When my blog hit the 10 year mark in 2024, I began to feel the weight of time more heavily than ever. Seven years already passed since my cousin Lisa and her now husband Christoph visited me in New York, when I showed them the best of New York City and we drove all the way to Niagara Falls.
I was going to visit for their wedding and I tried to work Germany into my revenge-travel-summer trip to Greece and Norway. Both plans fell through for various reasons. So, after 12 years since visiting Germany the first time in 2014, I was determined to plan a Euro trip with Germany as the priority.
That’s how I ended up with my Euro trip planned for May.
This post explores my day-by-day back in Bavaria after 12 years. I landed in Munich and from there my relatives whisked me off to 4 days of quality family time. Mixed in, I visited parks, saw incredible German architecture, hiked to castles, explored villages, and ate all the typical Bavarian food. The most heartwarming part?—Meeting my 5 new cousins aged 7 months to 5 years old.
The world around me and the people who live in it. These are the two things I find myself constantly appreciating more and more as a travel. And the Central Otago region of New Zealand has the perfect example of both.
Carolina and I explored this gorgeous region from our campsite on Lake Dunstan.
Eventually, we got an offer from a connection I had made on the North Island to stay with a local for a couple of nights.
A bit of miscommunication about our arrival time led us to seeing even more stunning scenery en route to a new campsite and meeting some unexpected, hobbit-sized locals!
There was an excitement in the air each morning at the Big Bubble resort just after the sun had broke over the bay’s southern hills. Five of us divers would scramble to gather equipment and load it onto the small boat to carry out to the big boat where a large group of people would meet us from a neighboring resort. We’d travel out to our location, anchor up to the mooring, then jump in and descend.
After 3 days of these diving adventures, it was time to do something different. But I was not ready to leave the island yet. I ended up staying for an extra two nights. During this time, I got to experience more of the island life, connect with the local Thai people, swim and snorkel at the beaches, and celebrate a new friend’s birthday.
