My worst travel moments of 2020

2020 has been a giant mishap in itself. But that being said, nothing truly bad happened to me on my (few) travels this year. I wasn’t shaken up by an earthquake like in 2016. I didn’t have to sleep in any toilets like in 2017. I also didn’t get food poisoning or a rabies scare like in 2018. And I didn’t come close to having anything stolen like last year. Generally, despite everything, 2020 was kind to me. But of course, travelling always comes with a few mishaps along the way. So below are my worst travel moments of 2020.

But first – the one thing that affected all travel-loving souls this year:

Covid-19 travel restrictions and cancellations

Think back to a year ago. Could you ever have imagined that in just a few months, everything related to travel would shut down? Flights would stay on ground, restaurants close down, tourism businesses would suffer tremendously? Trips that you had planned would be cancelled, and you would be left with a bunch of vouchers you wouldn’t know when you’d be able to use? A constant case of wanderlust that you just couldn’t do anything about?

It sounds crazy when you think about it. None of us could’ve ever imagined that. But unfortunately, that was reality. You can’t talk about travelling in the year 2020 without saying “restrictions” and “bans” in the first sentence.

My Spring trips to Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Faroe Islands and Norway were cancelled. My big and exciting move to Nuuk was cancelled. My excavation in Sisimiut postponed. Stone Age gatherings all over northern Europe were also cancelled. Come autumn, my trip to Switzerland and Liechtenstein was cancelled again… I remember back in March when lockdowns started. I thought it would last a month, two at the most. Boy was I wrong!

But the worst thing was the uncertainty. Not knowing what was going to happen to the travel industry, to our freedom and opportunities. Not knowing when we could cross borders again. And the fact that we still haven’t seen the full impact that this crisis will have on travelling.

Covid-19 has been and continues to be a challenge for most of us. For me, it thankfully hasn’t had any emotional consequences, but cancelling trips is never fun (especially when some companies never reply to emails or pick up the phone – I’m looking at you, Norwegian!). I realize, however, how privileged I am since I was able to postpone the trips and get most of my money back. But I still find it difficult to deal with our sudden lack of freedom.

Hitchhiking fails on Skye

Way before we ever realized what Covid-19 would do to travelling, I was having the time of my life in Scotland. That is, when I wasn’t freezing my butt off trying to hitchhike around Skye!

Because, naive as we were, my brother and I had chosen hitchhiking as our main method of transportation during our two months on the island. It was… difficult, to say the least. Maybe it was because we were there in off-season, or maybe we just didn’t look friendly enough. We had some real trouble trying to get rides, we often stood for hours in the rain waiting. It wasn’t because there weren’t any cars, they just didn’t feel sorry for us, I guess!

Read more: Hitchhiking wins and fails around Skye’s Northern Loop

A night from hell on Raasay

Raasay was beautiful, truly beautiful. But our night there was anything but beautiful.

My brother and I had somehow decided to camp on Raasay. In February! Why? Well, because we’re cheap – and stupid.

The evening was crispy cold and we were freezing as we set up the tent. Crawling in, we laid on the hard ground, no mattresses below us because we didn’t want to carry them with us. We had one sleeping bag and one blanket between us. Obviously not enough. Obviously! But we had still decided to try.

After a while, I gave up. So we wandered off, trying to find some open place to sleep in instead. Our evening walk warmed us up and it revealed an open waiting hall by the harbour. Our Plan B. Brandon settled on the hard floor, I in a stiff chair that I just couldn’t get comfortable in. It was almost as cold as the tent, but it was a small improvement. As uncomfortable as it was, at least now we had toilets, WiFi and power outlets so we could spend the whole night on YouTube while waiting for the first sun rays to welcome the next day.

Read more: Two days on Raasay, my favourite island in Scotland

Leaving life on Skye behind

With lockdown on the horizon, leaving Skye behind in early March was even worse than I’d feared. It was tough leaving our life in Portree behind, saying goodbye to all the wonderful people that had become friends. All the locals that made working in the bar/restaurant a pure joy. And all the animals, the wonderful dogs and kitties that dropped by once in a while. Especially Rascal and Thunder, my two loves. I miss them terribly!

I’ve always hated goodbyes. And it never gets easier, never. But thankfully, I’m sure I will go back one day. Probably not to work, but to visit for sure!

