12.) Germany and Poland (2014)
Itinerary Overview: 9 days total, three in Berlin, three in Krakow, two in Warsaw, one for travel
Cities in my Top-50 List: Berlin, Krakow, Warsaw
This was my first trip as a gainfully employed adult, using hard-earned PTO days to go to Europe for a week. When I was in Berlin at the start of the trip, some medum-sized fire flared up on my project and had to spend more time answering e-mails than I wanted to - a beautiful head-first dive into the world of traveling as an adult. Anyway, the trip itself was quite good. The only reasons it wasn't higher are (1) I went in mid-March so it was still slightly cold, and (2) the food in these areas isn't the best compared to others on the list. Remove those two and it was a great trip.
Berlin had a lot more history than I expected even outside the stuff with the Wall and War. The museums detailing Germany's full pre-Weimar history was great. The city is a little big despite having a good transit system, so it made it tough to see too much of the city. Krakow was the opposite, being small enough for almost everything worthwhile to be within a 10-15 min walk of their great main square. That main square is probably my favorite main square in Europe. The history there was both chilling in a good way (stuff related to the Pope) and bad (Auschwitz). Both places were great, and I would go back to either for a qucik hang. As a first trip abroad alone as a gainfully employed adult, this was about as good a start as I could have wanted, knowing that many better were still to come.
11.) Peru (2016)
Itinerary Overview: 8 days total, three in Lima, four in Cusco/Machu Picchu
Cities in my Top-50 List: Lima, Cusco
I took this trip with two friends. As a reminder, this whole list is being judged on how fun, how memorable, how special these trips were, not just how good each city is to travel to. The latter would be basically just some mathematical equation of my Top-50 cities list. This is differnet. For Peru, the two most memorable aspects were the food, and Loki hostel. The food was amazing, with our central meal being at Maido (generally in the Top-10 of the San Pellegrino list of the World's Top-50 Restaurants). That was my first foray into a beautiful tasting menu, and the 13-course Japanese-Peruvian infusion still remains maybe my favorite meal. Even outside of that, the other meals were mostly all great.
Loki is something else. We all were working, and probably could have split a normal hotel, but chose to stay at Loki Hostels because they are known for being a good time. I don't think we knew what we were getting into with it. The one in Cusco is probably the most noted, and for us it basically served as our ngith spot, with the nomadic bartenders serving blood bombs and rounding the crowd into 'Loki, Loki, Loki.... Aye, Aye, Aye!' chants over and over again. The fun in the trip emanated from these things, and the friends I shared it with - this being the first international trip with buddies.
From a travel perspective, Lima is a bit flat for tourism, and while Macchu Picchu is incredible, it takes a whole 1.5-2 days to travel to and fro even if you aren't doing the Inca trail. It is all worth it, but a longer trip than we took is probably more ideal for Peru. I would though highly recommend what we did which was do Macchu Picchu towards the end, because with the hiking and all we were all basically beat up physically for a couple days.
10.) Germany and the Rest (2000)
Itinerary Overview: ~17 days, split between Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic
Cities in my Top-50 List: London, Munich, Vienna, Budapest, Prague
Three of these trips took place before the purview of this blog, and this is the earliest one. This was the second year my family and I went to Europe for our Spring Break holiday. To be honest, I have far less memory of hte first trip (UK, Belgium, Netherlands) than this one, though even if I did, my guess is I would rank this one higher. The best aspect was just the sheer number of countries and cultures. Yes, being 9 at the time they all blended in together, but the difference of seeing the Alps in Swizterland, the open fields in Austria and the classic beauty of Prague and Budapest was fascinating.
I loved this trip because of how large it seemed at the time, how fun it was to drive oin the Autobahn, to eat Goulash (which I still love and want to go back to Budapest at some point to eat again). I still remember the night river cruises in Budapest and Prague seeing the flood-lit gothic buildings on each end of hte river. I still remember all the music-related stuff in Salzburg and touring the Sound of Music house. This trip will always hold a place in my heart because it was the first one that I have a significantly good memory of - even more than later trips that didn't make the list because of how cloudy that memory is.
