One of the big advantages of being an Expat is that you often have destinations on your doorstep that others have to spend hours (and quite a lot of money) travelling to. I look on it as compensation for a life at times I wouldn?t necessarily have chosen! Even as I write this, I am looking out over Kitzbuhel?s very snowy peaks with my slumbering babe asleep next to me, enjoying the peace and quiet as the rest of my family hit the slopes?
Travel is definitely an upside to this transient life, and something I will admit to taking for granted at times. Coming from a relatively small island, it?s easy to forget that at home we can?t just get in a car and drive to Italy in a couple of hours from the UK, or drive a few hours more and be in Croatia and beyond? One day, when we move back I am going to get a very big shock, I know.
Dutch Expat Travellous World pays a visit to somewhere that is relatively easy to get to from the UK ? Antwerp?
Busy touring her new homeland Australia, Canadian Krista of Rambling Tart takes us on a trip to Dangama Mungar ? or Talking Mountain. Her photography of her adopted homeland is stunning.
Long term expats FunFlyingFour don?t have to go far to find adventure and tell us about their Yurt Stay in Beach Rock Village in their temporary home of Okinawa Japan.
The BabyGlobeTrotters never stay still for long, and this month they are celebrating an important milestone ? Happy Birthday!
Adriana?s blog ? Changing Plate not only has stacks of amazing photography, but this post gives a really uplifting insight into a new life for a lot of brand new expatriates who had little choice about moving abroad. International Cafe talks about a group of refugees being welcomed to her tiny Bavarian village.
I love Caroline?s blog ? it?s great to see what life is like as an Expat in the UK. She?s very much looking forward to the Easter hols in her post The Mundanity of February, and also ponders life?s other great questions such as ?why does my refrigerator have a plastic tray for 7 eggs??
Lou Messugo is already thinking ahead to Christmas with her post 24 Reasons to Love Christmas in France.
Not really travel related (unless you are visiting Berlin soon and fancy a gander at the pics) but because it?s a good read, I have included A Few More Steps? post ?All About Berlin ? Confusion and Food? explores the good, the bad and the ugly side of life in a relatively new city?
And finally, for those of you who may well embark on a life back home this year and might be dreading it. Here are a couple of posts that might make you feel better about the prospect firstly from One Tiny Leap who has just returned home after an amazing adventure, and also from Third Culture Mama.
Do please leave your posts on all matters ?Expat? for inclusion in March?s round-up below.
About Emma Raphael
Emma Raphael left the UK for Copenhagen in 2009, with her ever-patient husband and two small children. Having enjoyed a couple of years in Scandinavia, Emma and her family found they enjoyed Expat life so much that they now reside in Munich ? where the pace of life is relaxed, her language skills are small, and the mountains and bier halls are very large. Being one half of a self-proclaimed foodie couple, Emma enjoys the new produce and restaurants in each new country she resides in, and has made it her mission to convince people that English food no longer deserves the bad rap it once had. She can be found in the kitchen when she?s feeling homesick, trying to recreate comfort food from home. She also has huge passions for travel, photography, art, wine, gardening (although according to her Bavarian neighbours, she?s not much good at that!) and her family (of course)!