Showing posts with label wonderful world. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wonderful world. Show all posts

The kids are cheering. Sparkles in their eyes are competing with the shooting star shower that’s happening above us. They are jumping up and down in excitement next to the “grown-up kids”, who are just as excited, as they are watching the campfire burn higher and higher. I look around at all those faces I know so well, at the people who have been my summer family for a very long time. The ones I might not have a lot in common with, but I definitely share a deep love for a very special place and uncountable amazing memories with…


“This year, we need to vacation at a farm, before I am too old for that kind of stuff” My ten year old self knew exactly what she wanted to do that summer of 2004. My golf-obsessed dad, on the other hand, had a very good understanding of how his ideal summer holiday would look like. You might have guessed it, it was not a farm. But because I was a spoiled kid – and because my dad is the best at researching things he wants – we found a compromise. Austria’s first farm offering a driving range to golf obsessed parents like my dad. While I wasn’t sure about my dad’s choice in the beginning – I needed attention, after all – I changed my mind as soon as I stepped out of the car and into the magical world they call Zechnerhof. Screaming kids were chasing a donkey, sheep and goats through the backyard, their parents were watching as it was the most normal thing in the world and I loved it instantly. Of course I did. Which 10-year old wouldn’t? It took me all of 2 minutes to find friends and for the rest of the week we were chasing animals, jumping into haystacks, taking care of baby rabbits, riding horses and most importantly: playing cops and robbers together. My parents only saw me whenever I was hungry that week – ok, I am hungry a lot, but I think you get the point. The rest of the time I was off going on adventures with my new friends. At the end of the week I cried rivers because leaving that happy place broke my heart a bit.


Back then, I didn’t know you could fall in love with a place, but that summer I did. Little did I know how many places would follow that first love straight into my heart. I’ve seen my fair share of the world, lived in truly amazing places, but none of them stuck with me quite as much as Zechnerhof did.

Of  course we went back the summer after. And every summer ever since. With all the other friends my parents and I had made. Year after year, our group got bigger. Some people stopped coming for a while, but eventually, they all found their way back. As our group changed, not only we got older but also the farm changed. We watched it grow and evolve just the same way it watched us “mature” – if we really did is still questionable, though. Obviously, we don’t chase animals through the backyard anymore. We do, however, jump into haystacks, still. We also still spend rainy days playing board and card games for hours. We go hiking and mushroom picking and fishing and biking and partying and everything in between and it is simply the best.


It’s hard to describe that perfect simplicity and bliss I feel every summer. It’s like even though we don’t really see each other throughout the year, we’re all a big family that week. We’re all taking care of each other, go hiking in weird combinations of people, leaving strangers wondering how we’re all related. We take care of the others’ kids, support each other and at the end of the week, we all have drinks around the campfire, sing songs and get a bit sentimental. It’s so simple, yet so special. It’s one of those rare places were the guests don’t feel like they’re kings, but more like family members. Don’t get me wrong, the Glanzer’s are doing everything to make their guests happy. But it’s little things like sitting in the kitchen to clean the mushrooms we’ve just picked while G, the Glanzer’s son and chef at the farm, is preparing our dinner and cracking jokes. Or when C, boss and entertainer, sits down at the campfire with us. These things might be tiny but they do make you feel special.


For years now, two English families go on the long journey from London to Zechnerhof, because they can't stay away either. When they left to go to Venice and Sicily last week, I asked  O, 12 years old, if he was excited for the trip. “I’d rather stay here”, was his answer. I knew exactly what he was talking about.


Some of the people around me won’t come back next year. I think of all the people I’ve met here over the years and the memories we’ve made. I know I will see them again in the future. Because everybody comes back, eventually. There will be loads of opportunities to annoy the other guests with how loud we are, to leave our stuff all around the place, to show the others that a little part of us belongs to this place and a little part of it belongs to us.

What is left to say to my 10-year old self is this: I might be too old to go on a farm holiday. But I will never be too old to go on a Zechnerhof one.


Pension Zechnerhof
Marbachstraße 67
8861 St. Georgen

Tel: +43 3537 258
Fax: +43 3537 258-4
e-Mail: info@zechnerhof.at 
Web: www.zechnerhof.at


Once a wise guy named Will Rogers said 
"A stranger is just a friend I haven't met yet." 

