How it all began

I am the oldest of 3 siblings, all born and raised in Central Switzerland. When my brother – the third in line – was born, my parents decided to exchange their motorhome for a caravan. Some of my favourite child hood memories include the spring bank holidays we spent, together with my parents’ friends, on camp grounds all over Switzerland. My parents were in their mid-twenties when I was born and their friends at the same age were far from starting their own families. So I – and later my sister and brother too – was always the center of attention.

Once we went to school, every fall, spring and summer break was spent in our camper, driving to different parts of Europe. We went to Tuscany, Venice, Cote d’Azur, Paris, Normandie, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and much more. We had a routine set up for packing, Mom prepared the snacks for the road and Dad did the driving. Us kids only had to get into the car and fall asleep after a bit of squabbling with each other. Life was good.

And then we flew on an airplane for the first time when I was 12 years old. As soon as the captain released the break and took up speed on the air strip, I was hooked. I wanted to do that as often as possible! However, none of the family members were too pleased with the all-inclusive-holiday-concept and so a couple years passed before I got on a plane again.

I was to be 17 until I left Europe for the first time. It was the last trip on which the whole family went together and therefore something special. We went on a road trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles, further down to San Diego and through the desert to Las Vegas. Instead of sleeping in a caravan, we stayed at hotels, motels and B&Bs. Definitely a trip to remember!

When I graduated a few months later, there was nothing that could stop me. That summer I visited Cyprus and Gran Canaria with friends. And then followed more city breaks before I was headed to London to work at a hotel in Marylebone as a receptionist. 

During my time in London I took every opportunity to explore the city. One weekend led me to Amsterdam, in order to celebrate the birthday of one of my friends from home. Later on, other friends from home led me to Bournemouth and Brighton. The last stop in England before heading home was Manchester, where I gave solo traveling a shot for the first time. When I eventually went back home to Switzerland, I faced various long distance friendships which brought me back to London, to Italy and Toronto.

Since then my early twenties have taken me on a wild ride around the world. The countless trips I was lucky enough to go on will be the main content of this blog. After thinking about it for a looong time, the Covid-Pandemic has finally made me start this online journal.