Oh, how exciting, I am nominated for a Liebster Award!
First of all, thanks Neha and Abhishek!
I’m very honored to receive this nomination. For some weeks now, I have seen fellow blogs being nominated and it makes me so happy that I can join the club now. Let me introduce Neha and Abhishek from Revolving Compass: They are, as they say on their blog, a techie couple enthusiastic for traveling which is a passion that they share. First as a couple and now together with their toddler they have been exploring wonderful places in India for over 3 years! Please keep these wonderful posts coming, I wish you all the best for your future adventures!
Now, You’ll probably ask: What is the Liebster Award?
When I started my blogging adventure more seriously and joined all these awesome groups on Facebook, I kept seeing blogs being nominated for a Liebster Award and nominees talking about it. Even though I didn’t really know what it was, I actually applied and mentioned my blog on the very first day. Now I know as it is stated on the Facebook Page:
The Liebster Award is a way of promoting and recognizing fellow bloggers, (on the internet) for their efforts and accomplishments in becoming a blogger.
Doesn’t that sound just great?! Bloggers being supportive of other bloggers is just a wonderful and generous thing. As Neha and Abhishek mentioned in their entry, the name of the award – Liebster – comes from my homecountry – Germany – and it means: The dearest and kindest. And that it just is, the dearest and kindest way to connect fellow new bloggers in the industry, to give them exposure and the recognition they earn for sharing their stories with the world.
When you are nominated for the Liebster Award, you are supposed to do the following:
- Thank those who nominated you and link the blog in your post
- Write an intro about the Liebster Award and spread the awareness
- Answer the questions about your blog
- Nominate another 5 to10 other people for the Liebster Award and inform them via social media
- Set up a few interesting questions for the nominees
So, here come my answers to Neha’s and Abhishek’s questions
Thanks for the great set of questions, guys! I’ll do my best answering them! It has been such a great week for me reflecting on all your questions.
What inspired you to start traveling?
Actually, I was 15 when I took my first flight and traveled to another continent, so I’d say I started traveling extremely late. All my other friends had been traveling way before that age. At the same time, I suppose that it impressed me even more than others who had been traveling a lot before. I remember sitting in the plane back to Germany (from New York City) at that time, crying because I was overflowing with emotions: Happiness because I just had so many great days and sadness because I had to leave and go back to school. That moment I promised myself to keep on exploring different countries and cultures.
Which travel destination is the closest to your heart and why?
Definitely the USA: see the story above. Also, I spent a year living in Ohio and have so many fond memories of that time. I have also visited a couple of places there already (such as New York, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle and Portland) and was always so lucky to meet great new people or catch up with old friends. When I’m there, it only takes a couple of hours and I feel at home.
What fuels the motivation behind your travel blog?
At first, I wanted to share my adventures with friends and families and the blog served as a convenient method to let them know that I was still alive whenever I was abroad on a solo trip. Then I realized that I have so many stories to share and tell with others and I decided to make this blog more public to inspire others that they can do it as well. Traveling or traveling alone is fun, not scary! I’m very passionate about the places I have been and I love to inspire and share my ideas or share my advice.
I also enjoy writing in English, even though German would be an easier choice. I’m Munich-based and I have had visitors from different countries now, which was when I realized that I should also share some tipps and tricks about Munich. It’s a wonderful city!
Where do you envision your blog a couple of years down the line?
Hopefully still going strong and maybe even stronger than now,
I want it to be filled with many new adventures, destinations and tricks for everyone out there. Plus, I’d love to be able to make people go out and travel more. I also want to keep up adding more photos because apparently the move from the free wordpress site deleted them all.
How do you combat home sickness after days of travel?
This is actually a subject that I have been thinking about a lot lately. I usually try to stay busy and go out. Take a walk, explore, calm myself down. Keeping in touch with friends and family can help as well. But all in all, I’d say that the most important part is to remember that homesickness or loneliness is a normal part of being “on the road” and that you can allow yourself to be lazy or sad or anything you want to be. It’s important to be at peace with yourself and what you feel when you are traveling.
What is the most important thing you have learnt during your travel journey?
For me, the most important thing that I learnt was and still is that you can’t plan everything. I’m a pretty organised person when I am at home and when I write my dissertation, so of course I try to be as prepared as possible when traveling. I’ve learnt over the last couple of years that I have to let go and be more spontaneous.
What was your toughest travel experience so far?
I haven’t had many bad experiences, luckily, compared to many other travelers. The toughest experience thus was probably being robbed in my dorm by the girls I shared the place with. It sucked pretty bad and almost ruined a perfectly pleasant stay in San Francisco. Plus, I felt so stupid and bad loosing all the cash.
Do you have a bucket list that you are ticking off slowly?
I do have a very long bucket list. It keeps growing and growing, especially now that I am home-stuck for a little while. Many destinations on my bucket list are far away, such as Canada, Japan and New Zealand. Other than that, I have many different cities that I want to visit for the first time or for a second time, such as Prague (going there in January now!), London, Paris, Rome or New York City.
What was the most heart touching experience you had during your travel ?
I’m always touched when I meet nice people on my trips. Since I am usually traveling on my own, these short or long encounters always make me feel happy. On my last trip I took the train from Portland, OR, to San Francisco, CA. When I entered, all window seats were unfortunately taken, but the woman next to me switched seats with me for a couple of hours so that I was able to enjoy the view. She told me that I was a guest and should enjoy my trip and that I would do the same in Germany for her. It was incredibly sweet of her!
Given a chance to travel day in and day out, would you grab it?
Probably not – to give the short answer. I love traveling, but a huge and wonderful part for me is coming home which requires having a homebase somewhere. For me, traveling is giving myself a timeout, being more spontaneous and having an adventure on my own. I’m investing a lot of time and energy into my studies which I am also very passionate about and could never give up completely!
What would be your one liner for someone who wants to start travel blogging?
It’s my favorite saying and the tag line of my blog: “Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” (Confucius). In a longer version: Go out and do it, but do it with all your heart and be yourself.
Here are my nominees for the Liebster Award 2016:
1) Wading Wade
2) Abstract Heaven
3) TravelTorgeir
4) The Wandereuse
5) Little Duckie’s Adventures
6) Up&At’Em Travel
7) Island Girl In-Transit
8) Loudy’s Dream
9) Honey in the Desert
10) DreamTrip of a Lifetime
Congratulations! I can’t wait all of your answers to my questions!
And my questions to the nominees:
- What is your favorite place in your hometown or home country?
- How do you finance your travels?
- Which places are on your bucket list?
- What was the best experience that you had while traveling?
- Which travel tip would you share with a new traveler?
- What inspires you to travel and blog?
- How did you come up with your blog name?
- How has your travel style changed as compared to when you just started traveling?
- What is the one thing that always makes you cringe when you are traveling abroad?
- What do you struggle with as a travel blogger?
