My best travel moments of 2021

Another year of uncertainty has been and gone, and for me personally, it has been the worst year I’ve ever experienced. However, I was lucky to have some wonderful experiences while travelling in the second half of the year. Some of those moments were more precious and memorable than others, and they helped me through this challenging year!

Completing my goal of climbing all mountains on Vágar

Back in October 2020, I spent a month on Vágar, my favourite island in the Faroe Islands, with the goal of climbing all of the islands’ 41 mountains – ranging from 142 m to 722 m in height with an average height of 492,7 m. Unfortunately, I “only” managed to climb 35 out of the 41 mountains that month as I also tried to hike all cairn trails on the island – and also ran into some days with bad weather.

So for my July visit, I was determined to complete the goal. I based myself in Vágar for most of my two weeks in the country, and spent a long day climbing four of the six mountains, including Eysturtindur, the second-highest on the island at 715 m. Days later, I was getting restless as I waited for the summer fog to lift so I would be able to climb the last two, Heinanøva (612 m) and Árnafjall, the highest mountain on the island at 722 m. In October, I’d actually attempted to climb these two mountains along with a friend I met at a hostel, but we failed to find the correct route and had to give up. Not only is Árnafjall the highest mountain on the island, it’s also by far the most difficult to climb.

BUT, with the help of my friend Lucie and her incredible intuition, I did finally manage to climb both remaining mountains – with Lucie by my side. We didn’t get a great view as we were hit by fog when we reached the summit of Árnafjall, but it didn’t matter. I was just so happy I’d finally completed my goal! And I also finished hiking all cairn trails on Vágar – I know this island like the back of my hand now!

Read more: To Eysturtindur and beyond: Scaling four peaks on northwestern Vágar ↞

Discovering a puffin paradise on Nólsoy

Mykines is one of the most popular islands to visit in the Faroe Islands – solely due to its huge population of (the cute and adorable) puffins. But Mykines is difficult to get to, it’s notorious for ferry delays and cancellations, and the risk of stranding there is high. But puffins nest on other islands too, however, this is something most tourists don’t know.

After travelling to Skúvoy back in 2016 and discovering Høvdin, another puffin paradise, I felt sure this was the second-best place to see puffins on the Faroe Islands. But this summer, I discovered an even better place – with more puffins and much more accessible. That was on the island of Nólsoy, more precisely on Stongin, the north part of the island.

I can’t tell you how excited I was to stumble upon this puffin paradise. I’d been to Stongin many times before, but never to these cliffs in the summer. I felt like a true explorer as I stood there, all alone, in my own little secret puffin spot.

Read more: Stongin, Nólsoy: Finding a hidden puffin paradise on the Faroe Islands

Seeing the Fagradalsfjall volcano erupt – twice!

As an add-on to my Faroe trip, I’d spontaneously decided to fly to Iceland on my way home to Denmark. There was one very good reason why I wanted to return to Iceland for my fifth visit – and why it couldn’t wait. I desperately wanted to see the Fagradalsfjall volcano erupt!

The volcano started erupting on March 19th, and nobody knew how long it would keep erupting. It officially stopped on September 18th, so I made the right decision to go when I did – although I wish I’d been able to go earlier as it was possible to get much closer when it first started erupting.

That being said, my experiences at the volcano were worth every extra penny spent on the detour. I visited the volcano not just once, but twice during my three days in the country! I went as soon as I arrived, and climbed two mountains for the (at the time) best views of the eruption. The volcano was very active, spewing lava every few seconds. I couldn’t get as close as I’d hoped to though (the picture below is zoomed in quite a lot). Not quite satisfied, I decided to return the evening before I left Iceland, to see if I could get any closer. I managed to get a few hundred metres closer, but it didn’t make much of a difference. However, this time I stayed at the site until dark which was a great decision. The volcano was spewing much less frequently than on my first visit, but seeing the lava light up in the dark was just incredible.

Seeing a volcanic eruption is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I’m so thankful I was able to make it to this one in time!

Into the wilderness of Vorsø – a dream come true!

Vorsø is a very special island in Denmark, and one I’d dreamt about visiting for as long as I can remember. Access is limited, making it even more of a mystery to me, and my desire to go there only grew when I kayaked around the island in the summer of 2020. Fast forward a year, and I was finally stepping foot on Vorsø.

Vorsø is not just special because it’s difficult to visit. The reason why it’s so hard to visit is because it’s a nature preserve where nature runs its own course with as little human interference as possible. Only two people live there, a ranger and his wife. Getting to Vorsø is only possible on a guided tour, one that’s only available a few times per year. They sell out quickly, but last year, I was finally able to get my hands on two tickets.

I brought my younger brother along for the adventure. Along with our guide and the others in the group, we waded through the shallow waters following the cairns of Ebbevejen, the “road” to Vorsø. The ranger met us as we stepped onto the island, and he guided us through the place that he’s called home for many many years. It’s a wonderful paradise, a wilderness, as untouched as can be in this world. We saw lots of wildlife. Cormorants that the island is well-known for. Two sea eagles which was a rare sighting. And even a deer crossing the shallow water to the island. It was a huge experience. My dream finally came true, and the visit to Vorsø exceeded every expectation.

Read more: The island of Vorsø: Where wilderness prevails

In Hansi Hinterseer’s footsteps in Kitzbühel

In the summer, I went on a family holiday to Tirol in Austria, and there was one place my parents and I were secretly planning to go that my grandmother had no idea about. That was Kitzbühel, the hometown of Hansi Hinterseer, her favourite musician and hero! She has been to many concerts before but I thought it might be fun for her to see where he grew up and still lives. Well, the look on her face when we told her she was in the same town as Hansi was… priceless!

