Worn & Wound
Out of Office: 12 Days and 3,500 Miles Through Scandinavia with the Straum Jan Mayen
In an out-of-place English pub with gin on tap and a stale cigarette smell clinging to everything, we sat down to look back at the epic adventure we had just completed. Twelve days and over 3,500 miles through four countries, narrated over walkie-talkies clipped to the seatbelts of our own individually rented European hatchbacks. Along the way, we saw jaw-dropping landscapes and unfamiliar wildlife, met some amazing people eager to share their culture and inspiration, and even ended up being detained during a thorough vehicle search that did nothing but ruin a birthday surprise. This trip, built on a flimsy framework rather than a solid plan, played out as many of my trips tend to, with hilarious calamity and tent pole moments that will plague the jokes of my inner circle for quite some time. This was a grand tour of two cousins separated by six months in age celebrating our entrance into a third decade on earth using our carefully selected kit to enhance our own Scandinavian Top Gear Special. It all started roughly one year ago when I was asked if I would have a party to ring in 30, to which I replied, “oh, no, I am going to do a two-week tour of Scandinavia!” Right there, right off the cuff without any real prior thought, the seed was planted. As time ticked by and the date got closer and closer, the details started to come into view. I wanted to fly into Denmark, grab a vehicle, and drive up through Norway to the Arctic Circle, across Sweden and into Finland throu...
