Moments From My Euro Summer That Altered My Brain Chemistry
BY MAHI KUMAR
Increased dopamine, reduced stress, and all around good vibes. What’s not to love about travel?
28 NOV - 2023
There are things about my 3 month Euro summer that genuinely changed my brain chemistry.
If you didn’t already know, I spent 3 months of this year in Europe with some of my absolute best friends. I was gone for an entire quarter. I missed all of winter in NZ, and enjoyed the basking sun in Europe (whilst sometimes overheating).
It was the wildest thing I’ve done, because stopping your life and not working for 3 months is something that feels inherently risky and can be quite nerve wracking. But I have never been happier about a decision because I can single-handedly say it was one of the most rewarding, grounding, educational (yes educational), and exhilarating things that I’ve ever done.
I went to 13 different countries and hit places as mainstream as Rome, to more unique places like Budva in Montenegro. I travelled for 3 months in total with 2 of the same friends the entire time, but multiple friend groups across the trip coming to 10 or so of us in some places. There was a lot going on, and it was a lot of time to spend with friends, but I can hand on heart say that I have no regrets.
There are things about this trip that genuinely changed my brain chemistry. I’ve really come away from it knowing that things just aren’t that deep. Pre-covid, it felt like you had to do well at work and your career and hit milestones at a certain age to feel successful. Thanks to Covid, I genuinely feel that the paradigm has shifted. I’ve come away realising that being happy in and of yourself is so much more important and covid really showed me that my wanderlust needed to be satiated. The world is so big, and it’s important to experience it because there’s so many things that you learn from travel. You need to see the world to widen your perspective and to really face the gravity of the fact that the world is a lot bigger than you. There are so many places rich with culture and history that are so complex. There are so many people to meet, foreign men to have flings with, food to eat and fall in love with, and friends to make. I truly believe that travel is something you spend money on but makes you richer as a person.
Lucky for you, I’ll be summing up some of my trip highlights in travel diaries to come, but I wanted to tell you about some moments from my trip that I think genuinely changed the way I now operate as a human.
I truly believe that travel is something you spend money on but makes you richer as a person.
Santorini Sunset
Santorini is one of those picture perfect destinations. A place that’s on most people’s Europe bucket list. I actually wasn’t that excited to go to Santorini, because I didn’t know if there was much to do there apart from the pretty sights and breathtaking sunsets.
Our accommodation in Santorini was in the Oia village, which is THE postcard picturesque village with the white houses. The accommodation wasn’t cheap but the views provided a tenfold return on investment. Our little sailor villa had a private pool and views onto the caldera with the white houses.
On the first evening of being in Santorini, I sat on the deck of our room, which had breathtaking views across the entire caldera and of people standing all throughout the village trying to secure that sunset shot.
As I sat in Santorini on the first evening with a wine in hand, socialising with our neighbours in the room next door who were newlyweds from New York, I felt so thankful to be able to experience this. Words can’t explain how phenomenal the view was, and I had not a worry in the world. The memories of having to work, deadlines and anything else, were miles away. I had a chance to reflect on who I’ve been, and how far I’ve come in my own personal growth. I feel like I had a eureka moment here due to being given an opportunity to slow down and be grateful for everything that I have in my life, and for what’s to come. I acknowledged that I’ll never be this young, travelling for so long and doing what I want out of my day. The perspective shift had a profoundly positive impact on me by shooting my cortisol levels right down.
Tomorrowland
If you haven’t heard of Tomorrowland, you have clearly been living under a rock. Tomorrowland is one of the best known festivals in the world which is a large-scale annual electronic dance music festival in Boom (a small city in Belgium). I was excited because I loved some of the acts performing, and a 3 day music festival is such a bender and excursion. I thought I may have been a little too old though, so I initially perceived that this would be a one and done; boy was I wrong. I want to go every year for the rest of my life.
It was like an adult disneyland. To say it’s magical is an understatement. The construction for each stage is like a fantasy land and each musician’s set is accompanied with fireworks that are in synergy with the drops. There’s so much food that is delicious and easy to access, it’s so well laid out, and you have reception to TEXT your friends and find them (something that’s unheard of in NZ!). It was hands down, the coolest and best festival I’ve ever been to in my life. And maybe even one of the coolest things in general.
Tomorrowland was not relaxing in the way that Santorini was, but despite how busy it was (and that each day was a 15 hour shift at the festival), it created such an enhanced appreciation for the present moment. Again, the acknowledgment that I’ll never be this age and have the same freedom to travel made me feel fulfilled.
I was ticking off a bucket list item with multiple of my close friends at a beautifully breathtaking festival in Belgium screaming “I need you by my side. We’ll be high on life till the day we die”. That, to me, is the epitome of a core memory and is one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. I still catch myself watching those recordings from the festival in bed and reminiscing.
