Wanderlust with Laura
Hi, I’m Laura and thank you for reading my travel blog, Wanderlust with Laura. After a 25 year career in education, as a teacher & administrator, I have been fortunate enough to retire from the world of education and pursue my writing and traveling interests, as well as keynote speaking. I was an English teacher by trade, so naturally I never shy away from the written or spoken word. I yearned to write creatively and about what interested me, not just example essays and behavior reports. That’s where Wanderlust with Laura comes into play.
Now is my chance to write what I love, what interests me and feeds my soul. When I really thought about it, travel is my true passion. There is a saying, that “travel is the only thing you spend money on that makes you richer” and no truer words have I ever heard. As a girl raised in Northeastern Philadelphia by an anxious mother whose idea of world travel was a week at the Jersey Shore, I didn’t see much of the world before I graduated from high school. Once I got out there and saw the beauty of the Florida beaches, Caribbean islands and the romance of European cities I was hooked!
World Traveler in the Making
My career in education did allow me travel opportunities, but only after hours of writing sub plans. I would volunteer to chaperone student trips, be the first willing to travel for workshops and professional development and was even sent as a district representative to Israel & Ecuador to attend educational programs. These opportunities led to the desire to teach internationally and I found myself in Berlin, Germany.
Not only did my German-American school take chaperoning school trips to a whole new level (a week in the Black Forest and ski trips to Austria), but also acknowledged both American & German holidays, which lead to lots of long weekends and breaks to visit Europe. Berlin is in the center of the European Union, and even though its history has always led to separating people and places, today it is the hub of both train and air travel in Europe. I visited over 30 cities on 4 continents in the 2 short years I lived in Berlin and have been dreaming of moving back to Europe ever since.
What is Wanderlust?
Germany is where I learned the term Wanderlust, a verb, a strong desire to travel. My family & friends would always ask, “Don’t you get homesick?” and I honestly have always answered no, and it’s true. I used to say I am the opposite of homesick, I’m travel sick. The German’s have a term for this, called Wanderlust. Merriam-Webster defines Wanderlust as a strong longing for or impulse toward wandering, which describes me perfectly. I can wander near or far: on a hike in the foothills, along a sandy coastline or exploring the café culture in a small European village. I’ve gotten to wonder about some amazing places, especially these most memorable trips.
Favorite European Location
My Most Visited City is Amsterdam, having been there more than a dozen times, as a single tourist, with groups of friends, with my husband and now as a whole family. It’s our favorite location and we even fantasize about living there one day when we are empty nesters. Amsterdam has the most amazing pre-war architecture. There is something about this traditional European look, coupled with the gorgeous canals that give it a romantic feeling even in rainy or snowy weather. It is a busy city, bringing tourists from all over the world, yet as soon as you leave the city center there is a calm, quaintness and lots of gorgeous fields of flowers.
Romantic Locations in Europe
For trips I want to re-experience with my husband, both Barcelona & the Greek Islands are at the top of my list. These locations in Europe were some of my absolute favorite places to visit, but also romantic places I want to share and experience with hubby. I spent a few days in Barcelona with a friend before embarking on a cruise of the Mediterranean and found it to be so special. The architecture of the city is quintessentially Spanish, but the artist Antoni Gaudi had a lot of influence as well. The Basilica, La Sagrada Familia, was also imagined by Antoni Gaudi, yet is so full of detail (capturing every story in the bible) it is still unfinished hundreds of years later. Spending late evenings eating tapas, drinking sangria and catching a flamenco show will ensure hubby’s love for this city as well.
The Greek Islands are my other romantic destination that I would love to share with my hubby. I learned to sail on a week-long sailing cruise of the Cyclades Islands, exploring the islands of Mykonos (party island), Naxos (Historic landmarks) and my favorite island Santorini, for the sunsets. I’ve always loved sunset culture, and there is nothing better than sharing a glass of wine and romantic kiss as the sunset reflects off the ocean water.
Most Historic Trip Taken
The Most Historic trip I’ve taken was to Egypt, nothing can compare to seeing the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx statue in real life. I nervously climbed tons of stairs under one of the pyramids to be able to experience what it was really like inside and learn more about the process of mummification from an expert archaeologist. I also took a Nile cruise and unknowingly ate camel meat in a delicious gorgonzola cream sauce, all before heading out into the desert.
