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A collection of short travel stories from 2022.

When I started this blog, I sometimes made posts with unsorted pictures I took over a month (like Random London). A few years later, time went by faster, and I did collections from seasons (such as Road Towards Winter). Well, the acceleration seems to have no limit, so here's a collection from an entire year.

One thing that links 2022 together is mobility, as I ended up being on the road for most of it. So, here's a little blog within the blog showcasing some of the (almost) forgotten pictures.

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Slowly But Surely

That's how the year started. I had a few grumpy moments when things weren't moving anywhere, but there was a simple solution. A short walk, or better, a bike ride later, all improved in my world. Not too hard to smile when nature delivers scenes like this:

And before I knew it, things moved, too.

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Departure

If someone had told me a year ago that I'd be in France, I'd have doubted it. And if they told me that I'd be swimming in the Atlantic in February, I would laugh it off. Yet, it happened, and it was only one of many unplanned, yet terrific moments that followed.

Brittany was splendid, and so were Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and the Grand Est regions. Each in a distinct way, each with wonderful people who showed me around.

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After a fun stop in Zagreb, I arrived in Vienna. There's something special about that city; every time I go there, it ends up being joyful and influential. This time, I participated in Europe's biggest geoscience conference, and it was out-of-this-world good.

While in Austria, I also revisited the spectacular Semmering.

And the Scharfeneck Castle ruins.

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Nice to See You, Germany

In the past, I was lucky to run into amazing people from there, but I visited only a few cities in person. That changed now, as the German government introduced a ticket that allowed use of any ground public transportation, except high-speed rail, for just €9 per month. Wunderbar!

To me, the thing with seeing is that it brings a touch of learning. It is not that I know the country now, but it was just so cool to see it a bit more. In Magdeburg, for example, I saw the oldest Gothic cathedral in Germany, and I learned that the country has the most over-100m-tall churches in the world.

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The Netherlands in a different light

I came to the Netherlands for the summer, and it was profoundly great. I wrote a separate post about it, but here are a few more unsorted images.

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Summer went by in no time, but the excitement didn't slow down. I got a..

Taster of Finland

Ever since hearing the Tales from the Thousand Lakes during high school, I fantasized about the atmospheric lands up in the Nordic. Yet, seeing it in person exceeded my imagination: Besides the plentiful water areas, swamps, and forests, I saw lovely hills, and their cities were pleasant to be in. What a fab unit!

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In the Meanwhile

I visited Brussels and made a short stop in Scotland:

Then...

Means of Moving

The fortune of visiting remarkable places wouldn't have happened without some tech:

The advantages of cars and planes come with offsets. I like driving, but traffic sucks, and one can't read a book while doing so. In planes, I can read or nap while getting somewhere, but I have to go through airport hassles.

Luckily, I could access other options, which added diversity and more fun to the travels.

But as usual, the most fun I had on one of these:

Cold or hot, asphalt or not!

So yes, I enjoyed the journey too. Well, and it is winter again...

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Most of the year was unexpected. And while that encompassed some hiccups here and there, I have more reasons to smile than I had a year ago.

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Thanks for reading!