The drive to Kitzbühel was long, over two hours each way, but it was worth every second of the drive.

Seeing my grandmother’s face light up like that made this one of the most memorable travel moments of the year!

Read more: Kitzbühel, Tirol: In the footsteps of Hansi Hinterseer, my grandmother’s hero

Standing on a tripoint where three international borders meet

As much as I hate borders for dividing people, I also love them for their often complicated (and strange) history and geography. I particularly enjoy seeking out map oddities such as exclaves, pene-exclaves and random panhandles, and I also love crossing borders and standing between two (or three!).

On our last day in Austria, my mum and I went to one of these geographical oddities – after a long, tough and beautiful hike. We went to Dreiländergrenzstein, the exact spot where the borders of Austria, Italy and Switzerland meet – a so-called tripoint!

The hike to the tripoint was more challenging than I’d imagined with five hours of constant ascending and descending with many steep parts and hardly any level parts. But even the views throughout were worth the hike – and the end destination made it so much better! En route to the border stone, we passed by two gorgeous alpine lakes, lots of isolated huts and pine forests. We started and ended in Austria, hiked one section in Italy, and had a snack in Switzerland!

For a geography nerd like me, it was the perfect day.

Read more: Where three countries meet: A hike to Dreiländergrenzstein in the Alps

Terrace nights in Tbilisi

In the autumn, I packed my backpack and set off to the Caucasus. I landed in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, and immediately went to the hostel I’d booked based on a recommendation from a good friend. That hostel was Envoy.

It’s rare that you find a hostel that’s both beautiful, fun and cheap, but Envoy has it all. And the best part of it is its rooftop terrace with possibly the best view in all of Tbilisi. I spent many wonderful moments on the terrace. I met some lovely people, spent hours laughing, listening to creative souls play the guitar, watching as a fellow traveller from Israel painted the sights she’d seen during the day, looking out at the view of the beautiful city.

Oh, how I miss those magical terrace nights.

Read more: Tbilisi: A heartening first meeting with Georgia

From Mestia to Iprari – a gorgeous three-day trek in Svaneti

My favourite place in Georgia (and my favourite destination overall in 2021) was Svaneti. The beautiful, mountainous region in the northwestern part of the country, next to the partially recognized state of Abkhazia.

I spent a week in Svaneti, along with a friend I’d met at Envoy. There are many moments in Svaneti that are close to my heart, that I often recall and think back on with great joy, but my favourite experience has to be the three-day trek from Mestia to Iprari. It was supposed to be a four-day trek ending in Ushguli, but a landslide got in the way of that. However, according to local guides and other tourists, we got to hike the three most beautiful days. But beautiful is an understatement. Svaneti is so dreamy.

A and I had a lot of fun on the hike. We met Lukas on the first day and hiked with him, sharing fun stories as we tried our hardest to keep up with his speed (in the end, he just waited around for us… a lot!). We met a bunch of fun people from Israel, Poland and Ireland. We saw a glacier up close. We had mountain views for days. We crossed a treacherous river and only managed to get over thanks to Lukas’ equipment. We slept in cute guesthouses in the most isolated villages. We laughed, a lot.

Everything about Svaneti was perfect.

Precious prospection moments in Serbia

In October, I travelled to Serbia to join an archaeological prospection along with a bunch of archaeologists from Kiel. It was two weeks of fun and valuable education. How do I choose just one favourite moment from these two weeks? The days blurred into one great mass of fun times. Every moment was my favourite.

I loved the long days of working in the field. Walking up and down fields with the magnetometer along with the Geomagnetic Girls, as we called ourselves. I enjoyed our evenings at the neighbouring restaurant where I always got the ‘plata vegetariana’ although it was never boring – the ingredients changed every day (and I’m not sure it was intentional!). I loved our day off where we explored Novi Bečej and its surroundings. I even loved the early mornings with breakfast on the patio.

And then there was Lenka, our prospection dog. She was the highlight of my time in Serbia!

Read more: Two weeks in Novi Bečej: Life in a small town in rural Serbia

A historical hike above Bergen with Solveig

I spent ten days in Bergen, Norway, visiting my best friend in November, and while every moment was special and memorable, one day in particular stands out to me. With the promise of sunshine (a rarity in Bergen), Solveig and I set off on a hike above Bergen – her favourite and one she loves to share with the people that visit her. And for good reason.

The hike is a beautiful mix of everything Bergen and its surrounding mountains have to offer. Majestic views over the city, the ocean and the mountains beyond. Ruins of abandoned settlements from the past century. Easily accessible peaks to conquer. Trails through lush forests and along lakeshores. It was 15 kilometres of pure bliss in the most wonderful company.

A day of cycling in Berlin, to Victoriapark and Tempelhof

Of all the days I spent in Berlin this year, this one was my favourite.

It took a while for me to truly get Berlin. To understand the hype. It’s the lack of beautiful, historical buildings and cobbled streets that I was missing in Berlin. But eventually, I grew to enjoy the city and I realized that while Berlin doesn’t have a historical square, it has so much else that other cities lack.

On a sunny day in November, I went to two of those places. We biked to Kreuzburg, our favourite neighbourhood in the city, and climbed up to the top of Victoriapark. Surprised that flat Berlin even had a hill, I was in awe over the amazing view from the top! And then we biked to Tempelhof, a place I had no idea existed beforehand. As much as I hate biking, I absolutely LOVED biking around the old runways that were last in use in October 2008.

On this day, I finally started (slowly) falling in love with Berlin. Now I understand why so many people think it’s the greatest city in the world.

Thanks to these moments – and many other happy times with my family and friends – 2021 hasn’t been all bad. However, even when travelling, I faced some challenges. More about that in my next post where I’ll share my worst travel moments of 2021!