There are plenty of warm, mineral pools in the open air around the world. However pleasant they may be in the summer, there is nothing like getting into one in the winter, when snowflakes are falling from the sky and you are soaking in warm, mineral water, not caring about tiny details like weather forecasts or an air temperature more suited to polar bears…

How to do it (better):

Don’t forget to take a towel to dry yourself off as quickly as possible as you climb out of the pool. Also take your favorite warm drink in a thermos for pure bliss (coffee, cappuccino, tea and rum, only rum – we’re not judging).

Where to do it:

The Blue Lagoon in Iceland – The Blue Lagoon gets its name from the incredible color created by the mixture of fresh and salt water. It lies 40 km (24 mi) from the capital of Iceland – Reykjavík. The Blue Lagoon contains around 6 million liters (1.5 million gallons) of geothermal water, which renews itself naturally every 40 hours and its temperature is 37º C (98º F). Another cheaper and more tranquil option is the Myvatn Nature Baths nearby.

Japanese onsen – “onsen” is a type of spring that is very common in Japan. Visit Beppu, a city on the island of Kyushu, with its “Hells of Beppu” – geothermal hot spots, each differently colored due to the mineral content in the water.

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Source: the book “203 Travel Challenges. Travel the World. Explore Your Inner Self.”

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There’s nothing better than the bad weather. Don’t get us wrong, we love summery weather and sunshine, but when it’s wet outside we also appreciate the chance to slow down for a moment and just relax… or not.

There are a bunch of things you can do at home: catch up on sleep, snuggle up with a good book and a cup of hot cocoa, organize the photos from your last trip, have a hot bath, share an intimate moment with your partner, or simply do nothing (like the Italians do). As explorers with itchy feet, we know that this last suggestion is by far the most difficult challenge for active people. But if you are swamped with studies and can’t really enjoy the bad weather, you can always use help by simply typing do my research paper into the search engine line, thus freeing up your free time.

If you can’t keep still, but the weather outside is frightful, here’s what you can do.

20 ideas with friends

1. Go to a museum or an art gallery

Bet you haven’t seen all of them, have you? And it doesn’t rain inside (unless there’s a leak). Plus, visiting galleries has reached whole new levels with this app that lets you scan the painting and then tells you its story. 

2. Visit a cave

Exploring caves is a great way to enjoy nature, even in bad weather. It doesn’t rain there either.

3. Go on a spontaneous road trip or catch a train

Pack a light lunch or snacks and admire the scenery out the rain-streaked window.

4. Plan a trip

Can’t go right away? Then start planning your next escape! Write down a list of dream destinations and begin your research from the comfort of your own home.

5. Create a road trip playlist

Add an extra harmonic to your next journey with a custom playlist. Get together with some friends to brainstorm a list of great driving songs to play along the way. It’s been proven that starting the trip with the same song every day is the best way to create lasting memories.

6. Unwind at a hot spring or spa

Treat yourself with a sauna session or a relaxing massage. Because why not?

7. Find the best brunch spot in town

Enjoy food, drinks and long afternoons? Then visit your favorite cafe and try something new on the menu.

8. Bake some goodies

You might suck at baking, but your friends probably don’t. Put yourself in charge of the wine while they sweat away in the kitchen.

9. Invite your friends over and cook a themed dinner

You brought home some interesting recipes from your last trip? And your best friend is a master cocktail-maker? Looks like you have the perfect ingredients for a night of food from whichever country you choose.

10. Have a movie marathon

Popcorn, beer, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Star Wars… The perfect companion for such an occasion is a hooded blanket like this one https://nygex.ie/p/warm-hooded-blanket/. Imagine sinking into the embrace of this plush blanket, while you embark on a cinematic journey. This  warm hooded blanket becomes an indispensable part of your movie evening, warding off the chill and inviting a sense of unparalleled comfort. So, as you gather your loved ones and prepare for a movie marathon, make sure you’re armed with the most essential of accessorize, and let the cinematic journey begin! What are you waiting for?”

