The Year of My Life

It’s the last day of the year 2014. This year was The Year of my life. This year was the year when everything begun, and finally I started feeling I’m actually doing something with my life. I am someone. And the world is open for me if I choose to go.

How on earth this year went by so fast? It started in Sydney (Australia) and after that during those 365 following days I ended up traveling to a LOT of places, including New Zealand, Hungary, Tenerife, Ireland, Scotland and Iceland. I have been so lucky and I am very grateful for all the people I have gotten to know and meet this year. I hope you’re all doing well and enjoying your life, wherever you are. 🙂 This year, I have also gotten to witness the most beautiful landscapes I’ve ever seen in my life. You’ll see pictures, don’t worry. 😉

 

It all started in downunder, first Australia and after that New Zealand. Unfortunately I had a return ticket already booked so I had to leave kangaroos and kiwis and travel back home. I felt so depressed……but happy at the same time, because of the experience. And I knew I could always go back. I cried almost the whole flight from Sydney to Hong Kong (so embarrassing but I couldn’t stop it). I felt like I was leaving home. It was horrible. I felt like it wasn’t time yet, I wasn’t done yet. And I was so scared to go back home! I know I hadn’t been away for that long but still! All my friends in Finland, they’re just there, living their normal lives. How could I go back to that? Wouldn’t that feel weird? Would I feel confined there? And the most important question, how could I stay in Finland after such a great journey in such an amazing place? I couldn’t. It would’ve felt like settling to something less. I felt like I knew now after traveling a while, about something “better” and I couldn’t just settle anymore, never again. So I packed my 70 liter Osprey and took off. It turned out to be the best decision I have ever made.

Here’s some pics along the way. Starting from last Christmas in Noosa, East Coast of Australia. There’s the girls in the photo on the right, and two of them were the ones we got to spend both Christmas and New Years Eve with. 🙂 Such nice girls! And such a good NYE…. The third photo is taken the last day of the year, in Sydney in Wake Up!-hostel. Saana, a good friend of mine, was eating porridge and drinking goon (Aussie slang word for box wine). 😀 = our “last supper”, yum!

 

Soon after New Years Eve we headed to New Zealand and traveled all the way from Christchurch to Auckland. There’s a photo of me, Saana and Maaike (our Dutch friend), I can’t help smiling when I look at us. Such good memories. Also the photo of Saana looking terrified on the window floor is pretty amusing. 😀 PS. Yes, that is Hobbiton (last photo).

        

In the year of 2014 I was lucky to find myself from these amazing places, too…

Budapest

Tenerife

 

Ireland

 

I was thinking…

 

This year has been both the worst year of my life and the best year I’ve ever lived. Literally, lived. This year I really challenged myself and did things I had only dreamed of before – and I have never felt more alive. I feel like I have been incredibly lucky with everything that’s crossed my path. I smile when I think about all those memories, all those moments I’ve lived and people I’ve gotten to know. Wow. And all it took – all I took was a so called “leap of faith” . Would you make the jump?

My plan was basically that I don’t have a plan. I had just returned home but I knew I couldn’t be there for any longer. I have always known that Finland is not my home so now that I had once left the place, it didn’t really feel like a big issue to leave it again. I did some calculating and I decided that if I don’t get a job in Scotland, I’ll just come back home after when my money run out. The only thing I was certain about was that I just couldn’t stay in Finland anymore. I had lived my days there and I didn’t have to go back. At least not yet, not in a long while.

I had never been to Edinburgh before but I had heard about how beautiful the city was so I thought to myself, why not? It wasn’t exactly a place I had always dreamed of going (nor moving) but the only thing I cared was that there was English-speaking people and that it was outside the Finland borders. So I left. I got to admit, it was pretty scary in the beginning. I had to build my life all over again and I had not thought about it all through. (Idiot) I moved to another country that I didn’t know anything about. I didn’t know anyone and I was supposed to get an apartment (or so called hostel long term place in my case), get to know some people (make friends, nobody wants to be alone in a new city), apply for a job, get a bank account, get a new phone number,… everything. I had no idea where I was putting myself into. I hadn’t really thought about it and I never planned anything, so I was a bit lost in the beginning. But there I was, determined that I ain’t going back to Finland. I knew I needed to try my best now that I was in Edinburgh. So that’s what I did, and I ended up getting a very good job and I got to work with bunch of awesome people. Also, oh boy, the work experience I got. I am so grateful for that, I don’t know how it all happened but what I know is that if I would’ve stayed in Finland instead of going to Scotland I would’ve never gotten that kind of a work experience. Thank you Edinburgh!! I will be eternally grateful to you. 😉 So you agree with me on this one?

