It is always interesting to finally do something you dreamed of for a long time. For me it was the Olympic Games as I was writing about last week.
It is a special event for me, but when I visited them it wasn’t as amazing, it was more likely a bit sad. The organization wasn’t good, similar to the arenas, I was just expecting more.
The question I ask myself is, what is it with dreams? Why do we wait so long to fulfill them? What is stopping us, is it the fact that it might not actually be as good as expected?
Pro’s about the Olympic Games in Paris
In general there are of course pro’s about Paris.
- There were less people than usually
- There were less crimes than usually
- It was a bit more open than usually
- Many for free activities
In general the city was doing a lot to make the games something special, you could feel that they tried, but they sadly didn’t succeed. It is for myself not a city where you feel being welcome in the city.
People were not there in the amount expected because many locals were not in the city and the police locked up many streets and were present all over the city
Cons about the Olympic Games in Paris
Sadly many bad things were there as well
- The city felt locked up
- It was pro Games anti people, at least it felt like it
- Prices were up
- Not well organized
- Not much access to places
I could make this list of course longer, but yeah I guess you guys are getting the point.
Paris should know how to make big events without looking like a newbie, but that didn’t work out.
Going to back home, but visiting more places
After leaving Paris and heading back to Germany, we made a little stop in Luxembourg to fill up the car. Because by using Blablacar it is actually way cheaper to travel, than taking a train to Paris. The passengers were paying for the fuel which was great and is most of the time the case. Also by parking for free in Paris, the trip ended up being quite cheap.
We went to Trier to visit my good friend Marcel, who I sadly do not see very often, so it was great doing the stop and driving the day after already to the next destination, but taking them with us.
It was time for a concert, at Rammstein, but probably my last one from them, because it wasn’t as good as the other ones before to be honest, but to that in a moment more.
I still had to work during this trip and by having the long rides in between it wasn’t so easy to keep up with the work, but still managed to get my hours in and get the work done which made me happy. Since working as a travel designer I have to do so much with travels, but it is quite good to do something I like in private as well.
Rammstein concert
We were driving to Essen, which is located in Western Germany. We booked a little apartment there and each had a room for themselves. Perfect to do some work, but we were too stressed to make it on time for the concert. Actually it was the first Rammstein concert in Germany for me.
We had to drive 30 min to be at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen. Usually it is being used for soccer games, but also for events like these.
The stadium was very full and it was hard to actually see what was happening on stage. I was zooming in with my phone to see it better. Also there were some very rude and annoying people next to me. I will not get into detail, but I couldn’t end up being the nicest person ever to be completely honest.
I personally enjoyed it, but also not the most. It was super hot and Marcel, his girlfriend and Marla didn’t seem to enjoy it as much.
We drove back and just slept, to get up early and drive back to Hamburg, with other people from Blablacar again, with whom we had great conversations.
What is it with dreams?
At the beginning of this article I mentioned something with dreams and while writing this article I couldn’t stop thinking about the question I was putting out there. It is actually an interesting question, because I am always telling people that they should follow and live their dreams, but I am also not fully doing it.
I am dreaming of visiting Australia, Madagascar, Antarctica, Greenland, North Korea (this doesn’t count), Samoa and many other countries. The thing is, I didn’t prioritize them. I just went to other countries instead. Countries about which I wasn’t even hyped like Turkmenistan, Turkey and UAE.
“The best is coming at the end” is a saying I heard many times in my life, but what if it is not the best, what if it is just an illusion? It is weird for me, because usually I am not asking myself these questions, usually I just do whatever I want to do.
Every time I am visiting a country I have been dreaming about for a long time, I am a bit more disappointed than in countries where I did not have such high expectations.
Best examples are Costa Rica and the USA. I don’t have an answer to the question yet, but I still believe it is important to follow your dreams and to not listen too much to society and more to your close friends and people who are important to you.
What’s up next?
Next week there will be no Olympic Games Paris and personal blog, but the week after, so stay tuned for country 94!
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