While waiting for the curve to turn – let’s make people dream away

Things haven’t exactly turned for the better since my latest update in September. It is certainly tough days in the world of travel-related jobs. I’ve seen first hand how cafés, bars, hotels and restaurants have had to close permanently here in Madrid. And I know that many travel sections and magazines are facing big challenges in times where almost no one travels.

I’ve felt it personally too, of course. Freelance travel writing hasn’t become any easier, but I still have hope that things will turn around within 2021, and meanwhile, shouldn’t we give people something to dream about for when it’s finally safer and easier to travel again?

Travel inspiration can be presented in many ways, and I have a bunch of material in stock that definitely will make readers dream and extend their to-travel-lists for the near future.

Despite these trying times, I’ve managed to share some travel inspiration recently. My latest newspaper article was published in Berlingske at the end of September. A three-page cover story about dogsledding in the Swiss Alps. It was one of my most memorable work trips resulting in an article that hopefully made readers dream away.

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Besides this, I’ve had a blog post from North Wales published by the Independent Hostel Guide, I’ve been writing a bunch of online guides for the Scandi-focued Routes North, and I recently finished an exciting magazine article to be published at some point in 2021.

Now I’ve got time on my hands to write new articles, blog posts and guides, and I’m eager to do my tiny bit to help get people excitied for travelling again – so be sure to get in touch if you’re looking for a hopeful travel writer!

And hopefully, you’ll manage to have a good Christmas despite it all.

Greetings from Madrid!

Brian

If you’re going through hell, keep writing.

Working in open air while staying rural in Galicia, North Spain

If you’re going through hell, keep going – is a famous Winston Churchill quote. And although I wouldn’t call my current situation ‘hell’, it somehow fits these unfamiliar times that, like for most people, has been a challenge for my personal life as well as for my workflow. We have to keep working with what we’ve got, where we are.

Despite a pandemic that is far from over and a world of travel and media that is far from back to normal, the train seems to be pulling again, and there’s hope it can pull us out of this madness of a year. There is now a little light at the end of the tunnel, although we still don’t know how long the tunnel is.

I have personally felt a little “upswing” with work opportunities slowly presenting themselves again. I have also been able to do a bit of ‘masked travelling’ recently, and in the past few months, I have had several articles published in print:

My 6-page Lisbon-article featured 17 photos including this two-paged shot

Back in April, I had my first article from colourful Lisbon published in the Danish magazine Motor. It reached about 400.000 readers through memberships of FDM (Federation of Danish Motorists). It’s always exciting to see an article come to live on glossy pages with photos in vivid colours.

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In June I had two articles published in the travel section REJSER from Jysk Fynske Medier. The first one was a personal story about having experienced Madrid from the inside during the strict Covid-19 lockdown in spring.

The second was a three-page cover story from Cádiz in Andalucia, South Spain. An exciting and often-overlooked city that was a pleasure to be able to present to hundreds of thousands of Danish readers. And as a fun bonus, my girlfriend made it to the cover.

And then in the start of September, I had a one-page article published with Berlingske Media‘s weekend section FRI. An article with tips on how to enjoy the Austrian capital of Vienna.

New exciting material in stock

As mentioned, I’ve had the chance to do some safe travelling through the past few months in Denmark and in Spain. Therefore, I have plenty of new exciting material in stock for future blog posts and articles – whether it will be from The South Funen Archipelago, from the Danish Watten Sea Island of Rømø or from the spectacular coast of Asturias in Northern Spain. Inquiries are alway welcome HERE.

For now, I hope you’re staying safe and will be able to enjoy the tail-end of this crazy summer. Somehow.

Brian

Travel writer grounded due to Corona-crisis – stuck in the office with tons of inspiration

A travel writer that can’t travel. It doesn’t sound like a feasible line of business. Nevertheless, this is my current status, as I have been grounded at my base here in Madrid, while the city, the country and much of the world is in lockdown-mode to fight the Corona-virus.

I can’t even begin to comprehend how much the current situation will affect millions of lives all over the world, and not only those who are unfortunate to get the actual virus, but also all those people who are affected in their work-situation like I could be too.

But for now, I just feel fortunate that I had just returned from my latest work-trip through Portugal before this got serious business, and I had to postpone my next journey to Denmark. In fact, the flight was just cancelled today. At the moment I am stuck in my home office, but with plenty of material and inspiration in stock to keep busy during an extended lockdown-period without being able to travel.

