On my 30th birthday, I told colleagues over lunch that my dream big goal for this decade was to take a year off to travel. Chris and I are both seasoned vagabonds and share a passion for traveling. Traveling is a re-occurring topic at dinner, on the couch, on car rides, on walks and before bed. We talk about the countries we want to visit, where to eat, what to drink, where to stay and of course, the logistics of taking time off work. Perhaps that’s why Chris gifted me the book A Year Off on this monumental birthday in August 2019. I read it and maintained the status quo.
I was naive to think that life would continue as is. I was confronted with my mortality which forced me to frequently revisit the question “if I were to die right now can I accept what is written in my obituary?” The answer motivated me to make immediate changes. The limited time I have is too precious for life to be “just okay”.
Chris and I re-organized life so that we could travel extensively. The goal to take one year off was shortened to four months due to the decision to keep our foster kittens. No regrets here. Ed and Petra have brought us an immense amount of joy during very dark times. Cousin Anthony will watch them while we’re gone. May they be on their best behavior.
Our adventure starts early September in Amsterdam. We then will make our way to Germany for Oktoberfest. From Germany we’ll fly to Greece (the honeymoon part of our trip) and then head to Turkey. After Turkey we fly to Italy where we’re stationed for roughly a month. We’ll swing by Switzerland after before making our way back to Germany for Christmas markets. We then head to Belgium before crossing the English Channel where we’ll spend the holidays.
We’ll be living out of 50 liter backpacks and staying at hotels/AirBnBs/with friends. I’ve kept the planning to a “Claire minimum”. Only flights, visas and difficult-to-make reservations are secured. The trip is focused on history, wine, food and friends. It is hard to believe that this trip is just around the corner. What seemed so distant is now imminent.
Tune in and follow along!
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