On our way from our old home in Thailand to our new home in Norway, Dan and I traveled through twenty countries. I guess you could say we took the scenic route. Ah ha ha. Yes, there were many (more) bad jokes made, bad travel days suffered, bad food eaten, and bad games played.
Like “Cat,” a journey-long competition in which we would win a point each time we spotted and called a new cat, which far too often happened when we were hanging out with other people and we’d have to explain why we had just shouted “cat” and then awkwardly ignore their sympathetic looks as they realized that, wow, we had clearly been spending way too much time together and must be so bored.
I was actually very rarely bored, and the bad experiences never threatened to outweigh the good ones. So much so, that when Dan and I tried to narrow down a list of our favorite countries it was really hard! But if high school taught me anything it’s that superlatives lists are super important, so we tried our best.
Best Food
D: 1. Myanmar 2. Serbia 3. China
S: 1. China 2. Serbia 3. Myanmar
All I can say is it’s a good thing I left the Burmese NGO world, because if I lived in Burma I would for sure overeat everyday. I mean, that and I’m not a lawyer and can’t do any NGO job that wouldn’t be better given to a local.
Friendliest People
D: 1. Poland 2. Albania 3. Romania
S: 1. Poland 2. Kosovo 3. Siberia (I can’t say all of Russia, because Moscow)
I should really know by now not to believe stereotypes, but I was still so surprised by how friendly and helpful everyone in Siberia was!
Best Hitchhiking
Dan and I agree on this one: 1. Montenegro 2. Hungary 3. Poland.
Bonus: the worst was Ukraine – hitchhiking there was very nearly impossible.
Place We Would Most Want to Live
D: Tomsk (Russia), Belgrade (Serbia), Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
S: Belgrade, Poland, Tirana (Albania)
Dan is still obsessed with the idea of moving to Tomsk. Like, I’m crossing my fingers really hard that Norway will work out for us, because otherwise it looks like I’ll be moving to Siberia.
Place We Most Want to Return to
D: 1. Bulgaria (because of this) 2. Russia 3. Albania
S: I’m going to cheat because this is my blog and I can: 1. All of the Balkans with a car 2. Russia 3. Ukraine
Best Value
We agree on this one: 1. Ukraine 2. Albania 3. Russia
Most surprising
D: 1. Romania 2. Bosnia (who knew it was so beautiful?) 3. Russia (who knew Siberia isn’t just empty ice land?)
S: 1. Bulgaria (I no longer hate it) 2. Romania 3. Kosovo (I didn’t expect to fall in love!)
I think we both had the idea that Romania would seem really old-fashioned with lots of horse pulled carts in the streets, while in fact in turned out to be incredibly modern, with some of the nicest roads in Eastern Europe! Um, Dan might also have been under the mistaken impression that Romani people are from Romania, so he was really confused when we barely saw any there.
And because no superlatives list would be complete without these last two:
Best Dressed
Dan surprisingly doesn’t have an opinion here, but I would say
1. Russia 2. Serbia 3. Mongolia
I’ve never really understood Russian fashion – it sort of looks like it got stuck somewhere in the mid-90s – but I had never before seen Russians in cold climates. Suddenly it made sense, and oh my goodness, how glamorous everyone looked in their (maybe faux, probably not) fur coats and high-heeled boots. It was enough to get me to start wearing lipstick.
Mongolia was also a bit of a surprise, and earned its spot on this list from the gorgeous leather and fur boots alone. Alicia bought a pair when we were in Ulaanbaatar and I’m so jealous!
Most Photogenic
D: 1. Bosnia 2.Albania 3.Slovakia
S: 1. Slovakia 2. Russia 3. Mongolia (because who doesn’t love a photo of a yurt?)
I think my top ten favorite photos from our trip are all from the High Tatras in Slovakia. My goodness, those mountains!
I just realized that the only countries missing from this list are the Baltics, Croatia, and Macedonia. We only spent a night in Macedonia this time, but from previous experience I’d vote it in for best hitchhiking or best value.
As for the rest, if this were a yearbook they would probably end up with one of the sad random awards like “Best Eyes” or “Best Smile.” Come to think of it, Lithuania did have a great smile.
And if you’re wondering, I wasn’t voted anything in my senior yearbook because I was away on exchange in Germany. Instead of having my favorite quote under my class photo the yearbook staff just wrote “Bon voyage.”
Because yearbooks know.
Tempesst says
I love this post!! And those mountains-wow. I hope your move to Norway is going well!
Silvia says
Thanks, I think the move is going fairly smoothly!
