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?
I just literally “came across” something. The border between Bavaria and Baden-Wurttemberg that is, right inside the city of Ulm in Southern Germany. Ever since I’ve set out on a journey to trace the German part of the Danube river upstream, I’ve really come to look at it with different eyes. But instead of just […]
“The so-called ‘Donaudurchbruch’ is the narrowest point of the Danube river in Bavaria. It is just 80 meters wide”, Monika Hummel explains, pointing to the rugged cliffs between which our excursion boat glides almost silently. In my head, the “scenic symphony” written by the Danube river (see my travel video immediately below) swells again like […]
For more than 300 years, the city of Stuttgart has hosted their traditional Christmas markets as one of the oldest markets in the whole of Germany. A fascinating fact for someone like me, who has been growing up to the splendour of similar Christmas markets back home in Austria. Whether it’s a creative workshop in Stuttgart’s ginger bread factory, an evening concert […]
Eine Tüte Urlaub – One bag filled with vacation. I turn over the little bag on my lap, smiling as I can feel the soft sand through its plastic cover. A small yellow paper umbrella throws a hint of shade on two tiny shells, all sealed with the letters: “Eine Tüte Urlaub”. As well as the […]
The magic of travelling to the Baltic Sea Coast. Ever so attractive to us travellers from Austria or Switzerland. Ever so attractive to me. It is my third time up here along the Coast between Rostock & Rügen, and the travel bug has bitten me again. Baltic Sea Coast Blues … “North Sea or Baltic […]
In love with “The North”. “Are you still?”, a friend of mine asks me on Facebook, teasing me about my recent emotions from travelling to the North Sea as well as Lüneburg Heath. “Yes”, I answer with a sigh, happily boarding the so-called “Heidesprinter erixx” train in a town called Buchholz. That’s way out in the countryside, located […]
Waves breaking. Every time I close my eyes, I can hear it again: Waves breaking upon the shoreline. “The North Sea does like to send us big storms every now and then, eating away at our dunes and continuing to shape our sandy beaches”, our Wadden Sea guide & local icon Heino Behring tells us with a […]
“Well yes, that’s what they are all looking for ..!”, Sabine Lampe laughs, welcoming me to the hotel reception of the Hotel Residence Bremen. I look at her somewhat sheepishly, well aware that most of us newcomers to Bremen are asking the very same question, reminiscing about a famous Brother Grimm childhood fairy tale: “And where exactly are they […]
The so-called “Bergische Kaffeetafel” in the German city of Mettmann is featured in a single entry on Wikipedia. Researching about our trip to Mettmann, I also read astounding words such as “Muckefuck” or “Dröppelminna”, words that even make a native German speaker like me look up in wonder. How to explain this to my English-speaking friends ..?! […]
Time to tell another story. Or two. After publishing well over 5.000 words of extensive executive summaries on the #STSHamburg Social Travel Summit in Hamburg, I have finally deserved some rest. “Dear Tanja … Dear Greg …!” My friends living in & near Hamburg are quick to reply: “Let’s meet and explore a part of Hamburg […]
