Why travel matters (to me): More than just miles

Travel isn’t just about hopping on a plane or checking places off a bucket list. For me, it’s about something much deeper. It’s about growing, connecting, letting go of old ways of thinking – and gently remembering who I really am, beyond the routine of everyday life.

I was born into a beautifully layered story. My parents immigrated from Hercegovina to Germany, and I grew up in a world that was anything but one-dimensional. From kindergarten through university, I was surrounded by different cultures, languages, religions, and perspectives. The Germany I know has always been a kind of mosaic, a place where stories from all over the world come together. That experience shaped me. It planted a deep curiosity in me to understand not just where I come from, but where others do, too.

Travel, in that sense, doesn’t feel like leaving home – it feels like rediscovering it, in pieces, in reflections, in (un)expected places.

Culture is in the details

One of the most beautiful lessons travel teaches is that culture lives in the smallest things. Like in Saudi Arabia, where I was kindly taught to pour coffee or tea with my right hand. I hadn’t realized that using your left hand can be seen as disrespectful in many Arab cultures. No one scolded me, obviously. It was more like a warm, gentle teaching – offered with genuine hospitality and it really stayed with me.

Since then, I’ve tried to be more intentional. Not just about gestures, but about how I carry myself in unfamiliar spaces. Those little moments remind me that true respect often lives in things we might overlook. It’s about being present enough to notice and humble enough to learn.

Then there was Mexico, an experience that still sits deep in my heart. I spent a few days living with a Mayan community in the jungle near Tulum. And when I say “living,” I mean living – we slept in hammocks, woke up with the sun, cooked over open fires, and drank coconuts straight off the tree (cut open with a machete, obviously), walked through the jungle with a massive mosquito attack. There was no internet, no rush, no noise. Just nature, community, and simplicity. I engaged in so many interesting conversations, learned about a different way of life for the young and old.

I’ll definitely write a full post about that adventure soon because it was truly special. But what stayed with me most was this quiet, powerful reminder: there’s so much joy in a life that isn’t always chasing more. I’m so grateful I got to experience that, even if just for a few days.

From outsider to insider

Travel has this way of softening you I’d say… of reminding you just how much you don’t know. And weirdly, that’s one of the things I love most about it.

Whether dancing with the Maasai in Kenya, sitting in silence in a temple, or wandering through the dreamy backstreets of a tiny French village, I try to show up not as a tourist, but as a guest. I’ve learned to listen before I speak. To ask questions. To witness traditions not with curiosity alone, but with care and respect.

And honestly? The most meaningful connections often don’t happen during the “planned” parts. They happen in the seemingly less meaningful moments. Over a meal. In a smile that bridges a language barrier. In a shared glance that says, “We’re different, but I see you.”

A responsibility, not just a right

Being able to travel is a privilege I’m deeply aware of. But I also see it as a responsibility – to walk gently, to learn respectfully and to contribute rather than consume.

I try to support local businesses and tread lightly in the environments I pass through. I know I’m a guest and I try to act like one. More than anything, I travel to be changed – not to change the places I visit.

For me, travel isn’t about escape – it’s about expansion. Every journey I take opens me up just a little more. It reminds me that identity is layered, connection is sacred, and that there’s always more to learn. It keeps me open, keeps me grounded, and keeps me growing.

Working as a Communications Manager in Formula 1, I’m incredibly grateful to have a job that lets me live this passion for travel so fully. It takes me across borders and time zones, into some of the most intense and inspiring environments in the world. One moment I’m coordinating interviews trackside in Melbourne, the next I’m storytelling in the heart of Mexico City, or navigating the season-end paddock in Abu Dhabi. It’s fast. It’s demanding. But it’s also deeply human. Because behind every race and every headline, there are people – each with their own culture, language, and personality. And through it all, I get to witness how connection transcends borders, speed and even words.

Each trip, whether it’s for work or just for me, adds something new – sometimes something subtle, sometimes something that might shift everything. But always something real.

And that’s why travel will always matter to me. Not just as a passion, but as a way of being. A way of staying curious, grounded, and connected to the world – and to myself.