Celebrity Travel: Go away with Steven Krueger

Jae-Ha Kim, Tribune Content Agency on Mar 21, 2023

A: I used to be pretty fluent in Spanish, but I think I need to live in a Spanish-speaking country for a few months to brush up. I honestly don't know how adept I am at learning languages at this point. My brain probably isn't quite as spongy as it was in high school and college. Maybe I need to try a new one and find out. French? Arabic? Mandarin?

Q: What are your five favorite cities?

A: Seville, Spain; Hanalei, Hawaii; Chicago; Paris; Cusco, Peru.

Q: Where would you like to go that you have never been to before?

A: Japan, Iceland, Australia and New Zealand are all high up there. But my dream destinations at the moment are South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. I've been dying to get there for a few years now. I think I'm finally going to make it happen this winter.

Q: When you go away, what are some of your must-have items?

A: If I'm traveling for work and living there for several months, I always bring a handful of things to make it feel like home. My own pillows and sheets, a handful of framed photos and a stack of books. Also one of my first stops in any new place is a local plant store so I can fill my temporary home with house plants. Greenery is crucial! If I'm traveling for pleasure, I always have an array of snacks with me. Like my friends actually make fun of me for it. But meals can be sporadic and unpredictable when you travel and I tend to get a wee bit cranky when I'm hungry.

Q: What is your guilty pleasure when you're on the road?

A: I almost hate to admit this but, Starbucks. I don't even drink coffee. But I know I can get an iced black tea and a somewhat healthy snack if I ever need it. Consistent and reliable. That's my one little safety blanket when I'm out and about in the world. And if I'm on a road trip, a bag of Gardetto's [snacks] from the gas station. Not sure I've ever eaten them outside the car, but damn do they hit the spot during a long drive.

Q: What kind of research do you do before you go away on a trip?

A: I try to strike a balance between planning ahead and being spontaneous. I'm not the kind of person that can just show up somewhere and figure everything out on the fly. But I also hate having a rigorously planned schedule that accounts for every hour of every day. So usually I'll make sure I have places to stay and I'll plan ahead on any major attractions that I know are going to be crowded or potentially booked up. Beyond that I go with the flow and my sources of information are almost always friends or family that have traveled there before. Or even better, a local who knows all the great spots that won't pop up in a Google search.

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(Jae-Ha Kim is a New York Times bestselling author and travel writer. You can respond to this column by visiting her website at www.jaehakim.com. You may also follow “Go Away With…” on Twitter at @GoAwayWithJae where Jae-Ha Kim welcomes your questions and comments.)