When I first arrived in Copenhagen a few weeks ago, my mom (hi Mom!) shared this article with me on facebook. It lists the top 5 happiest countries in the world according to two different reports. The first is The World Happiness List (commissioned by the UN) which ranks Denmark as the happiest country in the world, and the Netherlands as fourth happiest. The other report is the Happy Planet Index, which looks at how happy the people are as well as how sustainable their lifestyle is. Costa Rica claims first place on this list. During The Great European Adventure, I’ve visited the Netherlands and Denmark, and my first trip…
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Thoughts on One Month of Travel
Wednesday was October 10th, which means I’ve officially been traveling for one month, and traveling alone for two weeks. So this seems as good a time as any to do a little reflecting. Here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly from one month of travel. The Good AKA The easier than I thought it was going to be In case you need convincing, here is one big argument in favor of traveling–it’s not that difficult technically. By which I mean, I have found the technical aspects of travel easy. Booking flights and hostels and finding your way around a foreign city don’t need to be intimidating. Almost everything can…
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Iceland: Last Look
Iceland was like no where else I’ve ever been. The scenery was otherworldly. When you live in the Northeastern United States, volcanic rocks are kind of exciting and exotic. Volcanoes? Awesome! You might look at lava rocks in eight grade science class. Well, in Iceland, pretty much every rock is a remnant from a volcano. And any trees you see were brought there and planted by people because only shrubs and bushes are native to the country. When Grace and I took a tour of Thingvellir National Park, we saw fissures in the earth where the American and Eurasian tectonic plates are pulling apart at a rate of 2 centimeters…
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The best thing I did in Iceland
If you have $640 in your savings account, spend 600 on a round trip flight to Reykjavik and 40 on a Northern Lights tour. I’ll wait while you go and book it. I am only half joking. I looked up the price of a flight out of Boston this weekend, and it’s significantly more than $600 to take a jaunt to Iceland on such short notice. However, if you book a month or two in advance as people normally book their vacations, $600 should be enough. Grace and I booked the Northern Lights Mystery tour with Iceland Excursions in association with Gray Line, a company that runs tours in many…
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Weekly Travel Inspiration: Scottish Independence
This week your travel inspiration is a BBC news article about a Scottish independence rally that happened in Edinburgh last weekend. Thousands at Scottish independence rally in Edinburgh A friend of mine who is a Gaelic speaker and a staunch supporter of Scottish independence posted this article on my facebook wall after we got dinner in Edinburgh. Over our meal, he informed me that a majority of Scottish people support independence, but I was still skeptical of the country’s ability to break away from the UK. There is a referendum vote on the matter planned for 2014, so I guess we’ll all find out then. Now, you may be wondering,…
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What I ate in Reykjavik, and so can you!
If you visit Iceland, you’ll hear about some local delicacies you must try, such as puffin (too cute to eat? think again!), hakarl (fermented shark), and brennevin (strong Icelandic alcohol similar to vodka). Despite these foods being “can’t miss” Icelandic experiences, I didn’t try any of them. Grace did order a stew with lamb in it one evening, and supposedly Icelandic lamb is something one ought to try. I can vouch for the fact that it was tender, and delicious. It may also make you feel slightly guilty because you’re eating a baby animal. Just saying… Regardless, here are some of the interesting places I ate and enjoyed in Reykjavik.…
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Iceland: First Impressions
My friend Grace and I arrived in Iceland around 11pm. After quickly getting our passports stamped and collecting our baggage, we headed out into the parking lot to meet the bus that would take us to our guesthouse in Reykjavik. This is Grace, by the way. She’s been my travel buddy in Iceland. Don’t be deceived by how sunny it is in that photo, Iceland is freezing. We knew summer had ended here, but, when we walked out of the airport, it felt like winter–a harsh change from just a few days earlier when I’d gone swimming at the beach in Rhode Island. After registering the cold, the second thing…
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Weekly Travel Inspiration: I’m in Iceland!
At the risk of appearing self-centered, this week’s travel inspiration is a photo I took today in Iceland. It’s of the geyser Strokkur (which means “chum” in Icelandic) erupting. This geyser erupts every 4 to 8 minutes and is located next to Geysir, also known as The Great Geysir, which is the geyser from which all other geysers get their name. Geysir hasn’t erupted in a long time, and as we stood beside it, our guide cheerfully informed us that if it happened to go off while we were standing there, we would all die. I’m not sure if this is actually true considering many people have witnessed its eruption…
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DC: Last Look
This will be my last post about DC (for now!) so I wanted to share some final thoughts on the city. I never did change my mind about the public transit system. It is comprehensive in that it serves many communities and runs from early in the morning until late at night. But there never seemed to be a bus or a train right when I needed one, and I would often wait 30 minutes or more for the bus in the evenings. I missed DC for the first time just over a week ago, when I felt a pang of sadness at leaving behind… the food. I am sure…
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The Best Smithsonian You’ve Never Been To
Starkid, 2007, by Owusu-Ankomah; on display at the National Museum of African Art (Before I tell you about what I’m up to in Iceland, I’d like to wrap up writing about my adventures in DC this summer. You can expect a post about my first impressions of Iceland on Saturday.) The National Air and Space Museum is awesome; that’s why it attracts 9 million visitors annually. The National Museum of Natural History is home to dinosaur skeletons and the Hope Diamond. And the National Museum of American History is home to the original star spangled banner, which honestly is an impressive sight. I also wouldn’t pass up the chance to…
