Why Take One Path

Why Take One Path

Hagen Friend

It’s often said that travelling broadens your horizons. Whether you're immersing yourself in a new culture or navigating a bewildering city with no more than your wits and a pocket-sized phrasebook to help, travel teaches you something about yourself and your life. This book is a document that pairs with a video created by myself which inspires people to travel, with information about each place I visited and little anecdotes and quotes from other people I met whilst travelling these places. Maybe you can take the road less travelled?

ICELAND

SPAIN

ENGLAND

Reykjavik is the capital and largest city of Iceland.

Its latitude, at 64°08’ N, makes it the world’s northernmost capital of a sovereign state and a popular tourist destination.

The city was founded in 1786 as an official trading town and grew steadily over the next decades, as it transformed into a regional and later national center of commerce, population, and governmental activities. It is among the cleanest, greenest, and safest cities in the world.

It may be Iceland’s capital city, but it still has a distinctly ‘villagey’ feel. Not surprising, really, when you consider that it has a fairly minuscule population of about 120,000 (the population of the whole of Iceland is only about 320,000, spread over a land mass of 40,000 square miles, making it the most sparsely populated country in Europe).

But this has not prevented Reykjavik developing into a quite outstanding cultural hub.

64° N, 21° W

Reykjavik

The first thing that hit me when I got off the plane at Reykjavik’s Keflavik airport was the smell of salty sea air. With its strong, fishy scent, it immediately took me back to my childhood when I used to live on the coastline in Pembrokeshire, South Wales.

Esja – 914 m (2,999 ft). Esja is not a single mountain, but a volcanic mountain range.

You start to get a feel-good-factor whilst in Reykjavik it could have something to do with the pristine air you breathe or pure drinking water from the mountains, or perhaps it’s the proximity of all those extraordinary natural wonders, such as volcanoes and glaciers.

You don’t feel so guilty because Iceland is sitting a geothermal hot–spot which means free heating in the house more or less. Icelandic people tend to keep their windows open while leaving the heating on full blast. Because of its singular geological position, Iceland has the special conditions needed to generate geothermal energy. The high degree of volcanism, along with the world renowned expertise of Icelandic specialists in the field of geothermal energy utilization, enables Iceland to be the world leader the production of this eco– friendly, sustainable and renewable power.

Pristine air and pure drinking water.

Geothermal energy in Iceland is used in diverse ways, including being harnessed for heating and the production of electricity. The energy comes rather cheap. So, in the wintertime, some sidewalks in Reykjavík (Reykjavik) and Akureyri are heated, and on the 40 km long road between Reykjavik and the International Airport at Keflavík (Keflavik), the lights on the lamp posts are on the whole night.

“Theres something about starting your path of travels, which makes you want to keep going, whether it’s being away from your home comforts or seeing something new everyday” – Traveller in Iceland

The water front appeared scattered with cranes in the process of construction; Iceland has become one of the most popular Nordic countries to live in.

Reykjavík's main landmark and its tower can be seen from almost everywhere in the city.

It was designed by the late Guðjón Samuel in 1937, who was often inspired in his endeavours by the fascinating shapes and forms created when lava cools into basalt rock.

Construction of the church began in 1945 and ended in 1986, with the tower completed long before the rest of the building. The crypt beneath the choir was consecrated in 1948, the steeple and wings completed in 1974 and the nave consecrated in 1986.

At 73 metres (244 ft), it is the largest church in Iceland and the sixth tallest architectural structure in Iceland.

“Hallgrímskirkja”

Thingvellir National Park

Thingvellir is the national shrine of Iceland. It is a key location in Icelandic history as the oldest existing parliament in the world first assembled there in 930 AD. The Thingvellir area forms part of the volcanic fissure zone running right through Iceland, In turn, this zone is part of the tectonic plate boundaries of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which extend the length of the Atlantic from north to south. The Thingvellir plains are the westernmost part of a rift valley stretching from the mountains in the northeast.

As well as moving gradually, the land displaces at intervals of several hundred years. In 1789 Thingvellir was struck by a wave of earthquakes lasting ten days. The valley floor between Almannagjá and Heiðargjá sank by almost 2 meters then, mostly in the middle, and spread considerably too.

Iceland’s landscapes are ever changing from the volcanic rock faces to the white glacier sheets.

When you visit places like this, you see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.

The crisp cold air bites the tip of your nose each day as a constant reminder of your presence in the most northern Capital.

From the Vikings of old, to the architects and innovators of contemporary culture, many different groups have influenced the shaping of the capital area into the vibrant city it is today – a city which is said to buzz with creative energy and passion.

