My best travel moments of 2019

2019 was a year full of adventures in 19 different countries. I finally became location-independent after finishing my semester in Nuuk, and was able to travel whenever and wherever I wanted. This resulted in many incredible experiences and happy moments.

Every year, I reflect on my travels and look back on some of my favourite moments relating to travel during the year. The single moments that were unique and extra memorable. Whether it was a life-long dream such as visiting Chernobyl, or an unexpected sight such as a meteor in Nuuk, all of these moments shaped my year and made it one of the greatest yet. Here are my favourite travel moments of 2019:

Seeing a Meteor in Nuuk

I had been living in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, for four months when something incredible happened. I saw my first meteor! 

I was sitting in a warm room studying Bahá’í literature with two friends, when we suddenly all paused and stared out of the window with our mouths opened. We had seen a flash of light, turning the dark evening sky bright blue for a split second. 2,5 minutes later, we heard the bang, and we realized what we had just witnessed. A meteor – flying right above Nuuk and landing somewhere in the backcountry!

Exploring Chernobyl and its ghost towns

When my mum and I travelled to Ukraine in March for our annual mother/daughter trip, I just knew that we had to visit Chernobyl. I’d always been interested in the former USSR as well as radioactive disasters and ghost towns, and thus, I’d always dreamt of visiting Chernobyl and the surrounding ghost towns.

We spent a full day in the area on a tour, with a fantastic guide who gave us a good insight into the accident and its disastrous aftermath. Even despite reading about Chernobyl while growing up, I realized that I’d only just scratched the surface. The tour was eye-opening, eerie, sad, but most of all, memorable and educational.

Read more: An abandoned world: A visit to Chernobyl and its ghost towns

Conquering Mt. Slætteratindur, the highest mountain on the Faroe Islands

It took me ten visits to the Faroe Islands before I finally conquered its highest mountain, Slætteratindur. Not because I hadn’t tried before – I had just always been unlucky with the weather, namely fog.

But this year, during my six-week stay on Nólsoy, I finally did it, alongside two of my best friends in the whole wide world. Solveig and Mikkel had come to visit me, so I took five days off from thesis writing to go on adventures with them. One of the adventures was to climb Slætteratindur. It was a wonderful day with great hiking conditions and magnificent views over my favourite country.

Read more: On top of the Faroe Islands: Climbing Slætteratindur at 880 m

An adventurous hike on the Russian forest steppe

I had been on the forest steppe in Russia for five weeks for an archaeological excavation, but I had yet to hike the only mountain near the village we stayed in, Mt. Утиный Нос. We didn’t have much free time from the excavation, but on this glorious day, we had finished early as it had rained during the morning. So I finally got the chance.

I asked my new friend Eva if she wanted to join me, and together, we set off on the experience of a lifetime. It wasn’t a long hike, but it took us through (literally through!) river bends and rocks (in our socks!) until we reached the top of the small mountain and in return got the most amazing view over the forest steppe and Stepnoye, our beloved village. It was the perfect end to our Russian adventure.

Read more: Stepnoye from above: Through rivers and rocks to Утиный Нос

Understanding and loving Melilla

I had been on the go non-stop since beginning my summer explorations of Southern Europe in Milan a week earlier. I was in Melilla, a Spanish exclave in North Africa, and I was completely burned out – and I still had three weeks left of my journey! I spent most of my first day in Melilla figuring out what to do next, and decided to skip Morocco to spend more time in Melilla and my other planned destinations in Spain and Portugal.

I couldn’t have made a better decision. First of all, for my own health, but also because it allowed me to have enough time to explore Melilla thoroughly.

I had read about Melilla prior to coming, and I was not expecting to like the place – at all – due to its bad reputation following the immigrant crisis, where thousands have died trying to cross the fortified border into this small piece of Europe. Melilla didn’t seem like a pleasant place at all, but I was happily surprised by the warmth of the locals, the beautiful Modernist architecture, the interesting historic sights and the soothing ocean views. Melilla ended up becoming my favourite destination on my entire Southern Europe trip, both because the visit gave me my energy back and because it was so educational.

Read more: Inside Melilla, Europe’s last frontier in North Africa

Chasing my childhood heroine in Ayamonte

I was one of those kids who was a fan of many different musicians and actresses. And I’m not just talking about owning a cd or two – I’m talking about posters, t-shirts, caps, stickers, pens, fan websites, you name it, I probably had it.

