Photo by Rick Steves' Europe
I travel to allow myself the opportunity to do things I'd never consider at home. I travel to shed the "shoulds" I put on myself and experience the pure joy and exhilaration of new places, new people and new experiences. This often means getting out of my comfort zone which for me, and most Americans I know, includes getting naked in public.
The first time I visited Baden Baden, Germany, a town famous for its mineral waters that drew Roman emperors, I was intrigued by the Friedrichsbad Roman Baths. Our guide, Rolinka, described them with such elegance and a gentle nudge to shed our modesty and bare it all. I was terrified of running into other people on my tour so I timed my entry to coincide right when my group would likely be sitting down for dinner. Luckily, our tour arrived in Baden Baden on a day when the sexes were separated except for one mixed area for those extra brave souls willing to share a pool, topped by a dome and surround by Roman statues, with those of the opposite sex..
I paid my entrance fee, put on my electronic bracelet and left everything in my locker - Everything! It was a harrowing experience at first, but after moving through the various rooms - Dry-heat, shower, warm pool, repeat - I began to relax and realize that no one really seemed to care whether I was wearing clothes or not. In fact, it was surprisingly freeing. After a dip in the cold plunge pool and a massage that ended with a brisk scrubbing and a slap on the behind, I was ushered into a quiet room and wrapped in a warm blanket to ponder my experience.
When I was young, my dad often encouraged me to get out of my comfort zone. Shedding my clothes in a public space is likely not what he had in mind, but I do believe that travel naturally pushes us to do things we might never consider a home. I see it in my tour members time and time again - Whether it is paragliding over the Swiss Alps or simply eating snails for the first time, travel frees us from the "shoulds" of home and calls us to new places, new experiences and new ways of doing things.
I travel to get out of my comfort zone. What about you?
I travel to allow myself the opportunity to do things I'd never consider at home. I travel to shed the "shoulds" I put on myself and experience the pure joy and exhilaration of new places, new people and new experiences. This often means getting out of my comfort zone which for me, and most Americans I know, includes getting naked in public.
The first time I visited Baden Baden, Germany, a town famous for its mineral waters that drew Roman emperors, I was intrigued by the Friedrichsbad Roman Baths. Our guide, Rolinka, described them with such elegance and a gentle nudge to shed our modesty and bare it all. I was terrified of running into other people on my tour so I timed my entry to coincide right when my group would likely be sitting down for dinner. Luckily, our tour arrived in Baden Baden on a day when the sexes were separated except for one mixed area for those extra brave souls willing to share a pool, topped by a dome and surround by Roman statues, with those of the opposite sex..
I paid my entrance fee, put on my electronic bracelet and left everything in my locker - Everything! It was a harrowing experience at first, but after moving through the various rooms - Dry-heat, shower, warm pool, repeat - I began to relax and realize that no one really seemed to care whether I was wearing clothes or not. In fact, it was surprisingly freeing. After a dip in the cold plunge pool and a massage that ended with a brisk scrubbing and a slap on the behind, I was ushered into a quiet room and wrapped in a warm blanket to ponder my experience.
When I was young, my dad often encouraged me to get out of my comfort zone. Shedding my clothes in a public space is likely not what he had in mind, but I do believe that travel naturally pushes us to do things we might never consider a home. I see it in my tour members time and time again - Whether it is paragliding over the Swiss Alps or simply eating snails for the first time, travel frees us from the "shoulds" of home and calls us to new places, new experiences and new ways of doing things.
I travel to get out of my comfort zone. What about you?