Most people I know in real life are now pretty aware of a real life plan to just take off (eh!) in 2017. I wasn't sure at first how or if I would tell a lot of people. What if it doesn't work out?
Um, no. That is not an option (although I realize life has a way of happening, but you can't plan around that shit)
And I kind of like everyone knowing. It holds me responsible in a way. Planning is going to be hard and a lot of work. All for a good cause, but it's easy to get bogged down in it all and lose focus on how great this is going to be. And why I need to do it. But getting to talk about makes me happy. And excited. And the support has been kind of surprising. No one has looked at me like I'm crazy. Well I mean I haven't talked about finding Trolls in Norway to anyone yet. So we'll see how long that lasts.
And now speaking of the planning... where the hell to even start. I'm not quite ready to start thinking about the budget, because that'll be the hardest part to figure out, and better suited to quiet times after the Holiday madness. Right now I have a temporary map on my wall with pins to mark all the places I want to visit. There will be a ton of stuff in between each pin and I'm sure pins will move as the planning moves forward. But it's a start. That and all the awesome travel books, and new travel blogs I've discovered recently. So many awesome travellers out there.
Here's the loose starting point. There are 2 main areas of focus for this trip. To explore the Arctic and help share those experiences to bring attention to this beautiful landscape and WHY we need to be doing more to help protect it from ourselves. Secondly, of coarse, is to absorb all that scandinavian, nordic, eastern european folklore and design and culture and meet all the wonderful people that make up these countries. And I'm sure you'll be shocked to learn I'm NOT going during winter. Well, not really. It'll start sometime in March.
The must-see countries on the list right now:
Greenland
Iceland
Faroe Islands
Denmark
Norway
Sweden
Finland
Russia
Estonia
Lithuania
Latvia
Poland
Netherlands
And then who knows where ;)
What countries are on your must-see list?
All the countries! I want to see all of them! ;) I've managed pretty well and at least visited a good number. Here are some that I really want to see: Peru (Manchu Pichu), back to Chile to see Easter Islands, Australia, Nepal, Tibet, India, Turkey, Egypt, Austria, Switzerland, Portugal, Brazil, Argentina, and I too want to get to the arctic. Also would love to return to Japan.
ReplyDeleteI've been to the Netherlands a few times. Let me know if you want any suggestions.
Minouette we will definitely have to chat about Netherlands adventures! I'm already pretty jealous of your past adventures I can't wait to hear about any future travels to those wonderful places :) Maybe we can figure out a crafty way to get to the arctic!
Delete