It's a Matter of Style

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I consider myself an extremely lucky traveler. Being married to a Lufthansa flight attendant had its privileges over the years and I've been lucky to have done some ridiculously extravagant things since meeting 'him': like flown from my home in Germany to Singapore for a quick sunny weekend get away during an overly cold January or off to Philadelphia for my "One Night Only Tour" to celebrate one of my birthdays. I've also enjoyed lengthy journeys to the US for 5-6 week stretches where I could/can immerse myself back into my former existences in Philadelphia and Central Florida, taken extended cruises through the Caribbean and Europe, and treks through Africa and China. For someone whose life goal at 16 was "to see and live in as many places as possible" I am well on my way, at a relaxed pace, of seeing this whole planet.


(Quick aside: In addition to my husband, I really have to thank Lufthansa for that. Long before it was legally mandated, Lufthansa treated all their employees equally and fairly and that extended to same sex couples. They have my loyalty as a customer and a promoter forever for that.)



All this travel seemed unimaginable to me at 16. Back then I couldn't pick a major for university studies, but I knew I wanted to see as much of the world as possible, but not just see it... live it, feel it, immerse myself in a place. It was just a dream, a really ridiculous one at the time, although... isn't that what we're supposed to do at 16? Life now, and the past 15 years of travel, seem a long road away from that 16 year old dream when I was waiting tables at Disney World in Orlando, Florida and later in my cubicle at Cruises Only where my cruise & travel bug began to turn from dream to reality.



Years later, I sit here in Amsterdam, feeling at home after multiple stays in this enchanting city and it makes me think about how I approach my travel. It's not just where I go, but how. I'm not one to rush off to see every exhibit and museum that a city has to offer, perhaps because internally I always have that 'I'm coming back' certainty of future visits in my stomach. You won't ever find me standing in a line for something if I could be sitting in a cafe, pub or bar and just watching normal life.

(I'm an ass for not having blogged more during all this time, but to be honest, I was too busy "doing" it all to stop and write it down. I just posted the pics on Facebook and surged forward, absorbing it all.)



At the moment, I am awaiting excited fellow travellers from my Friends of Dave Tours & DNA Tours groups who are going to trek down the Rhine with me and I'm thinking about how each approached their planning and their ideas of how to spend time in each city we visit. You see, in addition to my life as a tour guide, I have become an Ama River Cruise Travel Agent and I book my own groups as well as individual travellers who want the extra planning service, insider tips, and the access to Ama that I can offer. Each person has their own goal for their journey, and I do everything I can to make sure that they have a fantastic time. I also try to persuade people to look at their travel a little differently.



Instead of making lists of places I want to see, I make lists of "experiences" and feelings I want to invoke. I did not need to go in the Anne Frank house to feel the eerie and moving ghosts that live in that attic. I merely walk the neighbourhood and listen to the bells of the Westerkerk that she could hear from her window, or I look across the canal to see the only view that they might ever have had during those guarded moments when someone looked out. I try to imagine the market stalls around the churches we visit as they were being erected, as well as enjoy the beauty of their architecture and masterworks inside. In the towns along the Rhine, I love to sit in a wine bar and look into the hills where the vineyards are, thinking about the wine maker and what their life is like.



This is the style that I like to travel.. relaxed... contemplative... gathering feelings instead of just pins on a map. I can highly recommend it!

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Photos

Cocktail Hour in the World's Best Hotels
A great way to enjoy some of the great hotels in the world is simply to go to Happy Hour at their lobby bar. There are some pretty darn impressive lobbies around the world!

Art Museums and Parks
When the mood is right, I love to see a museum... one of my favorites is the Foundation Beyeler in Basel.