Greece - Rhodes

10 Advent questions about traveling – Part 3

December 13, 2020 /

Its time for our third episode of the advent questions about traveling and this time we’ll focus on what inspires us. What gives us that little extra push to start dreaming.

At what age did you start dreaming about traveling?

I guess I was in my teens when I first started dreaming about visiting other countries. I remember the feeling of ordering the Swedish travel catalogs and browsing through them, looking for the most affordable trip.

At the beginning as an explorer, what gave you the inspiration to travel? And have that changed during the years?

Oh, I think in the beginning I was only thinking of travel as charter, staying close to the beach, having lazy pool days, eating out every day… you know, cuz that’s the kind of trip we did as a family when I was growing up. It’s not until the later years that I have started to explore more on my own, booking my flights and AirBnBs by myself, looking into daytrips and exploring the local areas, not just booking the things that the travel agency offers.

Which book that you have read has inspired you most to traveling?

Zoya by Danielle Steel. It was a book that unfolds during the Russian revolution, with poverty and emigration. Saying it makes it a bit weird maybe, but that book really gave me a bunch of inspiration to visit Russia and especially Moscow.
have I been? No.

Which movie or tv-series inspires you to travel?

I actually did an entire post on that, Tv-series that inspire traveling, where I talk about a bunch of different shows that have inspired me to a few places. But besides the modern shows I talked about in the post, I will always draw inspiration from the old movies, like Gone with the wind, Casablanca, and Lovestory. I do think that when I start planning a trip I have a romantic idea of the destination or the trip itself, that it will have that old Hollywood vibe.

What inspires you to buy souvenirs? And is it always the same things you collect?

Yeah, I always collect rubber ducks if I can find one and stickers to put on my suitcase. But that’s about it. I love bringing home spices though.

And no, it has not always been like this. When I traveled during my younger years I bought a whole bunch of crap that I have thrown away a long time ago. I always bought the classic tourist thingies, in heaps. Little wooden figurines, hand-carved stuff… you know what I mean, and you know how those stores look like.

Angelica, on the other hand, she goes all-in when it comes to her shopping abroad. She buys magnets for her refrigerator, Christmas ornaments, keychains… and lately, Angelica and our boys have been kind of collecting tattoos.

When you are researching your destinations, what is the first thing you are looking for?

St John. I love me some history and especially once that are focusing on St John and the crusades. I find that history so interesting, and the more I learn – the more I want to learn. We have been to a Museum of St John in London, the Monastery of Filermo on Rhodes and we have stod on the Knights Square in Pisa.

And what is the thing that pushes you over the edge, to book the trip?

I would say money, always money. Not during the year 2020 though… but I will have a re-match soon, mark my words!

Is there a person that inspires you to travel?

Colombus? Haha no, sorry. No, not really, there hasn’t been a person that inspired me to travel, I have been inspired to travel with people though. I am not a solo traveler, I want to share my experiences with someone, so I would say that my trips are inspired by people, not a person. Like when I am thinking of going to Paris, I most definitely want to bring baby-Jules, so I will make plans for that trip accordingly.

You get to choose freely, so where would you go if you are to travel by train? Bus? Car? Plane?

I was to travel by train I would first go to visit my family in the south of Sweden. But If I were to go abroad I would say that my first stop is Denmark and then I would go on to spending a few weeks traveling around the UK.

By bus? I could go for a few hours on a bus for a day trip, but that’s about it. No, that’s not really my cup of tea, even if I could choose freely or if it were for free.

Car. I would love to try a campervan, does that count? Imagine driving around Australia, or in my case, riding around Australia – I don’t have a driver’s license. I know that Australia is humongous so it would be a long drive to do the entire country by car, so let’s say Queensland.

Right now I would go about anywhere with a plane! Just give me a few minutes to pack and I’ll be on my way to about anywhere. Who’s with me?

How do you inspire others to travel?

Hopefully, I inspire people by blogging about traveling, with the help of the written word and the shameless amount of images I through at you from time to time. I know that’s one thing that inspires me, watching beautiful images from foreign destinations, so that’s what I hope to give back.

Maybe this gave you some inspiration on where to look for that little extra inspiration when you’re lacking? I do hope so, we all could use that extra push now and then. I would like to nominate Dianas Drömmar, Jossus Travelpics, Marias Memoarer, and Leisurelydrives to do the list, but if anyone of you is up for doing the list – feel free and please give me a shoutout if you do.

Right: Little me on my first passport.
Left: My first trip abroad without parents.

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