While January seemed to last for literally 100 years, I feel like February was over in the blink of an eye. I spent almost the whole month in York, which is strange because last February was the first month ever that I didn’t leave the city! Here’s what all I got up to in February.

Where I Went

York, Goole, Manchester (United Kingdom)

Best Moments

Seeing so many friends! This has been such a fantastic month for catching up with friends and seeing people. My best friend Braydon visited for a weekend Popworld sesh at the beginning of February. I hadn’t seen him since June 2018! It was the first time I had two days off in a row since my trip to Rome over Christmas, so I had a lot of fun hanging out with him and enjoying not having to be at work.

I got to meet up with good family friends, who were passing through York for a day! We went to my pub, the Rose and Crown, and it was so nice to see them. I also got to meet up with two other friends for brunch—Norma, who lives in Nottingham, and Emma who I hadn’t seen in about a year! Sometimes I feel like I’m just not in York enough to be able to meet up with people and see as many of my friends as I like. So this was a great month to be able to see friends and catch up.

A great day out in Manchester. I have a very exciting collaboration coming on the blog soon! I was invited to have a day out in Manchester, courtesy of Hotels.com. They kindly covered my expenses, and I had a blast! I’ve been to Manchester many times before, but never just to explore—it was always for a specific purpose, like visa appointments or meeting up with my mother-in-law, etc.

I finally had the chance to check out some of the food scene, and there are SO many cool bars there that I know I need to go back! Manchester is also home to a lot of interesting museums, and the best part is that most of them are completely free! I definitely hope to be back for another day or night out again.

The York Ice Trail! One of my absolute favorite events in York is the York Ice Trail, at the beginning of February! This is so much fun and a great event for all-ages. I ticked off every single sculpture, and there were some really cool ones this year. I went last year, but since Adam was still recovering from the car crash/couldn’t really walk, I had to go on my own. It was a lot of fun to get to share it together this year! If you’re planning to visit York and want a good excuse to explore the city, definitely put it on your calendar for next year!

Driving on my own. If you’ve been following along for a while, you’ll know that I’ve really struggled with driving on the wrong side of the road. It has been so difficult, and passing my driving test at the end of November was such a huge accomplishment for me! I drove a few times on my own again this month, which I’m really proud of.

Worst Moments

I got very, very sick this month. Half-way through the month I ended up getting a really nasty chest infection and had to take several days off work sick. I haven’t been this sick in years—probably the last time I was this sick was when I was in Russia in 2014. It knocked me out for over a week and it meant I didn’t have energy for much anything at all, including my blog. Thankfully, it did pass and I’m really lucky that I don’t regularly get sick like that!

Bad flooding in and around York. While this hasn’t directly impacted me, York has been hit very hard with flooding this month. The River Ouse burst its banks and a lot of businesses and homes have had weeks of bad flooding. I’m grateful that I don’t live or work anywhere near the river, but it’s always a bit scary seeing the river so high!

Posts Published

I published a few really big blog posts this month. I’m finally catching up with most of my posts from my travels in November and December! Here’s all of the blog posts I’ve published in February.

My Outdoor Gear Guide For Hiking And Camping In The UK

Visiting Rovaniemi And Santa Claus Village In Finland!

9 Practical Tips For Visiting Rome

4 Years Of Away With Maja: Blogging And Business Recaps And Goals

Crinkle Crags In Langdale: A Beautiful Hike In The Lake District

Why I Love Traveling Eastern Europe—And Why You Should Too

How Much Does It Cost To Spend 1 Week In Rome?

Instagram Top 3

I didn’t post all that much on Instagram, mainly since I didn’t have much motivation after getting so sick. Here are my three most popular photos this month!

 

 

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Wishing I was hiking and camping and enjoying glorious summer sunsets in Scotland ✨🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 . This was taken on my trip to Scotland in August 2018, where I randomly had 4 days off work in a row and Adam and I decided to (fairly spontaneously) take off on a camping trip up north. It was a complete dream come true and looking back on it has made me even more excited for our next big trip to Scotland!! (Coming at ya in May 😉) . I’ve also published a HUGE outdoor gear guide for hiking and camping in the UK! 🏕️🥾 From my beloved Osprey backpack to my favorite brand of socks and midge spray, these are my favorite items for my outdoors trips. Buying something through my affiliate links is a really easy way to support the blog and makes a huge difference to me! Go give it a read, link is in my bio 💻 . What are your must-haves or favorite brands for outdoor gear?! 😊 . . . . . . . . #scotland #visitscotland #loves_scotland #scotspirit #scotlandsbeauty #scotland_greatshots #scotlandisnow #hiddenscotland #thisisscotland #scotlandexplore #scottishcollective #igersscotland #instabritain #photosofbritain #lovegreatbritain #explore_britain #gloriousbritain #ukhikers #ukhiddengems #mytinyatlas #flashesofdelight #dametraveler #sheisnotlost #womenwhohike #womenwhoexplore #thewomenwhowander #womentravelphotographers #girlpowertravel #girlstraveleurope #guardiantravelsnaps

