How I went to 10 incredible countries, and climbed a volcano in 2014. If I can do it, so can you!

Wow! 2014 was an incredible year and right now, I’m in Holland. Amsterdam baby! I’ll give you all the details next week!!

But first, let’s take a walk down memory lane of all the countries that I went to last year, and what I did. According to my WordPress annual report, over 16,000 people have read my blog in the last year. 16,000 people!! To think I only started this blog a little over a year ago. Isn’t that marvellous?

Thank you so much for reading, making comment, and sticking with me. I love you all!

So let’s start with the country of my birth (England), and end with my new home-country (Germany). Here we go. Choose your poison….!

THE 10 COUNTRIES THAT I WENT TO LAST YEAR WERE:

• England
• Scotland
• Germany
• Poland
• France
• Belgium
• Qatar
• Thailand
• Indonesia
• South Korea

ENGLAND:

• With, as of now, 50 comments and the most popular British post: How to be British: Oh and by the way, you need to queue!
• Writing about British music aka Britpop and The Beatles: You’re not British if you haven’t walked down Abbey Road, Penny Lane, and Strawberry Fields, with Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds!
• On a weekend trip to London with tips of how to go there, spending hardly any money at all: London Calling: How to eat and drink for under £25 or $30 a day (including the service charge)!!
• Imagine that you only had 48 hours to spend in England’s capital city. What could you do: How to spend 48 hours in London: A Mango, a Street, and a Bollywood production!
• Who doesn’t like Shakespeare, and how awesome is it when you can watch English National Theatre productions Live, like this one: Death and Destruction in Berlin: How to get a piece of Shakespeare in King Lear.
• Or this piece about Frankenstein: Frankenstein isn’t dead! Thrills and spills, Danny Boyle, Benedict, & Jonny Lee Miller!
• Or what about this literary masterpiece by Mark Haddon: An extraordinary brain and a frightening story: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time; at a Berlin cinema near you!

SCOTLAND:

• If you’ve never been to Edinburgh, then read on: Haggis, Tatties, and Neeps: 10 Things to do in Edinburgh.
• The “other” Scottish city that is known as Glasgow, and the Commonwealth Games that took place there: Go North my son to Glasgow n’all that : 10 things you didn’t know!
• Whisky drinking in Inverness: A wee drab of whisky is just the thing to make you itch!
• A free walking tour in Edinburgh: The Bloody Streets of Scotland.
• Scotland’s sea monster – The Loch Ness: To Nessie or not to Nessie: A temptation cruise on Loch Ness.
• Walking through The Highlands: Oh, but the Highlands are bonny!

POLAND:

For many people, Poland is an unknown country somewhere in an obscure part of Eastern Europe. If you do want to venture there, not to worry as I’ve got tips to help you plan your way. Read on:

• The following was an extremely interesting post with the second (2nd)  most read post, 40 comments and trolls! Here’s why: Going to Poland: 10 reasons not to go!
• Eating in Poland: The food of Poland and how much I have to eat!
• Using public transport in Poland: How to use the train in Poland: 10 tips to help you.
• Is visiting Poland cheap or is it cheeeeeap: If you’re looking for a cheap holiday. The Polish Baltic Sea is pretty alright!

FRANCE & BELGIUM:

In 2014, I went on my first ever press trip. My destination? France and Belgium. And how was it? It was marvellous. I was initially a little worried as to how it would be, but it was great. The region was historically interesting, the food was lovely, and the French Tourist Authority were enormously well organised. Here are the details if you’re anywhere near the UK, France, Belgium, Holland, and Germany:

• The press trip itself: My first press or FAM trip ever to Nord-Pas de Calais otherwise known as, Northern France!
• Why go to Northern France: 10 reasons why Nord-Pas de Calais otherwise known as Northern France, is more than just stinky cheese and a paté made from goose!

THAILAND:

My third (3) most popular and definitely, most exotic post was that of our customised walking tour in Bangkok. This was my third (3rd) time in Bangkok, but it was the first time for my husband and my son, so a tour felt the right thing to do.