This could not be any more accurate. It describes the experiences I made with fellow travelers in Thailand perfectly. I met likeminded people in the most random situations: sharing a taxi, while waiting for my Aspirin C to dissolve, on the metro, at the foot of a waterfall, on a hike though the jungle, in dorm rooms or even at the check-in desk.

All the beautiful landscapes, cities and natural wonders would not have been the same without those kick-ass travelers I met along the way and the random encounters with folks from all over the world:

Two German girls, just as unoriented as me, one of them actually recently moved to Vienna. Two friends from the Netherlands and Scotland, having to be taught the best card game in the world. One guy from the United States, who was an expert in making wine and even more so in making it very hard to say goodbye. Two twin brothers from England, one currently traveling the world. One lad from Singapore, who I am super jealous of, because he can just hop on a plane and go to Thailand every other weekend. One Israeli, who had some difficulties bringing his message across. One French girl, who was just as excited as me about hitchhiking in the open trunk of a truck and, who introduced me to the sheer endless deliciousness of the Night Market. One girl from Thailand, who surprised us with her perfect German and, who is coming to study in Vienna this fall. Three Canadians, who got us hooked up with the idea of getting a tailored blouse - or a whole business outfit, for that matter. One Dane, whose parents sounded like the coolest people ever. The whole staff of a random hostel in Bangkok, making it our favorite. One Spanish fellow, who looked like a Frenchman and liked us so much he followed us across Thailand - all creepiness aside. One English lad, who jumped off a fifteen meter cliff and managed to land face and butt first. Four Viennese climbers, who seem to love a game that I hate - yeah, I don't like to loose. One guy, born in Russia, raised in Germany, but having a British accent,  whose curiosity lead us to paradise. One girl from Luxemburg, who had the most beautiful tattoos I have ever seen and immediately offered to draw one for me into five minutes of knowing each other. One hipster Thai, who stayed sane while driving us around busy Bangkok and watching us go crazy for sticky rice and, who also convinced a shop owner to open up on a Sunday so I could get my little wooden elephant. Three creative Canadians, who went to the weirdest but coolest school ever in Toronto, where 17-year-olds can easily take a three-week break to visit Thailand. One guy from Israel, who took the most stunning pictures with his Go Pro and, who was totally rocking a spectacular beard. One Italian, who was not afraid to skinny dip with strangers and, who was typical Italian: hilarious as hell. Two friends from England and the U.S., sharing a house in the middle of the jungle and jamming their nights away. One Australian guy, who truly loves his wife and enjoys to tell weird stories about their marriage. One beautiful soul from Florida, who protects her loved ones at any cost, even if that means she has to flip a tea tray. One artist from Hungary, who was duct-taping his analog camera and paying for his stay with his drawings. One Hawaiian freethinker, who is taking photography and kindness to the next level.

To all of you I would like to say "Thank you" for sharing unforgettable days & nights together and making my trip so special! And all the others, please keep in mind: Traveling is not only about the places you have been to or the sights you have seen - it is mostly about the amazing people that cross your path and truly enrich your journey.

xx Lena

 Photo taken in: Chiang Mai, Thailand


Have you guys heard about the Full Moon Party in Thailand? You probably have. There is this beautiful beach on Koh Phangan - Haad Rin Beach - that is transformed into one massive party zone once a month: Loud techno music, enormous amounts of (probably not the most trustworthy) alcohol, fire and thousands of people dancing, screaming, shoving you around and - best of all - urinating and vomiting into the ocean. How wonderful!
Most people A and I met along our trip through Thailand asked us if we'll see each other again at the Full Moon Party - as if that was even possible in a crazy crowd like that. No, of course not. I had no intention whatsoever of going there. It seemed like every backpacker traveling in Thailand planned his or her whole trip around the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan. Except us. We ended up there, anyway. 

Our original plan was to relax on the beaches of Koh Jum for a few days - which we did - and then quickly hop onto a ferry, a bus and a ferry to find ourselves on a beautiful little island called Koh Tao ten hours later. Perfect plan, in theory. There have just been small problems with the practical implementation of this plan. First mistake: We did not buy tickets when we had the chance to on the mainland, because we thought there will come a better time. We had not considered the fact that Koh Jum is - unlike most islands in Thailand - close to a deserted island and does not come with a bunch of travel agencies. So we booked our tickets through our hotel, which seemed like the safest way. Spoiler alert: That was mistake number two. 

