It was a wonderful surprise to be nominated for the Liebster Award 2018 by fellow travel bloggers Dagney and Jeremy at Cultura Obscura. check out their post on the liebster award and their nominations Here.
As a new blogger there are plenty of surprises, learning curves and challenges, so to be acknowledged by others is amazing. Whilst I have a long way to go, connecting with other bloggers has been an invaluable way to learn and grow. The Liebster award also serves this purpose, being a digital world award for bloggers from bloggers.
what is the liebster award?
‘Liebster’ is a German word, which translates to kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome. Originally started in 2011, it is a great way to be discovered and divulge more to your readers thanks to the range of questions you answer, given by whoever nominated you. The best part? The Liebster award helps acknowledge, connect and support fellow bloggers, often fairly new to the blogging world. This is why I decided to accept my nomination.
rules:
If you choose to accept your nomination (no pressure either way!), then these are the next steps:
- Thank the bloggers who nominated you, and link to their blog on your blog post (thank you again Cultura Obscura!)
- Display the award on your blog, for example by including it in your post. The Global Aussie provides award images here.
- Write a small post about what makes you passionate about blogging. I have done this within this post.
- Provide 10 random facts about yourself (optional).
- Answer the 11 questions that the person who nominated you asked.
- Pass on the kindness, by nominating up to 11 blogs you appreciate. My interpretation is to pick blogs you feel deserve more acknowledgement. Although the number is given as 5-11, I think for positivity sake go with whatever number suits you, be it 1, 5 or 11.
- Ask your nominees to answer 11 questions of your own choice. The most unique and creative questions win.
- List the rules, like I have above, in your blog post.
Once you have written and published your post, you then have to:
- Contact the people/blogs that you have nominated, informing them of their nomination for the Liebster Award 2018. Provide a link to your post so they have all the information on the award.
- Post a comment in the comments section of the official Liebster Award 2018 announcement on the Global Aussie’s blog, so that your post and your blog can be judged.
Skip to:
the questions i answered
Or
my nominations
what makes me passionate about blogging
Blogging allows me to combine my two passions of travel and writing, then share it with others. The greatest joy, and what motivates to pursue this, is to inspire and encourage others to travel and adventure. I know I was, and still am that person searching for a certain blog post to inform, resonate, encourage, motivate, reassure or inspire. I hope blogging allows me to do this; to deliver that post someone is searching for.
Having a passion for blogging is essential for me. After all, blogging is hard work. It is late nights, early mornings, too much coffee, and frantically scribbling down a post idea in the middle of something else. You have to learn the language of SEO, delve into the confusing world of social media, and attempt to solve the most random technical failings. At times it is challenging, and overwhelming. It can equate to hours working, and a mere trickle of traffic.
However its rewards make it worthwhile. It offers connections, experiences and learning curves. It offers the ability to share knowledge, learn and grow. For example, if you asked me what SEO was a year ago, I would have looked at you blankly, merrily still pondering the idea of creating a travel blog. Now, I am slowly getting there and connecting with incredible bloggers along the way. Whilst I am still a beginner, it is an achievement to create Travelface, from a mere idea to reality. And to then to be acknowledged for the Liebster award is such a bonus. Thank you!
10 random facts about me
Here are 10 random facts about me that are not on my about me page.
- I have taken a course in basic sign language, but am a little rusty.
- My degree is in English Literature but I work in a different field.
- One of my party tricks is push ups… the other is balancing glasses precariously on my head.
- Previously I have had various jobs, from cleaning, to working in a pub and as an events assistant.
- I am yet to master the mysterious skill of whistling.
- Since passing my driving test many years ago I have kept the same car, and need it for my job. It is still going strong (I hope!) at over 100,000 miles.
- I have ran two half marathons but have not yet attempted a marathon. I prefer hiking.
- Weight lifting, and yoga are my other favourite practices.
- I have tinnitus and IBS to name a couple of ailments.
- Never had a pet, not even a goldfish.
liebster award questions asked by cultura obscura
1. If you never had to eat a particular type of cuisine again, what would it be?
Chinese… simply because it is my least favourite. However I am speaking from limited experience (mainly UK takeaways!) I guess it is an excuse to go back to China again for some authentic cuisine to find out for certain.
2. If money is no object, what is your dream holiday?
This is a tough question. Does an around the world ticket and a decent budget count?
3. Do you prefer to be disconnected from society or plugged in?
I prefer to be disconnected, for example out hiking in the middle of nowhere. It allows me to slow down, and breathe. Hence why I find social media a bit of a struggle.
However there are many advantages to plugging in now and then. For example it is important to engage with society to create change and challenge norms.
So I try to find a positive balance between both, to allow me to connect with others (such as through the Liebster award!), catch up with friends, and be aware of what is going on, but also feel grounded.
4. What item has been most useful to you while travelling, that cost the least money?
I have a cheap Quecha foldaway backpack that has helped me travel lighter. I suggest everyone buys one, as it is so useful!
