# We love travelling abroad



## TravelinMan (Sep 26, 2019)

The wife and I just got our renewed passports and we are ready to go!

We love to travel, both overseas and in America, and have a pretty good resume of places already traveled.  But, it has been almost 15 years since we have needed a passport.  Our old ones were expired so we just got the new ones.  The US Department of State sent along a flyer that is titled "*With your U.S. passport, the world is yours!" * How true!  Even though we know that traveling is not what it used to be, there are still some places on our bucket list we need to get to.

In our lifetimes, I have been in 60 foreign countries and my wife has been in 15, so I guess one could say we are travelers.  The thrill of visiting another spot on the globe and experiencing the local culture gives one a certain perspective that cannot be enjoyed by those who do not travel.  I'm not saying that we are any better than anyone else, only that we enjoy seeing the other side of the coin.  When we watch the world news, we may have a little better perspective of events unfolding because, to some extent, we may have _been there and done that _(in a manner of speaking)_.  _It does often help us to understand why cultures do what they do, which may seem _mysterious_ to those American who don't go overseas. To watch Yellow Vests protest in Paris, observe Gypsies in Rome, try to carry on a conversation with a Finn in Helsinki, see a Nazi concentration camp in Czech Republic and a whole host of other things makes a lot more sense.  I like to think it helps us be better world citizens in some way.

Don't get me wrong, we still LOVE traveling in the good ole USA with plenty more places to visit and experience.  But just holding that grand old US Department of State Passport gives us an almost indescribable feeling.  We can feel the world at our finger tips and taste it on our lips!

If you don't have anything better to do, click here https://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Travelin---Man/  to read about our last overseas trip in 2005.

Thanks for reading this!


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## RadishRose (Sep 26, 2019)

TravelinMan said:


> The wife and I just got our renewed passports and we are ready to go!
> 
> We love to travel, both overseas and in America, and have a pretty good resume of places already traveled.  But, it has been almost 15 years since we have needed a passport.  Our old ones were expired so we just got the new ones.  The US Department of State sent along a flyer that is titled "*With your U.S. passport, the world is yours!" * How true!  Even though we know that traveling is not what it used to be, there are still some places on our bucket list we need to get to.
> 
> ...


Good for you! I'll visit your link in a few moments.  I wish I had done some traveling, but now I've lost interest.

I bet I couldn't name a place you haven't been to! You're having a wonderful life; happy for you.


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## hollydolly (Sep 28, 2019)

60 foreign countries? wow!!

I'll read your blog later when I have more time..as someone who has travelled a fair bit myself..I'm sure I'll enjoy it..


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## Capt Lightning (Sep 28, 2019)

Wow..  I can claim about 14 or 15. This includes the USA where I've been in (it think) 11 different states (but mostly Minnesota and Rhode Island), some of which were probably bigger than the other countries I've visited!
We go to other countries for the scenery, culture, history, food etc. While I agree that you need to be there to appreciate and experience your surroundings, we have little interest in their internal affairs or being a "world citizen". We're British, but have a fairly eclectic taste in food, design etc.,  gained from our travels.

We don't have a 'bucket list' that we need(?) to fulfil - we're much too spontaneous to plan things.   As Paul Theroux put it, "Tourists don't know where they've been, travellers don't know where they're going."


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## retiredtraveler (Sep 28, 2019)

Love to travel, but only been to 4 foreign countries aside from Canada. I'm pretty much single-threaded on UK.


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## 911 (Sep 28, 2019)

I would really like to get to Russia before I ‘you know.’

I have zero interest to see a concentration camp. Just thinking about what when on there brings about a whole string of emotions.


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## fmdog44 (Sep 28, 2019)

Everyone should travel out of their home country at least once.


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## fmdog44 (Sep 28, 2019)

911 said:


> I would really like to get to Russia before I ‘you know.’
> 
> I have zero interest to see a concentration camp. Just thinking about what when on there brings about a whole string of emotions.


Russia is full of concentration camps.


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## Patio Life (Sep 28, 2019)

What great fun. How long do you stay in each country? Do you set up a list of things to see before you go?


