3.06.2012

the dream vacation game.

Here's how it works: you have two plane tickets to anywhere in the world, for a week. All expenses are paid. Who would you go with, where would you go, and what would you do? For me, this question is tangled up in a bucket list full of destinations and endless conversations with my mom about where I want to go each summer.

Right now, my dream vacation is New Zealand. Because: I know nothing about New Zealand. I'm used to going to countries where I have at least a little understanding of the people and the culture. With New Zealand, I don't even know what language they speak. And I think that would be so fun, to visit a country without a set agenda, without everything planned out. New Zealand looks magical and mysterious and so, so far away. I'd bring my mum along with me...her best friend is Australian, and a little stop in Australia to visit Jennifer wouldn't hurt. ;)

I asked a few of the Fernweh girls where they would go.

Hannah says New Zealand too (someday, we're gonna go together):

"I see it in my head. Staring out the window, looking through the tufts of clouds, searching for land. Watching and waiting, breathless in anticipation as the plane lands. Finally being there, and hiking along mountains, traipsing through hills and heavily forested plains, slipping into the ocean and sitting on the sand, just staring at the water. Visiting the sites, seeing the people, doing something crazy just because. New Zealand is calling my name -- it's the one place where I want to go more than anything. Just me and my aunt, Abby. She interned there for half a year several years back, and I'd love to see New Zealand through her eyes. We'd visit the Shire, fly over Mount Doom, act touristy in Wellington, spend a day in Milford Sound, go kayaking, bungee jump, and stay up late watching movies and listening to the ocean. And we would laugh. I can see the food, the sights, the sounds -- hear the Kiwi accents -- be there. Someday."

Libby says:

"Inter railing. It sounds crazy, I know, but it's something that I'm currently considering the summer between sixth form and university. Basically, you buy a train ticket and travel around European cities. I'm most interested in visiting Scandinavian and Eastern European countries. I'd bring my close group of friends--one another is fluent in German, one in Danish and another in Russian, and then between the rest of us we're studying German, French and Spanish, so that stands us in good stead to communicate! Whilst travelling, I'd want to stay mainly focused in the cities. Visiting landmarks, finding good places for breakfast and coffee, and just walking around and getting a feel for the place. There would be lots of photography--a mix of film and digital--and making friends with foreign strangers and maybe discovering kooky little shops. I'd like to learn about the past and also the current times of all the places I visited. But when in Denmark, we'd have to visit the family or one of my friends! From what I've heard they live in a fantastic foresty place, like something from a fairy tale. Honestly I can't image anything better than spending several weeks travelling across Europe on my favourite mode of transport with my favourite friends."  

Carlotta says:

"Traveling is like a unquenchable thirst. In my experience, the more places I visit, the more I hunger to see--and even if I'd seen everything there is to see, I'd want to go and do it all over again. I like sitting at the airport, looking at the timetables of flights to various countries. I find it fascinating that one can simply board a plane in one place and then be deposited in entirely new surroundings a few hours later. There isn't a specific spot in the world I'd like to go--I'd just like to explore and discover other cultures and countries, whatever they may be. My ideal plane tickets would be wild cards, and I'd bring my brother with me. That boy can make me laugh in any situation and he's just the best travel companion ever. And when the plane doors open, and the sights and sounds and smells of a new country take hold of my senses? That's when the adventure begins."

Where would you go for your dream vacation?




xo
katie

31 comments:

  1. Inspired by the Anne of Green Gables series, I would love to go to Prince Edward Island in Canada. I love Canada (or at least a certain part of it that I've been to), and I'd like to go see more of it, especially where my favorite book series takes place! :)

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    1. I live in Nova Scotia, just about 6 1/2 hours away from PEI, and both of my aunts (and my uncles) plus my two cousins live there. I've been travelling back and forth there for all of my life :) Oh, and I went to Avonlea village and Anne's house. They're both amazingly gorgeous.

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  2. First off, LOVE this post! Second, I would probably choose somewhere in Europe. Any European country would be a fantastic trip really!

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  3. oh my wordy wordy wordy. you are speaking about MY country. my beautiful home. it is the most beautiful place on earth! I could literally talk about it forever and ever. I'm praying to go back home this year, and I am SO excited! haha, the native NZrs speak Maori and the rest of us speak like regular Kiwis;-) you have no idea how it does my heart good to even see the word New Zealand written on a post. girls, if you ever get the chance, you HAVE to go to NZ.

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  4. New Zealand. My dream vacation place. Mainly because that's where they filmed Lord of the Rings. The scenery looks really pretty!

    eve @ essence of eve

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  5. London. Kind of funny how many people say New Zealand- I have a penpal there. Libby- I'm fluent in Russian, too. Take me? Just Kidding.... but, really...