In the end, it was probably trying to pack a little too much into 17 days to see so many countries, diverse cultures, and see them all well. However, that's how my family rolled back in the day. My Mom and Dad were vigilant in waking my sister and I up every day early so we could see as much as we could, and I couldn't be any more grateful for that.
9.) Italy with Friends (2019)
Itinerary Overview: 9 days, three in Rome, three in Positano, three in Palermo
Cities in my Top-50: Rome, Positano, Palermo
It is hard to judge a trip that just happened, but I think I'm fair in saying this was truly a very good trip edged to great because I went with five close friends. If not for that fact, this probably lands up around #10. What was great about the trip, outside of just hte people we traveled with, was seeing such differnet parts of the Italy, from the megapolis that is Rome (the original megapolis, one would say) to the hills of Positano, to the gritty realness and beauty of Palermo. It was three very different, interesting aspects of Italy.
Despite going to Italy the first time three years after the European trip I detailed at #9, I had little actual memory of that trip, so even Rome with the Vatican and Colosseum and Forum were more new than expected. Positano was interesting given we were literally 7-10 days before the rush season began (and prices would start jumping >50%) but the town was lovely with its perfectly manicured hills, great views, well maintained trattorias and the rest. The real star, for me, was Palermo. I don't know exactly what it is aobut that place, but it was a huge hit with my friends and I.
Palermo had a lovely mix of new urban chic design for newer restaurants and bars, but a very earthy traditional foundation. The food was great. Our AirBNB was conveniently located right above one of the main bar crawl drags, allowing us to mix with throngs of local Sicilians enjoying their Friday night, up to including getting routed in a game of foosball. Turns out they can play that better too. Somehow I haven't really mentioned the food yet, which was great ranging from fancy tasting menus (my favorite: I Pupi in Bagheria) to modern classic to hole in the wall pizza in Naples. This was a great classic one-week trip.
8.) Turkey (2007)
Itinerary Overview: 16 days, split between Istanbul, Capadocia, Anatolya and others
Cities in my Top-50: Istanbul
I wasn't actually supposed to be on this trip. That same Spring Break my school's Orchestra did a tour of Russia, a place I missed out on and still hope to go to (see: it being #1 on my list). Then again, instead I got to go to Turkey and have a fantastic time. The other unique aspect of this trip was this was the first (and so far only) guided tour I have been on, with my family meeting ~40 other people in Istanbul for a 14-day Gate-1 tour program.
There are definitely negatives to this: the speed they operate is slower, you are kind of boxed in to their itinerary, there were a lot of early morning starts to drive on buses. But the positives way outweighed them - primarily in that all the logistics were taken care off, and we got dinners to ourselves. The food in Turkey is execptional, be it the kofta kebabs on the streets in Istanbul, the great many preparations of lamb, or hte fresh fish in Izmir.
The tour was great even at its leisurely pace. I loved every aspect of Istanbul (which I sitll have ranked #3 on my cities list). I loved the varied topography of Kapadokya or the day in Ephesus, which set my then standard on Roman ruins. Turkey was such a great place to go at that, even if I still have a 2% regret about missing out on playing Orchestra music in the halls of Russaia. Turkey was a great, excellent, brilliant consolation prize.
7.) Asia Trip (2019)
Itinerary Overview: 18 days, two in London, three in Taipei, three in Ho Chi Minh City, three in Luang Prabang, three in Hanoi/Halong Bay, one in Singapore, and three mostly in transit
Cities in my Top-50: All of them
This was the longest trip I've taken fully alone. I'm somewhat cheating adding London to this, but the trip did start in London for my company's Summer Party, where we were up singing karaoke in a room till about 6:30 and I got up at 8:30 to head to Heathrow to head to Taiwan. Anyway, the rest of the trip was alone, and it is basically only that fact that keeps it from being higher up. I don't dislike traveling alone, but still there is some added benefit being with people. The trip itself was amazing. Taiwan was far more impressive than I expected. After a largely disastrous trip to Vietnam in 2013, this more than redeemed it, with me falling in love especially with Ho Chi Minh City, and Luang Prabang was one of the msot serene, remote outposts I have ever been to.
