Month 1 Summary

So it is officially one month since I began traveling!! I've been on the move so much and going so quickly, it's hard to imagine that I have been gone for 30 days. It's been a whirlwind of excitement and new experiences and I'm loving almost every minute of my journey. Though, my savings account is going away alarmingly quick and I don't know how long my one year journey will last, I know I will at least get all the way through my Euro Adventure. So without further ado, here is a summary of my first month on the road.



Countries visited

Iceland, Norway, Holland, Belgium, France

Cities visited

Reykjavik, Skogar, Vik, Hofn, Djupivogur, Breiddalsvik, Stodvarfjordur, Egilsstadir, Husavik, Akureyri, Skagafjordur, Holar, Borgarnes, Stykkisholmur, Hellnar, Arnastapi, Budir, Bergen, Askoy, Oslo, Amsterdam, Volendam, Zaanse Schans, Marken, Brussels, Ghent, Bruges, Lueven, Paris, Montmatre



Money Spent

Ballpark $2500 (this is also so high because I am still paying bills, I'm in Western Europe and I've had to deal with a few issues the required me to spend above and beyond the normal amount).

Pictures Taken

2702

Transportation

5 planes
6 Trains

Miles Traveled

About 8500 miles

High

As you can see, I've been moving extremely fast through Europe and getting more exhausted by the day. My absolute high was getting to spend one week in Paris, getting to spend a couple of days laying in bed until noon and sitting outside enjoying the beautiful weather. I also enjoyed my sprint through Iceland. I dread cities and being out in nature was good for my soul.



Low

My low time would have to be when I was in Belgium. I really enjoyed Ghent, but the rest of my time spent there was not that great. I'd been on the move a lot, alone and lack of preparation had me scrabbling around frantically looking for a place to stay.



I've been enjoying my time so much, but I am missing home quite a bit. The next month to come, I'll be spending with the boyfriend in Italy and my dad and cousin in Germany. The thought of slowing down even more excites me and I hope my need to travel is revived because right now it's at an all time low and the euro is KILLIN' me. I hope you're enjoying following me around Europe and can't wait to update you all on what else I've been up to :)!

8 Tips for Visiting Iceland

So, before you go barreling off to Iceland to see all this beautiful country has to offer, I have come up with a few tips you should follow. Iceland is great but it is still a small country, with an even smaller population. While in Reykjavik and Akureyri, you'll feel right at home, with restaurants galore and plenty of music stations; but outside of the cities, it's a desolate and undeveloped land. Make sure you're well prepared for your trip and you'll be loving Iceland in no time!

1. Bring an eye mask.
If you are visiting between May and September, you might want to bring an eye mask. It stays light well into the sleeping hours and the suns rises extremely early. In the time that I visited, the sun rose at 4:30 am and didn't set until 10:30 pm and even then it wasn't dark. Sometimes your blinds may not be enough to keep all of the light out.

2. Stop Frequently!
Once you begin your journey, stops are few and far between. It could be 50 to 100 miles until you see the next small town or village. So, stop and fill up when you can and make sure to empty your bladder! Otherwise, you will be sorry.



3. Don't fly in on a Sunday.
We flew in on a Sunday and EVERYTHING was closed and what wasn't closed didn't open until fairly late (about 9 or 10).

4. Bring Snacks.
If we didn't have a few snacks in the car, I'm not sure what would have happened. When visiting the small towns and villages, most of the cafes were closed and when they pointed out one that was open, we couldn't even eat there. My mom is allergic to eggs and those "cafes" that they told us to go to, served nothing but pastries or coffee. I'm not sure if it's easier to find places when it's "in season" for them or what. But we drove around hours a few days looking for a place to eat.



5. Don't Trust Your GPS!
I recommend getting a map for your trip and using it instead of a GPS. Our rental car company provided us a Garmin for our trip and it didn't really do anything except get us lost... A LOT. The only time we got to where we were going without confusion was when we used our map. So unless you have a really good GPS that is updated, then using a map will be more than enough. Our's had all of the major points of interest on it and more.

