We love the new year. Yes, we understand that time is a human construct and that calendars are especially meaningless for the universe. However, they matter to us. They are a great way to hit pause, look forward and look back. This post is mostly the latter. We’ll be looking back at our 2017, our most memorable experiences and some of the things we learnt. I started the year with a Facebook post (yes, we still use it) about my dream of visiting Kotor. At the time I was wishful thinking, because I felt it would take us a while to actually be able to go… but last Summer we made it, and it was more beautiful than we could’ve dreamt (the picture above is a bit of evidence).
Instead of listing all the places we’ve been in a chronological order, we tried to narrow it down a bit. It was haaaard, there were so many places and moments we wanted to include. We were lucky to spend the year exploring ten different countries, and countless cities. The numbers mindbloggle us because we’ve been so busy with regular-life in the meantime. Nevertheless, it is really not the numbers that count. What counts are the experiences and the moments we will forever cherish.
For a more detailed review of (half of) our year you can check our Summer and Autumn posts. Plus, you can find our favorites here and here.
2017 in Review: The Memories
5 Memorable Moments from our Trips Abroad
Going back to Warsaw, a city that will always be our home
We fell in love with the Polish capital when we lived there for 5 month. We were welcomed back by all the snow. 
Watching the New York Knicks play live
It was such an fun experience! But as we don’t have any good photo, we’ll share this sunset from New York City instead.
Exploring Barcelona by bicycle
We are all for small things that make us feel a tiny bit adventurous.
Meeting the nicest people in the world in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Honestly, there really are amazing people in the planet and we’re glad we get to meet so many as we travel.
Breathing the mountain air in Italy
Snow covered mountains still leave us speechless and climbing them makes us feel extra adventurous.
5 Memorable Moments from our Adventures in Portugal
Driving through these roads near Piódão
Roadtrips are always awesome, but these roads and good company makes them epic.
Kayaking in Gerês
We celebrated our 6-year-anniversary in one of our favorites regions in Portugal and we were so glad to be back.
Traveling with family to Figueira da Foz
When big families are involved, it’s specially hard to schedule vacations, but this trip was a success!
Being astonished by the beauty of the Berlengas’ Islands
100% worth the boat ride, this is a place you need to explore at least once in your life.
Creating new memories in the South of Portugal
Autumn in the South is paradise: the weather is warm, the beaches are empty and the food is delicious.
2017 in Review: The Takeaways
They say time makes you wiser… You may not believe it after you read our rather-obvious lessons. The reality is that we tried to keep them light and honest, instead of overthinking everything. Life can be heavy enough sometimes, so we’re searching for a nice balance between reality and positivity. Here are 5 lessons each of us learnt this year. We are a couple, which means we’re still two different human beings, that’s why there are two lists.
Maria
- Adulthood is almost as scary as it is exciting.
- Doctors don’t know everything, but they still know more.
- My productivity does not increase in the library.
- I am not a morning person, even though I wake up fairly early.
- I literally feel like a fish in the water, even though I still don’t know how to properly swim.
Rui
- How good it is to be a student and have free time.
- How good it is to work and earn some money.
- This is too hard and I am not good at listing simple things I’ve learnt.
- But… the importance of: Executing! And that’s why I’m going to finish this list.
- Lastly, how time goes by faster and faster as years pass by, and that we don’t have time to spend in meaningless things or living other people’s dreams.
Looking forward
Looking forward is important, but it can be tricky when you feel permanently unsatisfied. Our resolutions are more and more ambitious each year, and it’s easy to feel a bit like a failure for not checking every box. Maybe that is why this post is mostly about looking back. We want to remind ourselves that we did use the year for some of the things we love the most: spending time together, exploring the world and learning. 2018 is looking foggy and uncertain, but we hope we’ll be able to do at least the same.
We would love to know more about your year! A memory you will hold forever, something you learned and hope not to forget… or maybe something you want to forget! Let us know in the comments below.
Save this pin for travel inspiration for your year!
