A lifestyle expat travel blog about culture, history, Brexit, the Royal Family, travels around the world, Europe, and being British in Berlin!
Posted on January 3, 2020 by thebritishberliner
Happy New Year everyone.
It’s officially 2020!
My goodness!
2019 was an exciting, but very mixed year!
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 statistics, over 130,000+ people read my blog in some form or other, last year.
130,000+ people!!
I don’t know how I managed that as in most cases I only managed to write one (1) or two (2) articles per month!
And why pray?
Well, my dad died!
I rarely talk about intimate members of my family, but my dad passed away in June.
It was most upsetting.
He was a man who was born into wealth and privilege but chose to live a gentle life.
He was quiet but allowed us all to choose what was best for us, rather than the other way around.
Most importantly of all, he loved running and was always in one marathon or the other. In fact, growing up, he was kind enough to let all his children win, whenever we ran against him!
I’ve always had my daddy even as an adult and a parent myself.
It still feels strange.
I don’t have a dad anymore!
He was 77 years old and is survived by his children & second wife of 40+ years.
I would like to thank you all, for the kind words and support that many of you gave me, at that most awful time.
Thank you so much for reading, making comment, and sticking with me. I love you all!
So let’s do this.
You won’t believe it but four (4) of the countries I visited last year, were utterly new ones!
Here we go!
THE 8 COUNTRIES THAT I WENT TO LAST YEAR WERE:
NORWAY:
I love travelling with our son, and even though he’s 17, almost 18 now (gulp), it won’t be long until he’ll want to be travelling with his friends.
In that wise, every January, The Tall Young Gentleman and I, spend some quality time together either visiting some dubious destination, or skiing!
This time around, I decided to take him to Oslo.
In Norway.
Get ready for exciting posts over the winter!
GREECE:
I absolutely loved Athens.
In Greece!
It was a birthday present from my husband – The Music Producer.
I’d never been to Greece before.
I was delighted!
Although there was so much going on last year that I forgot to write about ‘it. Oops!
I did push out photos and videos on Facebook & Twitter.
Follow me on Twitter here!
#HappyNewYear Everyone!
— Thebritishberliner (@britishberliner) January 1, 2020
My #family & I, wish you all the very best & a #fantastic time ahead.
May #thisyear be as good, or better than #lastyear!
Welcome to 2020!#FrohesNeuesJahr #frohesneuesjahr2020#HappyNewYear2020 #NewYear2020 #NewYear #2020NewYear #Year2020 #newdecade pic.twitter.com/YcrW3H7R2p
FRANCE:
And then we went to France.
France is one of my favourite countries, so we tend to go there quite often!
This time around, we went to Provence.
To be precise, we went to:
And we went there by train!
Read more about France here!
ENGLAND:
Hopefully, you all know that England is where I originally come from so when my dad died, I used my British passport in order to travel to Cheshire, where my parents live!
I didn’t write about the funeral here of course, but if you’re looking for resources and research material about England, go to this link here!
And remember, if ever you need help booking or organising a trip, you can contact me here!
ITALY:
My favourite part of Italy is Tuscany, but we didn’t go there this time, we went to an island.
The island of Sardinia.
I’m not big on hot beaches, but sometimes, you’ve got to get out of your comfort zone, and for me, it’s a very hot beach rather than a windy rainy one!
Even though we were grieving and bereaved, we liked it very much and needed the break!
GEORGIA:
I went to Tbilisi.
In Georgia!
Here’s what I wrote. Click here!
POLAND:
Poland is one of my favourites places to visit, but last year I decided to go to both Krakow and for the very first time – Łódź!
For more on Poland, click here!
UKRAINE:
I hadn’t actually planned to travel to Ukraine at all!
But as I was going to be in Poland anyway and was looking for a new destination, I remembered that Ukraine was just around the corner and added it in!
We went to just two cities:
Prepare to be bombarded with posts over the winter!
WHY DID VICTORIA GO TO POLAND, GEORGIA & UKRAINE?
p.s If you’re booking hotels, houses and apartments, use this link to save 20% or more, between 5th January and 31st March 2021!
Booking.comBecause all the above countries are in Eastern Europe, have long magnificent histories, fascinating cultures, and a gastronomy that people say you have just got to try!
And they’re ridiculously cheap!
Surely, the time was right!
