I traveled quite a bit in 2019 – I quit my job to become a digital nomad right at the beginning of the year, and thus was able to see a lot more than I did in 2018. Hence why I don’t really have a “favorite destinations of 2018” because I didn’t travel nearly as much!
If you’re curious about 2017, though, I gotchu – here’s a list of my favorite destinations from 2017.
And so, here are my favorite destinations from 2019 and ones you might want to think about for 2020!
Have you ended up with one day in Hamburg and just aren’t sure what to do???
Well, let me do the hard work and plan the best day for you! You can just relax, follow this list, and see exactly what Hamburg has to offer. (Which is a lot!)
I’ve spent a total of 4.5 months in Hamburg so far (1.5 in the spring and 3 in the fall) so I’ve gotten around to exploring the city quite a bit. And, I had some help – I made friends with some locals and expats who showed me some insider spots, as well!
Here’s how I’d recommend spending one day in Hamburg:
Sylt is a place I would’ve NEVER heard about had it not been for my German friend. Sylt is known as the place that wealthy people vacation, but our peasant selves just did a day trip from Hamburg. It was def a mission as it was about 3 hours each way by train! But I have to say, it was definitely worth it.
On the west side of Sylt, you can take advantage of the more rugged North Sea and do activities like surfing and kitesurfing. On the east side, you can enjoy calmer waves in the Wadden Sea. There are also plenty of beaches for dogs if you’ve got a pup along with you. And in the summer, since it’s so far north, it never gets completely dark at night!
Arundel is a historic market town in southern England. It’s not a large town by any means, and totally walkable (my favorite!) It’s a popular place to visit, partly because of Arundel Castle – which was one of my favorite things to see while I was there!
Arundel is quite easy to reach, too – it’s about 2 hours south of London, both by train and by car. If you’re coming by train, you simply get off at Arundel Station! So easy.
Sooooo, like, what are you waiting for?? Here are some fun things to do in Arundel, England.
But if you don’t, well, we really shouldn’t be friends.
But aside from its beauty, what was the most mind blowing thing about this castle to me? Um, that people actually STILL LIVE THERE.
Mic drop.
FALL IS COMING PEOPLE. NOBODY PANIC. REMAIN CALM AND GRAB YOUR SCARVES, BOOTS, AND CARDIGANS IMMEDIATELY. THEN HEAD TO YOUR NEAREST PUMPKIN PATCH AS SOON AS YOU CAN. I REPEAT: EVERYBODY PLEASE. REMAIN. CALM.
But actually it’s impossible for me to remain calm because fall (or ~autumn~ as the fancy people call it) just happens to be MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE SEASON. In fact, I love it so much, that I even wrote a bucket list of all the fall activities I HAVE TO DO every year. I think it’s about time to revisit that, shall we?
Feel free to steal my ideas. I’ll allow it.
And maybe in other places it’s freezing in autumn, but in Northern California, the weather is PERFECT at a balmy 60-80 degrees most of the time. Sometimes it can even climb up to over 80! Of course, this depends on where exactly you go (California is gigantic and spans many different climates, something I have to remind people often), but on average, I’d say that’s the temperature.
Ah, Saltburn-by-the-Sea (or Saltburn for short if you’re ~in the know~.) This is such a lovely little beach town, and a hidden gem (I only say that because many British people I spoke with had never heard of it!)
But don’t fear, although it seems relatively undiscovered, there are still plenty of fun things do in Saltburn-by-the-Sea!
Ok ok, I’ll shut up about the weather and give you my recommendations of things to do in Saltburn-by-the-Sea:
Sidenote: In England, what is summer actually??? I’ve been here since mid-June and it’s rare that it’s over 70 F LOL. #summerinengland
Well, I’ve got ya covered, babe (or dude or unicorn or whatever ya identify as)!
After spending alllll of July in northern England, I’m convinced that this region has some of the most beautiful seaside towns in the UK!
I honestly wasn’t even really that excited to go to Hamburg in the first place – I really only went because we found a house sit there and it was for 2.5 weeks which I was stoked about (since we’d been traveling everywhere for about 1 week and I was ready to camp out in one spot for a hot minute), and because my friend really realllllly (like reallllly) wanted to go to Germany.
But now I just feel like Hamburg is super underrated (And I honestly prefer it to Berlin, too, for similar reasons that I preferred Lyon to Paris. But shhhh I didn’t say that…), and it actually ended up coming on top as one of my favorite places! Here’s why:
