Feeding Your Travel Bug

It has been over two years since I wrote about the post-travel blues: that feeling of depression, or comedown, that hits once your trip of a lifetime has come to an end. I thought I’d return to the topic today to shed some new insights into post-travel coping strategies. But first, to recap. Among the suggestions in my previous post are: Start working on your next trip; Take a short course; Be a tourist in your home town; Learn the Lingo; and Use the Internet to connect with like-minded travellers.

 Since returning to Australia in March from an eight month trip that took me across America, into Europe and finally to Cambodia, I have continued to feed my travel bug in three major ways:

By turning my best travel photographs into a constantly changing slide show

Like most people who travel today with any type of digital camera, I returned home with literally thousands of images saved to my laptop. Putting some of these to good use, I have created a folder for my favorite photos. These are programmed to change the Desktop image on my computer every 60 seconds. In this way, I am constantly reminded of my trip highlights, and always thinking about my next journey, which as of this post is less than a month away (when I head to Melbourne for a five week house sitting stay).

I have also started posting a daily photo online via my Twitter profile. This forces me to go through my files looking for interesting images to upload, which again serves as an ongoing reminder of the travels I have undertaken, and kept me focussed on the travels still to come.

By treating my return home as just another extended stay in a never ending journey

I figure if Bob Dylan can embark on a ‘Never Ending Tour’, I should be able to embark on a ‘Never Ending Journey’. Therefore, I try not to think in terms of being ‘home’. Instead, I tell myself I am simply paying an extended visit to Adelaide, from which in due course I will move on. So, after returning to Adelaide from Melbourne early in February, 2012, I will once again spend time here before heading to Europe in May, and America in July. And thus the never ending journey rolls on.

This is just a mental mind game, I know, but it works for me, and may well work for you too, so give it a try, and let me know how you get on.

By Writing, Reading, and Researching

It is far too easy to fall into the routine of the daily grind once you return from your travels. I deal with this by maintaining this blog, and by writing guest posts for other blogs. This forces me to remember my trip, and to engage with the wider travel community wherever it may be found.

I also read as many books as I can about the cities and countries I plan to visit. And by books I am not talking only about travel guides. I look for histories, biographies, and novels that will help give me an understanding of the culture and the countries I will be passing through.

Recent titles include Paul Auster’s The Brooklyn Follies; Bill Brysons Life And Time of The Thunderbolt Kid; and The Historical Atlas of New York City by Eric Homberger. Right now I am reading two books, Bloody Crimes (James Swanson), about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and the hunt for Jefferson Davis; and Douglas Brinkley’s The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and The Crusade for America.

Add to these a shelf full of books still waiting to be read covering Venice, the Crusades, the pirate Captain Kidd, and the history behind the gardens at Versailles (to name just a few areas of interest), and you can see how I manage to keep myself occupied when I’m not actually on the road – or online.

Quite frankly, there is almost never a waking hour when I am not thinking in some way about travel: either journey’s I have completed, those about to begin, or still others on the distant horizon. I think it is fair to say, my travel bug is constantly being fed on a steady diet of information, images, and ongoing plans that help keep it full and focussed on the next travel ‘meal’.

Feel free to share your strategies for dealing with the post-travel blues via the Comments section below.

The Lights of Lobethal Festival

Image courtesy of www.lightsoflobethal.com.au/ 

It’s official. Christmas is just around the corner. I know this because the ‘lights of Lobethal’ have been switched on, and that means like it or not, Christmas is coming. Let me explain.

For over 60 years, the community of the Adelaide hills town of Lobethal have been decorating their homes with lighting displays in the weeks leading up to Christmas. This tradition has become so popular that – according to whoever is responsible for keeping tabs on these sorts of things – the event has evolved into “…the largest Community Christmas Light Display in the Southern Hemisphere.”

And who am I to argue with that claim. The event began in the early 1950s, when local business owners used hand painted light bulbs to decorate their shops and businesses. Slowly, home owners began to do the same thing, and before you could finish singing The Twelve Days of Christmas, a new tradition had been born. As word spread about the lights, visitors began travelling from other hills towns, and eventually Adelaide and further afield to see the increasingly elaborate displays.

By the turn of the century, the event had changed from what was essentially a local community event to the Lights of Lobethal Festival, which now attracts over 250,000 visitors from all parts of Australia, as well as from overseas. Today, over 700 homes and businesses are lit up, at their own expense, to “…spread the true meaning and joy of Christmas.”

Of course, if a quarter of a million people were to spend just $10 each during their visit on food and drinks, and the odd trinket or two, that would no doubt be more than welcomed by the town burghers as well.

The Festival now includes a number of other events such as a Living Nativity (performing twice each night!), a Christmas Tree Festival (featuring trees decorated by local groups, school children and individuals), and a Christmas Pageant (December 23rd). The opening night (December 11), featured Christmas Carols, an official opening ceremony, and of course, the obligatory fireworks display.

Lights of Lobethal route map. Click to enlarge.

As you can imagine, given the large numbers of people now driving through the town each night, the event is heavily policed, and indeed a Dry Zone is in place (and enforced), for the duration of the Festival. An official route map (above) helps channel visitors and traffic in an orderly way through the town, which, as you can see from the map is not exactly large, so pack some extra patience with you if you go. By the way, to discourage visitors from driving through the town at all hours of the night, the light displays are officially turned off at 11pm each night.

If you don’t want to join the queue of cars yourself, Buses-R-Us operates three tours each night (at 8:30pm; 9:30pm; and 10:30pm) during the festival, at a cost of $12 per person. You can join these tours once you reach Lobethal, or you could join the more expensive full Lights of Lobethal tour from Adelaide (Adults $30; Concession $27; Family $90). You will find more information on the official Lights of Lobethal site.

Alternatively, beat the rush and arrive early in the evening. You could have a meal in Lobethal, then check out the Centennial Hall Market where a variety of art and craft and local produce can be bought, and also visit the Country Fire Service Op Shop on the off chance that a bargain is waiting to be discovered amongst the bric-a-brac there.

Lights of Lobethal runs from Sunday, December 11th until the 31st of December 2011.

More Information:Lights of Lobethal official website...

Monday Movie: HDR Skies

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French photographer Tanguy Louvigny created the time-lapse film embedded below of Normandy and Brittany using High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging techniques. As you can see from the screen grab above, the footage – and the countryside – looks absolutely stunning, and Louvigny has generously made the above image, and half-a-dozen others, available for download as wallpapers for your computer desktop.

Films like this sometimes make me wonder if there is any point travelling to see the regions depicted in these homemade films for myself. After all, one would have to sit – in some instances – for hours to observe the same scenes. On the other hand, watching videos like the one here can lead to a growing sense of frustration knowing that life is too short, and no matter how much money you have, you will never have enough time to see all the beautiful places on this small blue planet.

Ultimately, more than anything else, these videos stir the wanderlust in me, and regardless of money or time, I am left counting down the months, weeks and days until my next journey.

For more information regarding how Louvigny creates his films, and the gear he uses, go to his website and Vimeo page.

Thanks to Open Culture for the heads up on this video and Louvigny’s delightful film.

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Hdr skies from Tanguy Louvigny on Vimeo.

Make sure you view the video at full size to see the footage at its best.