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?
Have you ever heard about Kamloops in Western Canada? Those eager explorers among you may have heard of the “city at the confluence” as a central point of the VIA Rail train service passing between Vancouver and Jasper, a particularly beautiful track through the western Rocky Mountains. But Kamloops deserves more than just to be […]
(Almost) Everybody knows about the city of Calgary, also known as the “Gateway to the Rocky Mountains” and because of its annual, word-renowned festival “Calgary Stampede“. This time, however, I approached Calgary in quite a different way: By visiting the so-called “First Nations”, the native people of Calgary, allowing for historical connections and modern life […]
Mashteuiatsh. Can you pronounce it? A small community situated at a huge lake, about three hours drive north of the city of Québec. What is so special about it? Well, I guess it’s the fact that you can truly mix and mingle with the so-called “First Nations” here, native inhabitants of Québec in the east […]
“We no jaha we no jaha .. hinooo … weee no jaha we no jaha hinooo …” Even today, the melody of a Quebec indigenous song still echoes in my ears. A legend, told by the proud tribal members of the “Wolf Clan”, describes the mythical transformation of a superhuman son and his return as thunder […]
“And then, when each and everyone in my group realises the untamed power of the Alpine plants, this ‘medicine’ around us, I thank God for my gift and smile …”, says Christine Sperner, who is our hiking guide for the day and a sort of plant whisperer, too. You could also call her the translator […]
Linz. I do believe, that the third-largest town of Austria is truly underrated. Years ago already, when we had our Austrian travel bloggers’ meeting in Linz, I have been impressed with what you can do in the city of Linz. Getting creative, that is, baking your own famous Linzer cake for instance. Visiting the internationally acclaimed Ars […]
She is of beautiful growth, smells absolutely wonderful, and has the power to turn people’s heads. She wants to be conquered, doesn’t just “stand around”, but likes to command entire mountainsides underneath her. She likes it when you approach her cautiously, respectfully at first, then visibly moved by her beauty. Wood artists love her, connoisseurs […]
EF – Education First. The motto of what I consider to be, my “Alma Mater” concerning language travel abroad, and also the name of the very first language school I went to London with for an “Academic Year Abroad” back in 2002 ..! EF has really changed my life in many ways: Thanks to this early […]
Plovdiv, the second largest city in Bulgaria at almost half a million inhabitants, is a Balkan star rising. Forming part of a trend that sees “Europe’s second cities” gain in popularity, it may well steal the show off its capital neighbour to the West, the city of Sofia. In my last post about Bulgaria, I […]
Bulgaria, a travel destination that continues to evoke something special in me. Starting from my open fascination for the historic capital city of Sofia, I would like to take you further this time. Further into the countryside. Right into where I believe lies the heart and soul of Bulgaria, its many different cultural landscapes shaped over the […]