Recalling unforgettable journeys during COVID-19

To one day go to Africa! In 2018 I fulfilled this dream and traveled alone to Cape Town. My highlight was a 5-day tour along the Garden Route. On safari I experienced South Africa's "Big Five," hiked through the Tsitsikamma National Park, climbed through the narrow corridors of the Cango Caves and walked with elephants. (Nicole Meißner)

A horseback riding and discovery tour led me to Iceland in 2013. An unforgettable experience. The rugged landscape with its volcanoes, geysers, waterfalls and hot springs is like a fairytale world. No wonder that some Icelandic people believe in fairies. Doesn't this rock look like a troll? It is called Hraunkarl and can be found in a lava field in the west of Iceland. (Elisabeth Yorck)

There isn't just one journey for me that's outstanding. Every trip is special, and I remember them all fondly. My favorite place to travel is Latin America. I love the people there, the mostly relaxed atmosphere and the exciting nature. The picture shows me on the Vinicunca (also known as "Rainbow Mountain") in Peru — at 5,200 m (17,060 ft.) altitude! (Lukas Stege)

I remember a family boat tour from 2009 in Hessen that turned into a great adventure. We covered 35 kilometers in three days on the Weser tributary. On the first day we already had to mend my nephew Valentin's (photo) self-built foldable boat, pierced by a stone. But we mostly marveled at the untouched wilderness offered by the Diemel valley, right in the middle of Germany. (Christian Hoffmann)

In the summer of 1989 I stood in Bulgaria, looked over to Greece and thought: I'll never be able to go there as an East German citizen! But shortly afterwards the Berlin Wall fell and one year later I was visiting Athens, Delphi, Mycenae — the cradle of Western culture! This journey was followed by many trips, to all parts of the world. Freedom of travel is a wonderful thing! (Kerstin Schmidt)

One summer my family happened to find themselves on a camping site at the Italian lake Torre del Lago. We had no idea that our base was right next to the famous open-air Puccini Festival. After the overture campers were granted free admission — so as an 11-year-old I watched La Boheme and Madam Butterfly under a starry sky, surrounded by glow-worms and opera-loving Italians. (Sue Bonney-Cox)

I exchanged an apartment for one of my most exciting journeys: after the fall of the Berlin Wall, our new home owner offered us DM 5,000 (€1,278/ $1389) if we moved out within two weeks. He wanted to renovate. My friend and I didn't hesitate and used the money to fly to Mexico. A crazy culture shock for us, whose furthest journey until then had been to Italy. (Christina Deicke)

I dreamt of going to Africa ever since I was a child. When I was 25, I finally went to Kenya. Encouraged by my friend Rosi, who lived there, I dared to travel alone: A safari to Lake Turkana, by train from Nairobi to Mombasa, by bus to Lamu Island, on foot to the Mount Kenya massif (photo). I was rewarded with wonderful experiences — and friendships that last until this day. (Anne Termèche)

The North Sea island is one of my favorite travel destinations. The kilometer-long western shore attracts me in all seasons; I've even gone there in January. Although the weather on the North Sea changes frequently, we were treated to 10 days of uninterrupted sunshine in August 2013. So that we — like most visitors — were able to admire breathtakingly beautiful daily sunsets. (Andreas Kirchhoff)

My biggest travel adventure was a three-month backpacking tour — from Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore to Australia and New Zealand. I had only booked a few flights, otherwise there was no itinerary. At Ko Tao I learned to dive, in Sydney I had a parrot on my head and at Fox Glacier I dropped out of an airplane - with a parachute of course. (Jens Fritze)