Dreams Involving Travel

I once read that dreams are messages from yourself to yourself, and only you can interpret the special meaning to your dreams.

From Symbols of dreams involving travel:

“All dreams involving travel boil down to one thing: a wish to leave your current situation.”

Yesterday I browsed through my dream diary. I wonder whether my dreams from other countries are premonition dreams that predict events, the places I want to visit in the future, or simply a result of things I’ve read about/seen in the past. Time will tell. Until then I decided to write down all the travel dreams I’ve had (while sleeping). Whenever I have a new dream involving travel I’ll update this post.

So far I’ve dreamt about:

Sweden

• A windy summers day in Halmstad. I’m with my grandmother and her friend somewhere near the sea.
• Visiting my cousin who lives on the countryside in the region of Västergötland. I ask her what she thinks about waking up in the morning when everything is still, quiet, the air is fresh, and you can hear the birds. I tell her I love cities, but also empty places, clean air and peaceful surroundings.
• My sister and I at a train station. We hop on the next train to Gothenburg and sit down on a comfortable seat in the first wagon.
• I walk through central Stockholm a warm, sunny spring day together with two small girls (perhaps four and six years old). Since it’s very crowded, I hold the oldest girl’s hand and tell her to grab her sister’s hand so we don’t lose sight of each other.
• On my way home to the apartment I own in central Stockholm. Happy that I finally own my own place.
• Living in Malmö.
• Running along a coastal road towards Halmstad. High waves. Can see Solgården in Tylösand.
• In Gothenburg, near Götplatsen. Winter. Late afternoon. Want to go to Emmaus second hand store and buy some new clothes.

London, UK

• Meeting some friends in Finsbury Park in North London.
• Sitting in the school cafeteria at a college outside London with a couple of friends.
• Waiting for the tube with a friend, his girlfriend and someone I don’t know. Even though I enjoy their company, I’d prefer to explore London on my own.
• Have gotten an au-pair job in central London. The family’s house is located in such a quiet and green area it feels like the countryside.
• Somewhere in London, about to visit a friend who lives by the coast.
• Walking along Notting Hill Gate, not far from where I lived in real life.
• New Year’s Eve. On my way to a hotel. Because of the darkness and rain, I don’t realize I’m in London until I see Park Lane. Catch a cab and reach my hotel within minutes.
• Looking for an apartment with a friend.
• Somewhere in London, thinking about writing an article on different markets.
• Arriving with a flight in a London area near Notting Hill I don’t recognize. Parking garage near a roundabout and an elegant park. Want to go to a health food shop along a street I used to like. Don’t know how to get there. I try asking a man for directions but my mind can’t remember the street name. Continue on my own, end up somewhere else. Feel disappointed I didn’t find the shop before the plane departs.

Ireland

• In a Dublin market on a Sunday. Read a piece about record stores and try to memorize the street names where they’re located. Chat with a Dubliner who offers to drive me to a nearby record store for 100 quid.

Paris, France

• Sitting in a theater with two girls, about five and seven years old. When the performance is over, I lift the youngest girl and hold the oldest in her hand until we’re out in the fresh air. We walk along a street in central Paris. I don’t know where I am going, but I know that I’m home.
• Sitting in a crowded train wagon. Look at the metro map and read the names of the different stops in French.
• Rent room in a yellow house in Paris. (About to start a new school.) Two floors. Large living room. Dark brown/plum long sofas. Spacy kitchen. High windows. View of a garden and lush green fields. Low trees. A vineyard. Possibly a lake. Sunshine. Near central Paris, yet close to nature. Long dining table. People eating breakfast. Later, I stand in the middle of the living room, alone, admiring the space. I say wow to myself several times. This is the most beautiful house I have ever seen.
• In a clothing store. Possibly in Paris, or elsewhere in France. Talk with a man in French regarding an order of a dress.
• Outside a falafel restaurant in Paris. A Louis Vuitton store next door. Go inside and order.

Austria

• Skiing holiday with a couple of friends. After a day on the slopes I stop by a bakery in the center of the village where I have a conversation with the owner.

Brussels, Belgium

• Walking through a neighborhood in central Brussels.

Zurich, Switzerland

• On a road trip with some friends, on my way to Zurich.

Italy

• On a city tour in Venice. I walk on the roof tops, far from the ground, and admire the beautiful view. Our tour guide tells me to be careful not to fall.
• Driving a train along a rail line towards Rome. Look at a map and estimate we’ll arrive in a few hours.

Santorini

• At a party on some island. Catch sight on a cute guy on a small ship nearby. He asks if I want to accompany him on the ship. I assume it’s only for a ride around the island, say yes and go to meet the other crew members. When the ship finally reaches land, I ask where we are.  Turns out we’re in Santorini and will not return to the other island until several months.

Spain

• Photographer based in Spain. Going well.

Somewhere in the US

• Sitting on a train on my way to Miami.