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## TravelinMan (Sep 28, 2019)

If you travel on your own you are the master of your own schedule.  For our vacation in 2005 the catalyst was trading a week of timeshare vacation for a stay in Finland.  We used airline miles to get our tickets and, since there was an airplane change in Paris, we used that as an excuse to stay there for 3 nights.  We spent 9 days in Finland (2 in Helsinki and 7 at the resort), 4 in St. Petersburg and then 3 in Paris.  Seven nights in Finland were at the same place and all the other nights we stayed in the same accommodations.

Months before we were to leave, I used the internet extensively to make most all of the hard arrangements, such as apartments to rent, train tickets from Helsinki to St. Petersburg, obtaining Russian visas and looking up what to do in places we were going to visit.  I also bought a book called Lonely Planet that helped with info on various cities and areas and a travel book by Rick Steves.  It was a lot of work but, since I started well in advance, I really enjoyed the planning.

But we were almost 15 years younger then and things like lugging our own bags was somewhat easier and we were probably better mentally equipped to handle some hiccups.  Now that we are older, we will probably be going on more organized tours and let others handle most of the planning.


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## Capt Lightning (Sep 29, 2019)

I worked in Oulu,  Finland for a while and travelled up to the Arctic circle when Mrs.L came out to visit.  It was surprisingly warm in May.  We were wearing T shirts  while Santa (in his air-conditioned office) was wearing a long grey robe!   (I have a picture to prove it)

A lot of my travelling was on business and when possible, Mrs L accompanied me.  Now we are retired we thought that we would do more travelling, but we've fallen into a lifestyle that doesn't afford us long breaks.  However, getting to continental Europe is relatively easy.   As said, we don't do a lot of planning and tend to avoid  the popular "must see" attractions.  When we fly off on city breaks, we book the flights and hotel.  When we take the campervan, we only book the ferry crossings.  We've had some great times just wandering round the back streets, finding little cafés or shops to browse in.

Anyway, we're just back from a trip into Belgium, Germany (via Luxembourg) and the Netherlands.  No real plans, no high tech - just a Michelin road map.  Had a really good time, warm weather and some memorable meals too.  

As you'd expect, we won't think about next year until it comes, although Mrs. L suggested that the Douro valley in Portugal might be a future destination.  We'll think about that nearer the time.


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## gennie (Sep 29, 2019)

I saw bits and pieces of Europe back in the 80s via a 6-week Eurail Pass.  That was back when it was safe for two middle aged American ladies to travel alone. 

I learned to read the Thomas Cook Eurail Guide Book which told you everything you needed to know about times, accommodations such as dining cars, what tracks, connections, etc.  Traveled from Nice on the Rivieria to Norway, never got lost and only took one train by accident.  Good memories.


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## jujube (Sep 29, 2019)

My European adventures started back in 1967 when my 14-year-old sister and I headed off to bum around Europe for three months, Eurailpass and _ Europe on $5 a Day _in hand.  It was a rare and sybaritic day when we had to spend $5.  A lot of times we chose where to go next by finding out what train left at 10 p.m. and took eight hours to get there, thus saving a $1 on a hostel bed by sleeping on the train. 

Since then, I've been back to Europe and traveled to Iceland, Turkey, India, Morocco, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Ecuador and Costa Rica. 

I found a great travel company that has very reasonable tours and they're the ones I use for places like India and Morocco.  It's nice to have everything taken care of for me and since, at my age, I'm probably not going to be back again, I like to cover as much as possible. I do well on my own in Europe. 

I have my eye on a trip back to Iceland and one to Taiwan to see a relative.

After that, it'll probably be just trips to South America.  Those 9-hour plane trips are getting more than I can take.


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## 911 (Sep 29, 2019)

fmdog44 said:


> Russia is full of concentration camps.


I just want to visit Moscow and Red Square. Maybe a few cathedrals and have lunch with Putin. I would also enjoy speaking with some of the people and listen and learn about their lifestyles. I have no desire to visit the concentration camps. Nyet.