• It was an exciting walking tour in the Chinatown of Bangkok with a local Thai/German company called – Bangkok Vanguards: 3 days in Bangkok: A walking tour isn’t what you think!
• Incredible Thai food: Thai food is going to kill you: Eat it or die!
• We need to talk about the elephants: We Need To Talk About The Elephants! : A Mahout Training Course at The Baanchang Elephant Park.
• OMG! You can die on Thai deliciousness: Thai food is going to kill you: Cook your own!
• How to do Bangkok on the cheap: How to go to Bangkok on the superior cheap, and take the family with you!
• You don’t have to choose either Bangkok or Chiang Mai, you can do both: Go to Bangkok or go to Chiang Mai. Just do it! Get up and go!

INDONESIA:

Indonesia is one of those places that seem to be so far away, being that the nearest country is Australia, n’all! It’s an exotic country packed with numerous islands, and one of the islands that we went to, was the island of Bali.

• Ah yes. I absolutely detest monkeys! See why: How I was attacked by monkeys and I screamed!
• Going on an off-the-beaten path-rural-mountain-bicycle-tour even though I can hardly ride a bike:  How I went on a bicycle tour and fell in a ditch, in Bali!
• Oh, and lest I forget – climbing a live volcano! How stupid can I get: The beginner’s guide to going up a volcano: because going up a volcano isn’t for everyone!

KOREA & QATAR:

Now going to Korea wasn’t actually planned, as we were due for a luxury 5-star visit to Qatar, but who am I to turn down a new country!

• Read about our Korea-Qatar adventure: I went to Korea, but I should have been in Qatar!

 OTHER PARTS OF GERMANY:

• Brandenburg is the countryside county (state) next-door to Berlin and is fantastically beautiful with it’s rural outlook, and the advantages of being enormously close to the capital. In some cases, a mere 30 minutes away: The astonishing rivers and lakes of Berlin and Brandenburg: 10 reasons why you should!
• Technically Mozart isn’t from Germany but from Austria! There’s a strong historical and cultural connection to Germany, so I’m putting it in anyway: So you think you know Mozart? Breakin’ Mozart in Berlin!
• In the late winter, we went to that most flamboyant of German festivals – the Cologne Carnival: Going Carnival in Cologne.

BERLIN:

Oh yeaaaah! Berlin baby! I’ve been living here as an expat for 15 years. I know Berlin that’s why I am The British Berliner! So without further delay, here are the lovely posts that I wrote just for you:

• The most read post on my blog on a single day. Ever! Thank you for the blog love: If you’re looking to make a change: Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a family. Choose an alternative walking tour in Berlin!
• The most controversial post and the post that I got lost of trolls and abuse. I didn’t publish the abuse, and if the comments were really awful, they were blocked! Ah well. I must be doing something right: Germany is Boring!
• The post that opened the door to taking me serious as “press” and a person to take seriously as a professional. I’m totally grateful: A light, a camera, and a broken arm: Action and drama at the Berlin Music Video Awards.
• Tips on going to festivals in Berlin: I’m fabulous and so are you! 10 tips on going to a festival in Berlin.
• The wonder of a food walking tour in Berlin: An introduction to the international kitchen of Berlin. Go on. You know you want to. Go on. Go eat the world!
• OMG! I got to go to Fashion Week! That’s a huge thing. If you want to join in the fun, here’s what to do: How to be a part of the new fashion set: Berlin Fashion Week 2014/2015!
• If you’ve always been daunted by Fashion Week and truely haven’t a clue, then read on: Tilda Swinton and the Last Hurrah: Berlin Fashion Week Spring / Summer 2015!
• More alternative fashion: Fashion or Passion, Green or Mean: Berlin Fashion Week.

