I am , again, participating in the Indie Challenge hosted by Bootsnall. Just like last year, I’d be posting an article a day, based on the question / challenge of that day.

>>you can join the challenge by clicking here

Nov 20
Life Changing Journey/Moment…

QUESTION:
Share the story of your life changing journey or the “aha” moment you had that changed everything… before, during, or after your travels.

There were two major turning points for me.

Summer of 2010. My ex asked me to go with him (and friends) to a mountain cabin. I was paying for both, of course. Since I was trying to salvage what was left of a very broken marriage, I agreed. We have fought all the time. On the train to Bucharest to meet our friends, at the mountain cabin, on the train back….once we came back. For me it was the last straw: I decided this whole mess had to end before I lost my sanity. That’s not how I like to travel. That’s not how I liked to be treated.

And it has changed. He never moved back with me and by late fall he had decided to take everything else he still had in the apartment. It was my cue to file the divorce papers.

Then I nicely settled into a traveling routine with Alex. We had perfect days, we had bad moments.

In December 2014, a week after my birthday, I decided to treat myself to a weekend in Budapest. I found a hostel which looked awesome on paper and I did NOT do any research to look for reviews. The result? When we arrived the room was warm – the sun hit it directly. But by evening it was cold and the heating wasn’t working as it should. What followed were two nights of being cold and cranky. I have tried to talk to the people working the front desk. I have contemplated throwing a fit and calling the customer protection. Instead, I bundled up at night and spent all days in the city.

But it was the last time I would not listen to my gut and do a LOT of research before I travel. For our wedding anniversary trip we went back to a hostel which we actually liked in Budapest and when I looked up accommodation for Eger it took me days to narrow down an option. And I read a lot of reviews. And they were all very truthful as it turned out.