New York City

• A sunny, rainy spring day in East Village. Walk out from a four-star hotel with a black umbrella in my hand. Can’t stop smiling.
• Walk through mid Manhattan with my sister. Need to go back to my apartment, so we part ways.
• In a summer cottage in Sweden with my sister, but when I look out the window I see the skyline of New York City. Incredibly beautiful.
• A sunny day. I ride a helicopter over New York. First, we fly just above the roof tops, then higher and higher until I can’t even discern the skyscrapers.
• Early morning somewhere on Manhattan. 23. Sit on my knees on the floor of a spacious loft. Play guitar. Sing. The sun streams through the tall windows.
• A friend and I, dressed in summer clothes, cross a street somewhere near Times Square. Foggy, rainy weather, yet warm.  Wonder why people around us wear autumn/winter clothes in summer.

Portland

• Visit a beach in Portland. Board a small sailing boat and look out over the ocean.

Los Angeles

• A friend of mine who lives in Agoura Hills invites me to stay at her place until I find my something of my own in LA. Next day, I sit in a train station in central LA reading a book. A guy sits down next to me.

“Are you ok?”

“Yes.”

“Are you lost?”

“No, not at all.”

• Look at ads with pictures and descriptions of different houses with swimming pools in and around LA (including Arizona).
• A thirty something guy bikes to Venice Beach. He puts his bike against a fence facing the water and heads to a friend who sits nearby outside a light blue house. Look at them from a short distance. The sand on the beach is soft and white, the ocean invitingly clear blue.

Pittsburgh

• In a central hotel with mom and my sister. I do yoga in the reception hall while we wait to check in.

Mexico City

• On the platform of one of Mexico City’s metro stations with a couple of friends. As people rush by us on their way to the trains, we look at the signs to find the right direction to the street.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

• Walk alone through Buenos Aires.

Uruguay

• Very unclear dream, barely remember anything, but I know I’m in Uruguay.

Chile

• Fly over Chile. Closer to the ground I realize it’s only an extremely large map of South America, and that I’m about to land in Chile.

Hanoi, Vietnam

• A Dream About Hanoi. I see a sign saying ‘Hanoi’, that’s how I know.

Thailand

• An old classmate of mine drives a motor boat, I sit in the back. Clear-blue sky above, the ocean in front of us. Get tears in my eyes because of the beautiful view.
• Walk somewhere in Bangkok, have lived in the city for quite a long time, and really enjoy it there.

India

• (August, 2010) Visiting India. I see a sign that says Jangpur, or Jaipur.
• Scenes in rapid speed from somewhere in India. Travel super fast by boat along a river in a city. Young and old faces. Colourful, loud streetlife.
• (January, 2011) Look for a flight ticket online to Goa and find some really cheap options.
• In India. Say to a friend I’m going to Natum. Have no idea what this means.
• In a bus in India, heading north.
• (August, 2011) On a street in India. Somewhat chaotic. Cars, buses, rickshaws, pedestrians… In the south of the country, aiming to head north.

The Maldives

• In Photo of the Week: Quiet Life I wrote about the dream I had in the Maldives.

Pakistan

• See a beautiful woman clad in a long dress. She walks out from an apartment building and hurries down the street, as if she’s late to an important meeting.
• Walk with a girl along a street called Lahore street. A boy working for a radio station is about to interview us about something. I’m not sure if I want to answer since I’d speak in English and not in Urdu like the others.

Iran

• On a flight to Iran. Realize it’s not my destination and get off the plane.

Iraq

• In a deserted city after the bombings. My friend and I can’t hear a soul. Feel unsafe; we have to get out of there as soon as possible.

United Arab Emirates

• In Dubai, and possibly Abu Dhabi.
• In the Middle East, possibly Dubai, may have visited Jerusalem. Look at a map, think how easy it is to travel, and consider the quickest way to Lahore.

Egypt

• In Egypt with my sister. For some reason we plan to walk from Egypt to Abu Dhabi.

Sydney, Australia

• Enjoy the sunny weather during a stroll along Sydney Harbour.

North Africa

• Walk in the desert with some friends. When my friend asks where we are I say “Southeast Asia” even though we’re in North Africa.

Uganda

• Have climbed a tree somewhere in Uganda (or perhaps Rwanda). Sit on a twig chatting with a gorilla and his son. The gorilla makes jokes and I can’t help but laugh.

Mongolia, Russia, France

• My sister, a friend and I run along a dirt road in Mongolia. We jump on the pick-up truck of our friend’s dad. He drives pretty fast. Take a seat opposite two Mongolian siblings, a brother and a sister, probably around seven and nine. When our friend’s dad stops in the next village to let the kids off, my sister gives a $50 note to the brother. He gets tears in his eyes. At the border control to Russia our friend’s dad tells us to stay quiet, so we can pass without any problems. Eventually reach France. My sister and I wanted to end up in Nice, but for some reason they can’t drive us any further. We get off and decide to catch a bus to the coast.

Unknown destinations

• In a taxi somewhere. Talk to the foreign taxi driver. “Where are we going?” I ask. He looks at me, smiles, and says, “Kundun.”

Destinations I’ve seen or heard about in dreams but not visited, or destinations I’ve talked about

• I spell out AFGHANISTAN.
• I read about an eco tree lodge in Tanzania, perhaps Lake Manyara Tree Lodge.
• I read about a luxury hotel in Las Vegas, possibly Wynn Las Vegas.
• I read about a luxury hotel in Dubai.
• Inside somewhere, say to a guy nearby:“I want to travel from somewhere in Europe toward Asia.”
• Saying France over and over again, and later mention the United Arab Emirates.

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While sleeping, what travel dreams have you had?