Hi! I'm Elena! Welcome to my travel blog Creativelena.com.
For me, it is all about “life-seeing instead of sightseeing”: Join me as I create, eat & live my way around the world. Curious?
*Check out my book, “The Creative Traveler’s Handbook”, for learning more about what we mean by creative travel. Travelling means the world to me, makes me fit for everday life and sometimes, I trust, also calmer on the inside. Read this blog with a smile, share what you love and remember to check back regularly: After all, when was the last time you did something for the first time?
“Lebensfeuer”, literally meaning the “fire of life” … The name in itself carries something of a magic. Seductive, almost. “What do I burn for?” How am I feeling really? These and further questions are being answered by the world’s first “Lebensfeuer” destination worldwide: The Alpine valley of Kleinwalsertal in the Austrian Vorarlberg district. So what […]
Is it possible for a distant, exotic and breathtakingly beautiful country such as New Zealand to produce something like an “everyday life rhythm”? Looking back, my answer today is YES, although you have to say that everyday life down under is always going remain distinctively special. It starts with the immensely open-mindedness of the Kiwis […]
“Show me your water!”, is what Carolin Hinz proclaims on her travel blog “Esel Unterwegs” (Travelling Donkey), inviting us to participate in a collection of travel articles showing what experiences we have had in or around “water”. Even while I am reading hers, my mind starts wandering off to all those particular travel memories concerning water. I […]
We had all these months, Jacob and I, just to get ready and excited for our long long trip down under. More than half a year ago, we were already excited about spending New Year’s Eve airborne on our way to Aotearoa New Zealand. Wohoo! 🙂 It was Jacob’s fourth trip to New Zealand, last […]
Rugby match. Car sales. Kayak trip. My new home around the idyllic small town of Motueka, at the gateway to New Zealand’s famous Abel Tasman National Park, is pretty paradisiac. I have made it to the city of Auckland and survived my first adventure of crossing the North Island to the south. Having finally “arrived” here on the […]
There is a remedy to the travel bug. Let me tell you (and convince myself!) about it! Having Spanish lunch, followed by New Zealand carrot cake, talking about summer travel plans with the family. Sounds good, right? But South America … I guess there is no cure for wanting to go there. Again and again. […]
“What kind of (unusual) ability did you ever wish for on any of your trips? Which country would you choose to live? What language would you still like to learn?” Aaaah. I really love this kind of questions, as they serve to stimulate my creative travel spirit. But “blog boomerangs”? To be quite honest with you, […]
Travelling and immersing oneself in foreign cultures: A daunting thought to some, while others consider it second nature. Being of the latter, I personally find it very hard to understand that some people plan their annual holiday trip according to a random price in a magazine. “The all-inclusive deal to Spain is € 150,- less than the […]
I could not take my hands off … the camera. Magic, pure magic was what I saw last weekend hiking across the wine-terraced hills of my home city Krems in the Danube river valley, situated at the gateway to the Wachau World Heritage landscape. Of course, I am always reminded by my lovely wine-growing friends that we are actually, “originally, from the Kamptal […]
Do you know the best thing about an E-Bike? They allow you to cycle up the (wine-terraced) hills while still being able to enjoy the surrounding wine landscape. I arrive at the top of the hill south of the city of Heilbronn without breaking a sweat – a nice feeling alright. Ok, the sportiest among you might say, “riding […]