Wow – Travel as a profession, how did you manage that?

There must be a misunderstanding. My blog is a (admittedly very time-consuming) hobby and no – to anticipate a follow-up question – I do not dream of operating the blog “full-time” one day. For one, I also enjoy my work as a spatial and transportation planner, and on the other hand, I appreciate the balance between regular office hours and freelance blog projects. Kind of “having your cake and eating it too.”

Oh, so you are not actually a professional blogger?

I studied geography and spatial development and work 80% in a private spatial and transportation planning office. The blog is my own “little” project, which I pursue with “professional” ambition, and which has grown pleasingly over the years without any pressure. Thanks to the blog, many projects and travels have arisen that I could not have done without the blog, and for that, I am grateful. Nevertheless, my job as a spatial and transportation planner gives me the necessary freedom to still run my blog 100% to my liking. This way, I am not dependent on the blog to pay my monthly rent (which is quite a sum in the middle of Zurich).

80% job and still traveling so much – how do you manage that?

Planning is the keyword – besides, I am fortunate to have relatively flexible, project-oriented working hours. I try to make the most of all public holidays and bridge days and fix the periods at the beginning of the year when longer trips (10 – 14 days) are possible. Being in a permanent position, it is naturally not possible for me to jet around the world constantly. I mainly use summer and winter for short trips in the Alpine region – two to three-day mountain getaways with short travel times. I plan longer trips more for the holiday-rich spring, and late autumn is the ideal season for city trips.

How did you even come up with the idea to start a blog?

In my parents’ house, there are stacks of albums with neatly pasted pictures and funny travel anecdotes. This passion for documentation started when I received my first (analog) camera for Christmas in fifth grade – pure enthusiasm. During my college years, this fell by the wayside amidst all the travel and exam preparation stress. It’s a pity when travel memories become increasingly fragmented over time and you can’t give good friends a recommendation because you simply can’t remember the name of the restaurant with the best Enchiladas in all of Yucatan, or where the great accommodation on Isla Ometepe was exactly located. The travel blog served as motivation to actively document travel experiences and tips again and as personal development in the online and social media world, which was completely new to me at the time.

What is your blog’s recipe for success?

Uniqueness, quality, and consistency – and that the underlying motivation is not to be able to live off the blog within three months and lead a life of luxury under the palms in Fiji (maybe that’s a success story too, but not the kind I am aiming for).

Where do you find all your sponsors?

Sponsors? Uh, to be honest, this question drives me nuts. Some of you send me emails that are basically just about how to manage to travel for free. Now, it is true that I sometimes receive invitations for travel and hotels. However, many trips I report about on the blog are still 100% self-financed. For example, the Lapland and Oman trip or the City trips to Belfast, Lviv, Amsterdam, Rotterdam…

For these trips, I don’t look for sponsors because, to be honest, that’s too much hassle for me. I prefer to organize a trip myself rather than making compromises or waiting weeks for any clarifications. And I’m not a fan of mass processing – if an invitation is obviously sent out indiscriminately to hundreds of bloggers, I don’t even respond.