My travel year of 2020

While 2019 was my busiest travel year ever with 263 days spent abroad, 2020 was quite the opposite. I don’t even have to tell you why. I had big plans for 2020 after finishing my Bachelor’s degree in January. I was going to move to Greenland to work as a tour guide over the summer and later on an excavation, and I was going to visit friends in Norway, travel around the Middle East and explore Switzerland and Liechtenstein with my mum. None of these things happened.

I never dreamed that I would spend seven out of the year’s twelve months in Denmark. Never. But that being said, I actually really enjoyed my time at home. I loved rediscovering my own backyard, and I appreciated slowing down for a while, even if it wasn’t voluntarily. Even though 2020 was tough on most of us, I feel like I got the best out of the troublesome year. I was still able to travel quite a bit, especially during the summer when case numbers were low in northern Europe, and towards the end of the year, I spread my wings and moved to a new island to start my first ever “adult” job at an excavation. 2020 definitely wasn’t all bad!

In 2020, I managed to visit five countries (besides Denmark) as well as an exclave and three pene-exclaves, five of them new. I lived and worked in Scotland for a while, explored Denmark thoroughly during lockdown, got to know my neighbouring country of Germany very well over the summer, took a roadtrip through the Alps of Germany and Austria’s pene-exclaves with a quick detour to Switzerland and the German exclave of Büsingen am Hochrhein, spent four days on the German island of Helgoland in the early autumn and spent an entire month hiking on the Faroe Islands. And then I moved to Lolland to start my new life! Here’s a recap of my travel year of 2020:

January-March: Scotland

The year started off with 2,5 months of living and working in Scotland, my last adventure before Covid-19 hit Europe and forced us all to stay put for months. I feel so lucky that I was able to have this adventure before everything went haywire!

I flew to Inverness, the “capital” of the Highlands on January 3rd, and caught a bus to the Isle of Skye the next morning. My younger brother Brandon met me at the bus station, and a few days later, we started our new job at the Isles Inn in Portree where we also got a room each for free! Throughout January and February, we spent most of our days working at the pub/restaurant, befriending the local regulars and some of the last tourists on Skye before lockdown. When we weren’t behind the bar or serving food for our guests, we were out exploring the island, trying to see just about everything. On February 1st, I started my year-long challenge of walking at least 15,000 steps per day, something that “forced” me to explore even more of Skye, even on stormy days!

We hitchhiked around the Trotternish peninsula, climbed Ben Tianavaig for a panoramic view over Portree, walked the Scorrybreac Circuit, visited the magical Fairy Glen, searched for dinosaur footprints near Staffin, climbed above the majestic Old Man of Storr, met a seal on the Black Rock, hiked through the Cuillin Mountains to the Fairy Pools, spent a rainy day out at Neist Point Lighthouse, hiked out to Coral Beach, took a trip to the mainland to explore Eilean Donan Castle and then walked over the bridge back to Skye, joined a friend of ours and her dad on a hike to Brother’s Point, went on two adventures with a colleague and his two dogs to a secret beach and into the Quiraing and so much more!

February was also the month when we finally visited the neighbouring island of Raasay, which quickly became a favourite of mine. We spent two full days on the island where we walked the historic Calum’s Road to Arnish, hiked to the abandoned tidal island of Fladda, climbed the highest mountain on the island and hiked to the abandoned village of Hallaig.

March came, and it was time for our last week on Skye before heading to the Outer Hebrides for a wonderful six-day roadtrip. Sleeping in the car most nights, we kept costs down as we drove 627 miles through eight islands from the tip of Isle of Lewis to the bottom of Vatersay. We explored vast sandy beaches, discovered hidden archaeological sites, went for hikes in the moorlands of the Uists, explored the incredible cliff formations of Mangersta, played pool in tiny atmospheric bars, saw planes land on the only beach runway in the world on Barra, visited the lighthouse at the Butt of Lewis, saw the majestic Calanais Standing Stones and so much more!

We arrived back in Denmark on March 13th, the day that the country went into a full lockdown. We had actually planned to fly home on that day anyway, although only for a short holiday before flying out again for new adventures. But that wasn’t to be.

