5 cities I’d go back to in a heartbeat

It’s almost a foreign concept to think about which destinations I’d like to head back to again.

I usually scroll through Pinterest boards of glamorous travel shots and posts from other travel bloggers to gather travel ideas and inspiration. I have such a hunger to discover new places that I’ve never really sat back and thought hey, maybe that place is worth a second visit.

But now that I think about it a little harder, I’ve realised that I already have places on my list that I’ve been to before and would like to go back to, and it seems so obvious that there are plenty of places I’d like to visit again, I’ve just never really thought about it.

Here are five cities I’d go back to in a heartbeat. What are yours?

1. Portland, Oregon, USA

I visited Portland in 2013, and fell in love with the place right away. There are so many things that appealed to me – the coffee shops, the thrift stores, the extensive range of vegetarian food, the proximity to other major cities and national parks…

Robert and I felt like we could connect with the way of life of people in Portland. If you’ve ever watched Portlandia, you might understand what we mean. In a strange way, the weirdness is what draws us.

2. Ljubljana, Slovenia

We love finding places that are a wonderfully strange, and Ljubljana definitely fits into this category. A mixed vibe of Mediterranean and Eastern Europe, with a bunch of pretty buildings, street art, and a cool castle thrown in. What more could you possibly want?

3. Munich, Germany

The 1/4 of me that is German got a tad over-excited at Munich’s rich Bavarian culture. The city itself had a rather lovely selection of both old and new architecture, and our day trip to the Bavarian countryside was darn spectacular.

And the beer halls. Oh, the beer halls. If you like the idea of steins filled with tasty Bavarian beer, salty pretzels and Weisswurst (white sausage), and waiters and waitresses dressed in traditional Dirndls and Lederhosen, you’ll fit right in.

We spent 4 nights in Munich on our backpacking trip through Europe but it just wasn’t enough. Next time, I’ll definitely visit during Oktoberfest.

4. Chiang Mai, Thailand

Nestled in the mountainous area of Northern Thailand, Chiang Mai had some of the friendliest people we’ve ever met. The locals were more than willing to practice their English with us and make recommendations for things to see in the area.

The city wasn’t overloaded with tourists like some other areas of Thailand, and the prices were incredibly cheap (we got an amazing Pad Thai at a street stall for only .60c). Elaborately decorated temples appeared around every corner and we saw local monks doing daily walks of the main street collecting offers from the locals.

I’d happily spend another week relaxing and exploring the surroundings areas of Northern Thailand.

5. St Petersburg, Russia

St Petersburg was only the second stop on our three month backpacking trip, but boy was it a winner. We stayed in the best hostel ever right on the riverfront in the city centre.

The sights in St Petersburg were awesome – we especially enjoyed the Museum of Soviet Arcade Machines where we were handed authentic soviet era coins to use in the restored machines. We proceeded to drive miniature tanks around a war course, and compared our strength to a family farm’s little girl or apparently muscly grandfather by pulling a “turnip” from the ground.

The Hermitage Museum was also fantastic (way better than the Louvre, sorry Paris) and we didn’t have to pay for tickets as we went on the monthly free entrance day, which is the first Thursday of every month.

I would definitely head back to this place for more museums, the delicious bakeries, and to continue exploration of the many winding rivers and pretty pastel architecture.