6. Bring Your Own Music.
Near Akureyri and Reykjavik, there are plenty of stations to listen to. But once you get out and around the ring road, you only get to listen to talk shows in Icelandic or static. Most of the time it was just static. And quite car rides are difficult to stay awake for. If it weren't for my iPod and the informative CD's Hertz gave us, we would have had rode in a lot of silence.



7. Don't worry about exchanging cash or withdrawing any.
Credit cards were excepted everywhere we went in Iceland, even the tiny little guesthouses we were staying at and for any amount. So avoid those ATM fees and rip exchange rates at the airport. Just use your card (and make sure your bank knows about it).

8. Last but not least: Take your time.
There's so much to see in Iceland. Don't try to cram so much of it in at once. Give yourself time to enjoy everything so you're not so exhausted the next day when you get up and start all over again. If you do like us and do the ring road, make sure you prepare well for the first couple of days because there's so much in the beginning and it slows down towards the end of it.





This is part of the #sundaytravlerseries with Chasing the Donkey and don't forget to support all of the other participants! :)

How can I afford to Travel?

I've been getting this question a lot lately and figured I would go ahead and put it down on my page permanently.

When I first started telling people about my trip, most peoples' responses and reactions were offensive, "Wow! You must be so rich!" or "Wow, mom and dad must have a lot of money." Just because I'm traveling, makes me rich? Or means that my parents are paying everything for me? While neither one of these are true, I finally understand why so many people's responses were more or less the same.



Since I've been traveling around, I have heard a tremendous amount of people explaining how their parents are paying for their trip or they have a nice little trust fund. While that's great for them and there's no problem with that, I have actually worked hard to be able to travel. And traveling isn't always expensive depending on how you do it. I've been gone for almost a month now and have spent less than $1500 (food, transportation, hostels). This may seem like a lot but I'm in Western Europe and the euro is seriously killing my budget.



So, here is my big secret. I have worked for years and years with one dream. To travel. Most of my decisions and choices have revolved around this. My disposable income goes towards my savings account for a future trip that I'm going to want to book sooner or later. I still have bills to pay and yes, my parents have helped me out with rent and my car insurance, but they haven't paid for my travels. Traveling isn't impossible, nor do you need a lot of money to do it.



When my credit was good enough, I applied for credit cards that would get me mileage points. This has allowed me to save about $500 so far. I applied for Spirit Airlines (which I no longer have because it was too hard to get points) and an American Airlines credit card. I'm saving up my points right now for my return flight home from this trip because I know it's going to be pretty expensive.



I also have been couchsurfing. Couchsurfing is a great way to meet new people, especially locals, and get a locals view of the area you're staying in. It's also a great way to save money because it's FREE. Another great way to save money is by booking a hostel or through Airbnb. I don't stay in fancy hotels every night. In fact, I've only stayed in a hotel one night because I really wanted to stay in a place longer that only had hotels available.



When people travel or vacation, they spend a tremendous amount of food because they eat out all of the time. I haven't. Most hostels have kitchens and when you're couchsurfing, your host will most likely have a kitchen. Go to the market and buy some food. I've been out a couple of time to McDonald's but that's just because of the great Wifi :P. Otherwise, I just get a sandwich from the market. I'm also a picky eater, so I went from eating 3 square meals a day to eating just one cheap meal a day. I know most people can't and won't do that. But I get too tied up in the exploring, I just forget to eat or put it off until it's too late. I also have a water bottle that I just refill. Water from the tap is safe to drink in Europe, so you don't have to spend $6-$8 a day on bottled water.



And last, but not least, there are free walking tours in almost every city you visit. Just check with your hostel and they should be able to give you more information. You should expect to tip your guide but other than that, it's a great way to get to know the city and find out some interesting facts about it. If you don't want to do that, then go out and explore. You don't always need to book a tour to see stuff. Most of the cities I've been to, I've taken the free walking tour or just walked around and found stuff I wanted to do.