This trip was not just for vacation, I was one of a few young women chosen to accompany a group of National Geographic photographers taking pictures in the White Desert. We tried to communicate and interview the local women & mothers regarding their experiences in such a remote location. At one point, my hair covering was pulled back a bit while I was handing out candy to a group of school children and one yelled, “Brittany Spears” being that it was the first time any of them had ever seen blond hair!
Best Natural Locations
The Best Natural Locations I’ve traveled to have been the Galapagos Islands & Alaska, but for very different animal experiences. In the Galapagos Islands, I sailed on a simple ecotourist yacht for a week, experiencing all the different islands. It is amazing to see an archipelago that had so many different environments, from black lava where almost nothing survived to the blue-green oceans that were home to so many fish, sea turtles and seals. The best part of visiting the Galapagos Islands was getting to observe the famous giant tortoises, including Lonesome George, the last of his species on earth. Taking a cruise in Alaska also allowed me access to many animals I never thought I’d see in person or in their natural habitat, such as bald eagles, whales and huskies pulling a dogsled.
A surprising natural trip location was Oslo, Norway in Scandinavia. I never thought I would particularly love Scandinavia, outside of my desire to see the Northern Lights. The fjord’s are more incredible than I ever expected. A fjord is a long, narrow body of water that are typically U-shaped valleys with sleep rocks on both sides. They looked so incredible and I highly recommend putting on your coat and layers to take a boat out to explore the fjords up the coastline. The inner harbor area is a popular spot on sunny summer days, overlooking the water are restaurants and shops along an exceptionally clean wooden esplanade. At the street level, the Aker Brygge or commercial district, is known for a combination of old shipyard building and modern architecture. You can also arrive by private boat to the Aker Brygge Marina to make a grand entrance.
Most Stressful Trip Taken
Looking back at all my trips the most stressful trip had to be my three weeks in Israel. I was fortunate to be chosen as the first non-Jewish teacher to go on a trip to learn about Holocaust education at Yad Vashem International Holocaust Museum back in 2006. I came home having learned much more than how to teach Holocaust history. Just a few days into our July trip, while in Jerusalem, the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War broke out. This was a 34-day military conflict in Lebanon and the Golan Heights area of Israel that more than rescheduled our trip.
In comparison, to the 2024 atrocities that are going on in that area of the world today, our group was fortunate to have been able to get home as easily as we did. However the footage reminds me of these stressful weeks. So stressful in fact, I started the trip as a reformed nonsmoker and returned to the Atlanta Airport’s smoking room with a 2-pack a day habit a few weeks later! What I saw and heard those weeks in Israel could turn anyone into a chainsmoker! I remember overhearing a saying in line at El Al’s security about going to Israel, “There’s never a good time to go to Israel.” Nervous laughter always followed and I put it out of my mind on the flight and first few days. But once the conflict broke out, I took those words far more seriously.
Family Travel
Fast forward a decade (give or take) and I am a travel writer, speaker and trip-planning wife and mother of three with more pets than I ever thought possible with my travel schedule. My husband is an artist and designer, who leads our Digital Branding Agency, Myers Design. Before we met, he had never traveled outside the country, now we do 10+ hour flights to Europe a few times a year. That poor man thought he was getting a low maintenance wife in me because I don’t like shopping, expensive shoes or purses… but flights and hotels can add up quickly too!
Road Trips & Western Travel
We’ve been talking about booking some closer trips, in our home state of Colorado and a few other western states like Wyoming and Utah. Now that his mom has moved out here, there are so many beautiful places we still want to visit. One of the best parts of the Colorado climate is that each place you visit looks and feels completely different in each season. So, if you’ve visited Vail in winter and loved skiing, there are three other incredible seasons filled with wildflowers, hiking trails, river rafting and the annual turning of the fall leaves.
On hubby’s wish list is Glenwood Springs, we absolutely loved it there. We love Southwest Colorado to visit Telluride & Durango (his favorite car’s namesake). We’ve enjoyed Gunnison when our oldest went to check out Western Colorado University. We are planning to return again this winter and plan even more activities to bookend the one day college tour. The next closest ski town, Crested Butte, was beautiful and we were hoping to visit a few more of the Hot Springs in Salida and Nathrop. Since moving to Colorado, we have learned about a historic hot springs loop in Colorado, and we have visited many of them already with many more of interest. Hot Springs are often a great activity with all the different ages and stages of my family.
