Mother-daughter weekend in Barcelona

First-time itinerary for a weekend in Barcelona - Travel for a Living

Early November it was time for our annual mother-daughter weekend again. After Paris two years ago and Copenhagen last year, this time it would be a weekend in Barcelona. Mum had never been, and I had only visited Barcelona once briefly for work but had not really seen much of the city. The fact that Barcelona still had some half decent weather in early November certainly didn’t hurt either. I mean who would say no to 20 degrees and sunshine when the weather at home is rainy and cold. Let me tell you what we’ve been up to during our weekend in Barcelona. We might not have seen all there is to see in Barcelona, but this first-time itinerary for Barcelona sure did the trick (for us).  

Without further ado, let’s get started.

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15 Years Living in the UK

This week marks our fifteenth anniversary of moving to England for good. What better time to look back and reflect. Do we have any regrets? What were the challenges of moving abroad? What has changed living in the UK? Would we do things differently today? Would we consider packing up and moving again?

If you are familiar with Travel for a Living, you probably know this already. Although I was born and raised in Germany, I am both German and British. And I have always considered the UK (and London) my second home. From an early age I knew I wanted to move to London one day.

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13 Things to See + Do in Palatinate (Germany)

I’ve been writing on Travel for a Living for over six years now. And in that time, I’ve published loads of posts. About my favourite cities New YorkLondon and Paris. Work trips that went horrendously wrong (and some that were just perfect). About mother-daughter weekends or the joy of travelling with a dogAirport and airline reviewstwo-hour travel itineraries… you name it. But you know what? The one thing I’ve somehow never written about is the area I grew up in. Don’t ask me why, it just happened. Let me finally rectify this now by sharing some of my favourite things to see and do in Palatinate.

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Is Ryanair cheap? Or good value for money?

Is Ryanair cheap? Or good value for money? - Travel for a Living

To many, Ryanair is the epitome of a budget airline. They pride themselves as being a low-cost airline. But how does Ryanair achieve that? And does that mean Ryanair is cheap? Or good value for money? Well, let’s find out. 

Anyone who knows me (or has been following Travel for a Living for a while) might have a pretty good idea how I feel about Ryanair and their approach to flying on a budget. But it wasn’t always like that. In fact, I used to love flying Ryanair. So, what has changed? And does my personal dislike for Ryanair mean you shouldn’t fly it? 

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Two hours in St Gallen – What to see and do

Two hours in St Gallen - Travel for a Living

Lately I have started travelling more frequently again. Not every week. But maybe once or twice a month. Which is actually quite a nice pace. For some of those travels, it means revisiting known places and catching up with old friends. Although I like revisiting old places, it is the chance of exploring new cities that really rocks my boat. Like during my latest work trip to Switzerland. Along with one night in Zurich (which I’ve visited several times), I’ve also stayed in St Gallen for the very first time. I was looking forward to it and was hoping to get enough time for a proper St Gallen sightseeing tour. I even did my homework beforehand and had it all mapped out. Everything there is to see in St Gallen, along with opening times, cost of tickets, you name it. After all, if two hours in St Gallen is all I have, I’d better make it count. Believe it or not, there is actually quite a bit to see in St Gallen, so it would be a shame to miss it.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that two hours is sufficient time to see all of St Gallen. Far from it. I would have gladly spent more time exploring. But my time was limited, so I was determined to make the most of it. That is the downside of business travels. Yes, you might stay in new and unknown places. But that doesn’t mean you have time to be a tourist and go exploring. More often than not, my sightseeing is limited to the evening, once I’ve finished my work. And whilst this is less of a problem in summer, when it stays light until quite late, now that autumn is fast approaching, it gets dark earlier and earlier. And believe me, sightseeing in the pitch black is possible, but only half the fun. Trust me, I’ve tried. Belgrade was one of those that I’ve really only seen in the dark… but then again, still better than not seeing it at all.

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My experience flying BA Business Class

Experience flying business class - Travel for a Living

I might not have flown quite as much in recent months as I did three or four years ago. And I am definitely no stranger to flying. But even I still have new experiences to look forward to every once in a while. Like flying long-haul business class for the very first time (finally). Turning left as you enter the aircraft. Exciting stuff. So how about I tell you a little about what to expect flying business class? Is the experience flying business class really worth all the extra money? Well, make it to the end of this post and I might just tell you.

Spoiler alert: I did not actually pay exorbitant amounts for my business class experience. Over the years, I had accumulated enough frequent flyer points to upgrade our flight back from New York to London. But more on that in a bit.

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2 Hours in Amsterdam – a free Sightseeing Tour

Two hours in Amsterdam - Travel for a Living

It had been a little quiet in terms of work travel recently. But in April, I finally had a business trip coming up. The first one this year. To the Netherlands. And since Amsterdam was the nearest airport, I decided to make the most of it with a brief sightseeing tour of Amsterdam. As with most work trips, time would be limited, but I had it all planned out. I would be landing in the afternoon and stay the night in Amsterdam. Sufficient time for a self-guided 2 hours in Amsterdam walking tour.

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