“Memories are made of this…” once Dean Martin sang in one of his hit songs. What do you take home as memories from your travels? Most importantly, there are of course the memories in your mind. And then there are things that remind you of your travel experiences: fotos, gifts, probably food, and memorabilia.
I am not talking about the cheap stuff that you feel urged to buy, bring home, worry about excess luggage, and then let it rot for years in a remote drawer. My mom calls them “dust catchers”. Instead, I am talking about things you can use, you can see, that have value and that give you a lasting bond with the trip.
The Terracotta army in X’ian, China, was one of my most impressive and mystical visits. They claim that this statue, that I bought there, is made of the same clay from the original quarry on the site.
An old telephone from the turn of the 19th to the 20th century I bought at Portobello market, Notthing Hill, London. It is my favorte antiques market and this memorabilia will always remind me of this special place.
This chessboard – the figures made of camel bone – will always remind me of my trip to Egypt in December 1990. It was at a time after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuweit and there was a 3 month deadline / ceasefire from the US before the Gulf war started. That’s when I went, we were the only guests in the hotel in Luxor.
One of my most appreciated kitchen tools: an original, forged Santoku knife. I bought it at the famous old Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo. Before the guy handed it over to me, he sharpened it on different stones for about 40 minutes.
This special Czech China bone tableware – a whole service of more than 50 pieces – I bought right after the fall of the iron curtain and had to “smuggle” it across the border. It is called the “Onion pattern”.
My ultimate memorabilia from my pilgrimage to the “Woodstock of Capitalsts”, the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting (see blog): Investment legends Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger as rubber ducks. Vintage edition, of course.
Wherever I go, I get one or two magnets from the place. When I open my fridge door, I get increasingly worried that some day it may break und the heavy weight of my magnet collection. They are also an indicator of the price level of a place: I have bought magnets from under 1 $ a piece (Cambodia) right up to 7 $ (Switzerland).
