My journey through northern Europe

Many people have commented saying how unusual my choices are for my upcoming journey around northern Europe – or they simply give me a strange look when I tell them, but I am not just doing this to be different – or because I like the cold – I actually have quite good reasons for choosing the places that I’ve chosen. All the places are well-thought-out and I am excited about every place for very different reasons!

Faroe Islands

These beautiful islands, situated in the middle of the North Atlantic, have always been of great interest to me. I’m not exactly sure why, but I’ve always loved the Faroese language, culture and – of course – nature. It has always been one of my dream destinations, and in October 2013, I finally went there with my mum, on a Viking Cruise with Smyril Line (I can really recommend this btw).

Unfortunately, we were only there for 2 days, but we definitely made the most of our time! We experienced the capital city, Tórshavn the first day, and on the second and last day, we went on a bus ride through three islands to get to Klaksvik, the second largest city in the Faroes. I loved both places, but it wasn’t enough for me. I knew that I had to go back, and now I finally am.

Basically, when I go travelling, I want to see it all – and for that exact reason, I am going to try to see all of the 18 islands of the Faroe Islands – and I can’t wait! Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that there’ll be a total solar eclipse on March 20th either!

Iceland

Going to Iceland is like going back in time – to how Denmark once was. The language is similar to the ancient Norse language and the way of life is relaxed and unhurried. This little island has so much to offer and the nature is simply spectacular!

When my mum and I went on the Viking Cruise, we visited two small towns in Iceland: Seydisfjördur and Egilsstadir. Seydisfjördur stole my heart. I really love this small town for its coziness and remoteness, which is why I’ve chosen to spend the first night at this wonderful place before heading into the country, so I can experience the magical atmosphere that truly exists at this place once again. One day, I’ll get married there – I’m sure of it 😉
The rest of my time in Iceland has not yet been planned, although I do have a few places that I want to see, including Myvatn and Reykjavik. Also, I am relying on Iceland for the Northern Lights, don’t know why, but I just have a feeling that this will be the best place to see them!

Oslo

On the way to Svalbard from Reykjavik, I am having a stopover in Oslo, the capital of Norway, where I’ll be spending an afternoon. Even though I didn’t plan to visit Oslo, this touch down suits me really well, as I love European capitals and want to visit them all – and have yet to visit Oslo. I’ll spend the afternoon visiting all the famous sights and being a real tourist, before heading off to my next adventure near the North Pole.

Svalbard

I have always wanted to experience the extreme, and I don’t think that you can find anything more extreme than these completely remote islands with the northernmost settlement in the world. Svalbard is a beautiful, wild, cold and unexplored place on earth that I’ve always dreamed of visiting, but I never thought it would actually become a reality. But now it is and I am so excited!

Unfortunately, I only have 6 days on Svalbard, but since the hostel cost me 5000 NOK for the 6 nights, I really can’t afford to stay any longer. Since I’m only there for a short period of time, I have made sure that my time isn’t wasted, and therefore, I have spent another 5500 NOK on four amazing day trips: Dog sledding, glacier landscape hiking, ice cave hiking and a snowmobile safari to the abandoned Russian coal mining community of Pyramiden. The two remaining days will be spent exploring the biggest town, Longyearbyen.

Also, I am going to see the Midnight Sun!! I didn’t even think about the dates when I booked the flights to and from Svalbard, so I can’t believe my luck, as I found out that I’ll be leaving 1 day after the midnight sun period begins! And that means that I’ll be able to see it – and from what I’ve heard and read, it’s an amazing experience!
Svalbard will no doubt be the most expensive destination on my journey, but I’m sure that it’ll be worth it!

Northern Norway

From Svalbard, I’ll be flying to Tromsø, a big city in the north of the Norwegian mainland. Originally, I had planned to stay in Tromsø for two nights and had already booked a B&B, but I changed my mind, as I found Hurtigruten, which would take me to Svolvær on Lofoten Islands in 17 hours, starting at 1 AM on the day of arrival to Tromsø. Therefore, I cancelled my reservations in Tromsø and instead of two days, I’ll only have one afternoon to explore the city. This is fine with me though, as I would rather spend more time seeing the spectacular Norwegian nature. I’ll try to make the most of the afternoon and see all the famous sights in Tromsø!

The next stop will be Svolvær on Lofoten Islands, but the trip from Tromsø will be an experience in itself. The Hurtigruten ferry will take me down the coast of Norway and since I didn’t book a cabin for the night, I’ll be able to see the sunrise and experience the beauty of the Norwegian nature for the entire trip.

Prior to planning this journey, I hadn’t even heard of Lofoten Islands, but my dad had heard about them and gave me the idea to go there as well. I looked the islands up on the internet and fell in love with the untouched nature and the good potentials for hiking and kayaking. My plan is to camp while I’m there and just see where my feet take me.

Northern Finland

Sami people, beautiful nature and cultural experiences is what I’m expecting to get out of my trip to Finland! I have always loved the Sami way of life, and I really hope to experience it somehow. I haven’t planned the amount of days I’ll be vsiting Finland, where I’m going or what I’m seeing, but I’m hoping for some hiking and wildlife camping and plan to end up in Vaasa, where I’ll sail to Umeå in Sweden, where my next adventure starts.

Sweden

I am not planning to stay in Umeå, maybe just spend the day there, before heading on to the Swedish countryside in Norrland. Ever since I watched the film Ulvepigen Misa Mi, when I was 10 or something like that, I have been in love with Sweden and the enormous unpopulated areas with wilderness, forests the size of Denmark, foaming rivers, hills and wide plains. Here I’m also planning to do some hiking and wildlife camping and I really hope to see a wolf! If I see one, I will fly straight home – that is seriously all I want, haha!

Making my way through Sweden, I’ll – hopefully – end up in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, which will be the perfect place to end this amazing journey – and another capital to add to the list! If I have time, I would love to visit Gotland for a few days – I’ve even found cheap flights that will take me there and back to Stockholm for 700 SEK. Gotland has always been a dream destination of mine because of the medieval town of Visby, so if I could actually make it there, my journey would be completed and I simply wouldn’t be able to ask for more!

Afterwards, I think I’ll be ready to go back to Denmark and sleep in my own bed – or just a bed – again!

Since I haven’t booked everything in advance, the list of places isn’t set and could easily change, but these are the places that I reeeeally want to see, so I hope that I’ll make it to every one of them!

My journey starts in 11 days and you are invited to join me here on this blog!