A HUGE Leap of Faith

Almost one year ago today, I took a HUGE leap of faith...

Don´t take me wrong...I am not - yet - that kind of people looking back with worries to their years and deciding that now - and now only - it is about time to change something. Like slowing down, having a real job, with a hefty life insurance and a lovely daily routine. Some of those things may cross one´s mind, especially when you are living in a society who praises to idolatry predictability.

But no, that´s not the kind of leap of faith I took...

Let me take you to some facts. I started to blog long before blogging was a fancy thing. For me, the chance to independently publish my content online, without any kind of outside involvement, it was what I was waiting for since leaving the political journalism world behind. It did not start with travel but ended up with the most enjoyable writing of all, as it combines my love for the written word, the curiosity towards other places, my history background and my love for travel. And yes, one can have many loves...

Since moving to Germany, travel blogging was my way through my new life, the life I built for myself, starting from zero, and growing slowly. Through my travels I was not only seeing places, but also hearing stories, discovering histories and getting to know people. My German skills improved considerably during those times and so did my grasp of my new country. 

At the same time, I started to pay more attention to the visual part of my writing, improving my photographic skills and sharing my works online either on Instagram or Pinterest. Also, my Facebook page grew over the years and enjoyed connecting with my fellow Millennials. 

Although travel blogging was never my full time job, I wanted to learn how to better manage different tools and algorithm challenges, helping me to get some precious advertising contracts and building an audience and a community of like-minded people in Berlin and around the world. 

But my life took different pathways and had to put my travel blogging on hold for some good amount of time. Me, who almost since I know myself couldn´t pass a month without a travel somewhere, ended up with over a year of no travel at all. When I was checking my social media on a while and looked over my photos it sounded like someone else´s life. I loved that life, but was not sure if I will ever be able to have this life again. And have a life at all.

During those times of doubt I didn´t give up on life, although life was playing a bit with me. I focused on growing up some previous niche blogging that lead me to great opportunities in the world of publishing. I follow up different business lines of work that wanted to explore for a long time but wasn´t very confident to do it, opening up unseen opportunities in the realm of languages where I always felt at home. And yes, I still learn languages, with at least five more I added to my current list of interests. And counting...

Every year when I had to renew my domain name, I was faced with the question: Is still worth maintaining this blog? The traffic kept going, and I was not ready to kill it yet.

As usual when I find myself in life-threatening situations, I felt grateful for the chance I was given and enjoyed my new friendships, challenges and opportunities. I took over more healthy habits like training regularly and jogging every few days. It helped me to see the world in a different way and to challenge my very unhealthy life habits I was enjoying before.

But I always knew that at a certain point I will be on the road again. Therefore, since over a year, I started slowly to be back in the field, still as a side business, nevertheless a business. In the last 12 months I was able to visit one new country - Latvia - and a new city in Poland, Warsaw, travel across Germany as far as Mainz, Heidelberg and Zwickau, and discover - after more than two decades - new Berlin stories.

But times have changed and the world of blogging and social media is changing as we speak. There are new channels that may take over old ones - See you on BlueSky too, but I am still using my Twitter/X but mostly for purely informative reasons - and new trends that dramatically changed the landscape. The medium is the message, but the audiences changed and so their expectations. Visual content is slowly taking over worded blog posts, but in more elaborated and creative ways.

A threat? Not at all. It just allows to expand the limits of creating content, either in complementary ways, or just by creating new stories using diverse storytelling techniques. 

Therefore, my wake up call and the leap of faith. Which was enormous for me, because my time is extremely limited in terms of focusing on projects that may need a longer amount of time to accomplish, But, with the right encouragement from the right people and keen for adventure, I did it again: I decided to start creating and publishing videos, travel-related videos as for now. 

In full honesty, it was not a completely new step for me. I used to have my YouTube channel IlanaTravels for time immemorial but it was rather as a side, random activity. As I started to post my first video from my new travel vlogging life, it took me so much time to figure everything. For each second had to check over and over again, while learning on the go to use various video editing systems. 

And I remembered how, in my journalism times, I promised myself to stay away of any kind of video production: I am super active and taking care to details does not match my temperament. What about trying this time to keep those problems under control as well?

