If Jules Verne’s characters went around the world in eighty days, journeyed to the center of the Earth, and descended twenty thousand leagues under the sea, I wondered if a character could circumnavigate the Baltic Sea. Well, of course, one can travel around the Baltic Sea, I told myself. But…can one do this particular voyage in only 15 days? Now that was an idea that Jules Verne had not written about. The development of how I formulated this concept as my most recent solo journey, and the planning process for this amazing feat, are the topics for this blog and a series of my next few blogs.
The concept of traveling around the Baltic Sea in only 15 days actually started developing when, back in June 2007, I was trying to decide where I wanted to travel for my next vacation. I knew that, at the very least, I wanted to go to countries that I had not yet previously been to in the world. This list still has many countries on it, so I needed to narrow down my search. Having been to Europe before (visiting 17 countries during a five-month solo backpacking trip in 2004), and really enjoying the experiences that I had on this continent, I decided that I wanted to go back to this part of the world, but to visit countries that I had not yet set foot in. I made a list of those countries, and pulled out a map of Europe to help with my decision of where to travel.
Map of Europe
On my list, there were two general areas of Europe that fit my criteria – the Scandinavian countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland), and the Baltic countries (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia). There were a few miscellaneous countries scattered throughout the continent as well, but somehow the combination of these two groups struck me as being interesting. Not only were the countries themselves intriguing to me, but also the fact that I noticed that as I was looking at the map of Europe, the majority of these seven countries surrounded the Baltic Sea. Thus, the idea came to me to see if I could visit all seven countries in one journey, thus essentially circumnavigating the Baltic Sea!
Map of the Baltic Sea
For some strange reason, this concept really excited me, and I knew that I had to do what it would take to see if I could accomplish my newly formulated idea! Part of this excitement also meant that I would get seven more countries’ stamps in my passport, experience seven cultures, eat seven different types of foods, hear seven languages, learn to say “thank you†in these seven languages, and use seven different types of currencies! How fun!! (And it would also shorten my list of countries that I have not yet been to in the world.)
Please read the next few blogs for more on the concept development of, as well as on the planning process for, my solo voyage of traveling around the Baltic Sea in 15 days.
Sweet Travels!
Maps from Wikipedia