Welcome to Niceland

Iceland. Oh Iceland, what did you do…

Before traveling to (N)Iceland, I wrote a blog post about “the land of ice, geyshirs and Vikings”. This is what I wrote:

“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…”

And so it was.

Here’s how it all started.

I was on a plane (EasyJet, sooo cheap from Edinburgh to Reykjavik!) (okay.., enough of commercializing. That’s not what my blog’s about.) with my “little” 20 liter backpack in my legroom. Couldn’t really sit with my feet straight / in a comfortable position, but oh well, I survived. My focus was not on my feet but the good company I had. There was this old couple sitting next to me, somewhere maybe at their 70ies. They had a wee Scottish accent and they were sooo cute! Loving life etc. Mainly they were wondering how a girl at my age had the guts first to live abroad alone and then to travel all alone to Iceland. But they knew what I meant when I told them that this is the life I want to live, this is what I’ve born to do. He told me he loves traveling, too. He used to feel the same as I do now, that the world is open and you just want to travel everywhere and explore as much as you can! He told me he used to work as a sailor on a big ship for many, many years. So basically, his job was to travel all around the world. He used to sail from Edinburgh to Cape Town, from South Africa to Hong Kong and all the way from China to Sydney and so on, just to mention few of them. He had been to every continent, even Antarctica. He had literally been everywhere and he had seen so much. You could see it from his eyes when I asked him questions about his travels, his eyes just… It was amazing. Like he traveled in time, back to the past. He had such a depth in his eyes, he had a sparkle in his eyes. You could see he had lived a lot and seen even more.

So I enjoyed that plane flight very much. No matter how uncomfortable my feet’s position was.

Oh, human connections. People, you rock!

So, after arriving to beautiful Iceland (later on known as Niceland because everything and everyone there are just simply so nice) I, somehow, managed to get a bus to Reykjavik and – I SWEAR, not intentionally – got a free bus ride from Reykjavik to my hostel, even though I hadn’t booked nor paid it beforehand. The driver didn’t really care because they were in hurry and it was a hectic situation so I got the ride for free. And! He took me to my hostel which wasn’t even on their drop off-list. 😀 Hehehe. Worth of trying!

The hostel was really nice and I would recommend to everyone. It’s called Hlemmur Square hostel and they have both, a luxury hotel and an upscale hostel up there. 🙂 I had a view to the sea and big white mountains from my room. So much better than the “another brick on the wall” view that I had at my home hostel in Edinburgh. (So basically there was about ten meters and a huge grey-brown-ish wall that blocked all the sunlight coming to the room. I mean, okay why am I lying, it’s Edinburgh. There’s no sunlight in Edinburgh. 😀 I think they, Scotland and the whole UK have some issues with the Sun, I don’t think Sun really likes UK that much… But rain does! And clouds. And wind. And storms… The list is endless.)

Anyways, Iceland. Wow. Nice, Iceland, you really are a nice land Iceland. Niceland.

It’s been now exactly four weeks that I left Edinburgh and flew to Iceland. Like I said, I had no idea what to expect. And it was good, I managed to let go and just go with the flow. Every day was a new day and I was open to all the adventures it led me to. I managed to let life happen at its own pace and not push it any specific direction. What ever problem or difficulty appeared, you dealt with it at its time. And because of all that, I was feeling very positive and confident about my time in Iceland. Everything was going to be alright, whatever happened. But I had no idea that it was going to be one of the best weeks of my entire life.

I was poorly prepared. And I kinda knew it, but I did it anyway. My winter coat was a bit so-so. It worked just fine only if and when I wore a massive jumper under it. But I manages just fine, the biggest issue were my shoes, they were tremendously bad. First of all, I had only one pair of shoes with me, so, when that one pair got wet I had nothing else to wear than the wet ones. And it was more wet in Iceland (in December) that I thought it would be. Whoops. Oh well, at least I learned something… It can rain in Iceland, too. And even though it didn’t rain, the snow that falls down might melt on the ground and become a horrible mess of slush. Ugh. So two pairs of shoes, everyone! Two pairs! Or if you have only one pair, please, do yourself a favor and check that your footwear is (A) waterproof, (B) slip resistant and (C) warm enough. I had none of those. So you can only imagine.

SO, WHAT HAPPENED IN ICELAND?

I’ve been telling you how awesome (and not awesome) it was, but I haven’t told you how it all happened. In a nutshell… this is what happened:

Even though I didn’t get to go to the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa because I didn’t have a swim suit nor I met any actual vikings, I still had a pretty good time in Iceland. I met the coolest people at the hostel and we were too hipster to take a tour so we rented a car, set our GPS and went on the road. (Just kidding ’bout the hipster part.) We just wanted something different, we wanted to go away from the touristic track and schedules. We wanted to go into the wild and so we figured that the best possible option was to rent our own car with a group of four and just… Go. If you’re thinking about traveling in Iceland, please, another favor to do to yourself, rent a car with a GPS and just… drive. There’s plenty of car rental places you can choose from. Or try your luck and find a person who has the international drivers license and possibly even a car already. Haha. That’s what I did and it worked out just well. Here’s some evidence.

