Finding new destination obsessions

Picking my next spots through fantasy, history and delusion

I was interviewed by chris kalaboukis from Nomads 50+ on a Substack live the other week (make sure to check out his work!), and I got asked how how I decide where to travel next. Exactly where and how does Northern Brazil, the Albanian coastline or a little village in Romania hijack my brain? At what point does a place suddenly become I can’t continue life unless I get to walk the streets of Lagos within six months?

I suppose I’d call it an obsession. Or more accurately: being haunted by an idea that refuses to leave my brain until I’ve experienced it. A blessing and a curse. So I thought I’d take you through how Bulgaria became a summer destination a couple of years back. I hear very few people dreaming about going to Bulgaria, except for Swedish and British package tourists heading to Sunny Beach for cheap drinks and chicken wings. Yet somehow, I could not stop thinking about the country. I’ve realised that I generally base my destination picks on a few recurring principles. Step inside my brain, friends!

1. Scenes from a film

Daydreaming is not a small part of my life. This is where I probably start sounding slightly insane, but when an idea of a destination enters my brain, it arrives almost like scenes from a film. When I imagine myself in Marseille for example, it’s not in the city centre. Instead I’m having having a coffee and a cigarette in a bar somewhere in the run down suburbs. Kids are playing soccer in the street. It’s chaotic and friendly. In the Sahara, I’ve finally reached the oasis where I’m staying for the night. The sky is pitch black lit only by a million stars. Someone is humming. The air is filled with jasmine and desert rose.

Travel planning lets me romanticise life for a while. Or perhaps it’s my pre consumption of a destination? I don’t know, perhaps it doesn’t matter. I remember moving to London at nineteen with this very specific fantasy that I would have peanut butter and jam sandwich with a cup of tea for dinner every night. So this is exactly what I did until I realised British people (sometimes) eat things other than sandwiches.

The point is: it doesn’t actually matter whether the fantasy comes true or not. It’s the anticipation that excites me. The cinematic version of the destination that forms in my head long before I arrive.

Thinking of Bulgaria, I would hear the sound of heels against cobblestones after midnight martinis in a hotel bar in Sofia. I might have fantasied about having drinks with a spy and not my fiancé, but it is what it is. I also dreamt about travelling through mountains and lakes on an old train while drinking dry white wine in a beautiful restaurant carriage.

2. Challenging preconceptions

I’ve realised I’m constantly trying to challenge people’s preconceived notions about certain destinations. If a country has a terrible reputation, chances are I’m already halfway to booking the flight. I’ve travelled a great deal in North and West Africa in recent years, places that people, at least where I’m from, would not ever consider going. My immediate thought is always that surely there must be something extraordinary amazing if so many people don’t wanna go there. Overlooked beauty is absolutely a theme here.

So, I continued my research of Bulgaria beyond Sunny Beach and I quickly realise I was probably going to be right, again. I found evidence of Sofia being heaven for foodies, an interesting art scene, elegant decaying architecture and mountains with valleys that look absolutely insane. All shaped by the atmosphere of Eastern Europe.

3. Destinations marked by a complicated past or present

Most of the time, I’m a good girl following foreign ministry advice. If they tell me not to go to Beirut right now, I won’t go to Beirut right now. But I am often drawn to places that are complicated with a heavy history. Places that can teach me something about the world. Places that were considered dangerous or inaccessible not too long ago.

I became interested in West Africa partly because I wanted to understand more about the history of the slave trade and how it still affects the preconception of this part of the world. When I visit a more classic holiday destination like Cyprus, I somehow end up in divided Nicosia learning about the conflict between the Turks and the Greeks instead of dwelling on the beach for a full week.

Bulgaria certainly doesn’t lack interesting history. The Eastern Bloc. The Soviet influence. Decades of political transition and identity shifts. Yummers.

4. Beauty

I don’t necessarily need a pretty scenery to find a place attractive, but I do need art, interesting architecture and preferably lots of colour. Whether that comes ina communist monument, street art or a pretty decorated hotel is less important.

I read up on Bulgarian Revival Houses, especially the ones in Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second largest city, and honestly, I’d travel here for these houses alone.

5. Names that carry magic

Sometimes it genuinely starts with nothing more than a name. The description of a city or a country can simply sound magic to me. Odessa, once dubbed The pearl of the Black Sea, was one of those places I dreamt about for years, without knowing almost anything about it. I would lay awake at night thinking of Varanasi, The city of life and death, or Iceland, The land of fire and ice. Sometimes it’s just the name of the place itself that is beautiful. I thought of Alexandria, Essaouira, and Byblos long before I got interested in Middle Eastern culture.

Bulgaria has been dubbed The land of roses, The pearl of the Balkans, and the its Black Sea coastline The faded riviera of the Eastern bloc. Honestly, how could I not want to experience The faded riviera of the Eastern bloc. Anything faded grandeur makes me tingle.

Stay tuned for a full Bulgaria guide, coming soon!

Love,

Stina

All photos by me

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Tunes on repeat in May fantasising about places I already love and places I’m obsessing over.

Adrian Landin stories in his newsletter With Gusto either feels like a) a warm hug or b) when they don’t, it’s because they’re the realest and most honest stories you’ll read. His writing is often deeply personal, usually tied to the people he meets wherever he wanders. And boy, does he wander. Adrian is the definition of a shoestring traveller, having spent much of the last two decades on the road. Seems like every stranger is a potential friend for Adrian.

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Alex & Beyond lives on the French Riviera. She’s American and shares honestly about life in France and gives tips on less obvious destinations here, and in other corners of Europe. Alex is a foodie of a truly rare kind. She writes extensively about incredible meals and unforgettable food experiences. If you’re heading to Southern Europe this summer, make sure to check her out!

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Northern hemisphere summer coming up! I’d love to hear what you’re all up to the coming few months. I have very mixed feelings about summer, I always had. Summer overwhelms me a bit. Swedes running around like lunatics trying to squeeze every possible fun activity into three months. It’s all we’ve got here, folks. I’m not cut out for this. Summer is actually the only time of year when I want to stay exactly where I am. Preferably not leave my garden at all, but if I do…maybe a little day trip to Copenhagen (it’s only a 30 minute train ride!) or to the northern part of the country where I have my roots. Mind you, Sweden is gorgeous in summer. And I’m also a poor girl after spending six months on the road, so I’ll very much be staying put in Malmö. Let me know if you’ll be around Southern Sweden or Copenhagen this summer — I’d be so happy to show you around.