Travel stories, quotes and fun facts

The lighthouse keeper's cat

The lighthouse is automatic now, but the cat still patrols as though it has responsibilities. The keeper's grandson runs a cafe next door and tells the story eleven times a day.

Cold water swim club

Six people in dressing gowns at eight in the morning in February. They swim for four minutes and drink tea for forty. We were invited on the first morning and did not miss a day.

The tram driver's tour

The tram was nearly empty so the driver pointed things out as we passed, in three languages, without slowing down. At the terminus he apologised for talking too much.

Fog on the Camino

We walked in fog for two days and saw the same twelve metres of path. Then it lifted on the last morning and Santiago's towers were exactly where they were meant to be.

One key, five hundred years

The guesthouse key was iron and the size of a forearm. The owner said it had opened the same door since the eighteenth century and asked us not to lose it, understandably.

Christmas market discipline

There is a correct order: sausage, then gingerbread, then gluhwein, then a second gluhwein. A local corrected our sequence firmly and then bought the second round.

The gondolier's shortcut

He avoided the Grand Canal entirely and took us through back canals where the water was green and the walls were close enough to touch. He sang exactly nothing and it was better.

Ithaka gave you the journey

Ithaka gave you the marvellous journey. Without her you would not have set out.

Keep Ithaka always in your mind

Keep Ithaka always in your mind. Arriving there is what you're destined for.

Ask that the way be long

Hope your road is a long one, full of adventure, full of discovery.

Wanderlust

Wanderlust: a strong desire to travel, from the German for a lust to wander.

Fernweh

Fernweh: a longing for far-off places, the opposite of homesickness.

Resfeber

Resfeber: the restless race of a traveller's heart before the journey begins.

Hygge on the road

Hygge: the warmth of a small, well-lit room while the weather outside does its worst.

Dolce far niente

Dolce far niente: the sweetness of doing nothing, best practised on a terrace after lunch.

Sobremesa

Sobremesa: the conversation that keeps you at the table long after the food is gone.

Saudade

Saudade: the presence of an absence, a longing for something that may never return.

Meraki

Meraki: doing something with soul, creativity and love, leaving a piece of yourself in the work.

Lagom

Lagom: not too little, not too much. Just the right amount, including in your backpack.

Sisu

Sisu: stubborn determination in the face of hardship, especially cold and dark.

Friluftsliv

Friluftsliv: open-air living, the belief that being outdoors is a fundamental part of being well.

Allemansratten

Allemansratten: the right to roam. In Sweden the countryside belongs to everyone who respects it.

Gezellig

Gezellig: cosy, convivial, the feeling of a Dutch cafe on a rainy afternoon.

Craic

Craic: good conversation, good company and good fun, usually in that order.