2013: A year of travels, graduation, moving and starting full-time work

Where to start? A lot has happened in 2013. It’s the year I graduated from uni, moved to London and started full-time work, least not forgetting my travels!

You might be wondering how I managed to fit any travelling in between graduating, moving cities and working full-time? I can tell you that getting a job in the travel sector made a lot of it possible.

For anyone who’s just graduated, or fancies a career change, you should check out the travel sector. You’ll get the chance to work with people who share your lust for travel, learn more about the world, and if you’re lucky get the chance to explore regions which you thought were only accessible through books.

There is, however, a general feeling that wages in the travel sector aren’t very high, and whilst this is true, I believe the perks make up for it.

Where did I go in 2013?

If I had one word to sum up my travels of 2013 it would be cold. Finger-freezing, cheek-burning, ice-cold. I found a new region of the world which I’ve fallen madly in love with – the Arctic – an area often so remote that I never thought I’d visit.

However, this year I went to the Arctic on three separate occasions, my first trip to the Arctic was to the Lofoten Islands in Northern Norway for the New Year, then to Iceland, and lastly to Svalbard, also known as the last stop before the North Pole.

As well as these places I visited cities in Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Germany and Italy, and the city which surprised me the most was Copenhagen, it’s a place I could really see myself heading there to live.

Last year, I put together my Top 10 Travel Moments of 2012, and this year I thought I’d do the same, so without further ado, I give you my Top 10 Travel Moments of 2013:

10. Food Glorious Food!

I’ve made some rather insipid meals for myself this year, but to compensate I’ve had some delicious restaurant food, and the two places which stand out the most are Rome and Longyearbyen.

Of course I expected amazing food in Rome, but I never thought for a second that I’d have one of my best meals this year so far up North. It’s known for its icebergs and Polar bears not culinary innovation. Remember, you heard it here first!

Further reading: 8 unusual & quirky things to do in Rome and Visiting Svalbard: the last stop before the North Pole.

9. Entering Teufelsberg Spy Station, Berlin

My love for street art mixed with my voyeuristic tendencies meant that Teufulsberg was always going to excite me. Also, as a consequence of visiting here, my friends and I stumbled across a nearby nudist beach which we took pleasure in exploring. All in all, it was like walking inside a strange, utopian vision.

Further reading: Teufelsberg spy station: street art on Devil’s Mountain, Berlin.

8. Catching Sight of Poznan’s Colourful Main Square

It felt good to visit Poland again this year, and even better exploring Poznan, a city I had not visited before. If you go through my archives, you’ll soon discover that I’m fascinated by Poland. It’s a country which has a turbulent story but has pulled itself out from the ashes. Poznan’s strikingly colourful Main Square will put a smile on anyone’s face.

Further reading: Stary Rynek: Europe’s most whimsical and visually striking Main Square.

7. Seeing the Aurora Borealis aka The Northern Lights

Being a natural-born sceptic I never expected to the see the Northern Lights, I thought I had a one in a million chance of seeing them, but in a remote area of the Lofoten Islands, where there was no light pollution, a soft colour of green began to wave across the sky and became more vibrant before disappearing behind a blanket of clouds.

The vision itself didn’t blow me away because it was quite weak in saturation compared to the strength it can often possess, but it did capture my imagination, and it added to the list of why I love the Arctic so much.

6. Getting to know the quirky side of Rome

Oh Rome, I hated you at first, all your fast and furious cars and annoying tourist traps made me want to curl up in a foetal position and cry for my mummy, but then I discovered all your smaller gems, Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary, poetry in the Keats and Shelley House, creepy Capuchin Crypt, and the wonderful area of Borghese where everything is slower, greener and more civilised. After then, I realised I like you a lot.

5. Exploring Copenhagen

Copenhagen impressed me, I spoke about my first impressions of it here so I won’t harp on any longer, but I would like to say that if you’re into food, design, architecture, fashion and art museums then Copenhagen is the city for you. Also, if you have a penchant for beautiful women and gorgeously bearded men then there really is no better place than Copenhagen. Wow.

4. Sea Eagle & Nature Safari in the Lofoten Islands

There’s nothing more exhilarating than feeling the wind slap against your face as you race through the water on a RIB boat safari through one of the most beautiful places on earth – the Lofoten Islands. But don’t take my words for it, National Geographic have the following words to say about it, “Chilly, high-latitude islands form a ‘masterpiece’ of spectacular outcrops steeped in cherished tradition”.

3. Seeing a Glacier For the First Time

There are visions that can make you feel so small and insignificant, and the sheer grandeur and powerfulness of a glacier is certainly one of those visions. I felt dwarfed not only by the glacier, but by the vast open expanse of sea that engulfed me, being only one of a few people in one of the most Northerly parts of the world put me on an incredible high.

2. Soaking in the Blue Lagoon and discovering South-West Iceland

Last year I floated in the Dead Sea, this year I soaked in the Blue Lagoon in Iceland. Two equally unique experiences but the Blue Lagoon triumphs the Dead Sea for sheer indulgence, for sure. However, it was driving through the South-West peninsula of Iceland that really made me go crazy for this country, I’ve never experienced such commanding and outlandish scenery before, from bubbling mud-pots, bursting geysirs, and volcanic craters – Iceland is a nature lover’s dream.

1. Husky Safari in Spitsbergen, Svalbard

Exhilarating, scary, hilarious – these were just some of the emotions I felt when husky sledding. But the thing I loved the most were the dogs who appeared to love it even more than I did! They were jumping, barking and wagging their tongues around with wild excitement, and I couldn’t help but laugh through the whole journey which they took me on. In fact, there was so much laugher and supply of fresh air that it felt like the dogs had taken me on a transcendental voyage into an Arctic-esque version of Narnia.

Now over to you, what were your favourite travel moments of 2013?