Credits of photo: German Lady I said hello too.

I decided to go out for dinner as it was that time, and on the walk, I thought I’d look up to see if there were any dancing lights, ‘Nah, I’m in the middle of a city, the light pollution will ruin it’. But sure enough, there they were the Northern Lights. I stood outside for a bit watching, but they started to die. So I had my dinner eventually, after I finished I anxiously went outside to see if the lights came back and there they were again. I walked to the sea front so there was less light, and stood next to the Solfar sculpture to watch them. It was absolutely amazing (and cold), they were really strong and

vibrant and ever changing. There was a German lady who I said hello to who was taking long exposure pictures of the show, and I asked if she could email me some.

I watched the Northern Lights for some time, next to the sculpture, my neck actually hurt from looking up, but after they had dimmed down I went back to the hostel thinking I can die a happy man.

Mijas

Grape vines were the main source of wealth in Mijas until the Philloxera plague destroyed all of the vineyards There was no phone service until 1953 and the town’s architecture consisted mostly of shacks.

36° N, 4° W

Mijas is a town and municipality in the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Located on the South-Eastern coast of Spain, Mijas belongs to the region of Costa del Sol Occidental. Its centre is a typical Andalusian white-washed village, located on a mountainside about 430 metres or 1,476 feet above sea level, in the heart of the Costa del Sol region.

Mijas village ‘pueblo’ is one of the most famous traditional “white” villages in Spain. Overlooking the Mediterranean sea. Situated in between Marbella and Malaga and high up above Fuengirola, Mijas is a beautiful picturesque typical Spanish village.

Follow the winding road up from the coast towards the village, its white-washed houses clinging to the hillside. Mijas is a popular tourist destination that has managed to retain most of its Spanish individualism and character.

It was really surreal arriving in Mijas, coming out of Fuengirola which is like a mini England, this place was really cultured, I could only hear the Spanish language which was nice.

Sierra de Mijas

The Sierra de Mijas is a mountain range in southern Spain, part of the coastal mountain range that lies behind the Costa del Sol Occidental, in Andalusia. It separates the Valle del Guadalhorce region from the Costa del Sol. The highest point is the Pico Mijas at 1,150 metres.

Geologically it is located in the inner part of the Cordillera Bética. It is traditionally divided into two sectors is mostly composed of marble and limestone.

“I have family here, so I come here twice or three times a year, whenever I do, climbing the Sierra de Mijas is a must.”

– Finnish gentleman visiting

Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever on the road.

I thought to myself, theres a mountain there, whats stopping me from climbing it. This walk is about 12km which took roughly 3 and a half hours, and ascending to 1100m. It was an uphill track all the way, turning into quite a strenuous climb for the last couple of kilometres, including some scrambling.

It was pretty easy to get to from Fuengirola, and once I got to the base I was walking through pine and oak woods, and there was a few interesting features along the way. The reward for my efforts was a most amazing view, probably some of the best in the area, you could see as far as Gibraltar to the west and the Sierra Nevada to the east.

When I arrived in Mijas, I didn’t know what to expect, but to be honest, Mijas was a little gem tucked up behind some mountains, which had a vibrant Spanish culture, and a lushous scenery. It was a complete contrast from Fuengirola, which means if you push just that little bit further you can find pure gold.

Bristol It received a Royal Charter in 1155 and was granted county status in 1373. From the 13th century, for half a millennium, it ranked amongst the top three English cities after London, alongside York and Norwich, until the rapid rise of Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester during the Industrial Revolution in the latter part of the 18th century.

Bristol borders the counties of Somerset and Gloucestershire and is also near the historic cities of Bath to the southeast, Gloucester to the north and Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, to the northwest. The city is built around the River Avon, and has a short coastline on the estuary of the River Severn where it flows into the Bristol Channel.

51° N, 2° W

Bristol is a city in the South West of England with an estimated population of 437,500. People from the city are known as Bristolians. It is England’s sixth – and the United Kingdom’s eighth-mostpopulous city, and the most populous city in Southern England outside London.

“Although often overlooked as a tourist destination, Bristol has a lot to offer of its own and is an excellent base for exploring the West Country” – Meggy Sunshine, Bristol Backpackers

As this is my home, I take it for granted, and I always want to get out of the country and visit new places, but Bristol is quite a vast city, and I am yet to explore a lot of more of it.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less travelled. – Robert Frost

Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path, and leave a trail – Ralph Waldo Emerson