Wonder and Delight
I don’t remember when the travel bug bit me, but I’ve been hooked for as far back as I can remember. As a young child growing up in an island in the Philippines, I recall my childhood excitement over travelling to the big city. I still feel this child-like wonder at the prospect of visiting a new far-away place. On a train making my way from Prague to Budapest, I wonder what it is about travelling that continues to give me this thrill. I look out my train window and notice how different this country side is to that of others I’ve passed. I see the streams flowing by the roadside, curious about where they begin and end. I observe how different the wild flowers look, the foliage, the road signs. And although the means by which we travel – by air, land or sea, have the familiarity of common frameworks to make travel predictable and safe, what makes travel different and unique each time is the experience. It is almost as if I seek them: new sounds to hear, aromas to smell, flavors to taste, sights to see, people to meet. And it feels like they become destined to find me.
During this trip, we visited a small Czech village, Cesky Krumlov. The visit was a serendipitous addition to our travel plans; our cab driver from the Prague airport first suggested it; a woman we just met encouraged us. We haven’t heard about this UNESCO heritage site until we landed in Prague. Never mind that I shoulda or coulda known this. The joy and the thrill of travel starts with discovering and experiencing the unexpected. This paradox I’ve learned: travel plans crafted to prevent the unexpected should include expecting the unexpected.
How we meet new people is one of the unexpected joys of travel. Getting back to our Cesky Krumlov experience, imagine this: as we settle on our unassigned seats on the tour bus, a couple sits across from us. Then we hear something eerily familiar: they are talking in our native language, Filipino. My husband instinctive says hello. Then we discover: on top of sharing our native countries and language, we had many other things in common -- people we know, schools we attended. What were the chances?
The delight of experiencing a new place is one of the obvious joys of travel. The degree of wonder this experience brings is what creates the unexpected, and exhilarating, level of joy. Cesky Krumlov turned out to be like stepping onto a fairy-tale book. This village of 15,000 residents is home to a 500 year-old castle where Czech nobility lived long ago. Curious visitors can only get into the village by foot, on cobble-stoned winding streets too narrow for modern cars to navigate. It felt like Disney World, except this couldn’t be more real!
In the last few days, we have discovered and delighted in the rich sauces that come with traditional Czech food, beer in all its glory; wondered at the artistry of Alphonse Mucha and Gustav Klimt; were lifted by the street cellists and violinists; and are in awe of the rich history of a people we have just met.
The more I travel the more I realize how much bigger the world is, and how much more I have to discover. I continue to be amazed about how fascinating life is, how different people are from each other, and yet how much common ground we all share. Family, belonging, community, history. The journey of wonder and delight that accompanies travel is all at once enriching and humbling.
I can’t wait for my next destination....
