Yeah, yeah, travel is great for seeing places totally different from your home, meeting new people with different perspectives, and discovering new cultures.
But the coolest part of travel? When it takes you through time.
Okay fine, I might not mean that entirely literally. Though sometimes it does feel quite real.
They say that listening to a song can transport you back to a particular point of time in your life – I’m guessing when you used to listen to that song all the time. I say “they say” and “I’m guessing” because, why no, I have not stopped listening to that same M2M cd I fell in love with in sixth grade, thank you very much. My musical tastes might still be waiting to hit puberty.
However, there are some places I haven’t visited since that age and one of them is Amsterdam.
So when I flew into Schiphol last weekend to spend a few days in Amsterdam with a college friend it was just a tiny bit like squeezing into that old DeLorean and setting the flux capacitor to the year 1999 (or 1998 or 2001 or whenever it was that my family spent a few days in Amsterdam). As I walked along canal after canal towards my Airbnb all I could think was preteen me was soooo smart, I should totally move to Amsterdam!
Because as I suddenly remembered, I had fallen hard for Amsterdam on that first trip. I even remember blogging about Amsterdam, posting a photo of the cute little canal apartments and writing how much I would love to live in one! Except that was before blogs or the Internet or computers had been invented, so instead it was a drawing in my notebook with some excited scribbles underneath it. I think we used to call them… journals?
Thinking about that girl with the notebook, I kept feeling like I had somehow jumped forward in time to where I am now, back in the same city, walking down the same streets and admiring the same buildings, but now with a whole new slew of life experiences under my belt. I thought about what preteen Silvia would have thought about who I am now, and how excited (or freaked out?) she would have been if she could have caught a glimpse of grown up me walking down those same streets so many years later.
I know, I know, sentimental much? I guess it was just one of those nostalgic weekends. Not only was I visiting a city I had fallen in love with a long time ago and then never gone back to, but I was also there with one of my closest college friends whom I hadn’t seen in years.
I last saw Chloe in London, just a few weeks after finishing my time in Japan. And before that? We last saw each other at college graduation.
Often I worry about how moving around so much fills my life with so many faltering starts and stops instead of the smooth journey I could probably enjoy if I were in one place.
But there’s something really lovely about it too. With all their different backdrops, the chapters of my life are so distinct, and while I’m still mostly the same me in all of them, I’ve also been a little bit different in each place. And there’s something really cool about getting to try out so many different versions of myself – and something quite surreal when revisiting a past haunt and seeing my current version and past version come head to head.
Catching up with Chloe was so fun and weird and bizarre, I can only imagine what going back to visit my college campus would be like (apparently they’ve built a new library!). I kept referring to “college us” and really did feel like Chloe and I had just taken a leap forward in time, to where she’s now teaching undergrads and obsessed with grown up things like growing potatoes in her little Chicago garden and I… have a blog? I think it would make college us laugh.
And while I do hope that I can see a lot more of Chloe and Amsterdam now that I’m based in Europe, it was sort of fun getting back in touch with them after so long, because it was like getting in touch with former versions of myself. In fact, it’s something I’m excited to do a lot more of now that I live in Norway.
Because the truth is, I’ve sort of been avoiding Western Europe. My family was all about those European road trips when I was growing up, to the point where I just felt so over it. Like, there are so many more interesting places in the world I have yet to visit, you know?
Except these places are popular and loved for a reason, and even if I’ve seen them many times before they’re still worth another visit. So while I do have a bunch of new destinations on my travel itinerary for the rest of 2016, I’m also excited to reconnect with some old ones.
Next up will be Tübingen later in the fall, which I don’t think I’ve visited since I was 17 and spending my last year of high school as an exchange student in Germany. I’m excited to reacquaint myself with Silvia circa 2006!
And you? Do you enjoy revisiting places, or are you more excited about new destinations?
Brittany from Boston says
Oh I totally agree! Revisiting somewhere you’ve been gives you a better appreciation for that place and for how you’ve grown since you last visited.
Silvia says
Yeah, it’s so interesting!
Zoe says
I think visiting a place with memories will always be special even if there are so many new and exciting places to explore.
