Hey there, my name is Amy. I’m a Business Development Manager at TourRadar and overall lover of travel and all-things-Beyonce. I hail from Australia and work out of our company’s Brisbane office and while I love sunshine and patio season as much as the next person, I’m keen to escape the heat every once in a while. Enter me visiting our headquarters in Vienna, Austria for just over two months during my summer and their winter. Now, of course, Vienna is incredible but I wasn’t going to endure a 20+ hour long flight without exploring more of Europe before I headed home.
And so, after just over two months in Europe trying to escape the heat of the Australian summer, I found myself waking up at an obscenely early hour of the morning to meet the people who were to become my travel companions for the next 11 days as we started our winter tour through Europe with Topdeck Travel. Soon I would have the answer to a question that had previously made me nervous: who will I meet while travelling on a youth group tour?
Of course, I expected to learn about the culture and history of the countries I was visiting on my tour – that was a huge drawcard for me. What I wasn’t expecting was to learn about places I wasn’t even travelling to.
I sat enthralled as a South African friend told stories while showing me photos of the incredible natural scenery surrounding their homeland; I drooled as a Lithuanian traveller told me how to make a traditional wedding cake called šakotis that I can’t wait to one day sink my teeth into; and I shared travel stories and tips with fellow Aussies, as well as Brazilians, Mexicans, Scots, Japanese, and more!
While we were all from different parts of the world, it didn’t take long for us all to realise there really weren’t many differences between us. We all wanted similar things out of life: health and happiness for ourselves and our families, success in our careers, and of course, endless travel. With that, I asked a few of my fellow travellers a couple of questions, just to see how different (or similar) we really are.
1. Meet Oliver, the gentle giant
- What’s your age and nationality? 22, British
- Why go now? Winter is a bit quieter, so we wanted to come and see some of the places we knew we wanted to tick off, and see whether we wanted to come back again in the summer.
- Is this your first tour? No, I did a tour through Thailand last year.
- If you could master one skill you don’t have right now, what would it be? Learn EVERY language! And I wish I could read music.
- How would your best friend describe you? A Gentle Giant
- If a genie granted you 3 wishes right now, what would you wish for? 1. Travel the world for free, 2. Be able to play musical instruments 3. Have all my family and friends in one place.
- Tell me your favourite song right now? Our trip song, Shape of You – Ed Sheeran
- How would you survive a zombie apocalypse? I’d make friends with the head zombie. I’d deal them humans in return for my life.
- What piece of advice would you give your childhood self? Don’t rush things, just take your time.
- In what ways do you hold yourself back? By not expressing feelings – I find it hard to talk about that stuff. I try and please everyone, and also I spend too much time looking into things and then miss opportunities.
2. Meet Zoe, the Aussie Kylie Minogue lover
- What’s your age and nationality? 29, Australian
- What was your dream job growing up? I 100% wanted to be Kylie Minogue when I was really little!
- Why did you pick this trip? I love that there’s longer stays in most places, and I’ve never been to Europe before, so this was an easy way to tick off several ‘must see’ places.
- Is this your first tour? No! I did a tour around Ireland when I’d just finished high school.
- What do you get out of travelling? Why do you travel? Travelling gives you experiences you don’t get doing anything else. It opens you up to the different people and cultures and adventures you might not know are possible!
- If you could time travel, would you go to the past or the future? I’d go to the future – see how far the human race has come!
- If a genie granted you 3 wishes right now, what would you wish for? An endless travel fund, eternal good health, and to be able to speak every language fluently!
- How would you survive a zombie apocalypse? I wouldn’t. I may as well accept my fate.
- In what ways do you hold yourself back? I can be a bit of a worrywart sometimes.
- What is your idea of a perfect vacation? Snow, a log cabin, a fire, and my friends and family!
3. Meet Friedrich, the South African expat
- What’s your age and nationality? 27, South African, settled in Australia, currently living in the UK
- What was your dream job growing up? Mechanical Engineer – that was my dream job, and now I’ve got it!