Roadtrip Redo
A little further outside of Colorado, we’d like to redo a Western Road trip that we barely survived a few summers back. We ALL got so sick and after about 10 days of a 20-day trip we sadly decided to just go back home and cancel the Utah and SW Colorado part of our trip. It was heartbreaking for us, since each one of us was still so excited about parts of the trip to come, however the homesickness hit when the flu hit! As always, there was an upside to the early return and that was driving through Jackson, WY and Grand Teton National Park. It was so beautiful, and we would love to go back there, when we are all healthy in the future. Maybe pair it with Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks through Wyoming and Montana.
Credit Card Points & Miles
I used to consider traveling my hobby, but in recent years it has become part of my career. I see how helpful credit card points and miles can be to our travels and think that free travel is my new hobby. Taking some simple steps to save and accumulate miles, especially for companies you use often, can offset the cost of traveling. As a family of 5, travel is so much more complicated for us then families of 4 or smaller. We always need 2 rooms or a rental home when staying as a whole family and with all my kids in double digits and needing their own beds, space is a premium in Europe.
Flights and accommodations are by far the most expensive part of travel, but also the easiest to pay for with points and miles especially when loyal to a few brands. Southwest is my go to airline for traveling domestically and even has flights to Hawaii, Mexico and some Caribbean destinations. For international flights, KLM/Flying Blue program with Delta and Air France allows us to travel to Europe and gives flights to children for half the cost. I also favor Hyatt and IHG properties for hotels, both in the States and in Europe. The more I learn about points travel on courses and podcasts, the more intrigued I become in the game.
Amsterdam Travel
I have not narrowed my travel learning to points & miles, I have also become a travel consultant. Being able to book my own travel with steep discounts or make commission off my own bookings and activities has been worth its minor monthly home agency fee. Our family has traveled extensively in recent years, to the New Jersey shore each summer, road trips in Colorado, Wyoming and other western states as well as visits to Boston, Florida and Las Vegas. We also took our kids to Europe for their first trip this summer, to see Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Paris, Normandy Beach and Belgium. Their outlooks on the world have been forever stretched and they have been asking to go back ever since!
I’ve spent so much time in Amsterdam over the past few years, I have decided to write an Amsterdam Travel Guide Book. It doesn’t look like I will be spending any less time in the Low Countries this year or next and I look forward to helping Amsterdam travelers create successful European experiences. In addition to seeing Amsterdam, I encourage visitors to get outside the city and see some of the Dutch countryside and newer cities. Creating itineraries that include some of the most popular pairings with Amsterdam, such as:
- Amsterdam and Paris
- London and Amsterdam
- Amsterdam and Belgium (Brussels, Brugge, Antwerp)
- Amsterdam, Belgium & Paris
- Amsterdam and Cologne
- River Cruise: Tulip Season
- River Cruise: Christmas Markets
Travel Future
Wanderlust describes me perfectly and there is no end to the trips I’d like to experience with my husband and family. Some of my big bucket list items are the Iberian peninsula & a few Mediterranean countries, a land & cruise tour of Alaska, A romantic riverboat cruise with hubby (especially during the Christmas market season), and a two-part trip to Hawaii (resort & cruise) are all on the top of the wishlist. I have learned about the importance of flexible travel dates and the budget benefits to booking last minute plane seats.
Additional exotic trips I have in mind, to keep an eye on and notifications sending messages to my inbox. I hope to take my daughter to Japan in the next couple years, since her love of anime has only grown. I have become an Australian Specialist and look forward to having my own experience Down Under, spending at least a month exploring Australia and New Zealand. As I think about my children growing up more, I’d like to organize big family trips to keep all branches of the family tree together and continue to build memories, even after they leave the nest. I think of all the countries in Europe for my children to experience including Italy, Croatia, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland and Germany, as well as exotic experiences to the Galapagos Islands & Machu Picchu, or go on an African Safari and walk the streets of South Africa.
Wanderlust with Laura
My blog, Wanderlust with Laura will continue to focus on Amsterdam travel and European itineraries, starting in or including Amsterdam. Please join me as I share European travel tips, cultural norms and making the most of your trip to Europe. Feel free to reach out directly with Amsterdam or European specific itineraries you’re looking for help creating or wanting me to review at laura@lauramariemyers.com. Let’s schedule your next trip today! or visit the Red Light District for some fun, it’s all at your finger tips. Let’s schedule your next trip today!
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