A preliminary evaluation of my (Corona) travel year:

It may be a bit early to give a final judgement on my (Corona) travel year of 2020 but I do not think that there will be many surprises waiting for me in this context until December. At least no positives ones! In the worst case, it will come down to an actual stop of traveling abroad. But hey, hope dies last! Having said that, let us stay realistic. The travel year of 2020 is a disaster, at least when it comes to international trips. And it is to be feared that it may not be much better in 2021, too! This unsatisfied desire for wanderlust makes me think about the importance of travel. Why do people feel such a need to explore distant destinations? 

Travel wrap up 2020

1. Early Corona times

When I started my first vacation towards end of January 2020 – one week skiing in Zermatt

in Switzerland – , the threat of Corona was already looming. There were some occasional cases in Europe yet the dimension of this virus was far from being clear. Shortly afterwards, as from March 16, Switzerland was placed on lockdown, and this until May 11.

My husband and I had planned to travel to Bhutan in April. But of course we had to cancel this trip. We postponed it to the same time in 2021. As to the flight (we were meant to fly via Bangkok with Swiss), we changed it to end of December. At the time, we thought that it might be possible to do a Thailand journey. We have never been to this country and considered it as a viable option to get to know it.

Towards the end of April – in the middle of the lockdown – we got more and more itchy feet. We knew that we had to secure at least one vacation in the foreseeable future that might actually become true. The decision fell on the most southern area of Switzerland, the canton of Ticino. This is one of the few spots in my home country with some sort of a Mediterranean feel. We made use of a seven for five nights package in a hotel in Ascona

where we already stayed in 2018, and this for early September.

2. After the lockdown

When the lockdown in my home country was over, my husband and I thought about where to go for summer vacations before the upcoming Ticino trip in late summer. We had not taken any other bookings yet as there was a big journey to West Australia scheduled for fall. We decided on further local vacations as we wanted to support the domestic travel industry.

After a one-nighter in the Zurich Lake area

end of May – our son lives here since recently – we spent three days in Bad Ragaz

in the eastern pre Alps the following month. We had a fabulous stay at the hotel of the year 2020, awarded by the Gault Millau guide. And we had a fantastic dinner at its two Michelin star restaurant Memories by Sven Wassmer.

Still in the same month, we had another one-nighter, this time in the Lake Constance area,

in the eastern part of Switzerland. And it was combined with another two Michelin star experience.  Actually, this was good luck as it had “only” one star at the time of booking.

In July, my husband and I headed to the Alps, and this to the Lower Engadine

in the country’s east. Here we had a four-day stay at Switzerland’s smallest five-star hotel. My husband and I enjoyed it here. We were outdoors a lot and hiked the area.

Before our scheduled September vacation in Switzerland’s south we had one more short stay. This time in Geneva,

the most known city in the French part of the country. Being in the area, we checked one thing off our travel bucket list, a hike in the Lavaux

wine region. Here is my post about it.

3. Latest vacation 

And here it came, our latest and so far longest trip in the Corona summer of 2020, the seven-day stay in Ascona. My husband and I had made sure that we had four free days left before it started. This in order to go to a place with favorable weather on a short notice.

Lucky us, my sister in law and her husband asked us to accompany them to an event of their car brand, a dinner with Heiko Nieder,

the two star Michelin chef at the Dolder Hotel in Zurich. This took place in Saint Moritz

in the Upper Engadine – remember, we already were in the Lower Engadine. And as they stayed at St. Moritz’s fanciest hotel, the Badrutt’s Palace,

we did too.

While we first wanted to spend all the four days left in the Upper Engadine, we spontaneously decided against it. Caught by wanderlust, we shortened our Saint Moritz stay and squeezed in two nights in Venice

before going to southern Switzerland. We have never been to this city of water so far. We had somehow missed to go there before its overtouristed times. Later on, we refrained from visiting it, turned off by the crowds. And now we thought it was perfect for exploring it, devoid of the masses and with not too many Corona cases.

And it was a great thing to do! More details to be found in my next blogpost. As an added plus, we only had four and half hours to drive by car to reach it from Saint Moritz and three and half hours to get to Ascona, where we were due afterwards for a week in the Ticino.

What is next?

Of course, we had to cancel our mentioned trips to West Australia

(with Singapore Airlines, they paid back the flight without hesitation) and to Thailand (Swiss “only” issued a voucher). We still have two more weeks of vacation to spend in 2020. In these uncertain times, we would rather not book ahead. My husband and I intend to act spontaneously once they come within reach.

After spending so many vacations close to home, we feel the urgent need to go further. Venice was a good start, but we definitely want more. We sense the lure of international experiences instead of looking again to our own backyards.

Chances are that this vacation will lead us no further than Europe. It does not seem likely that we will be able to travel to far-flung locations at the moment. This unsatisfactory situation makes so many people unhappy, which brings up the question: Why is this so?

The importance of travel

We are a migratory species, we are not meant to stay put for the whole life! People need a safe heaven (home), yet there is an urge to escape from it: to see new places, to learn other things, to make different experiences. It is a human need to reach out beyond the known to see what is further away. It is our nature to explore, to go to unfamiliar places and to unfold their magic.

Once accomplished, we return home, with our “trophies”, whatever they might be. Yet one thing is for sure, we have gained “a new way of looking at things” as how it Henry Miller, the writer, expressed.

What travel enthusiasts miss right now is the chance to move as freely as they want. They are forced to be sedentary and not be able to experience the big, beautiful world out there. Of course local travel is possible. But as much as I find my home country beautiful, I do know it too well. I miss the unpredictable, the adventure, the exotic.

Soon on my blog

It will not be long until the one-year anniversary of my last big journey, a three-week trip to Japan.

So far, I only published a post outlining the itinerary. I did this at the beginning of February, just before the world found itself plunged into the Corona crisis. I held back with the publication of the remaining five blogposts about Japan (topics: hotel to stay in style, find and reserve gourmet restaurants, fine dining restaurants, ryokan experience, 2 off the beaten path destinations). It did not feel right to me to report from places where you cannot travel to for the time being. Although the situation is unchanged, I do not want to wait much longer. Going to Japan will be a possibility again. And it may do you good to dream of future trips to the Land of the Rising Sun. Therefore, find information how to stay and dine in style in Japan

soon on my blog!

Before doing so, there will be two posts about my recent Venice

stay, as announced. The first will be about its overtourism and staying in Corona times, the second about where to stay and dine in style in this City of Canals. Then I also have plans to make some cornerstone content about Switzerland (a guide to visiting Switzerland as well as where to go here for luxury and gourmet travel – hotels: part one and two | restaurants: part one and two). Furthermore, there are reviews for quite a few Swiss restaurants in the pipeline, still to be written. But these will have to wait until later.

For now, I put on a brave face and enjoy my existence as a member of a “staycation nation”, born out of necessity. Not only I but many of us have taken travel as granted. Once this has passed, I am sure that we all will travel with more gratitude than ever before!

The post Travel during the Corona year of 2020 & thoughts about wanderlust first appeared on Swiss Traveler