On the Road (IV)

The clock reads 7am and I am eating breakfast in my hotel. I glance out the window to my left and notice two adult polar bears and a small, juvenile one in tow. One of the adults is dragging a bloody seal carcass along. A walrus glides along the ice in the distance followed by about a hundred emperor penguins. Just another day in the arctic circle.

I always visualized a scene like this when I thought of the arctic circle, but the reality of my current surroundings in the Lofoten Islands (located in the arctic circle) is quite different. But first, how did I get here?

I last posted shortly after arriving in Copenhagen, the historic home of vikings, and the modern home of beautiful, blond women. My stay there consisted of old castles, serene city parks, modern architecture, several museums (notably the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art), and (naturally) a lot of food. Copenhagen probably ranks #1 on the list of European cities I would want to live in, although I have not experienced its renowned depressing winter. I didn’t find the city as culturally interesting as Berlin or Paris, but it was clean and organized, plus everyone speaks English. Residents swim in the city harbor…imagine taking a casual dip in the east river. Anyways Copenhagen was enjoyable and relaxing, but after several days I left the Danes for their viking cousins, the Norwegians.

I flew from Copenhagen to Bergen, the second largest city in Norway. BTW, Norway has great airports that are spacious, clean, and modern – I guess that’s what happens when a sparsely populated country happens to produce a shit ton of oil. I traveled from Bergen to Gundhaven where I joined a guided group for a two day kayaking, camping, and hiking trip in the Fjords (historic glaciers that are now rivers squeezed between mountains). Pros of traveling with a guided group: friendship, pre-planned logistics, safety, better food. Cons: everything moves more slowly (we actually covered a decent amount of ground hiking/kayaking, but if I had done this trip with some fit friends we probably could have covered 2x the distance). The scenery was incredible and I made friends with a British dude who works at Blackrock…classic.

Originally I thought I would travel to one more country post-kayak trip, but I ended up flying further north in Norway to the Lofoten Islands, my current locale. I figured I am far more likely to visit Ireland in the future than these islands. One of the best decisions I’ve made in recent memory, just ask my brokerage account. Imagine a group of mountains emerging from the sea, covered in green vegetation, and dotted with sandy coves, alpine lakes, and sheer rock faces. Or better yet just look it up on google images. The day I landed, I rented a car at the airport and headed directly to the Lofoten Surf Center to rent cold gear (hooded wet suit, booties, and gloves) and a surf board. 30 minutes later I was out there chasing waves with the orcas. I didn’t actually see any…but they are out there. I’ve spent each of the following days ripping different hikes. Mind blowing views. It rains intermittently, but as the Norwegians say, there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad equipment. One more big hike today and then I set off on my four flight journey home tomorrow afternoon (I get back to Boston Sunday night).

Eurotrip reflections:

The journey has been a ton of fun. I’m grateful for the opportunity as I may never return to some of these places again. I’m hopeful that I’ve grown personally a bit as well. Solo travelling without a firm itinerary creates plenty of uncomfortable situations to deal with: dynamic logistics, forced extroversion, and mimetic inquiry (figuring how to spend my time without any external guidance) to name a few. I still think travel is better with friends, but I am now confident that travelling solo is worthwhile and I would do it again. I’ve lived out of my backpack for the past five weeks and am ready to return to my vacant apartment (which I have not slept in yet), kick this sugar habit (am currently inhaling 2 ice creams/day – I’m not sure how anyone can consume a substance as addictive as sugar in moderation), and dive into the next chapter (can’t wait to do homework again 😭).

I’d like to give a big thank you to those followers who read these last couple of lightly edited rants in their entirety. I’m looking forward to talking to everyone again once I’m back on east coast time and reliably connected to cell service.

P.S. I’m in the market for a new Instagram handle – Nomad__Noah feels disingenuous.

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