I feel very fortunate that I was able to travel as much as I did in 2011.
I reached new destinations, revisited favorite cities, explored my local area, took a sentimental road trip, met fellow travel bloggers in Vancouver, left a few stories in Vegas, and fell in love with a country!
Heidelberg, Germany
Many thanks to Norbert Figueroa of Globotreks for nominating me to share some of those experiences in the Best of Travel 2011 series. This blogging project was created by Jeremy Branham of Budget Travel Adventures who chose the topics below.
Best Domestic Travel Destination
New York City is always a winner for me with something new to see and experience each time I’m there. In March, I spent a week taking in different museums, restaurants and neighborhoods that I had not visited before. I also don’t tire of my favorite activities and places, such as walking in Central Park or along Fifth Avenue, hanging out at Rockefeller Center and seeing a Broadway play. On this trip, I saw Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones starring in Driving Miss Daisy.
New York City
Best Travel Experience
I have to cheat and list two experiences. One was a solo desert road trip and the other a magical time in Prague that I was able to share with my husband.
Kelbaker Road, Mojave Desert
My solo drive to Phoenix in October was in many respects a sentimental journey for me. Even when I was a child on road trips with my family, I loved the desert — the heat, the silence, the mystery of it all. As an adult, I’d also taken a few road trips through the same parts of the California and Arizona deserts with my father en route to visit family in Phoenix.
Christmas Market from the tower of Old Town Hall, Prague
Ah, Prague! This city had been on my list of new cities to see for many years — long before it became a popular tourist destination. My first night there really felt magical. By chance, we were at the National Museum on Wenceslas Square as a performance by the Prague String Soloists’ Chamber Ensemble was beginning on the landing of the grand marble staircase. From there, we strolled through the Christmas Market at Old Town Square sipping hot mulled wine, eating a pastry called “trdelník”and listening to traditional Czech carols. Surrounded by sparkling decorations and Old Town’s Gothic and Baroque buildings, everyone seemed filled with the holiday spirit.
Best International Destination
Germany! Until 2011, I’d only seen Germany from inside Frankfurt Main Airport while catching connecting flights and from airplane windows. Now I’ve had two separate trips there and can’t wait to go back. I might possibly be in love, actually.
Hamburg, Germany
I’ve now visited Cologne, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Berlin, Heidelberg, Lübeck and a few other cities along the Deutsche Bahn railway system, each place with its own appeal. But I felt a special affection for beautiful Hamburg on my first trip in June and was excited to return in December. I met friendly people; enjoyed festive Christmas Markets; had my favorite dinner in Germany (roast duck and potato dumplimg at Restaurant Franziskaner), walked many miles along the canals, Binnenalster (Inner Alster lake) and the Elbe River; and visited fun and interesting museums such as Miniatur Wunderland.
Worst Travel Experience
I can’t say that I’ve had any really terrible experiences in 2011. Of course, there have been flight delays, some below average food experiences, minor disappointments and a few unpleasant people along the way. But there was nothing that tarnished the travel experience for me. In fact, it was one of my best travel years ever. Here’s hoping I can say the same at the end of 2012!
Most Embarrassing Travel Moment
Although I’m no stranger to embarrassment, in 2011 I avoided any major incidents. However, the topic has brought to mind a couple of stories. The first involves my meandering through the streets of Amsterdam in June without a guide book or map. I kept accidentally finding myself on the same street of brothels with red awnings in the red light district. I eventually bought a map.
Amsterdam, Netherlands
The second is one of those embarrassing moments that I’d like to forget and actually am reluctant to admit. I was in a bit of a panic at the Hamburg airport when I thought I had lost my purse. I drew some attention to myself as I frantically searched for the missing bag until I finally remembered that I had already consolidated it into my carry-on. I was glad to find the purse, but embarrassed nonetheless by causing a stir. In my defense, it was extremely early in the morning — before coffee.
Best Local Destination
Now this is difficult to nail down to one destination. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and there are so many options — scenery, food, wine, history, hiking and more — and this year I took advantage of many of them. But the wine country of Napa and Sonoma counties has a special place in my heart. I had a great day traveling around Napa with Dave Thompson of Dave’s Travel Corner in May and getting a rare insider’s look at a small, but exceptional winery, Tedeschi Family Vineyards. Here I “helped out” in the vineyard by tucking the vines and enjoyed tasting wines with owner, Emil Tedeschi.
Tedeschi Winery - Courtesy of D. Thompson
Best Travel Lesson
Be careful about being over-confident. As a frequent traveler, I enjoy serendipitous excursions and taking walks in random directions. I often ride the public transit systems, sometimes without a particular destination in mind. However, there are occasions when it just makes sense to do a little basic planning. If I had read the S-Bahn system map in Berlin, I wouldn’t have casually jumped off the train mistakenly thinking I must be fairly close to my destination and would walk the rest of the way. It was dark, I was alone and I was much further away than I thought. Since I needed to be somewhere at a particular time, this was a foolish thing to do. In some circumstances, it might have even been unsafe. Luckily, I did encounter very nice people (always a fun part of traveling) as they tried to point me in the right direction. Nevertheless, I was relieved when I finally came in sight of the Sony Center at Potsdamer Platz near my hotel.
Sony Center, Berlin
2011 was filled with many great travel memories for me. I hope you’ll spend some time on my site to read more about them and come back again to follow my travels and share your perspectives in 2012. Happy New Year!
Now it’s my turn to nominate a few of my favorite bloggers to share their stories in the Best of Travel 2011 series.
Angela of Chasing the Unexpected
Sabrina of Country Skipper
Leigh of Hike Bike Travel
Abby of The Jungle Princess
John of The French Way Blog
Here is a link to the rules for the Best of Travel 2011 series.