So, after four days of doing nothing at all on this paradisiac island, we entered the ferry back to the mainland in the morning, totally unaware of where we would end up by the end of the day. The woman who was supposed to give us our tickets for further transport to Koh Tao casually walked up to A and me and told us that Koh Tao won't happen for us today. No seats available. She did not seem to care about the fact that we booked these tickets three days before nor that we had a room reserved for the night - Welcome to Thailand!
Clearly, I was not happy about that. We had a wild discussion with the ticket lady and I might have said some things I am not particularly proud of. In the end, there was only one thing we could do that brought us closer to the island we wanted to go to in the first place: spend a night on Koh Phangan, which is the island right next to Koh Tao. The more I think about it, the more it baffles me that there were no seats available to Koh Tao, but apparently more than enough to Koh Phangan, where it just "happened" to be the Full Moon Party that same night. Strange...

As you see, we were kind of forced into it, but we tried to make the best out of it - true traveler spirit and all. On the way over to Koh Phangan we met two lovely ladies from New York City, with whom we connected from the very start and who turned into really good friends after this faithful night we had together.


Looking back at the turning of events that day, I would not change a thing. Frankly, I am glad that we got scammed into going to Koh Phangan. Otherwise, we would have never met P and C and had one of the best nights of our lives. Also, we would not have met the Australian Professor who taught us how to be happy and appreciate what we have. And we would not have spent a magical morning on the heavenly white beach with people whom we just met but felt like old friends, swimming in the crystal clear water, sipping coconuts, exchanging compliments and hugs and as for A: Getting sunburnt to a rather unhealthy extent. So, thank you, ticket lady, for making all of this possibe!


The moral of this story, my dear friends, is: Everything happens for a reason. Seriously, it does. Just be spontaneous and happy and live a little. You will not regret it!

xx Lena

PS: If you ever find yourself at the Full Moon Party, leave immediately and take a boat to Garden Eden instead. Why? First of all: The Full Moon Party itself sucks so bad (just as I had imagined) and: Garden Eden will change your life, trust me!

Photos taken in: Koh Phangan, Thailand


I usually have Tuesday’s off. And every Monday I tell myself that I will write loads of amazing blog posts and columns on Tuesday. But you know, Tuesday comes and Tuesday goes. And I am busy with other things - mostly procrastinating. My productiveness goes south when I decide to pop over to our Student Council office “just to talk over a couple of things and see my friends” real quick. Right. Spending money on coffee on my way there is another thing I should not do on Tuesdays. Four hours later I walk out of the office, not knowing where the hell my day went. My to-do list is still as long as it was before but my life is a day shorter.

So this week I decided to trick myself into not going there by taking my laptop out on a date to one of Tallinn’s nicest coffee shops – August – where I would be surrounded by people but not talking to any of them. Because you shouldn’t talk to strangers. In theory. Naturally, that didn’t work out so well. Pretty soon I was having an intense conversation about American politics with the Canadian woman at the table next to me.

Three pretty unproductive but entertaining hours later I left August, hyped up on way too much coffee and a great conversation.  Because of the amazing weather I decided to walk through the Old Town like I hadn’t done in ages. Another hour later I had seen the inside of most of Tallinn’s designer stores and galleries, had spent way too much money and have had plenty of good conversations with Estonia’s creatives. My day got better and better and I had to force myself not to skip through town, but rather act like a normal human being. I think you get the point, talking to all these inspiring people made me really happy. I didn’t think the day could get any better. Boy, oh boy, was I wrong. Never in a million years would I have guessed what happened next. 

Climbing up the stairs to Toompea - Tallinn’s Dome Hill – I found myself facing  a group of four –tourists – as I thought – with American accents. Obviously, I was intrigued. After offering to take a group shot of them they told me that they were actually on a photoshoot. For Lonely Planet. The sane part of me managed to say “Oh cool, have fun then!” and leave it at that. But as I walked away, more and more crazy voices took over in my head. “They are from Lonely Planet. No big deal. Just the publisher of the best travel guides ever. What the hell am I doing walking away right now? They seemed like the coolest bunch. I want to be their friend. But what am I supposed to say? Hey, I don’t have anything to do, can we be friends? Also, could you please hire me? Right. No, that's too crazy, I can't do that.”

