My best travel moments of 2020

In a year full of worry and uncertainty, I was able to find a lot of joy through adventures, even when “stuck” in Denmark. Below is a list of my favourite single travel moments that helped me stay sane throughout 2020!

Falling in love with Arnish and the tidal island of Fladda

In the good ol’ days, before Europe went into its first lockdown, I spent two months in Scotland with my younger brother. We lived and worked on Skye, but it was its neighbouring island of Raasay that I fell in love with. In particular, the very north of Raasay which is home to a sparsely populated rocky landscape.

As we walked along the historic Calum’s Road, I started to get a feeling that this would be a special experience. We came to the end of the road, to the tiny settlement of Arnish, which was supposed to be our end destination. But the area was too gorgeous to turn back. So we continued along a footpath to the tidal island of Fladda, once home to a thriving community there at the edge of the world. As we stood there on a hill above Fladda’s few cottages, I fell in love.

Today, Fladda is abandoned, but Arnish was – at the time of our visit – about to be settled by the most wonderful and adventurous family that we met (and caught a ride with!) on our way back along Calum’s Road. Of all the places that I loved on Raasay, no place wowed me as much as Arnish and its gorgeous backcountry including wee Fladda. I secretly wished that I would be settling in the place!

Kissing the Calanais Standing Stones

Predating the famous Stonehenge by about 500 years, the cross-shaped stone stetting of Calanais is one of Lewis and Harris’ main sights. Not that you would notice by the amount of tourists. My brother, our former colleague and I visited the place in early March, and we were the only ones there.

It was incredible, truly wonderful. Imagine being able to roam freely around Stonehenge, no one else in sight. Well, for a Stone Age crazy archaeologist like me, this was even better. Calanais is older, so of course it’s better! I could hardly get my hands down from pure excitement. And of course, I placed a kiss on one of the rocks!

Completing my first ever solo off-trail trek

Covid-19 lockdowns arrived, but my sense of adventure didn’t disappear. I spent the next many months exploring Denmark and trying out new ways of adventuring. Including my first ever solo off-trail trek, where I followed a local stream from its mouth in Norsminde Fjord to its spring in the middle of fields near Oldrup.

Two days out in the wilderness with a huge backpack on my back. 30 kilometres of scrambling through reed beds, dense forests, untamed meadows and the edges of fields, and camping in the wilds amongst deer, hares and ticks. All alone. Indescribable. That’s how I’d explain the feeling I had when I finally completed the journey.

Along Odder Å, one of the toughest treks of my life

Becoming an ambassador for the local tourism organisation

In early May, I received the best email of 2020. Turistsamarbejdet Kystlandet, a local organisation that works to promote tourism in my home region, had seen my work on Instagram and were interested in doing a collaboration with me.

It couldn’t have been better timing since I was “stuck” in Denmark at the time. My work as an ambassador brought me to the islands of Endelave, Hjarnø, Alrø and Tunø. I biked and hiked through East Jutland’s most beautiful hilly landscapes. I went horseback riding through the wilderness of Endelave. I tried out vegan dishes in local cafés and restaurants and stayed in cozy b&bs and campsites. I made new friends, opened new doors for the future and got to know my home region better than ever before.

These sponsored trips were my first paid jobs on this blog, and it was such an amazing opportunity that I’m forever thankful for!

Horseback riding on the gorgeous island of Endelave

The first kayaking journey of my life

On a cool July weekend, I went on an adventure with my friend Mads. An adventure in Horsens Fjord, in a kayak – for the first time ever!

I’ve never been a huge fan of water or water activities, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try it out. Well, as you might’ve guessed, I absolutely loved it! I loved the freedom of being able to land wherever we wanted. On tiny uninhabited islands that we came by, at a campsite we’d picked out for the night, anywhere that looked inviting. We got to see so many incredible places that wouldn’t have been possible to reach otherwise.

That trip was spectacular and it opened up a whole new world for me. I can’t WAIT to get back on the ocean!

Reaching the summit of Sorgschrofen, a geographical oddity

Nothing beats the feeling of reaching a mountain summit after a tough climb! But one climb that I did this summer was special.

I climbed Sorgschrofen, a 1,636 m. high mountain that sits right on the border between Austria, Germany and Jungholz, an Austrian pene-exclave which is actually only connected to Austria at one point – the summit of the mountain! And to make it even more interesting, the summit is also home to a very rare occurrence as four borders meet there in a quadripoint – two of them Austrian (Jungholz and Schattwald) and two of them German (Pfronten and Bad Hindelang).

For a geography nerd like me, Sorgschrofen is the ultimate mountain to climb, so I just had to give it a go. It was a tough climb with lots of steep ascending on a path full of rubble, and it didn’t help that I’d only brought sneakers for the trip. But I managed. I reached the summit and stood at the very spot where the four borders meet, one foot in Austria and one foot in Germany!

After the rain – revealing the beauty of Kleinwalsertal

The rain was pouring in over Kleinwalsertal, another one of Austria’s pene-exclaves. I desperately wanted to go for a hike, so I put my trust in the weather app Yr which promised a break in the rain at 6 PM. As always, they were right.

At exactly 6 PM, the rain disappeared, revealing a gorgeous blue sky and low-hanging clouds amidst the trees. An eerie and magical setting, better than I could ever have hoped for. So I set off, into Gemsteltal, a gorgeous side valley below high fog-covered mountains. As I hiked the chosen 5 km trail, I felt grateful. I felt lucky, excited and free. There I was, surrounded by nature’s most exquisite gifts. I felt nothing but pure joy!

The unfathomable beauty of Kleinwalsertal

Reminiscing over life in Greenland with Maria

Towards the end of my summer roadtrip through Germany, I drove north to a village near Berlin to visit my friend Maria.

Maria and I lived together in Nuuk, Greenland, for 3½ months back in 2018, a time of our lives that neither of us will ever forget. As soon as I saw Maria’s face, all the blessed memories from Greenland came flooding back. We talked it all through, more than once, almost reliving our beautiful months together on Greenland. It was a wonderful day and I really hope to have more of them in the future – with all of our former roomies!

Maria (far right) and I (second to left) with our other roomies in Nuuk!

Falling in love with slow travel on Helgoland

September arrived and I headed back to Germany to explore the archipelago of Helgoland. While the summer trip had been fast-paced and often exhausting, I was determined to take my time and relax on Helgoland – while still discovering everything the two islands had to offer, of course!

I felt great joy in being able to truly get to know Helgoland, while still having time to relax in between hiking and sightseeing. There wasn’t a single place on the two islands that I didn’t set foot in, and many places were revisited. As unique as Helgoland is, I’m glad I didn’t rush through it.

This trip taught me a very valuable lesson. That less is more, always. It’s something that I struggle with when I travel, as I always want to see everything everywhere. But I always enjoy the slow days more. In the future, I will remind myself of my trip to Helgoland. Hopefully this trip was the beginning of a more slow-paced travel style for me!

One of many gorgeous sunsets on Helgoland

Every adventure ever on the Faroe Islands

How do I choose just one favourite adventure from my month on the Faroe Islands? I can’t. Every adventure was special in its own way, every mountain summited, trail completed, every word exchanged with my hiking buddies.

But if I absolutely have to choose one, I will say that the biggest achievement was trekking 50 km with Lars from Gásadalur to Slættanes to Sandavágur over two days, closely followed by a 26 km hike with Lucy across six mountains (a personal record for both of us!) and a 21 km solo hike from Gásadalur to the abandoned village of Víkar!

The entire month of October felt like a moment in itself. One giant, long moment of endless adventures and smiles!

Climbing a mountain behind the famous Drangarnir sea stacks

And an honerary mention:

The best decision of 2020 – Walking 15,000 steps per day (since Feb 1st)

2020, for me, was a year with lots of adventures. But it was also a year of changes, including personal changes that will hopefully stay with me forever. One of these changes was a commitment to daily exercise, more precisely walking at least 15,000 steps per day.

In the beginning, it was tough. The motivation was there, but wow did it take long to do so many steps! But as the months went by, I stopped thinking of it as a chore. It was no longer something I had to do. It was something I wanted to do, something I enjoyed and couldn’t imagine not doing. I love the fact that I now get outside at least two hours per day. I’ve explored so much that I would’ve missed out on had I not done this. And I’m in much better shape, something that helped me tremendously when hiking in the Faroe Islands all October.

I was supposed to only do this as a challenge for February, but when that month was over, it became a year-long challenge. Now February 2021 is almost here, but I plan on continuing for as long as I possibly can. Call it a lifetime challenge!