It also heightened my appreciation for having like minded friends. We are all the type to push through and make the most of the trip even though we aren’t feeling 100%. One of the girls, who the week before had suffered from heatstroke, was standing with us in the mosh pit wrapped in a foil blanket after getting hypothermia from the rain. To me, this cemented that I’d chosen my travel squad wisely by picking those who radiate relentless positivity and don’t morph into a negative nancy as soon as the universe throws you a curveball (to be expected during Euro Summer).
Everything about Tomorrowland; from the Chainsmokers, to the bucketing rain and me in a poncho on the shoulders of a random man I had just met for the entire duration of Dom Dolla’s set, to my shivering foil-wrapped friend bopping away, all contributed to an unforgettable adventure.
Sailing in Hvar
I had so many boat days in Europe (well duh…. It’s Europe summer!) and the Amalfi Coast boat day was another day that really made me feel content with life, but lucky for you there’s a whole piece to come on the Amalfi coast.
This moment is me renting a boat with my two besties in Hvar, which is an epic party island in Croatia.
We paid cash and received a small boat that came with two Croatian skippers who were 18 years old and smoked a pack of darts each in 5 minutes. They were so fun and crazy, and told us all about growing up in Croatia.
They sailed us to gorgeous swim spots where the water was so clear, and in true Mahi fashion, I even got to be the captain for a little bit.
There’s nothing that tops spending a whole day having brews, listening to beats and jumping into the blue ocean with some of your besties.
To top this day off, once parked, we headed to Hula Hula bar in Hvar, which is a must visit beach club that is so popular and gets extremely packed. We met a group of Italian men who were our suppliers of tequila, and partied into the night.
Sziget
This music festival wasn’t one I was as excited for, and apart from the fact that Sziget gave me bronchitis and bacterial sinusitis simultaneously, it exceeded my expectations in other ways.
It felt A LOT more like an NZ festival, and this was definitely shown to be true by the sheer amount of kiwis in the crowd. Everywhere I went, I heard people talking about how they were from Christchurch, or how they recognised that person as being their boyfriend’s ex from Auckland. It really felt like a ‘kiwis take Budapest over’ kind of vibe.
For me, what made this festival a standout was how chaotic it was. It was far more of a messy mosh, and I was here with my friend Alice for the first time in my 3 month travels, who is my best friend of almost 18 years. Being with a mix of some of my closest friends, including a bestie I met at the start of year 7, was such a highlight. This festival felt a lot more messy, indulgent and dirty.
After sleeping at 6:30am every day, we would wake up at 10am all dusty (but never musty….) fully aware of the fact that it was almost time to rinse and repeat.
Not to mention…. Macklemore is maybe one of the coolest performers of all time? Seeing him live performing “Ceiling can’t hold us,” a song which literally shaped my adolescence, was iconic and felt like I’d almost come full circle in a way.
Partying in the Streets at Festa Major Gràcia
I can’t even begin to tell you how much I loved Barcelona (but I try pretty damn hard in an upcoming Chatty piece so keep your eyes peeled).
I’ve said “core memory” a lot in this article, but there’s just something about Barcelona. The whole gang was feeling it. It feels like a less pretentious version of places like Italy (and while I love Italy, I feel like I can just relate to Spain more). I would happily spend lots of time in Spain.
While we were in Spain, there was a street festival called Festa Major Gràcia. This is a festival that takes place every year on the streets of Barcelona between 15th to 21 August (which is the feast day of Virgin Mary, being a public holiday).
What I loved about this festival is that it takes place on the streets of a suburb called Gràcia. It’s organised by the local community there and everyone puts in so much energy, passion and effort to decorate the streets in full style. There are themes for each street and decorations. I saw massive minion themed streets, a bug’s life themed streets, nature themed streets and so on. It is so incredible to walk through each street, buying a 2 euro sangria and just seeing so many decorations and recreations of things.
People are also dancing the night away. It is bloody hot in Barcelona during this time of year but being here dancing amongst locals listening to Spanish music and just full on vibing is such a fun and authentic experience. I thought Barcelona was only scorching during the day, but in fact, the night was just as toasty. I remember it being 2am, sweating my entire face off (I’m sure I was glistening). The atmosphere was electric because of the collective experience of joy. We are all dancing to Spanish beats and the hits of Bad Bunny (Spanish and Latin music has such an irresistible flare) while downing cheap sangria which won’t stop flowing. It felt like a vibrant celebration of life, nestled in the heart of Barcelona.
So...
If you’re looking for a sign to book that Euro 2024 trip, here it is. I can honestly say just taking time for myself and travelling was by far one of the best things I’ve ever done, and it’s only further invigorated the travel bug in me!
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