“Romantical” isn’t a word. Yeah, I get that. But, sometimes your honeymoon doesn’t have to be honeymoon-ish. Here’s how to defy the cliche’d expectations of a honeymoon vacation and do something that you both want to do instead.
Step 1: Avoid IslandsHawaii, Jamaica, Maldives, anything in the Caribbean or the South Pacific, just completely cross that off your newlywed-going-to-be-so-sexy-every-night honeymoon itinerary. Everyone goes to islands because they’re considered “exotic” and unlike any place you could go on a daily basis. It could feel like you’re isolated from the rest of the world on an island, but the fact is, everyone is doing it. Over 7 million people visit Hawaii every year. So, honeymooning on an island is what’s expected of you and certainly not isolated. Be unexpected. Try anywhere else instead.
Where else can you shake hands with the late former president? Certainly not in some exotic paradise. Step 2: Your Itinerary Should Be Somewhere in Eastern EuropeWe had our honeymoon planned loooooong before our wedding plans. So, when people asked where we were planning to honeymoon and I said: “Eastern Europe,” peoples’ faces would just drop. Then they would follow that up with: “oh, but why?” It’s a natural human reaction based on a negative connotation constructed by society. Eastern Europe is that place that was once behind an iron curtain. That makes people nervous. Not nervous as in: “aren’t you afraid you’ll get lost,” but rather: “aren’t you afraid you’ll lose a kidney or be thrown in the gulag?”
Getting lost is perfectly natural when traveling. Losing a kidney and forced slave labor is not. Unfortunately, that’s a dramatic stereotype that exists with some destinations. It’s just as silly as the “but don’t they hate Americans?” stereotype. These kinds of stereotypes hinder people from doing what they really want to do, which is to see things and to enjoy their travels.
Furthermore, Eastern Europe is beautiful. Budapest is an immaculate city. Prague is something out of a fairy tale. Bosnia and Serbia were downright beautiful and Slovenia blew our minds.
Bottom line, If you book your honeymoon vacation and people grit their teeth and force their way through a polite: “oh, that’s nice,” you’re on your way to taking the “romantical” out of your honeymoon. You’re on your way to doing something awesome.
House of Terror in Budapest. Step 3: Visit War-Torn Places and Get Spat on by a Crazy LadyNothing’s sexier and more romantical than getting spat at by a crazy homeless lady. But, in her defense, she was crazy. The only thing more romantical is visiting the House of Terror, a museum dedicated to the past dictatorial regimes in Hungary. While it’s quite informative, the saddest part were the prison torture rooms in the basement of the museum. It makes people sad. Nobody wants to be sad on their honeymoon. Except for us. We want to be sad because we don’t care for what people think a honeymoon should be. We want to learn. We want to see. That’s so much more exciting and memorable than sipping coconuts on a beach somewhere.
Then there was Mostar in Bosnia, the city most affected by the Bosnian War. Buildings still had bullet holes. Imagine out of sheer curiosity sticking your finger into a bullet hole left in a brick wall. The effects of visiting places like Mostar will last a lifetime. Certainly longer than that Mai Tai.
A bullet hole in Mostar. Now it’s Your TurnRemember, if people scoff or think your honeymoon sounds “scary,” you’re on your way to the coolest vacation ever. Cities that experienced wars or had tumultuous histories are some of the prettiest cities on the itinerary.
What is your favorite honeymoon memory?
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