My relationship with traveling
Where it all began
It’s no secret that I’ve always been interested in different cultures. At first, it was Ancient Egypt, then it was the Mayans, Korea, and Japan. I’ve always looked for new things to study and cultural practices to appreciate. And with that comes an integral part of learning about a new culture—traveling.
The first international trip I clearly remember was when we went to visit my family in Italy. I’m not exactly sure how old I was, but I think I was around 5 or 6. We flew down and landed pretty far from our house, then we drove through mountains and the most beautiful scenery I had ever laid my eyes upon. That’s when it dawned on me, for the first time, just how boring and insignificant Denmark really is. As we explored more of the Italian countryside, this thought was only reinforced. Why be stuck in a boring, gray country like Denmark when you can be here, looking at untouched waterfalls and wild boars? Why go through your entire life only knowing one neighborhood when there are so many places, cities, and natural phenomena just begging to be explored?
Where I'm at now
A LOT has happened since then. About a decade has passed, but my dream of exploring hasn’t changed. I’ve visited 11 countries and grown a lot wiser along the way, but my child-like curiosity remains the same. I’m always down for a trip; it honestly doesn’t matter if it’s to Mt. Fuji or the local 7/11—I’m down for anything and everything, as long as I get to go out and experience something new. And thats somethink i thank my younger self for every day.
The countries I’ve visited
So as i said, ive visited 11 countries, some of them i remember more clearly than others, but theres the list.
Italy
But I do have one other core memory. We went up a mountain—I don’t remember why, maybe it was to celebrate Easter? Anyways, we solved a bunch of fun riddles that were placed along the route. But when we got to the top, I quickly got sick—I’m pretty sure it was altitude sickness. A guy gave me his jacket, and I pretty much slept the entire trip until it was time for dessert. That’s when I got a huge serving of ice cream—I’m pretty sure a doctor gave it to me because he said it would help?? Oh well, I didn’t care, I was just glad to get ice cream.
Then, on the way down, I rode in a jeep with two people, and I remember that being really fun.
Also, one time, my big brother had to lie in the trunk of the car because there wasn’t room for him. So my uncle just drove around with a kid in his trunk… He would definitely have some explaining to do if anyone saw that.
And another thing I remember is that we watched this disturbing-ass movie about a cow that started bleeding?? And I’m pretty sure there was a crow that came with a pack of frozen peas to help the cow?? Man, I don’t know, I just remember it being lowkey disturbing to me as a kid hahah.
Switzerland
Anyways, I don’t remember much, except that I got a big Easter bunny made of white chocolate and a cool backpack that I had to color myself using those crappy fabric markers. It was so fun! I also vaguely remember my mom talking about artificial coloring for some reason?
Norway
Norway was another country we visited when I was a kid. I remember we went there by cruise ship.
When we arrived, we went to our apartment up in the mountains and got settled in. There were a bunch of other kids in the nearby huts, so my brother and I went down to the playground and played around.
We also went to an iron mine, and our guide kinda broke some rules and led us further into the cave than was technically allowed. He demonstrated all the iron dust that was still left by using a magnet to suck up a bunch of the dust. I actually think I still have that magnet today?
We also celebrated my birthday there, and I remember getting the coolest Razor scooter EVER—it was one of those with a built-in brake that made sparks when you used it. Oh man, I played with it so much when we got home, and all my friends were so jealous, lmao. Thanks, Dad!!
Croatia
One of my core memories is from when we rented these scooters, and I fell off one of them, which led to me getting a giant friction burn on one of my knees. My step-sister and brother helped me down to the guy who rented us the scooters. He gave me some water, but I ended up fainting. My step-sister then had to carry me down to the beach to try and find some Danish people. She eventually succeeded, and a sweet woman and her son gave me Tuc crackers and saftevand.
Another core memory from that trip was when we went to this ocean lagoon tingy. The water was crystal clear, and there were fish everywhere—they were all so pretty. I remember swimming around and trying to hunt the fish, and then my dad told me about sea cucumbers and sea porcupines. Since then, I’ve had an irrational fear of sea porcupines, haha.
I also remember that our hut was basically on top of a mountain. We always joked about how even a tsunami wouldn’t be able to reach us all the way up there. (Looking back, it probably wasn’t that high up—but it felt like it to little me!)
oh, and the drive home was kinda creepy because we drove through a dense forest at night and came across a castle (?). There were still execution devices out in the open. I’m pretty sure it was just a museum or something, but back then, it was scary as hell.
