Reminiscences of my travels in 2022

It’s the time of the year again when we can look back and recollect how it went for us. While life is filled with all its positivities and negativities, we try to make the best of what we can and when we can. I tried the same and as travelling is one of my passions, I tried to put the pandemic behind and go out to venture into the world. As I look back at the year I think I did quite well given that I was stuck at home in 2020 and only travelled within my home country in 2021. 

This year I travelled to a few countries from my travel wish list and thoroughly enjoyed each of these. I cannot rank them as I enjoyed each one of them. While most of the countries I visited are in Europe, only one country is in Asia. And what stood out among all the countries I visited is the exceptionally beautiful mountain kingdom of Bhutan. I had booked my trip to Bhutan in 2019 to travel in 2020 but then due to the pandemic this tiny country closed its border until September this year. I guess the long wait and anticipation is what made this trip worthwhile.

I will write about my travels and the sights in each of these countries I visited in 2022 in more details as and when I can. Meanwhile, I am focussing this month’s travel story with one sight from each country starting with the last country I visited.

Taktsang Monastery, Bhutan

Bhutan, also known as the country of the Thunder Dragon has been on my travel wish list for years. This tiny country in the Himalayas is famously known for its Buddhist monasteries, fortresses (called Dzongs), wonderful landscapes and also for its Gross National Happiness. As Bhutan opened its borders in Sep 2022 I made a decision to travel to Bhutan soon after and finally visited this beautiful country in Oct 2022. I visited the capital city of Thimphu, Dochula Pass on the way to Punakha and Paro valley.

Walking up to the Taktsang Monastery was the key moment of my Bhutan visit. Taktsang Monastery, also known as Tiger’s Nest is located 10 kms north of Paro perched on a stiff cliff about 900 meters above the Paro valley. The only way to reach the monastery is by walking. The entire journey involves walking up, then down and up again. Walking up the last few steps to finally enter Taktsang Monastery was the most satisfying and blissful aspect of my 2022 travels. A real dream come true moment.

Seurasaari Island Open-Air Museum, Finland

During the summer of 2022, I visited Helsinki for a long weekend and enjoyed many parts of the city including the famous Suomenlinna fortress, boat rides in and around the Helsinki archipelago and other sights in the city. Of these places, one which I particularly enjoyed on a lovely summer day was the Seurasaari Island Open-Air Museum in the Seurasaari island in Helsinki. It is short bus ride from the city centre.

The entrance to the Seurasaari Island Open-Air Museum is a beautiful wooden bridge. On the island, you are transported to various parts of Finland with various wooden buildings from the respective Finnish regions. There are many trails to walk in the island and enjoy the open-air museum at your own pace to enjoy the rural setting and peaceful surroundings. During midsummer a huge bonfire is lit on the island and enjoyed by both locals and tourists from the island or from boats around the island.

Curonian Spit, Lithuania

During my Baltics trip in the summer, I visited the countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. One of the sights that I truly enjoyed in Lithuania is the Curonian Spit. It is a 98-kilometre (61 mi) long sand dune spit that separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea coast and is spread across the two countries of Lithuania (in Klaipeda county) and Russia (part of Kaliningrad) . The northern part of the Curonian Spit is in Lithuania. This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Of the 61 miles, 32 miles of the Curonian Spit is part of Lithuania. The highest moving sand dunes in Europe can be seen here and Parnidis sand dune is the highest which is about 52 m above sea level. Certain marked areas here can be hiked but the dunes are best seen by taking a boat ride on the Curonian Lagoon. From the boat the dunes look massive and the floating buoys of the international border with Russia can be seen too.

Cesis Castle, Latvia

In Latvia, I visited Riga and some other places but really enjoyed the medieval Cesis Castle and the tour around and within the castle. Cesis Castle is one of the most visited and best preserved medieval castles in Latvia. The castle is more than 800 years old and built by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. After that it was owned by the Teutonic Knights. Today visitors can visit the museum to understand the history of the castle before touring the castle.

The most interesting part of the castle is the Western Tower. Each person is handed a lantern to take into the Western Tower as it is quite dark inside. After passing the Master’s chamber, further stairs which are quite tight goes up to the top of the tower. From the top level windows the surrounding area of Cesis can be seen. Many archaeological excavations have taken place over the years in Cesis Castle. All the artefacts found are part of the Cesis Castle collection and stored in the National History Museum of Latvia.

Lahemaa National Park, Estonia

The first thing that comes to mind when we think of Estonia is its capital city Tallinn, which no doubt is so beautiful to explore with all its sights. I also visited the beautiful university city of Tartu. But the natural surroundings of one of Europe’s biggest national parks, Lahemaa National Park is something that I really enjoyed. It is also the largest national park in Estonia.

Lahemaa National Park is northern Estonia about 70 kms east of the capital city of Tallinn. About 70% of the park is filled with forests and the area is known for its flora and fauna. There are many trails, bogs, bays and in the northern part of the park is the Gulf of Finland. There are also many traditional fisherman’s huts in the park area and on the walk along the coast huge boulders and rocks can be seen. Lahemaa National Park support the local ecosystems of the area. 

Blue Grotto, Malta

Malta has so many wonderful sights be it natural, archeological or cultural. I always wanted to see the famous Azure Window but unfortunately the arch collapsed in 2017. The next best natural sight which I enjoyed in Malta is the Blue Grotto. Located on the south east coast of Malta, the Blue Grotto includes a number of sea caverns. The main cave looks exceptionally beautiful when seen from the top and the colour of the blue Mediterranean sea makes the entire surrounding absolutely stunning.

The best way to enjoy the caves is to take a boat ride around and inside it. The colour of water shining in the sunlight reflects within the caves creating a surreal experience. The boat ride only takes place during good weather and when it is not too windy, but I was lucky enough to be there on such a day to thoroughly enjoy this spectacular beauty. 

As 2022 draws to a close, I am looking forward to fulfil some more travel dreams in 2023. But still a few days are left in December and if wanderlust strikes, I might hop on the train or plane to go someplace, who knows!

SOME TIPS:

• Plan your holiday in advance. Read about the history and culture of the place. That way you are definitely going to enjoy the place more.
• Travel in any season as each season has its own appeal of the same place. And whatever the weather just go with the flow and enjoy your travels.
• Do make new friends. You never know how some of these chance meeting can form lasting relationships and you end up meeting some again in another part of the world. 
• You cannot be everywhere so choose the places you would enjoy most and explore it.

Meanwhile, here is wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. Have a fabulous holiday season. May 2023 be filled with new dreams, new hopes, new places to explore and new memories to cherish for everyone. 

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