    ~Nina
    http://craftandcreate.blogspot.com/

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  6. Love the word Australia in your post! If you have a chance you have to drop into Australia (and see more than the cities on the eastern coast) as Australia is awesome (I'm biased as I'm Aussie) :)

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    1. You go! Austrailan is awesome...I should know by being one! ;)

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  7. Australia, Italy, France, Tokyo... and then Hawaii ;)

    xoxo,
    jess

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  8. My dream vacation would be in England. I want to go there before I die. Other than that... Ireland, Italy, Hawaii, and Germany would be cool, too.

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  9. I would like to go to visit several European countries. I'd like to mingle in the city life but get lost in the hill country and sit and talk to Jesus.:) I also would like to go to Canada to visit my friends. New Zealand and Australia interest me, too! most of all, however, I long to go back to Malawi Africa where I went two summers ago <3

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    1. That is so awesome you got to go to Malawi! We lived there for 5 years before we moved right across the border, into Mozambique. We have been there for nearly 5 years now. Which part were you at?

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  10. My dream vacation would be a wild card, too--a wild card drawn from Russia, the UK, Scandinavia, Africa, Antarctica, New Zealand, and Alaska. I would most want to go, actually, with someone I've never met but someone can vouch for and I can trust. In short, I would choose a wild card sort of ride. And I'm pretty sure it would be awesome.

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  11. oh dear me, I was bitten by the travel bug early, and you girls just brought back the itch. I'd go to France, for sure--yeah, it's cliche, but it's true. I've been studying French for years. the awesome thing? I actually am going to France in June! I could not be more excited. and I'm determined to at least speak a little while I'm there--like order a meal or something by myself. (:

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  12. Greece looks so enchanting to me. I have family there and know I'll go sometime. My dad went on an army leave for a month, thirty years ago and fell in love with the beautiful landscape and scrumptious food. Yes, Greece it is for me. :)

    x, Jana.

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  13. Yes. You would go to New Zealand, and you would go to Wellington and the Shire, because Lord of the Rings is the BEST. Yes.

    In my opinion, NZ would be awesome. But right now I'm thinking the Versailles - you know, in France? My older brother just did a report on it and we visited it via Google Earth, and I think it'd be pretty amazing to see it for real. He'd get the other ticket :)

    Other than those two, my "dream destinations" include Paris, London, Oxford, Tokyo, and, uh, the whole world. Not too big a dream, is it?

    Abbie /// XOXOX

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  14. Scotland is at the top of my list, with Ireland, Wales, Algeria {not European}and England following close behind. I would go to Scotland with my good friend Erin. A few reasons are because one, we are both learning Scottish-Gaelic and two, we could speak to some of the natives of Scotland who still speak Scottish-Gaelic, and so yep. There you go. Thank you for asking an intriguing question. :)May God bless you all!

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  15. Italy. I want to go to Italy!!

    Oh cool! New Zealand doesn't have a language (I think)...I should know this I live next to it! They speak English...with the most beautiful accent ever! I'd love to go their.

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  16. dream vacation? home, in seattle, washington. but a new place, yet undiscovered by my feet... scotland.

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  17. Dream vacation......... Hm. Is anywhere an acceptable answer? :) I think, St. Petersburg, Russia. I've been dreaming about ever since I read War and Peace. And while I'm at it, I think I'll just go see the rest of Europe. Sounds like a plan to me!

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  18. There are SO many amazing places to visit, but my top pick would be Italy. I WILL go there someday!

    I would love to visit Australia and/or New Zealand too. :-)

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  19. Oh my, this is too hard... Italy, Germany, and New Zealand are definitely at the top of my list though. :)

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  20. I have to agree with Libby, I would love to just travel around Europe. There's just so much that I want to see. I would probably want to travel with my friend Blake. Mostly because whatever I do with her ends up being some sort of crazy adventure.

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  21. You want to go to New Zealand!! Thats where I live. I recently went over Europe and the UK and Ireland. I'd love to do the same thing again so I can experience more. I think I would appreciate it more now ... having had changed a lot recently. I'd love to go back over that way and explore. I've been thinking about travel a lot recently and that trip I took with my mum. My perception on events, places and people have change since being there. Can't wait to go again and explore with this new outlook on things. :D

    Britney of Lemonwood and Honey!

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  22. africa, ireland, scotland...simply for the accents. and, ya know, the beautiful scenery.

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  23. I didn't get this into you on time (sorry, Katie!) but I have lots of places I want to go (of course). Right now, the United Kingdom is sounding wonderful. Ireland (ancestral home of sorts), Scotland, and good old England are all on my dream list. I want to see the green countryside, the seaside, the cityscapes. I also want to see where so many of my favorite books and TV shows are set, hehe.

    Oh, and I want to go to Greece and Russia and the Galapagos Islands, too. I just haven't figured out who I want to travel with. (...Can I say The Doctor?)

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    1. Hahahaha... I. can. not. stop. laughing. "Can I say the doctor?"

      I'd choose him too. Glad to see I'm not the only Whovian around.
      ~Nina
      http://craftandcreate.blogspot.com/

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  24. i'm thinkin along the same lines as carlotta. i'd love to go anywhere and everywhere. it's just that simple.

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  25. Somewhere in the caribbean... :)

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