April-June: Covid-19 lockdown in Denmark

Over the next four months, I stayed put in East Jutland, my home region in Denmark. I decided not to let Covid-19 get in the way of living my best life. I wasn’t going to spend time being sad about not being able to travel; instead, I kept myself busy by working in a supermarket as a corona-substitute and spending my free time rediscovering East Jutland and the beautiful islands that dot the surrounding sea. I spent my birthday with my family at Himmelbjerget, hiked through Søhøjlandet with my brothers and sister-in-law, visited Mols Bjerge National Park with my family, explored the old houses of Den Gamle By in Aarhus and went on my first ever solo off-trail trek from the beginning to the end of the local stream, Odder Å.

During these months, I also made lifelong changes as I finally committed to losing weight and lost 10 kg, and also started my journey towards a more sustainable life with the purchase of a Fairphone and several zero waste items. Oh, and I finally got myself a proper backpack for future adventures (about time, huh?…). As for the blog, it also went through some changes as I set up a new layout and FINALLY started using Lightroom for my photos!

But the most exciting thing that happened during lockdown must be the phone call I got from the local tourism board, offering me a position as a local ambassador! Over the spring and summer, I went on my first ever paid trips to promote tourism in my beloved home region. This position made me venture to the island of Endelave, where I went horseback riding and chased wild rabbits on a 21 km hike around the island. I also went on a three-day bike ride around Horsens Fjord and ate my way through the island of Tunø with my friend Amanda! My favourite destination was Endelave, where I returned at the end of June to celebrate Summer solstice with my new local friends and my aunt!

July-August: Germany, Austria and Switzerland

July arrived along with low case numbers in Europe, and I quit the job at the supermarket to embark on my first overseas adventure in months. But first, I went on the two last sponsored adventures in East Jutland, first on a 36 km solo hike along a newly inaugurated trail from Odder to Horsens, and then on a kayak journey on Horsens Fjord with my friend Mads!

On July 20th, it was finally time to hit the road and head to Germany for a five-week adventure! The first week was spent amongst friends at a wonderful Stone Age gathering in Albersdorf. Then I joined my family for eight days in Stralsund, Greifswald and the islands of Rügen and Hiddensee on Germany’s gorgeous Baltic Sea. We hiked along majestic chalk cliffs and through ancient beech forests, explored quaint villages with cobbled streets and colourful turf-roofed cottages, caught a ride with an old steam train to Rügen’s famous seaside villages, drove the entire length of Prora, the world’s longest building, and hiked through hills to a secluded lighthouse!

My family dropped me off in Lübeck on their way home. There, I stayed for the next five days, trying to get over my sudden homesickness which arose from not having anyone to talk to at the hostel – solo travel has definitely become more lonely due to Covid-19! Luckily, I was able to snap out of my travel blues for a while during visits to the islands of Fehmarn and Poel where I walked and walked and walked. Nature is the best cure!

When my time in Lübeck was up, I headed south to Munich over a 14-hour journey on six different trains. I picked up a rental car there after exploring Munich for a few days, and then set off on an epic two-week roadtrip, first through the German Alps and the Austrian pene-exclaves of Hinterriß and Eng, Jungholz and Kleinwalsertal. I slept in my rental car most nights and spent my days hiking to castle viewpoints, around alpine lakes, through a gorgeous foggy valley and up Mt. Sorgschrofen, to its summit which is the only point where Jungholz is connected to the rest of Austria!

The journey continued to Lake Constance where I explored the Pile Dwelling Museum in Unteruhldingen and discovered the rich cultural heritage on Reichenau Island. Switzerland with its picture-perfect city of Stein am Rhein was up next, and I also found time for an evening visit to the Rhine Falls, Europe’s largest and most powerful waterfall! My main reason for going to this corner of Switzerland was to visit the tiny German exclave of Büsingen am Hochrhein for a drink at a restaurant that sits on the border between Büsingen (Germany) and Switzerland!

I continued up north through the fairytale region of Schwarzwald (‘the Black Forest’) where I climbed a mountain above the quaint timber-frame village of Shiltach. Then I drove further north to Langenhain near Frankfurt to see the Bahá’í House of Worship, while stopping at quite a few UNESCO sites en route! I then turned back east to explore the northern parts of Bavaria with its famous fairytale towns of Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Bamberg, before driving to the cultural city of Weimar, chasing more UNESCO sites along the way and visiting a very special museum in Halle where I got to see the Nebra Sky Disk!

