2016: Year in review

Phew! That was quite a year! Many things happened in 2016, but although most people hated it, mainly for the unfortunate world events, I personally considered it a good year. Sure, it had it’s downfalls, but that’s just how life happens to be. Let’s focus on the positive stuff. When it comes to travel, I accomplished more than I hoped for. I discovered lots of new destinations and revisited many familiar places.

What happened in 2016?

2016 was such an eventful year, full of danger, adventure and whirling emotions.

First of all, I was close to encounter a pack of wolves in Serbian forests. Same forests that were also crawling with boars at that time of the year.

Second, in March I happened to be in Brussels, just a few streets away from the place where the police caught the terrorist attacker from Paris. Moreover, two days after I left Brussels, terrorist events happened there also. Then, my visit in Berlin was shortly before the Christmas Market attack. And guess what, the Berlin attack suspect was shot in another city that I visited this year, Milan. To be honest, I had a strange feeling when I put it all together, but I’m grateful that I survived this year, despite all the evil on the prowl. If there is something I’ve learned from these experiences, is that I have to live life to the fullest, without letting fear dictate my actions.

In 2016 I also learned the usefulness of medical insurance when traveling abroad. And I learned it the hard way. When in Berlin, I needed medical services, but I didn’t have an insurance (I’m a cheap person!), so I had to wait until I got back in my home country. Good thing it wasn’t a critical situation. In the meantime I learned some useful tips about receiving medical care, and I can’t wait to share them with you. Soon I’m going to write a special post about this topic.

Highlights of 2016

Here are my personal travel-related wins and accomplishments:

1. I traveled to 5 different countries: Serbia, Belgium, Bulgaria (not once, but twice!), Italy and Germany. Four of them I visited for the first time.
2. I explored my country a lot. Whether I visited new places or I chose to return and rediscover familiar sceneries, this year I fell in love with Romania all over again.
3. I trekked my first canyon ever – The Seven Ladders Canyon! And one month after, the second one – Stan’s Valley Canyon. Looking forward to a third experience next year!
4. I filled my home with travel related items and motivational messages. Not even my shower curtain escaped from my obsession, as I bought one that has the names of the world’s most important capitals and landmarks on it.

2016 in photographs

To summarize 2016, I want to show you some photos from my travels, even from those that I didn’t write about just yet. Here we go:

And don’t even think these are all the places I visited in 2016!

My plans and wishes for 2017

What are my plans for 2017? Well, I would love to travel at least as much, if not more than I did in 2016.

For now I have only one certain destination: I will visit the beautiful city of Budapest (Hungary) in March. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to travel as much as I want in the first half of the year, because I have to prepare the final thesis for my master’s degree.

Still, this year I am planning to visit Greece, France, Spain, Turkey and maybe Italy again. Because I like to be spontaneous, this list could change, or I might add other countries to it, like maybe Croatia or Sweden (two of the countries I am really looking forward to visiting).

I also intend to continue taking domestic trips, at least as many as I took in 2016.

Another thing that I’ve wanted to do for so long, but didn’t have the chance so far, is to travel solo in another country. Although the experience is not so foreign to me, as I traveled solo before in my home country, I find it a bit scary. But at the same time appealing and empowering, so I can’t miss it.

That being said, I want to thank you all for being here, watching me as I discover the world, one country at a time. If you want to keep up with my travels in 2017, subscribe with your email adress or Follow my blog with Bloglovin! I hope you have an amazing upcoming year, full of happiness, love and travel. Happy New Year everyone!