I kept doing it, learning to use lettering and tumbnails and taking classes and taking part to challenges and deleting and...looking for formats and thinking about a script. The more I am doing it, the more I enjoy. Although sometimes the algorithm and the feedback doesn´t match my initial enthusiasm. I keep being proud of my achievements, especially when everything is done under pressure and with so little time to spent. 

To challenge myself even more,  one year ago I also opened a TikTok account, which is growing very slow but I am grateful for the lessons learned every day. 

So, my travel story goes on. With awesome travel plans and collaborations in the making for the next months and some equally fantastic Berlin stories planned, I am again that happy fish in the travel waters. There is an enormous amount of knowledge and experience to catch up and many posts to write, but again, I don´t want to give up what brings me joy. 

I am grateful for the support I receive until now and for the inspiration, and I am ready to share my stories, again and again. For business inquiries you can either contact me by email - my blog name @gmail.com. I am also on LinkedIn and feel free to connect for more business related offers and contacts.

Thank you very much for reading and stay tunned for lots of interesting content.

Now, time for work...! See you soon!

Zoo Eberswalde, A Summer Adventure to Remember

I have visited Eberswalde many times before,  once just trying to see places besides the famous Zoo. This summer though, I am back for a short zoo visit, one afternoon in August. 

As usual, we are taking a regional train from Berlin, and in less than one hour we are there. No delays, no surprises, and thanks to the Google Maps, from the main train station I am able to make my way to the next bus station leading to the Zoo. Although I´ve been there more than five years ago I can easily remember the way and some of the places that haven´t changed. For instance, this mural reminding the commuist times. 

The same goes for the lace curtains, who are also witnesses from other times, although they have a hint of cuteness that alters for good the seriousness of the old buildings.

But before meeting the wild animals, we noticed that we are too hungry to hurry up. Thus, I finally have the chance to try the menu offered by Alte Brauerei, a former hunting lodge turned into a beer local. The service is very friendly and although the interior looks very welcoming,we rather prefer to take a seat outdoors, protected by the shadows of the trees, while watching the locals busy with their lives.

The place is also children-friendly, offering not only children menu, but also colouring pencils and sheets, keeping the little ones entertained, at least for a while.

Until our orders are brought - the delay is actually a good sign, meaning that we are offered an elaborated meal, instead of a defrosted products - I am trying something new: a dark Pupen-Schultzes-Schwarzes beer,Made in the Eastern part of Germany, it tastes more sweet than sour, with a caramelized note that completely neutralized the original beer taste that I hate. An unique treat that come on time for the International Beer Day, as I would find out later on from social media. 

Meanwhile, my food is already here, and I am delving into my delicious Hähnchen Spätzle Pfanne - a mixture of German noodles that I love, with chicken covered in a white sauce. Was worth waiting for it, and I am getting exactly the right amount of energy to survive the rest of the trip.

With a full stomach, we are able to reach the Zoo exactly in time for witnessing the feeding of the penguins. There are many people watching them, particularly children, some visiting from Poland, but they little penguins pay only attention to the fish they are generously shared, loudly expressing their satisfaction with loud screams.

A particularity of this zoo, that celebrates this year 90 years, is that the animals do usually have a bigger space to move, therefore you can observe many of them in an almost natural habitat. For instance, the flamingos who are enjoying their time at the lake.

Also, the nature is feeling completely at home, therefore, no matter how hot is the weather during the summer, in the Zoo area it feels mostly moist and cool.

No matter how high or low the temperature is, the tortues will always do their slow walks, Given their long lifespan, they have no reason to hurry up, of course.

It is really soothing to watch them so we are trying, at least for a few minutes to replicate their carefree life.

In addition to the usual exotic choice of lions, tiger, zebras and monekys, there is also a petting zoo, where children can interact with different animals. A good opportunity, especially for children growing up in urban areas, to connect with animal life. 

Those ponnies, for instance, looked adorable.

The Zoo has also a huge area where you can take a break, watch from afar different animals, or just improvise a kind of picnic. In any case, if you want a full travel experience here, be sure to reserve the whole day for it. The fresh forest air is an additional incentive to take a pause from the busy urban life.

As I have been here several times already, I don´t have any to-do-list, enjoying instead just the observation of different animals playing, like those otters who were full of energy coming in and out of the waters.

