2025 Wrap-up: The good, the bad, and the less obvious

I’ve made it a tradition by now to share my honest thoughts on the last year, as we’re getting ready for the new, fresh year. There’s something about fresh things that people get excited about, so I might as well share my perspective here. 

Everyone is doing TikToks these days, but I might be more conservative than I once thought, as I still prefer the good old-fashioned blog post. 

There’s something about publishing a piece of content that stays online forever (or for as long as you wish to) that brings me true satisfaction. 

That’s why I started sharing less on social media this year. 

As social media is more crowded than ever, with the AI slop on the rise, I see no point in sharing my valuable thoughts or travel tips on there anymore. Told you I am more conservative than I appear at first. 

And with this disclaimer out of the way, let’s jump into the good of 2025. 

The good

2025, also known as the year of the Snake in Chinese mythology, was a brilliant year to travel and explore more of Europe. 

As a Snake myself, I had a wonderful year, and any bit of complaining would put me in the group of impossible-to-please humans (and I am actively working against that – because I complain all the time). 

I took only 2 separate trips this year: a 10-day road trip in Sicily and a 4-month-long road trip around half of Europe, during which, for the first time, I took my small dog with me. 

As with most of my trips, my boyfriend Edi was also my travel partner. If I ever say “we” in any of my anecdotes, I’m referring to Edi and myself. 

After achieving my personal goal of visiting all European countries, I aim to explore some of them in greater depth. 

During that long road trip (that started as a 1-month-long road trip but later transformed into 4 months), I visited the northern French coastline, including Normandy and Britanny, then moved to the north of Germany, followed by a 2-week stay in Denmark and then another month in Norway. 

I still have so much more to share from this long road trip (both on this blog and in video format on my YouTube channel), but I’m taking it more slowly, enjoying the process of creating these guides and travel pieces, just as I enjoyed living in the moment. 

I know I always say this after every trip that includes a road trip, but this has to be my best road trip yet.

I might delay the moment I publish more about this trip, as that would mark a new milestone, forcing me to distance myself from those moments. And I’m not ready to do that just yet. 

The full details will be included in their respective blogs, but I want to give you the gist of it now.

• Road trip from Romania to France: It took us 8 days to get to France, stopping in major European cities, such as Vienna, Regensburg, Cologne, and Lille. My dog quickly adjusted to his new lifestyle of changing hotels on a daily basis. 
• Northern France coastline and Brittany: We stayed here for 1.5 months and had about 5 different accommodations, to make it more convenient to visit different locations. This part of France is beautiful, and I didn’t expect to like it so much. 
• Northern Germany: I found a town in Germany for about a week, as it was July and most places were already booked, and also, we were trying to escape the European summer heat. 
• Denmark: Stayed for about 2 weeks in a small village in Denmark, chilling, working, staying away from the heat as it was raining daily, and didn’t do much visiting. I love the chill places, especially after more intense periods, like the one in France, where we had so much to see and do. 
• Norway: Visiting Norway for the 3rd time started as a bold idea, but it then materialised sooner than I initially hoped. It took about 5 days to drive all the way to the Lofoten islands, which are in the Arctic Circle, where we stayed for a month. The weather is tricky there, so staying longer was the right strategy to wait for the sunny days and go hiking. It was truly one of the best travel decisions I’ve ever made, and the best money ever spent. 

For Sicily, it was a dedicated trip; we flew to Catania, rented a car, and did a road trip all around the island. It was a winter trip, as I would never visit anything in the Mediterranean Sea during summer, which is the high season. It’s too hot and crowded for my personal taste. But I do believe Sicily is also a good destination during winter in Europe. 

Then waited for summer and started my longer road trip in June and ended it in September. 

If anything, this trip reminded me that items can be bought if plans ever change, but it’s worth it because memories stay with you forever. 

The bad

I don’t really focus on the negative on my blogs unless there’s something others really need to know, like local scams or important travel advice. 

During my trip to Sicily, |I addressed most of it in my dedicated blog, so I won’t go into detail. But it was mostly good, so not much to share about that trip. 

During my longer Euro trip, I had no issues regarding travel logistics, and I am blessed and so happy that it all went smoothly.

