Zandra's VirtualTourist Home Page

Hy there!
My name's Sandra, I'm from Sweden, 28 years old, and just like the rest of you, I also love to travel!

I grew up in a small town in the very north of Sweden, close to the Finnish border. As a child I did not travel particularly much, instead I spent plenty of time in our summer cottage, located on a small island in the Torne River (the river that divides Sweden from Finland). This picture was taken from the porch of our summer cottage. The last ten years of my life, I've lived in several different Swedish cities as well as abroad. Presently I'm living in Gothenburg (Bohus), which is located on the Swedish west coast.

For as long as I can remember, I've been interested in getting to know the unknown. I guess it all started when I was about 5 or 6. That's when my grandpa did a big tour of the U.S. and China. He came back with lots of pictures, souvenirs and above all, fascinating stories about the places he had visited and the people he had met. As a child, my favorite school subject was geography, later that turned into languages (I've studied, English, German, Spanish and Latin), and finally during my university studies, I chose behavioral science and focused on ethnicity and ethnic relations.

My first trip abroad was to the Dominican Republic. As you can imagine, experiencing those white beaches, the blue-turquoise water, the friendly inhabitants, the great sea food etc., made me crave for more. After this first trip in 1990, I've visited a few more countries, and I've also had the privilege to live abroad (in the U.S. and Germany). But there are still so many more places to go and so many more things to do & to see. If I've would only have the time and the money... I've gone west most of the time, and never really been to the east. Therefore I dream about traveling to Asia and I'd love to visit Thailand, Malaysia and China, but also Australia, the Maldives and South Africa are other dream destinations of mine.

There are many things that fascinate me and I enjoy while traveling, like meeting new people, trying out the local specialties, having a look at old buildings, but there is one thing I value more than anything else... This is beautiful nature. Nothing beats dramatic scenery and breathtaking views of extraordinary landscapes!!!

One cool thing about traveling is when you get lost. I don't freak out, rather I think of it as a great experience. Usually you get to see some really unique things, things that have not been listed in any guide book. My fondest memory is when me and my fiancé on the way up to Lassen National Park in CA, tried to take a shortcut and got lost on narrow roads up in the woods for hours... We repeated this "mistake" on Corfu, Greece and ended up in a small picturesque village in the middle of nowhere. I also love getting lost in cities; it's so much fun to stroll around on small streets far away from the tourist areas. Try it!

Happy travels!
:-) Sandra