30 Countries in 30 Years, Part III
a recap of countries 19-30
Hi friends! Happy Sunday! I hope this post finds you well! Husband and I have had a busy weekend and it ain’t over yet - we’re just about to head out for a Sunday stroll and a nice cozy pint in our local. But first! I’m dropping in ever so quickly to share 30 Countries in 30 Years, Part III; the final post in my epic 30 in 30 series. In case you missed the first two posts, you can catch part i here and part ii here.
This third and final post covers countries 19 to 30, and just like the first two, includes a little highlight-reel recap and some fun photos. I believe this miiight be over the email length limit, so if you can’t see all the way to country 30 at the bottom, click on ‘view entire message’ to open it in your browser.
And yes, the photo above, taken in country #30 a few months back, is a very accurate representation of how I spent much of my time there: woo-ing! 🥳
Enjoy, friends!
country #19: malta
valetta // gozo
2013
In January 2013, I visited Malta with UCD Archaeology Society; it is the 5th smallest country in Europe, and the 10th smallest country in the world. Naturally, we spent a lot of time visiting the main archaeological sites: Hagar Qim, Mnajdra Temples, the archaeology museum, and St. Paul’s Catacombs. There was also: the Blue Grotto, thunderous downpours of rain & hailstones the size of golfballs, insane views from the Upper Barrakka Gardens, hysterical laughter when my bestie couldn’t remember where her locker was in the MUZA, and marveling at Caravaggio’s finest work in St. John’s Co-Cathedral. A few of us also took a ferry to Gozo for the day, where highlights included seeing the Azure Window - sadly, now collapsed! - , wandering the citadel, and fearing for our lives on the rockiest ferry crossing of all time.
country #20: spain
santiago de compostella // barcelona
2014 // 2014, 2018
It’s bizarre to me that the very first time I visited Spain was when I set out to walk the Camino in 2014, but it’s true. I walked the Camino with my best friend, starting in Saint-Jean on the French side of the Pyrenees and finishing in Santiago 34-days later; stopping at many tiny Spanish villages, towns, and cities along the way. After the Camino, we took a well-deserved first class overnight train to Barcelona, where we met up with an Oklahoman Camino friend and tourist-ed lightly. We wandered the free part of Park Güell, gawped around La Sagrada Familia, braved the tallest freefall waterslide in Europe, and I somehow wrangled my bestie into getting matching hair-braids. Honestly, we were a bit Spain-ed out at this stage and only spent two days in town before leaving. It wasn’t until I returned to Barcelona in 2018 with my mom & sister that I actually started to like the city; we ate some amazing meals, drank at some fantastic rooftop bars, and hysterically laugh-cried our way over the city in a cable-car.
Read more: Walking the Camino de Santiago, A Photo Guide // A Wander Guide: Barcelona, Spain
country #21: switzerland
geneva
2014
After the aforementioned post-Camino stint in Barcelona, my pilgrimage-partner/best friend & I were looking to hightail it out of Spain asap rocky. After desperately contacting everyone we knew overseas, we ended up flying to Geneva in Switzerland to stay with her lovely uncle for a few days. Bizarrely, flying was cheaper than getting the train, so that was pretty cool! The one day we ventured into the city we: saw the Jet d’Eau & the Flower Clock, visited the Reformation Wall, watched old men play a giant game of chess in the park, and enjoyed some wonderful hot chocolates. Another day, her uncle drove us over the boarder into France, where we went market shopping and wandering.
country #22: the netherlands
amsterdam
2014, 2018
Is it The Netherlands or just Netherlands or maybe it’s Holland? Whatever you call it, I’ve visited it twice; once in 2014 with my ex-partner, and again in 2018 with my best friend. My first trip there was on the cheaper/broke-student side of things, but the second was all about the good stuff: food, culture, and alcohol! Standout memories include: eating eggs benedict for breakfast every single day, the art history library at the Rijksmuseum, the 3D Lichtenstein bedroom installation at the Moco, more coffee & snack stops than you can imagine, and the extra salty margarita of my dreams. So salty, I might add, that it put my friend off drinking margaritas for years – oops!
Read more: Four Days in Amsterdam, Holland
country #23: denmark
copenhagen
2015, 2017
I had a mild after-college crisis in 2015, during which I was trying to decide if I wanted to do a grad visa abroad for a year. Due to various reasons, I decided against it – but only on the self-imposed promise of death that I keep traveling whenever possible. I kicked off said travels with a trip to Copenhagen, where I promptly fell head-over-heels for the city before even getting off the train from the airport. It is undoubtedly the friendliest and most safest city I’ve ever visited. I loved it so much that I returned again in 2017 for a best-friendiversary, and fell even harder than the first time. Highlights from the combined trips include: pastries galore, going on the biggest rollercoaster in Tivoli Gardens over and over, nearly passing out in the Botanic Gardens, underwater statues, being enamored with Joe & the Juice, and stride-bys galore on Copenhagen’s prettiest street.
