The beginning of the 2nd decade of the 21st Century will probably go down in the books as one of the most turbulent times in modern history. A new decade that brought up many challenges both in our everyday life and on a global stage. Back in 2019 while celebrating Christmas, none of us would have imagined what turmoil we would endure and yet here we are, coming out of quarantine, removing our masks and facing the new decade with (hopefully) a more open mind.
When it comes to travelling, I am what people call a Monica. Like our beloved friend from the hit Sitcom, I like to plan my travelling to the last detail: the daily itinerary down to the hour, the attractions, transport and of course the local cuisine wish list. It made me relax from my everyday stressful life, so one can only imagine how dreadful it was that in the most stressful of times, I could not practice the one thing that helped me relax. So it came quite natural that as life started slipping back to normality, I had to make up for lost time.
Throughout the summer months, I visited five countries across Europe, from the canals of Amsterdam to the hot beaches in Calabria all the way to the Danube River crossing the Hungarian’s capital city. The choice of countries & dates varied differently, whether it was for visiting old friends or to explore different countries while maintaining my busy working life.
Visiting the Netherlands has always been
on my bucket list and since I had friends
living there, it was an easy decision to add it to my itinerary. Visiting Maastrict Amsterdam was quite a unique experience as over the span of a few days, I got to experience the Dutch way of life in a quiet neighbourhood in the South of the country while also experiencing the busy life of the capital city & all its exploits.
Going back to Germany was like going back to my second home (I spent 10 weeks studying in Germany back in 2016). The aim of the trip was to see one of my favorite bands in concert, Coldplay. Hearing Chris Martin live at the DB Park in Frankfurt singing some of Coldplay’s best tracks has been one of the best experiences in my life (the foot pain that followed afterwards was worth it).
After many years, my girlfriends and I finally went on a weekend gate away in sunny Italy, specifically in the southern state of Calabria. While it is not the most common tourist destination, we still had the opportunity to enjoy what the region has to offer : breathtaking ocean views from Tropea to Capo Vaticano, excellent food & amazing Italian wine.
Budapest has become one of the most commonly visited cities in Europe for many reasons: the Sziget festival, breathtaking Danube views, the Architecture, history & the infamous “ruin pubs”. This was the first time I was venturing in an Eastern European capital city and as a history nerd, I was looking forward to understanding what it has to offer, and maybe learn more about what life was like in a country under communist rule. I was not disappointed. The Hungarian capital city had a lot of unique qualities and potential to be as influential as London or Paris, though I could not help but observe that even though Hungary dissolved its communist regime over 30 years ago, some influence and side effects still remain.
I visited the Austrian capital Vienna back in 2015, and it was love at first site. It was a short and packed visit and I always longed to return and explore it at my own pace. On the first weekend of September (which also happened to be my birthday weekend), I treated myself to Ed Sheeran at the Ernst Happel Stadium in the heart of Vienna.
Exploring the city with some of my closest friends was one of the highlights of my summer visiting some of the best architecture Austria has to offer such as the beautiful palaces of Schunbrunn & Belvedere, Prater Park, Mozart House, and the infamous ‘Café Central’.
During the course of my travels, many people had asked me the same question: why so many trips in such a short time? The truth is, there was no single definitive answer. Coincidence played a key role in the decision making but I guess one of the main reasons I did it was that for the first time in my life, I felt I was in a situation where I could be selfish for myself. I never had the opportunity to take a full gap year and explore the world and so I treated these “short trips” as my way of escaping my everyday life and challenges and just
explore Europe my own way. At the same time, I also wanted to catch up with some old friends and mainly have fun.
If there is anything I want readers to take from this is that life is short and it is ok to want to be selfish and spoil oneself from time to time. Finding yourself and finding out what makes one happy is one of the most important aspects every human being needs to explore, whether it’s in the comfort of one’s home in quarantine or in a garden in a foreign country.
My adventures are far from over and I look forward to having more in the future.
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