Turkey
I’ve also been to Turkey twice. The first time, we stayed in an all-inclusive hotel that had really good ice cream! They also had dinner based on a different country each day, and I remember two times it was Japanese-inspired. However, they didn’t have real soy dishes, so we used regular cups. And two times, I drank a big gulp of soy sauce instead of cola…
There was this really nice waiter that we tipped pretty well, and one day, he came with custom bracelets for all of us kids. I still have it in my room. It was such a sweet gesture. There were also these light-up balloons that I thought were so cool at the time, so I spent two weeks trying to find them. I even convinced my grandpa to join in the search, but we couldn’t find them. In my search, though, I found a pack of stray cats. They didn’t look too old, and I started playing with them. That was until this brat came and started scaring them by barking at them. Oh my god, I was so close to committing a felony. I told her to stop, but that bitch just laughed at me and continued to scare the cats away. She eventually got bored and left, but damn, I was angry at her. So, I started petting the cats again as a way to make up for her bullshit.
The second time, we lived in an apartment, and I liked that way more. Although I wasn’t doing that well mentally (I spent a lot of time in the bathroom either crying or contemplating my life choices, haha), I still made the best of it. We went and explored the city, got some döners, and it was all good.
We also went scuba diving, which was really cool! Although it was scary as hell, it was still fun. Speaking of, we went ATV riding, and my dad drove into a rock, but we didn’t get hurt, so it’s fine. We also went on a jeep safari, where we played loud music, had water fights with the other cars, and drove through impossible terrain. It was so dope!
I do remember my brother getting food poisoning right before we had to go home, and he threw up everywhere in a restaurant. He also basically fainted, and my dad shouted at him to lie down because he could see he was about to faint. That’s the first (and last) time I’ve heard dad shout like that. :O
Finland
Japan
If I actually had to write everything down, I would win novel of the year award, lmao. So I’ll try to keep it short.
I’ve gone to Japan twice with my friend and her family. The first time was the first time ever that I went that far away without my parents—it was lowkey scary, but it was a good experience, so it’s fiiinnneeee.
Although, the first time we went, I lowkey thought I wasn’t gonna make it past the border because it was a damn challenge to explain why I was there. The border was strict as hell because of corona restrictions, and some of us didn’t have the right paperwork, so that was our first hurdle. After that, they basically interrogated me about why I was there and who I was with. I showed them my travel consent forms, which I had gotten signed by my parents AND a lawyer, but they didn’t really accept it… Honestly, I think they just got tired of arguing and let me in, but damn… Not gonna lie, I started crying after. But it’s okay, because I eventually got in. (Luckily, the second time was wayyy smoother.)
But yeah, as soon as we got out, it felt like we stepped into another universe. I immediately saw Hatsune Miku stuff, which was honestly kinda surreal because I had never seen anything like that at home.
On the way to our hotel, I thought about how different it was from every other country I’d been to at the time. The buildings were neat, and nature mixed with the city. It wasn’t just boring gray concrete boxes—it was actual buildings. There were trees and bushes everywhere, it was so pretty.
After we settled in, our guide (my friend’s brother) started to show us around and give us tips and tricks.
We were constantly active—either going to temples, restaurants, shopping, or something else. The second time, we also went to Mt. Fuji, and I’m so mad I was sick, so I couldn’t go all the way up to the most iconic picture spot in all of Japan. But it’s okay—me and my friend went to get some Lawson food while the others were mountain climbing, hahahaha.
And speaking of food… I’ve never eaten so much in my entire life. Especially the first time we were there. After a week, I literally couldn’t get anything down without wanting to puke. But it was worth it for all the Famichiki, onigiri, desserts, and other stuff. (The second time, I had more self-control. 😛)
We also went to Skytree, and that was honestly a fantastic experience! I would recommend going at night, though—it’s less crowded and wayyy prettier (in my opinion). You could see what felt like the entirety of Tokyo, all the lights and buildings.
Speaking of lights, we went to TeamLabs in Odaiba, and holy shit, it was pretty. My friend’s big brother told us we were going to a “digital art museum”—damn liar. It was an interactive exhibition with lights, water, mirrors, and other optical illusions—it seriously didn’t feel real. I have a bunch of pictures and videos, but none of them fully capture how cool it was.
Okay, I should probably stfu now, haha.
France
They did get my order wrong, though. I ordered avocado toast as an appetizer, but instead, I got tomato soup… but honestly, I wasn’t gonna complain—it was the best damn tomato soup I’ve ever tasted. It was better than Mou! Of course, I also left a little drawing before we went on our way.
Another cute thing was this small jewelry shop near our apartment. A pretty, young woman owned it, and she was so sweet. We bought a bunch of rings and visited like 4–5 times during our stay. She eventually gave me and my stepmom a free ring each, and I still wear almost all of the jewelry I bought there!