- What destination are you the most excited to visit and experience? Switzerland – really want to go to the Alps
- Where have you travelled previously? Australia, Indonesia, Philippines, Lithuania, Namibia, South Africa, England, Botswana, Mozambique…
- If you could time travel, would you go to the past or the future? Past – early 30s America
- Tell me your favourite song right now? 55 by Hilltop Hoods – it’s Australian hip hop.
- What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done? Go to Lithuania for a girl, not knowing the language or anybody there.
- What piece of advice would you give your childhood self? Look after your body, you’ve only got one.
- In what ways do you hold yourself back? Family. I hold myself back from doing things I want to do because it’s not right for my family, or I’ll miss them too much.
- What is your idea of a perfect vacation? Scuba diving in the Philippines.
4. Meet Lina, the pastry chef wannabe
- What’s your age and nationality? 22, Lithuanian living in the UK
- What’s your job/career aspirations? I’m a part-time student studying Glass & Ceramics, and I want to become a pastry chef afterwards.
- What destination are you the most excited to visit and experience? Venice for the old bridges and small alleys or Amsterdam, because there are so many places to visit, like museums and exhibits.
- Is this your first tour? Yes
- What do you get out of travelling? Why do you travel? Experience, tasting new foods, trying new activities
- If a genie granted you 3 wishes right now, what would you wish for? Get my drivers licence, win lots of money (I need it!), and I want a big piece of land with a house on it.
- What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done? Travel to a different continent by myself and learning how to dive!
- What piece of advice would you give your childhood self? Try to go as many places as possible, and don’t take things too seriously.
- What don’t you like to do? I haaaate mornings.
- What is your idea of a perfect vacation? Cheapest, most places you can travel, experience different foods, see different museums, a little bit of relaxation on the beach, and a free bar!
5. Meet Sophia, the self-conscious ski bunny
- What’s your age and nationality? 21, Brazilian
- What destination are you the most excited to visit and experience? I guess I fell in love with Switzerland with the mountains and snow, and it’s not common in Brazil to have snow and ski, I love it.
- Is this your first tour? No! It was completely different, but it was a tour guide with you the whole time, but I was 16. We didn’t get our own time to explore like we do here.
- Where have you travelled previously? USA, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada was my favourite place to visit!
- If you could master one skill you don’t have right now, what would it be? I wish I could ski! I tried to ski in Canada and it was horrible, I just hurt myself so much I said I’d never do it again!
- How would your best friend describe you? Sweet, and a good listener
- If a genie granted you 3 wishes right now, what would you wish for? To have more experience in travelling, be with my family, and conquer my life goals.
- What piece of advice would you give your childhood self? Enjoy more in life, and relax.
- What don’t you like to do? I don’t like to do boring stuff like I can’t concentrate to focus on reading a book, even if I like the story. It’s so bad! I’d prefer to watch the movie!
- What is your idea of a perfect vacation? A ‘no worries’ vacation, going to Australia, and not caring about money!
6. Meet Jackson, the travel veteran
- What’s your age and nationality? 20 years old, Australian.
- What destination are you the most excited to visit and experience? Alaska and Iceland! New Zealand after my 21st.
- Why go now? I love Winter in Europe, especially France.
- Where have you travelled previously? In no order: Paris, Loches, Chamonix in France. Vancouver, Winnipeg and Montreal in Canada. Tokyo, Japan. San Francisco, CA, United States. Shanghai & Hong Kong.
- What do you get out of travelling? Why do you travel? Escape boredom, meet new people, appreciate different cultures and ways of life, food is cool too, snapchatting is pretty cool too.
- If you could master one skill you don’t have right now, what would it be? Eating healthy.
- If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Stop losing my charging cables for my iPhone and MacBooks.
- What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done? Had KFC every day for a week as soon as 2018 started and snapchatted every meal.
- What piece of advice would you give your childhood self? Sleep more…
- What is your idea of a perfect vacation? Compass Cay, Exuma, Bahamas; swimming with nurse sharks and pigs.
*The names have been changed to protect the innocent.
So what are you waiting for? We don’t bite! Book your next trip through Europe with Topdeck today. After all, I’ve already prepared a list of icebreakers for you to use – you’re welcome in advance.