So that's my spill about how I afford to travel. You don't have to be loaded down with money or have mommy and daddy pay for you to afford it. Just check out some travel blogs. There are many people out there that are buying round the world trip tickets from under $1000 and people living for under $25 a day traveling around the world. Do you're research well and you'll see that you can afford to travel as well :).

Ghent: The City That Saved Me

Ok, so I know this is way out of order of my traveling but I think it's time for me to update everyone on how things are going.

I have been traveling now for about 3 weeks and everything is pretty awesome for the most part. I love discovering the cities I visit, trying some new foods, meeting new people and exploring the famous sites.



I've experienced couchsurfing and hosteling, tried Belgium waffles and almost bought a cannibus lolli pop in Amsterdam and nearly cried my way to the top of climbing a tower in Ghent because of how small the width and steep the stairway was.



But, I'm still adjusting to being on my own since it's only been about 2 weeks officially on my own. Every time I've gotten to a new city and place, I've hated it. Cities make me feel claustrophobic and it was even worse because I was unfamiliar with the place. After I would get to the new city, I'd get to my hostel or host's house, take a nap, freshen up and grab some food. And POOF! Just like that, I'd start enjoying the city and make my way around.



With Ghent, it was completely different. The second I stepped off of the train and out into the street, I fell in love with the city.

I began walking to the historic center which was probably only a mile or two away from the station and couldn't stop looking around me. The buildings looked ancient, the streets were so clean, I felt super safe (more so than I have anywhere else I've been to on my own so far) and it wasn't so over-whelming that I felt like I'd loose myself.



As I was walking, I saw a hotel and decided to book it because I wanted the feeling I had to last a bit longer. My original plan was to go back to Brussels and stay with someone through couchsurfing who kindly answered my plea for help (since I failed to acknowledge the weekend was coming up and didn't book a hostel, so I had no where to stay, silly me and lesson learned!) but I just didn't think I'd be ready to leave this place. And I was right (even if it did cost me a little over $100.)



After settling in at the hotel, I grabbed a map and started exploring. I did a little bit of research before coming here but I did it months ago and couldn't remember anything that I had looked up. I just let the stoned streets lead me around.

I came across the Gravensteen Castle first and spent the €6 to walk around the castle. I enjoyed the views of the city from some of the higher parts and reading about the torturing methods was pretty... uhhh... interesting.



Then I made my way to Belfry, a huge tower from where you can get panoramic views of the city. While I enjoyed the views, I was quite terrified. I am scared of heights and small spaces and that is what all this place was about!





I also enjoyed getting to explore St. Nicholas and St. Michael's churches. And then I just wondered around and got intentionally lost. The city isn't too terribly big and it seemed easy enough to get back to where I needed to go. I'm starting to get used to asking for help when I can't find my way :p. This is when I ended up loosing my credit card though, and I freaked out momentarily. But quickly called the company and cancelled the card.



I am so glad I ended up coming to Ghent. Even though I barely found a place to stay for the weekend and lost my main source of money, I was in a wonderful place where I didn't feel smothered and over-whelmed by everything around me. It gives me hope to continue my trip and the amazing support that I'm receiving from my friends and family are helping more than they know. I'm so thankful to them all and can't wait to share my journey with everyone.

Photo Essay: Skogafoss

Skogafoss can be seen from the main road on the way to Vik. It's stunning and one of the biggest waterfalls in Iceland at a width of 82 feet with a 200 foot drop. There is a sleep path with stairs up along side of the falls and on a nice sunny day, the spray from the falls brings out beautiful rainbows.

Skogafoss is located in the small village of Skogar with about 25 people. This village is home to a folk museum that is opened daily, Hotel Skogar with beautiful views of the falls and a restaurant as well.

Famous Blue Lagoon in Iceland

No matter how long you're visiting or why you're visiting Iceland, the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa is a must. At least this is what everyone told me when they found out I was going to Iceland. I wasn't too keen on going to this place though, because I don't really care about spas.

But, mom said we needed to do it and I signed us up. I'm super glad we ended up doing this! Once we ate our ridiculously good and expensive breakfast in Reykjavick, we made our way to the lagoon. As soon as we came up over a hill, we could spot the steam from the geothermal pools.



