It took me awhile to find the words to express how I felt about travel. And it made sence once I realized two of the three words weren’t even in English. To be fair I know homesickness is an English word but heimweh just describes the pain of it better than “homesickness”.
For me traveling is an exciting time. It’s an opportunity to see more of the world, experience new cultures, customs, eat different foods and of course meet new people.
But before any of that can happen I go through what feels like each of these emotional modes of travel.
Fernweh
Farsickeness or a longing for distant places, a yearning for travel
Heimweh
Homesickness
Wanderlust
a strong desire to wander or travel and explore the world
Fernweh - The Farsickness
The first feeling I tend to get even before a destination appears in my mind is fernweh. My heart cries out for a place I may have never been before. It’s this yearning that typically informs me I should be looking for a place to go and something new to see.
Before 2016, I would have said it was always somewhere I had never been before. In recent years my fernweh has been for Western Europe. I have not been since before Covid 19 shut the world down.
Hopefully I will return soon.
Wanderlust- The Desire To Travel About
The fernweh gives way to wanderlust. This optimistic state were that grief to travel becomes the powerhouse and energy for combustion.
Wanderlust empowers me to look up itineraries, read destination guides and watch videos/documentaries/instagram reels for inspiration.
Wanderlust empowers me even when fear of the unknown might try to stop me. Which is more important I have to ask, my fear or my desire to see the world for myself?
These days I wish to wander back to Alaska, but in the fall to see the Northern Lights.
Heimweh- Homesickness
Just as fernweh transformed into wanderlust, so too does wanderlust become heimweh. After the exploring is done, the tour has ended and the trip comes to an end it is time to return home. Homesickness reminds me that I have somewhere to get back to. A people, a place, a life that is awaiting in my ordinary world.
As fun as it is to explore and see through the power of wanderlust and plan to explore using fernweh. It is heimweh that reminds me of the ordinary world awaiting me at home.
How about you? Have you ever experienced any of these feelings while traveling?
I’d love to hear about it in the comments.