Category: Journey

When you travel your experiences are so intense that there is not much place left for things you used to get daily dose of. Like news. It’s not that I am now indifferent or no longer care for what is going in the world, but this natural isolation suddenly feels right, works like a cleansing of some sort. Me and my daily troubles are getting separated. In a strange way I became an outsider in my own life.

We were stuck in that tube between the terminal and the plane for about 20 minutes, for some reason they did  not let us board. Standing in that dark, narrow tunnel with our luggage I realized something important: GETTING THERE IS NO LONGER PART OF THE JOURNEY! It is more like little trials, like in ferry tales, to prove that you are worthy of your first destination. Just before taking off a lady could not hold it any longer, made a run for the shrunk down version of a honey bucket at the back of the plane, we could not take of, altogether we were departed more than an hour late. And I had no plan B, if we lose the marathon in Dublin from terminal 2 to the farthest point of terminal 1, knowing that Ryanair will ruthlessly close the gate 30 minutes before departure. The stewardesses on our long haul flight had a robotic attitude, most likely trained by AI. We found some empty rows at the back, laid down first class style to sleep. Thanks to some back winds and the pilot we regained some of the time we lost earlier. We ended up walking to the other terminal with a lady of our age from Vashon Island. She told us the story of a relative with cancer who decided to walk the Camino de Santiago in Spain and lived longer than anybody expected. Ryanair to Malaga was as uncomfortable as usual, not even peanuts served, they tried to sell perfumes, gadgets and lottery tickets instead. The Spanish taxi driver was visibly upset that our hotel is in the old town, dropped us off in a busy street and pointed to a narrow alleyway for us to start walking. The complementary wine in our room, the view from our balcony was a good sign, that our real journey will begin now.

Krisztina: “Our bags are packed, we are ready to leave for our second big trip to Europe (Spain, Malta and Ireland).

With this trip, I feel like we are going against the grain, hearing about all the upheaval, catastrophes, and turmoils of the world.

We are leaving on a vacation in a time, when nothing makes sense in this world, when everything is uncertain.

Because of this, while we are traveling, I would like to MEET beauty, kindness, faith, hope and love, and I don’t just want to see it, but fully experience it.

If I would have a banner for this trip that I would carry around, it would be this:

Peace between the nations,

Peace between people,

Peace within our families,

Peace within ourselfs!”

As the world dragged into chaos and uncertainty once more, our departure date is drawing closer. Soon we will be on the road again, this time I am not just simply excited but also deeply thankful to God for being able to travel. I am hoping that we will experience way more than just unforgettable beauty of buildings, breath of history from hundreds of years, swirling impressions of interesting people, music, food and all richness of the land, but that this trip will somehow become a pilgrimage for us, like the one before. May we walk a distance together, not just physically, but spiritually, participating in the Holy Week in Spain, celebrating my sister’s 70th birthday in Malta, discovering Ireland coastline and fairy tale villages. This journey is ours, may both of us be refreshed, reoriented and transformed by it, so we could bring some of this back to our loved ones.

Here is our trip schedule:
03/23 Leaving from Seattle
03/24 – 04/01 Malaga (Spain)
04/01 – 04/11 Seville (Spain)
04/11 – 04/22 Barcelona (Spain)
04/22 – 04/25 Valletta (Malta)
04/25 – 04/29 Mellieha (Malta)
04/29 – 04/30 Dublin (Ireland)
04/30 – 05/03 Killarney (Ireland)
05/03 – 05/06 Galway (Ireland)
05/06 – 05/08 Dublin (Ireland)
05/08 Arriving back to Seattle