Ola says
I’m very surprised that Siberia made it in the top 3 for the friendliest people 😀
Silvia says
I was too! But seriously, everyone was SO helpful!
Kelly says
Haha this is so cute! And it got me thinking, I remember what my senior superlative in high school was: Most likely to establish world peace. No pressure, right?! Especially because my best friend at the time was voted “Most likely to have a lot of children and puppies”…
Silvia says
Haha I hope you’ve made strides towards that! Having puppies sounds much easier, though maybe not the children part…
Van (@snowintromso) says
Siberia is on my bucket list and I would love to live there for a while too! If it weren’t for the language that is. Did a Russian course back during undergrad studies and had to cancel it after 4 weeks cause it was so damn hard!
Silvia says
I tortured myself with three semesters of Russian, but at least I’ve been able to use it a lot while traveling! And it makes Norwegian seem super easy in comparison, haha.
Emily says
This is so great! What an amazing trip!
Silvia says
It really was!
Marni says
This is a great list! Those photos of the High Tatras are beyond stunning, and I think I suddenly have a new destination on my list.
Silvia says
You definitely need to see the High Tatras – so, so perfect!
zof says
Wait, have you just said Poles are the friendliest people?
Silvia says
Um, YES. Your people are the nicest – like, it was almost comical how over the top friendly everyone was to us in Poland. Maybe they felt bad that we were visiting during stormy spring weather?
Kaelene @Unlocking Kiki says
Love this, what a great way to recap all those travels! I really want to visit Bosnia!
Silvia says
Bosnia was such a surprise – I hadn’t realized it would be so beautiful!
Amanda says
Love this! It’s always great to see some love for this part of the world. 🙂 Countries like Poland and Romania are some of my favorites in Europe!
Silvia says
Right? They’re definitely highly underrated!
Justine says
Haha, it’s so funny to see your different answers. Also, the cat game seems like a game Aaron and I would like to play. Come to think of it, I think we’ve unconsciously been playing that game for the past five years…
Silvia says
Hahaha glad to know we aren’t the only ones then!
Mary says
Wow! Those mountain photos are great! Beautiful!
Silvia says
Right? I don’t think there’s a more photogenic place on Earth!
Katie Featherstone says
Haha, this is great and really informative, thank-you! I was interested to hear about your time in Russia as I’ve only been to Moscow and St Petersburg, but I studied it’s History a lot at uni. Sounds like an amazing trip and I’m glad you spent some time hitchhiking. 🙂
Silvia says
It was so interesting to see bits of Russia that I had never heard about before. It definitely surpassed my expectations!
Patti says
We’ve only been to Prague, but we both would vote to return to eastern Europe and explore for a few months. Aside from the “behind the times smoking laws” we felt so comfortable in Prague and we highly suspect we’d feel the same throughout eastern Europe. The next time we make it across the pond, we need to put our feet back in eastern Europe.
Silvia says
I’m so sure you would love Eastern Europe – it seems right up your alley 🙂
Vanessa @ The Travelling Colognian says
Haha, I keep my fingers crossed for your that Norway will work for both of you and that you don’t have to move to Tomsk although a new life in Siberia would probably make up for some interesting and funny posts 😉
Except of Russia, China and Thailand I haven’t been to any of the countries you travelled through on your way to Norway (except I forgot one), but out of these currently Mongolia would interest me the most. Also, I haven’t tried Serbian and Burmese food but I totally agree with you about Chinese food, it is sooo tasty! But that only goes to the “real” Chinese food, not the customized Chinese food we get in non-Chinese countries.
Silvia says
“Real” Chinese food really might just be the best thing every. Just thinking about it makes me drool!
Camille says
I’m pleasantly surprised you both put Burmese food in your top 3! The whole time I was there most everyone was constantly dissing the food, some even refusing to try it… but I got addicted to shan noodles, avocado salad, and above all tea leaf salad! And while they weren’t always amazing, I had one of the best curries ever there.
Also, I expected the last category to be “hottest people”, haha!
Silvia says
Right? I’ve read so many bloggers dissing Burmese food and do not understand. Shan noodles Tea leaf salad! I guess I was lucky to be hosted by locals who knew where to eat?
Maria's Adventure says
Oh I love this post! I really have to visit Russia soon… Can’t believe it’s one of our neighbor countries and I still haven’t been there!
Silvia says
Seriously, Russia is amazing! I want to go back again and again.
elif says
such an informative and impressive list! hope you’d come to Turkey. 🙂 i hope i can travel to all the countries above. thanks!
Silvia says
I haven’t been to Turkey in years, so it’s definitely time for another trip there!