Of course, we also went to visit the Eiffel Tower, and that was… definitely an experience. Dad had bought skip-the-line tickets, but for some reason, we couldn’t skip the line… so we ended up waiting for what felt like 5 hours. Luckily, our guide was funny as hell, so that helped a lot. When we finally got up in the tower, I’d say it was worth it. Even though I’ve been to tall towers before (Sky Tree and Tokyo Tower), there was just something special about this one—it was so cool!
But the best part of the trip was probably when we visited the Louvre. Oh my. That was fantastic. The art was breathtaking, and all the sculptures and artifacts were incredible as well. I will say, though—the Mona Lisa is overrated… but at least I can say I’ve seen her now, hahah.
Sweden
The drive was beautiful—we passed mountains, fjords, and forests. It was great, but the weather was as schizophrenic as it is back home. One second, it was clear skies and 25 degrees, and the next, it was raining cats and dogs. That made it really hard to predict what to do with our cosplays. One of my costumes got so soaked that the wig lost all its styling. Another got so hot that part of it literally melted. Yes, MELTED off.
But it was still a fun convention—besides the fact that I, to this day, have like 3 or 4 scars on my feet from walking 25-30 km a day in reallyyy uncomfortable shoes…
Germany
I’ve been to Germany a lot of times (just over the border to shop at Fleggaard)… but recently, my friend and her family asked if I wanted to go to Berlin with them, and of course, I said yes.
I didn’t have high expectations, but honestly, it was really nice! The food was soooo good—we ate at a bunch of Asian, especially Japanese-inspired restaurants, and the food was really delicious. There was a small Japanese shop in the Mall of Berlin, owned by a middle-aged Thai woman, and oh my god, they served the best miso udon I’ve ever tasted…
There was one kinda bad experience with the food, though… One day, we went to a Vietnamese restaurant we had been to before, and I ordered some chicken. I asked if they could make it not spicy, and the waiter said of course. But when I got it, I legit started crying—it was so hot. Even my friend’s mother (a native Thai person) thought it was hella spicy. I still ate like half of it because I didn’t wanna waste any food, but the dad had to force me to stop and convinced me to order something else :(( But it’s okay, I got sushi instead, and that was pretty good!
Besides the food, the city is also extremely beautiful. The architecture, historic buildings, and overall vibe was great. I went out alone a lot (as I usually do), and I gotta say, this is the place I’ve felt most unsafe out of all the countries I’ve been to. Not that I was directly scared to go out, but every time I did, I would get catcalled like 3-4 times, which is the first time that’s really happened to me. Of course, there’s always some fucked-up man who thinks it’s funny or whatever to catcall women, no matter where in the world you are, but I’ve never experienced it to this degree…
But not all my experiences with men were bad tho. There was this little boba/döner shop beside our hotel, and the owner was so sweet. The first time I went in, he didn’t wanna make my order because he said it wouldn’t taste good, so he freestyled instead, lmao. He did say I could get a refund if I didn’t like it, but it was actually pretty good. From there, I visited like two or three times a day, especially on my evening and night walks, since it was kinda hot, and a lemon kumquat boba was the perfect way to freshen up. I bought him doughnuts, and he gave me free Turkish cake.
I do think I scared him a bit, though—because he asked what I did back home, and when I said I went to school, his response was “College, right?…” I said that I was in 10th grade, and he turned white as a ghost and asked, “Wait… how… old are you?…” AHAHAHAH.
Thailand
Thailand is another one where I have to restrain myself.
It was the second country I ever visited without my parents, and it was definitely an experience. My mental health wasn’t the best the first time we went, so I didn’t get that much out of it… at least not the first week. I was definitely more productive when we went to Bangkok. I was studying Japanese profusely at the time, so I basically lived at a little cafe where I ordered strawberry frappes and studied for hours, making aesthetic notes and writing lyrics. Speaking of, I was basically never in the hotel room. I was either just on a walk around the city, 7/11 hopping, or looking at lightning by the sea. I was also absolutely entranced by the view from our hotel room. We were on the 12th floor, I think, and it was stunning.
We went shopping in this giant mall. It was basically Shein in real life. If you saw something you liked, you just had to buy it, because if you walked away, you were NOT going to find it again. There were hundreds of small shops packed with merchandise. It was honestly a fun experience.
The second time, I was doing a lot better mentally, so I could cope with more. We lived out in my friend and her family’s house for two weeks. I was a little worried it was going to be boring, but no, it was really fun. Me and my friend’s mother were constantly out doing something—shopping, being at a festival, going to restaurants, etc.
I also talked with way more of the locals this time. I talked a lot with my friend’s extended family, and all of them were so nice, especially the older ladies, haha.
But yeah, the second time was definitely better than the first.