So, an exciting thing has happened: I’ve been nominated for my first little Blog Award! I owe this to Bev from Staying Native – a beautiful blog that is all about discovering your travel destination fron a local’s point of view. Follow them on twitter @StayingNative or sign up for their mailing list directly at Staying Native.

[EDIT] Two weeks after Bev nominated me, I got a second nomination from Lilian at the TravelArmadillo. You should follow her on twitter at @TravelArmadilloor just subscribe to her great blog here.  I also did an edit and answered her questions to me below.

[EDIT] More people have nominated me… Thank you so much for the love an appreciation that is coming my way through this! I have to stop answering all the questions, but I still want to mention the talented and super nice folks who find my blog inspiring enough to mention it in their list of nominees. There is Ulrike of ansichtswechsel or, in English, urbansights, a beautiful photo blog that shows the known and unknown sides of Germany’s capitol Berlin. Ulrike can be followed on twitter @urbansights. And then there is Renee of Travel with Renee, a travel agent and blogger with some great advice on her site. She can be followed on twitter @reneestravels.

These are the rules of the Liebster Award:

• When you receive the award, you post 11 random facts about yourself and answer 11 questions from the person who nominated you.
• Pass the award onto 11 other blogs (make sure you tell them you nominated them!) and ask them 11 questions.
• You are not allowed to nominate the blog who nominated you!
• Make sure the blogs you choose have 200 or less followers (I personally tried to make sure of this based on the number of likes their facebook pages have).

11 random facts about me:

1. I think the Hamburg dialect is the prettiest German dialect of them all. Probably because that’s where I’m from. I speak it when I’m drunk.
2. As a literary scientist, I can’t decide on a favorite book. Most of the ones I love have strong female protagonists though. Like Anna Karenina. I love her!
3. I hate my skin when it’s pale. It should be tan. Always.
4. I am the only one out of my parents and my sisters who doesn’t have blue eyes. Mine are hazel, like my grandfather’s were.
5. I had Ancient Greek for a major in highschool and wrote my finals on Homer’s Iliad.
6. I sing when I do the dishes. I sing when I clean. I sing in the shower. I sing on the street. I sing in the metro. One of my favorite places to sing is in empty churches because the acoustics are so nice.
7. I believe in parts of Christianity, of Islam and of Judaism, and I believe in fate and reincarnation.
8. I love Berlin, but only under the condition that I can travel away from it often.
9. I’m really bad with plants. They always die on me.
10. I think song lyrics are just as important as the melody and the beat.
11. Bosnian / Croatian / Serbian is a very attractive language. The sound of it can literally make me weak in the knees.

My answers to the 11 questions from Bev who nominated me:

1. Favorite way to travel and why? Slowly. I like to stay in one place for at least three days, even if it’s just a small town.
2. What is the most important thing you have learned on your travels? That no one can really mess with me as long as I believe in my own strength.
3. Who would you like to take on a round the world trip (RTW)? An old friend of mine who I went to high school with when I spent my Junior year in the States.
4. What festival or celebration would you like to experience in another part of the world? There is this Whirling Dervishes festival in Blagaj, Bosnia & Hercegovoina that is high on my Bucket List.
5. What is the best way to pass the time when your flight is delayed? Read. Reading is always a good option.
6. Why did you decide to start your blog? When I was travelling the Balkans for 5 months in 2010, I started writing about it to keep everyone up to date.
7. Carry on must haves? MP3-player.
8. From an architectural perspective, what is your favorite building, tower or bridge? That’s easy. Stari Most, the Old Bridge in Mostar, Bosnia and Hercegovina.
9. What is your favorite travel memory? Too many to choose from. I really liked my last swim in the Adriatic on my Balkans trip, outside of Rijeka in Croatia, in the moonlight.
10. First place you traveled (or plan to travel) in 2013? Gdansk, Poland. Shouldn’t be surprising if you know my blog.
11. Best advice for a fellow traveler? Listen to your gut feeling. Intuition is your best friend. Trust it.

[EDIT] My answers to the 11 questions from Lilian who also nominated me:

1. What’s your favourite place in the whole world? For about six months now that has been Gdansk in Poland. I have three more favorite places though that you could find in my „Places of Desire“ Category.
2. What has been your worst travel mishap or misadventure? Making it from Saranda in Albania into Macedonia, to Ohrid. I thought I’d never get there, busses didn’t go, took huge detours, taxi rip-offs, the real dealo.
3. What is the best dish you have had while while travelling? Too many to choose from… I like simple things. A good Shopska Salad can be the best thing on a hot Balkan day.
4. Show us your favourite travel photograph! Favorites are so hard to pick… I love all the ones in this post about Why you should travel to Eastern Europe.
5. What do you look for most in a destination? Is it nice weather, night-life, culture, luxury, adventure or something else? I need a good mix of beauty and history. And the people of course make it all worth while.
6. What would you look for in a travel companion? Or do you prefer to travel solo? Solo all the way.
7. What’s you favourite colour? Green.
8. What item could you not travel without? An mp3-player.
9. What type of accommodation do you prefer while travelling? Couchsurfing if it’s possible at all, although I do love hostels as well.
10. Do you prefer to travel fast or slow? Definitely slow.
11. What’s your favourite thing about travelling? All the things it teaches you about yourself.

11 questions to the 11 bloggers I nominate:

1. What’s your favorite book?
2. Have you ever fallen in love with a place at first sight? Which one?
3. What can home provide you with that travel can’t?
4. If you were to receive a package in the mail today, what should its content be?
5. Do you prefer solo travel or do you like it better to have a companion?
6. What made you start your blog?
7. What has blogging taught you about yourself?
8. Name your ultimate travel song that everyone should have on their MP3 player for long bus or train rides.
9. What language would you most like to be fluent in?
10. Facebook, twitter or pinterest, which do you like best and why?
11. By what words would you convince someone to travel who has never done it before?

My 11 nominees are…

Aga and Nuno at http://www.aganunosomewhere.com/
Aggy at http://dreamexplorewander.com/
Anita at http://www.travelita.ch/en/
Emily at http://www.thecosytraveller.co.uk/
Julika at http://www.sateless-suitcase.com/
Nina at http://ninasafiri.com/
Sarah at http://www.wakeupmona.com/
Scott at http://backpackerscott.wordpress.com/
Sonika at http://sonikabaking.wordpress.com/
Sophie at http://luggagetagsandticketstubs.blogspot.co.uk/
Tasha at http://tashastraveltroves.com/

Keep spreading the travel joy and building bridges – I hope you enjoy this!!