My Top Experiences Of 2018

2018 has been another big year for me! I visited 14 countries this year, 7 of which were new countries for me. I took 15 flights over the course of the year. I really settled into York and my life abroad. I even made my first ever money as a blogger this year!!

Every year, I like to talk about my top experiences of the year. In 2016, some of my top experiences were getting married (!), moving to England, and seeing Victoria Falls in Zambia from a microlight. In 2017, I loved the White Nights in St. Petersburg, exploring England’s Lake District, and visiting the Hill of Crosses in Lithuania.

I’ve had so many wonderful experiences this year! Here are my top experiences of 2018.

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Falling in love with Tbilisi.

My first trip to Georgia saw me spend nearly a week in the capital, Tbilisi. Tbilisi is now one of my absolute favorite cities in the world, and somewhere I’m desperate to return to. I immediately connected with the city. From the architecture, to the beautiful churches, the delicious food, fun bars, the streets that come alive in the evening—I loved everything. I stuffed my face with khachapuri day in and day out. My 6 nights in the city were like a dream.

Literally everything about Iceland.

Iceland is a bucket list destination for most people, and it certainly was for me. I had an amazing three-day trip to Iceland at the beginning of November, and I loved every second! The landscapes were some of the most spectacular and dramatic I’ve ever encountered. It felt like something out of a dream. I wanted to pull over every two seconds to take more photos of the next stunning scenery. I couldn’t believe my eyes at Seljandfoss, Skogafoss, Reynisfjara, Gulfoss, and Thingvellir National Parks—everything was amazing. Iceland was absolutely worth the hype.

On our last evening, we caught this sunset across the mountains. We sat and watched the clouds and the colors change. It was a perfect moment.

Going solo in Belgium.

I traveled solo a lot during my study abroad—Latvia, Poland, Croatia, Russia. But since I got together with Mr. Away With Maja, we try to plan our lives to travel together as much as we can. But over Easter, when Mr. AWM was in Nepal, I went on a solo trip to Belgium. I had the best time eating waffles and fries, drinking beer, and running around photographing beautiful cities. It re-instilled in me that sense of independence and confidence. It reminded me just how much I love traveling solo!

A spontaneous trip to the Lake District.

In May, I was working 3 different jobs and regularly pulling 6-day weeks. I didn’t have very many weekends off, and couldn’t plan things out very far in advance. So when I found out on a Tuesday night that I would have both Saturday and Sunday off from all my jobs, we booked a last-minute Airbnb and before I knew it, we were off to the Lake District! The weather was phenomenal, and I had the best time: climbing Scafell Pike, visiting Wastwater, admiring the 360˚ from Loughrigg Fell, and seeing Eskdale from Hardknott Roman Fort. It was one of the best trips of the year—mainly since it was so unplanned!

A road trip to Scotland.

Another rather spontaneous trip was a 4-day road trip to Scotland at the very end of August. With four days off work, we decided to head up to Scotland and explore the Highlands, a place that’s been on my bucket list for years! I had the most amazing time driving around some of the most jaw-dropping, stunning scenery I’ve ever seen in my life! I explored the Hidden Valley in Glencoe, climbed to the top of Ben Nevis (the highest peak in the UK!), and saw the Hogwarts Express (Jacobite Steam Train) cross the Glenfinnan Viaduct. It was so much fun and definitely one for the books!

Waking up to this view.

One of my favorite parts of the Scottish road trip was camping! We invested in a new tent, new gear, and had a few pretty amazing camping spots. But nothing could beat this view of Scotland when we woke up in the morning. This view signified everything I love about travel, and I why I do it in the first place.

Seeing so many of my FRIENDS!

Living abroad, the hardest bit is missing my friends and family. This year, I’ve been so lucky to have seen so many of my friends this year. I rang in New Year’s Eve in Minneapolis, surrounded by my best friends from college. I got to meet up with friends and travel around the Baltics with them in April, which was fantastic to show them one of my favorite parts of the world.

One of my best friends from Canada came and visited York for a Popworld session before he traveled around the Stans this summer. Some of my family came to visit me in York, and I loved getting to share my city with them! I met up with two of my best friends in London, and had so much fun exploring different parts of a city we know and love well. I had a blast in Nottingham visiting friends in May and in November. I am so grateful to have spent so much time with people I love.

Spending our wedding anniversary in Dublin.

For our second wedding anniversary, Adam and I decided to celebrate in one of my favorite cities: Dublin. This trip was my 7^th to Dublin, and we had a wonderful short weekend doing both old and new things. We ate amazing food (including finding the best Eastern European restaurant in Dublin, the Admiral!), drank lots of good beer and cider, and listened to so much traditional Irish music. We also went to the Guinness Storehouse, something we’d both done (separately) years ago, but hadn’t done since. It was such a wonderful way to spend the weekend with Adam!

This view in Tallinn.

I (finally) made it to Estonia this year, as I met up with friends for a few days in the Baltics. One of my favorite moments of the year was getting up to this viewpoint and seeing this gorgeous view. Tallinn is like a fairytale town. So beautiful and so picturesque. It was like something out of a dream!

Returning to Riga.

