Hello and very welcome !
I’m Jirka, an ordinary guy with an extraordinary life. A guy who likes to step out of the comfort zone.
I’m glad you’ve run into my travel blog The Journey Is The Goal and I really appreciate you stopping by! I think the name speaks for itself. Everyone’s life is a journey, and the journey is the goal. It’s only up to us what journey we choose. Through this blog, I would like to share my travel stories full of travel experience and experiences, give you some travel tips and inspiration, and above all, perhaps give you a little kick in the butt and encourage you to dare to travel, because traveling does impact your life in many nice ways. Enjoy your stay!
Meet Jirka
I believe that the real life begins at the end of the comfort zone
Hello, I’m Jirka, nice to meet you. Actually, my official name is Jiří (yes with the special Czech thingy above), but I will make it easier for you – just call me Jirka. That’s what we use in Czech anyway. I’m a Czech guy who loves traveling, getting to know new places, new people and trying new things. I enjoy doing things differently and stereotype with boredom are my two biggest enemies.
I’m originally from the Czech Republic (Czechia if you wish) – yep, the exact middle of Europe we say. I was born and grew up in a small town located to the east of the country, pretty close to 3rd biggest city of the Czech Republic – Ostrava. However, after one year of studying in Gent, Belgium, and two and a half years spent in Budapest, Hungary, I realized that I could never live there again.
<< Read the whole story >>
Studying in Belgium has changed my life: I discovered my passion
In the very last moment, in the last year of my studies at university, I finally dared enough and decided to leave the country to study abroad. It was a real challenge, I was a little worried but excited at the same time. This step out of my comfort zone later turned out to be the best decision I ever did in my life. This decision has changed my life. I spent the last two semesters of my studies as an Erasmus student in Belgium, in a student city of Gent (Ghent).
You can read about my experience from Gent on my travel blog
The ten months long Erasmus stay in Gent was a great experience for me, not only because I could enjoy fully my student life, as well as have awesome experiences, but mainly because I could travel, made friends from around the world, and suddenly started to see things differently. Till then, I had just been living in sort of a bubble, not knowing anything about the life and the world out there. I found out that there are nice people and so much to discover out there.
After coming back to my home town and finishing my studies, I felt…strange. I felt different. Nothing was like before suddenly. I experienced ten amazing months, but when I came back to my home town it felt like the time had stopped there. It took me a few months to realize that my life could never be the same anymore. I was missing traveling, I was missing meeting new people and trying new things. I felt like my life just ended, and thus decided to go for a new adventure and move abroad again.
I found a job offer for Czech speakers on the Internet and before I even realized, I found myself in the capital of Hungary – Budapest. Just with my suitcase. I had never been there before, didn’t know the language, didn’t know anyone over there, didn’t have a place to sleep, and actually didn’t have a job contract signed, either. This is what I call adventure 🙂 The short-term escape from my home town turned into two and a half years of a great time of my life.
You can read about my experience from Budapest on my travel blog
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Traveling opens both my eyes and my mind, brings me life experience and unforgettable experiences. Plus, you never know who you can meet and where they can take you. The purpose of my travel blog is to show you beauties of the Earth and share with you some travel stories, give you useful information and personal tips that will help you overcome the travel fears, doubts and prejudices, and encourage you to travel (more).
If you would like to know more about myself and my interests, or have an idea for a cooperation, I would encourage you to visit my personal website at Jirka-Svoboda.com. I’m open to many things so feel free to get in touch with me via any of the websites.
Places visited
My Next Itinerary
Visited countries
Destinations
I’ve been to 41 countries.