Category Archives: Travel

Oct 24 2012

6 Ways I Prepared to Move Overseas

It’s almost been 8 years since I left the United States for the first time when I moved to Russia volunteering as an English teacher for 6 months. It seemed only fitting that my flight to South Korea where I will teach (and get paid) has a layover in Moscow, the first foreign city I fell in love with.

I spent the flight behind a young family with a screaming baby and an energetic child who found reclining seats to be the greatest invention since stickers. Needless to say I will have a headache, bruised knees and smell like the tomato juice I spilled on myself when she decided to randomly check if the seat recliner was still working. Eye rolls and venting aside it’s a small price to pay for a child’s wondrous experience traveling the world and I would gladly endure a short flight for them again.

Back to Moscow.

I was excited to have a solid 5 hours here even if it is just in the airport. I love that I can (somewhat) communicate in the first foreign language I learned pretended to learn even after so much time has passed. So what am I doing with my precious 5 hours? I am sitting in an “Irish Pub” drinking Russian beer (for the first time ever since I didn’t drink a lick of booze when I was here at the ripe age of 18) after waking up this morning in Germany, boarding a plane for Beijing with a final destination of South Korea… how’s that for a multicultural travel day!?

29 hours of traveling leaves a girl with a lot of time to think and reflect on life and I’ve just got to say that I CAN NOT for the life of me sort out how I feel! One minute I could scream from excitement about living the life I’ve been dreaming about for years and the next I am drowning in curiosity about what life in Korea will be like, flip a coin and I am near in tears missing my family and wishing I could be on a flight home to spend just a day with them but before you can blink I am chuckling at how giddy I am to be exactly where I am. Bipolar disorder anyone?

6 Ways I Prepared to Move Overseas

The sooner you can accept the reality that you can never really be prepared the better off you’ll be.

The rest of my tips are really just what (I think) I’ve stacked in my favor this time versus my first wide-eyed naïve move abroad.

1)      I stopped buying things I knew wouldn’t be coming with me as soon as I knew I wanted to leave

2)      I moved from my comfy 2 bedroom condo into a bedroom at my friend’s house the weekend my place sold taking away the familiarity that I once thought was so important.

3)      I spent three months backpacking through Europe moving from city to city every few days. Nothing will make you crave any form of stability after you’ve been traveling solo for that long whether it’s in a country you can speak the language or not. I can hardly wait to have a place of my own somewhere I can stay for longer than a week.

4)      I have now traveled to 21 countries, quite a long way from the 1 (United States) I’d been to the first time. I have a better understanding of the world, myself and what to expect than I did before. BUT don’t make the mistake of thinking that will decrease the chaos and sheer hilarity at all since I have never been to an Asian country before, oh honey do I have a lot to learn!

5)      Traveling isn’t enough though, I have a very limited experience of living abroad all of which will help me adjust to living abroad again but this time I will be living alone which I intend to use to my advantage.

6)      I was worried to live alone where loneliness and depression are sure to find me but I’ve already looked up language classes in my city, made friends with nearby expats and if all else fails I will be living by the ocean which is sure to boost my spirits!

Oct 21 2012

What to do with 3 Months in Europe

My first piece of advice is not to blink! The moment you do.. POOF it’s over and you’re loading back onto a plane to take you far away. I left for my European adventure on July 15th and 99 days later I am boarding a plane for South Korea where I will spend the next year teaching English.

I had grand ideas of how much I was going to write and imagined that I could stay current on my blog during my travels (I’m such a foolish girl!) and unless you are very new to the journey then you know that I have in fact not been up to date. Between the laughter and late night rounds between new friends I slowly got further and further behind, I think that is how I knew I was doing something right! Before I leave one grand adventure for another entirely different adventure I will recap where the hell I have been these past 3 months.

My three month route backpacking through Europe by train

For stories about any of the specific destinations below just click on the photo, and be sure to check back often as I continue to dig through the mountains of photos and try to recall all my crazy adventures!

 

This page will be updated as I get further into writing about my 3 months backpacking through Europe, in the mean time if you have any questions about how to plan for your own trip to Europe please don’t hesitate to contact me! 

Oct 17 2012

How to Travel for Free

I had 4 years to prepare for the day I would leave home to travel & accumulated a long list of tips and advice to make the most out of my experience one of the best websites I discovered was Workaway.com.

What is workaway?

Simply put, you exchange 5 hours of work for room and board. Easy peasy!

Boarding the Ferry from Split, Croatia to the Island of Korcula

I’d only been traveling for 3 weeks at this point and I’d just given away my wallet, camera and phone, plus a 100 Euro fine for violating Austrian law the week before so I needed to be extra careful with my money while finding a location that appealed to me.

I signed up at a hostel on the Island of Korcula on Workaway.com where I would help with guests, clean and do A LOT of laundry, more laundry than I have ever done in my life but it was worth it for a free stay on a gorgeous island.