More hellish nights on the Outer Hebrides

As if we hadn’t had enough of bad nights in Scotland, we ended our time there with a week-long roadtrip through the Outer Hebrides, sleeping in the car most nights to save money.

We’d rented the cheapest car available, and of course that meant a teeny tiny car that could hardly fit two people snoozing in it. There was just no way for us to get comfortable, so it was a rather exhausting roadtrip…

Read more: Over the sea to Lewis and Harris, the heart of the Outer Hebrides

The ferry cancellation – and almost losing out on exploring Lewis and Harris

We’d saved the most popular island in the Outer Hebrides for our last two days, but unfortunately missed out on an entire day of exploring due to a ferry being cancelled.

We were supposed to catch an early morning ferry from Berneray to Leverburgh on Lewis and Harris, but it was cancelled due to strong winds. Panicking, because we really wanted to explore Lewis and Harris AND because we had a flight to catch two days later, we got creative and found an alternative route.

Luckily, the ferry to Skye was still operating and we were able to get on it for free, so we unexpectedly ended up back on Skye, hoping to be able to catch a different ferry to Tarbert on Lewis and Harris from there. It worked, magically! A one-hour ferry journey in the morning became a four-hour journey in the afternoon, getting us to Lewis and Harris in the evening, a day wasted. But at least we got there in the end, and still had half a day to explore the following day, although we had to miss out on a few places…

Post-Covid solo travel blues in Lübeck

After two weeks in Germany in the company of friends and family, I was suddenly alone in Lübeck, seemingly the only solo tourist there. Unusual for summer in such a beautiful city, but not unusual in a year of a pandemic.

Being alone in a city hostel revealed a whole new way of travelling solo. A lonely one. I didn’t meet one other traveller to socialize with, so I was by myself for the full five days in the city. Unfortunately, that meant that I didn’t really enjoy my time in the otherwise beautiful city. I felt homesick, almost longing for the Spring lockdown in Denmark, as crazy as that sounds.

Read more: Summer days in Lübeck, the city of seven spires

Trying to squeeze too much into a two-week roadtrip

My homesickness disappeared as I travelled down south to Munich, excited for a two-week roadtrip through the Alps and Central Germany. Apparently a bit too excited.

Because I’d made an itinerary so jam-packed that I hardly had time to breathe. I saw many beautiful places, but I didn’t enjoy them all as much as I should’ve. I didn’t have time to enjoy them. But it was my own fault. There was just too much I wanted to see, too much I wanted to do, and nowhere near enough time.

It’s something I need to remind myself of in the future. I’ve done it before, and I just don’t learn. But I need to learn to slow down. Life is long, Melissa. No need to squeeze everything into one trip!

Read more: To the Bavarian Alps: The beginning of an epic roadtrip

Being defeated by the mountains of Gásadalur

My goal for October was to climb all 41 mountains on Vágar on the Faroe Islands. I managed to climb 35 of them. Not too bad, really. But two undefeated mountains are still haunting me…

Those mountains are Heinanøva at 612 m. and Árnafjall at 722 m, the latter is the highest on the island. My friend Daniel and I tried to climb them without realizing that it wouldn’t be a hike, but a scramble, hours on end.

We tried climbing up between the two mountains and actually got up to about 400 m. above sea level when we decided to turn back. It was too steep and we didn’t feel safe. But we didn’t want to give up. So we walked further into the valley to a spot that looked much easier. And it was, until it wasn’t. We followed a narrow sheep trail that took us up to a ridge of Mt. Árnafjall. The summit was still over 300 m. higher and it was as steep and rocky as can be. There was no way we could climb up from there. But at least the ridge still offered awesome views. After our second defeat, we realized that our first route would be the only possible way up. So I will just have to give it another go (maybe with a guide next time though!).

I am such a sore loser and I hate not completing mountain climbs, but I would much rather be alive than possibly standing on that summit, possibly ending up in the ocean!

Read more: Defeated by the mountains of Gásadalur: The attempt to climb Heinanøva and Árnafjall

Today is the last day of 2020. A year we will not miss. A terrible year for the travel industry, although still a year that brought me more joy than anything. Now that you’ve read my worst travel moments of the year, why not head over to my previous post about my best travel moments of 2020?

Left is just to say – HAPPY NEW YEAR! May it be beautiful, bright and fun!