5. What is the best travel advice you’ve been given and who gave it to you?
Great question! Asides from practical tips, the best advice I have been given is to expect the unexpected and know you cannot plan for it. However if you are able to accept this, the challenging moments often lead to the best adventures, and failing that, eventually a good story or two!
This advice was first given to me by a more experienced backpacker on my gap year trip abroad, after a few plans went wrong. It has stayed with me and resonates more and more each time I travel. Especially so when I walked the Camino de Santiago earlier this year. This was another wonderful piece of travel advice recommended by a friend.
6. What’s the most difficult situation you’ve found yourself in while travelling?
I love these questions. There have been many challenging moments over the years, although I am not sure what the most difficult has been. From situations such as swimming with sharks with a cut leg (more on that on a later post), and getting sick, to struggling with language barriers, responsible tourism, and accepting cultural differences whilst working in mental health abroad.
However I will mention a recent difficult situation. Whilst driving in the Slovenian Alps to start a hike, my GPS took me off course and I ended up on a mountain footpath, surrounded by boulders, at 5am in the dark, completely alone with no signal. Cue a laborious task of moving said boulders, then testing the limits of the poor car’s suspension, whilst reversing back to the main road. I kept telling myself it would be a funny story eventually, which luckily it now is!
7. What makes you excited to get out of bed in the morning?
Coffee. Travel. Seeing friends. Fun plans. Sunrises. Hiking.
8. Do you have any travel superstitions?
I just googled ‘travel superstitions’ out of curiosity and now feel I need to adopt all of them. But no, I do not think I do (until now anyway!)
9. What is your ideal packed lunch for a journey?
Coffee. A classic cheese and pickle baguette, fruit, nuts and maybe a cheeky chocolate bar thrown in.
10. My favourite travel luxury item is _______. And I love it because _______.
Do mobile phones still count as luxury? I guess so! Asides from my phone, it depends on the trip. My bed bug spray has been a favourite luxury item, as it allowed me to sleep a little more soundly, or my GoPro/camera to capture experiences.
11. What is your favourite part of blogging?
As mentioned above, my favourite part is definitely writing. Blogging allows me to then connect and share this with others. I have always loved to write, from the days of composing novels when young (I am sure there is a winner there somewhere…), to my brief spell creating a fashion blog in the early days of 2011. For years I have shared travel recommendations with friends and have enjoyed hearing about people’s experiences, so creating a blog was a matter of when I was willing to take the first step, not an if.
my nominations for the liebster award 2018
As a new blogger myself, I have found the blogging community extremely supportive and helpful. There are so many incredible blogs out there, which continue to inspire me. The bloggers I am nominating are some of the many amazing new bloggers who deserve recognition, and whose blogs I love:
Two Stay Wild: Fellow hikers, storytellers and long term budget travellers, Laura and Matt have so many adventures to share, such as their trip through central Asia after buying a one-way ticket to Kathmandu, Nepal. I love reading about their often unplanned experiences, and continue to be inspired about how it is possible to travel consciously long term on a budget. Their useful posts keep expanding my bucket list, such as this recent one on a hike they did in Kyrgyzstan, now firmly on my list.
Fingertip Travels: One positive of social media has been connecting with new bloggers, and it has been exciting to see Masha develop her blog. Fingertrip Travels offers entertaining travel posts that are down to earth, realistic and useful. For example this post on their three month itinerary through Southeast Asia.
Thousand Mile Boots: I only recently found Andy’s blog, and I am so glad I did. New to camping and hiking when she first met her husband, Andy struggled to find helpful information online, so decided to create a blog herself. Full of useful camping tips such as how to get permits and caring for gear, Andy also writes other travel posts such as how to manage anxiety when abroad. Did I mention she takes great photos too?!
Our Freedom Lifestyle: Emma and Josh’s blog shows how it is possible to break away from the 9-5 lifestyle by working online whilst travelling. Their blog is easy to navigate, with handy travel posts such as this one on must dos in Moscow, and informative posts on how to get started working online.
Riley’s Roves: Riley describes herself as a ‘rangering nomad’, and considering her blog was only started in January, there is a wealth of information on her travels, including across Europe. I also love reading about her experiences as a park ranger in National Parks across the USA, which sounds so awesome. She is your go-to for National Park information, with everything from specific parks to top trails covered.
My questions to answer
1. if you had to live in one country in the world, and never travel again, where would it be?
2. What is your best sustainable travel tip?
3. Do you have a song that reminds you of travel, and why?
4. Would you rather Be fluent in one language, or have the ability to understand, but not be able to speak in all languages?
5. If you could change one part of travelling, what would it be?
6. Who is your ideal person to be sat next to on an aeroplane?
7. What is the most unusual food you have tried whilst travelling?
8. What destination has surprised you the most (good or bad!)?
9. Have you experienced any acts of kindness whilst travelling, if so what is your most memorable?
10. What item have you found most useful to have with you whilst travelling?
11. How has travel changed your life?
