A couple of you have already seen some of my annoying posts about this Challenge I want to participate in. If my team manages to get into the challenge we will travel Europe for seven days in April. The catch is that we will do it without money or phones – just with cans of a very popular energy drink.


I am not going to tell you how badly we want to be part of it, how this would be the biggest adventure any of us has ever been on, blabla. You get the point – it would be amazing. But in true flying floordrobe style, I want to tell you the stories of how I met these two people crazy enough to go on a trip like that with me.

I met Kiran last semester at my university here in Tallinn. The whole Student Council went out together for the first time and I was pretty excited. Kiran on the other hand was not in the best mood of all times and I made it my mission to make him a bit happier. Well. Let’s just say things did not go exactly as planned and that I wasn’t his favorite person that night. But I truly believe that this set the base for our friendship. This and the 10 bars of chocolate I bribed him into liking me again with.

And only three weeks ago Victoria talked her way into our crew. An Estonian who does not shut up – ever – how can anybody not like that? She had just returned from her exchange semester in Madrid and was ready to take over the world. And when she realized that this was not possible in a couple of days she focused on our school. She loves to write to-do lists – for other people – and constantly freaks out about her tight schedule.

One week into knowing Vic she suggested signing up for the challenge together. And we all got too excited to think this through properly. Let’s face it, we don’t know if it’s a great idea to go on such an intense trip with people we’ve only just met. But judging from everything we’ve been through in the last couple of days I’m pretty damn sure we can make it together. All through filming our application video to the voting process that’s going on right now we’ve managed to stay friends even though we’ve been annoying each other to death. Some people question our sanity level, though. We have heard “Is this a comedy show?” more than once when I threaten to slap Vic because she won’t calm down or when we all yell at each other because we all want to get attention at the same time.

With our amazing help Birgit who shot the whole video.
So I’m pretty sure we would have an insanely fun week together. With focus on the insane part. And I think that it would be pretty entertaining for everybody watching our video updates throughout that week. So if you love adventures, crazy things or just want to watch our team – Adventure Preneurs –get horribly lost in Europe and blame it on each other then we would really appreciate your like on our video – which we poured our hearts and souls into. And our health. I fell on my head so many times while shooting, it’s ridiculous. I am really starting to think that I have a talent for falling in the weirdest ways humanly possible. But that’s another story.

In case you voted for us - you just won my eternal love. And if you didn't - I still love you for reading this. But you should really consider voting.


xx Kathi
Photos taken in: Tallinn, Estonia

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

Back in New Hampshire, when I had known Lena for approximately two weeks, I told her that she was one of those rare people I can see myself fighting with. I usually hate arguments with my friends. I’m just not good at fights – those with my sister not included. But with Lena, I thought, I could really enjoy a good argument every now and again. Boy oh boy, was I wrong.

How wrong I was with this assumption, I didn’t realize until almost two years later, when we went on a girls-trip to Budapest. Now, imagine four girls, each one with her own, very strong personality, sticking together for three days straight. You know as much as I do that something was bound to happen. Couldn’t agree on where to go? Not our problem. Hangriness? Not that either. It was the German language that got us started. The article of the word dumpling, to be exact. I am not even going to go into the whole thing again, or I’ll have to call Lena right now and start discussing this again. The argument went on for quite some time, ended in tears and I soon realized: I hate fighting with L.

Why I’m telling you this? Because I want you to know about Mimi. And Mimi came at the perfect time, reminding me that I love this girl from Upper Austria to bits, even though she frustrates the hell out of me sometimes. So who is Mimi? 

She is our first favorite find and the reason why we started flying floordrobe, but most importantly she is my favorite artist and an incredibly talented person. Mimi owns a not-so-little-anymore company called Papetri Paperworks and creates amazing notebooks, cards and as of last year, she also designs diaries for dm Hungary. Her illustrations are the cutest thing I have ever seen and her notebooks too precious to ever actually use them. Can you tell I’m in love?

We found Mimi the day after the dumpling incident, strolling around Budapest’s amazingly beautiful Jewish quarter and browsing a few market stalls that have been put up in one of the passages connecting Király utca and Dob utca. (Remember those names; you don’t want to miss out on Budapest’s Design Street – which would be Király utca – and all the courtyards and passages around there!) Naturally, the two of us got excited about pretty much everything – as long as it was handmade and special somehow. But then there she was, in a dark corner, showcasing her work.

how can you not love these illustrations?
I think Mimi was a little scared of the two crazy people jumping up and down in excitement just because of her notebooks. And I think that our fellow travelers were a little annoyed at how long we took just because of those notebooks. But Lena and I were in our own happy bubble, our day having been made a little better just because of Mimi’s notebooks. It also made me realize that I probably won’t ever find another person again that goes as crazy for those little things as I do.

I don’t have to mention that we fell in love with her stuff right then and there, but when we started talking to her we loved the company even more, because Mimi turned out to be a lovely person. Of course we bought some of her work that day. We also got her card, tracked her down on Facebook, went to see her when she was at a street market in Vienna, obviously bought some more of her stuff and are currently working on a very exciting project with her.

So that’s the story of how we found Mimi. If you want to check out her stuff – trust me, you want to – have a look at her Facebook page and her Instagram feed. And don’t forget to check out Király utca if you ever find yourself in Budapest. But bring enough money - you willl want to buy everything. Don't tell me I didn't warn you!

xx Kathi

Photo taken in: Budapest, Hungary

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
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