I’ve been to Riga three times now. It is absolutely one of my favorite cities in the world—a beautiful Old Town, lots of history and interesting architecture, and a really lively bar scene. As my bus pulled into town, all I could think was, “I’m back! I’m coming home!” With a few exceptions, I rarely feel this way about places. It was so much fun going back to such a great city.

The scenery in Kazbegi.

My daytrip on the Russian Military Highway to Kazbegi was one of my favorite days of the entire summer. We visited the Zhinvali Dam, Ananuri Fortress, the Russian-Georgian Friendship Monument, and Stepantsminda. It was a major highlight of my time in Georgia—the Caucasus scenery was just amazing!

Exploring Armenia.

Armenia is one of the most fascinating places I’ve ever been. The history is mind-boggling. The world’s oldest shoe was found in Armenia, and it was the first country to officially adopt Christianity as the official religion! I visited some of the most beautiful and historic monasteries and historic sites in the country during my short time there. There is a lot of tragedy and difficulties in Armenia’s past and present, but it was a wonderful place to explore. I also watched the fountain show in Republic Square in Yerevan almost every night—and it was so much fun!

Visiting Castlerigg Stone Circle in the Lake District for my birthday.

In 2017, I went to the Lake District to celebrate my birthday. This year, I decided I wanted to do the same thing—so besides messing my knee up on a strenuous hike, I had the best weekend. And one of my favorite parts of the trip was going to Castlerigg Stone Circle, one of my favorite places in all of the Lake District, to celebrate my birthday. And better than that—I got to share it all with my favorite person in the world!

Spending a lot of quality time in York and Yorkshire.

Being so busy juggling jobs in the first half of the year meant I didn’t necessarily have that much time to travel all that far. York has so much to see and do, and Yorkshire is one of the greatest places in all of the country. I had the opportunity to see so much of the town where I live and Yorkshire: I loved walking from Whitby to Robin Hood’s Bay, visiting Castle Howard in the summertime, seeing the purple heather in the Hole of Horcum (for the second year in a row!), and hiking through the North York Moors. I also visited pretty much all of York’s visitor attractions, saw the city come alive for various festivals, and tried a lot of new pubs, bars, restaurants, and cafes. This is a really special place I get to call home!

Seeing Eminem in concert.

I don’t go to many concerts—it’s not really my thing. But when we found out that Eminem was going to be coming to London this summer, we couldn’t not go! It was a really crazy weekend, but the concert was like something out of a dream. Eminem was even better in real life than I could have imagined. 50 Cent and Ed Sheeran even came out! It was so worth the money and such a fun experience.

Experiencing a lot of “new” things in London.

London is my favorite city in the world. And despite living so close, I rarely actually go (you can thank the cost of train tickets for that!). Every time I go back, I try to do at least one “new” thing—instead of re-visiting my favorite places, going somewhere new. When my friends came to visit, we had a blast going to different places: the V&A Museum, finally seeing a show at Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, and wandering around the pretty mews. It was so fun to see different things and go to different places—it was a blast!

Meeting Glo!

When one of my favorite travel bloggers announced that she’d be doing a lecture in Leeds, I knew I had to go. Glo runs The Blog Abroad, and is such a huge inspiration to me. Her lecture was really informative, and gave me a lot of motivation to work harder on my blog, in achieving my goals, and living my dreams. And she’s just as funny in real life as she is on the gram!

Returning to Poland.

I ended up in the Polish city of Gdansk for a week in November, with a few unexpected days off from work. Poland is one of my favorite places: charming Old Town architecture, delicious food, cheap prices. I had so much fun traveling solo, taking myself out to fun bars, eating as much pierogi as I could manage, discovering the monumental history of this beautiful city. It was such a wonderful trip.

Feeling settled: a new job, and stability to pursue my dreams.

Ending this year, perhaps one of the best experiences has been feeling legitimately settled in my life here in York. I have a decent-paying job in the travel industry that allows me to travel here and there and pursue my dreams. I can afford to eat out every once in a while, have a gym membership, and meet my friends for drinks. I’m so grateful to feel this way—it’s been a long journey.

Thank you to each and every person who has followed along with me, and come away with me on my adventures! This year wouldn’t have been possible without your support—here’s to another travel-filled year ahead!

What were your top experiences of 2018? Any goals or exciting plans for 2019?

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4 thoughts on “My Top Experiences Of 2018”

My Worst Travel Moments Of 2018 - Away With Maja

January 5, 2019 at 10:22 am Reply

[…] already talked about my top experiences of 2018. But I think it’s important to take these good kind of posts with a grain of salt—because […]
Tilly Horseman

January 8, 2019 at 11:18 am Reply

Wowzers! An epic year! Exhausted reading about all that! So many exciting places I’d love to visit too, especially Iceland and Poland! Can’t wait to see where you travel to this year! Xx
1. Maja
  
  January 8, 2019 at 7:25 pm Reply
  
  Thanks so much Tilly!! Iceland was seriously amazing – if you get the chance, GO! Can’t wait to see what this year has in store for you too! 🙂 xx
The Best Places I Visited In 2018 - Away With Maja

January 9, 2019 at 7:43 am Reply

[…] year, I do a few big yearly recap posts on the year just gone. I’ve already written about my top experiences of 2018, and the worst travel moments of 2018! But I always like to do one about the best places I visited […]