When we all get out on the other side of quarantines and lockdowns, hopefully, people will be hungrier than ever for travelling, appreciative of their newfound freedom and looking for new inspiration. And if your media is looking for inspiring articles or blog posts in English or Danish – you’ve come to the right place.

Right now, I have exciting material on my desk from Portugal, Spain, Germany, Switzerland and Great Britain, just to mention a few destinations.

These days, we are only allowed to leave our homes to go to work (those who still have to) or to go shopping for food or medicine, specifically. And the police are controlling the streets. This is not a test. This is serious.

I have decided to try and make the most of a bad situation and spend the extra time home getting on top of work, researching future work trips and keeping up my 160-day streak on the Duolingo language-learning app.

Hope you’re all staying safe and dreaming about future travels!

Brian

2020 is off to a great start

When turning a new page and entering a new year, we all want to get off to the best possible start. And as a freelance writer, that means a desk full of assignments to go ahead with.

In fact, I’m happy to say I have just that, and it is a pleasure to be able to inspire many readers on a monthly basis – both through print and online media and both in Danish and in English.

I’m honoured to contribute to possibly the best independent travel guide to Scandinavia, RoutesNorth.com, for which I’m responsible for keeping the event calendar up to date, writing themed guides and editing content. Check it out if you are planning a trip to Scandinavia, as I’m sure you will find inspiration!

2020 marks my 8-year anniversary as a published travel writer and through the years I have been lucky to work with some of Denmark’s biggest newspapers and magazines to inspire the Danes to travel.

Some collaborations have lasted all my self-made career, while it has been refreshing to add new exciting media to the mix along the way too. Since 2019, I have been delivering travel articles and photos to Motor, which the biggest car owners magazine in Denmark -reaching more than 400.000 readers.

I have a series of articles planned for them over the next period, where I get to share my inspiration to some of my favourite cities and countries in Europe.

It is always exciting to see the result of hard work in print, and hopefully, 2020 will bring more exciting opportunities to my desk.

Best wishes for a great year!

Brian

A memory card full of new inspiration

In a few days, we turn the calendar from September to October and soon the autum colours are upon us, although we currently have temperatures reaching into the late twenties (degrees celcius) here in Madrid. It’s been another eventful summer for me with plenty of trips and tons of new inspiration for upcoming travel articles.

Fresh on my notepad is a hiking trip to Tenerife, culture and street life in Lisbon, further exploration of Galicia and Northern Spain, a road trip in the Spanish region of Almería, a visit to the city of Granada, an introduction to surprisingly cool Düsseldorf in Germany and as always plenty of new tips from Madrid. Anything interesting for your media? Let me know!

Throughout the summer I have been writing regularly for RoutesNorth.com and have had a few blog posts published by IndependentHostels.com

I also recently got my first article published in Denmark’s biggest car magazine Motor, which is a members magazine for the FDM association and reaches more than 400.000 readers. My article covered 6 pages with 20 photos and inspires readers to go on a road trip along the coast of beautiful Galicia:

Besides this, my report from the stunning nationalpark of Kemeri in Latvia was recently published by Jysk Fynske Medier:

These were both great opportunities for me to inspire the Danes to try something different and far from the classic mass-tourism destinations, which is something I’m very passionate about. Therefore I always have plenty of material from cities, regions and countries that most people have yet to discover.

At the moment I don’t have my next trip planned – so let me know if you have a destination you think I should visit.

Enjoy the shades of autumn!

Brian

 

Back in the MAD city

It’s been pouring down for days, which is quite rare here in Madrid. As I’m writing this, I’m looking out on Plaza España swimming with water, but from a safe distance behind the window panel of one of my regular writing cafés. Easter has been surprisingly wet around here but the forecast makes promises of sunnier days just around the corner. Despite the recent rain, I’m very excited to be back in Madrid, which will be my base indefinitely. And I’ve got new exciting travel writing projects on my notepad where this city plays the leading role… but more about that next time.

I’m still writing for big Danish media outlets where I’ve had a couple of articles published in the beginning of this year (see below). I’m also still a regular contributor to the Scandinavia-focused online guide Routes North, where I can get to share my local knowledge on Denmark. You’ll find my list of articles for them HERE.

Besides this, I’ve been doing some content writing recently that took me way outside my comfort zone, but that’s where we learn the most right? I’m definitely up for a lot more content writing, so be sure to get in touch if you (or someone you know) is looking for a Danish content writer!