Each Workaway experience is different but on my typical day I woke up around 8, ate breakfast with the other workawayers and then we dove into stripping the beds, collecting garbage, sweeping & mopping, cleaning the bathrooms and re-making the beds. In total there were 6 private rooms and 20 dorm beds with at least half the people leaving each day.

The dorm room beds

On an island with so much sunshine you don’t need a dryer, the sun rays dry the sheets in no time although we were constantly collecting, washing, hanging, folding to keep the beds ready for arriving guests. This experience gave me a lot of insight into the business of running a hostel, I learned what doesn’t work, like owning a hostel but hating tourists and what does work, getting free labor in exchange for a place to sleep.

Drying in the sun while the ocean beckons

It may seem like cruel punishment to be in paradise and have to work but we had plenty of time to play on the island. We went cliff jumping, one night we nearly got arrested and we enjoyed a lot of laughter around the dinner table forging lifelong friendships.

Korcula has a great night life!

 Is Workaway Right for You?

There are personalities that do well with Workaway and there are some that just don’t.

Is Workaway right for you? Answer some of these questions to find out!

 

~Do you have an easy going personality that can adapt with your surroundings and circumstances?

~Can you stand up for yourself and know if someone is trying to take advantage of you?

~ When a challenge comes your way do you welcome it as a learning experience and not as a sign of doubt and regret?

~ Can you the good out of any situation even if it’s not what you were expecting?

~ Do you like to learn new skills and experience different ways people live?

 

If you answered yes to these questions (or at least most of them) then I think you could have a lot to gain from Workingaway. If you answered no to most of these questions then it isn’t something I would personally recommend.

Have you already tried Workaway? Tell us about it in the comments!

Sep 3 2012

That One Time I Gave my Wallet, Camera and iPhone Away

Yeah you read that right, I just GAVE them away.

No, not on purpose.

This isn’t my most flattering story to tell so those of you who still want to have a high opinion of me (yes Mom that means you) should stop reading.

Solo female travelers don’t have the carefree luxury to go out dancing late at night and accepting drinks from guys looking to get lucky, I am no exception. When I am traveling, particularly out of the United States I need to be extra careful about how late I am out and who I am with.

So when I was invited to go out with 4 awesome girls staying at my favorite Budapest hostel I jumped at the chance to finally enjoy a little night life after traveling abroad for a few weeks.  We joined the All Night Crash pub crawl and got all dolled up. We wandered from pubs to bars to clubs getting to know our fellow crawlers and locals alike having a grand time.  That is until I had one too many and forgot my things in the bathroom and before I realized my mistake they were taken.

The Pub Crawl Group Photo Credit: All Night Crash

Embarrassing!

For shame… and I call myself an experienced traveler. I have debated whether or not to share this story and in the interest of honesty and education I am sacrificing my glowing reputation for the greater good, education.

I am going to share:

My mistakes.

1: Drinking carefree and thinking that being in a group and with my new friends somehow made me less vulnerable to getting drunk and being vulnerable, a mistake I have accepted.

2: Not bringing a purse. I attached my camera to my wallet, zipped my iPhone in my wallet and carried it with me (almost) all night. In retrospect I should have just given in and brought my large and completely not-nightlife-attractive purse with me.

3: Not separating the essentials. Almost all my essentials were attached to each other, my wallet with my credit card, my iPhone had my debit card in the case and my camera was attached to both my wallet and iPhone.

You will notice at the bottom left I am still carrying my things without a clue that soon they would be gone

My safety measures:

1: I kept my passport separate from everything. I won’t tell you where but let’s just say it wasn’t anywhere that anyone else was going to be looking. I have always kept my passport separate from all other important items and I always have photocopies of my passport in random places throughout my belongings.

2: I only keep a small amount of cash in my wallet, at most a week’s worth of spending money. The majority of my traveling money is hidden throughout random places in my luggage. This minor mistake only cost me about $50 U.S. dollars opposed to the ~$1000 I had tucked away.

3: I had a passcode on my iPhone which makes it worthless to anyone who doesn’t know the code. I was lucky enough that whoever found it didn’t just throw it away and instead they turned it in to the club and I stopped back in Budapest to pick it up about a week and a half later. Note: It was the owner of Anadin Female Hostel that called the club to see if my items had been found or returned and she even picked it up and kept it safe for me until I could return and pick it up. A million thank you’s to Jennifer for her support, energy and time!

Unfortunately I don’t have any more photos to share, for obvious reasons, but Budapest has a vibrant nightlife. I never felt in danger and as a solo female traveler I would say that organized pub crawls are a good way to go without taking on too much personal risk. I would recommend that you take the bare minimum with you and that often in countries outside the United States you don’t need an ID to get in or order a drink so don’t take your passport with you, if anything just take your photo copy and a student ID or drivers license.  It is also a good idea to go with a company recommended by your hotel or hostel.

This experience was the worst traveling lesson I have learned to date and it could have been much worse! I was lucky that it didn’t come at a greater cost or any personal harm. I am well aware of the tragedy that could have occurred and the value of being vigilant and aware, hopefully this experience can benefit you and your future traveling adventures.

