Though I don’t own a TV, I’m still a sucker for travel shows (Departures, anyone?). And I do have loads of fun watching The Amazing Race with my mom when I visit. This week’s ep had the contestants racing around Copenhagen. Their roadblock challenge was to brave the stage and recite a few lines from a poem by Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen.

To move, to breathe, to fly, to float
To gain all while you give
To roam the roads of lands remote
To travel is to live

Granted, the contestants are neither roaming nor travelling, and those lines don’t quite convey the idea of racing around the world. Rather, the quote is a poignant observation of how meaningful an experience travelling really is. Or can be, if you give yourself over to the wandering and exploring, get lost in another culture and live like a local, take the road less travelled (Robert Frost had it right), and just go with the flow and let the journey unfold as it happens. Of course, not everyone enjoys travelling off the map, but for those who are open to it, wandering without a plan can yield enriching experiences beyond your imagination. Because travelling truly has the power to transform.