I also wonder what previous me would think of where I am now too! When I was younger (and now!!) I always wished I could quickly peek into the future, just for a few seconds, to check that I came out okay. I think she would be pretty proud, as a 12 year old I never would have thought I’d make it to the other side of the world (I’m from New Zealand) solo before I was 20.
Silvia says
I still sometimes wish I could peek into the future, haha. And yeah, I bet 12 year old you would be so proud!
Melanie Fontaine says
Isn’t Amsterdam just so pretty in the summer? I spent a weekend there at the end of July and while it wasn’t my first visit, I fell for all the gorgeous canals all over again! I also totally understand what you’re talking about when you speak about re-connecting with older selfs while re-visiting certain places. I think sometimes we don’t really notice how much we’ve changed until we go back to a place where we were different which can be both an amazing feeling and a rude wake up call, depending on how you’ve changed. But to me it seems like your past self would be totally happy and amazed to see where you are now and what interesting travels you’ve had in between! 🙂 By the way, feel free to let me know if you visit Heidelberg when you’re in Tübingen! 🙂
Silvia says
Oooh I love Heidelberg – would love to stop by if I have time!
Nynke says
Wow — for a moment there I thought, ‘OMG, Silvia was a kid and already blogging in 1998-2001? I feel so old!’. I fell for it :). I remember getting internet access and my own university email acount for the first time in 1998 though, when I was an undergrad, so you could have, technically, if you had been lucky enough to live in a very techy family. I think :).
It’s so cool to see Amsterdam through your eyes! And the colours in your pictures are even more striking when I know what the scene would have looked like in real life :). I live in Utrecht, another canal-heavy city just half an hour to the east. I really love looking at all the old houses and streets, although I have to confess the sense of time travel doesn’t hit me very often. Every now and then, though, I really notice a particular house or corner and am amazed at how incredibly well-preserved it is after a few centuries! I felt that way when visiting the (alleys between the) old wooden warehouses at Bryggen in Bergen, as well — have you been there?
Silvia says
I think we also got Internet in 1998, but none of us had a clue what to do with it. I couple of years later my sister and I did make websites for our favorite figure skaters, haha.
Anne says
Aw, you and Chloe! How fun. I think my undergrad self would be surprised to find me in Rochester and Salt Lake, ha. And yet…
Silvia says
Haha I think Chloe is the only one of us who properly followed her undergrad plans.
Cindy says
This summer I got to revisit Berlin before leaving Europe and there’s something so nostalgic about revisiting places where you have great memories. There are some places in the South of France that I would absolutely love to revisit in the future. I am someone who loves to hold unto good memories and revisiting places allows me to relive those joyous moments for a little bit. I was wondering why you never blog about western Europe but after reading this I understand it’s common place for you.
Silvia says
I will definitely be blogging about western Europe much more in the future! I guess I just needed a break from it, ha.
Kelly says
This is such a cute post! My first ever trip abroad was a summer trip to France when I was about 13, and I remember being absolutely in love with Paris and the French countryside. I printed out all of my pictures and put them in a scrapbook, and literally obsessed about going back one day. I actually just went back to Paris for the second time earlier this year (at age 24!) and while it’s safe to say that I’ve changed a lot in that timespan (thankfully) I definitely felt some of those old familiar feelings come flooding back.
Silvia says
Aww that’s the cutest thing! A travel blogger in the making, haha.
Dominique says
That’s really cute! I wish I had those warm fuzzy feelings when it comes to Amsterdam, I’m more of a Rotterdam kind of girl. The photography is gorgeous though, maybe I should give it another go!
Silvia says
Haha a few people told us we should have gone to Rotterdam instead!
Charlotte says
Hey! Cool to see you’re in my country 🙂 If you want to get away from the hustle and bustle in Amsterdam and explore the north or east, I’d love to be your guide ^^
Silvia says
That’s so nice of you! I’ll have to ask you for tips next time I’m in the Netherlands 🙂
Charlotte says
Anytime! ^_^
April Yap says
Wow its so nice to see travel in that kind of beautiful place I think its very differrent because buildings are so colorful.