11. Throw a pajama party

Your dinner party or movie marathon can turn into a PJ party or a sleepover. Keep the fun going!

When you want to throw a great slumber party in your home, try a custom neon signs in your home that not only serves as the perfect ambient light for the party to get your friends who are visiting your home into the mood, but after the party is over, it will also serve as a beautiful piece of home décor for your beautiful home, and you can just turn it on when your heart is in the right place to dance or have a drink.

12. Organize a games night

Make use of your long-forgotten stash of board games, or search online for new games you can download and print. If you feel creative, you can even make a game yourself. Some popular games to play with friends on a rainy day include Solitaire, jigsaw puzzles, and Hearts, all of which can be played online or in person.

13. Go to the nearest bookstore or cafe library with friends

You can enjoy a cup of coffee in the company of good friends and good books, and even leave cryptic notes inside your favorite ones (the books, not the friends).

Need a hint about a new travel book to feed your wanderlust? Check our latest favorite travel books (reviews, excerpts and interviews with authors).

14. Break out of an escape room

Escape rooms are becoming more popular by the minute. You’ll definitely have an awesome time (unless you fail and get trapped for all eternity).

15. Film a short movie with all your friends

This is your opportunity to get deep and arty. Ask your friends some fundamental life questions and film their responses.

16. Volunteer for a good cause

You can spread some sunshine on a rainy day by visiting an animal shelter or an aged-care home with a group of friends. For the latter, bring along some flowers, baked goods or sweets.

17. Do something extreme

There are a number of high-octane activities you can enjoy indoors, including rock climbing, ice skating, paintball, go karting or even ‘air yoga’.

18. Learn something new

Cooking classes or pottery lessons make for a cozy escape from the wintry weather outside.

19. Go for a walk and jump in the puddles

You’ll need good rubber boots, a raincoat and a child-like sense of fun.

20. Take pictures

Seriously, terrible weather makes for some great photo opportunities!

In Scandinavia they have words to describe the joy of bad weather

In Sweden they call it mysigt, in Norway it’s koselig, and the Danes call it hyggelig. Literally these words mean ‘cozy’, but actually the point is to dedicate time to enjoying yourself with good food, good company and good times.

And if you love being outside, just remember:

“There’s no such a thing as bad weather… just inappropriate clothing!“

>>> Read more: Oh, no! It’s raining on my birthday! What should I do?

Pin it for later because in everybody’s life there comes a rainy day and then you will wish to have this:

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Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all,

said Helen Keller once, and we believe her. If life doesn’t provide you with enough adventures, the next best thing is to challenge yourself.

During my last trip to Brazil, I asked each of my friends to pose a fun challenge to me. The list I compiled turned out to be the most inspirational read of my life. It made me play soccer with boys on Copacabana beach, sleep at a stranger’s house, speak in Portuguese (although I couldn’t and I still can’t) and cook a Bulgarian national meal for a Brazilian, among many other random achievements.

You understand. Challenging  yourself and others is fun. Here are 20 creative ideas for challenging yourself everyday, every week or every month (you can adjust the frequency) without having to suck on a lemon, neck a gallon of milk, swallow a spoonful of cinnamon or bite into a raw onion.

#1 Set an alert on your calendar or other phone app to remind you to do a good deed every single month. We all want to help others, but we are often so engrossed in our daily routine that we need a gentle little kick in the butt to do something selfless.

#2 Take the same photo of yourself in the same place every year. 

#3 Choose a day of the month when you meet a friend and you try a new restaurant together. Step up your game by choosing a different national cuisine every time.

#4 Every time you travel abroad, research what’s the strangest food there and try it. Like tarantulas in Cambodia.

#5 Every day, try to speak with a different accent or dialect. 

#6 Set a ridiculously low budget and take turns with your friends to cook a dinner for four for that money. Delicious food only, please – you must take this challenge seriously.

#7 Organize this with friends – everyone should bring only one food product without telling the others what it will be. Then you should cook something delicious with all these mystery ingredients.

