Okay, we will admit: 2018 has been with us for a few days now, but having a moment to sit back and recap while the holidays are still in full swing can be pretty hard, nearly impossible. It may be that we’re just stumbling into the new year, being happy but exhausted, aroused by all the festivities, input, food…
And just like that a new year starts without us even realizing, without us even taking the time to press pause and reflect. And that’s a pity, isn’t it? Because all of us Travelettes are so darn thankful for all the beautiful moments 2017 gave us, for all the places we visited, the people we met, the boundaries we pushed. We surely aren’t taken all of that for granted. So here we are, counting our blessings, telling you that it’s never too late to say “Thank You 2017” and share our favourite travel moments with you:
(Photo: Tabea Mathern)
Katja:
“My favorite travel moment is pretty easy to pinpoint. It was April and still cold in Austria, where I spent my first weekend as a mom without my son, who stayed home in Berlin with family. One morning, before breakfast and before my friend had woken up, I made my way up to the heated rooftop outdoor pool and swam laps for 30 minutes while the snowflakes gently fell into the water. It was pretty magical.”
(Photo: Katja Hentschel)
Annika:
“My favorite travel experience in 2017 was a in the Maldives. If anything I wasn’t too excited as it was supposed to be off-season with bad visibility there but the reality was oh so different! Each dive was better than the next while the boat offered the ultimate luxury (massages with island view anyone?). While I travel constantly I had been complaining that I never get to go on holiday and while this journey started as a work trip it ended up being the holiday of a lifetime. Favorite moments? Diving with nurse sharks at night and .”
(Photo: Annika Ziehen)
Rose:
“I spent Christmas and New Year driving the amazing Carretera Austral with a group of friends. The whole journey was incredible and was one of the best trips of my life (not just 2017…). I took this photo when we went down to the waterfront at midnight on NYE. The village was completely deserted and the only people we saw were a friendly Chilean family.”
(Photo: Rose Palmer)
Kathi:
“2017 was the year I fell in love with trekking. After an easy start on the in Scotland (with hostel accommodation and baggage transfer service), I pushed myself to my physical and mental limits on a 5-day trek along the King’s Trail in northern Sweden. when I hiked 110km through the mountains, carrying all my equipment and food for 5 days on my back. This trek was the adventure of a lifetime, and gave me the confidence and passion for back in Scotland!”
(Photo: Kathi Kamleitner)
Tabea:
“To me the last year was a constant whirlwind, passing by in no time. And while it feels like yesterday, standing on a smokey Berlin balcony, gazing into the skies and into a totally fresh 2017, SO much has happened: I worked on many exciting projects, met wonderful people, built up my own studio and of course: traveled a lot and saw the most beautiful places. I feel insanely blessed and en route. One of the most touching ones was visiting the Ama diving ladies in who share their deep bond with the ocean and go diving almost every day since their early adulthood. The eldest diver is over 80 years old, but still super fit and deeply rooted in her community and busy every day life by the sea. Those cheerful ladies taught me once more, that the most simple things are the most valuable and that age really doesn’t matter when it comes to passion, curiosity and friendship.”
(Photo: Tabea Mathern)
Constanze:
“Venice wasn’t even part of our plan; we just stopped there because we passed it in the first week of our 2 month road trip, but it blew my mind. Taking the bus into the city was like taking a time machine. The lack of cars, the incredible architecture and of course the canals and little alleys that end up in gorgeous squares. Drinking espresso from tiny cups on tiny tables made me forget for a minute what the outside world looked like. 2017 showed me the beauty of Europe: Denmark, Northern Italy, Southern France, Portugal – I fell in love with the coast all over again and learned to appreciate this incredibly diverse continent a whole lot more!”
(Photo: Constanze Neubert)
Caro:
“2017 has been wild, unpredictable and colorful. I’ve been to 10 different countries in 2017 but also had one hell of a ride at home, in Berlin. In autumn, my man and I finally went on a three-week road trip through Canada and the US and although it’s been the most chaotic trip everrrr (more soon!), seeing an indian summer in Nova Scotia made me forget about all the stuff that went wrong this year. The trip also showed me that sometimes the contrast between awesome and crappy is what makes traveling so worthwhile; having a bland, predictable experience on the road really doesn’t do it for me.”
(Photo: Caro Schmitt)
Emma:
“In 2017 I had the opportunity to tick off more on my travel bucket list then any year before. I went to Croatia, Nepal, Holland, China, India and Vietnam for the first time. I also went to a yoga retreat, got to see the Taj Mahal and slept in a tent in the desert. But there is one travel memory that nothing else really has been able to beat: it was when I did the Annapurna Circuit trek in the Himalayas in Nepal for 16 days, and managed to get over Thorong La Pass at 5416 meters. Of all the trips I did, this was the most budget and non-luxurious one. We slept in simple wood sheds without heating in minus degree temperatures and I ate so much Dal Bhat that it felt like I had lentils coming out of my ears. But I think together with the unbelievable nature, this was also why the experience made such a big impression on me – it made me realize what I am able to do and how many opportunities in the world there are if you just step outside of your comfort zone. So while I crossed many places off my bucket list in 2017, this trek also gave me at least twenty new ones to add to it that I’d never considered before, since I thought they were too adventurous for me. Suddenly the world got even bigger.”
(Photo: Emma Andersson)
