Cologne & NRWTravel talk

Continental Breakfast Travel is moving…

The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed a dip in activity on the blog in recent weeks, for which I apologise, but rest assured there is a very good reason.

After several weeks of interviews and emails, I can confirm: I am moving to Germany!

I’m off to Düsseldorf, where I’ll be continuing in PR but working for a big name in travel. I’m ridiculously happy  – not only to have the chance to work for one of my dream companies, but also to be moving back to a country I love so much.

But what does this mean for CBT?

Neuer Zollhof in Dusseldorf's Media Harbour

Neuer Zollhof in Dusseldorf’s Media Harbour

I’m hoping to keep any disruption to the blog to a minimum, and there won’t be a huge change in content. Moving to Germany will obviously bring opportunities and challenges that I will no doubt post about, and expat life will have some surprises in store for me, I’m sure, but I will continue to travel to various locations around Europe and I plan on doing just as many city breaks as I would have done in Manchester.

My plans are obviously quite open to change (as you can see from this post I wrote only a few months ago), but here is a list of things you can expect in the coming months:

A proper goodbye to Manchester

Manchester has been my home for the best part of five years now. It’s a city I feel I’ve out-grown recently, but one I love all the same. One of the first things I plan on doing is writing a Manchester bucket list in an attempt to see as much of the city as possible in the next 6 weeks and to finally do all the things I’ve been promising myself I’d ‘get around to…’

A weekend in Copenhagen

I will still be hopping over to Denmark very soon, which I am even more excited about now I’m a fully fledged Bron/Broen/The Bridge addict.

Eurovision

I am still planning some big things for Eurovision 2014. I’m gutted I won’t be having a house party in Manchester (though I think most of my friends are fairly relieved) but I look forward to donning my Jedward costume and watching it in a country that actually has a chance of winning…

The rhine in Dusseldorf

The Rhine in Dusseldorf

Balkans

One trip that has been reluctantly scrapped is my planned journey to the Balkans – a region I seem doomed never to get to. I was originally planning to finally visit Serbia, BiH and Croatia in May, but I very much doubt I will be a position to undertake such a big trip by then. It’s a real shame as this isn’t the first time my plans to see former Yugoslavia have had to take a back seat. One day…

Unchartered territory

I have spent quite a bit of time in Germany over the years, but the areas I know best are definitely Saxony and Berlin – both of which lie in Germany’s East. Though I’ve twice been to Cologne (on two school trips), I haven’t explored much of Western Germany or the Rhineland. This is something I plan to rectify, and so my first few posts from Düsseldorf will probably be exploring the surrounding region. (Xanten and Aachen are top of the list).

I also plan to make the most of Düsseldorf’s close proximity to the Benelux region – another place I don’t know well.

New airports

Of course, with a new city comes a new airport and new exciting destinations. But luckily for me, Düsseldorf is actually within two hours of four airports: Düsseldorf International – Germany’s third busiest, Weeze (Niederrhein) – a Ryanair hub on the border with the Netherlands, Dortmund – with good Wizzair links to L’viv and others, and Cologne/Bonn – another budget airline hub. I cannot wait to get some budget weekend breaks under my belt!

View of the Rhine Tower from Media Harbour

View of the Rhine Tower from Media Harbour

Finally, I would like to quickly say a massive thank you to everyone who has supported this blog since it began: whether as a regular reader, follower, friend or relative. This blog played a big part in getting the amazing opportunity I’ve been given and I don’t think I’d have had the confidence to keep going for 11 months without the brilliant comments, likes and friendships I’ve made.  

Thank you all.

Related posts
City breaksCologne & NRWGermany

Why you should visit Cologne for the Christmas Markets

City breaksCologne & NRWGermany

Visiting ExtraSchicht: your complete guide

City breaksCologne & NRWGermany

Visiting Wuppertal: tips for a day trip

Cologne & NRWGermany

The best castles near Cologne to visit on a day trip

Like the post? Subscribe to my newsletter here.

0 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *