Two is Better Than One: Travel Tips for Couple by Julija & Žiga

Traveling as a couple could be fun, but sometimes it could be dull (especially if you have fight with your partner...😜). This time, I got a chance to squeeze some stories and tips from a couple who I know to travel very frequently, Julija & Žiga.  They will share what are the downsides and upsides and also how to make the most of traveling as a couple! Enjoy!

Please introduce yourself

For all those who do now know us yet, we are Julija and Žiga, two Slovene adventurers, currently pursuing our educational goals here in Vienna, Austria. As Julija was born in Moscow, Russia back in the beginnings of nineties and raised in Slovenia, she has “wanderlust” truly embedded in her soul. Žiga on the other hand is Slovene-born and raised in Maribor (Slovenia), but the life of adventures and unknown was always close to his heart. Despite different origins, we go back a long way, as we have been together for more than 8 years now, and today, on the 27^th of December, it is exactly 100 months since we found a soul mate in each other.

Julija & Žiga in Lake Bled, Slovenia

As the story goes, in the year 2016 Julija just finished her bachelor’s degree in psychology and Žiga was pretty much done with his master’s degree in law, we both came to marvelous conclusion that the only life worth living is exploring and experiencing the world, and there is no better place to start than Vienna, world’s second best city to be. 

Since then we are happily living in Vienna, studying and working in order to get enough to embark on our next adventure.

Why Vienna?

Vienna is, because of its historical role, in its essence, a cultural melting pot, with a soul vibrating with rich past, old interlaced with new, which resonates with progressiveness and future-oriented mindset among people living here. 

Donauinsel, Vienna

Stephansdom, Vienna

Overall, Vienna is a perfect place to spend your creative years of your life. As such, Vienna was (and still is) our dream city for many years and since our studies lined up perfectly, we had the chance to move here together, which was an opportunity that we were unable to ignore.

What is your favorite spot in Vienna?

Our favorite spot in Vienna is definitely Augarten. Viennese locals know that hidden behind its name, Augarten is actually a huge park in the middle of the 2^nd district, with two menacing and abandoned anti-aircraft (flak) towers from World War Two. But for us it is more than history gone bad, and our explanation for that is in essence trifold. 

Source: https://de.wikivoyage.org

First, since it is only 1.5 kilometers away from our flat, it is easily reachable by foot or with bike. Second, it has the perfect size and shape for running, with wide alleys of trees lined up in straight lines, giving ever-important shade in hot summer days. Third, because of its size, it can host many different open-air events (e.g. yoga events) and even when the grass is full in spring (and in summer) with people either having a picnic or doing sports, it still offers everyone enough hidden spots to chill and relax, so you never really feel cramped there.

What is your favorite restaurant/ café/ bar in Vienna?

Our favorite restaurant in Vienna is Natsu Sushi (Gumpendorferstrasse). 

Natsu Sushi, Vienna

Why? The name says it all, because of the cheap and delicious sushi. We are a couple that loves to try out new food. Everywhere we go, we try eat only local dishes, but since our mothers have prepared Schnitzel (Famous Austrian dish) almost every Sunday, it is not really an “Austrian dish” for us, so we avoid it in Vienna (but if you want to try one, you should definitely visit Opern Schnitzel). So, that is pretty much it – we adore sushi and Vienna has many great Japanese restaurants hidden all over the city.

Do you like traveling? And why?

We love traveling! Every time we go somewhere new, we learn a lot about the culture and history of the place. We love to change our environment from time to time and experience a totally different atmosphere. Traveling makes you more open-minded to others and their cultures as you get to experience a vast cultural diversity and everlasting interplay of the past, present and future of every corner of the world. Our favorite way to really get the most out of every trip is to try out the local cuisine and explore the unknown paths. To this we would like to add, that we are neither the “luxurious-resort-tourists” nor the “edgy-hostel-backpackers” – we almost always choose the middle path in between, traveling with a light luggage and staying in simple hotels. 

Julija & Žiga in Thailand

In essence, our travel philosophy is twofold. Firstly, we believe that if you travel far enough you end up meeting yourself, meaning that there is no better way for personal growth and development than traveling and experiencing the vastness of human creativity, be it culture, history, religion or food. And secondly, we do believe that traveling is the best way to embrace the fact that we all share the same planet and this “insight” promotes the idea of global unity and tolerance, which in our opinion is the foundation for the constructive and inclusive future of humankind. 

