2017 has been an eventful year. I moved from Germany to Denmark (again), finished my master’s thesis, got a full time job in travel & tourism and am now sharing my everyday life with a handsome adventurer and his two amazing daughters #tinyawesomeness. And, as if I wasn’t already lucky enough, I also got to go on a lot of cool trips this year. Here’s a recap of the greatest trips I’ve been on in 2017 – feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions – maybe my past trips could inspire your future trips. I can highly recommend each and everyone of them.
El Chorro, Spain (March)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUTijbEBb2J/?taken-by=kimkabphoto
Booking this trip was my first task in the year 2017. A few hours in on January 1st, we had found cheap tickets and an Airbnb that wasn’t too pricey. Bam! The first trip of the year was booked. To be honest, I didn’t pay much attention to the place we booked back then. We knew we would be climbing from sunrise to sunset anyway, so it really didn’t matter that much what the place was like. When March finally arrived and we had found our way up to El Chorro from the airport in Malaga, my expectations to the apartment were accordingly low. Boy, was I wrong. We stayed in the most charming, romantic finca with white walls and blue doors. It was far up in the hills and had a beautiful terrace and garden overlooking El Chorro. Oh and apparently, in the south of Spain the beginning of March feels like the middle of summer – sunny, easy, happy. See the video here.
Chamonix, France (May)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUd1VYHB9eX/?taken-by=kimkabphoto
This one was crazy. Despite having a massive to-do list and a master’s thesis deadline ahead of me, I decided to join my boyfriend and his friends on a climbing trip to France. The plan was to stay in the valley to do some exploring and regular sports climbing when they went up to ice climb in the mountains. That was the plan. Until I found myself in 3700 meters of altitude and -10°C on the Mont Blanc Massif, struggling to get up an alpine climbing route with crampons on my snow boots and and ice axe in the hand #ItWillBeFunTheySaid.
Alta Badia, Italy (July)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXNG4F4hC7Q/?taken-by=kimkabphoto
My first real holiday including the mini mountaineers. Big deal alert. Despite my endless worries about how it would go, the trip was no problem at all. Even though we drove there by car from Denmark, took a four hour hike with a kid who thinks it’s far to walk from the mailbox to the front door, and had several afternoons of climbing, the kids were all in and ready for adventure. We ate loads of lasagna, saw all kinds of animals and had the best views on mountain tops no matter where we looked. A very successful trip that I look forward to repeating in 2018.
Verona, Italy (August)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BYamVM6hHE2/?taken-by=kimkabphoto
Oh, Verona. I have loved this place since the first time I set foot in it four years ago. And in 2017, thanks to my awesome new job, I finally got to go back and capture it all on video. Why do I love it so much? Because there’s something magical about it – the city simply masters the art of storytelling perfectly. See for yourselves here. I’ve spoken to a true Veronese, and lovely person, about the very best places in her city.
Riva del Garda, Italy (September)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BYqud6sBtoC/?taken-by=kimkabphoto
This one really surprised me. I had been to the southern part of Lake Garda several times before and always really enjoyed it. But I had no idea of the many exciting travel experiences waiting just a few kilometres further up! The landscape is gorgeous with mountains surrounding the lake, inviting its visitors to go climbing, hiking, canyoning, canoeing, surfing, swimming, mountain biking and eating lots of ice cream. While I was there, I made a video about all the exciting activities awaiting everyone at Lake Garda who likes to spice up there holiday with a little bit of adventure. You can see it here.
Barcelona, Spain (December)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BdgARufhvAG/?taken-by=kimkabphoto
The spontaneous one. A lot of big life changes needed to be celebrated… and there were cheap flights. So in the week before Christmas, I was finally heading to Barcelona – a city that had been on my bucket list for a very long time. And even though it was cut a little short, due to illness right before departure, it was a great weekend getaway. We had done no research whatsoever, prepared nothing and planned even less. All we did was walk around and take in the atmosphere of Barcelona. And eat way too much #noregrets (restaurant guide and video coming up soon). And you know what? That’s all you really need to fall for Barcelona. I am crazy about the combination of a vibrating city life, dreamy architecture and a beach in walking distance. Definitely a place to put on the bucket list at least a couple of times.
Want to see those places yourself in 2018? I’d love to hear which ones! Also, feel free to ask for travel tips in the comments below.
Karma,
Kim