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## TravelinMan (Sep 29, 2019)

jujube said:


> I found a great travel company that has very reasonable tours and they're the ones I use for places like India and Morocco.



Just curious, what travel company?


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## jujube (Sep 29, 2019)

Gate 1 Travel


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## retiredtraveler (Sep 29, 2019)

gennie said:


> I saw bits and pieces of Europe back in the 80s via a 6-week Eurail Pass.  That was back when it was safe for two middle aged American ladies to travel alone. I



You don't think two middle aged ladies can travel alone now?  I don't see why not. I know a number of single, older ladies that have been going to Europe on their own.


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## Capt Lightning (Sep 30, 2019)

My wife and elder daughter go off to Europe together most years for a trouble free 'girlie' holiday .  The worst thing that happened was that they were denied entry to a church in Italy for being inappropriately dressed!  I wonder if Jesus would have turned them away?

Elder daughter also travels solo to various international conferences without problem.  She's just back from Stockholm and in off to Italy on Tue. Her favourite destination has been Seoul in S.Korea and she's enjoyed a couple of visits to Chicago.


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## treeguy64 (Sep 30, 2019)

Meh. I traveled abroad as a younger guy. I enjoyed it, but I'm cool staying in the US, now.

Some profound insights I got from traveling abroad: People in the US are so much fatter than others, people who live in abject poverty, abroad, seem to be fine with it, as they know people who are worse off, making love in tents can be tricky, at times, tourists from certain countries are pushy as hell, tourists from this one country are piggish, to the person, hustlers are in every country, and their scams are all similar, most people in the world speak more than one language, no gnus are good gnus (from boring safaris in Kenya), the tourist trap sights of the world are ok, some are breathtaking, but viewing them online means no endless lines, no stinky people pushing on you, no need to keep moving along, etc., etc.

I'm actually not as negative about travel abroad as it seems, from the above, but it definitely has lots of negatives, along with lots of positives. I can imagine things are worse, now, than when I last was an adventurer, some twenty years ago.

Best lesson I learned: You can be happy, truly happy, living with very little, and still feel/know that you have it all! (Thanks, Isaac!)


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## gennie (Sep 30, 2019)

retiredtraveler said:


> You don't think two middle aged ladies can travel alone now?  I don't see why not. I know a number of single, older ladies that have been going to Europe on their own.



I speak of my own personal opinion and we're all entitled to them.  It's facts that must have provable basis.  My opinion is based on the general chaos that exists now in both my own country - the U.S. - and the world in general and the inability of the average person to easily judge the political climate and volatility of each place. 

Admiration and respect for Americans has waned steadily since the end of WW II.  Even 30 years ago Americans were more tolerated than welcomed in many places.  What was once merely disdain has turned to rudeness, even  violence in some places.   And I, as well as my friend, was born Southern so our nationality was obvious with our first words.  I've returned to Europe several times since but never again traveled about alone or with just a single friend.

Our trip in the early 80s was 'walkabout' - we rambled wherever and whenever we wished with little thought to safety.  Were I now young and healthy enough for European train travel, I would still go in a heartbeat.  I would simply be much more selective in my destination and carefully study each intended stop prior to leaving the train.


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## gennie (Sep 30, 2019)

> Best lesson I learned: You can be happy, truly happy, living with very little, and still feel/know that you have it all! (Thanks, Isaac!)


So true, treeguy


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## 911 (Sep 30, 2019)

IMO, it's a lot safer for two ladies to travel in Europe than to travel here in the U.S. There have been a number of instances where people coming to this country have been accosted and worse.

Several years ago, a friend and I were traveling up in the coal regions of Pennsylvania. We were driving through this small town and it reminded me of stepping back in time maybe some 50 years or so. I saw a few people sitting on the porch watching the world go by, some I saw reading the paper and others were just sitting and looking off into space. They all looked relaxed and at peace.

I told my friend with me that those are the luckiest people in the world. He asked why. I told him to look at them. Look how at peace they are. Most probably have very little, so they don't have to worry about someone else robbing them or stealing from them because they don't have much, it's doubtful that they owe anyone anything and they are probably God-fearing, church going people that are just trying to get along the best they know how and are at peace with themselves.


