Have you ever watched a movie or read a book that made you feel like you wanted to visit that place? Or tweak/tailor your itinerary? And did you visit it?
I'll start... Back in the mid-90s, I watched the "Before the Sunrise" movie. I was in my late teens then and had visited a couple of countries but had not been to Europe yet. I enjoyed the storyline but I fell in love with Vienna through the movie. Vienna became my top place to see in Europe. Fast forward few years when I finally visited it for the first (and only) time. I didn't try to follow all the sceneries of the movie, but it gave me a great head start on what to see during my first solo backpack trip. And I saw a lot in only 3 days.
On that same backpacking trip, I also visited Prague. And now that I'm reading "The Secrets of Secrets" and all the details of the city as Dan Brown brilliantly explores, I want to go back. I know I will appreciate it a lot more now than I did back then (minus all the crowds that are now everywhere due to social media frenzy). Side note - I'm not enjoying the storyline as much on this book but really digging Prague.
This fall, I'm going to Amsterdam, Budapest, Krakow and Auschwitz. I've been reading more books about Auschwitz and, although it didn't inspire my visit per se, reading "The Librarian of Auschwitz" made me decide to do the longer 6-hour study tour vs the traditional shorter one. It's more a young adult novel but so powerful.
I'm curious if you came across a book or movie that influenced your travels.