What was your worst travel experience and what did you learn from it? 

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Aug 24 2012

Don’t just taste Hungary, stuff your face!

As I walk into the 3 story market brimming with vibrant produce, meats and sausages aplenty, rows of souvenir shops and a variety of other goods for sale I sigh in relief as I spot my tour guide Virág, who will make sense of the chaos and provide insight into the history of Hungarian food and drinks.

Considering we began the tour at 10 in the morning I was surprised when our first stop was to get a drink, no, not water instead we really started in style by smashing down a shot of Unicum. Hungary’s very own liquor made from a secret recipe that is over 200 years old with 42 different herbs. It was originally created and sold as a cure all in pharmacies with a taste similar to Jägermeister but with a smoother aftertaste and is still considered for medicinal use.

If you have a sore throat just as a Hungarian what to do and they will recommend Unicum!

If you ever get drunk and hangover in Hungary then I would highly recommend our next tasting for your cure. This is Langos, you can have it topped with savory or sweet ingredients but the traditional serving is with sour cream and cheese. You won’t find it anywhere on the “healthy things to eat” list but it sure would do wonders for anyone suffering from a great night out or just in need of something delicious!

Next stop, MEAT!

As I snap some photos and try to identify the assortment of  cuts on display Virág is busy ordering some samples for us to try. Now, I decided a long time ago that I would try anything once. Now don’t get carried away I am sure you can think of something wild and crazy that I in fact wouldn’t do but as far as foods in another country, I haven’t come across anything I wouldn’t be willing to try at least once.

I really wasn’t expecting to step out of my comfort zone on this tour but I had the opportunity to try not only one but two unfamiliar meaty treats.

Cow tongue and horse, can you tell which two they are?

In order from closest to furthest: 

1: Horse ham- Surprisingly salty, so much so that it wouldn’t matter what animal or cut of meat I didn’t enjoy enough to want it again.

2: Salami with hot paprika- Similar to the pepperoni but much spicier, the paprika in Hungary has a fresher taste and more of a kick.

3: Beef Tongue- Mild tasting and if you didn’t know what it was you probably wouldn’t guess it was tongue.

4: Winter Salami- Good with a stronger flavor, something I could eat on a more regular basis.

5: Grey Cattle- Made from an old beef cattle bred in Hungary, it tasted closest to the pepperoni you would find on American pizza (maybe pizza everywhere but I’m not qualified to make that statement since I haven’t had a pizza with pepperoni on it outside of the US).

From the best paprika in the market to strange vegetables, a display of which mushrooms are safe to consume versus those that would sooner land you in a hospital and the lower level selling seafood and pickled everything this market is sure to entice you!

Did you know? Hungary even provides offices that you can bring in the mushrooms you pick to have them inspected and find out if any of them are poisonous free of charge? How awesome is that!

After stuffing our faces on samples our guide informs us that the next stop is for lunch… what?

Each of us look at the other wondering where the hell we are supposed to fit more food, after a short walk we promptly find the last available table before the lunch rush hits and soon our guide returns with several dishes and we know it is game time. I mustered all my strength and somehow managed to find room to try my very first blood sausage and to be honest I got caught up in all the smells and sauces that I can’t even tell you what exactly was in all of it. I should have taken better notes but my stomach won the battle over my brains and I am remiss (only a little) to tell you that if you want to know just exactly what I ate and how insanely good it is then you are just going to have to board your own plane and get your butt to Hungary!

Now that we are all really stuffed and begin to waddle down the street after Virág it is time for dessert, but not to fret I was prepared! I always have room for dessert and quite honestly if the others didn’t that only meant there was more for me!

When you are visiting Hungary it is absolutely necessary that you try Kürtőskalács which means chimney cakes. It is a pastry wrapped around a wooden cone shaped pin and cooked over a fire or coals with cinnamon and sugar. I don’t understand why this traditional Transylvanian dessert isn’t taking over the world already!

Just in case that wasn’t enough we also stopped at a little cafe for some desserts of the fancier nature.

It has become clear to us that this is not a sprint it is a food marathon and the finish line is in sight just after our wine tasting at Borbíróság, a fun and beautiful wine bar with unique decor. I personally loved all the wino influence including wine cork infused table centerpieces and stair case. Each wine we tasted was from a different region in Hungary and even though I love wine I know very little about it so this tour was the perfect time for me to ask questions. Virág actually studying at the University of Viticulture and Enology with the plan (and destiny) to have her own wine label. If there were ever a girl to tell you all the in and outs of Hungarian wine it is Virág not only is she so knowledgeable but she is passionate about Hungarian wine.

I didn’t just Taste Hungary I full out stuffed my face with all the tastes of Hungary and whole heatedly recommend that you sign up for your very own tour!

 

Which of the many new tastes and flavors would you want to try?

Editor’s Note: Mountains of thanks to Taste Hungary for providing me with a discounted tour however the opinions, as always, are my own.