base Camp via Gokyo, Nepal: trekking through the Himalayas.
• Kyrgyzstan and Georgia: hiking in their mountain landscapes.

These journeys give me practical experience to draw on when writing about preparation, equipment and what to expect outdoors.

Alongside mountain adventures, I enjoy exploring cities, finding viewpoints and discovering the everyday details that make travelling interesting. That curiosity is also behind the city guides you find on this blog.

I completed Adventure Academy’s training programme in Sweden and now contribute as one of its educators.

Before starting my own company, I spent three years working as a natural-ice skating guide for a Stockholm company that organised skating courses. I also hold an ice knowledge certificate from Stockholm’s skating club, SSSK, and have completed the Wilderness First Aid course with NOLS Wilderness Medicine.

Since 2024, I have organised my own Nordic skating trips and winter skiing adventures in Sweden.

Photography is both my profession and an important part of my adventures. My work includes landscapes, weddings, elopements and architectural photography.

I have completed two landscape photography courses with Jan Šmíd, Master QEP, alongside image-editing courses at Swedish universities. I also attended a wedding photography workshop with Way Up North in Lofoten and have continued learning through their wedding photography conferences.

Explore my photographs and the different projects I work on through my Jarda Zaoral photography portfolio.

I am the author of Koruna Evropy and Koruna Česka, published in Czech by CPress under my full name, Jaromír Zaoral. They bring together my European Peaks expedition and my journeys through the Czech mountains.

An English edition of my European Peaks book is a future project. I am exploring a new publisher and considering self-publication.

I have shared the stories behind European Peaks, my books and life in Sweden in interviews with broadcasters and cultural organisations. Here are a few conversations where you can learn more:

• Radio Prague International: my European Peaks expedition – interview in English.
• Czech Radio Olomouc: 45 summits in 361 days – article and radio interview in Czech.
• Czech Centre Stockholm: European Peaks and my life in Sweden – interview in English.

My love of landscapes, photography and outdoor adventures also comes together in Wedding with Adventure, where I help couples plan and photograph elopements in Sweden and across Scandinavia.

If you want to know more, explore my elopement photography and planning packages, or book a free consultation to talk through your ideas.

With the growing usage of AI images and AI generated text, it’s important for me to note that almost all the photographs here on my blog are my own, taken during the adventures I share. I don’t publish AI-generated images. When I use photographs from friends, colleagues or other sources under licences that permit their use, I credit them in the caption.

I develop all my articles from my own travels, outdoor adventures and photography experience. AI helps me only with structure, wording, spelling and grammar. The experiences, opinions and recommendations are my own. I review the final content, and Joanne helps me edit the articles.

Travel details change. Before your trip, check official sources for current transport, opening dates, prices and access rules.

If you notice outdated information or a mistake, please use the contact form below or email info@jardazaoral.com. Include the article link and the detail that needs checking so I can review it.