• The English-speaking comedy scene in Berlin is booming and no wonder: Bill Bailey, a very tall German, and the English-speaking stand-up comedy scene in Berlin!
• More comedy flavour. I even got a tweet favourite from Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show! I was absolutely chuffed: You know you’re in Berlin when it’s funny, and tears fall into your champagne!
• Berlin is the dance capital of Europe, and how: If you’re going to dance the night away – Do it in Berlin!
• The Berlin International Film Festival: Hollywood comes to Berlin at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival: The Berlinale, 2014.
• The eyes of the world have always been on Berlin being that this city was divided into two (2), and so for the 25 years re-unification anniversary, I wrote this: 25 Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall: Berlin, you’re my BFF!
• Berlin isn”t just fun and games but art and culture too so twice a year, you can go to as many art galleries and museums as your legs can take you as they are open for a complete day. That’s right. All night and all day – 24 hours – and if you have the right ticket, you can even continue into the next day, making it 48 hours baby: The Long Night of Museums or die Lange Nacht der Museen: How to enjoy a shopping spree of museum loving!
• Las Vegas in Berlin: SHOW ME – How to get your own dazzling glamour in Berlin.
• Burlesque glamour: Glitzy burlesque, and utter SHEER MADNESS!
• How did I land in Berlin in the first (1st) place: What the heck is Berlin all about anyway?

EXPAT ISSUES

• Being an expat was one of the best things that I ever did. Here’s 10 reasons why: A moustache, a turkey and a quivering hand: 10 reasons to be an expat in Berlin.
• Eating and stuffing my heart away on German food: 10 surprising reasons why food in Germany isn’t just grit and stodge but is pretty awesome, in my opinion!
• Top goals for the New Year. Did I make it? Take a look and if you’ve been reading my blog long enough, you’ll know: Hey! It’s a New Year: time to get out there and do stuff!
• Watching basketball for the first time in my life. That was awesome by the way:  How I watched basketball for the 1st time. Ever. And I liked it: The Original Harlem Globetrotters.

BLOGGING & PRESS STUFF:

• My first blog interview from InterNations: My first blog interview – Yeah!
• My blog became 1 year old in the middle of October. Yay: The British Berliner is 1 year old. Let’s get the Pimms out!
• Going to a travel conference for the very first time as a blogger at the ITB in Berlin: My first introduction to the ITB Berlin: the “Internationale Tourismus-Börse” or the “international tourism trade fair.”
• Tips for going to a travel conference if you’re a new blogger:  ITB Berlin: 10 things to do if you’re a new blogger and what I learnt.
• Check out some of the places where my writing can now be found on this page here!

BLOG BADGES OF HONOUR: 

• My first Liebster Award just 4 weeks after I started blogging: The first time is the best time: The Liebster Award!
• My second Liebster Award: My second Liebster Award: 10 months as a blogger, and counting! Rah! Rah!
• The Dragon’s Loyalty Award: The Dragon’s Loyalty Award: My second badge of blog honour. Hurrah!

OTHER STUFF!

• Should you go to a hotel or should you go to a hostel: Sometimes it’s alright to admit that hotels are better than hostels!
• The German Xmas Market: A sticky bun isn’t a stollen: going to a German Christmas Market
• Writing about that post that went all viral at the beginning of last year: 10 things to do RIGHT NOW instead of getting all upset about that post: “23 things to do instead of getting engaged before you’re 23!”

63 fantastic posts! Thank you so much for your support everyone. 2014 was a brilliant year. Here’s to the next. Bottoms up!

This article is not sponsored and all opinions are my very own!

I have so much to share with you so next week I will be sharing some of my travel destinations for 2015 with you and you can read what happened to me on my solo weekend in Amsterdam…!

It”s a New Year. Hip! Hip! Hurrah!

More National Theatre Live productions are coming up and can be seen at the Cinestar Berlin – Original such as:

• John. on: 08.01.15.

• Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson on: 22.01.15.

On January 15th, I will be watching the new Grand Show at the Friedrichstadt-Palast: THE WYLD.

The “British Shorts” Short Film Festival will take place between January 15th and January 19th. You can find more info about it on facebook or on their website.

On January 29th, I will be at the Wintergarten Varieté where illusion replaces reality – for their latest production THE MAGICAL MYSTERY SHOW otherwise known as “The Show of the Magician.“

If you’re a blogger and you’re in town, then come and meet us at the Berlin Travel Massive January MeetUp on January 21st.

Berlin Fashion Week is coming up and will take place between January 19th and January 23rd, 2015. Save the Date!

If you’re not in Berlin in January, then where the hell are you?

January is going to be splendid!

Watch this space!

Where did you travel to last year? Any achievements that you would like to share?

See you in Berlin.