Taiwan was an amazing start - I spent months thinking of a place that I could spend 3-4 days before starting the trip proper, and Taiwan was like my 3rd choice, but it more than made up for it with great food, underrated sights, and just a great overall vibe. All of those things are true of Ho Chi Minh City, but add to it the beer culture, and maybe the single best "club" I've been to in my life in The Observatory - each night ending with a motorbike taking me from there to a Pho place to my AirBNB.
But what made the trip really is Luang Prabang, the remote two-road town deep into Laos. So calming, so relaxing. The sites, from the many Wats in the city, to the two great waterfall ponds outside of it, to the Elephant Village - all of it was just so incredible. Again, I've been lucky to go on many great trips. This very easily could be higher, but the ones higehr were all incredible as well.
6.) Israel + Jordan (2018-19)
Itinerary Overview: 16 days, four in Jerusalem, three in Tiberias, two in Tel Aviv, three in Jordan Coast, two in Amman, two for travel
Cities in my Top-50: Jerusalem, Amman
These top-5 were all tremendous, and it was quite tough to rank them all against each other. Out of these top-5, this is the most recent (and the first one that I painstakingly chronicled on this blog). Yes, this is elevated by emotional chills gained by visiting Jerusalem. As I said many times, I wouldn't classify myself as particularly religion, yet it was still fascinating and exhilerating being there and walking the same streets and steps that Jesus did, both in Jerusalem, and in a more pointed way, in Tiberias near the Sea of Galilee. This was such untapped land.
But even looking at the Jordan half and it was an incredible vacation. Other than maybe the trip I have ranked #1, there were few better back to back days than visiting the magic of Wadi Rum - climbing rock and sand dunes, eating with bedouins - and the lost city of Petra. Jordan also gave us incredible hotels, great food (lamb, lamb and more lamb) amd amazing kunefe. Jordan was just as good as I could have hoped for.
Ultimately, this trip was thrilling and special, and I do see myself going back at least once, maybe in another 5-10 years when they uncovered more hidden gems in both countries. The lasting memory, beyond the tight bond to my faith, is how advanced both countries were at their best (Israel obviously more-so than Jordan). Both show a better side of what we commonly see as the most dangerous, tightly wound part of the wrold. Instead, they are a goldmine for tourism bliss.
5.) Iberian Peninsula (2001)
Itinerary Overview: ~15 days split between Madrid, Andalusia (Sevilla, Granada, Malaga), Lisbon
Cities in my Top-50: Madrid, Granada
This is the other trip from way back in my childhood. It left such an impression that Spain is probably my favorite country to visit (and there are so many more areas of Spain to go to). Portugal wasn't too bad either, with its fado music, rolling hills in Lisbon, a little religion thrown in (Fatima) and incredible food, simply incredible food. This also lined up when I was learning about such things as Ferdinand and Isabella, so that too was a nice touch of symmetry.
Back to Spain though, it left such an impresion that I remember so much of that trip despite it being 18 whole years ago (God, I'm old). I remember the Prado and Reina Sofia, and being enamored by Dali despite not really knowing what it was at the time. I remember so much of Madrid, what an incredible city it was. I remember the brilliance of Andalusia, with the white hills of Costa del Sol, and of course the Alhambra in Granada.
I can certainly say that the Alhambra is somethign I would appreciate a lot more now than I did then, but even the 10-year old me loved walking around those grounds, seeing the incredible views, and of course getting the chance to retreat back to our resort and eat that lamb. Oh that lamb. I have no idea how it was made, or what sauce they used, and who knows if 28-year old me would like it, but man was it one of my favorite meals from my childhood travels. This trip has certainly been played up, but I've been to Madrid twice since, and I remain steadfast in my undying love for everything Spain.