Of course I went back. After listening to the voices in my head for a bit I decided that I should just go for it. Because as the saying says "We only regret the chances we didn't take" - And I am so glad I don't have to regret not taking that one. Because the four of them were lovely. Turns out the two photographers of the group had just met the other two guys at lunch. And then the coolest thing happened. Just like that, they asked me if I had time to come with them and take some more pictures because they needed another person in the pictures anyways. Me. Casually, in pictures of Lonely Planet. Just what we normally do on a Tuesday afternoon in Estonia. I am not kidding. This was real life. Not imagining that in any way. (Yes, I am still pretty excited.)

After taking pictures for some time we all went out for dinner and just talked. These guys were truly incredible. An American photographer living in Norway, a Norvegian photographer traveling all over, a Norvegian living in Estonia, an Estonian Event Manager who changed careers is now producing and selling honey. And me. It was the most random group of people but that's exactly what made it so interesting. I listened to travel stories from the weirdest places, learned about bees and was just in awe of everything these people had done in their life. 

It still makes me so happy that five people who are - for the most part - so different from each other and didn't know each other a couple of hours earlier could just sit together like a group of old friends and chat about anything. I loved it. It reminded me why I love traveling so much. And why I like talking to strangers. And why I will never stop doing it. Yes, it is scary sometimes. And yes, there are times when I am too "scared" to talk to somebody. But to be honest, that is stupid. Because we are all human. We all have our baggage to carry. Nobody needs to be scared. And meeting new people is just so good. It gives you so much more perspective on this world. And it is so much fun. Everybody has a story to tell, we just need to listen. (And as a bonus you get to be part of a photoshoot - sometimes.)

So what is your take on talking to strangers? Yes? No? Maybe? Let us know!

xx Kathi

Photo taken in: Tallinn, Estonia



Hello, it's me. I am back in freezing Austria and so far I have been trying to ignore all my responsibilities. Obviously, that is not the best strategy, I know that. I was just not ready for reality quite yet. An abundance of unread and unanswered mails and messages for my birthday made me realize: I can't hide forever. So, here I am, telling you a short story of how I got sick in Thailand. Yeah, we all know I can't keep it short. 

So, as Kathi has already mentioned: I was traveling around Thailand for one month, most of the time with my friend A. After we spent a few days in Bangkok together, we took a night train to Chiang Mai, which is located in the North of Thailand. Oh, how much I love Chiang Mai! A and I went on a three day-trekking tour where we got to bathe elephants, jump off waterfalls, sleep in the middle of the jungle and eat delicious Thai food. It was magical. And dirty.

pure nature

As you can imagine, we were kind of exhausted after three days of hardcore trekking - I swear, there were moments where only the anticipation of Mango Sticky Rice kept us going - so, A thought it would be a great idea to get a Thai Massage afterwards. 
You know how people tell you that Thai Massages really hurt and you don't believe them because you think they are just overreacting little babies? Well, you better believe them, before you actually get one and end up scarred for life. 

After my barely-survival of the Thai Massage, A and I decided to visit the Grand Canyon of Chiang Mai, which is an old quarry filled with water. It is almost as exciting as the "real" Grand Canyon in the States, but you can cliff jump and swim in there, so, it is basically the Grand Canyon in cool. We went there by scooter and for the first time in my life I felt confident driving, well, anything, to be honest, and I think, also for the very first time someone actually felt safe while I was driving. Anyway, we spent the day there jumping off 15 meter-high rocks, which led to heavy bruises on A's thighs and arms, because she was paying too much attention to overcoming her fear of heights and too little to the whereabouts of her limbs.

Grand Canyon, Chiang Mai

I am not sure whether it was the search for a certain association that did not want to be found or one too many cigarettes smoked by a certain someone that led to a certain scenario where we were racing through Chiang Mai trying to get ourselves and our backpacks to the train station in time and the scooter back before the rental place was closing. Classic race against the time. Long story short: We lost. 
I tried to cry several times during this hell of a ride, but my body just did not let me. Can you believe it?! You must be thinking: She cannot even get this tiny bit of satisfaction during dark times like these?! I know, I was just as upset about the absence of my tears then as you are now. But hey, life is unfair. 

In the end, I got my passport back - even though the rental store was already closed - and I made it to the train station safely. We missed the train anyway, because it was seriously ON TIME  - for the first time ever in Thailand. Our only chance to catch that train was to pay one lucky taxi driver enough money for him to feed his children for the next two months to chase our train down to the next scheduled stop. During my most expensive taxi ride ever, I started feeling very unwell and thought I might throw up, but my body knew very well that I couldn't afford to clean that taxi, so it waited until we arrived - but only right until we entered the building and tried to figure out if we missed the train. (Of course, we did not. It was late, duh!) The next toilet was out of sight, so a trash can had to do it. Apparently, me throwing up into a trash can with a huge backpack on has been an amusing sight as A had a good laugh over it and even considered taking a picture of this weak moment of mine. At least one of us thought it was funny. 
Good news: We made it onto the train and our beds were - surprisingly - comfortable. Bad news: I did not sleep. At all. I am going to spare you the details, but I can tell you this much: the toilet and I became quite good friends that night. 

xx Lena

Photos taken in: Chiang Mai, Thailand

So Brussels. After one of my longest and best friends had asked me to come see her in her “new” home for two and a half years, I finally booked my tickets this Christmas. Two reasons: I kind of do value our friendship and didn’t want her to end it over the fact that I never came to see her. The other one: Why not go when you have a place to stay at for free? (Kidding, I love you, Eva!)

To be honest I wasn’t really excited about Brussels itself, given the fact that most people I talked to didn’t like the city that much. My question to all of them after my trip: Have we been to the same place?

Now, keep in mind that I have only seen a tiny bit of the city and I am obviously not an expert but the bits and pieces I saw had me in awe. That might be due to the fact that I had two excellent tour guides. Up until they wouldn’t wake up Sunday morning and I had to set off on my own. Which led to getting lost. And cold. And discovering really cool places.

Even though the weather was more than annoying – after all I didn’t leave -25° C cold Estonia to deal with snow in Belgium – I tried to think of a reason to move there only one day into the trip. I might or might not do that in pretty much every city. But still, Brussels got me. For several reasons:

  • Dutch is the funniest language ever. 

    How is this even a language? I feel like somebody had it with German sounding so harsh and just tried to create a cute version of it. It is hilarious and I want to hear more of it.

  • The street art is incredible.

    Murals wherever you go. Is there anything better? I only stopped taking pictures  of them because my hands were about to freeze off.

  • Now to the important part: Food! Their fries are out of this world.

    If you haven’t tried them yet, don’t do it. It will ruin you for life. There is no chance I’ll see fries the same way after trying Belgian ones. I wouldn’t believe it until the girls took me on a trip JUST to get some from a booth somewhere in the depths of Brussels, but they are truly amazing and way  better than any I have ever tried before.
    The freezing cold and the crazy rain didn’t stop us from having Belgian frites on a bus stop bench. Oh the classiness. But you know what? It was the best damn meal I had on that trip.
    Great, now I can't stop thinking about it. Getting upset because I can’t have any right now.

    (Just in case you were wondering what the secret behind this golden deliciousness is: Belgians fry them twice at two different temperatures. Such geniuses. Somebody give them a medal!)
  • Random balconies pop up wherever you go,
    It makes getting lost in the city so much more enjoyable. You unexpectedly turn a corner and all  of a sudden face the nicest view over a part of the city. It really is great. And dangerous, if you try to climb the stairs descending from the balconies in winter. Just saying. Not that I fell or anything.

  • Beer!
    Do I need to say more? I don’t even like beer but I did drink it there. Because there is no other way. It is cheap. And surprisingly good. Not as good as the fries though…
  • Because best friends and stuff.

    That trip once again reminded me that some friends really do become your family. And wherever they are, it feels like home. I could go on with the cheesiness but I think you get the point.

I hope one of these reasons made you want to go to Brussels. Mostly the fries, I guess.  But you’ve been warned. Either you need to learn how to make them yourself or you’ll lead a frie-less life after trying them. In any case, I’ll stop rambling. 

Thanks for the great days, Eva, Naddy & all you amazing VeCo-people. You're the best!

xxx Kathi

Photos taken in: Brussels, Belgium

Hey there. Remember us? The two Austrians who were sooooo excited about starting a blog together and then stopped posting two weeks in? We are back! Kind of. At least I hope so.

