Travel slow.

It’s currently summer time (at least here in Europe) and many people go on vacation during this time of the year. I do the same.

Basically, I love traveling. I love exploring new places, people, and cultures. It’s the greatest luxury I could ever imagine.

Travel is the only thing you can buy which makes you richer.

But the more I travel and the more new places I see, the more I think about the way we travel these days.

I think there’s something wrong on how we travel.

Not for the moment itself, but for the selfies and Instagram pictures we take. We don’t select our destinations by wanderlust, but by how fancy they are. We rush from restaurants to sights to places all recommend by Yelp or Tripadvisor being afraid that we miss something important.

After our trip, we feel exhausted, but at least we took tons of pictures we can proudly show to friends & families.

The pressure of social media transformed us into travelish photo monsters (not sure about that word, but you know what I mean ;) )

In 2013 I spent half a year abroad and wondered how I could adapt myself to not be a tourist in a foreign city, but rather a resident.

I watched a lot of tourists at that time rushing through the streets with their smartphones & cameras aiming for the next big shot. I somehow began to feel sorry for them. Because I felt they are missing it. The are missing the moment of being in a new city. Feeling the vibe.

So here’s my only advice: take it slowly.

At the time I began to realize what traveling really is about. At least what it is for me.

It’s not about getting to see every super-awesome place recommend by TripAdvisor. It’s not about going to the best-rated restaurants on Yelp. It’s not about rushing through the streets being afraid missing something.

It’s about the little things.

The best and greatest travel moments happen when you don’t expect them.

They happen on some random no-name street where you stumble into an elderly local philosophizing about the world. It happens when you go to non-tourist restaurants and bars eating, drinking and having fun.

Don’t be too busy missing the real adventures and moments.

Disclaimer: I published this article a year ago on Medium. After it got quite some attention and I received some good feedback, I decided to publish this article here as well.