My worst travel moments of 2021

2021 was another total mishap of a year – for obvious reasons. But unlike last year, my travels weren’t really affected by Covid as I didn’t plan anything too far in advance (I learned my lesson!). Travel-wise, I had a lucky year. I didn’t have any scary moments like in 2016 when I was awoken by earthquakes two nights in a row in Fukuoka. Or like in 2017 when I ran into two aggressive boys on a mountain in Albania. I also didn’t have to go to any foreign hospitals like in 2018 when I was bitten by a street cat and had to undergo rabies treatment. And I didn’t have anything stolen like in 2019 in Bilbao when three idiots stole my bag with everything important in it. Much like last year (with the exception of those cancelled trips…), 2021 was kind to me on my travels. But of course, it was not without a few bumps along the road.

Below are my worst travel moments of 2021.

A thunderstorm on the Austrian trails

For a week in the summer, my family and I settled in the tiny village of Sesselebene, in a scenic valley nestled beneath the Austrian Alps. One day, my mum and I decided to hike back home after a visit to the village of Kappl, located six kilometres from our village. We followed narrow trails that took us along the edge of a mountain, through lush forests with waterfalls cascading down the mountainside. It was all very beautiful, but the low-hanging clouds were a warning.

It wasn’t long until the heavens opened and we got caught in a thunderstorm. The rain poured down, and lightning strikes got closer as we rushed to make it back home to safety. It was a scary moment, especially being so high up but we made a wise decision and got down as soon as we could. We did eventually make it back to Sesselebene – drenched, but safe.

A most disgusting Airbnb experience

In September, I was supposed to visit Haderslev in southern Denmark with my mum and grandmother, but we turned around quickly after arriving.

We’d booked a lovely and cozy Airbnb (or so we thought) as a gift for my grandmother’s 75th birthday, for what was supposed to be a relaxing weekend away.

Unfortunately, the Airbnb was nothing like we’d imagined. Sure, the location between the forest and the ocean was amazing, but every corner of the apartment was dirty. There were spiders in the corners, cobwebs and long hairs on the walls and dust and dirt everywhere. We even found the shell of a snail under one of the mattresses! It was by far the worst Airbnb I’d ever been to in terms of cleanliness, and we felt so uncomfortable that we just couldn’t stay there under those conditions. We tried to reason with the host, hoping she’d send over her cleaning staff, but she rudely told us to get out – and that she didn’t see anything wrong with the cleaning (despite me sending her lots of photos)… So we left the same evening that we’d arrived, and drove the long way back home (we ended up driving 268 kilometres for nothing except a good story to tell).

Thankfully, the Airbnb team were quick to refund us, and we’ve postponed our trip for April – and an entirely different location!

Some serious FOMO in Svaneti

Svaneti was my favourite destination of 2021, and trekking the popular trail from Mestia to Ushguli with A and Lukas was one of my favourite experiences. Unfortunately, we never quite made it to the end.

Shortly after reaching our guesthouse in Iprari on the third night of the trek, we were given the news that a landslide had blocked the road to Ushguli, leaving us with a very difficult choice to make. If we finished the hike to Ushguli (a short four-hour hike was all we had left in order to finish the entire trek), we might get stuck in the village, and Lukas and I might miss our upcoming flights. We ultimately decided it wasn’t worth it – and thankfully, we heard from other hikers that we missed the least beautiful part, so that did make us feel better.

But for some reason, I just couldn’t let go of the fact that we missed out on Ushguli. I felt sure we’d missed out on the most beautiful part, even if everyone else said the opposite. It was difficult to come to terms with, and for the first time in my life, I realized I’d fallen victim to FOMO (‘fear of missing out’), a real phenomenon that more and more people are experiencing in this world of endless opportunities.

Rationally thinking, I know we didn’t miss out on anything truly significant. There is a whole world out there to experience and no one can ever see it all. But if I ever have to listen to some smug traveller tell me that we “missed out on the best part”, I might just punch them…. a little.

Lugging a heavy backpack around Yerevan

Because I spent so much time in Georgia (Svaneti in particular), I did miss out on a huge part of Armenia that I’d planned to see (but funny enough, I didn’t feel any FOMO for that…). In fact, I only got to spend an afternoon in Yerevan, the nation’s capital.

And I did all the exploring with a large, heavy backpack on my back, and a smaller one hanging from the front. Sure, I looked like a total idiot, but the worst thing was the back pain that came creeping as I made my way from the Blue Mosque to the historical district of Kond, through the Vernissage market to the Republic Square and up the 572 steps to the top of the Cascade to watch the sunset. The last one, in particular, wore me out.

Was it worth it though? Sure, I think so – but my back didn’t agree!

Shoeless through the streets of Novi Bečej

In October, I travelled to Novi Bečej in Serbia to work on archaeological prospections of nearby prehistoric sites. One day, I set out along with the team to a faraway site to do a geophysical survey after a heavy rainfall. Along with Henning, Romy and I volunteered to start with the magnetometer on a field with high grass, and we immediately got soaked. Henning was fine with his good boots, but Romy and I were drenched within seconds. Our shoes had puddles in them, and our socks were soaked through along with our trousers. We had no other choice than to return to our guesthouse despite the long drive, so we could change and avoid getting ill.