Probably the strangest one on the list – due to me not being able to understand her language – was María Isabel, the Spanish girl who won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2004 with the (still awesome) song “Antes muerta que sencilla”. I LOVED her, I wanted to be her, but most of all, I wanted to meet her. But because I lived in Denmark, and she in Spain, it never happened.

Fast forward 15 years, and I suddenly find myself in Huelva, a city located just 52 kilometers from Ayamonte, María Isabel’s birth town. I remembered that a statue of her had been erected in Ayamonte, and I just knew that I had to see it. If I couldn’t meet her as a child, at least I could meet her statue as an adult! I have to admit that of all my childhood heroes, María Isabel is the one that I still secretly love. I even listen to her music once in a while. So to see that statue with my own eyes was truly a dream come true!

Read more: Childhood dreams: Chasing my heroine in Ayamonte

Reaching Kapisillit after four days of trekking in rough terrain

After six months of absence from Nuuk, I finally returned at the end of August, for a two-week visit. During those two weeks, I went on an incredible journey with two friends – trekking from the Ameralik Fjord to the village of Kapisillit, located deep in the Nuuk Fjord.

After four days of strenuous trekking on the worst terrain I’ve ever experienced, cold nights spent in mountain cabins and one extremely exhausted body (with numb feet), we finally made it to Kapisillit. We trekked 74 kilometers in those four days, something that my body obviously wasn’t happy about, so I can’t even begin to describe how wonderful it was to finally reach Kapisillit!

We spent seven hours in the village as we had to wait for our boat transfer back to Nuuk. After buying all the snacks we could find in the supermarket, we relaxed in the grass for a while before it starting raining. We decided to go to the only hostel in the village to ask if we could wait there, and we ended up having the most amazing time as a team of war veterans had rented the place and welcomed us with open arms. I’m a pacifist and therefore against war of any kind, but these men were such wonderful souls, who gladly shared their life stories with us. Meeting them was a very life-enriching and educational experience.

Read more: Into the Greenlandic wilderness: A four-day trek to Kapisillit

Sailing through the Sermilik Icefjord to Tiniteqilaaq

One of my favourite weeks this year was when my two friends Augusta and Eleanor came to visit me in Tasiilaq in East Greenland, where I did an internship for ten weeks! My favourite day of the week – and one of my favourite days this year – was when we took a boat to the tiny village of Tiniteqilaaq, located deep in the Sermilik Ice Fjord.

We sailed past enormous icebergs, saw some incredible reflections and followed dozens of seals until we reached the tiny settlement, where we spent the next four hours exploring. We then sailed back to Tasiilaq bathed in beautiful sunset colours. It was the perfect day!

Read more: Through the icefjord to Tiniteqilaaq: An East Greenlandic sailing adventure

Learning about Judaism in Jerusalem

I loved lots of things about Jerusalem. Everything, actually. But one thing that made me appreciate my visit the most, was the enormous amount of insight I was able to get into the Jewish traditions and the religion as a whole – all thanks to a friend I met while feeding cats!

I’ve grown up reading and learning about Christianity and Islam, but I never knew much about Judaism, and before going to Israel, I’d never even met a Jew. Therefore, for my five days in Jerusalem, I set out to learn as much as possible about Judaism. I explored the Jewish Quarter of the Old City on multiple occasions, visited a Jewish family and spent shabbat with a bunch of wonderful Jewish people (and a few non-Jews) from all over the world.

Read more: A very special Shabbat experience in Jerusalem

A very special Bahá’í pilgrimage

At the end of December, I went on an adventure that I’d been planning and looking forward to all year – a Bahá’í pilgrimage at the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa and Akká. It was a truly wonderful spiritual journey, taking me and my diverse worldwide group to many of the Bahá’í Holy Places.

I learned a lot about my new Faith on this trip, and made some wonderful new friends who I know I will keep in contact with forever.

Each of these moments were incredibly special to me and are what I will remember 2019 for. But the best moment of the year overall has nothing to do with travel, but is definitely worth mentioning here – I became an aunt for the first time to little Ellie! For this reason, 2019 will always be my favourite year <3