Welcome back to Our World! After a whirlwind 6 week journey around Germany and London I am back in Auckland and rearing to make a start on an exciting 2011. Read on for an account of my Third European Adventure, and my 2011 travel plans.
A European Adventure
A few days ago I returned to Auckland after 6 weeks overseas which, to date, is the longest journey I have embarked on. It was also the most relaxed. During that time, I visited only 4 countries, and stayed in 6 cities. This was unusual for me, but unavoidable as my girlfriend was required to be in London from early January to resume her University course. As has become tradition around here, I share with you the top 10 highlights of my Third European Adventure.
Top 10 Highlights
10: Catching up with family and friends in various cities around Europe.
9: Two lovely days in Cardiff strolling around the waterfront and central city. A beautiful city, with a glorious harbour and fully pedestrianised CBD makes for a very people-friendly city and shows the way for cities of the future.
8: Experiencing London’s top Musicals: The Lion King and Priscilla in the West End were true spectacles.
7: The Christmas Markets in Berlin. Okay, it was -10 Celsius, and we only stayed outside for about an hour but we had a great time wandering around the markets and indulging in fine German food.
6: Post-war Germany. Enough said.
5: Being upgraded on my Air New Zealand flights – the benefits of frequent travelling. The more I fly, the more benefits I accrue with Air New Zealand and on my recent trip I was twice upgraded from Economy to Premium Economy for my flights to and from Tokyo’s Narita airport. More leg room, top quality food, and personal service made these flights a dream to fly.
4: Learning to speak German. One of my 2011 goals is to become fluent in German, and what better way to start then three weeks in Germany. With the help of a Lonely Planet Guidebook, the entertaining hosts of germanpod101.com and the knowledge of my German-speaking girlfriend I was able to put together basic, and crucially important, phrases (For example, kann ich bitte eine wurst haben).
3: The three trips I made to the Emirates Stadium to watch the mighty Arsenal. A 1-1 draw in the FA Cup with Leeds, a 3-0 win over Ipswich Town in the League Cup and a tour of the stadium which took me through the players tunnel onto pitchside. The atmosphere as we beat Ipswich to progress to the League Cup final was immense.
2: The snow! When I arrived into Frankfurt it was -5 Celsius and snowing, an experience I have never had before. The entire country was blanketed in snow and in was absolutely gorgeous. Truly a winter wonderland.
1: Spending 6 weeks with my gorgeous girlfriend in a crisp, but beautiful, European winter.
The 10-country challenge
During 2010 I travelled through five countries, including three countries for the first time. However, I began to notice that I kept returning to familiar places – notably Australia and London. Don’t get me wrong, I adore both these destinations. But my trip to South Africa and Malaysia last June really opened my eyes to the wonders of exploring new regions. Thus, the 10-country challenge was born. I was discussing travel ideas with my girlfriend last month and we quickly came to a realisation that most of the places we wanted to visit, one of us had already spent time there while the other had not. The question arose, how do we choose which countries to travel to then? We decided to make a list of 5 countries each that we had not yet visited but wanted to this year. From that list of 10 countries, we would make it our goal to visit at least 5 during 2011.
The 10 Countries
- Australia
- Austria
- Hungary
- Italy
- Japan
- Morocco
- Scotland
- Tahiti
- Turkey
- Ukraine
For practical purposes, we limited ourselves to Europe and East Asian nations. I guess that is because for me, these are the two regions that fascinate me the most at the moment. Having now made three trips over to Europe, I have a strong desire to travel through Eastern Europe before moving on to other regions of the world. This also makes planning our 2011 travels that much easier. With one trip through Eastern Europe, we can visit Turkey, Hungary, Austria, Italy and the Ukraine. Add in our already planned city break in Melbourne in April and we will have visited 6 of these 10 countries by the end of July.
Alongside the obvious tourist experiences that visiting these countries will provide, each country will allow me to develop further insights into how this world actually exists. I have received several negative comments about the Ukraine yet of all the destinations it is perhaps the one I am most looking forward to visiting. A country of great history, being once part of Russia, then the USSR, on the crossroads of Europe, and one with a tragic past – most notably the devastating famine inflicted on them by the policies of the Kremlin.
One thing is for sure, as I travel I will continue to provide updates and insights into these fascinating countries and I will, no doubt, continue to breakdown the stereotypes and prejudices that exist in our world.
