The Traveling Psychiatrist turns 2
Two years ago, long before COVID-19 interrupted our daily lives and travels, I met my friends in Oslo and had a wonderful holiday in Norway, one of my favorite travel destinations. Upon my return to London, I launched the Traveling Psychiatrist, with the very first (introductory) post published on 16 June 2018. Since then, I have been publishing a new post every single week, a total of 112 posts to date, including the one you’re currently reading (on a few special occasions, I published two posts a week, in case you’re wondering why the number doesn’t quite add up). Today, I’d like to reflect on the Traveling Psychiatrist ‘s journey and what I’ve learned so far.
The beginnings of the Traveling Psychiatrist
Being a perfectionist, I could never have embarked on such a journey without adequate preparation.
The idea of launching a travel blog first crossed my mind in the fall of 2017, during my first trip to California. I went there on my own, after winning a bursary to attend the annual meeting of the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. I visited San Francisco (where I flew to and from), Napa Valley, Palm Springs (where the meeting took place), and Los Angeles. Somewhere between the Napa Valley vineyards and the Hollywood Walk of Fame, I felt a strong urge to share my experience and what I’d learned. How can you make the most of what California has to offer if you’re only there for 12 days? What should you do and what should you avoid when you visit the Golden State for the first time? How can you have a most rewarding and fulfilling time when you’re solo in the bustle of LA?
Once back in London, to prepare for my new adventure, I started reading books about travel blogging, and to further enhance my travel writing skills, I attended Peter Carty’s Travel Writing Workshop.
Shortly afterwards, I took part in the Guardian’s competition ‘10 great Greek islands: readers’ travel tips’. I was so excited when I saw my tip ‘Hiking in Amorgos, Cyclades’ published that I did not realize that it’d been the winning tip.
At that point, I felt ready to take the plunge into the world of travel blogging, or should I say my first steps on the travel blogosphere? Either way, this is how the Traveling Psychiatrist was born.
The Traveling Psychiatrist in Norway
Once I introduced myself to the world as a travel blogger, it was time to get down to the nitty-gritty and do some travel blogging. Having had recently returned from Norway, I kicked off my travel blogging journey with a 9-day itinerary from Oslo to Ålesund, and from there to Bergen and back to the Norwegian capital. This was exactly 20 years after the day that Norway beat Brazil in the World Cup. I was in Bergen when this happened; I remember being in a hotel room watching ‘Ray of Light’ on MTV, high-speed images of Madonna dancing, whilst Norwegians were celebrating all over the city. Outside, of course, there was still daylight.
All That Jazz…
Even though my love affair with Norway (and Madonna) dates back to my childhood, my jazzophilia is not that long. However, as my passion for jazz music grew stronger, I learned about all those jazz festivals taking place around the world. Norway is no exception; quite the opposite, actually. Renowned for the beautiful fjord scenery and railway journeys that offer spectacular views of ravines, waterfalls and mountains, Norway also boasts a thriving jazz scene. Every year from May to August, when the days just don’t turn into nights, no less than 10 jazz festivals take place across the country (sadly not this year). This provided me with a perfect excuse to return to Norway, as well as with plenty of material to write about.
The Traveling Psychiatrist ’s musical journeys
In fact, the content of the Traveling Psychiatrist reflects not only my wanderlust, but also my other passions. As well as a travel enthusiast, I am also a music lover (most genres, but especially jazz, country, indie and classical), a cinephile an avid reader (crime novels being my favorite).
Traveling to foreign countries is a great opportunity to discover new music. In the past, I would often buy CDs and records whilst away on holiday. Nowadays, when I hear a song that I like and I don’t recognize, I use an app called Soundhound to identify what the song is and who the artist is. I can then (when I return home) listen to this song again and/or follow this artist on Spotify. Sometimes, I go to concerts whilst abroad to immerse myself deep into the soul and music of the place. More recently, I have planned my travels to coincide with music festivals; for example, last year I returned to Norway for the Trondheim Jazz Festival, and to California to attend the Kaaboo Del Mar festival. Earlier this year, I visited Nantes for a classical music festival, known as La Folle Journée.
Over the last two years, I have often written about music festivals in Norway, California, and around the world. During that time, I have also embarked on quite a few ‘musical journeys’ exploring the music from specific parts of the world (around Europe, Greece, Norway, Iceland, California, France, Great Britain).
The Traveling Psychiatrist ’s cinematic journeys
As much as I love attending music festivals home and abroad, I also enjoy watching films from the comfort of my own home or my local cinema. Over the last few years, however, I have grown very fond of film festivals too. These have often provided me with a great opportunity to watch films from other countries, marry my love for cinema with my passion for traveling, and immerse myself in foreign cultures without having to take a plane. The Traveling Psychiatrist has allowed me the space to reflect on some of these foreign films I’ve previously watched, share my thoughts and have company on my ‘cinematic journeys’ (to the Nordic countries, around Europe, France, South Korea, Greece).