Or observing the quiet dynamic between those camels, feeding my mind with plots for children books stories.

Why is this leopard alerted, by the way?

Maybe the children runnning across the playground were too loud, but the slide is quite spectacular and it´s a pitty to do not play there at least for half an hour.

This visit at Zoo Eberswalde was pleasant, relaxing and rewarding for both adults and children. Although not sure when I will be back, at least I am happy to have returned after so many years. Some places are just a reminder that you can also enjoy life without a to-do-list.

If you want to watch more travel stories, feel free to check my dedicated YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ilanatravels/videos

Here you can check a funny turtle video I just posted online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOnLtjvfdms

How to Get the Best of a Surprise Trip to Ückeritz

What could you do when you wake up very early in the morning heading to the beautiful Hamburg you have dreamed about all the week and you suddenly discover that your train have been cancelled?  Solving crisis is my favorite professional assignment and in less than 10 minutes and a couple of fast Google searches, a new destination was found: Ückeritz, in Usedom. Cheap ticket, train coming in 30 minutes, close enough to Berlin to make it into a one-day trip. So what if instead of an adventurous day in Hamburg I will spend the next hours at the Ostsee? And how could I forget that I haven't seen the see this summer?

Problem solved.

The train was full of bikers, the landscape quiet with white-and-black cow spots everywhere. It is close to Anklam and Greifswald, so I am not completely into foreign lands. We are out of the train, which almost tempted me to take it for another of stations more until Poland, but...no, need to stay focused. 

Around the train station there is nothing interesting to look around, except some beer gardens which are not tempting me too much as I dream of having lunch with a view over the sea. Driven by those hungry thoughts, I am walking and walking and walking for a couple of good minutes, on the concrete bordered by trees and following the line of families carrying besides children, colourful inflatable toys - pink flamingos are there too, of course, or bikers fully dressed in the lycra suits. 

When I was really becoming impatient - being patient doesn't count among my character features - I walk for another 5 minutes, follow another arrow and I can see the sand and the sea and the staple  beach chairs - Strandkörbe, as they are locally called.

You can book your chair with wlan, if necessary. The beach is full of people  - more or less dressed, but this is the cultural code, especially in the East and I am trying to get used with it, dogs and toys. The very white sand, typical to Ückeritz according to various reviews, is ligthning the mood and the landscae.

There are no big waves and the waters look clean, there are small white shells that I collect to gift them back home but will be crushed in my Mary Popping bag. 

After a round of beach walking - barefoot in the sand and when it is getting too hot, in the sea - it is time to get my lunch with a view. I have to go upstairs on a cliff, at Strandcafe Utkiek. Pricey, with plastic white tables and waiters from another epoch - even the dress code reminds me of other historical era. The fish soup is a mix too salty and nothing else. I don't finish it in the end.

Which leaves enough place to devour the plate with zander filet, adorned with boiled potatoes and some veggies. It is overall ok, which doesn't say anything about some outstanding taste. As for the sea view, I can hardly see it on the other side of some plexiglass surrounding the precinct.

Curiously, I am trying to see what can be done and seen outside the beach area. There are some wild forest patches, some stalls selling fish sandwiches - typical for the area - some fruit stalls and souvenirs too. 

The sea and its quietness is a far better option and this is where I want to spend the rest of the day - until I have to come back to the train station that's it.

Walking around the shores, barefoot in the sea is enough. I don't know to swim and not so keen to learn it, but happy enough to be at the beach - although I've seen much better beaches in my life. Living the moment is what I need for now. Who knows how much will it take until will see a sea again? (Hmmm, bigger waves and a more active sea is also something I am missing. Yeah, blame the impatient human nature I have).

The cotton candy clouds are a beautiful view, adding a welcomed dramatic touch to the still landscape.

DJ music, cocktails and some chaise longues and a much younger audience are calling for more action at Havanna (sic) Beach stall. Customer service-wise it takes a bit longer though to get a glass of something or a bite of local food, so I am rather going back to the promenade to refill. 

The typical sweet seems to be the quark bällchen - curd filled balls - but I've tasted various variants of it in other places in Germany as well. So, in my atypical carefree way, I order at the Ückeritzer Quark Bällchen some pancake and waffle with icecream. Street food style, fast service and not a bad taste. Today is not about excellence and high-standards, but about spontaneity and accepting life's normality.

