Everyone has one, whether we ever write it down or not.
Even though I’d of course love to try almost every possible thing out there, there are some things which are higher on the list than others. So, here is my bucket list, both the realistic and unrealistic wishes – brace yourself, it is very long! I believe in living life to the fullest and, you know what they say, aim for the Moon and at the very least you will end up amongst the stars, so I think there’s no harm in wishing for the impossible. 🙂 It will of course continue to grow, but this is as much as I managed to think of right now, in no particular order.
“‘Cause every night I lie in bed, the brightest colors fill my head, a million dreams are keeping me awake. I think of what the world could be, a vision of the one I see, a million dreams is all it’s gonna take…”
B. Pasek/J. Paul
[as of 2023]
THE BIG LIFE STUFF AND TRAVEL EXPERIENCES:
- visit all the countries in the world (33/195 so far)
- get a PhD in mechanical engineering (finished my Masters)
- study philosophy
- visit all the continents (3/7)
witness a solar eclipsethe Northern lights(in Sweden)

- design a submarine
make a major positive change in someone’s life- study psychology
publish a scientific paper(see my first one here)- get married
- read all the books
live in a different country(twice, in the UK and in Sweden)- name a star
meet Viggo Mortensen(I actually did that, kind of)- invent something and patent it
watch a meteor shower- write a book
- have healthy children and raise them well
- the Pyramids (saw the pharaonic tombs in Egypt already, but not the Pyramids)
- the Rainbow mountains in Peru
- the Great wall and the Forbidden city in China
the Eiffel towerand the catacombs in ParisStonehenge in England(see here)Tara, the Giant’s causeway in Irelandcross the Arctic circle(done in Jokkmokk in Sweden)Svalbard(the northernmost inhabited area, see here)- stand on the equator
- see a sequoia forest
eat fancy seafood in France- learn about the Native American culture
whisky tasting in the UK(in Scotland)- Antarctica
- see all the interesting things in Slovenia
- walk the Camino de Santiago trail
play the Carcassone board game in Carcassone, France- the wilderness of Canada
visit the undergrond: a grotto, a mine, catacombs- go to a party in Iran
- visit a cathedral, a mosque and a Buddhist temple (2/3)
- Tasmania
- the Dead Sea
hike to Trolltunga, Norwaygo on a backpacking tripthe Coral reef(in Australia)

- take a flamenco class in Spain
Isle of Skye(magical landscape and the friendliest people)- fly in fancy first class
Cappadocia and Pamukkale in Turkeya trip to Andalusia- Sicily, Etna in Italy
visit a castleexperience the midnight sun in Scandinaviacouchsurf through Australia for a monthgo to an Irish and Scottish trad session(traditional music in a pub)live with the locals in Ireland for 3 weeks- learn salsa in Cuba
see an ancient Greek templetry Couchsurfing(I love it)night tour of the rainforest(in Australia)go on a cruise(in Egypt with my family)- see the jungle
visit J.R.R Tolkien’s grave(in Oxford, UK)solo travel(many times and with great success)- experience a top 5 star hotel
Hobbiton in New Zealandmud volcanoes and Transylvania in Romania- visit Petra, Jordan
- Madagascar
- tea drinking ceremony in China
get a cheese plate delivered by room service in a fancy hotel(in Postojna, Slovenia)visit a concentration camp(Dachau)- Glowworm caves in New Zealand
hitchhike- volunteer work abroad
- a full moon party in Asia
meet Santa Claus(done in Finland)- the Transsiberian railway
- hitch-hike from Slovenia to Denmark with my best friend
- cherry blossoms, weird festivals and Mt. Fiji in Japan
black beaches and the Great geyser in Iceland(with my parents as a child)- do a Balkan road trip
ADVENTURE:
- go into space
dog sledding(in Sweden)skydiving(did it in Australia, it was amazing)