Here’s the some of the best photos of my time in Scotland 🙂 A picture is worth a thousand words…

                  

And then, outside Edinburgh – Isle of Skye, ladies and gentlemen!

  

Nine months it took until I started feeling “done” with all the hostel life and Edinburgh. It was my time to move on. I had built myself a home there, a home I could always return to and another family, both of which I will always have in my heart.

So I left, once again. I went to Iceland. Seriously, who would’ve thought my wee trip to Iceland would end up being one of the best weeks of my life – and all because of the people, obviously. 😉 Sure, Iceland is gorgeous, there’s no words for it’s beauty (later on I’ll make a proper post of it!) – but the people I met…. wow. I was there only for a week and it felt like I had known those guys for ages. Thank you Hlemmur Square hostel and its people! You rock.

     

Such an amazing year. Don’t even quite realize it yet. Traveling is… for me, it’s the perfect kind of life style. It’s not that for everyone and it doesn’t have to be. Just like any other kind of life style. The most important thing is that you’re happy, no matter what you do or where you are. This year I’ve learned some important lessons about life and myself, and honestly, I can tell you that it’s not about the place nor material, it has nothing to do with the luxury life you’re living or anything else – in the end, it’s always the people that matters the most. The people you have around you, who you feel good with. I would say that’s the best part of traveling, getting to know people from all walks of life. From all corners of the earth. It’s a richness in the heart cannot be measured with money. People. Cultures. Countries. Memories.

And for me, this is only the beginning. I just turned twenty and I realized how the world Is open for me if I just dare to take the leap to unknown. 😉 And I do. I’ve been sitting at one place, feeling stuck in a one place for too long, and now, FINALLY, after about 15 years of waiting it is the time for me to go and explore. So… basically, I have no idea where I’ll end up next year. Southeast Asia, yes at first, but after that? Any suggestions? 😉

I’m sorry I’ve been a bit poor with updating my blog often enough. I promise you I will make a progress with that next year! 😉 Happy New Year, my friends! Enjoy your day and night. Tomorrow when you wake up it will be another year and another time. You get to have a fresh start with everything. Use is wisely. Listen to yourself and what do you want. 😉 Life is full of choices. So what is your New Year’s promise going to be? If it’s something to do with traveling, please tell me. Maybe we can meet up somewhere!

Life is good. 😉 And oh, baby, it is a wild world. Can’t wait to get on the road again. ❤

One last thing… Mr called Xavier Rudd made a song about life. I must quote him on this one:

“Follow, follow the sun
and which way the wind blows
when this day is done.
Breathe, breathe in the air.
Set your intentions.
Dream with care.
Tomorrow is a new day for everyone,
Brand new moon, brand new sun.
So follow, follow the sun,
the direction of the birds,
the direction of love.
Breathe, breathe in the air,
cherish this moment,
cherish this breath.
Tomorrow is a new day for everyone,
brand new moon, brand new sun.”

Hope you had an amazing year 2014 and hope you will have even a better one next year!! Wish you all well xxx

Hasta luego!

-Jena

Spontaneously: The land of ice, geyshirs and Vikings

Iceland. Sooo I booked tickets to Iceland. What on Earth am I going to do in Iceland?!

I bought tickets very spontaneously.  So basically I have no idea what to do or where to go.

But then again, it’s Iceland. I can probably go anywhere and still feel amazed by the breathtaking scenery of one of the world’s most beautiful islands. I know it’s winter and relatively cold but I just won’t let the weather stop me. So Iceland! It’s going to be marvelous! I really want to go into the wild and so I’ll try my best to get to the rough nature of Iceland. Only the sky is limit when it comes to my travels…

Look how beautiful it is! It’s stunning. It’ll be like stepping into a fairy tale.