We made our way into the spa and checked in. I knew that it was required for us to wash off before we got into the pools, but it is required to bathe fully naked and wash with the provided shampoo and conditioner and stuff. Thank goodness there were some covered showers because most of the women were just using the uncovered ones, which was a shock for me. I'm not a prude or anything, but old lady parts are not something I enjoy seeing in the morning.



After bathing and changing, we made our way to the beautiful blue, 98 degree waters of the lagoon. The water from the lagoon is rich in silica, sulfur and other minerals, which are said to have healing properties for certain skin problems. The lagoon is man made and the water comes from Svartsengi, a nearby geothermal power plant that was built in 1976.



The water was such a comfortable temperature and never too hot. There's also a bar you can swim up to and grab a couple of cocktails and relax for a few ours. On the sides of the lagoon, there are buckets full of a mineral mud mixture. I put this all over my face and shoulders and just let it exfoliate my skin and relaxed.

Afterwards, I felt so refreshed. Jet lag didn't seem to be a problem any more and we were ready to begin our trip.

Lovely Village of Vik, Iceland

Mom and I spent our night in a beautiful guesthouse in between Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss. On our way to our new destination for the day, we passed through Vik. A charming little village that is located at the southern most point in Iceland and also known as the wettest.



This quite little village is home to about 500 people and sits on the coast with views of tall cliffs, filled with sea birds, black sand beaches and the Atlantic Ocean. Vik also sits below the Myrdalsjokull glacier and this glacier is located right on top of the Katla volcano.



If the volcano were to ever erupt (the last eruption being in 1918), the city would be flooded and washed away from the melted waters of the glacier. The village's church is located high up on a hill in the village and is believed to be the only area that could survive a flood should it happen. Periodic drills go on in the town, so if ever an eruption happens, people will be able to run to the hills!



The cliffs nearby are home to many types of seabirds, including the well-known puffin. Unfortunately, for us, the cliffs were closed due to puffin breeding season and we were unable to visit or see a cute little.



Out of all of the towns and villages we passed through, Vik was my favorite. Even though there are not many people, it has everything you could need and beautiful views that stretch on for miles.

Seljalandsfoss: Bucket List Completion

Seljalandsfoss has been on my bucket list for years. It is actually the main reason I even wanted to go to Iceland in the first place. I'd see amazing pictures of the falls in a vibrant orange glow from the setting sun surrounded by bright green grasses and moss. The falls looked like it came from a dream world and I wanted to experience it for myself since I'm a mega waterfall lover.



We had already had such an eventful first day and done so much, mom and I were pretty exhausted. But lucky for us, the falls can be seen from the Hvolsvöllur to Vik route and on our way to our guesthouse for that night.

As soon as we came around the curve, I saw it and acted like a 6 year old girl getting to meet her first Disney Princess in Disney World. Seljalandsfoss was as magical as I thought it would be. Since it wasn't sunny at all this day, I didn't get to see the beautiful orange glow from the sunset. But I still got to see my dream waterfall :).



There were also two other mini waterfalls falling off of the same area as well. I walked the path to the side that was laid out and ran up to the top of the second one to see the view of the area.



There are multiple viewpoints you can get from the falls while you're there if you visit. There is a platform that you can walk up to view it from the side and the path leads down to get behind it. The wind was blowing very hard and it's super wet behind there, so instead of taking my clumsy butt back there, I just admired it from my nice little side view. You can also climb up a steep but short path up a hill on the other side of it as well for another angle.



Even though it's not the biggest or even considered the best waterfall, I still loved it.

*Note for visitors: During the winter time or at night, the falls are eliminated by bright lights, making the falls come alive during the darkness. If you're lucky, you can even experience the breathtaking northern lights over the falls as well. Make sure you know how set your cameras because it's going to be one helluva site. :)




This is part of the #sundaytravlerseries with Ice Cream and Permafrost and don't forget to support all of the other participants! :)