4,) Iberian Peninsula (2021)
Itinerary Overview: 15 days, three in Barcelona, two in Granada, one in Sevilla, three in Lisbon, two in San Sebastian, two in Bilbao, one in Madrid, one traveling
Cities in my Top 50: Barcelona, Granada, Lisbon, Bilbao/San Sebastian, Madrid
Hey - it's Spain and Portugal again! 20 years later I did a trip that repeated a lot of the elements of my first trip to Spain & Portugal, but traded more time in Andalusia and going to Malaga for the Basque Region and Barcelona, which is a net positive. The other inextricable advantage this trip had in particular was it being the first lengthy trip I took since the start of the Covid pandemic. It was also with friends. While places in Spain and Portugal closed way earlier than they would've had we gone two years prior, it was still us letting loose.
This trip had it all - from great restaurants, especially Belcanto in Lisbon and Azurmendi in Bilbao, to great, if short, nights out, to just a lot of experiences and running jokes that the five of us that went (three of us in the first half of hte trip) would always have. When I travel with my friends, it is always a bit slower than when I go alone or with family, but here that pace added to the experience. Each part of the trip had something memorable, from meeting a 6th friend in Barcelona who moved there early in the pandemic, to seeing the Alhambra with "adult" eyes, to enjoying Lisbon with friends, the one place that stayed open until at least 2am, to seeing the long heard about Basque region for the first time. It was all excellent.
This was the one international trip I took that was impacted by Covid, in the sense that many of the main sites required masks, places closed by 11:30 (Barcelona, hilariously) or 1am (rest of Spain) instead of 4-5am like normal, and there was still a certain "is this real?" vibe in the air. By the time I took my next trip out of the country the following Feb to Cape Town, Covid was largely in the rear view mirror in terms of impacting every day life. I do enjoy the fact that I got this one trip during Covid, and the memories taken from it. May we never have to travel that way again, but may I always remember that I did and still had an amazing time.
3.) Egypt + South Africa (2018)
Itinerary Overview: 17 days, one in Johannesburg, four in Cairo, four on a Nile Cruise, five in Cape Town, two for travel
Cities in my Top-50: Johannesbug, Cairo, Luxor, Cape Town
It's interesting that this ended up being three different types of trips. This was mainly solo (for Egypt, then with a friend for Cape Town). My #2 was with a large group of friends and my #1 with my family. This was the most complex trip I had done from a logistics standpoint, but also the ressurection of two aborted trips. The most direct connection was me not being allowed to go to Cape Town in 2017. The other was when I decided to move Egypt to Cape Town as the launching point for my 2013 Round-the-World Trip. Finally they both came together, and man was it great.
These were such great contrasting differences. Egypt was all about the history, the legacy of this great Ancient civilization. Cape Town being all about the natural beauty, incredible food and incredible people. One was hot, one was perfectly temperate. They both combined for an excellent vacation. There are so many lasting memories, but the best honestly mght have been the Nile Cruise on the MS Dolphin. Being able to say I sailed down the Nile the cradle of so much civilization. All the temples and tombs were so enriching. So incredible old.
Cape Town was Cape Town, but it was great to enjoy this incredible city with company for the first time. I had more interesting food this time, going for a few medium-sized posh dinners around the Western Cape. Did more hiking this time, getting to see all aspects of that beautiful Table Mountain from way up high to the forests that careen into Kirstenbosch. I may never go on such a complex trip in terms of flights back and forth (I first flew to Johannesburg before then heading up to Cairo via Dubai - did allow me to go to a Lion Park in JoBurg though) but for one 2-week stretch it was amazing.
