Tag Archives: Rome

Thought on Holidays

We are back to Sonderborg after a brief break for a holiday. While relaxing in the warmer climate further south, my thoughts turned to holidays and how different environments can affect the vacations you take.

Tower Bridge, London

From my experience in Malta, the most common vacations are city visits. When asking friends and families where they have been on holiday this year, cities like Rome, London, Paris and Prague abound. In fact, the UK and Italy remain the most popular destinations for Maltese people year on year.

Looking at Danish people, however, their answer is typically quite different. I hear Mallorca, Malaga, Crete, Canary Islands repeatedly. In Malta these types of holidays are typically considered lazy holiday destinations for young people whose idea of a great holiday is one they spend drunk (if at all). It is sometimes considered a lazy holiday choice, so imagine my surprise when these were the destinations continually mentioned by people of all ages, and especially for families. I was even more flabbergasted when they continuously told me that they have been to that same resort/location for the last X amount of years.

IMG_0685

It was only when an aunt of Michael’s reply to ‘Why are you going AGAIN to Crete rather than, say, Malta this year?’ was countered back by: ‘I looked at the weather forecast and there is a much lower chance of rain in October in Crete than Malta’ that it finally clicked (yes – I might be a bit slow sometimes).

As Maltese people we do not need to travel to enjoy the beach, so we consider it a bit lazy to ‘waste’ your holiday going to beaches and relaxing there. So we go elsewhere where we can appreciate the culture, the nature, and (often) the shopping experience. However, capitalising on sun is what Danes aim for.

I always saw holiday choice from my cultural point of view. I guess I should learn to be less judgemental right?;)