Have you been struck by wanderlust?

Photo by Priscilla du preez for Unsplash

October certainly came in with a bang! Our thoughts are with those in Florida who suffered devastating losses from Hurricane Ian. Judging by the number of winter getaways that I’ve planned for clients this week, some of you are being hit hard by the desire to get your next vacation on the calendar. Perhaps you’ve looked at your schedule and realized just how few weekends you don’t already have something planned between now and the Holidays. Don’t let the final quarter of 2022 slip away. For those of you who typically head somewhere to escape the temperatures here in January or February now is the time to start making those plans.

In the meantime, I wanted to share a few words that may help describe what you’re feeling.

Wanderlust (n) – German – a strong desire to travel

Fernweh (n) – German – this goes a bit beyond wanderlust and is most often described as the opposite of being homesick – it’s the longing for far off places that you have never seen.

Trouvaille (n) – French – Something lovely found by chance – Perhaps it’s that cafe you stumbled across when you took a wrong turn in Lyon? It could be deserted beach you found while driving along the Amalfi Coast.

Vagary (v) – Latin – A wandering or roaming journey – hiking through the Swiss countryside or sailing down the Danube – which would you choose?

Coddiwomple (v) – Old English – to travel purposefully towards a vague destination – this sounds like the perfect way to spend a day in Ireland searching for castle ruins.

Derive (n) – French – much like Vagary or Coddiwomple – this is to drift unplanned, led only by the landscape and architecture around you. We spent much of our time in Provence doing this very thing.

Resfeber (n) – Swedish – the mix of anxiety and excitement before a journey begins. It’s long been said that just having a trip planned creates nearly as much excitement as the actual trip.

Sehnsucht (n) – German – A wistful longing for travels that have been and travels to come – This is what get’s most of us through those times between vacations.