I could try to ride a horse? Or something. I love horses. I wish I knew how to ride one.

So what can I do in Iceland? I’ll fly to Reykjavik, so, obviously, I will stay there for few nights of my week-long journey. How and where? I have no idea. Couch surfing? Hostel? Who knows. But something cheap, for sure. Reykjavik and its colorful little houses, Christmas lights and little markets, friendly people and fireplaces. Warm atmosphere, northern lights. Trees and roads white of snow, air glimmering because of the falling snowflakes. Red noses and red cheeks, vapour coming from everyone’s mouth when they try to speak in the freezing weather.

After wondering around Reykjavik’s pubs and wee shops, I could imagine myself trying to hitchhike somewhere. Although I only have seven days and six nights, so might as well spend it wisely. I think I’ll just create a list that I really want to do and then just go with the flow, not really make any specific plans.

It’s Iceland. It’s kind of like Finland during winter. Everywhere in the Northern Hemisphere during the winter season days are way shorter than during the summer season. I remember those days when I went to school in the morning and it was pitch black, and then when I got off, it was pitch black again. So basically we couldn’t see the sunlight at all. It’s horrible. So depressing. So that’s where I come from and where I am traveling to. The shortest days might be only for about four hours long. But then again you’ll see the stars better and better chance to see the northern lights when it’s dark all the time (if the weather is good). I really thought that the temperature would colder than in Finland but it’s not! Not even close. It’s about zero degrees Celsius, maybe -2 to +2 degrees, when in Finland we would have over -20 C degrees. The reason for the relatively “warm” temperature is because of the gulf stream that brings warmer water up to Iceland from lower latitudes.

So, what should I do?

One day, maybe after some shopping at the Christmas markets, I would like to go to the world famous Blue Lagoon. In Icelandic Bláa lónið, the Blue Lagoon is artificial geothermal pool that gets its 38˚C warm water from the nearby Svartsengi thermal power station. “Svartsengi taps into steam vents fed by sea water seeping down into subterranean hot pots, and by the time it emerges at Blue Lagoon it has cooled to a comfortable 38˚C.” I’m super excited because they have a sauna there! I haven’t been to a sauna in ages. In Finland almost every household has its own sauna and before moving to Edinburgh I was used to go to the sauna for several times a week. Now it’s been almost seven months without it! Aaaa

 

After Blue Lagoon, I could try to go to see one of Europe’s most powerful waterfall, Dettifoss or maybe some other massive waterfall, like Gullfoss. I could also go to see the Askja, a volcanic crater that has a geothermal lake víti that you can swim in (SAY WHAAT). Then there’s also of course the Geysir which is probably one of the most photographed nature’s phenomenon in the world. Then there’s also plenty of national parks to conquer and wildlife to experience… Oh boy, is a week enough after all?

 

Aurora Borealis, the northern lights would also be a pretty amazing thing to see in the wilderness of Iceland. Did you know that actually the name Aurora Borealis is named after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and Borealis is from the Greek name for the north wind, Boreas. The best time to see them would be between September to April, so I guess my trip will have the “perfect timing” then. Lucky me!

On the road again, can’t wait to get on the road again… And there I will be. On the road, don’t know where I’m going but it’s definitely somewhere. In Iceland Reykjavik is a good start, then we’ll see where after that. Maybe a glazier walk?

“During the winter months, the glaciers get a bit sturdier, and groups of tourists are led across them. There’s no better way to see the glaciers than to walk on them. Release your Arctic explorer across the glaciers of Iceland.” 

Glazier walk, selfies with the biggest waterfall I’ve ever seen, ice caving and glacier lagoons. Horse riding, hot toddies, hanging out in a local pub with vikings, old saga tales and warming your frozen fingers in front of the fireplace. I found a perfect site, https://www.extremeiceland.is/en/winter-tours where I can find almost any tours that they have in Iceland during the winter season. So maybe I’ll go on for a tour. 🙂

Until the next time! Hafa a ágætur dagur! 🙂