2022 Review – Best Countries & Experiences
IIt’s time to do a 2022 review! The year has been very different than expected and I would want it any other way! In January 2022 I went back to Puerto Vallarta in Mexico, because I enjoyed staying there so much in 2021. I still really enjoyed the city, but what can I say, when you’re having a really good time somewhere and you want to repeat it the same way, it doesn’t always work out. I stayed for two months, made some new friends and decided to spend more time in Sayulita.
Countries & Experiences
Sayulita, Mexico
Compared to Puerto Vallarta, Sayulita is more like a small, hip surf town surrounded by countless beautiful beaches. This time I wanted to be closer to nature and escape the busy city life of Puerto Vallarta. My highlights in Sayulita were definitely spending time by the beach and going surfing, going horseback riding at sunset for the first time, enjoying the street food with the best tacos I’ve ever had, going on hikes through the jungle to explore hidden beaches, doing Yoga and just enjoying to live in a small surf town.
In April I took a flight to Austin Texas to explore the live music capital of the world. I ate a waffle in Texas shape in the 1886 cafe, went kayaking with some friends on the river, a very popular thing to do here in summer, spent a day in a spa, went to a cinema where you can have dinner and saw millions of bats flying over the city at sunset. Austin has surprised me in many ways and I think it’s a really cool and fun place to live in the United States.
San Francisco, California
I continued my travels by flying to San Francisco to see the famous Golden Gate Bridge. I got a hot chocolate at Ghirardelli Square, tried my first Irish Coffee at Buena Vista, which I absolutely love, explored Fisherman’s Wharf and watched seals at Pier 39. I continued exploring the city by visiting the old prison island Alcatraz to learn more about the history and spent the next day visiting the famous Full House house and walking to the painted ladies.
Los Angeles, California
My next destination was Los Angeles and I was really excited to see it for the first time. I only had one evening and one full day to explore it, so I went to the Hollywood sign and spent the rest of my day going for a walk at Venice Beach, having lunch at a beachside cafe, watching the skaters in the skate park, exploring the Santa Monica pier and watching the sunset from a Ferris wheel. LA is definitely a city I want to go back to some day, because one day was definitely too short.
Portland, Oregon
I continued traveling by taking a flight to Portland, the last city I was going to visit in the United States. What I loved about Portland are the lush green forests and the unique style of the city. I took a look at the Cullen house from the Twilight movies, went to an old (house?) and tried Voodoo doughnuts, the best doughnuts I’ve ever had. Then I spent a day going for a hike at the Multnomah falls, which are definitely a must see in Portland. There are many hikes you can do here.
Isla Mujeres, Mexico
Then I took a flight back to Mexico, because something that has been on my bucket list since I visited Mexico in 2021 was the east coast. I took the ferry from Cancun to Isla Mujeres to enjoy the beaches and the small island life for two weeks. Luckily I booked the best hostel, Selina, so I can meet new people and work remotely. The great thing about Selina is the high standard they have, everything is super clean and modern, plus they have events almost every night and there is a coworking space.
Tulum, Mexico
It was hard to leave, but I had a few more places on my bucket list before the rain season started in June. I spent two days in Cancun to see the beach and continued my trip to Tulum. Unfortunately I got food poisoning after eating street food at a market in Cancun and spent a whole week in bed with food poisoning. Luckily I had two weeks booked in Tulum, so there was still some time to explore the town.
I knew Tulum was gonna be amazing, but I had no idea how beautiful it was. So Tulum basically consists of a town that is inlands and one long street that is right by the beach. The town itself is a lot more affordable, but you will find most tourist attractions by the beach. The best thing you can do is to book a place in town and explore by scooter. I went to the art center Azulik, which is absolutely stunning and decided to stick to European food for a while.
There are so many fantastic places to eat out in Tulum, trust me you will not be starving there. I also got the chance to see some cenotes, like the Gran Cenote (my personal favorite), Cenote Calavera where you can jump in and cenote tortuga, which is more like a club.
Chichén Itzá, Mexico
After exploring Tulum I decided to rent a car to see the Suytun Cenote. I’ve seen it on Instagram years ago and definitely wanted to see it before leaving Mexico again. I booked one of the huts right next to the cenote, which is on the same property and could just walk in early in the morning. The cenote is so worth visiting, because it’s different to anything else I’ve seen before. I felt more like exploring a movie set, than a place that has actually been changed by the Mayans. After this highlight I went to the famous Chichen Itza, to see one of the modern world wonders.
Bacalar, Mexico
I ended my time in Mexico by visiting Bacalar, the Maldives of Mexico. Unfortunately it was cloudy every day and I couldn’t see the water glowing turquoise blue in the sun, but what I really liked is to have some relaxing days by a lake, or better, a big cenote to focus on work.
Home, Germany
After traveling for months I felt like I needed some time to focus on building my freelance career and my coaching business, so I decided to go home. Summer in Germany was amazing. My heart always beats a little faster when I think about sunsets by the river with my neighbors, barbecues outside and spending time with family and friends. I built my freelance business from scratch and started my coaching business on the side. Instead of traveling full time, I decided to do short vacations and weekend trips. I love traveling full time, but to really focus on work it was a lot easier to stay in one place for a while.
