Traveling Sober - Internationally

Days 1,314 to 1,323 symbolized another milestone in this journey: my first international trip as a sober person.

For comparison purposes, the last international trip I took was to Ireland, where we toured three different distilleries and visited the oldest pub.

For this trip, we visited Croatia in celebration of turning 40. I intentionally ran. On vacation. In an organized event. Once you read the book, you will understand how monumental this moment was for me.

This is me running. On vacation. Where 11 seconds of Star Wars was filmed!

As I reflected on this trip, here are some of my favorite parts:

1. It is the most time my partner (of almost 11 years) and I have spent, uninterrupted, alone, together. Ever. And I loved every second of it. There was no fighting. There was only love and patience and care.

2. The first night there we watched the sun set over the Adriatic sea, with the town of Dubrovnik in the background, and it felt entirely magical. Adding alcohol would have taken away from the natural majesty of that moment.

3. Krka National Park, home to the second largest waterfall in Croatia, was probably the most beautiful waterfall I have ever seen. Bonus - I also saw around 50 frogs!!

   

   Krka Falls

4. There is something other-worldly about entering "Old Town" within the city walls of Dubrovnik.

There were many moments in which I asked myself: would alcohol add to this moment? Overwhelmingly, the answer was no.

I will admit that as we ate dinner at Panorama overlooking Dubrovnik and the surrounding islands, that yes a glass of wine would have enhanced my experience, and the first night we were there we were told about a town within driving distance that was described as the birthplace of strong red wines, with wines only available in that particular town - and hearing that about killed me. Finally, as we ate lunch on a tiny island so close to the water that any closer and we would have fallen in, with a 15th century monastery in view, I did admit that I would enjoy a glass of wine.

Other than those three very specific moments (and I didn't break at any of them), my overwhelming answer to this reflection was that I was actually so thankful to be sober. There were days I was already hot and dehydrated and I can't imagine how much worse drinking would have made that state. I was so thankful to be fully present and enjoying each moment and each experience for exactly what it was. And I am sure I remember things much more clearly as a result.

Pro tip: you can still take aesthetic photos of local, fresh squeezed orange juice just as easily as anything else.

Aesthetic drink photo 1 (OJ)

Aesthetic drink photo 2 (OJ on the wall)

Until next time!