Torbjørn Pedersen, nicknamed “Thor”, describes himself as a “modern explorer” who wanted to find out if it was possible to travel to every country on earth without an airplane. He says he is the first person to do this and the second person to visit all the countries on earth in one go and one after the other. He reported on his adventure on Instagram and in a blog. On July 26, after a ten-year journey, he set foot on Danish soil again.
Thor was born in Denmark and grew up partly in North America. After business school and military service, he worked in shipping and logistics for twelve years. Until he came up with the idea of traveling around the world.
How did you come up with the idea of traveling to any country in the world without boarding a plane?
It all started with an email I received from my father in January 2013. It was about people who have traveled all over the world. That’s when I realized for the first time that it’s possible to see all countries. I thought that you need your whole life for this and that you have to be a millionaire. Then I found out that nobody has tried to visit every country on earth without a plane. That fascinated me. I have always believed that everything in the world has already been reached: the North Pole, the South Pole, the highest mountains and the longest rivers. All these adventures have already been made. But traveling to all countries in one go without a plane didn’t exist yet. I wanted to write world history.
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