Which city do you like the most?

It goes without saying that each city has its soul and unique traits, but we almost unanimously agree that our favorite city is Stockholm (capital city of Sweden). 

Julija & Žiga in Stockholm, Sweden

Voted as the “greenest” capital in the world, spread across Nordic archipelago next to the Baltic Sea, it offers a vast possibilities to stay in touch with the nature, even in the strict city center. Minimalistic architecture tastefully blended with old Nordic culture and aristocratic legacy, with livable pace, this city is perfect for those who cater wild and untamed affinity to nature.

Since you are a couple, most of the time you must be traveling together. What are the upsides & downsides traveling together?

The upside is definitely sharing beautiful moments together. Sitting by the laptop, looking at old pictures from different trips around the world and remembering funny details is something we do a lot. That is also why Julija created a blog (Dancing with my cat), where she shares our traveling memories and writes about our experiences while traveling in attempt to help others when planning their next trip to the destination unknown. Life is defined by moments, and sharing those crazy travel moments with the person you hold dear, your soulmate, is priceless and truly unforgettable. So, this is definitely a huge upside and the best thing about this is that it can be also achieved if you travel with your friends or family.

Another upside is definitely the lower cost of travel compared to solo travelers. As a couple, we can share many things, like a bed in a hotel room, food, water bottle, personal hygiene, medication, travel books, etc., so we can save money on such things. But in comparison to travel groups of four or five, traveling in a couple can still be more expensive. But (another “but”), you are more flexible when traveling only with your partner, which is another upside. Only you and your partner decide where to go, when to eat or sleep, so it is easier to be more spontaneous on the trip, since there is only two of you.

When it comes to possible downsides, as we are two (physically) separate persons and everyone has his own needs, the wishes and expectations for the trip can differ. We are usually always in sync, because our lifestyles and travel expectations are pretty similar, so we almost never face any problems when being together. If we do, we solve them quickly, considering both sides and meeting each other in the middle, looking at what is the best for us both.

Do you have any tips for traveling as a couple?

Every couple has their own traveling style, so do not take everything written down below as step-by-step rule. If you are traveling with your partner or a friend as a pair for the first time, you should consider sitting down before the trip and talk not only about the itinerary, but also about your usual traveling style, your requests, concerns and expectations of traveling in a pair. Common pitfall of this “traveling style” is that a lot of people simply decide to travel together and face problems later on in between the trip or vacation, most commonly in a form of misunderstandings, different expectations and mindsets. So always clear those things up right at the beginning and build your trip together with your partner in “adventure-crime”.

We would recommend you one trick of ours – when packing, take only one shampoo bottle, one tooth paste, one hair spray, one disinfectant, one sunscreen etc. for both (preferably in smaller containers) for lighter traveling. But two tooth brushes! When traveling, one should carry all tickets and reservation print-outs. That way, you will have more overview. 

Also, we would definitely advise you to split the money and documents, so if anything goes wrong, you will not end up completely bare (money or document-wise). I guess, this goes well along with the saying “don’t carry all your eggs in one basket” and having a travel buddy definitely makes it easier to split those eggs in more baskets.

Another little trick, which can be used by anyone, not only couple travelers, is to pull out your student card (if you are still a student) everywhere. You will probably get a discount, since many museums and sights support young travelers.

Traveling as a couple can be the most enjoying way to travel – as a woman, you feel more secure next to your man and as a man, you know you will never go out of snacks and water or get lost next to your woman. Your partner is also a very warm and soft pillow, when it comes to sleeping on trips, so try out new poses. This being said, if done right, traveling as a couple is one the best ways to strengthen the relationship between the two of you, therefore we would definitely recommend it.

Describe your traveling style in 3 words

Adventurous, curious & unique.

Julija & Žiga in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

3 things that you must bring during traveling

A good DSLR camera, water bottle and a smartphone.

***

So those are some sweet interesting stories and tips from Julija & Žiga for traveling as a couple. Since most of the times I traveled by myself, I could say that it is true that traveling as couple tend to be safer (especially for woman), as Julija and Žiga described. When I traveled to a country with completely new environment and culture in another continent like for example Morocco, having a partner would be very helpful for me at that time. 

So thank you for sharing these informations with us, Julija & Žiga! 

If you want to know more about their stories, you could visit Julija's blog: Dancing with my cat.

See you again in another article!

B,

Vienna, May 7^th, 2018