BERLIN:
Oh yeaaaah! Berlin baby! I’ve been living here as an expat for more than 17 years. I know Berlin that’s why I am The British Berliner! So without further delay, here are some of the lovely posts that I wrote in 2019, just for you:
AND THEN BREXIT HAPPENED. URGH!
The British Berliner is a well-known British-German expert when it comes to the British Monarchy, British Politics and British expat issues in Germany, and of course a popular well-known British person who travels!
In fact, I was on TV, on the radio & in the newspaper.
Yep!
I was on Radio One (Radio Eins) too.
For more posts that I wrote about Britain, being a British expat, the UK, or where I was featured in 2019, click here!
I didn’t do too badly, me thinks!
OTHER STUFF!
The work of a lifestyle, expat, travel blogger is never done, so I’ll leave with you with some of my most inspiring motivational posts!
If you would like to do what I do or travel the way I do, you can click on any of the pull-down items above, or on the side bar!
By the way, you don’t have to wait for Christmas to get presents. Go ahead and treat yourself!
In short, all things considering, 2019 was alright.
I love the life of the roving journalist and blogger about town.
I have a family and I have a life. Most importantly, I’ve already found my home-base – Berlin – and I’m extremely happy with where I am, and who I am.
Thank you so much for your support everyone.
Bottoms up!
I have so much to say, so I will be sharing some of my travel destinations for 2020 with you very soon.
It’s a New Year. Hip! Hip! Hurrah!
All content will continue to remain free of charge but if you feel like buying me a cup of tea, I will graciously accept!
Cheers!
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If you want to write your own blog, here’s my link to a $25 or €25 discount in credit with any paid plan with WordPress. Don’t say that I don’t give you anything!
Here’s the link again: http://wordpress.com/refer-a-friend/qyyjJjnfWBnRGPVRj0V
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Nifty!
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I really appreciate it.
How I went to 8 exciting countries. Brexit happened. And then my father died in 2019!
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So what are you waiting for, 2020 is finally here.
Get to work!
And good luck!
This article is not sponsored, and the enchanting countries that I visited in 2019, were all my very own!
If you’re not in Berlin in January, then where the hell are you?
January is going to be splendid!
See you soon!
Watch this space!
DISCLOSURE!
Please note that The British Berliner is a participant in affiliate programmes designed to provide a means for sites to earn fees by advertising and linking to World Nomads Travel Insurance & Booking.com.
In short, there are two affiliate link companies connected to this post!
Every time one of these services is used, booked, and paid for via my link, I get a little percentage, but at no extra cost to yourself!
A win-win for all!
Note! I never travel without insurance as you never know what might happen.
I learnt my lesson in Spain. And obviously, in countries like Qatar, where technically the risk is higher, I can’t imagine going that far beyond WITHOUT INSURANCE. No siree! You can get yours here, at World Nomads!
So what are you waiting for?
Thanks a million!
See you in Berlin.
If you have any questions, send me a Tweet, talk to me on Facebook, find me on LinkedIn, make a comment below or send me an Email: victoria@thebritishberliner.com
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Category: Blog, blogging, blogs, Brexit, British Berliner, British expat, celebrations, countries, dad died, death, digital publishing, EUROPE, EXPAT, FAMILY, family travel, father, father died, How to start a blog, inspiration, INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL, Life, Live the life you want!, loss, media, motivation, new media content creators, performance, press, social media, social media influencer, the travel industry, THOUGHTS & IDEAS, TRAVEL, Travel and Tourism, travel the world, women in travel, world travel, writer, writersTags: Blog, blog achievements, blog year, Brexit, Brexit happened, British, British expat, dad, dad died, death, eight countries, exciting, exciting countries, expat, family travel, father, father died, go for it, How I went to 8 countries, how to be an expat, If I can do it, if you want the sky, inspiration, international travel, just do it, loss, motivation, my father died, new media content creators, reach for the sky, sense of loss, so can you, social media, social media influencer, then my father died, then my father died in 2019, Travel and Tourism
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I'm a British girl from Manchester living in Berlin with my German husband and my half British – half German son. My blog is a lifestyle expat travel blog and puts a focus on my promotion of culture, history, travels around the world, Europe, Brexit, the Royal Family, British-German life and being British in Berlin - I am The British Berliner!
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Hi Victoria. Sorry to hear about your dad passing. I used to visit Cheshire regularly when I lived in the UK.
Hi Mat,
Thank you for your kind words. It was pretty hard and more distressful than I thought it would be. However, being at home in Cheshire and seeing my brothers and familiar surroundings, certainly helped. 🙂
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