My sightseeing tour concluded in the Harz Mountains with a stroll through the picturesque towns of Quedlinburg and Goslar and a hike along a romantic forest trail. I ended my roadtrip with a long drive north of Berlin to visit my friend Maria, a wonderful end to my summer journey before heading back home on the train.

September-October: Helgoland and the Faroe Islands

September was a slow month, mostly spent at home, but I did go on a few trips. My family and I spent a day on the island of Samsø where we explored the gorgeous nature of Nordby Bakker, tried to find our way out of the world’s biggest maze, visited a prehistoric canal and a historic mill, and climbed to the top of a lighthouse for a panoramic view over the island.

Some days later, I went on a five-day trip back to Germany. I rented a car in Denmark and drove down south, stopping by Denmark’s only UNESCO town, Christiansfeld, which was founded in 1773 by the Moravian Church. I crossed the border near the farm Vilmkærgård, which is located in Denmark but can only be reached from Germany! I drove down south to the prehistoric border fortifications of Dannevirke, initiated in the Iron Age when the area was part of Denmark. I spent the night at the Stone Age park in Albersdorf with some friends before catching the ferry to Helgoland the next morning.

Helgoland is quite a special place, the only offshore archipelago in Germany, which is well known for its red rocky landscapes. I spent four days on the archipelago which consists of two small islands, one of them inhabited only by seals and birds. I loved my time there as I had plenty of time to relax and take things slowly, often visiting the same places twice. I walked around both islands, met grey seals chilling on a sandy beach, watched gorgeous sunsets and sunrises over the red cliffs, photographed flocks of northern gannets and explored the colourful town which is home to 1300 souls.

On October 1st, it was finally time to return to my beloved Faroe Islands after my planned April trip got cancelled. I spent the entire month of October there, hiking more kilometers than ever, 455,5 km in all to be precise. I chose to focus entirely on Vágar where I stayed in a cozy hostel with a cute cat, although I did take a few trips to Eysturoy and Streymoy to visit some friends of mine.

I had a goal of climbing all 41 mountains on the island during that month. I “only” managed to climb 35 mountains, but I also went kayaking on Lake Leitisvatn and hiked many other trails that took me to famous viewpoints such as Drangarnir, Trælanípan and Múlafossur from above, but also to many hidden gems and places that I’ve long dreamt of visiting such as the abandoned villages of Víkar and Slættanes, the latter of which took 50 km of trekking over two days to reach! Despite being on the Faroe Islands in off-season and during a pandemic, I met quite a few people at the hostel, and many of my adventures were shared with them. It was an incredible month!

November-December: Ærø and the move to Lolland

November arrived and I started getting ready for my next big move, to the southern Danish island of Lolland where I’m currently working on an archaeological excavation. But first, I spent a few weeks relaxing at home, and went on a weekend trip to the island of Ærø with my mum. We were supposed to go on a roadtrip through Switzerland and Liechtenstein, but when that was cancelled (for the second time…), we chose Ærø as our alternative. We both loved Ærø and had some amazing days of hiking in gorgeous nature, exploring the quaint village of Ærøskøbing, chasing archaeological sites and discovering Ærø’s colourful beach huts.

A few days later, I started my journey towards Lolland, arriving in the late afternoon at my new home, a beautiful farm two kilometers from the town of Rødby. I’m living with a lovely family that have a cat, two dogs and four puppies! Paradise for an animal lover like me! I’m really loving my time on Lolland so far; I love my job and I’ve enjoyed exploring my local area on hikes and bike rides as well as a day trip to the islands of Askø and Lilleø!

Six days before Christmas, I travelled home to East Jutland to spend Christmas and New Year’s with my family. I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a fantastic new year!

So what does 2021 have in store for me? I honestly don’t know. For the first time in five years, I have zero travel plans. I have many ideas, but it all depends on when the travel restrictions will be lifted. All I know for sure is that I’m staying on Lolland (at least) until the end of February, and I will be doing lots of exploring of both Lolland and the surrounding islands in the weekends!

But there’s always room for dreams, and those include another month or more on the Faroe Islands, a return to Greenland, visiting my friends in Norway, finally getting to roadtrip through Switzerland and Liechtenstein (maybe it’s third time lucky?) and a journey through Russia and/or the Middle East.

Have you dared to make any travel plans for 2021?