What a month! From March 11th to April 11th, I visited 6 different countries in just 1 month—without traveling consecutively!!! So the first part of April was rounding off one of the most hectic travel months I’ve had. The rest of the month was spent relaxing and recovering, working (to pay for said trips!), and around Yorkshire.
Where I Went
Brussels (Belgium)
York, London, Warter, Wetwang, Flamborough, Wharram Percy (United Kingdom)
Tallinn (Estonia)
Helsinki (Finland)
Riga (Latvia)
Best Moments
Meeting up with one of my best friends! My friend Andrea had planned a trip around the Baltics and Eastern Europe this spring, and when she asked if I wanted to join her, of course I said yes! I had a few fabulous days hanging out with her in Estonia and Latvia and it was so much fun. One of the hardest things about living abroad is not getting to see your friends, or even talk to them. So getting to hang out together in my favorite region of the world was pretty awesome. I also had a great time hanging out with her friend, Brian, who was traveling with us as well!
Seeing Adam again!!! Because of when Adam left for Nepal and when I was getting back from my Baltics trip, we ended up spending almost 3 weeks apart. This was the longest time apart we’ve done since I moved to the UK 1.5 years ago, and it sucked. I was SO happy to see him again when we were finally both back from our travels!
Finally visiting Estonia and exploring beautiful Tallinn. Estonia has been very high on my list of places to go. It was one of just four countries left in Eastern Europe to visit! I loved my time in Estonia. It definitely lived up to my expectations, and Tallinn is such a beautiful, fairytale city. I cannot recommend the Baltics enough for those looking for more off-the-beaten-path destinations in Europe!
Visiting Finland for the first time on a daytrip to Helsinki. I visited another new country to me this month: Finland! I’m a hardcore budget traveler, and I haven’t been to many Scandinavian countries purely because they’re expensive (I’ve only been to Sweden). I loved getting to hop on a short 2-hour ferry ride from Tallinn to Helsinki and visit a new country! Helsinki didn’t wow me, but I really enjoyed my day there. I loved exploring the Suomenlinna Fortress!
Returning to Riga. In case you haven’t noticed, I simply adore Riga, the capital of Latvia. It was my first solo trip outside the UK, and that trip meant everything to me. Last summer, I jumped at the chance to return to Riga again as a long layover, even if it was just for a day! This time around, I felt like I was coming home. As my bus pulled into the station, all I could think was, “I’m coming home, I’m back!” I rarely feel that way with cities, and so it was a bit surprising for me. But all in all, I had 6 hours in Riga and I enjoyed every single second. What a beautiful place to explore.
A great last day in Brussels and MAKING MY TRAIN. My last day in Brussels at the very beginning of the month was fantastic. I walked around, saw everything I wanted to see, drank good beer, ate good waffles, took good photos, and just in general felt good. I was also majorly panicking that I would miss my train from Manchester Airport back to York—I had exactly 1 hour from when my flight was due to land, to when my train was leaving. Well, my flight was delayed leaving Brussels Charleroi (a hellish cesspit, if I’ve ever seen one), cutting down the amount of time I had to get through customs, switch terminals, and get to the train station. Well, I MADE IT! And I had 16 WHOLE MINUTES TO SPARE! I did literally sprint from the immigration desks to the train station, but hey—I made it, and I didn’t have to sleep in Manchester Airport or Leeds train station that night.
A new haircut—finally! I only get my hair cut about once every six months (haircuts are expensive…). So when I do get a haircut, I’m typically desperate for one due to split ends! Getting a haircut is SUCH a good feeling, and I honestly feel so much better.
A fantastic day hiking around Flamborough Head. Yorkshire really does have something for everyone. I visited a new place in East Riding of Yorkshire last weekend—Flamborough Head! While I was there I did a great 8-mile walk, most of which was along the coast. I also visited a few other places: a charming town called Warter, and Wharram Percy, a deserted medieval village. And I took a detour through a town called Wetwang, just because the name is hilarious.
Worst Moments
Adam being gone (boooooo). It seems like forever ago now, but Adam was in Nepal for the first week of April. I missed him a lot! Life is pretty boring and lonely without him. I was so happy to see him again—and hear all about his adventures up to Everest Base Camp!
Major technology problems. If you’ve been following along on my blog for a while, you’ll know that I’ve been having serious issues with my laptop for years. My phone has also really deteriorated in the past few months. Last week, it reached a breaking point: my phone didn’t have enough space to send/receive emails or texts anymore, and wouldn’t let me transfer files off internal storage to my SD card. My blog stopped working on my laptop, and while I got back onto it, I somehow deleted Firefox in the process. My laptop is too old to get the newest version of any internet browser, so I had to get the old version of Firefox—which doesn’t really work. I can’t really post on Facebook, I can’t go on YouTube…the list goes on. It’s a huge pain, but I’m hoping that by the end of today, I’ll have upgraded my software and everything will be okay! The reality is that I really can’t afford to buy a new laptop (see below…), and I really my laptop to make it another year or two.
Extreme stress over jobs, schedules, hours, and money. Juggling 3 jobs isn’t easy. And I never expected it to be. But this last month has been so frustrating and stressful trying to do it all. Somehow, I’m working 3 jobs but barely making enough money to live. I give my availability to one job, they don’t give me hours, but by the time I find that out it’s too late to get any hours from my other jobs. Times that by two different jobs, and I’m just not getting the hours I need. I’ve been falling through the cracks like that and it’s been so hard. All I’m asking for is enough hours to be able to earn enough money to live. I’m hoping that things will be better for the second half of May, and hopefully better going into June. But right now getting shifts and earning enough money is a constant concern.
Car troubles. The car died this month, which meant Adam had to get a new one. As I’m not a fully licensed driver in the UK, and Adam uses the car every day for commuting, it wasn’t as much my problem as it was his. But having to get rid of an old, broken car, and buy a new one isn’t easy for anyone. The good news is that we have a new car (well, not new but new to us), and hopefully I can start learning how to drive on this one!
Posts Published
I’ve got LOADS of content from my trips to Belgium and the Baltics that I’m working on. However, my major technology problems in the last week have meant that I just haven’t been able to do everything I need to get done. Here’s what I published this month:
Walking From Whitby To Robin Hood’s Bay: One Of My Favorite Walks In Yorkshire
8 Unique Things To Do In Brussels
6 Reasons To Visit Minnesota In Winter
22 Things To Do On A Trip To Tallinn
Instagram Top 3
I was super motivated with Instagram for most of the month. But again, my technology problems have meant that I’ve barely posted in the last week! Here are my top 3 posts on Instagram:
Coming Up in May
Most of May will be pretty low-key. After such a hectic and busy March and April, it’s time to settle down, work hard, earn money, and relax. I’m headed to Nottingham this weekend to see some friends, which I can’t wait for! Besides that, I have next to no travel plans for the rest of the month—hopefully I’ll be working a lot! There will definitely be daytrips around Yorkshire, and maybe a quick 2-day trip somewhere like the Lake District the last week of May. We’ll see!
What did you get up to in April? Any plans for May so far?
