Exercising the Travel Muscle
It’s so easy to get caught up in our life of comfort at home. I know how everything works, where everything is. I can almost go about my routine with my eyes closed. While this might not be so exciting, it can be nice to have that simplicity. Unfortunately that means I can easily forget what it’s like to travel. We spent eight months not traveling, and as we started our trip, I could definitely feel that I was out of practice.
Our first day of the Beyond Vacation kick-off trip had its ups and downs. We had our normal pre-trip jitters and stressed about getting out the door on time. Andy accidentally locked the basement key in our basement unit while putting the last load of stuff in there. At least we have until the end of June to figure out where to get something that will cut a padlock so we can rescue our belongings. But we got everything done and made our train with time to spare.
The first few days of the trip, in Luxembourg, and the first few days we were in Amsterdam, all kinds of little things annoyed me that really shouldn’t have. I kept getting irritated with my backpack decisions. The cold rainy weather was getting me down. Trying to choose where to eat seemed impossible. I wasn’t sleeping well, so I was exhausted, which of course made these things worse. I was frustrated with almost everything around me.
After a few days, I realized how easy it is to forget those silly frustrations that come with traveling. Eight months is a long time to go without taking a trip for a travel addict like me. I forgot the weight of my backpack, the momentary panic while looking for a bus, the need to start looking for dinner before hunger sets in.
Traveling is wonderful, but like anything that isn’t routine, it takes extra energy when you’re not used to it. It’s like going to the gym after a long hiatus. Your muscles aren’t used to it anymore, you end up sore, it takes awhile to get back into it, and you kick yourself for ever stopping in the first place. (Or so I’ve heard from people who actually go to the gym.) Travel is like a muscle. If I don’t use it often enough, I forget about the not-so-fun parts too easily.
Sounds like another good reason to travel more often!
May 23, 2013 @ 4:09 PM
I so recognize the frustration issues:D
Whenever I’m on a trip I always say that we’ll start looking for something when we get hungry, that I don’t want to plan the food part too much. And then I get hungry and just want to eat and don’t find anything that I like and and and… GRUMPYNESS.
Lol.
I already know of a place for dinner for Monday, by the way:D
Oh and backpacks and suitcases: CURSE THEM:D
May 23, 2013 @ 7:25 PM
Ha! Thanks Sofie, glad you could relate! It’s a hard balance to find, not wanting to plan too much but not wanting to eating at the first place you see because you need food NOW.
Looking forward to meeting you on Monday!
May 24, 2013 @ 2:10 AM
Totally get where you’re coming from. It’s so, so easy in hindsight but the first part of a trip is always full of those irritations as you get used to everything. I’m sure you’ll be back on form in no time though!
May 24, 2013 @ 11:30 AM
Thanks Lindsey! We’ve been on the road for about 2 weeks now, and I can tell we’re getting the hang of it again, so that’s good! But we definitely forgot about the irritating parts for awhile there.
May 24, 2013 @ 5:12 AM
I so know what you’re talking about here, especially the stress of looking for restaurants early on in your trip! I experienced my fair share of melt-downs when we were in Japan, in part because we were waiting until I was almost starving before we started to look for restaurants (I was still in “home mode” where it would just be easy to hop in the car and head somewhere, and of course, we already had a list of reliable places that would match whatever craving I was having!) and also because I was putting so much pressure on myself to make sure that each place we picked was perfect and would result in a memorable, blog-worthy meal. That’s just way too much pressure to engage in 2 to 3 times a day and eventually I realized that no matter what, you’re going to have some dud meals along the way and not every meal can be revolutionary. Once I realized that, it made picking places to eat so much easier!
May 24, 2013 @ 11:31 AM
Thanks Steph! We’re both kind of picky eaters, and in different ways, so you’d think we’d give ourselves more time to find food. We are getting better about it now though! And it helps that we’re staying in apartments for a lot of the trip, so we can cook some too.
May 24, 2013 @ 7:54 AM
Yeah, that feeling of as if you are starting all over again! It might take awhile before getting used to it again but of course just like what you’ve said, it is “another good reason to travel more often”
May 24, 2013 @ 11:33 AM
Thanks Kristia! Luckily we’re already getting used to things again after just a week or so. Now we’re at 2 weeks and things are going well!
May 24, 2013 @ 9:19 PM
Just gotta find your groove. Don’t sweat the small stuff cause all too soon it’ll be time to move on.
May 26, 2013 @ 11:06 AM
Yeah, it was a rough start, but I think we’re doing better now. Thanks Maria!
May 25, 2013 @ 8:27 AM
I am going through a stage where I just can not be arsed to travel at the moment because the little things would just piss me off to much. Luckily, I still have about 60 articles to publish from previous trips. Hoping to snap out of this confined bubble soon though.
May 26, 2013 @ 11:08 AM
As much as I love to travel, I can understand not wanting to deal with the hassles of it sometimes. I hope things turn around for you too!
May 25, 2013 @ 2:26 PM
Totally get this! Especially the last thing- looking for dinner before hunger sets in. Some of my worst times traveling (and the times when I act the worst) are when I am starving.
May 26, 2013 @ 11:15 AM
Glad you can relate! Amazing what hunger does to us, huh?
May 25, 2013 @ 3:39 PM
Great reminder to not get too rusty! I feel like I’ve been travelling constantly the last few years and so many trips coming up that I won’t slow down. I hope I never “lose” it!
May 26, 2013 @ 11:16 AM
Thanks Andrea! I hope you don’t lose it either!
May 25, 2013 @ 3:49 PM
At least he locked the key in after you’d put everything in đŸ™‚
May 26, 2013 @ 11:18 AM
Ha! True. And hopefully a padlock will be easier to break into than a normal lock would’ve been.
May 30, 2013 @ 11:38 AM
You guys have probably already gotten back into the swing of things. With anything comes both the good and the bad.
May 31, 2013 @ 12:06 PM
Yep, we have. We continue to have our ups and downs, but that’s how travel (and life) goes. Thanks Jennifer!