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mein leipzig
i spent the first half of my birthday busing to leipzig via prague and dresden. i’m not sure at what point i thought that booking 5:40am bus tickets outta ČB was a good idea, but on the morning of my twenty-eighth birthday, it did not feel like one. (fortunately a pitstop at starbucks helped!) i’d never been to leipzig before but because alex and my mutual favorite band was playing there on my birthday night, so the plans were made for us! i quickly settled into our gorgeous flat in südvorstadt near connewitz, a neighborhood that i immediately took a great liking to. it felt strange to be somewhere so like…
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three important places
hello friends. this week i’m sharing three important places with you all. funny thing about these choices is that i’ve lived in all three! the place i’ve been that i love the most? i have to say my “second home” of berlin, germany. i’ve written extensively about it and why i love it before, but in a nutshell, berlin is fascinating. i can be easily bored in one place, but there is always something new to discover in this city, not only because it is just so darn HUGE but because it’s ever-changing. it’s a place where you can feel free to do whatever you want without judgement. artists, entrepreneurs, immigrants,…
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brno
if someone told me earlier “in a week, you’ll travel to brno for the day”, i would’ve wondered whaaaaat would ever compel me to undertake that. but my father (whom i haven’t seen in 3+ years) was on business from singapore, so it would be almost criminal not to meet up after being so close! brno, the second largest city in the czech republic, is almost four hours away by bus which isn’t exactly day trip material. but you know what? brno it is! because sometimes plans change! as my mind surely did as i stepped off the bus and was greeted by the warmest sun on my face i’ve felt…
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normal
maybe because it’s the middle of winter and there’s not much to do besides the usual, but recently, i wake up out of bed, get ready, and go about my normal routine giving absolutely no thought to the fact that i live in the czech republic. even to overhear czech spoken on the streets sparks no wave lengths out of the ordinary in this brain of mine. this slavic language that’s all around me doesn’t even sound that strange anymore. or, i’ll be walking down a beautiful cobbled street on my way to a lesson and pay it absolutely no mind that i live in a foreign country. instead i’ll…
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A Broad, Abroad: Secrets for Traveling Europe on a Budget
since i embarked on my very first trip to europe in 2004, fresh out of high school, i have learned an enormous amount about how to travel on the cheap. i am the self-professed queen of frugality (as well as a euro budget travel vet) and i cringe at paying full-price for anything. so here’s a list of excellent tips that i use all the time that will allow you to travel even in western europe for dollars a day. and even if you no longer like to travel on such a budget, these tips are just plain smart and will help you save money for the part of your…
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Makin’ Plans
although it may seem too early, january is an excellent time to begin travel planning! the weather’s pretty crap (ours is hovering just above freezing with never-ending slush rain) making it both tough and undesirable to venture out on day or weekend trips around the region. best thing to do: trip research with a nice steaming mug of tea. and try not to hide out in the house… too much. the first item that is looming over our heads, or at least mine is THE WEDDING: when the heck is it going to happen? planning a wedding when you live abroad is daunting and really almost impossible when we don’t…
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Passport Number Two
2004-2014, R.I.P. we had some of the best times of our lives, you and i. from my very first trip to europe as the reason to get you, to the last year of your life, when you were really filling up too fast and just had no space for me anymore. people (immigration ladies) told me to forget about you…. to find someone new, someone who had more to offer (fifty-two pages) to better accommodate my needs (a visa stamp every three months). all of the greats are there… heathrow, gatwick, charles de gaulle, both functioning berlin airports. it’s been a journey, you and me. in this age when no…
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What I Do Now
in my opinion, what one does for a living certainly shouldn’t define their worth as a person in any way. no, i’m not really a fan of the question, “so, what do you do?” {referring to their occupation} when meeting someone new, although it does provide you with more insight into their daily lives (for ever-curious people like me) and perhaps what their skills and interests are, i have to admit. and these days, i am much happier answering this question than i used to be. but before wasn’t terrible or anything; i have so many fond memories of being downtown seattle barista extraordinaire chick. a video of me “on…
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Krasný Nový Rok (2013 Recap)
happy 2014! the new year’s sun is shining through my window…. a wonderful first sight of this first morning of the year. it seems like just last week that it was january first and i was wandering around my neighborhood of mala strana in the fog. it scares me a little how fast the year passed, which is a great reminder to “live in the now” and savor every moment of life. it tends to pass at a normal and much more acceptable time when i’m doing that. 2013 has been a very exciting year for me. to blindly move away from lovely prague in january just because of the promise…
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A Surprise Vienna
last friday morning, my landlord, martin (who lives in the flat below me) knocked on my door, inquiring whether or not we were free to join a day-trip to vienna the next day, as there were two free seats in his van. ….so, that was a no-brainer. české budějovice is fascinatingly only a two and a half hour drive from vienna and the idea of going there only for the day was blowing my mind! as in: i live somewhere where i can visit vienna. for the day. and then come home and go to sleep. so began what seemed like two days worth of sights packed into one, waking up…