This is how I actually spent my spontaneous day in Ückeritz. Observing the people, taking pictures, getting soaked into the last strong rays of the summer sun, a simplicity I cannot always afford. Was not what I expected for today, but was better than nothing. Call it the crumbs of my travel life, sometimes.

As I am still intensively looking for Germany's best beach, I actually enjoyed Ückeritz' simplicity. I even got some short walk through the woods, you see?

For more travel stories, follow my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ilanatravels

3 Interesting Day-Trips from Buckow

One of my favorite passtimes after spending a couple of days in a place is to discover the places closer to home where can I visit. After my first week in Buckow, I already started to check the map and ask the locals where I can go for a one-day trip. Of course, the easiest answer is Berlin, but I promised myself to keep the countryside mood lit for my whole stay so I rather preferred to explore some unique, off the beaten place destinations. Which I actually did: I offered myself 3 trips exploring the surrounding, while also burning the calories after my extensive foodie guide research. 

With a bit of luck and a lot of energy, here is the list of my favorite three day-trips to take from Buckow.

Waldsieversdorf

This small hunters' village founded in the second half of the 13th century can be reached either by bus - the bus going to Muncheberg from Buckow - or by foot, through a quiet forest. If you know me, you know already which way I choose...

The forest walk starts near the train station, passing near a small farm of wild goats that were keen to do their best to jump over the net surrounding them to escape to liberty.

The forest walk is of around 3 km. and you can easily make it wearing comfy sport shoes. You can bike, walk your dog or push a relatively solid buggy. 

The natural surrounding is simple, with small rivers crossing the paths and refreshing the air. A welcomed encounter, especially during the hot summer days. The directions to the village are clearly mentioned so getting lost is not possible. Especially in the weekend, there are many people around, so you can hardly go half an hour without meeting someone. 

As we arrived on the streets, the village was perfectly quiet, lost in the summer Sunday laziness. A mechanical watch made of flowers looked like one of the few things alive in Waldsieversdorf at that time.

The small wooden houses with large gardens were looking like a perfect refuge against the heat.

The main cultural activities are hosted in the former summer house of the Dadaist, and politically engaged on behalf of the communists German artist John Heartfield. He was born Helmut Herzfeld, and took his new name after his exile in the Great Britain, where he escaped the political persecutions during the WWII in Germany. Bertold Brecht convinced him to set summer headquarters in the Märkische Schweiz and the blue and black house is part of the intellectual heritage in the region. A friend of the writer Stefan Heym who supported his membership in the Academy of Arts of the GDR, his political collages and artistic works were often considered not ideologically conform by the political leadership of the time, but he was not an open disident to the SED-dictatorship.

Although small, Waldsieversdorf offers a couple of entertainment options to the locals too. For instance, an afternoon to the beach or a visit to the Wasserturm - water tower. At the end of July, it took place the biggest event, a festival dedicated to the local hunting tradition.

The only place we succeeded to explore throughout was the chidren-friendly Café Tilia, a good stop not only for hikers, but also for bikers crossing the Märkische Schweiz.

The interior is decorated in a timeless GDR-chic kitsch, with the porcelain dolls are a constant present in the rooms that may look actually as a cosy refuge during the cold winter days. 

The Café offers homemade cakes, made of seasonal fruits, delicious icecreams and a variety of wines. It was a welcomed stop, given that we needed some fresh drinks and energy for starting our journey back to Buckow.

But when you travel with friends, time passes much easier. The way back looked not only easier, but we also made it faster. The calming nature landscape was a good companion and inspiration.

Bollersdorf

The 3-km. trip from Buckow to the 400-inhabitant village of Bollersdorf I did it alone, in the morning, following the path near the Strand - beach area. 

It is a very easy ride, and all you need is a pair of comfy sport shoes and an open heart to welcome the quietness and interesting sides of nature. 

After almost 30 minutes of hiking I ended up on some streets with huge wooden gates which reminded me of some small Transylvanian villages.