#8 Wake up for the sunrise 30 days in a row. Maybe you can also practice the Swedish ritual of gokotta.

#9 Plant a tree every year. 

#10 Call that friend whom you haven’t spoken to for ages.

#11 Learn a new fun fact every day. 

#12 Prepare a breakfast for someone at home (even if this person wakes up earlier than you, you can prepare it the night before) or at the office.

#13 Spend a weekend with all electronic devices switched off (preferably they will be locked in a safe in another city and you won’t have the key).

#14 Say ‘yes’ to every single offer you receive for a week (like in the 2008 movie Yes Man with Jim Carrey, which you can re-watch for inspiration).

#15 Choose a different route to your workplace every day for a month. 

#16 Compliment a different person every day for a month.

#17 Stop complaining for a month. Every time you catch yourself complaining, put a dollar in a jar. At the end of the month, buy yourself a treat or spend it on someone who needs the money (see Challenge #1).

#18 Visit a new place every weekend for at least three months. It could be somewhere just 20 miles from your house – the only condition is that you’ve never been there before.

#19 Ask a different friend to think up a challenge for you every month.

#20 Bake cookies for a friend for no reason.

And don’t forget to take care for your eyes, and your health.

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First of all, keep calm. You are now a year older, a year wiser, and you should know that some rain can’t stop you from having a wonderful birthday. Here are some ideas to help you make that rainy birthday even better.

Have a spa day

If you can’t pamper yourself on your birthday, then when can you? One option is to shield yourself from the elements in your raincoat and rain boots, then head to the nearest spa center and put your well-being in the hands of professionals.

The other option is to turn your home into an equally stress-free space: play some relaxing music, light some scented candles, try some DIY face and hair masks, or meditate. This is your chance to do whatever gets you into that Zen state of mind.

Your complete relaxation emergency kit – Shawnee Wilborn / unsplash

Organize a movie marathon with movies from the year you were born

Watching movies while it’s raining outside is a cliché for a reason – it just makes you feel cozy, or to use the proper term: hygge. That’s why a movie marathon is the perfect rainy birthday idea. To make it more appropriately themed, choose movies from the year you were born. I bet you don’t know who won the Oscar for the best picture that year, do you?

Bonus challenge: learn how to make rainbow popcorn so you can enjoy it on your special day. Because, as science has proven, calories don’t count on your birthday…

Fact: calories know when it’s your birthday and have agreed not to make you fat on that day – Toa Heftiba / unsplash

Plan a trip

What could be a better birthday present than the exciting feeling of imagining yourself in foreign places and experiencing new things? Immersing yourself in that daydream is therapeutic, especially with all that pesky rain in the background.

Plan your trip from A to Z, from choosing the destination to looking for accommodation, budgeting, and selecting possible dates. If your friends know you well enough, there is a high chance some of your birthday presents will actually help fund that trip.

>>> Here’s a guide: How to organize the perfect surprise birthday trip!

Do images like this ever fail to trigger wanderlust? I think not – Rana Sawalha / unsplash

Learn how to make your favorite cocktail

Get the ingredients, print the recipe and practice throughout the day. By the time evening comes, you should already have the confidence that you’re the best bartender in the world. Now it’s time to throw a house party and let your perfect mojito transport your friends away from the rain and off to a sunny Caribbean island.

Add the ice and voilà, your favorite cocktail is ready – Wine Dharma/unsplash

Practice some outdoor sports – but indoors

If you’re lucky enough to live nearby an indoor ski slope or wave pool, then you already have the perfect rain sanctuary. If not, then you have the perfect chance to get creative.

Find a relatively large covered space and fill it with as many balls, rackets, boards, bats and nets as you can get your hands on. Now it’s time to create your own game with the most absurd rules you can think of (and an even more absurd name, of course!). Who knows; if your bizarre sport is good enough, it might one day make it to the Olympics!

Read more: What to do on a rainy day: 20 ideas with friends

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