Outbound & Inbound Tourism

Whenever people ask me what I miss most about my previous job, "the travelling" is pretty much the first thing I reply. I have said it many times before, but I'll briefly say it again: unlike others who find travelling (be it for business or pleasure) tiresome, it energises me and I really live for it to put it in a clichéd phrase. Having nothing lined up, travel-wise at the beginning of the year, feels strange and you can bet that within the first month of 2018 I made sure that several weekend beraks are slotted in my calendar now, some of which you see above in the screenshot of my Google Trips app. In addition to that I got very excited when one of my best university friends, l'Italiana, whom I last saw in person 10 years ago (!) is planning to visit me with her eldest son this summer. I love entertaining visitors and house guests just as much as I enjoy jetting off somewhere and exploring new cities.

This travel bug and curiosity is definitely genetic, in my case inherited from my Mum's side of the family. While my paternal grandmother (a housewife) who could enjoy free travel on our state railways thanks to my grandfather having been employed there only visited Vienna, our capital city, once in her lifetime (and she died aged 96) for her son's wedding, my maternal granny, who was self-employed in a stressful job, for many of her working years hopped on the bus to the Italian seaside (my grandparents lived near the border to Italy) at least once a month on her own to destress on a daytrip that energised her. My paternal grandfather was the same: always curious, always eager to explore and meet new people. 

I am incredibly grateful not only to have the time, health and economic means to  travel, but also to live in a peaceful place that offers so much to see at home and a short car, train, bike, plane journey away. (Insertion of cheesy #blessed optional)