I was confused that I arrived to Bollersdorf so fast, but soon after talking with a local, I was directed to the next leg of my trip. I was just in a small no man's land where cats were welcomed. (Actually, during my stay in Buckow I've seen most cats on the street - not stray, but street walking - than in 10 years of German life).

The next stage of my trip involved a less romantic view, with a predominant agricultural focus.  

With larger than the eye view fields of corn, ready to be picked-up.

The 14th century old Bollersdorf has two main streets: Hauptstraße - the main street, and Buckower Weg. No shops, no coffee house, nothing but unique houses with front yards full of colourful flowers and a restaurant - Gasthaus Fischer - that was closed at the time of my visit. And an old Trabi - the symbol car of the GDR times - parked near the sound-soaked capitalist Audis or Mercedes.

The view of the golden fields is worth a summer painting, or at least a couple of pictures, for the less artistically gifted.

There are some former horse stables buildings made of hard stone, the same material used for the local church, but during the week, everything looked completely deserted.

I am back on the road to Buckow, saying good bye to the golden fields.

Welcoming the narrowing paths of the forest, reaching roads with names like Weißetaube - the dove, or Poetensweg - the Poets' path.

My short trip to Bollersdorf was refreshing and a good opportunity to put at work my orientation skills - as I refused to use any Google Maps being guided only by my well-trained sense of finding the right direction. Apparently, I am doing much better in the wilderness than in the city.

Müncheberg

From Buckow, Müncheberg is the closest destination if you are looking for some serious shopping, including food and clothes. I've been there twice, once only for exploring the area around the train station. You can use a day ticket for 3 EUR for your bus journey from Buckow - every hour during the week - to Müncheberg train station and back, plus the two-way ride from the train station the the central area.

You can also take the old train from Buckow.

The ride lasts around 30 minutes.

During my first stop, exploring the surroundings of the train station, I ended up in an area called Schlagenthin, with hills took over by beautiful horses. Given that this place is less than 10 km. away from Hoppegarten, it makes sense to see all those horses. Close-by, on Eberswalder straße, there is the horse-riding center of Galgenberghof, the local recommended destination for horse lovers of all ages.

The complete trip we took to the town, ended around Ernest Thalmann street, from where we started to explore the surronding. A small shop selling ceramics was our first sight. Actually, all round the area, you can see small ceramics and wood carving workshops whose works can easily spotted in the front of the villages' houses. 

Although the city was at a great extent destroyed during the war - compared to Buckow has larger streets allowing the tanks to easily enter, but it was also situated closed to the battle lines leading to Poland, which is a couple of minutes away by car or train - the old Middle Ages city walls survived at a great extent and are surrounding the city. They make it into the background of more modern settings, such as a kitschy games hall.

Most of the buildings are new, designed in the practical, anti-aesthetical communist mindset, with only a couple of traditional buildings left.

Fortunatelly, the summer decorated beautifully everything, and the ivy on the wall is for sure hiding some cracks on the walls. Although the town in its entirety may be described as the opposite of beautiful, some small colours added here and there make a tremendous difference as it uplifts not only the grey mood, but also bring some splashes of life to a street or a building.

As many other places in the region of Brandenburg, Müncheberg has a development potential, but it seems still has to cope with the heritage of the communist past. After the reunification, some industries become obsolete and assigning new economic functions didn't happened yet. Tourism and real estate could bring fresh life, but you may need also some other opportunities to the combo. Until then, old shops formerly used by companies closed at least 10 years ago, are waiting and waiting to be rented back and brought to the commercial circuit. 

As a visitor, the old Middle Ages remnants and towers offer at least a good photographic opportunity.

The local park is big enough to answer the movement needs of some energetic kids, especially in the summer when everything is covered in green.

While waiting for the bus to take us back to Buckow, we went back and forth, from a former tower bridge to the other, trying to connect histories and stories.

The natural line of the trees is doubled by the edges of the old wall, creating some narrow path for slow walking and meditation. Some corners are recluse enough to let your imagination of faraway lands and better places fly faster.

We left Müncheberg with no regrets; actually we wished the bus was coming earlier. However, I would be curious to return here in a couple of years to see how things changed. I am sure changes are around the corner here too.

Coming next in my Buckow installments: Hiking recommendations. Stay tunned!

For more travel stories, follow my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ilanatravels