My Nordic Top Ten Wishlist

 

As a traveler, the Nordic region has never really been a place that calls to me. My brother visited Finland and Sweden on a "sports ambassador" trip the summer before he entered high school, and brought me back a pretty awesome hat, but I never felt a "pining for the fjords" myself.

That is, until I  started binge-watching Danish tv. It's kinda all Mads Mikkelsen's fault, as I'm a huge fan of the tv show Hannibal and needed something to tide me over in between seasons. I'd heard great things about Jagten (which is a really, really good, if soul crushing, movie). From there, it was, "Well if you liked that, you have to see this..." and somewhere along the way, I read some epic praise of the Danish crime drama Forbrydelsen. Pretty soon, I was marathoning that, and Borgen, and Bron/Broen simultaneously.

So, with my interest in Denmark and Sweden piqued, I did a little further exploring. Again, Pinterest is huge help in this area (as is Trover, which I've just recently discovered). Thanks Icelandair's ad campaign in the NYC subways, and numerous travel blogs, I already knew Iceland to be absolutely gorgeous and super hot right now. But Norway surprised me with its natural beauty as well. So here's my current top 10 wishlist of Nordic places I'd like to visit/things I'd like to do:

Drive across the Øresund Bridge blasting 'Hollow Talk'.

Pretend to be hbic Birgitte Nyborg at Christiansborg Palace.

Take a selfie with the Little Mermaid.

See the Northern Lights.

 

Take the Flåm Railway in Norway and sail around the fjord.

Drive the Atlantic Road.

Visit the Lofoten Islands.

Drive the Ring Road in Iceland.

Visit the Snæfellsnes peninsula.

Swim in Iceland's Blue Lagoon.

I mean, seriously. Go back and look at those pictures again. Travel porn.