West coast of France
In August I traveled with my mum and my sister to the east coast of France to explore some beach towns, go surfing and just relax by the beach.
Then I spent a day exploring Bordeaux, before heading to the next destination. When I looked for flights home I realized that it’ll be cheaper to first go to Budapest and then to go home. Of course I knew I would spend more by staying in Budapest for a week, but the flight was a lot cheaper and so I decided to go to Hungary.
Budapest, Hungary
Budapest surprised me in many ways, I had no idea that this city had so much to offer. I went on a free walking tour, where I made a new friend from Paris, Amandine and we spent the following days exploring the city together. We went with a group of new friends from the hostel on a boat cruise and explored the ruins bars, which are very cool and unique.
I went with some new friends to the central market hall to try Hungarian food, explored the city center, sneaked with my friends into a fancy hotel to see the architecture and enjoyed the city more with every day. Me and Amandine explored Margaret island where we saw a Japanese garden and where we tried Hungarian langos, which is really tasty. It’s basically fried dough with toppings like cheese. We even have them on the German Christmas Markets.
We spent some time at the most popular thermal bath in Budapest just to relax after days of exploring the busy city and ended our day with watching the fireworks from the Hungarian national day. The funny thing is that we didn’t even plan to be in Hungary for this day, it was pure luck AND one of the best fireworks I’ve seen in my life.
We ended our last day with watching the sunrise at the Fisherman’s Bastion, my personal favourite spot in Budapest. This place just feels magical, especially at sunrise. It felt like one of those moments that I will never forget, because it was so beautiful.
Munich, Germany
I went back to Germany, but I couldn’t wait too long for my next adventure, so I decided to meet a friend in Munich. We first met in Barcelona and have stayed in touch since then. I was really excited to see my friend again and also to see the capital of Bavaria for the first time. It was pretty cold, but we had so much fun exploring the city, visiting the market and buying some Mediterranean food and drinking the famous beer in the Hofbräuhaus.
Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany
Before heading back home we went to the Starnberger See to go for a walk in the sun before saying goodbye. I continued my trip by traveling to Füssen, a cute little town to see the Neuschwanstein castle. I only had one day in Füssen, but I absolutely loved it. The houses are just so cute, there are cobblestoned streets and you can see the alps behind the town. I went on a hike to see the castle, found a secret lookout with my new friend from the hostel and traveled back home, feeling recharged and happy.
Paris, France
In coaching I like to ask my clients “What makes your heart sing?” One of the things that make my heart sing is traveling. I just love to explore new places and to meet new people. In November I decided to visit my new friend Amandine in Paris for a weekend.
Thanks to her I got to see all of the most important tourist sights and some places only locals know. The weekend just felt magic and I loved every single minute of it. I’ve been to Paris before, but I was 15 years old, so I didn’t remember everything. It was so much fun to visit the sights like the Eiffel tower, the Louvre museum (from the outside), the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, and so many more unique spots I didn’t even plan to visit.
Besides sightseeing I am in love with French food. French pastries are just a dream, so I tried a few different ones. We had lunch at a cafe that makes the food look like art, ate typical French food in a restaurant and went to a wine and cheese tasting – soooooo good!!
Of course we watched the sunrise again at Trocadero to see the sun rising up behind the Eiffel tower. This moment was just magnificent. Watching the sunrise while the fountains are on and while a couple is literally getting married! It doesn’t get much better than this.
And we ended our weekend with watching the Eiffel tower sparkling at night. It was such a great weekend I didn’t want to leave at all, but I knew that every trip had to end at some point.
Vilnius, Lithuania
In December me and Amandine decided to meet up somewhere for New Year’s Eve and spontaneously decided to visit Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. I was really curious to see Vilnius, because I knew nothing about Lithuania before visiting it. Most people I talked to didn’t even know where Vilnius was when I mentioned that I’m planning to visit it. This also means that Lithuania is not as touristy as other countries.
So we met up in Vilnius and explored the whole city together. What I really loved about Vilnius are the cobble stoned streets, colorful buildings and that there is so much Christmas decoration. We visited several spots in the city before celebrating New Year’s Eve at the Cathedral Square, which is the most popular place in Vilnius and it was absolutely amazing! We met some locals at a bar, had some drinks and started the New Year with big smiles on our faces.
On our last day we went on a little trip to see a castle on a small island and spent the evening trying typical Lithuanian food. I always say to really get to know a culture you also need to try the local cuisine and so we tried several Lithuanian dishes. It was a great way to end an exciting year and to start a new one.
Summary
It’s hard to say which places I enjoyed most, but if you would ask me I would say: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Isla Mujeres, Budapest and Paris were my favorites. Not just because of the sights and nature, but also because of the people I met at those places. Making friends while traveling makes a huge difference and I’m really grateful that I made these new friends in 2022. The year was very different than expected, because I went to so many places I didn’t even plan to see and I absolutely love that. I love to be surprised to see where my journey is taking me and to have the flexibility to change my plans.
What I definitely want to do in 2023 is to keep traveling full time, visit a lot of new countries, spend time with old and new friends, travel with my family and live a life I love every day.
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I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to all of my friends and my family, which made this year so special and of course to you guys, for watching my videos and supporting my dream. I hope you will be there for my adventures in 2023, you are amazing.