Then, COVID-19, self-isolation and social distancing came, and like many of us I found solace in baking (more on that later) and binge-watching TV series on Netflix. Being a Scandiphile, I have now watched a total of 12 Norwegian TV series (the vast majority of which during the lockdown).
Traveling & reading
When I travel, I often read more, not only about the place I visit, but also literature (crime novels, usually taking place in that very part of the world). Truth be told, I’ve not always been a bibliophile and an avid reader. As a teenager, the only books I read (and thoroughly enjoyed) were the Agatha Christie novels. I remember that during those long summer holidays, I would pick one each morning and spend the rest of the day in St Mary Mead with Miss Marple, or I would follow Hercule Poirot from the streets of London to exotic destinations around the world. By the end of the day, however, the murderer had been brought to justice and I was back in Greece. This brief escape from my rather uneventful life was what drew me to reading all sixty-six Christie’s detective novels.
A few years later, however, came Stieg Larsson and the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. My love for reading (and Scandinavia) now rekindled, I started traveling to the Nordic Countries (at first through fiction, but then in real life too). I followed Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist to Stockholm, before Camilla Läckberg took me to her home town of Fjällbacka on the west coast of Sweden. I then traveled to Norway with Jo Nesbø, before setting off for Iceland with Ragnar Jónasson, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir and Arnaldur Indriðason. Soon after I launched the Traveling Psychiatrist, I discussed my favorite Nordic crime authors in my post ‘Crime & Fjords: 9 Scandinavian writers you should read’.
Alongside these journeys laden with victims of murder and other horrible crimes, I developed an interest in non-fiction literature. Moving to London and spending a couple of hours a day on the tube or the train was a blessing in disguise. Unread books that had been piling up for years would be done and dusted in less than a week. My daily commute soon became my favorite part of my workdays; I would now escape into the minds of wise men and women, and share their knowledge and insights on a variety of subject matters.
Rather surprisingly for a travel blog, my post ‘Hygge, Lagom & Lykke: 10 books about Scandi happiness’ is the most popular to date, whereas my post ‘Let Me Tell You a Story: Tales along the road to happiness‘ (published in October 2018) has been the most read so far this year.
Traveling, healthy eating & baking
I personally travel not just to visit a new place, city or country, and take beautiful pictures, but because the experience of traveling, quite like reading a book or watching a movie, allows me to learn about the world and myself, and improve as a person. Coming in contact with different civilizations, religions and customs has given me a springboard to start challenging the world and not taking a single thing for granted. Sightseeing and visiting museums, natural landmarks and other places of interest are of course very important. As is learning about the history and the geography of the place. Or about different people, and their customs, and interacting with them.
As is trying the local cuisine of each country I visit, savoring new ingredients, or going out to the places the locals go out to. Once I’m back in my kitchen and put my apron on, I often try to re-create those dishes I had whilst traveling. For example, inspired by my childhood journey to Thailand, I recently prepared a three-course Thai menu.
Baking Therapy
Having a sweet tooth, however, I am more likely to go on baking adventures, often inspired by my travels. For example, following my holidays on the Greek islands of Amorgos and Mykonos, I came up with my own version of portokalopita (orange pie) and watermelon and feta-based recipes respectively, whereas my holiday in Martinique inspired me to bake exotic fruit breads. Thanks to the lockdown, over the last couple of months, I have baked dozens of healthy cakes, cupcakes and muffins, cookies and biscuits, and other bakes, inspired by my travels. I recently decided to collect some of these recipes into an e-book. This is how ‘Baking Therapy: Healthy Cakes & Bakes: Recipes Inspired By My Travels’ was born. The e-book is available for FREE for every new subscription (for a LIMITED TIME ONLY).
Traveling & wellbeing
Soon after I launched the Traveling Psychiatrist, I realized that it was going to be more than just another travel blog. As a Psychiatrist, I couldn’t help it but also include a wellbeing strand in my blog. This started off with my post ‘10 tips to beat those post-holiday blues’, followed by ‘5 ways to recover from travel fatigue’. Then, on the World Mental Health Day on 10 October 2018, I shared my ‘10 tips for better mental health & wellbeing’. As a Psychiatrist I follow a holistic approach to wellbeing; this includes nutrition, reading, purposeful and pleasurable activities, which in a way brings us back full circle to traveling and those associated activities discussed earlier. To this day, I have continued my blog along those lines blending traveling with wellbeing, healthy eating, reading and culture (mostly music and film).
