My daughter, Amy, asked us about blogging. She was skeptical if we could do it once we were out of range of her tutelage.
Recently, she complimented us and said that “we had really grown into it”. (One day our stats spiked. It turned out that Amy, as a user experience specialist, used our site for a work presentation and some of the attendees are now followers!!!)
Here were her questions:
How hard is it?
It would be hard to do a daily blog alone. If either Rob or I were traveling alone, we couldn’t do it. Rob researches the travel, money, tours etc. on the front side, and I write about our experiences on the back side. I don’t see how one person could both logistics and blogging.
How do I remember all that detail?
I open a post for the day and jot down things that I want to remember on that day. I can always delete later (or research more on the topic). One downside is that people think that I am texting during a tour.
Also, we may hear a name or event, etc. that we want to know more about. We google a lot of things for greater and indepth information. This gives us a richer experience because we are delving deeper into the topic. If we were just tourists and not bloggers, we would walk away with, “That was interesting” and soon forget. By delaying, we can do a little research later.
When do you write?
Every day needs downtime and that is when I write. I usually finish a post from the previous day by the evening of the current day. When we put our feet up in the evening, that is when I write, and Rob researches our activities for the next day. Also, when we are on the train, I have several hours. I especially enjoy writing during musical concerts…but only if it doesn’t affect those around me, usually before it starts since we have to arrive early to get good seats. I can write the post even if I don’t have Internet. I just can’t post until I do.
Is it fun or is it a burden?
Both. Fun to write and recall the adventures of the day. Burden when I get behind or we do so many things in one day. We try to have Sunday be a day of rest, and I just write about the church that we attended.
When I get behind or we are learning about a topic familiar or of interest to Rob, he will post.
I like to ponder and research the many questions that I have when we travel like: What would happen if you put a Fitbit on the neck of a pigeon??
What will become of the blog when you get home?
We hope to print the posts into a coffee table book for us to enjoy. Amy has also agreed to give us a tech session on how to save to the cloud because it will be good to have electronic searching ability.
I came across this funny article and thought at first that I was the student, then the rookie but the last one nailed it…the bag rustler!!
Which hostel personality are you?
It has been a long time since we have stayed in a hostel. We loved it but it is only economical for a solo traveler. For $10 more, you can get an Airbnb with privacy and your own bathroom/shower.
I am excited about our train ride to Wroclaw. It is not a city that is in the tourist trail. I love to sit and observe. Rob will teach you how to pronounce it in this short video.
We were riding in a first class coach. This Eurail distinction was not much more expensive. It has been worth it since it is air conditioned and has electric plugins but today even moreso because we even had a free lunch. I had the gourmet plate. It was almost like an airline experience.
The train attendant asked if I wanted a drink. I choose apple juice. Then she asked, “And?…” I asked, “What’s and?” She gave me caramel filled cookies. I asked if there were any more Ands?. She laughed and moved on.
When we arrive at our stops, Rob buys the ticket for our next train ride while I hold all the luggage. It had been a while so I checked my texts. Here was he said:
I went to window 6. She said to go to 7. She told me to go to 9. 10 people in line in front of me.
Wroclaw is called The City of Dwarfs…little brass ones? (They call them dwarfs where we would say dwarves!) Each has its own look and story behind it. This one is outside a bank.
There are 558 of them and there is an app to let you know when you are near one. Then you check it off. This would be a blast with young travelers…and me. So far I have found nine and Rob has lost me only once!
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