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

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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

A good start to 2018

A new year brings new opportunities – just as any day does for that matter. And 2018 has been a good acquaintance for the little moveable Travelooney office so far – just as the rest of 2017 was.

Biggest news is that I have now moved back to Denmark, after a period of living abroad in Spain and in the UK. Now my aim is to get even more work related to writing and travel inspiration, and therefore I’m always on the lookout for new opportunities.

In the past few months I have had some exciting articles published in Danish media. Articles from the Isle of Man, Spain, Switzerland and Wales, that have been published in big newspapers and in a popular womens magazine. Articles that was brought to live on the background of my own ideas and original material. See a few examples here:

In the same period I have also been collecting new material from press trips to Luxembourg, Austria and Switzerland – and soon I will be going back to the alpine country, which is starting to become one of my “expertise areas”.

Freelance travel writing is a constant challenge of getting new material, while working with what you already have – but I really love this part of the job. I’m curious to find out what the next few months will bring, and I will keep working hard to make good things happen.

Thanks for stopping by!

Brian

Back in West Wales – Next stop Denmark

It’s been windy and grey here in West Wales recently, but perfect weather to stay indoors to get some research and writing done – occasionally combined with a walk along the beautiful coastline where baby seals are dotted around the bays at the moment.

A small coastal village in Wales is a big contrast to the city life I was leading in Bath for a couple of months over the summer, but I love it here and it’s a priviledge to spend time here for the third straight year.

The base in Bath from July to September gave me a unique opportunity to get under the skin of yet another city, as well as opportunities to discover the surrounding region of Somerset. I took daytrips to places like Wells, Glastonbury and Cheddar – and of course to the neighbouring city of Bristol, that I’m starting to know very well. I also made it further afield to exciting destinations like The Isle of Man and Brighton that both resulted in travel articles that are yet to be published.

I recently had a couple of articles published with Jyske Fynske Medier though, from Cheddar and the Spanish region of Galicia.

Travelling west I got the chance to discover the town of Chepstow in Wales, and to revisit my beloved former home of Cardiff  – and as I’m writing this I have a couple of weeks left here in Wales, before I cross the ocean for a quick visit to Dublin, then head back home to Denmark.

My plan is to “set up shop” back home, to have a more permanent base from where to travel and take on press trips. Therefore I am always looking for opportunities for work and projects within the travel/tourism field, and would love to hear from you if you could need a travel writer fuelled on pure passion?

Until next time

Brian

Exploring from a new base

June and July have flown by and I’m writing this update from my new temporary base in Bath in South England. A city I was already familiar with and now I’m feeling lucky to be able to call it my home – although for just a couple of months.

There is something special about getting to feel like a local in a new city, which I recently wrote about on Travelooney Blog – and with this UK-base, I can now easily explore new cities, regions and islands around here. In fact I’m travelling to the Isle of Man for a work-trip in a few hours, and I’m very excited to get to discover this place described as a self-governing crown dependency. Other trips are also already planned, but I’m always open to requests for articles from around here if you need anything specific.

From around mid-September I’ll be “moving camp” once again to be based on the West Coast of Wales until mid-November. A place where I have already been spending several months during the last couple of years, and that I have come to love as one of my second homes-away-from-home. While based there I hope to collect even more exciting material from Wales and beyond – as I’m currently considering a trip to Ireland.

It’s been a good couple of months for Travelooney with a handful of new articles being published in major Danish newspapers – including two cover stories for Berlingske’s Rejseliv. Travelooney Blog is also well-stocked with new exciting material, and in the past week it has seen a peak in visitors from all over the world.

Personally I enjoyed spending a month back home in Denmark in June, exploring my own country and discovering places I had never visited before – proving that you don’t always have to travel far for new experiences. I’m already looking forward to do that even more in the future.

But for now, I’d better pack my suitcase for the Isle of Man…

Brian

Transition after a busy spring

What a few months it has been since my last update. One of my busiest travel periods ever, which has meant lots of new inspiration and material piling up at the Travelooney office. Material that I’m currently still working with, for features in Danish newspapers – as well as for my own blog.

During the last four months I have been re-visiting London and discovering Belfast in Northern Ireland. I’ve been exploring much more of Spain, especially the northern regions of Galicia, Asturias and Cantabria. And I have been back in Switzerland to visit Zürich and St. Gallen. I also went on a train journey in Scotland, and I even managed to squeeze in a trip to Stockholm along the way. Phew!

Travelling for work is hard, with busy schedules and often few hours of sleep. But naturally it’s equally exciting, and one of the things I love about travel writing (there are many!), is the frequent transition between gathering new material and getting back to a focused writing process.

Soon I’ll go through another transition, as I will be leaving my beloved Madrid behind indefinitely, to go travelling once again. First stop will be my home country of Denmark in June, after when I will be spending a few months in the UK. First in the south of England and then on the West Coast of Wales. Bases that will make it easier for me to collect new exciting material from around those regions.

Therefore I am always interested in hearing from you if your website/media outlet should be in need of any travel-related material (texts and photos) from any of those places. Or from elsewhere in Europe for that matter.

Thanks for visiting and have a good summer!

Brian

Gaining expertise

Since I last wrote this blog, I have been back an forth between Denmark, Switzerland and Spain – and tomorrow I will be travelling back to the UK on a work trip. On this trip I will be visiting Belfast and Northern Ireland for the first time, which I really look forward to. And as much as I love exploring new cities and countries, I also find it valuable to gain expertise in certain countries and regions within Europe.

By mainly living in Spain, it is naturally developing into one of those expertise areas for me. And although there are endless of places in Spain I have yet to discover, I am always well stocked when it comes to exciting alternatives to the main touristy areas of this wonderful country.

Back in December I returned to Switzerland, which Is another country I am starting to get familiar with, and I will be looking forward to explore more corners of this diverse country in time to come. I have already been visiting many of its beloved cities and regions, and I work well with the Swiss tourism board on assignments from Danish media.

The United Kingdom is equally diverse and it offers more travel experiences than most people expect, and I am steadily making my way around the regions of both Wales, England and Scotland – and will now be experiencing Northern Ireland too. From living in Cardiff and on the wild west coast of Wales, to touring through England and the east coast of Scotland – I love to inspire people to travel further than “only” London when visiting the UK.

Be sure to contact me if you need insider tips and material from any of my expertise areas – or if you need me to write about other exciting corners of Europe – or the rest of the world for that matter.

And don’t forget to check out my personal travel blog where I post articles from all my trips.

May your 2017 be full of travel adventures!

Brian