From Visiting New Countries to Barely Being Able to Walk in Your Neighborhood -How Has Tourist Life Changed due to the Pandemic?

Everybody has suffered some sort of loss during the lockdown period that is redefining itself each day. While some of us have lost someone they hold dear, others have acutely felt loss of freedom and the most critical aspect wa sthe freedom to move.

For some, including myself, traveling to foreign countries and visiting new places is one of the biggest pleasures in life.

I don't exaggerate by calling it a pleasure as it is more than a mere hobby. It is a rason to struggle working for 10 hours a day plus some extra hours at the weekend, in a low income country liek Romania, to be able to afford a city brake 2 or 3 times a year.

However, with the current lockdown, the joy of traveling, just like many other simple pleasures, has been put on hold while governments have tried to contain the spread of the virus.

While many states have already granted their citizens some level of freedom to move in their country, it is yet unclear when travelling abroad will be once again allowed.

Until then, I will try to put money aside as much as posible and, hopefully, by autumn, I will be able to go on a trip somewhere in Europe.

In the meanwhile, instead of visiting new cities, I have recently taken up the hobby of visiting new streets and admiring the historic buildings in my neighborhood. It is nothing compared to the pleasure of travelling abroad, but at least it offers some sort of placebo effect.

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