2.) The Balkans (2017)
Itinerary: 10 days, three in Belgrade, three in Dubrovnik, two in Split and one in Zagreb
Cities in my Top-50: Belgrade, Dubrovnik, Split
As mentioned, this is my highest ranking trip with my friends. It was a group of five of us in Belgrade, and then two others joining us in Croatia. So many memories of this trip. Belgrade is still a little rough around the edges, but that roughness allowed us to get affordable bottle service on a floating club on a barge playing classic hip-hop bangers. This trip launched a thousand running jokes as well.
It really kicked off in Croatia however, which was about as whirlwind a 7-days as you can get between Dubrovnik, Split and a day at Lake Plitvice (a truly stunning experience with such variety of untouched blues). The crazy thing about this trip is how littel we slept, being out till 2-4 AM each night and up by 8 to have seven of us shower in time to make 10am tours. A whole lot of espressos were had sitting in outdoor patio'd coffeeshops in the red tiled main square old towns of Dubrovnik and Split. Somehow, I slept less on that trip than any normal week of work.
The food was great, the views were great, both in teh cities and the drive between them. I got to cross three more countries off the list (I'm including Bosnia which we drove through for a good 30 minutes on the way to Split). It was days and days and days of laughs, our first turly group international trip. And the fact we picked a place that was not too tourist heavy (in terms of sites) and more about fun (club in a castle!) it made it all the better.
1.) Patagonia (2017-18)
Itinerary: 13 days, one in Buenos Aires, two in Punta Arenas, two in El Calafate, two in Puerto Natalas, two in Santiago, two in Wine Country, two for travel
Cities in my Top-50: Punta Arenas, El Calafate, Santiago
It had been a good seven years since our full family took a trip together - that one to Greece in 2010 (probably my #11). We had gone to India together, but that is more about family and what-not. This was pure tourism. My sister and I were old enough to do most of the logistics, painstakingly picking out restaurants (both of us), hotels (mostly her) and flights (me again). In the end, it all came together in probably the most perfect 12-day vacation you can imagine.
Other than maybe the one day we lost just driving form Punta Arenas to El Calafate, but even on that day, we got to see some really cool, open terrain (tons of photos), a bunch of cute sheep and vacuna, and have two great meals. The food was amazing throughout, with such interesting range of cuisines from the more earthy food in Patagonia, to fresh seafood in Vina del Mar (near Santiago) to tasting menus to grab and go ceviche. The drinks were nice too, be it well manicured but not overbearing wineries in the main wine region, to the beer spots I dug out - my favorite being Zorra's Taproom in El Calafate, a truly one-road town.
What makes this trip sing though is the tourism, the indelible images and experiences in Tierra del Fuego - as South as I'll probably ever go, and then the two-day combination of Perito Moreno Glacier and Torres del Paine park. The Glacier I've already ranked as my favorite outdoor site ever, and from both the cantileverd steps on one side, and walking with crampons on its Hoth-like presence on the other, it was amazing. Torres del Paine was just the best National Park I have ever been to. Finally to cap the trip was two days in Santiago, which very quickly jumped to being my favorite South American city. This trip was perfect, and it will be a long time before we recreate anything close.
Itinerary Overview: 17 days, one in Johannesburg, four in Cairo, four on a Nile Cruise, five in Cape Town, two for travel
Cities in my Top-50: Johannesbug, Cairo, Luxor, Cape Town
It's interesting that this ended up being three different types of trips. This was mainly solo (for Egypt, then with a friend for Cape Town). My #2 was with a large group of friends and my #1 with my family. This was the most complex trip I had done from a logistics standpoint, but also the ressurection of two aborted trips. The most direct connection was me not being allowed to go to Cape Town in 2017. The other was when I decided to move Egypt to Cape Town as the launching point for my 2013 Round-the-World Trip. Finally they both came together, and man was it great.
