5 Travel Experiences that Changed my Perspective on Life

It's getting a bit more personal today on the blog, so I hope you're up for it. Long before I had a dslr camera to capture everything around me I was traveling and exploring the world. That was back in the times of film cameras, Polaroids and point and shoot cameras. Still, different cityscapes and landscapes were in front of me that made a mark in my life.

Travel is undoubtedly a big part of me, and the wanderlust, as the Germans put it so nicely, sparks regularly. I think that I have, on some level, created this blog for myself as well. I wanted to have a place where I could collect all these moments. On the other hand, it HAS always been about sharing the beauty of this world with others.

So without further ado, here are the 5 Travel Experiences that Changed my Perspective on Life. Some on a larger scale, then others, but nevertheless they somehow influenced my desire to explore the world.

click on the images for a bigger view

1. Visiting the USA

This might come as a surprise to my dear American readers, but I have actually visited the USA. I never wrote about it on my blog, simply because the images I took were not that presentable. But nonetheless, visiting the USA has hugely influenced my travels today. I was part of a Youth Legacy Leadership Program that was funded my the US Government, and they flew 15 students from Bosnia and Herzegovina to the USA. I stayed for three weeks on the east coast, specifically Washington DC and West Virginia (Lynchburg and Roanoke).

In Washington DC, we visited the US Senate (we were given a private tour actually), the White House, the various museums, memorials and the botanical garden. I was never this far away from home, I had to rely on my knowledge of the English language, and actually speaking it there with nothing to fall back on, really helped me in mastering the language further.

I promise to do a full post with my images from the USA at some point. Maybe a new scan of the images will better the quality.

2. Korucla, Croatia

This might be a head-scratcher for some. I associate this wonderful small island on the Adriatic Sea, with my first travels, post-war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was at a time, that I still traveled with my whole family. We visited this place many times, and I even went back there, when I was older. Click here to read more about this beautiful island.

3. Cologne and Elsen, Germany

I have written about Cologne a couple of times (like the 10 Reasons why you should visit it this Winter, or the wonderfully charming Christmas Markets of the city), but during our stay there, we also visited Elsen, a small town where I lived for four years. Being back, brought up many memories and it was wonderful to walk to my old school and the apartment where my family and I lived.

 My sister and I in front of our old school in Elsen

Selma and Jasmina on the Christmas Market

Workers on a stand on the Christmas Market (Linking to City Daily Photo)

4. Trondheim, Norway

This was one of the first travels on which i went without people I knew before. I was still in high school when the offer to visit Norway with a group of other people came. I immediately said yes even though I was afraid of flying back then (still am a bit today). We stayed in a beautiful small hotel in Trondheim. I remember I had a room all by myself. We explored this wonderful little city in the north of Norway, and I was immediately gripped by its charm.

 

5. Istanbul, Turkey

I visited Istanbul with my school and It was one of those trips, that you wouldn't make today anymore in that fashion, but back then it represented a really great period in all of our lives. Somehow, when you leave for college, you get robbed of the innocence of youth and this was one of those moments where everything fell into place. Istanbul is a magnificent city, and one I explored on this blog previously in a three part photo series, that you can visit here.

Thank you all for stopping by.

What were some travel experiences that changed your perspective on life?