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## TravelinMan (Sep 30, 2019)

"We were driving through this small town and it reminded me of stepping back in time maybe some 50 years or so. I saw a few people sitting on the porch watching the world go by, some I saw reading the paper and others were just sitting and looking off into space. They all looked relaxed and at peace."

If you liked that, try driving through a whole country were you get that kind of feeling.  That's what we felt when we drove all over New Zealand. , both islands.  We were so envious of the laid back and innocent lifestyle that we seriously looked into immigrating and becoming citizens!


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## Capt Lightning (Sep 30, 2019)

gennie said:


> Were I now young and healthy enough for European train travel, I would still go in a heartbeat.  I would simply be much more selective in my destination and carefully study each intended stop prior to leaving the train.


Bad things can happen anywhere, but it's no use being paranoid. European railway stations are often scruffy and in scruffy parts of the city, but with a bit of commonsense 
you won't have any trouble. European trains  esp. Dutch ones,  are pretty good and I love travelling on them. We seniors get pretty good discounts in some countries.

As for rudeness towards Americans, well I have come upon  occasions where Americans were reluctant to try speaking the local language, or try local food that has been laid on specially  and this was regarded as bad form by the locals.  Generally we welcome all visitors, but yes, we do sometimes make jokes at their expense.  I expect they make jokes about us too.


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## gennie (Sep 30, 2019)

Capt Lightning said:


> Bad things can happen anywhere, but it's no use being paranoid. European railway stations are often scruffy and in scruffy parts of the city, but with a bit of commonsense
> you won't have any trouble. European trains  esp. Dutch ones,  are pretty good and I love travelling on them. We seniors get pretty good discounts in some countries.
> 
> As for rudeness towards Americans, well I have come upon  occasions where Americans were reluctant to try speaking the local language, or try local food that has been laid on specially  and this was regarded as bad form by the locals.  Generally we welcome all visitors, but yes, we do sometimes make jokes at their expense.  I expect they make jokes about us too.



Oh, I love European trains in spite of scruffy stations and believe all is as safe as can be possibly be made.  As for universal treatment of Americans, we have brought all bad stuff on ourselves.


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## sunnyac (Oct 26, 2019)

jujube said:


> I found a great travel company that has very reasonable tours and they're the ones I use for places like India and Morocco.  It's nice to have everything taken care of for me and since, at my age, I'm probably not going to be back again, I like to cover as much as possible. I do well on my own in Europe.



We may have crossed paths in our travels as I use the same agency!  I, too, now prefer the convenience of porter services to be included with my travel along with other addl services.  The old bod can't take too much lugging stuff around any more.


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## oldman (Oct 26, 2019)

gennie said:


> Oh, I love European trains in spite of scruffy stations and believe all is as safe as can be possibly be made.  As for universal treatment of Americans, we have brought all bad stuff on ourselves.


I can’t say that. We have traveled around some, not a lot, but we have been treated nicely. I don’t expect anyone to roll out the red carpet, but when we were in London a few years back, we were treated really well. In Paris, not so much, but I can’t say we were treated badly, either. In other parts of France, we were treated better and the trip out to the beaches of Normandy was fantastic. We were only in one city in Germany, Hamburg, and again, we were shown kindness.

I did take notice to one thing that stood out. The people in France and Germany were very appreciative that we tried using some of their language. We tried to do that using the Google Translator.


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## Glowworm (Feb 15, 2021)

I've traveled abroad extensively over the years, yes in a wheelchair and have never had any major problems. I've found people in other countries to generally be kind and helpful. Maybe the wheelchair has helped - who knows? 

Don't always expect people in other countries to speak your language or share your values and opinions and never try to force your values or opinions on them. Respect culture and tradition even if it seems strange. And as oldman says, learning a few basic words and phrases will be helpful and almost always bring a smile even if you make a mess of pronouncing the words.

I've always found the following to be true in my travels:

Treat other people as you would expect to be treated


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## Lara (Feb 15, 2021)

I love your spirit @Glowworm ...travel on...and good advice Thank you


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