for me traveling was always a means to get to specific places, or rather to meet specific people. when i was younger i traveled on a bike without a goal or with the goal to find interesting people in the places i went to, and sometimes the destination of the next day was defined by the people i met. being on a bike meant that i was slower and had less freedom to make detours, but i did manage to spend two weeks biking around in luxembourg, which is a rather small country that i could have crossed in a day.
as i got older i focused on places where i already had contacts or where i could find someone through couchsurfing websites ahead of time. i never considered going to places where i could not make these contacts. the goal was to stay in those places and learn about the life of the people. the scenery on the way in between was just a bonus.
This is a sensible approach. For me it's mainly a way to get away from the dreadful Berlin winters, to ride a motorcycle, and to see some beautiful landscapes.
It's not the best way to travel, but it's the best way to be away from Berlin for a longer period, since my friends rarely have the same amount of flexibility with regards to work.
as i got older i focused on places where i already had contacts or where i could find someone through couchsurfing websites ahead of time. i never considered going to places where i could not make these contacts. the goal was to stay in those places and learn about the life of the people. the scenery on the way in between was just a bonus.