A post shared by Maja Proescholdt (@awaywithmaja) on Feb 3, 2020 at 10:07am PST

 

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2010: Junior year of high school. Go on a school trip to Spain + get the travel bug HARD ✈️ . 2011: Graduate high school & take off on a 3-week backpacking trip to Ireland/UK right after. Get to live out my dreams with my best friend. Move to small-town Iowa for college. . 2012: 1st/2nd year of college, have fun, study hard, make friends, party a LOT 🍻🤙 . 2013: Finish up 2nd year of college, move to Nottingham to study abroad for a year 🇬🇧 My world opens. Traveling is my first priority, then partying and then studying 😇 . 2014: Travel all over Europe, mainly solo. Adam shows up for our Poland trip newly single 😍 Spend two weeks solo in Russia. Go back to the US for my last year of college. . 2015: Party a LOT my last year of college, no regrets 🙌🍻 graduate & feel lost. Work multiple jobs to save money to travel. . 2016: Start Away With Maja. Take off for 3 months of traveling. Elope to Gibraltar. Go all over Europe + visit Zambia. Move to York in Oct once my visa comes thru. . 2017: Work a job I hate & travel as much as I can to escape it. Quit & spend 6 weeks traveling in Eastern Europe. Go back to it & get another job I hate even more. Juggle jobs. Stress about money. Cry most days on my way to work. Hate my life. . 2018: Juggle 3 jobs. Stress about money every day. Book trips as soon as I know money will come in to escape it all. Then get a new full-time job in travel that pays well. Travel a lot & don’t cry about money 🙏 Make my first ever money from my blog. . 2019: Adam almost dies in a car crash. I put my life on hold to take care of him. Thankfully, prognosis is good. My visa renewal is successful. We travel loads. Get a regular freelance writing job thru my blog. Make some more 💰 thru blogging. Feel grateful to have the life I have. ✨❤️ . So much has happened to get me to where I am today. This decade has been a journey & life certainly hasn’t been easy. What you see on the gram is a product of years of hard work & dedication 💪 . You can’t really know everyone’s story just through a photo or a profile. There’s always a background, events that shape a life. I thought it was time to share my story with you all. Your story is YOURS to share!😊💕

A post shared by Maja Proescholdt (@awaywithmaja) on Feb 9, 2020 at 10:37am PST

 

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Where do you feel most alive? Where do you feel in your element?! . For me, it’s traveling around Eastern Europe. Haggling for taxis in my broken Russian, jumping on moving coach buses on the side of the highway in Kosovo, stuffing my face with borscht or blini or a decent burek or four. This is my favorite region in the world, and traveling there I feel like the best version of myself ✨ . I tried to put all the things I love about traveling Eastern Europe into a blog post – link is in my bio! ✍️💻 This is a post that I’ve been meaning to write for years and I tried to put so much of myself into it. . It might not always be easy, but it’s my favorite region in the world. Eastern Europe is waiting for you! 🌍✈️ . . . . . . . #brasov #visitbrasov #romania #travelromania #experienceromania #romaniapitoreasca #dametraveler #sheisnotlost #womenwhoexplore #thewomenwhowander #womentravelphotographers #girlpowertravel #girlstraveleurope #wearetravelgirls #femaletravelbloggers #ladiesgoneglobal #girlsmeetglobe #travelinladies #journeysofgirls #shetravels #traveldreamseekers #mytinyatlas #flashesofdelight #darlingescapes #wheretofindme #meettheworld #sidewalkerdaily #guardiantravelsnaps #passionpassport #beautifuldestinations

A post shared by Maja Proescholdt (@awaywithmaja) on Feb 23, 2020 at 10:49am PST

Coming Up In March

March is going to be a very busy travel month! I’m starting March off with a few meals out thanks to York Restaurant Week. Then we’ve got a weekend in Northumberland—hiking in the Cheviot Hills and exploring castles along the coast! Coming up next is my long weekend solo trip to Oslo, Norway. I really needed a trip to look forward to. Even flying into Oslo’s “Ryanair airport,” it was still the cheapest flights I could get to a new country! So I’m very excited. The rest of the month will be a bit more low-key as I catch up on things at work and on the blog.

Over to you! What did you get up to in February? Any plans for March?