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?
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 […]
This past autumn, I already found Belgrade, the capital city of Serbia, to be really cool & creative. Turns out I found it to be even more so on this second trip to Serbia, last but not least because of meeting talented local artist Lazar Rančić. Lazar runs his nice little atelier “Skola Keramike” in the backyard […]
2017 came and went. A wild, turbulent (travel) year I must say. Now that I’ve finally been able to relax over the Christmas & New Year’s Eve break, I can truly say just how exhausting, yet also just how revealing it has been at times! 18 countries on three continents I’ve travelled, not counting all those […]
“But .. What do you mean, Elena, building your own ski?!” I must admit I’ve caused a bit of a stir here, telling everyone around me that I was soon going to build my own ski in Tirol, Austria. “Is that even possible?” Well yes, it is. In less than 48 hours, actually. Design, cut, layer, […]
Looking at the colours of Almería contained in this post, you will never believe me to be talking to you about the “driest place in Europe”. Located at the south-eastern edge of Spain, Almería county is bordered only by the glistening Mediterranean Sea to the south, as well as the mighty, often snow-covered tips of […]
This town. Great vibes and good food. Plus the odd corner, district or street that has yet to see its “coming of age”. Novi Sad, you’ve honestly fascinated me in a way that I haven’t felt for a long time. And who would have thought: Discovering a creative (wool) art studio inside the town’s main fortress?! Glancing at […]
Serbia. What comes to mind when you hear about Serbia as a travel destination? Before I’ve actually been on my very first trip to Serbia, not much I have to admit. I did see the beautiful video, sure, “Serbia: Land of New Beginnings”, which was done by my international travel writer & video producer peers, and […]
Greece. “A travel tale in the (spiritual) traces of humankind“, is what I wrote about my first real visit to Athens in February this year. Those feelings of awe still ring true today. If anything, my understanding about Greece, the current plight of its people due to the crisis, has all but deepened. Perhaps despite […]