All the best for 2012! You had an excellent travel year in 2011. Come to Munich! Seriously, if you come to Munich, we’ll have a grand time.
I’d love to visit Munich! Laurel (Expat in Germany) is there, too.
YEAH ! Keep up the great travel and sharing through 2012 !
Thanks, Mike. Don’t have the 2012 travel plans set yet, but hoping for lots of it!
What a great year of travel, Cathy. I’m a little jealous that you have been to Europe quite a bit in the past year. Happy New Year and all the best in 2012!
I just love being Europe and there are so many more places there to see. Happy New Year!
Wow, so much great travel this year. I’m glad you enjoyed Prague. I will have to check out the Tedeschi winery since that area is a favorite of mine.
I loved Prague. I know it’s a place dear to you and I can understand why!
Sounds like you had a lot of travel and fun in 2011 !! Germany is my list of country I want to visit sometime, though I am not sure which city I want to visit in Germany yet.
A tough choice to pick one German city — I’ve been enjoying all of them and hope to visit more sometime.
Congrats on an awesome travel year, Cathy!! We share similar tastes as I adore NYC, Napa and Germany too. Looking forward to your 2012 adventures =)
Thanks — I’m was very lucky this year. I believe you guys had a pretty great travel year, too! 🙂
Sounds like you had a great year of travel. I love being in the desert… I think the isolation is what appeals to me.
I know — there’s something about that isolation that draws me, too.
You had a lot of wonderful travel experiences in 2011, Cathy – I’m happy for you and I hope that 2012 will exceed your expectations. Have a happy, healthy and awesome new year!
And the same to you!
Christmas markets in Prague – how fun that must have been! Believe it or not, I’ve not spent much time in Napa. When it comes to local destinations, I need to explore that are a little more although I prefer Sonoma over Napa. Great list of adventures and lessons learned this year Cathy! Thanks for participating and best of luck to more adventures in 2012!
Both Napa and Sonoma are awesome, but I have more sentimental attachment to Sonoma. It’s also got a whole different feel to it. Thanks for starting this project — I’ve been enjoying it.
Lovely to walk down your memory lane with you, Cathy. Thanks for sharing the experiences.
Oddly, or perhaps not, I had just that same experience in Amsterdam, around 30 years ago – clearly nothing changes!
That is interesting about your Amsterdam experience. I was getting kind of worried that people would start thinking the wrong thing 🙂
New York, Prague, Germany, Amsterdam – my kind of year!!
Definitely a great travel year — very grateful.
Great round up! I love Germany too but have only been in the south. After reading this I think a trip north is definitely a must. Prague is unfortunately still on my list.
I have to explore more of the south — haven’t been to Munich yet!
I went to Heidelberg last year — I loved it! My mom went to the Prague Christmas market this year. I am so jealous. 🙂 And so, so happy you had a great time in NYC. 🙂
Heidelberg was a real treat. Loved visiting the schloss and taking a boat ride on the Neckar. I wonder if we might have come across your mom in Prague. 🙂 Such a great Christmas Market at Old Town Square.
Great travel experiences you had in 2011, Cathy, even the embarrassing ones 😉 Thanks for nominating me, I’ve had some great trips too 🙂
I’ve enjoyed reading about your travels, too. Looking forward to hearing about your 2012 adventures!
great read on your trips for 2011. i really, really wish i could go to New York. my son would love that. i smiled when i read about your embarrassing moment, causing a stir over a lost purse. i did something slightly similar to that when i also thought i also my bag in Thailand. LOL. happy new year!
Glad to hear I’m not alone in having those kinds of embarrassing situations. Happy New Year!
Hello Catherine, Glad you got to try a trdlnik in Prague this Christmas. Next year, come to Bratislava and have another. Here’s my blog on the Bratislava Christmas Market, from Tripwolf.com:
http://blog.tripwolf.com/en/blog/2011/12/22/christmas-markets-in-bratislava-the-local-flavor/
Gary
Thanks for the link to your blog. The Bratislava market sounds great!
What an exciting travel year, indeed! I have always wanted to go to Prague, Bob has already been, and really love what you said about your time with your husband. I think getting too confident while traveling is a very important lesson, and I’ve actually put my purse into my carry on and my camera bag and thought I lost both one time… super embarrassing when I called the police over. Felt like an idiot!!
Thanks for sharing your embarrassing story, too. We’re only human, right??:)
Wow, you had such a great year in travel! New York, Prague, Germany, San Francisco, Amsterdam… you were a busy bee! Oh, and let’s not forget Vancouver!!!
I actually laughed when reading about “losing” your purse… I know how that feels!
That’s right — I didn’t want to leave Vancouver out! And I’m looking forward to Keystone in June — hope to see you there.
You really did have a great year of traveling and I’ve enjoyed reading all about it! Best wishes for 2012 too, Cathy! 🙂
Thanks, Michael — here’s to a 2012 filled with awesome travel for you, too.
I agree with Prague. It’s also one of my fave places! Wish you no getting lost in 2012 😉
Oh, I’m sure I’ll be getting lost somewhere — I usually do! 🙂
You’ve had a great travel year, Cathy!
Better to draw some attention than to leave your purse behind. Glad you found it!
Some great travel memories. When I make my way to Amsterdam, I will be sure to get a map right away 🙂
Glad Germany has stuck in your mind Cathy. I always feel it doesn’t get the attention it deserves – although that probably makes for a better travel experience for the foreign visitor. 🙂 We’ve been to a few places in Germany now and have always had a great time. Great to hear you had a good 2011. Hope your 2012 is as good!! 🙂
Julia
Driving through the Mojave desert sounds like a fun adventure!
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