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
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
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
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.