Lena is currently traveling Thailand, having the time of her life while I am sitting in grey Estonia taking on too many responsibilities to handle and kind of freaking out. (Let's face it, I need the drama. And freaking out is worth it since I am super excited about all the projects I am working on.) In any case, Lena probably won’t be able to write anything until she is back from her travels - she has jungles to explore and beaches to lie on. I think we can forgive her. 

But I am in good old Tallinn and have a couple of stories to share from last month’s trips to Brussels and Lapland. Besides that I might have spent quite some time in the coolest coffee shops, bars and restaurants Tallinn has to offer – would explain why I am already broke at the beginning of the month – that I have to tell you about.
So I’m pretty sure we’re back for good this time. One half for now, at least. But before I start posting about all the great places to go in Tallinn I figured I should tell you how I ended up here in the first place.

Back in New Hampshire, shortly before I met Lena, I heard about another new Au Pair that just moved in with a family I knew. My host kids liked playing with this family’s children and I liked meeting new people, so we invited them over for a playdate. Because I was obsessed with baking back in the US and because sweet stuff is always a good bribe when working with kids, I made a batch of cupcakes before their visit. I remember that I was late to the playdate at my own house and that she was already in our backyard, super confused because nobody was there. Her name was Tiana. She was from Estonia. And she ate ALL the cupcakes that day.

That was probably the reason I liked her instantly. A couple of weeks later Lena and Tiana met at an Au Pair meeting. Right after the meeting Lena called me and told me that the person she liked most was “this one girl from Estonia”. And two minutes after our phone call Tiana texted me “I pretty much only liked one girl. Lena. She is from Austria as well, isn’t that funny?” Now, I don't believe in destiny, but this was a really, really cool coincidence.

Back to why I ended up in Estonia: When I first met Tiana I asked her the typical questions people up here get all the time. Which one of the Baltic countries is Estonia? Is there anything special up there? Tiana patiently answered all of them and changed my perception of the Baltic countries completely. When I had to decide on where to do my Erasmus semester two years later I really wanted to go to Australia. But since Australia didn’t want me, I had to choose a city in Europe. And Estonia was the only place that got me excited enough to apply. Almost the same thing as Australia, right?

So here I am now. In a country that has a total population of 1.3 million and that is so flat that people get excited about a 318 meters high “mountain”. It is grey, it is cold most of the time but for some reason I fell in love with it. And I’m sure you will do too over the course of the next couple of months. (Just for the record, right after I moved here, Tiana left to study in England. Not sure if it was me or the cold...)

xx Kathi

Photos taken in: Tallinn, Estonia

"How did you DO all that?" This is something I have heard quite often by now when I return from a trip and reveal how little money it had all cost me. Here is how: I am the queen of budget traveling. Kidding, of course. Actually, it is really hard work. I spend hours in front of my computer researching, reading guidebooks and travelblogs from other travelers to figure out the best destinations, routes and prices. Travel companions happily let me do all the planning - always. And, truth be told, I love it. Yes, it is time consuming and yes, chances are high I should be doing something else instead (mostly studying), but I just cannot help it. And as you might expect, I have made some major mistakes over the years and drew quite a few lessons from them.
You are tired of going to travel agencies, letting other people plan YOUR trip or you are far from a millionaire and still want to see the whole world? Stay with me.

The first and essential question you will ask yourself before taking a trip is "Where do I want to go and how do I get there?" I cannot help you with your "where" - only you know which places you dream of and which ones are on top of your bucket list. The only tip I can give you regarding your destination is this one: Do not get hung up on one specific place. There might be a better time to go there (pay attention to high seasons!) when flights are cheaper. You have one week off work/school/university and Paris is just unaffordable right now? No problem. I bet, there is another place on your list that you can get to for less money. Comparing fares really pays off!
And in case you do not want to let go of your dream destination just yet: Check the prices every single day at least three times. There are certain times when you can get tickets at a cheaper rate. Some say it is Tuesday or Wednesday. I say it could be any day.