Purist bloggers may say that the Traveling Psychiatrist lacks a clear focus and is not a ‘niche’ blog. Perhaps they’re right. But, at the same time, I want the Traveling Psychiatrist to reflect who I am as a person, what I’m passionate about (all those things mentioned above), and what I stand for (following one’s passion(s), being holistic and staying true to oneself).
The Traveling Psychiatrist on the Greek Islands
My home country, Greece, has 6,000 islands of which 227 are inhabited. When people ask me which Greek island is my favorite, or which one to visit (a frequently asked but rather difficult question to answer), Skyros is always the first to come to mind. Arguably, I am somewhat biased, as this is my late grandfather’s home island; not only I have precious memories of spending my early childhood summers there, I also have beloved relatives still living on the island. For this reason, I’ve visited Skyros more times than any other island, which is why I am convinced it really is the best Greek island to visit. Interestingly, Skyros has been a magnet for intellectuals, hippies, and hipsters for decades, perhaps because it is home to Skyros Center, Europe’s first course-based holiday center, which offers yoga, health and wellbeing retreats, but also art and writing courses.
Yet, the most archetypal of all the Greek islands are the Cyclades. If you’ve never been to the Greek islands, this is where you should start. Santorini and Mykonos may be the most famous in this group of 24 inhabited islands (as well as the ones easiest to get to, at least from abroad), but it would be a shame to overlook the lesser-known ones, such as Amorgos, Koufonisia and Folegandros. Island-hopping is an easy and fun way to explore the Greek islands and this is exactly what I decided to do in 2016, when I first visited the Cyclades.
Two years later, I visited two more Cycladic islands, Sifnos and Serifos. When I published my tips for these two islands in early 2019, little did I imagine then that these would turn out to be my two most popular posts of the entire year.
The Traveling Psychiatrist in London
London is possibly my favorite city in the world, and I am glad that I can call it home for the last couple of years. Summer is my favorite season and time of the year, so summer in London is simply a dream combination (although, to be absolutely honest, I would probably put summer on the Greek islands first).
Posts about London:
Summer in London: top 20 tips by a local
My 10 (+1) favorite Asian restaurants in London
Best London bookstores, tsundoku & bibliotherapy
Ealing Summer Festivals & 12 tips by a local
Chiswick: Top 12 tips by an (almost) local
A walk and a recital in hip Shoreditch
The Traveling Psychiatrist around the world
About a year ago, I referred to Norway, Greece and London as ‘my happy places’. Norway is one of my favorite countries to visit, whereas Greece is where I was born, grew up and nowadays spend most of my holidays, and London is where I have chosen to live. As such, these three places are the ones that I have mostly written about.
But, since launching the Traveling Psychiatrist, I have traveled to other countries too. In fact, alongside Norway and the Greek islands, France and Italy are amongst my favorite travel destinations; they also happen to be the countries I have visited the most times (so far in my life). I also have a soft spot for the US, which I have visited 5 times so far. So, it is natural to want to share my tips and write posts about these 3 countries as well.
Posts about France:
Top 7 tips for an unforgettable weekend in Nantes
7 reasons to fall in love with Martinique
Posts about Italy:
Summer in Florence: top 7 tips
And last, but not least:
Posts about the US (California):
Music, film & wine: 12 days in California
My California wine-tasting road-trip
Los Angeles: 3 days in La La Land
I Left My Heart In San Francisco
Posts about other destinations:
I have also written posts about some other destinations I have visited in the not so distant past, such as Vienna, Copenhagen and Stockholm, as well as Leeds (where I lived for 8 years) and the Isle of Man.
The Traveling Psychiatrist ’s most popular posts:
Last but not least, these are the Traveling Psychiatrist ’s most popular posts to date:
- Hygge, Lagom & Lykke: 10 books about Scandi happiness
- Sifnos: the island of Greek gastronomy
- Serifos: the Greek island where time stands still
- Island-hopping in the Cyclades in 2 weeks
- Folegandros: the secret alternative to Santorini
- Let Me Tell You a Story: Tales along the road to happiness
- Koufonisia: Top 9 tips by an (almost) local
- Recipe: Alex’s portokalopita (orange pie)
- Amorgos: Top 9 tips by an (almost) local
- Ikigai & Komorebi: Finding purpose & beautiful moments
Further reading
If you’re interested in travel writing or blogging, I would recommend the following books:
How to Be A Travel Writer (by Lonely Planet)
The Travel Writer’s Way: Turn Your Travels Into Stories (by Jonathan Laurie)
Stay at home, stay well and stay safe!
Alex
(the London-based Traveling Psychiatrist)