As a full-time travel blogger, a question I often get is: what do you actually do?
So here's what I got up to in 2019. Ready? Let's go. January - woke up in 2019
with the worst cold ever and my first photo was this selfie of me eating toast.
My first trip of 2019? A road trip with a stranger from the internet. Our first
meeting was her picking me up at the train station so I could sleep at her
mom's house. We explored Cornwall together while I coughed my lungs out
and we'd visit five more countries together by the end of the year. Met a
pirate, drank hot chocolate, and flew onwards to Barcelona for a filming gig.
Incredible sunsets, incredible pizza, incredible beauty literally everywhere.
From there I went to Belgium for work. I say work with air quotes because my job
was to film a DIY chocolate tour around Belgium's most beloved cities. It was
pretty tasty. Back to Munich in time for my boyfriend's birthday and a weekend
getaway to a lake nearby. Introduced him to the wonders of KD, enjoyed this wild
sunset. Then dove headfirst into German bureaucracy, a battle that would last ten
months. February - heard about the world's first sausage themed hotel only two
hours away so I went with my friend... my vegetarian friend. Expected kitsch, got a
surprisingly heartwarming story about a creative dude trying to revitalize his
local economy and yes he even put sausage in the morning coffee.
Castle hopped in Nuremberg, drank smoked beer in Bamberg, then back to Munich in
time for a folk dance that's been performed every seven years since the
literal plague. Got cursed (I think) then March. Boyfriend finished a big exam so
we visited one of the largest spas in the world as a treat. Booked a private
chalet with a waterbed and ate pizza while watching Mulan 2. Celebrated
Munich's Carnival (Fasching) dressed as a teddy bear... boyfriend was a banana.
Onwards to Berlin. Gave a talk at Berlin travel festival - didn't cry, visited the
world's largest travel trade fair in heels - almost cried, then back to Munich
for my first ever football game at Allianz Arena. Pretty much cried from all
the super fan excitement. Went on a hike not expecting snow, got lots of it
so I slid all the way down on an empty ski slope on my butt. Don't worry, I
face-planted at a chocolate fountain to compensate. Then began my grand solo
train adventure. Saw a huge sale so I treated myself to a Eurail pass. This sale
meant I got a first-class upgrade for exactly zero dollars so I took it to
Switzerland and saw all of this. To date still one of the coolest things I've
ever done. Back to Munich in time for Easter madness then it was onwards to
Bonn to see some of Europe's most incredible cherry blossoms. April - went to
Amsterdam where we slept in a train themed hostel. Worst ever experience maybe
of my life but all the Dutch cheese made up for it. Moved onto a boat hotel
instead where the sleep was better and the company too - then went on to visit the
world-famous Keukenhof Gardens. Loads of beautiful flowers, even more hoards of
people. It was cool but I'm not sure I'd go again. Quick pit stop in Belgium for
Ghent and Leuven, then onwards to Utrecht for another
filming gig. Sat on the Iron Throne which (spoiler) was probably better than
the actual ending to Game of Thrones. Flew to Porto to visit a friend, saw
some peacocks, ate a bunch, then promptly passed out.
Needless to say, things got weird. Reunited with more friends, bar hopped in
Lisbon, castle hopped in Sintra and braved rocky waves in Lagos. Onwards to
Hamburg, a solo day trip in Erfurt, and finally back in Munich just in time for
Frühlingsfest and a fancy screening of Avengers Endgame. Loved it 3000. May - the
most magical May in the books. Found a cheap deal for Disneyland Paris and a
cheap flight to LA so I did back-to-back Disneylands.
Met Chewbacca, hit on Captain America and spent way too much money. Attended a
taping of James Corden, briefly talked to Anne Hathaway's parents, before heading
to Vegas for a bachelorette party. Chippendales might have been involved
along with $60 cocktails and a Calvin Harris pool party where I recorded Class
A footage like this. Overnight stopover in Vancouver for dim sum with family
then back to England for time with my boyfriend's family. Road tripped the
Cotswolds, saw way too many cute villages to count with a Harry Potter location or
two thrown in. Onwards to Graz for a travel blogger conference, discovered
beautiful South Styria, drank a butt ton of wine then went to an actual Arnold
Schwarzenegger museum. Needless to say I'll be back.
June - did a beer garden crawl in Munich, watched lots of basketball, made dumplings,
made cocktails, then made a flight to Milan, Como and Verona for another
filming gig. During this trip I finally saw the Last Supper and discovered the
most amazing handmade pasta on earth. Back to Munich in time to watch our home
team take German championships and I even got to pose with the trophy. Then
onwards to London where I looked for all things Harry Potter and even scored
last-minute tickets to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. They were truly the
worst possible seats in the house but I still cried twice. July - back to Canada for
a bestie's wedding, ate and ate and ate, fixed my hair got my first big girl credit
card and road tripped Tofino with my parents, a trip they've wanted to do for
years. They loved the waves. Saw deer, got my parents to try tacos for the first
time then back to Europe for August. Filmed a video in Prague then started a
5 country campaign with an EU project in Malta. Headed to Ireland for a vacation
where my blood type became Guinness. Learned to pour the perfect Guinness,
visited a leprechaun museum, saw the Cliffs of Moher,
the Giant's Causeway and even the actual direwolves from Game of Thrones...
actually we saw a lot of things from Game of Thrones...
Sat on the Iron Throne again then flew home so my boyfriend could do this. Yes
he is racing up a ski jump, no I don't know why either. My reward for watching
this monstrosity? A trip to Hallstatt which was just as stunning as I'd always
imagined except for the 10 million other people there and the fact that they
literally sell their air in a can. Quick stop in Salzburg before driving
off into the sunset then September - chased filming locations around France, Spain,
Italy and Greece for a campaign. Crashed my friend's honeymoon in the process and
squeezed in a visit to Girona and Montserrat. Back to Munich in time for
Oktoberfest - the most wonderful time of the year, officially became a
self-employed resident of Germany, cat sit until my camera roll looked
like this then October, when things slowed way down.
Toured the oldest brewery in the world just an hour away from Munich and that
was pretty much the most exciting thing. Started nesting like crazy though and
decorated our apartment, also attended a Brexit themed Halloween party as Brexit.
Then November - exciting trips to IKEA, basketball and most importantly, the land of
YouTube through launching this channel, a project months in the making...
so I celebrated with a festive trip to Paris where hot chocolate became my
blood type, followed by a fairytale road trip through Alsace. Onwards to
December which can be summed up in exactly two words: Christmas markets.
From Munich to Berlin to Prague to Dresden, mulled wine became my blood type.
Accidentally broke my hard drive containing a year's worth of memories,
lost half my videos hence why this one isn't a cinematic masterpiece, then back
home to watch my crazy boyfriend do this. Got my final fill of Christmas markets
in Cologne, Aachen, Monschau and Brussels, then England for Christmas where I
mostly laid on the couch playing with filters. 2019 was one incredible year...
thanks for following along and be sure to subscribe for more travel videos just
like this one and visit HappyToWander.com for detailed travel tips, guides and
itineraries. Until next week, byeee!