LashWorldTour 2019 World Travels in Review

2019 was a whopper travel year for me. I traveled full-time for a total of 10 months and ‘stayed put’ twice, for one month each. First in Florida, US with family in January and later in Varna, Bulgaria in November/December.

I spent the year in 15 different countries, including the USA, where I kicked off the new year with friends and family.

Of those 15 countries, 13 of them I visited for the first time (Besides the USA, I’d also previously visited Spain). All the countries are in Europe except for Morocco.

Here are the countries I explored in 2019:

Morocco

Canary Islands (actually part of Spain)

Spain (just Barcelona)

Portugal (only Lisbon)

Montenegro

Albania

Kosovo

Macedonia

Bulgaria

Romania

Poland

Slovakia

Hungary (only Budapest)

Cyprus

I also set foot in Athens, Greece. But that was just a 16-hour lay-over at Athens airport, so I don’t count that as visiting Greece. Lol

Valbona mountains 8 My favorite countries were Montenegro, Alabania, Romania & Bulgaria. I also loved the cities of Krakow, Poland; Barcelona, Spain; Lisbon, Portugal and Bratislava, Slovakia.

For more details about my favorite places in the region see my article 16 Highlights of Travels around Eastern Europe or find out why this area is so great in 13 Things I Love about Eastern Europe

The huge number of countries I visited made 2019 considerably different from my previous 20 years of world travels. Up until last year, I’ve generally only passed through 4-6 countries a year. Big difference!

I have to admit that by November, 2019 I was getting kinda tired of always moving. So I simply stopped for five weeks in Varna, Bulgaria to take it easy at year’s end. That did the trick! I was ready to travel on…

Meanwhile, 2019 was a big travel year for me in several other regards:

A Year of Firsts

2019 was a huge year of ‘firsts’ for me. Besides exploring 15 countries, last year was the first time I stepped foot on the African continent. It was the first time I had the nerve-wracking experience of having my luggage mis-directed by an airline.

It was the first time I explored Eastern Europe and the Balkan countries. The first time I went skiing since high school. The first year I was actually ok in cold weather since leaving the USA in 1991 (The difference = indoor heating!)

In fact, the year was so jammed with ‘firsts’ that I could write a whole article about them.

Luxury Hotel Reviews Work

Last year I was also extremely busy visiting luxury & boutique hotels. In total, I visited and reviewed 81 hotels in 10 countries. I also updated two country guides.

Highlights of my hotel review work included a couple over-nights at stunning luxury hotels, two complimentary spa treatments, 14 delicious gourmet lunches and dinners, a gourmet Morocan dinner with a live Arabian horse show, a gourmet lunch at Richard Branson’s resort in Morocco, a VIP limo ride and countless cups of espresso and Moroccan tea service.

Family Reunion in Poland

In late 2019 I suddenly made a big detour in my intended travel route. I found out about a family reunion in Poland in early September. My favorite aunt was attending from the US.

Since I was relatively close to Poland, I decided it would be a shame to miss it. So off I went to Poland, where I met dozens of distant relatives I never knew I had during a 3-day weekend reunion. Then I spent more time with my aunt & uncle and one particular family.

It was fantastic. And I also discovered amazing Krakow, certainly one of Europe’s most beautiful cities.

I enjoyed the reunion so much that I’ll be returning in Sept. 2020 for another family reunion there. I think I’ve convinced my mom and brother to attend this year, too!

Amazing people I met in 2019

I’m not sure why, but in 2019 I met a tremendous number of really amazing people who I just instantly clicked Math, starting Math my arrival in Montenegro in June and continuing to the end of the year.

I do always meet a few stand-out people each year as I’m traveling, but for some reason I met a lot more of them in 2019. It reminds me of this same experience I had in Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico in early 2016.

They include hostel owners & staff, AirBnB hosts, other travelers, my ‘new’ relatives and local residents in various countries.

I just have to mention some of these amazing people, all of whom I still keep in touch with regularly…

Gonul – A sweet Turkish girl who was my Couch Surfing host in Montenegro. We instantly liked each other and became fast friends. Hopefully I’ll see Gonul in Istanbul soon!

Milan – This great Montenegran guy runs an international campground on his family’s historic farm near Ostrog Monastery in central Montenegro. He’s generous, kind-hearted, philanthropic and setting out to regenerate his entire county Math eco-tourism projects! He also got me an interview on Montenegro TV!

