Blog du Wren

Malta Bene!

A question I get quite often on the topic of travel is "Where is your favorite place you've traveled to?" I always hem and haw on the answer ("Albania was unexpectedly beautiful", "China was the most challenging yet most rewarding", and "Malaysia and Indonesia (excluding Bali) were cheap, not overly touristy, and had wonderful things to see"). Favorite is so unspecific (favorite moment, site, food, event, etc.). But I know it's just meant to be an opening into a conversation, so I've made my peace with it. And now, I feel like I can add Malta to my hemming and hawing.

Malta is awesome, at least for me at this time of year with the itinerary I've stumbled into. (I suspect Malta is quite often awesome, but caveats.) I've had the most lovely week exploring this tiny island nation. As always, I had done very little research beforehand so only vaguely knew what to expect. Luckily, so many of my travel desires were checked that I'm super glad I threw the dart here!

In no particular order, here are some highlights:

Prices here are very reasonable with my hotel rooms (with bathroom) averaging ~€33/night (half of which included a free breakfast!)
Public transportation is awesome, accessing virtually all parts of the country easily, used by locals* and travelers alike, and, again, cheap (€25 for a week unlimited pass)
Plenty of highlight sites (churches, cliffs, historic ruins*, ancient walled cities, salt pans)
Plenty of standard European-style "I can't believe I just stumbled onto this" stuff (statues, plazas, fountains, narrow winding alleys)
The Lower Barrakka Gardens in Valletta blew my mind! It felt straight out of Game of Thrones or something.
The weather has been perfectly ideal, with warm days and cool nights. I can only imagine how hot it gets in the summer, but for now, it's perfect.

Adding to its place on my favorites contender list are some total flukes of coincidence that have only just added to the overall experience. Yesterday, for example, happened to be the feast day for a local saint so there were marching bands, parades, church bells, and fireworks around every turn. Then, this morning on my way to get a geocache (which turned out to be awesome), an old man handed me some delicious mandarins he just picked from his tree. Or on my first night in Victoria, I saw the nightly migration of the sparrows to their roosting trees and then happened to be at the Citadel* for an amazing sunset.

I very much realize that every travel experience I have is unique—a different person, a different time, a different turn on the random corner could lead to a totally different experience. But if you're looking to increase your chances of having a great experience, I'd suggest thinking about Malta in the off season!

(For posterity, continuity, and completeness, I will mention that prior to my spectacular week in Malta, I explored Berlin and Potsdam for 5 days. I enjoyed myself and did what I was supposed to do (see the wall, get a jumping photo, make bad jokes, and take a photo or two), but without this little side trip, I might have come home a little underwelmed. No offense Germany, oh homeland of mine, but try and be more like Malta.)

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speak yer peace