The beginning of 2019 was very busy for us. We didn’t have many trips lined up, but we were and still are keeping many balls in the air. This is why it was such a pleasant surprised to find out that we have been nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award by Pam and Kathrine from Everywhere Forward. Pam and Kathrine are two sisters from Pennsylvania who love exploring the world and, like us, are passionate about self-growth and learning. Thank you so much for the nomination!

About The Sunshine Blogger Award

First of all, don’t expect us to put on our best gowns and suits and drive black limousine to the award winning ceremony like Academy Awards or Nobel Prize. Sunshine Blogger Award is a recognition given to bloggers by bloggers. It’s an online “award” created to inspire joy and positivity in the community. What we like about it is how it connects different travel blogs and motivates towards collaboration and partnerships. Also, it is often simply fun to answer random questions and make other people do the same!

Sunshine Blogger Award rules

After you have been nominated by a fellow blogger, the rules are pretty simple.

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide them a link back to their blog on yours.
2. Answer 11 questions the blogger asked you! Then nominate 11 new bloggers and come up with a list of 11 questions for them to answer on their own blog.
3. Display the rules and the Sunshine Blogger Award Logo on your blog post/website.

So, here are our answers to Pam and Kathrine’s questions!

1. What destination is at the top of your bucket list right now?

Ženja: Oh, that one’s hard! So many places.. but I would say Tanzania, Jordan, Canada.. do I absolutely HAVE to stop?

Anders: I would really like to go to Jordan or Georgia. These are two completely different destinations, but they both seem beautiful and unique.

2. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from your travels?

Ženja: That we need to take care of our planet. It’s not like I haven’t known it before, but I think travel really helped me to put things into perspective – seeing so many different cultures, countries and wonders of nature. I realized that I love spending time in nature, and I’d love to keep it in a good condition for future generations.

Anders: The world is not as big and scary as you think. No matter where I have been so far I have met the best people.

3. Are you a full-time blogger? If, so what advice do you have for other full-time bloggers? If not, how do you balance work-blogger life?

Ženja: Neither of us is a full-time blogger. Anders works full time, I’m sort of in between jobs, hunting for something new. We have also recently started a side business. As I do most of the blogging-related things, at some point I felt a little overwhelmed by the amount of all my undertakings. This is when I decided that I will only dedicate one day per week for blogging, so the rest of the time I can spend dealing with business, job and so on.

Anders: My better half is an awesome blogger, I just assist from time to time.

4. Are you a traveling foodie, museum-lover, photographer, family travelers, or sight-seer? Or none of the above?!

Ženja: I would say: I love trying local food, going to museums, taking photographs, going sightseeing and I do travel with my second half. So kind of a little bit of everything. But to add, we also really love hiking and trekking and spending time in nature, so I would add that to the list!

Anders: I wouldn’t classify myself as either. I like to go places and take in the culture, and most of all to watch and meet amazing people.

5. What inspired you to become a travel blogger?

Ženja: Well, that one’s on me. I think that after we moved to Singapore and started exploring Southeast Asia, I wanted to somehow commemorate our experiences, and not just by taking photos. I felt like they need to be somewhere, so I can look back one day and live through it again. So when we left for our 6 month trip, we thought of starting a travel blog, so that way we can also share our experience with others.

6. Share your favorite travel photo and tell us why!

We have toooons! But let’s choose just one. When we were in New Zealand, we tried to get to the Franz Josef Glacier. But there was a slide on the road, so we got stuck in Fox Township. What was at first a frustrating situation ended up to be a great experience of spending a wonderful evening, meeting a local farmer and going on a hike around a lake next day. That evening we took this beautiful photo, which will always remind us that when things don’t go as planned, something even better can happen.

7. Have you been to a destination that disappointed you? Why did it disappoint?

Ženja: Not to the point that I wouldn’t return there. I try to always find something positive about places we visit, after all almost every place has its charm. Although I wish Krasnoyarsk in Russia wasn’t as polluted on the day we were there.