We might still be in the middle of spring, but summer will be here soon. Right now it’s a high season for travel inspiration – so again, let me know if you’re in need of European travel content in Danish or English. My next press trip is planned and will take me even further south in Europe to Tenerife, for an itinerary where I’ll have to pack my hiking boots! It will be a great challenge!

Besides this, I’ve also got plans to visit Lisbon soon and I’m currently working on exciting angles on this popular city.

Believe it or not, drops of rain have started making it through the window frames of this café, so I better close my laptop and move on.

Enjoy your spring!

Brian

A nomadic lifestyle gives me different perspectives

A few months have flown by since my latest update in here. Winter arrived and Christmas came and went, and once again I ended up splitting my time between Denmark, the UK and Spain. Some of it was planned – some of it was completely spontaneous. By now, I have lost count of how many times I’ve been travelling without a return ticket, and I’ve gotten used to some kind of nomadic lifestyle over the past few years.

Although I hope to find a more permanent base very soon, staying in different countries for extended periods gives me refreshingly different perspectives on many things – whether it’s following the latest brilliant moves by the mayor of Madrid, or listening to a bunch of Brits discuss the Brexit-complications around the dinner table. Besides that, it gives me valuable insider tips when it comes to travel writing.

I ended up spending a lovely Christmas and New Years Eve in Madrid, and prior to that, I travelled in the UK for a month and a half – a journey that began by attending the huge World Travel Market (WTM) event in London back in November. An excellent place to soak up inspiration for future travels and articles and for getting new contacts in the tourism industry.

While in London, I also took the chance to update my photo archive and to write a few new articles for the Independent Hostel Guide’s blog. It was articles based on my stays at some of their connected pub hostels around the city.

A by-night shot of Battersea Power Station in London

After London, I made it back to a couple of my favourite UK cities Bristol and Cardiff, before staying with great friends at the West Coast of Wales for an extended period. There is something special yet melancholic about staying in a remote destination way out of the tourism season. Something I wrote a short update about on my own blog.

My most recent press trips were back in September and October, as I had the pleasure of trying some E-mountain biking in the Swiss Alps and some national park exploration in Latvia. Both were very inspiring trips and I have some exciting material from these destinations if your media should be interested in articles with any of those themes. You’re always welcome to contact me with enquiries.

The past few weeks I’ve been back in Denmark while working on a few different online projects, as well as writing articles for the Scandinavia-focused blog Routes North.

My most recent newspaper article to be published was from the small but culturally rich country of Luxembourg (see below). I’m always very motivated to discover and promote destinations that seem to go under the mass-tourism radar, and Luxembourg is a great example of this. The article was published with the travel section from Jysk Fynske Medier in Denmark and more of my articles are on their way in this outlet.

Now I’m looking forward to the next step – the next trip – whatever it may be. I’m working hard every day to add to this portfolio of travel writing and photography – and I’m always looking for new opportunities around the corner!

Greetings from winter-cold Scandinavia!

Brian

Travelooney on track for a busy autumn

What a summer it’s been. I’m always a bit melancholic about leaving a season behind, but at the same time I am looking forward to the autumn, as I have new exciting trips and projects lined up already. I’m currently in Denmark, where the weather seems to have turned from sizzling summer to more familiar shades of grey – but soon I’ll be back in my second hometown, Madrid.

Rainy weather is good for staying inside the office though, and to take a quick look back on the last couple of months, that took me to the Azores and new parts of the diverse Iberian Peninsula – better known as Spain.

The Azores trip was a unique opportunity to explore an exotic corner of Europe, and I was keen on introducing these islands to Danes who haven’t been there yet. At the same time it was an interesting challenge for me work wise, to try to cover several islands in one article, because they were just like a volcano erupting with inspiration.

When it comes to travel writing I never feel it’s a struggle to fill a page – it’s always a task of cutting and shaping, to keep the piece smooth and within the limited number of words you’re allowed to use. Even for a cover-story like this one, which was published in Berlingske Rejseliv on the 1st of September:

The first couple of pages of my Azores article in Rejseliv from Berlingske

Before that, I had a couple of other articles published in the same section back in August. A 24-hour guide to Madrid, and an article about the seaside-city of Brighton in Southern England. An article that got double exposure, as it was previously published with BT Rejser.