Places we got to see during my week in Niceland:

Reykjavík

Reykjavík was beautiful – both day and night.

Even though I did got lost a bit one night and I kinda had to search my way home on my own back to the city center since my phone didn’t work in the freezing cold weather and there was no cars nor taxis driving by. When there finally was a car, it was already morning and those friendly locals with a warm car were – nope, not willing to give me a ride but – willing to help me to get back home. 🙂 Apparently I wasn’t too far away, approximately 45 minute walk or so only. Oh well, that happens. And after that little adventure (which includes having a cup of coffee in a local bakery with a local old grandpa who’s number I have if I ever return to Iceland, and other stuff) I survived and managed to get back home safely. Hooraayy! Long live the life!!!

On the road to wherever…

…look how beautiful it is everywhere. And so quiet, so peaceful…

 

Chasing Northern Lights…

…the famous Aurora Borealis and photo shooting sessions…

 

the sky lights literally danced upon us

 “Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity for human spirit.” -Edward Abbey

First road trip…

…from Reykjavik all the way to Vík, the southernmost village in Iceland, and back…

Waterfalls, such as

Seljalandsfoss

Skogafoss

and then, Vík and the Black Sanded Beach…

Vík í Mýrdal

 

 

…where my crazy Australian friend swam and almost got hypodermic… Aussies! 😀

So he swam in a freezing cold ocean. We had to get him warm, so we decided to go swimming in a hot spring, the People’s Pool,  we had read about. It was supposed to be somewhere there on our way back and I had the instructions on my phone. It was supposed to be easy to find the place but oh-noh, not even close. The site said that there was a path beside on a mountainside you first had to take before getting to the pool. Well, we got to the place the path was supposed to start but there was no path! Only snow everywhere. Couple of cottages and mountains. We got off from the car but after a while looking and a wee snowball fight we got back to the car. It was too cold and windy, “It’s not here, we can’t find it.” we thought. But then suddenly out of nowhere a car drove next to us. There was some Norwegian people who asked us if we’re going to the pool. They had been there before and they were ready to show us the way. 🙂

After a approximately 30 minute hike through rivers (I’m not kidding, this time not only mine but all of our feet were completely wet) and frozen pathways on the mountainside, we finally got to our destination. And oh boy, the views from up there…

There we were. Swimming in a pool on a mountainside in the middle of nowhere. The water was warm and it was snowing. It was amazing. One of the best moments of the week. After swimming a while a local man told us we should get back soon because the sun was about to set and soon it was going to pitch black. We had no torches nor nothing else, so we took our stuff, put our clothes back in the freezing cold weather and started walking back to the car. 🙂 Then we got on the road again and a snow storm hit us. We couldn’t see anything and we were just driving with our little car in the middle of nowhere, hoping for the best. Hoping that we will survive, get back to Reykjavík alive. Haha. It was a good day. And awesome company! I was so lucky with the guys I met. We got along so well and we basically spend the whole week together. 🙂 It was goood.

Second road trip – the Golden Circle

Couple of days after the first road trip we hit the road (Jack!) again. This time we wanted to go for the famous golden circle -route, which all the tourists knew and where all the tours went, too. Here you can see the golden circle route on the map and also the route all the way to Vík:

During the winter season the day is so short (about from 10.30-11am to 3.30-4pm, or even less) that if you want to see all those places during the sunlight and not in the darkness, you should be prepared to spend the whole day (from 9am to 6pm or so) on the road. If you want to return back to Reykjavík for the night, I mean. We did that and it was alright. Both of them – driving around the circle and to Vík – were day trips. So be sure to have time if you want to visit places!

Here’s how our day around the Golden Circle was.

First there was the Þingvellir National park…

…The place where the North America’s and Eurasian tectonic plates meet. So we actually were able to walk above the Mid-Atlantic Ridge; in a place two continents meet. It was amazing. And the landscapes were just incredibly beautiful.

…after that the famous Geyshir…

…and the last but not least Gullfoss, “the Golden falls”

It was massive! It’s the largest waterfall in Iceland. The sun was just setting when we got there and it looked amazing. Iceland just stole my heart, right there just then. It was… unbelievable.

 

Those two road trips were really amazing and they only made me feel like I didn’t want to return home, not yet. But I am sure, one day I will go back and this time during the summer when the sun never sets.

What a great week. And once again, the people I got to meet! Wow. Thank you guys! For making my stay unforgettable. 🙂 Until the next time! Here’s the last photos, very random ones. From jumping around snowy Reykjavík without socks on and having a surprise birthday cake in the hostel to looking stupid on the top of a waterfall and taking a photo of a guy and a bird. All those moments. All those people. Such a good vacation, such a good time and adventures. Can’t wait for the next ones to come! 😉 (Asia, here I coomeeeee!!!)

Cheers! Or tack tack as they say in Iceland.

Thank you guys.

Until the next journey!

– Jenna

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