Anders: Havana, Cuba – it was nice destination, but everything was a tourist trap and hugely overpriced.

8. Where is your favorite place to travel?

Ženja: Planet Earth, but that’s just because I haven’t been outside yet.

Anders: Asia in general, especially Vietnam. I looooove Vietnam, the food is great, the nature is astonishing, and people are hardworking and very friendly.

9. Where are you traveling next?

Ženja: We hope Vietnam? But it might happen that we’ll go elsewhere – in this region you can afford to be spontaneous.

Anders: Very likely a short trip to Vietnam.

10. What is your favorite part about traveling?

Ženja: I think it’s that it gets us out of our heads. I don’t really know how to explain it better, but each time you travel, you see something new, you experience new things, try new things, and it gives you new perspective. Often we get some good ideas, solutions and inspirations when we travel.

Anders: The fresh breath of air, of getting away from your usual routines, meeting new people and trying (or re-trying) new food.

11. Where was the first place you ever traveled to?

Ženja: St Petersburg when I was a kid. My parents took me there and my only memory of it is an old photo of me and my sister holding hands with people dressed up as Russian royals (I guess). But the first two trips I actually remember were choir tours to Germany and Hungary, not sure which one came first.

Anders: I must have been very young back then, my guess would be Budapest, in car from Denmark through Germany, Czech Republic and Slovakia. My family has been coming to Hungary ever so often over the past 50 years.

And here are 11 wonderful bloggers we nominate for the Sunshine Blogger Awards:

1. Dani from YOLO Travel Experiences. Dani is Canadian YOLOer, wife, mum and travel junkie. She travels with her family and writes about it in an honest, funny and informative way.
2. Jim from Travel Stories & Images. Jim is native of Illinois. He loves photography and enjoys the opportunity to share his stories and pictures with others.
3. Inna and Jim from Executive Thrillseekers. Inna and Jim are two lucky ones who have found each other and are now chasing their dreams and passions together, all over the world.
4. Dominika from Sunday in Wonderland. Dominika is from Poland, but right now she is most likely in some other wonderful place. Like us, she believes in taking care of our planet.
5. Charly, Michelle and Vi from Travel Fun Fam. Charly, Michelle and Vi currently live in Hawaii, and they want to inspire people to travel with their little ones.
6. Chris and Alex from Discover Aotearoa. Alex and Chris bring to you travel blog about New Zealand – country we personally fell in love with.
7. Umiko from Two Worlds Treasures. Umiko is an Indonesian living in Texas. She views traveling as finding treasures, and together with her husband they find treasures wherever they go.
8. Esther from The Adventurous Feet. Esther is born and raised in Uganda, and she would love to inspire people to travel more.
9. Amelia from A Winter Escape. Amelia, like us, is fascinated with our planet. She believes in the positive power of tourism and guilt-free global parenting.
10. Arunima from Namaste, Solo Travel. Arunima is a solo female traveler whose goal is to encourage women from under-developed countries to explore the world.
11. Jack from Endless Travel Journey. Jack is a solo independent traveler, who loves backpacking, meeting new people and exploring new countries and cultures.

These are our questions to you:

1. Aisle, middle or window?
2. If you had to relocate to a new country next month, where would that be and why?
3. What is the most exciting and thrilling thing you have done during your travels?
4. When you travel, do you prefer to bring a book, kindle or listen to an audio book?
5. Do you sometimes get tired of traveling?
6. What are some of your favorite dishes you tried around the world?
7. As a child, did you travel with your family? If yes, then where and how often?
8. Mountains or beach?
9. Who do you enjoy traveling most with and why? Solo, friend, partner, family etc.
10. Imagine one day you find out you won’t be able to travel outside of your city ever again. What would you do to help your travel addiction?
11. Do you try to be a “sustainable”/”eco”/”green” traveler, and if yes, how do you do it?

Looking forward to reading your answers!

Love,

Ženja and Anders

Check out some of our favorite destinations:

Places to Visit in Bolivia

9 Awesome Things We Did in New Zealand

Buenos Aires, a City that Stole Our Hearts