Monthly Challenge | Travel | Souvenirs

The Souvenir That Couldn’t Be

And yet, it came back home with me

As a minimalist and a nomad, I mostly look for experiences, adventure, and engaging stories when I explore new locations.

I’ve never really thought intentionally about souvenirs; mostly, I’d remember to grab a magnet for my parents — the photo above is from the top part of their fridge. They haven’t had the opportunity to travel much outside Bulgaria, and this is my way of bringing them along on my trips.

I’d love them to come with me, but they prefer the peace and quiet of their small village. So magnets it is for them. When I remember to get one.

In recent years, I’ve started to treat myself to a pair of earrings — or two — as an easy-to-add-to-my-luggage keepsake. That’s especially the case when I find myself in a location with lots of local artists.

It’s practically impossible for me to only purchase one item.

From the small collection of earrings in the photo above, three are from local artists I encountered when exploring New Mexico last year.

I don’t always remember to wear them, but I love adding new ones to my collection.

Last year, on my slow travel across the American Southwest, I also added a couple of t-shirts as souvenirs. Practical and light. I’ll be wearing them until they start falling apart.

Then, there’s the souvenir that wasn’t meant to be a souvenir — at least not for me — but it is now one of the few items I own.

A fond childhood memory I have is receiving matryoshki (nesting dolls) as a gift. At the time, my sister and I didn’t have many toys or dolls of any kind, so possessing an item that looked like one doll but in reality had 9 total, the smallest resembling a tiny speck and yet still looking very much like a matryoshka, seemed like the best of fortunes.

We delighted in opening them one by one, lining them up and making up stories of where they come from and why they like to stick together.

I bet no one is surprised to find out that the smallest two matryoshiki were lost within the week of us receiving the gift. We looked for them everywhere, but as I said, they were the tiniest of tiny specks.

Though my sister and I were sad, we still had seven dolls to play with and we absolutely loved our set.

So when I found myself exploring Prague with friends in 2016, I thought the perfect gift for my cousin’s young daughters would be a set of nesting dolls.

If you’ve been to Prague, you probably know there’re tons of these sold in souvenir and gift shops around town.

While the options were plenty, however, the most each set came with was five dolls. I wanted a set of nine, same as the one I had received.

I kept looking for a larger set, and the day before we had to leave, I entered a tiny corner store overflowing with the usual knick-knacks — ornaments, magnets, candles, snow globes — and nesting dolls, of course.

I had pretty much given up on finding anything larger than a five-doll set, but I still approached the shop assistant, asking if they had anything with more than five.

“We have one with ten!” He responded enthusiastically.

Ten! Wow, I had found the perfect souvenir.

When he showed it to me, I noticed that it was wrapped in clear plastic — a red flag, surely — but floating on a cloud of joyful childhood memories, I didn’t hesitate and got it.

Later, at the rental place, as I was packing my suitcase, my friend suggested that I open the nesting dolls, to make sure the set truly had ten.

The top one was pretty big — bigger than the one I had as a kid — so I had no doubt at least ten dolls fit into it. But, truth be told, I was curious to see all ten before I delivered the gift to my cousin’s daughters.

So I started opening them, and boy, was I in for the shock of my life.

As you can see in the photos below (the only photos I have of this souvenir, by the way), while the large one seemed pretty decent, as I got to the fourth and fifth ones, it looked like my cousin’s five-year-old had painted them.

Actually, I’m pretty sure she’d had done a better job.

The best surprise of all, however, was what I found in the fifth doll: it looks like a Hershey’s Kisses candy, but I assure you, it is not that.

In fact, I’ve no clue what this was. It didn’t smell, it’s hard like wood but didn’t feel like it, and it’s still in the condition it was when I bought the set.

While my friend curled up on the floor from laughter, I stood with my eyes and mouth wide open, wondering what horrible deeds I’d committed in a past life to deserve this fate. (I can be a tad dramatic in the right context)

I wanted to dump it in the trash immediately, but my friend (once she had managed to catch her breath) insisted I keep it.

“It’s yours now,” she said, still laughing.

Though I was reluctant to, I kept it and glad I did. It’s not just a souvenir that reminds me of an amazing trip with two wonderful friends; it’s also a souvenir that comes with a funny story and a lesson.

And I still don’t know what that last piece is.

When this month’s challenge was announced, I hadn’t expected that one outcome for me would be collecting ideas for practical, meaningful, and story-inspiring souvenirs. I’ve enjoyed reading many of the submissions and have made a promise to myself to be more intentional with what I purchase on my next adventure. Thank you, Anne Bonfert, for the prompt!

I especially enjoyed the following three pieces by Sindoora Rai, Erie Astin, and Sandy Maximus.