We decided to ask ourselves the same questions and compare our answers. Here’s the result!
Question: Does it seem like it has been longer or shorter than 6 months? Or just right?
Ian: Six months seems about right to me. Thinking back to specific events or places we have been make it seem like we’ve been gone for a long time. But the weeks themselves, especially lately, seem to be flying by.
Caitlin: Seems shorter until I start thinking about all the places we’ve been. Time has been moving quickly, but we’re also packing a lot in.
Question: What’s been your favorite place?
Ian: It’s impossible to choose one. The obvious places would be Machu Picchu, Salar de Unuyi, Barcelona, London and Amsterdam. Spain held the most pleasant surprises for me. I fell in love with the culture and vibe anywhere we went. Krakow, Prague, Budapest and Santiago were a few different cities that I didn’t know a much about going in but found myself not wanting to leave.
Caitlin: Amsterdam was pretty great, to feel like you were with family again for the first time in months. I’ll always love some places for different reasons—Spain was great returning to and spending time exploring new cities. But also, I’ve had some surprisingly good vibes from cities I’d never really thought about visiting before, like Santiago and Krakow. I was moved by countries like Poland and Bosnia. The High Tatras was a great place for getting back into nature and going on long hikes and feeling healthier.
Question: What place has been the most moving?
Ian: Auschwitz obviously was very powerful and evokes a lot of different feelings and emotions. Sarajevo was the one that surprised me the most. I didn’t have a lot of knowledge surrounding the history of Yugoslavia so learning about the war and siege that happened from people that actually lived through it was intense.
Caitlin: Poland and Bosnia, because I didn’t understand the scope of everything that they’d been through. Learning about the recent history while standing in the place where it happened has been eye-opening. Talking to people in Bosnia that grew up in a war-torn place, and now they walk the same streets with people that wanted to kill them and only went to prison for a few years-that’s eye-opening.
Question: Have you had a least favorite destination?
Ian: I haven’t been to one place that I have HATED but there have been places that we have gone where there wasn’t a lot happening. Varna in Bulgaria was pretty dead. But it’s a beach town and we were there in the winter. Derry was a little rough around the edges and pricey.
Caitlin: Not a least favorite, there was always something good about each stay. I had a hard time in Ireland and the UK for awhile with the rainy and cold weather, especially coming from Spain where it was a month in the heat and sun.
Question: Do you think you’ve done a good job with spending? What’s been the biggest revelation?
Ian: I really do. I think we have experienced a lot of things while still sticking to a budget. The biggest revelation has just been how long we could financially do this if we were to stick to certain areas (South America, Eastern Europe, and I am sure Southeast Asia). For the last few months we have been averaging about $30/night for lodging which is under $11/k year. Insane.
Caitlin: Yes. Biggest revelation is how much I miss spending money on things back home I used to see as a nuisance to buy-like makeup, nail polish, clothes.
Question: What do you miss the most?
Ian: Family, friends and Mika of course :). That aside, just the simple things like food. BBQ and Mexican in particular. The ability to just jump in the car to go anywhere to get anything is something that you take for granted while at home. I also miss having more than like 5 outfits.
Caitlin: Mika. Besides the obvious with family and friends, I miss driving when I want to drive and being understood when I want to communicate.
Question: What do you not miss?
Ian: Politics :). Just kidding. Actually it’s kind of nice traveling because people ask us our thoughts and we can answer however we want and don’t have anyone that will argue against us.
Caitlin: A mindless routine. I enjoy the freedom that travel brings to connect with parts of yourself that may have been lost for awhile. Sure, there’s time to sit on your butt and watch Netflix sometimes, but there’s also the drive to explore and to use this special, once in a lifetime opportunity to the best of our ability—so working on things like writing and art are easier because there aren’t distractions and literally nothing but yourself in your way.
Question: What or where are you most excited for in the next 6 months?
Ian: Everything! But Egypt and Southeast Asia in particular. I have enjoyed the cuisine but I am really ready to switch things up on that front as well.
Caitlin: Excited to see Asia, I have a feeling it’s just going to be so different than anything I’ve experienced. I’m excited to keep pushing myself.
Question: What do you appreciate about your partner when traveling?
Ian: The ability to go with the flow but at the same time make decisions when she feels passionate about something. In the beginning, I was asking her about every place before I booked or every type of transportation, but I think she trusts me enough now that I just go ahead and do it-which really is nice. I don’t think this trip would be possible or at least not very fun if it was with a high maintenance person. There are certain things you have to sacrifice to be able to do something like this and for the most part we are on the same page about that.
Caitlin: His ability to plan transportation and lodging. So, the biggies. Also his drive to track spending, which ties into his making the big travel arrangements. He really enjoys that stuff, while I tend to look more at what we’re doing in the city or the area once we are there.
Question: What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in yourself and in your partner over the past 6 months?
Ian: Not a change as much as just a refresher that we are not only married but are good friends that like to be around each other. We met at work where we were around each other every day. And then we went our separate ways professionally and you realize how much time you are at work and not with that person. Well now we are together every second of every day and while we can get grumpy like everyone, it’s been more fun than I could have imagined seeing these places with my wife and best friend.
Caitlin: We both started out dealing with the logistics of traveling, but have become comfortable in our continuously evolving environment. We’re good travel partners, we’re strong where the other one isn’t and both pretty chill when it comes to compromises. What’s been cool in my eyes is that we’ve both found this time to be good for chasing down what interests us as individuals. I’ve seen us both relax and dive into things that we find genuinely interesting, instead of doing what we think is expected or just feels comfortable. Traveling like this breaks you out of established routines you created or fell into without realizing it, allowing you more space to notice the kind of decisions you’re making every day in how you spend your time, what you miss, and what you want to make more time for. If that makes sense.