An overview of my latest Madrid article in Rejseliv

I also had an article published back in July with Jysk Fynske Medier’s Rejser, which was the result of press trip to Spain back in in June. As a travel writer your work can sometimes turn to print in a couple of weeks – other times it can take a year or more.

My article from Costa Brava (Catalonia) was published in July in ‘Rejser’

I love working with the newspapers, but I have been looking for other projects to add on too – and lately my work has paid off. I recently became a regular contributor to a Scandinavia-focused blog and guide, Routes North, And just this week I have joined a team of writers for a hotel-themed project that I will talk more about next time.

The tasks at hand doesn’t mean my schedule is fully booked, and I am always working on planning new trips to secure new exciting material coming in. So don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’re in need of a travel writer – or if you think your destination is worth an article.

My next work trip will take me back to the Swiss Alps, and it looks like I will get my first taste of the Baltic countries too. So stay tuned…

Greetings from Scandinavia!

Brian

From Ærø to the Azores

Spring flew by with remarkable speed, and the summer is officially here. It’s travel time for many people – and work time for others. It’s a privilege when those can be combined.

Since my last update I’ve been on a couple of exciting work trips – both in Denmark and in Spain. And the latter will be the country I spend most of my summer in this year, with a base in my partner’s home city Madrid. A city I have called home too – and still do from time to time.

A base in central Spain will give me great opportunities to explore not only the rest of Spain, but also its neighbouring countries. And I hope to come away with lots of new material and articles from this summer. For now, my next work trip will go to the Portugese islands of the Azores – far out in the Atlantic Ocean. My most exotic trip so far.

It’s just been a couple of weeks since I had another island adventure – here in Denmark, to the beautiful island of Ærø. And while you might think that travelling a lot for work and visiting amazing places could make you “numb” and unable to enjoy less glamorous destinations – I don’t have that feeling at all. In fact, I’m excited for any trip where I might find good stories and interesting people to write about – whether it’s just around the corner or on an exotic island far away. Because as a travel writer you start seeing places and destinations as work projects and stories to tell, and not only as a holiday adventure.

And work it is. Because while you get to visit amazing places and feel extremely fortunate to do so – the travel part is usually not even 1/3 of the job. The planning that goes ahead, and the research and the writing that comes after, is so much more. So if you don’t truly love writing, it just won’t work out. Plus the press trips themselves are not holidays at all. They often have intense schedules and long days of constant focus – on impressions, facts and photos. But one of the great rewards for me is getting to meet some very interesting people with very admirable stories – whether it’s locals or writing colleagues.

Right now I’m happy to have a bunch of articles lined up, both for newspapers and blogs. But at the same time I’m always open to new projects and new collaborations – so be sure to contact me if you have something I could be helpful with.

The last article of mine that was published in print, was about the seaside city of Brighton, England – featured in the Danish newspaper travel section BT Rejser.

And more articles are lined up for being published sometime soon…

On the online side of things, I’m excited to announced that I have teamed up with the excellent Scandinavia focused blog RoutesNorth.com – and that I have already had my first travel guide published with them; ’34 CHEAP AND FREE THINGS TO DO IN ODENSE‘. I’m always proud to promote my Danish home town of Odense, so go check it out.

And now the countdown to my next work trip is on, so I better start packing…

I wish you an amazing summer!

Brian

Looking for new possibilities

It’s a sunny Monday morning here in Denmark, and even though I know that many people don’t like Mondays, I always like to think of it as the start of a potentially new great week – that hopefully brings new opportunities.

And right now that’s exactly what I’m looking for! New opportunities and new possibilities to get my writing out and share my travel inspiration with as many people as possible. Whether on blogs, websites, newsletters, newspapers or magazines. You name it.

I have built up some good relationships with medias in Denmark and abroad over the last few years, but I have more time on my hands. More ideas. More energy to use elsewhere. So don’t hesitate to contact me if you are looking for a passionate travel writer.

Recently I have been contacted with some interesting opportunities by different companies, and I hope these will develop into exciting challenges and great new content sometime soon.

My latest work trip went to Switzerland, where the photo (by Linda Røygaard) above is from, and my love for the alpine country is just growing for each time I visit. My most recent newspaper article published in Denmark was from there too, introducing thousands of Danes to the capital city of Bern:

New exciting destinations are waiting for me around the corner, with Amsterdam and Oslo being a couple of them, and I can’t wait to explore new neighbourhoods and experience the European spring from new angles.

Enjoy your city in bloom!

Brian