Remember when I told you last week I was awarded for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award? Guess what, on my birthday I got a second nomination. Thank you Laura from Savoured Journeys! What a nice coincidence and surprise. I am still not done frolicking over my third award and now I’ve got the fourth! How can I be any more happy?

Well, for one, I have finally launched my super exclusive and exciting ‘How to Rock Social Media like a Boss’ series for my newsletter subscribers. If you are into leaning more of that and/or read up on my upcoming travel plans (yes, they are going to be big), be sure to subscribe, too. Just type in your email on the right, beneath my profile picture of this page.

And there are so many new things coming over the summer, some more freebies, big travel revelations and awesome publications I am working on and that will take some time, so stay tuned. All I can say, it will be traveltastic and inspire you to chase the dream you have. Whether that is escaping a day to day life and join us digital nomads on the road or do something completely different. You know you rock!

Take me, for instance. A year ago I didn’t even know there was such a thing as blogger awards, let alone dream I would be getting even one. I would have never thought I would gain as many lovely followers as I have now with you growing up to over 8000 in just a few months, with so many of you stopping by and reading my blog. Even telling your friends about it and retweeting my silly little musings and travel tips.

And how did I start? Was I rich? Haha, I wish. And I wish I would get a dollar for every time people asked me what a travel blogger does and how we earn money. It is awefully hard and right now I am drowning in red tape. It is certainly not pretty. But the benefits of being able to see the world, meet the most inspiring people and connecting with you across the planet surely makes it all so much worth it!

So I guess you can see this as my heartfelt acceptance speech. I hear the annoying closing music playing in the background and I think I have to come to a close now. And to sum it up in one sentence:

I am super humbled, proud and happy to be able to share this journey with all of you and that without you listening it would surely be a lot bleaker and less fun. So thank you all!!

The questions posed to me by Laura were as follows:

Where was your first International trip? Would you go back?

My very first trip outside of my own country was in the 8th grade to the South of England and I was absolutely hooked. It was a dream come true, I had always wanted to visit and I was surprisingly confident in using me school English. I still remember so much about our lovely host family. Their humour was brilliant! And it was the first time I also came in touch with the typical black humour, the English are so known for. We visited London in the week of the Queen Mom’s death and watched the funeral with our host family. We were quietly standing in the corner when the host dad suddenly said: ‘Imagine they’d drop the coffin now’. We were quite unsure how to react. He thought it was hilarious.

Where would you go if there were no obstacles (time, money, etc)?

Everywhere! The world is such a big place and I want to see as much and as many people as I possibly can!

When and why did you start your travel blog?

I started last September because I wanted to keep my family and friends on top of my travels and not have to give a report to each and every one. But I also stumbled upon travel bloggers online and thought, ‘That’s what I want to do. Let’s give it a try!’. At first, I didn’t even tell anyone about it. But being a blogger without doing your social marketing is kinda stupid. You have to get the word out there!

What is one awesome travel tip you can pass on to other travelers?

Be open! Be open to changes, be flexible in your itinerary and be tolerant to others – not only cultural differences but personalities as well. You never know all about the situation they are in or why they are acting like they do. So don’t ever be judgmental.

What’s one thing about yourself that you’re the most proud of?

My perseverance. I can be quite stubborn if I put my mind to something. I will do some serious research, find people who know more and ask a lot of questions. And I will go and do it even if I don’t like the answers. That said, I only get that stubborn when I’m really passionate about something, so this blogging thing has shown itself to be one of my passions. There have been so many obstacles, it’s insane!

What is your biggest phobia?

Probably germs. I started travelling as a major germophe but after having toured around the outback and surviving food poisoning, I am a little bit tougher and do not try to inspect everything too closely (but still close enough to not get something as dangerous as that again).

If your life was a movie, what would it be titled?

Disaster this way – A Quirky Traveller Explores the World

What are the top 3 destinations on your bucket list and why?

Hawaii – I watched Lilo & Stitch too often, plus it sounds like paradise
Iceland – Need to freshen up my Old Norse and see the amazing landscapes I see on my pinboards
Alaska – need to see the midnight sun and cuddle with some more huskies

Where was the last place you traveled?

South Africa was the last country I visited before coming home for a break. Cape Town was just a wonderful city, full of colour, yummy food and kind people. Would definitely go back. But this time, in summer!

What is your favorite place you’ve ever been?

England all the way. I cannot get enough of this country. But my favourite holiday still is Samí-Land in Finland. With all that snow, the cute animals, Santa and Northern Lights, it seemed like my winter dreamland.

And without much further ado, let me introduce you to my nominees for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award:

• Sara from This Girl Loves
• Mona & Sarah and from Belle Melange
• Stacy from Adventure Stacy
• Catherine from The Go Fever
• Jen from The Trusted Traveller
• Tara from Where Is Tara?
• Henar from Wander Wings
• Anna from Anna Everywhere
• Abbi from Life in a Rucksack
• Maaike from Travellous World

Now my nominees, if they want to accept the award, have to nominate 10 other amazing and noteworthy female bloggers in turn and ask them 10 questions of their choosing. Let’s spread the blogger appreciation!

My questions are to the nominees are:

• Would you ever consider taking a seriously impractical item with you on the road just because you love it, such as an instrument, favourite plushie, etc?
• If one were to write a book about you as a traveller, what would the title be?
• What is the travel item you always seem to forget to pack?
• Do you prefer many short trips or one long term trip?
• What is your favourite travel-related book or film?
• What made you fall in love with travelling?
• Where do you see the future of digital nomadhood? Is it going to last?
• What was the most awkward encounter you had in a foreign country?
• What was the kindest thing a stranger has ever done for you while travelling?
• What is your biggest travel resolution or the rest of the year?