- scuba diving
fly a plane(got to try flying an ultralight plane as a child)walk on the frozen sea(in Sweden)- hot air balloon ride
- a trip in a nuclear submarine
visit an ice cave(in Svalbard)urban exploringrollercoasters!- shoot a cannon
cross a scary suspension bridgecross a frozen river(in Sweden)walk in the desert(in Egypt)experience extreme winter(-37°C during northern Swedish winter so far)- stand under a big waterfall
- swim in all the oceans (2/5)
go on a camping trip(Corsica)- see a lightening strike up close
jump off a cliff(in Australia)- fly in a helicopter
- go to a Harry Potter LARP
- go to the orc battle of Helm’s Deep LARP in the Czech republic
walk on a glacier(in Iceland)- go to a pirate LARP on an old boat
- try ayahuasca
see an active volcano up close(Vesuvius, Italy)- chase a tornado
ANIMAL ENCOUNTERS:
meet a wild wombat(in Australia, see here)- swim with the sharks or whales
- swim with the manatees
swim with the sea turtles and manta rays(in Australia)see a walrus in the wild(on Svalbard)whale and puffin watching(done in Iceland, Svalbard and Ireland)- see an elephant in the wild
- penguins in Antarctica
see seals in the wild(both in Iceland and in Scotland)ride a donkey- go on a safari in Africa
meet a reindeer and a moose(done in Sweden, seen a few in the wild)cat cafehold a snake(done a few times, most recently in Australia)

see the marmots at Grossglöckner- pet a Norwegian forest cat
- see a wild rhino
see a crocodile in the wild(in Australia)see a wild polar bear(got really lucky in Svalbard)- go brown bear watching
- visit a big cat sanctuary
SKILLS:
- speak 10 languages fluently (4/10 so far)
- juggling
- get a skydiving, scuba diving and piloting license
aerial silks and pole dancing(done both in Slovenia for a short while, hoping to come back to it)dancing(flamenco and swing so far, but should improve, as well as tango and salsa someday)- windsurfing
skiinglearn how to style my hair in anything other than a braidtry sailing againtarget practice shooting with air rifleshand and machine sewing, knitting, lace makinglearn some traditional Slovenian cooking(doing pretty good on this front thanks to my grandmother)fire poi spinning(started in Sweden, I plan to keep improving)

- become a better car driver
- learn to play an instrument at least half decently, preferably drums
- rock climbing
- learn to make clothes myself (I can already do some things in that direction)
- more programming (
Matlab, Python, CSS…)
RANDOM PERSONAL LIFE STUFF:
- have a dog or a cat or both
- invent a word
DIY renovate and decorate a flat- have another guinea pig
read the entire primary school library(literally)share life wisdom with a homeless personhave the kitchen ceiling covered by beer coasters(it’s kitchen tiles, but it still counts)build something by myselfsneak into abandoned buildings- meet a shaman
become friends with a nunhave tea with a Jehovah’s witness- make a storm cloud with Arduino
go to a medieval fairLARP festival(Drachenfest)“roadie” for a metal band(them teenage years)teach studentsmeet up with a strangerstarted reducing my wastedonate clothes and money to organisations I believe in- plant a tree
have as zero waste kitchen as possiblehave an herb garden(had a few small ones, want a proper one someday)

eat weird things(kangaroo, snake, cricket, crocodile, reindeer, moose, deep fried gummy bears, frog legs, Vegemite…)mushroom pickingdance in the streets- give a travel presentation
wood choppingskinny dippingboudoir photographygo to a music festivalgo to a restaurant by myself without feeling awkwardpay a coffee for the next person- adopt an animal in need
start a travel blogwrite a travel article for a magazinego to a secret bar(both in Finland and in the Czech Republic)win the lottery(I once won about 5 euros 🙂 )- grow a proper avocado plant that does not die within a few years
It is all well and good to work hard to achieve your dream, whatever it may be, and to try and cross as many items as you can off your bucket list. However, always remember to take the time to enjoy your everyday life too and spend some quality time with your friends and family, because time is the only thing you cannot buy more of or get back if you waste it. So, plan well, but live in the moment and never be afraid to look stupid.
“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”
A. Dumbledore (J. K. Rowling)
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