Once we got back to the guesthouse, we quickly changed and I – stupid as I am – hadn’t brought any other shoes with me to Serbia, so I wandered around the town in socks looking for new – decent – shoes. I got a few stares, but it actually felt surprisingly okay. Romy found some new trousers and socks, but we couldn’t find any useful shoes. Thankfully, our project director Martin knew of a place so we drove there on the way back to the site, and he treated us to a new pair of wellies each. Our feet were never wet again!

Sad in Novi Sad

When the project ended, I travelled to Novi Sad for a few days of alone time, thinking I would need that after two weeks of sharing a room and constantly being with other people. But instead, a familiar feeling crept up inside of me – a feeling of emptiness, something I always experience when I’m left behind during my travels. I miss people so much that I don’t know what to do with myself.

Unfortunately, it affected my time in Novi Sad. I tried to make the most of my time in the city, visiting all the sights I’d planned to see beforehand, going for a hike in the nearby Fruška Gora National Park and even exploring an abandoned castle, but I never really felt like myself in the city.

A hike in total darkness – and falling on my butt five times

A hike was what I needed to cure myself from the empty feeling I felt while in Novi Sad, and while it certainly helped, it also came with a few mishaps of its own.

For my visit to Fruška Gora National Park, I walked 21 kilometres, and over an hour of it was through the forest in complete darkness. Why? Because the explorer in me took over, and when the highest peak in the park didn’t provide me with the views I’d dreamt about, I decided to hike much further than planned to a viewpoint marked on the map, even though I knew it would mean hiking in darkness afterwards…

I did make it to the viewpoint – and it was as beautiful as I’d hoped – but the rest of the hike afterwards was not enjoyable to say the least. As if hiking through a forest – alone – in darkness wasn’t bad enough, I also wasn’t wearing hiking boots and I had to descend down a steep hill which sent me flying no less than five times! I got back to the hostel eventually, but not without a few bruises on my butt to remind me of the crazy adventure I’d just had.

The kidnap scare in Novi Sad

In the morning of October 25th, I left Novi Sad behind and caught a bus to Vienna. It wasn’t as smooth sailing as I’d imagined as the bus never arrived to the bus station where the ticket said to be. Some minutes after departure time, a man came over and asked if I was Melissa, and then guided me to a taxi. Reluctant to get into a taxi driven by a man on my own, I demanded to know what was going on. Neither of them spoke any English, but then another guy stepped out from a different car and explained that the taxis would take us to the bus. Ok, I thought, but I was still nervous and found myself checking to make sure that the other car was following us all the time. The taxi drove for about twenty minutes along what seemed like very random streets before finally stopping in the middle of nowhere, far outside the city centre. And sure enough, there was the bus, waiting for our arrival! I will never quite understand what happened there, but the main thing is that I got to Vienna safely – many hours later!

Honestly, I felt like I was about to be kidnapped when the bus didn’t arrive and I was asked to get into a taxi – alone – instead! You may think I’m overreacting here, but a girl travelling alone can never be too careful. Thankfully, everything worked out fine but those nervous moments definitely weren’t pleasant!

A challenging time in Thetford

2021 was a tough year for my family as we lost way too many loved ones. In December, I travelled to England with my younger brother Brandon to attend the funeral of my mum’s cousin Jason, taken from us way too early, and to say goodbye to his mother who passed over just four months before him.

As much as I enjoyed revisiting Thetford and spending time with my English family, it was a tough few days. Farewells are always hard but I’m thankful I was there.

Thetford Priory, one of my favourite places in the town

Farewell, pretty ring

Losing stuff always sucks, but especially when these things have sentimental value. Well, while waiting for my flight out to Berlin from Stansted Airport, I lost my beloved amber ring that I purchased from a Christmas market in Riga back in December 2019. I left it in the bathroom after taking it off to wash my hands….

I knew exactly where I’d left it when I realized it was gone. By then, I was sitting in the plane that was just about to take off. Teary-eyed, I remembered all the times I’d misplaced that same ring but always gotten it back somehow. Just recently, in Serbia, I left it in the bathroom at a restaurant, and the waiter later found it and asked around for its owner… We were reunited. But our story ended at Stansted Airport. I emailed them but nobody has found it yet. Hopefully someone is getting joy from it now. Eventually, I decided to buy a new ring in Berlin with a green gemstone, and I actually love it even more than the amber ring. I also decided to get over it because after all, it’s just a ring.

It’s the ring pictured here that I sadly lost at Stansted Airport

This sums up my recaps of a very different and challenging year for all of us, where I got to travel a fair bit and learned a lot about myself and my wants in life. 2022 is already well under way, and I’m excited to see what it has in store for me and for the world situation!