There was a sense of awe that I felt when I first arrived in Europe in June of 2010. There was a feeling of newness, a need to explore, a fascination of all things different from America. I felt it when I rode around with my host and saw the old fortification in the Nuremberg city walls. I felt it when I saw the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. I felt it when I saw Big Ben while riding the escalator up from the London tube.

Sadly for me, Europe has somewhat become predictable. The sense of awe strikes at times when I see a well known landmark, as in my last trip to Spain when I saw the Sagrada Familia. But the sense of awe is rarer now. I long for those days when I am in an iconic zone or when there is a sense of newness. I guess I feel the need to get out of my comfort zone and visit countries or cities which are a bit less predictable…..maybe a country I know little about. It could be a country which tourists rarely visit.

This may be why I’m considering places like Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Bulgaria, and the Caucuses for a vacation. “You went where?” my coworkers and friends would say. Yes, I did go there. It was off the beaten track, away from the rest of the tourists. I like to have a unique memory apart from what everyone else has done. Sure I could spend 7 days in Paris; tour the Eiffel Tower; the Louvre; etc. But everyone has done that! Not everyone has toured Sarajevo or Tbilisi. I could be the first to say “Sofia, Bulgaria is not a bad place to visit.” In fact many of these places are inexpensive.

So I will continue to search for that unique corner of the globe; that narrow alley; that special gift shop; each offering a unique sense of awe that I can’t find anywhere else.