These were such great contrasting differences. Egypt was all about the history, the legacy of this great Ancient civilization. Cape Town being all about the natural beauty, incredible food and incredible people. One was hot, one was perfectly temperate. They both combined for an excellent vacation. There are so many lasting memories, but the best honestly mght have been the Nile Cruise on the MS Dolphin. Being able to say I sailed down the Nile the cradle of so much civilization. All the temples and tombs were so enriching. So incredible old.
Cape Town was Cape Town, but it was great to enjoy this incredible city with company for the first time. I had more interesting food this time, going for a few medium-sized posh dinners around the Western Cape. Did more hiking this time, getting to see all aspects of that beautiful Table Mountain from way up high to the forests that careen into Kirstenbosch. I may never go on such a complex trip in terms of flights back and forth (I first flew to Johannesburg before then heading up to Cairo via Dubai - did allow me to go to a Lion Park in JoBurg though) but for one 2-week stretch it was amazing.
2.) The Balkans (2017)
Itinerary: 10 days, three in Belgrade, three in Dubrovnik, two in Split and one in Zagreb
Cities in my Top-50: Belgrade, Dubrovnik, Split
As mentioned, this is my highest ranking trip with my friends. It was a group of five of us in Belgrade, and then two others joining us in Croatia. So many memories of this trip. Belgrade is still a little rough around the edges, but that roughness allowed us to get affordable bottle service on a floating club on a barge playing classic hip-hop bangers. This trip launched a thousand running jokes as well.
It really kicked off in Croatia however, which was about as whirlwind a 7-days as you can get between Dubrovnik, Split and a day at Lake Plitvice (a truly stunning experience with such variety of untouched blues). The crazy thing about this trip is how littel we slept, being out till 2-4 AM each night and up by 8 to have seven of us shower in time to make 10am tours. A whole lot of espressos were had sitting in outdoor patio'd coffeeshops in the red tiled main square old towns of Dubrovnik and Split. Somehow, I slept less on that trip than any normal week of work.
The food was great, the views were great, both in teh cities and the drive between them. I got to cross three more countries off the list (I'm including Bosnia which we drove through for a good 30 minutes on the way to Split). It was days and days and days of laughs, our first turly group international trip. And the fact we picked a place that was not too tourist heavy (in terms of sites) and more about fun (club in a castle!) it made it all the better.
1.) Patagonia (2017-18)
Itinerary: 13 days, one in Buenos Aires, two in Punta Arenas, two in El Calafate, two in Puerto Natalas, two in Santiago, two in Wine Country, two for travel
Cities in my Top-50: Punta Arenas, El Calafate, Santiago
It had been a good seven years since our full family took a trip together - that one to Greece in 2010 (probably my #11). We had gone to India together, but that is more about family and what-not. This was pure tourism. My sister and I were old enough to do most of the logistics, painstakingly picking out restaurants (both of us), hotels (mostly her) and flights (me again). In the end, it all came together in probably the most perfect 12-day vacation you can imagine.
Other than maybe the one day we lost just driving form Punta Arenas to El Calafate, but even on that day, we got to see some really cool, open terrain (tons of photos), a bunch of cute sheep and vacuna, and have two great meals. The food was amazing throughout, with such interesting range of cuisines from the more earthy food in Patagonia, to fresh seafood in Vina del Mar (near Santiago) to tasting menus to grab and go ceviche. The drinks were nice too, be it well manicured but not overbearing wineries in the main wine region, to the beer spots I dug out - my favorite being Zorra's Taproom in El Calafate, a truly one-road town.
What makes this trip sing though is the tourism, the indelible images and experiences in Tierra del Fuego - as South as I'll probably ever go, and then the two-day combination of Perito Moreno Glacier and Torres del Paine park. The Glacier I've already ranked as my favorite outdoor site ever, and from both the cantileverd steps on one side, and walking with crampons on its Hoth-like presence on the other, it was amazing. Torres del Paine was just the best National Park I have ever been to. Finally to cap the trip was two days in Santiago, which very quickly jumped to being my favorite South American city. This trip was perfect, and it will be a long time before we recreate anything close.
