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Zusammenfassung von The Art of Travel

Name: The Art of Travel
Rating: 4.1 (90 reviews)
Author: Alain De Botton

Alain De Botton

Learn how to get the most out of your next travel adventure

4.1 (90 Bewertungen)

22 Min.

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The Art of Travel
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What’s in it for me? Learn how to get the most out of your next travel adventure.

When you’re stuck in the office, finishing up yet another stressful day at work, you’ve doubtless fantasized about being somewhere else – in a hammock, perhaps, sipping a margarita and listening to the gentle crash of turquoise waves against fine, white sandy beaches.

Fantasizing about tropical islands is common enough – almost as common as the feeling of disappointment that such islands often inspire in real life. Instead of pristine beaches and relaxation, a trip to the tropics often means crowds, mosquitoes and sunburn. Indeed, the idea of travel is usually a great deal more enjoyable than the reality of it.

But, as these blinks explain, it doesn’t have to be this way.

By taking greater pleasure in little things, be it the miracle of air travel or the beauty of nature, we can find more enjoyment in our travels. From tips on how to appreciate the details of the things around you to reassuring anecdotes about the adventures (and misadventures) of past travelers, these blinks will give you a philosophical perspective on an activity, the enjoyability of which is often taken for granted.

You’ll also learn

how Britain became an exciting travel destination;
which art critic recommends “word painting”; and
why you should appreciate clouds.

Dreams of travel are often quite different from actual trips, in part because you can't travel away from yourself.

Human life is often one long quest for happiness, and the means to this often elusive end are myriad. Some turn to money; others, to love. Still others seek happiness and meaning in travel.

But the reality of travel often has little in common with the vague fantasies that first inspire one to hit the road, a disparity that’s nicely captured in A Rebours, a French novel written by Joris-Karl Huysmans in 1884.

The book’s protagonist, the Duke of Esseintes, is a recluse and a misanthrope; he despises the society of his local village and spends his days holed up in his room, reading classic literature.

But his reading inspires him to reenter the world. The duke reads Charles Dickens, whose vivid descriptions of foggy London fill him with a longing to see the famous city. Soon, he packs his bags and sets forth.

While still in Paris, to kill time before his train leaves for the first leg of the trip to London, the protagonist enters an English bookstore and purchases a London guidebook. Still full of his London enthusiasm, he then goes to an English tavern, teeming with swarthy British maids and smelling of beer and meat.

But all this premature Britishness takes the wind out of the duke’s sails. When the time comes to board the train to London, he is utterly worn out. So, instead of facing the inconveniences of train travel – dashing to the station, finding a porter, sleeping in a compartment, standing in lines – he returns home, never to embark on another journey again for the rest of his days.

The disappointments of travel certainly aren’t limited to fiction, and they affect people in the twenty-first century as much as they did those in the nineteenth.

For starters, travel isn’t the best way to escape from your problems, because wherever you go – well, there you’ll be.

The author once went to Barbados. He’d been looking forward to an escape from his day-to-day routine, some time to relax and release. But when he got there, he couldn’t simply relax and enjoy the gorgeous scenery or the scrumptious fresh fruit; rather, he felt melancholic and anxious, just as he had back home in London.

Actual travel is usually far less glamorous than the dreams one has of it. But traveling still has a world of wonders to reveal – it’s just about adjusting our modern approach to it.

Air travel can amaze us, shift our perspective and teach us to appreciate clouds.

Charles Baudelaire, the nineteenth-century French poet, greatly admired large ships. He found it fantastic and delightful that such a bulky craft could breeze, with swiftness and efficiency, from one continent to another.

The frigates and steamships of centuries past may be impressive enough, but modern means of transportation are even more mind-boggling.

Exoticism, which promises an escape from the drudgery of home, draws us to travel.

Once, the author went to Amsterdam. Though not exactly a far-flung travel destination, the city was, for the author, undeniably foreign. He found himself delighting in seemingly mundane things, such as the signs at the airport. The Dutch language’s double vowels and the unfamiliar fonts provided confirmation of an exciting fact: the author was in a strange land – a place that, to him, was exotic.

The urge to discover unfamiliar cultures has long lured travelers abroad. And one of the promises held out by these cultures – namely, an escape from the familiar drudgery of the day-to-day – inheres in the umbrella term exoticism.

Travel used to be about exploration, but modern travelers must learn to ask questions.

Once, while visiting Madrid, the author was suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling of lassitude. He took to his bed, where he would have remained had the hotel’s cleaning lady not repeatedly interrupted his sleep. In the end, he decided that he might as well go look at the city.

The aimless fatigue that drove the author to seek refuge in his bed is a rather common symptom of travel; however, it’s also a rather new one.

Vacations often involve nature, the beneficial effects of which we can learn to prolong.

William Wordsworth, the British Romantic poet, was a vehement critic of city life. The pollution, the traffic, the unsightly buildings – these things, he believed, could have nothing but a detrimental effect on one’s inner well-being.

Many would agree with Wordsworth today. So it’s no surprise that people often choose to vacation in the natural world, where they can heal and relax.

Nature’s beauty can inspire spiritual feelings, and the Bible encourages contemplating it.

Gorgeous natural landscapes often appear to have been constructed by some great and incomprehensible force, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that the natural world often inspires deep spiritual feelings.

The author certainly felt inklings of a divine presence while traveling in Egypt and exploring the mountains of southern Sinai. The deep canyons and valleys and the towering granite mountains, all more than 400 million years old, were undeniably awe-inspiring.

Art can deepen our appreciation of landscapes, both foreign and domestic.

If Vincent van Gogh had never picked up a paintbrush and palette and committed to canvas scenes from Provence, France, the author probably wouldn’t have ever traveled there.

Many people have had similar experiences – only longing to see Spain after watching the films of Pedro Almodóvar or only developing an enthusiasm for highway overpasses after looking at the photography of Andreas Gursky.

Drawing and writing can focus our attention when we’re traveling.

Have you ever observed the habits of tourists? They tend to spend little time actually looking at historic monuments or breathtaking landscapes; rather, with a camera or phone, they snap a few photos and move abruptly on to the next mandatory sight.

But, if one doesn’t take the time to truly observe things, what is the point of travel?

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Worum geht es in The Art of Travel?

The Art of Travel (2002) is an unorthodox guide to traveling. Unlike conventional travel guides, Alain de Botton’s book is more of a philosophical globe-trotter’s handbook, exploring the reasons behind our urge to discover new places and offering some general tips for making travel more enjoyable.

Bestes Zitat aus The Art of Travel

It seems we may best be able to inhabit a place when we are not faced with the additional challenge of having to be there.

—Alain De Botton

Wer The Art of Travel lesen sollte

Avid travelers
Culture vultures
Aspiring authors and freelance journalists eager to work while on the move

Über den Autor

Alain de Botton is a philosopher of the everyday. The author of numerous best-selling books, he’s tackled subjects from love to architecture, and from Proust to travel. He is also a cofounder of The School of Life, a London-based institution that strives to develop new forms of education.

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