Good websites to look for flights:
x Skyscanner
x STA Travel
x Checkfelix
x Google Flights

I would recommend to use those websites only to get an overview of all the flights offered. Do not always believe what they say about the price! Most of the pages you get redirected to charge you for paying by card or simply request a service fee. The search engine usually shows you that the ticket is more expensive when booking directly with an airline, but speaking from my own experience: It is not. Try it out! Also: Subscribe to the airlines' newsletter to receive the latest offers. You might even get as lucky as I did when a well-known 5-star airline had a promotion and I was able to purchase a round trip ticket from Munich to Bangkok for only €450,-

If there are no flights available within your budget, you might want to look into other ways of transportation (of course, it always depends on how much time you have). A very affordable way to travel is by bus, especially for long distance travel. There are numerous operators out there who take you from A to B overnight - which is actually the cheapest way to go somewhere as you also save up on a night in a hotel and you do not lose any time of your day - and some of them are very comfortable. Another advantage of using buses is that they drop you off right in the city center or close to it. I had the best experiences with MeinFernbus&Flixbus, iDBus which is now Ouibus in Europe and Megabus in the U.S. Their deals start at $1, and one time, I actually got a ride from New York City to Boston for $1,50!! My breakfast that day was more expensive than the whole trip ;-)

Another awesome and really, really cheap way to get around is to use BlaBlaCar, a car sharing website. BlaBlaCar is particularly suitable for short distance. Unfortunately it is a French company (and page), so everything is in French. But, no worries, there are a few more branches from Germany, Spain and Portugal, for example, but they only have a fraction of all the rides. What is so great about BlaBlaCar beside the fact that you get to travel with locals and it doesn't really cost much? You can book the rides very spontaneously (even a few hours before) and the driver only gets paid if he /she actually gives you a ride. So, they cannot set you up.

The next means of transport might not always be the cheapest one - it defintely depends on the country: Trains can be very low-priced in countries like Italy or some parts of Asia, but in others it can be even more expensive than taking an airplane.

The cheapest of all, but only for hardliners: Hitchhiking. If you have never done this before but are thinking of giving it a try, take a look at Hitchwiki. It provides all the information you need for your adventure, offers help with your first time-fears and shows which countries are especially suitable to hitchhike in.

For a longer trip, the best method is to use a combination of all the aforementioned transportations (one-way) to reach your destinations. Just to give you an impression of how well this works: This summer, I traveled through Europe for 7 weeks - not with Interrail but trains, buses, carpools and airplanes combined. Vienna - Berlin - Amsterdam - London - Paris - Milan - Genova - Cinque Terre -  Pisa - Madrid - Lisbon - Algarve - Seville - Málaga - Valencia - Barcelona - Vienna for as little as €480,-.

You see, traveling does not always have to be expensive. Low-budget traveling is definitely doable but also a lot of work. But hey, it is totally worth it!!!

I hope this post will help you with planning your trips in the future - let us know where you will be going!

xx Lena


Photo taken in: Key West, USA

First things first: I subscribe to everything Lena wrote about getting to Chris’ apartment. Let’s just say I have never been happier to be greeted by a doorman – not that I have ever been to an apartment building with a doorman before - except the fact that he made fun of me for not being able to pronounce Chris' last name. (Exactly what happened to L the year before.)

The summer after L’s first stay at Chris’ we decided to meet up in NYC and he was kind enough to host us (again), even though he had loads of visitors that weekend. We were 6 people in his one-room apartment. How we did it? I have no clue. I just remember Chris’s friend sleeping on some towels in the hallway, because there literally was no more inch left in the room. Hello there, hardcore sleepover!

I didn’t want to admit it back then but I was quite nervous, since I didn’t know our host and was on my own for the first night. As soon as I got to his place though, all my worries were forgotten.  Chris was super nice and even though he had to go to work the next morning he listened to all my stories until late at night. I felt so welcome at this apartment, it was ridiculous, considering the fact that this was a complete strangers house. What flustered me most was that within ten minutes of knowing me, Chris gave me a key to his apartment and told me I could come and go whenever, even if he wasn’t there. How can a person be that trusting? It still baffles me. And then there was the food sharing thing. “Feel free to eat anything you find around here. But it might be safer to check the expiration date before” I mean I get the hosting people for culture exchange purposes thing. But don’t touch my food, person. That’s where the friendliness stops. Not in Chris' world, though.

