Travel News: Would You Go Travelling on a First Date?

It’s been another varied week in the world of travel with the creation of the ultimate bucket list, and an online dating site that helped a couple travel around Europe together.

Read on to find out more about some of this week’s quirkiest stories.

Thank you for the Chocolate

One country is known for being the home of ABBA and IKEA, while the other is famous for its watches and chocolates. But that doesn’t stop many Chinese people from confusing Sweden with Switzerland – and vice versa. The mix up is likely to be because of the similar Mandarin spelling for both countries, but this has prompted Swedish and Swiss consulates in Shanghai to launch a competition to help people differentiate between the two. Entries can be sent in the form of a video, photograph or blog post – and the winner gets a free 12-day trip to both countries.

Bucket Bliss

Many people have their own list of things they’d like to do before they die – but a home swapping website has created the ultimate travel bucket list of 100 things to do in just 255 days. The itinerary includes riding a gondola on the Grand Canal in Venice, camping in the Sahara Desert and surfing at Sydney’s Bondi Beach. The price? Just under £50,000 – maybe it should be called a bucket load!

Queue Must be Joking

There’s nothing worse than arriving at your destination only to have to stand in a long queue while going through passport control. But this could soon be a thing of the past. Travellers who want to avoid queuing would be able to pay extra to skip the line and get through passport control as quickly as possible. Sounds like some top-of-the-line service.

I Love EU

Most people are happy to go to the cinema or have a bite to eat on a date, but one pair of online daters decided to embark on a 21-day tour of Europe instead. After meeting via the dating site OKCupid, the daring duo from Texas boarded a plane to Istanbul, before visiting Hungary, Greece, England and Scotland. The pair both decided against taking any baggage, instead wearing the same outfits for the duration of the trip. If their clothes did begin to smell, it certainly didn’t put either of them off, as the pair are still together six months later. Love is most definitely in the air.