Solo Travel: Why do we go to sad places?

Published March 17, 2010 | By solotraveler

This is a detail of the Canadian Memorial at for World War I at Vimy Ridge in France.

On Tuesday we had a guest post on “Solo Travel to Berlin” by Dian of GirlsGetaway.com. She beautifully describes one very intense day in that city that has so many sites of sadness. As I prepared it for publication, I recalled a post that I had started but did not complete. It is this one in which I explore the question: why do we go to sad places?

I’ve spent Remembrance Day at Vimy Ridge, a little piece of Canadian soil in France given to Canada for a war memorial after World War I. I’ve been to Dachau, a former concentration camp and the site of mass murders during World War II. I have visited the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Wall in Washington and the site of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination in Memphis. All these places are known for their sad history.

Why do I go?
Beyond having a thing for history, I believe that I go to these sad places for three reasons:

To remember
As Churchill famously said: “Those that fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.” These sites are saved, turned into museums, given plaques and monuments so that we remember our history. They are there to point to and help us learn from our past and avoid at least some mistakes in the future.

To honor
Going to these site is an act of respect for the victims, the heroes and everyone in between who were associated with a hard learned lesson.

To celebrate
In certain ways, I think this is the most important reason for going to these places. When we see a concentration camp turned into a museum, when we see the remnants of the Berlin wall or the land around a major battle preserved, we are reminded that sometimes we do manage to right wrongs. Good can win. And, even though there is so much that still needs fixing in our world, that we are capable of doing so. By celebrating sad places, we affirm our hope for the future.

Why do you think we travel to sad places? Please add your thoughts in the comments.

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trishann4
maybe to make you feel better about “your lot”, particularly if you are having a hard time.
http://spinsterscompass.wordpress.com Spinster
Ditto, mr. Samui. This blog entry expresses my sentiments exactly. For some reason, I sometimes seek out these kinds of places for the very reasons that you mentioned. They remind me that believe it or not, a little bit of humanity still exists.
Thank you for sharing.
solotraveler
That’s very astute. Memorials of any kind must be lived at the individual’s pace.
http://www.koh-samui.travel/ mr Samui
When I visit holocaust memorials now I always go alone. I used to go with friends and fellow travelers, but soon discovered we all feel these experiences in our own ways, and at our own pace. I prefer to take these respectful journeys at my own speed which allows me to reflect more deeply on how the experience makes me feel.
admin
So many more wonderful comments. Thanks everyone. I particularly love the idea of helping to heal the event.
http://www.gringofurniture.com Adri Pedersen
I don’t tend to seek out sad places in my travels. When I do encounter them, they remind me of the heights and lows of humanity — of our immense capacity for good and our immense capacity for wrong. It’s important to be respectful of these places and to honor them and their history. In a sense, visiting them brings a responsibility to help heal the event by recognizing the great sacrifices of so many.
http://www.joeicarlton.com Joei Carlton Hossack
After 21 years on the road traveling in an RV and seeing MANY places the author of this post has been to my most disturbing visit was of Ypres in Belgium. The view, in EVERY direction from the town center, is of WWII grave stones. It haunted me for years but I think we need to go to honor the fallen and (hopefully) to learn.
http://www.cumidanciki.com Ciki / Agentcikay
i think in terms of human history, war memorials were more to glorify their big victories rather than commemorate the dead? In some of the most famous wars the dead use to be shoveled into graves by the dozens. After the 1st world war onwards the names of the fallen soldiers were listed and more homage was paid to these heros. So, for me, i go to the sad place to rejoice that humanity has come a long way and is no longer the barbaric creature he once was. I go to the grave not to glorify war but to honor those who died:) excellent post. thanks for sharing!
http://www.twitter.com/Walking_About Samuel
Indeed a thoughtful post, and a beautiful write. I don’t think there really are any sad places, just places with sad history. There’s a difference, albeit perhaps small.
I would visit such a place, not because I thought of it as a sad place – but in respect and awe of the history that has passed that place. I might feel touched by it. I might cry. I might pray. I might be saddened. But I would never thing about it as a sad place.
admin
Wow. Thanks all for your comments. I hadn’t thought of taking it to its core — that we go because it is real and that we want to feel what is real.
Gwen McCauley
Hi Janice – Another great post.
I think we visit sad places for similar reasons that we visit happy places …because they invite us to feel.
Travel is all about experience and experience is all about evoking responses. So to me it makes sense that we’d be drawn to places that evoke sadness, sorrow, indignation, and remorse as much as we’re drawn to places that evoke joy, wonder and delight.
We humans have a tremendous, innate need to feel the full range of emotions and ‘sad’ places help us to fulfill that need.
http://www.sophiesworld.net Sophie
You raise an important question here.
I actually like visiting places where important events have occurred; most often these are sad and/or horrible events.
One reason, I think, is to be moved. Another reason (or perhaps the same), is that these places represent something real – not something disneyfied/fake/superficial.
http://www.traveldudes.org Melvin
Nicely said! Yes, sometimes we can be proud of what we’ve reached & can celebrate this. Then we have to look again & see that there is still enough of work for us…
http://www.travel-writers-exchange.com/ Trisha
Beautiful post Janice….while I don’t plan trips around sad places, I do make an effort to visit memorials when I am traveling near one, just as a way of honoring those folks who deserve to be remembered. They have a way of reminding us to be grateful for so many things.
http://www.kaleidoscopicwandering.com JoAnna
Thanks for the thoughtful post. I honestly try to avoid sadness in my travels, but then again, I try to avoid sadness altogether in life. It’s probably not healthy, but that’s what I do.

Solo Travel: Why do we go to sad places?

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