So what is it that leads us to look for atmospheric antique cafes, charming old pubs, traditional tavernas and the like when we travel? Is it nostalgia? A longing for the past? But what if we're too young for that past to have ever been our own? Is it that we long to relive the past of our grandparents or even great grandparents? A past that we have never experienced. A past of our imaginations. A past from somebody else's memory. But not a past of our own. Could this 'nostalgia' be a longing for similar nostalgic experiences from our other travels? Or is it simply the idea of nostalgia and a nostalgic mood that we're looking to experience when we travel? And if so, why? Are we looking to escape the present in all of its tacky, superficial and cheap forms? Or do we simply want to travel in time to a period and place we think we might have enjoyed more than our present? For many, travel in itself is an escape from the present, from everyday life, from reality. So what then is the search for a nostalgic experience when we're on holiday or on a trip away if not the ultimate escape from the everyday? And is there anything wrong with that?
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Travel and nostalgia
So what is it that leads us to look for atmospheric antique cafes, charming old pubs, traditional tavernas and the like when we travel? Is it nostalgia? A longing for the past? But what if we're too young for that past to have ever been our own? Is it that we long to relive the past of our grandparents or even great grandparents? A past that we have never experienced. A past of our imaginations. A past from somebody else's memory. But not a past of our own. Could this 'nostalgia' be a longing for similar nostalgic experiences from our other travels? Or is it simply the idea of nostalgia and a nostalgic mood that we're looking to experience when we travel? And if so, why? Are we looking to escape the present in all of its tacky, superficial and cheap forms? Or do we simply want to travel in time to a period and place we think we might have enjoyed more than our present? For many, travel in itself is an escape from the present, from everyday life, from reality. So what then is the search for a nostalgic experience when we're on holiday or on a trip away if not the ultimate escape from the everyday? And is there anything wrong with that?