Read more: Exploring Copenhagen, Denmark
country #24: iceland
reykjavik // akureyri
2015
After falling so easily for Denmark, I figured maybe all Nordic countries would be lovely - and I wasn’t wrong! A month after my first visit to Denmark, I somehow managed to convince one of my besties to go to Iceland with me, and we had such a great time! We based ourselves first in Reykjavik, where we spent a few days tourist-ing around, and then we took an epic 7-hour bus journey to a city on almost the exact opposite side of the country, Akureyri. Hands down, the highlight of our trip was going whale watching and seeing two(!) humpback whales and the tail-flaps of TWO blue whales as we casually sailed around, wearing ridiculous jumpsuits for warmth, drinking hot chocolate and eating cinnamon rolls. It was pretty epic. Other highlights include: experiencing less than 2-hours of darkness at night, becoming our true hostel chic selves, booking the semi-fancy Blue Lagoon package, and taking a day-trip around the Golden Circle.
country #25: portugal
lisbon
2016
Husband and I visited Lisbon together in autumn 2016; it was our first trip away to a country that neither of us had ever been to before. We spent a handful of days in the city, based in the Alfama neighbourhood, but neither of use really loved it. I mean, yes, we: trekked out to Pastéis de Belém and ate a gazillion custard tarts, devoured an amazing Argentinian steak at a fancy restaurant, spent a fun day at the cinema watching Sully, went up the Elevator de Santa Justa for views over the city, went to the Time Out Market, and so forth & so on - but still it didn’t really speak to us. The highlight of the trip for me actually happened after we got home, wherein Aer Lingus published one of my photos from the city in their onboard magazine!
country #26: luxembourg
luxembourg city // vianden
2022
Okay I’ll be honest: Luxembourg was never particularly high on my Countries To Visit list. However! When Husband & I stumbled across ridiculously cheap flights in early 2022, we thought ‘why the heck not’?! I gotta say - the tiny country really surprised us! We stayed in Luxembourg City for the most part, venturing out only twice – once to visit Vianden & see the fairytale castle, and once to visit the American Military Cemetery in a nearby suburb. It was a little grey and dreary during our time there, but we were so busy trying as many Luxembourgish beers as possible, wandering the winding streets of the Grund, and eating surprisingly delicious Mexican/Chinese/German/Irish-Luxembourgish fusion food that we barely noticed!
Read more: A Long Weekend in Luxembourg // Visiting Vianden, Luxembourg’s Prettiest Town
country #27: canada
lunenburg // summerside // halifax
2022
Gosh, I had been wanting to visit Canada for so long that by the time we finally made it across the pond I was already obsessed with it. Husband & I visited in August 2022 with his parents and many of his extended family for one of his cousin’s weddings. Naturally, we took full advantage of our time there, hitting the coastal town of Lunenburg, the PEI capital of Summerside, and the gorgeous Nova Scotian city of Halifax. We both thoroughly enjoyed our time in the land of maple syrup, but here are some standout memories: doing a mini food crawl around Halifax, getting stuck in a ridiculous rainstorm in Lunenburg & sheltering outside Kennedy Atelier on Victoria Road, eating the sandwiches of our dreams in PEI, and soaking up the vibes on the waterfront.
Read more: Two Days in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia // Exploring Summerside, Prince Edward Island // An Afternoon in Downtown Dartmouth, Halifax // Eating Our Way Around Halifax, Nova Scotia
country #28: monaco
monte carlo
2023
Husband and I visited Monaco on a day trip from Nice in January 2023. The tiny little country - the second smallest in the world, after Vatican City - is located on the French coastline, and it is beyond idyllic. We spent a handful of hours in Monte Carlo, in which we wandered around trying to see as much as possible. Highlights include: visiting Grace Kelly’s grave, watching the royal guards secure the palace grounds, generally soaking up the overwhelming The Princess Diaries vibe of the place, and savouring the insane views over the whole country from the panoramic viewpoint.
Read more: 6 Things to See in Monaco
country #29: japan
tokyo // kyoto // osaka
2024
Oh, Japan, *sighs*. Husband and I visited the ‘land of the rising sun’ in late January/early February of this year on our honeymoon and had literally the best time ever. Neither of us had ever been to Asia before, but we both fell absolutely head-over-heels for the place. Over the course of our two weeks, we travelled between Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka; with Kyoto being our spiritual homeland. Although I feel like our whole trip was a standout memory, here are some extra special ones for the purpose of this post: almost getting snowed in on our Shinkansen from Tokyo - Kyoto, running through the Shibuya Crossing more times than I can remember, the silence of Kyoto, street-food tacos for second dinner every night, the best cocktail bar of our lives in Osaka, and so many ridiculously wonderful food experiences, but especially our first Cremia soft-serve.
Read more: Japan Travel Tips // Two Weeks in Japan, Our Honeymoon Itinerary // Four Days in Shinjuku, Tokyo // A Morning in Asakusa, Tokyo // 36 Hours in Shibuya, Tokyo // Four Days in Kyoto // Four Days in Osaka
country #30: norway
oslo
2024
Norway, my 30th country!! Feeling the plane touch down on Norwegian soil brought such a huge ginormous smile to my face - I’d finished my crazy goal! And I’m so glad to have finished up on this trip specifically, because Husband and I both loved our time in Oslo! We went over not really knowing what to expect and ended up being very pleasantly surprised indeed. The people were lovely, the city was surprisingly gorgeous, and the we just had such a romantic weekend wandering around. Highlights include: being there for Norway Day & getting to see everyone all dressed up & so happy to be Norwegian, standing mere feet away from all 3 versions of MUNCH’s The Scream, and eating kanelboller while cherry blossoms rained down1 around us.
Read more: A Long Weekend in Oslo
And there we have it friends, 30 Countries in 30 Years, Part III! The final part of my country by country breakdown! What did you think, did you enjoy the series? I’ll have to come up with some new travel related goal to keep striving towards - any ideas?
Thanks for reading along, friends!
Hugs,
Vicki xo
related posts
30 Countries in 30 Years, Part I
30 Countries in 30 Years, Part II
I just googled if this phenomenon has a name, but sadly, in English, no dice. However! Of course, the Japanese have a name for it: hana-no-ami (花の雨). Literally translating to “flower rain”, this describes the effect of when blossoms sprinkle down from the trees like rain. How lovely!