Travellers should know that the more you travel, the higher the chances of encountering inconvenient situations (overbooking, parking issues or fines, not booking certain services in advance, etc.). Luckily, my years of experience in Europe have prepared me for it, so no issues there. 

However, it was a bit challenging at times to travel with my dog, as this was his first longer road trip, which involved so much moving around and different hotels. 

He is a small, well-behaved dog, but he likes to steal food and especially food that makes him sick. He is also very allergic, so we had to go to the vet on two different occasions (once in Germany and again in Denmark). Those vet visits weren’t cheap, but luckily, he is ok. 

Just to entertain you, he ate about 10 dog sedatives (like sleeping pills but for dogs), French pastry, mussels, and lots of chocolate. He really gave me a good scare when we ate over 100g of chocolate, and he felt so sick, it got me crying. But somehow he recovered from that. 

He’s 12 years old and has a history of eating everything that makes him sick, but he just loves to eat, and he is sneaky and tricks me every time (and I know most of his tricks by now). Don’t let anyone tell you small dogs are stupid! Some of them can devise elaborate plans to get what they want. 

But besides the initial scare and the expensive vet visits, it all ended well, and it was much easier to travel with him than I initially thought. Most places accept dogs, including hotels, boat tours, and car ferries, and if you plan accordingly, you can take your dog on so many adventures in Europe. 

The less obvious

Doing road trips is my favourite thing, and the best way to explore vast regions, as you can simply look up the map, choose a point, and then drive there. 

But beyond the pretty social media posts, the TikToks and vlogs, there are countless hours of planning and preparing, searching for and booking hotels, booking ferries, buying all the necessary items and equipment, and all sorts of details that you would never consider until you find yourself in a certain situation. 

I know that this kind of trip isn’t for everybody. And I understand that some might find it more comfortable to travel with a tour, where every logistical issue is tackled by someone else. If you want a holiday, then you don’t want to worry about small details all the time. 

And that’s why I believe I must share in-depth guides about different trips and locations, as not all places and types of trips are suitable for all travellers. 

This last 4-month trip got me really tired, as I did most of the driving, the planning, and the booking. I know just by looking at the map all the places I stayed in, the ports and cities, the parking lots, and the attractions. Even now, 3 months after my trip ended, I still feel tired. 

It also might be the European winter making me feel like that (it gets dark at 16:30), but travel fatigue is real, and it’s not pleasant. 

It’s a basic human emotion and health. After so much dopamine, my soul feels drained and empty. 

I am in no form complaining about my blessings, but I want to share some of the realities of travelling for a longer period of time and why I can’t do it full-time. I need some months at home to simply sleep and recharge. 

I hope people get less envious of those social media accounts sharing their non-stop travelling life, as that’s merely a performance for the internet. The reality is that longer trips weaken the immune system and steal any form of routine from you (gym, eating habits, sleeping patterns). 

I think that’s partly why I share less on social media these days. Because, of course, I take all my photos smiling, but beyond that, you can’t see the irritated self my boyfriend has to live with every day. 

I’m not in a position to give advice on anything else, but travel tips in Europe, and what I do share is what I see as a valuable travel destination to certain travellers. And I hope my tips and guides find those people who need them, just like I still use other people’s guides too. 

About 2026

If you know anything about me, it is that I dislike making plans too far in advance. 

And if I have to make them, I won’t share them with anyone, as I am fairly superstitious about it. I only share it once I’m there. 

But 2025 made me realise that I don’t have enough energy to do it all and see it all. 

So in 2026, I will use my time and energy wisely, exploring places that truly make me feel healed, special, and at peace. 

And that’s why I wish to you too – more intentional trips, making it less about the things and places to check off a bucket list and more about what makes your soul feel alive.  

That doesn’t mean I will stop writing my European travel bucket list, because you still need inspiration to travel. You just don’t need to do it all; you need to do it right. 

P.S. Yes, I do use the “em dash,” which is the “ –” sign. And no, I don’t use AI to write my blogs. I have been using the em dash for years, before a lot of people started using it too when they started copying elaborated text written by ChatGPT. Remember, I started this blog more than 15 years ago, and I am a professional content writer, have an engineering degree, and studied in English. I don’t mean to brag, I just want to put this out there in case those Chinese bots come lurking around, trying to steal my content (again!). And if you’re human, thanks for reading my blog! I appreciate it.