But this weird concept some people call food sharing didn’t stop there. The next day I was invited to come by Chris’ work. To pick him up and then get some dinner, at least that’s what I thought. When I got there, though, I received a text saying “Tell the doorman your name and come up. You’re on the list” THE LIST?? 

Now, you have to know that back then he worked for a pretty well-known media company with a huge office building just off Central Park. Telling the doorman my name, letting him take my picture to put on my Visitor Pass, then being thrown into this world full of busy and important people and shown around didn't feel like anything remotely close to reality anymore. But forget all that. More important was the fact that the waiting area was full of food. Full to the bursting. With anything you can imagine. And I was allowed to take whatever my heart desired. It was the BEST DAY EVER. I remember sitting there, on a huge pink couch, not daring to get up and messaging my friends because I couldn't believe it. (It was so good that two days later, Lena and I forced Chris to put us on “The List” again – mainly to show Lena all the food.)

But even all the food aside, it was a great weekend. We explored the City some more, went out with the whole apartment crew – which might or might not have been the time when Lena pretty much asked the bouncer if he knew that we weren’t quite old enough yet to enter the club, but that's another story – and generally had a really good time. 

blurry picture - great memories

I still talk to Chris sometimes and I know that we are always welcome back in New York. What I’m trying to say is this: Without Couchsurfing we would have never seen the inside of a NYC office building. We would have never even dreamed about going clubbing in the City. And we would have never had a friend there we could go back to visit. So if you are still skeptical about the whole concept, don’t be! Try it! I’m not promising that it will be great, but it might be. And just the possibility of such a unique and different trip is worth the try. Even if your host turns out to be horrible, it's still a good story to tell.

Have you tried CS yet? Tell us about your experiences. The good, the bad, the ugly, we want to hear about them all!


xx Kathi


Photos taken in: New York, USA

This is going to be a story about both our first time Couchsurfing, which happened to be with the same guy: Chris from New York. For the ones of you who do not know what "Couchsurfing" is - it is fairly simple: There is this website (www.couchsurfing.com), where you can sign up and look for free places to sleep. Traditionally you sleep on a couch in someone's apartment, sometimes you even get a bed and - if you are especially lucky - your own room (but do not expect that to happen on a regular basis). It is a great way for broke travelers like us to be able to go on a trip regardless their empty wallet and to engage with the culture and everyday life of the locals. Just keep an open mind and your priorities in order and you will be guaranteed to have a unique and unforgettable experience. You might even make a friend along the way, which is exactly what happened to us. 

My first contact with Couchsurfing was back in 2013 when I was living in the United States and wanted to visit christmassy New York. I had just heard about this website and got curios, so I signed up and sent out my first few surfing requests. After a few declines I received a very nice message from this guy living on 4th Avenue offering his couch to me and my friend Tiana. There cannot be any harm in that, right? Well, imagine this:

You arrive in the city at 12AM and the bus driver lets you off in a dark, abandoned alley and you have no idea where you are. "Okay, no need to panic. We only have to find 4th Avenue and Chris' apartment now. Easy peasy. No need to panic." Then you run around in circles - because turns out 4th Avenue is pretty long - without finding the right apartment but instead crossing ways with a bunch of creepy people in the biggest city you have ever been to, not knowing anyone. This is probably the time when you actually start panicking, just a little bit. "So, where is this apartment now?...we have already been here...this guy looks scary...he is coming closer...OMG! We are gonna die out here!! Okay, he just passed. No need to worry...but WHERE ON EARTH IS THAT APARTMENT?! Oh, here it is."

We had passed said apartment three times already by the time we actually found it. But our little adventure did not end there. After an actual doorman told us where to go - you have no idea just how fancy we felt in that moment - we ended up standing in front of the door we thought was our host's both being too scared to knock. What if it was a rapist or a serial killer? You never know. While we were still deciding who would stand in front of the other and take the first bullet, we already knocked and prepared for the worst. Fortunately, nothing happened. I mean literally, nothing happened. Turns out we knocked on the wrong door at 2AM in the morning. I guess the person was not at home. But Chris was, and we had loads of fun getting to know him better over the next few days. He definitely was not a creep and the best first Couchsurfing host possible!

Read about my second time staying at Chris's, our summer trip to NYC and how we ended up being friends with our Couchsurfing host in Kathi's post on Saturday.

xx Lena


Photo taken in: New York City, USA
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