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?
The backcountry of any popular travel destination, such as Costa Brava, northern Catalonia in this case, is where the real magic happens. Countless creative travel experiences have led me to believe so. Or did you know you can become “a medieval travel writer” in the Pyrenees? Make your own organic paper to suit, in the popular lakeside town of Banyoles? […]
The world gets bigger as you travel. Have you ever heard of, or thought about, this sentence? It has become so true for me, whenever I think of travelling these days. And especially true, when it comes to visiting a certain destination repeatedly. Like Costa Brava. Having learned the local language Catalan, spent lots and lots of […]
Imagine this: Four girls, two from Germany, two from Austria. The “north” heading “south”, meeting up to travel in a fun, creative way #inCostaBrava. I mean, how do you possibly explain to your friends, families, and German-speaking blog readers, that what you do as a creative traveller in Catalonia, has to do with painting the butts […]
“You look so different”, I compliment my friend Klaus back home in Austria, “have you lost weight?! I feel like I’ve just gained at least fifteen kilos, travelling #inCostaBrava for the past two weeks”, I add, laughing. Incredible how my foodie travel writer friends Amber & Eric have been able to literally wine & dine themselves around Costa […]
Bella Italia. I just had to fall in love. 🙂 “But what were you thinking, Elena?”, my friends were teasing me before leaving for Italy, teasing me about my “pure desire to learn Italian” (no guys, no eventual distractions this time ..!). But then .. Oh Salerno. Pompei. The Amalfi Coast, righteously known to be World Heritage of […]
Johannesburg. Some six years ago, when I was first visiting the South African capital city, I honestly did not make much of a connection. This time though, it was all different. Despite the little time we had for “Jo’burg” during our South African adventure trip, I did finally feel some more of the vibe of Johannesburg. Met […]
Porto. No longer do I feel like a visitor there. Rather, like a “temporary citizen“. “Bem-vinda em casa, Elena!”, my Portuguese friends call out to me and welcome me home in their typical, heartfelt hospitality. If, like me, you care for the country and its people, even learn (some of) the language, you stand to […]
The “most beautiful dead-end in the world”: After travelling to Kleinwalsertal, I found it again in the Lower Austrian Waldviertel. A happy little dead-end street that goes by the candid name of “Klein-Nondorf”, leading to the organic farmstead of the Besenbäck family. Only an hour away from where I grew up, the world has changed completely, […]
“During summer, we throw up a BBQ and our guests say, ‘Hang on Maria, and look: The stars. So many and so clear! It is so beautiful here in the Waldviertel. Such clean air. We sleep so well here, and just love the silence, you know.’ And Elena, comments like these, they just get to […]
Greece in foodie terms is one big travel dream come true! If you’ve ever sighed to the creaminess of real Greek yoghurt, tasted juicy Kalamata olives or bit into tangy Feta cheese, you will never want to opt for the industrially manufactured counterparts again. Incredible just how good the food tastes out here, at the very source of […]