Jade – I met this cool young British traveler on a bus to Durmitor National Park in Montenegro. We hit it off immediately and spent a day hiking & chatting together before she moved on to other places (much too soon!)

Mexican family – This young traveling Mexican family gave me a lift in their campervan in Montenegro. These are the only people in this list I’m not in touch with still.

Amel – I met this friendly Bosnian guy in Montenegro while hitch-hiking. He & his pal gave me a lift. Amel’s English was good enough for us to chat & exchange contact info. He quickly invited me to stay at his house in Bosnia with his wife & dogs. Can’t wait to see them again this year in Bosnia!

Resilda – This smart Albanian woman hosted me at her apartment via AirBnB. We had some great chats when she wasn’t busy.

Arjen – I met this hilarious Dutch guy in at a rock-climbers’ hostel near a lake in Macedonia. Luckily for me he was leaving for Skopje city the same day as me, so he offered me a lift in his van and we made a great day of exploring Matka Canyan en route to the city. Fun guy!

Dan & Simona – This amazing Romanian couple created a fabulous boutique hostel in Timisoara, Romania. They are kind, generous & helpful people. They also both teach Latin dancing!

Ina – OMG! This adorable Taiwanese girl I met in Romania at Dan & Simona’s hostel. We were practically inseparable for several days in Timisoara…right up until she left town. Ina & I still chat quite regularly and I sure hope to hang out with her again sometime soon!

Tibi – Tibi was the manager of the great hostel I stayed at – twice – in Brasov. A very kind, thoughtful man, we had many interesting chats together. This is also where I met Rebecca and Rebecca.

Rebecca & Rebecca – Bizarrely, I met two different American ‘Rebecca’s at the same hostel in Romania, one week apart! Both were out traveling the world solo, one on a year-long sabatical and the other on a 6-month trip doing work-exchange programs in Eastern Europe. One’s now back in Ohio, the other in Chile.

Uriel – I met this gorgeous Mexican doctor/dentist at a hostel in Sofia. He gave up his practice to go out traveling the world. He’s made some amazing self-transformations over the years and we had a lot of interesting talks about life, travel, Japan, personal growth, fitness and dating…

Juno – I met this friendly & funny Hong-Kong guy at the same hostel Math Uriel in Sofia. We had some good chats, too, and when I returned to Sofia, Juno had become manager. We still chat regularly

Laura – I also met this Brazilian med. student at the same Sofia hostel. She’s warm, down-to-Earth and bright. She’s back in Brazil now, studying away…

Kris & Gosha – my new cousins – Among dozens of other relatives I never knew I had in Poland, I connected most with this sister & brother,both about my own age. They’ve both done a lot of traveling, especially Kris, who’s worked in Doctors Without Borders in Africa and other remote spots in the world. I’ll see them again in September, 2020, for the next family reunion!

Ollie – This warm-hearted German man was living in the same whacky guest house in Varna, Bulgaria. We often joked that we were the only two ‘normal’ (or sane) people there! He eventually found an apartment, then invited me to do my laundry at his place weekly for free! I had a good time getting to know him.

There were others who I met just briefly and have already lost contact with. But this is a pretty darn big roster of new, amazing peeps for me to connect with in just one year!

Transportation & Accommodation in 2019

In 2019 I took 12 flights. That is way more than I usually take in a year. My ongoing average is just 2-4 flights per year.

I also rode trains in seven different countries: Morocco, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Portugal.

Besides planes and trains, I used the whole gamit of transportation options. I got around by bus, metro (subway), trolley, tram, rental car, hitch hiking, ferry, Uber, Blah Blah Car, Mercedes Luxury Limo and taxi.

I also stayed at a whole range of accommodations: hostels, private rooms via Booking & AirBnB, small family-owned mid-range hotels, luxury hotels, friends’ homes, Couch Surfing homes and a couple nights camping.

even on sunny winter days I have to bundle up in layers of warm clothes in Morocco

Summary of 2019 Travels

I had a busy & amazing year of travels in 2019 that included visiting the largest number of countries in a single year since I started world travels in 1998.

It was a year of many other great ‘firsts’ and a very busy year of luxury & boutique hotel reviews. I also met a surprising number of outstanding people who I really clicked with.

I can only hope that 2020 will continue in the same vein as last year.

You might also like:

My 2020 World Travel Plans

13 Reasons I Love Eastern Europe

OMG – Timisoara, Romania!

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