June has been an insane month! This month has seen a lot of exciting changes, and I feel like it’s flown by. (But then, do I say that every month?!) I’ve spent the entire month at home here in the UK, just making a few daytrips outside of York. But next month will bring some pretty exciting travel plans! Here’s everything I got up to this June.

Where I Went

York, Castle Howard, Kirkham, Great Ayton, Newton Under Roseberry, Guisborough (United Kingdom)

Best Moments

New job!!! I hinted in my post last month that I had big and exciting news. I couldn’t quite go live with it, but I can now that the news is 4 weeks old—I’ve got a new job! And I’ve been loving it so far! I’m working for a holiday company as a Tour Advisor, basically meaning I book people on holidays. Not only is it a job I’m enjoying, but it’s also in the travel industry. I’m thrilled!

I’ve been on the job hunt now for so long I can’t even remember what it’s like to not apply for jobs. This is the first time in 3 years that I’ve been able to wake up in the morning and not dread going to work. It’s the first time in years that I haven’t hated my job. It’s the first time I have a job that I enjoy. And I feel like this is exactly what I’m meant to be doing and where I should be right now. And I’ve never felt that way before.

This is also the first time in a long time that I won’t have to juggle jobs. You might remember that I’ve been juggling 3 jobs for the past few months. And that has been insanely stressful and difficult. I got to quit all the jobs and now I’ve just got one!!! For the past 3 years since I finished college, I’ve been consistently juggling multiple jobs. Besides for 4 months at Black Dog before I moved to the UK, and for 7 months at the theater (my first job in the UK), I’ve had multiple jobs. And it has been so incredibly stressful.

I got my first paycheck from my new job on Friday. And besides when I first moved to the UK, this will be the first time I’m earning a decent (good) amount of money and I’ll have a stable income. My stress over money and finances gets glossed over a lot by my travels—since I spend literally any extra money I have on trips. A few months ago, Adam asked me when was the last time I went out to eat and didn’t feel bad or guilty; he thought that I’d say since I left my job last summer. I replied with, “6 years.” Eating out is something I’ve always felt bad about, since I’d so much rather spend that money on travel. And when you’re barely making enough money to make it, you don’t tend to have money to go out to eat.

So feeling like I can actually afford to buy things, to go out to dinner, to be a normal person—I’ve never really had that. Or if I have, it’s been literally years and years since I’ve felt that way. I’m so ready to start this exciting new chapter.

My friend came to visit! I love it when my friends come and visit me here in York. Braydon and I met in a hostel room in Moldova, and we’ve been friends ever since. I had an absolute blast with him while he was here this June for a long weekend, hitting up Popworld, kebabs at Dom’s, and hearing all about his upcoming travels. Living abroad, one of the things I miss most is getting to see my friends—so I love getting to show people around York and getting to share my life with them!

A beautiful day at Castle Howard. We set off to explore some more of Yorkshire while my friend was here—and there’s no better place than at the magnificent Castle Howard! I visited soon after I moved to the UK, when the house was all done up for Christmas. So seeing the house and gardens and grounds in the summer sunshine was fantastic! It is such a stunning place, with so much to see and do and explore. It’s only a 30-minute drive away from York and definitely one place to see in North Yorkshire!

Doing a great hike up Roseberry Topping. I finally made it to “Yorkshire’s Matterhorn,” Roseberry Topping in the North York Moors National Park this month! It’s not a particularly high peak (about 320 meters), but it was definitely a tough climb up. It is very steep going up from the car park, but the scenery was fantastic! I definitely want to head back to this area, hopefully later this summer when the purple heather covers the moors. We also stopped in Guisborough, to check out the priory ruins. It was a great day in Yorkshire!

Lots of really nice times in York. This might sound lame, but in the past two months, I’ve had a lot of really nice days in York. Sometimes I feel like I’m constantly trying to leave the city and go somewhere else. But the truth is that York is AWESOME. There are so many cool things to do here, and so many great places to eat and drink. The city is so. DAMN. BEAUTIFUL. There’s always something going on. I really do love living here and sometimes I feel like I’ve taken that for granted. But I’ve done lots of exploring my own city, and can’t wait to continue doing so!

Worst Moments

Stress over leaving jobs and arranging last days. The only bad thing about getting a new job that I really enjoy is having to leave multiple (three!) jobs. And then trying to figure out all of my last days at each job! While I’ve been so unbelievably ready to start a new job, it meant leaving jobs with really amazing co-workers. I’ve really lucked out and have some great friends that I got paid to work with every day. It was a bit of a bummer. Trying to organize my last days at jobs and then drinks out to celebrate with different groups over a short period was pretty stressful!

Working a lot. While I’m loving the job so far, I’ve also been busy and working a lot this month. The beginning of the month was pretty busy with work as I tied up loose ends with jobs. Since I’m now regularly working whole weekends (instead of just one day of a weekend), it means that sometimes I’ll have a long time in-between days off. But it’s all been worth it so far!

The “heatwave” in the UK. This past week has seen super high June temperatures in England. The country doesn’t get hot like I’m used to in Minnesota. So unlike at home, people aren’t used to it, most places don’t have air conditioning, and I don’t even own a fan! Temps have reached 87˚F this week, which is the hottest I’ve ever experienced in the country. It’s also made me miss home, and Minneapolis, and the lakes, and just being able to go to the beach and spend a day at the lake whenever it gets warm! It’s made things a bit uncomfortable but hopefully it’ll be warm and sunny, just not hot, for now.

Posts Published

I’ve published a few major posts this month, which I’m really proud of. I’m finally wrapping up my content from my busy Easter trips, and can get working on some Yorkshire-based posts soon. Here’s what I published this month:

20 Things To Do In York That Are Absolutely Free!

11 Practical Tips For Visiting Brussels

5 Ways To Be A More Sustainable Traveler (Without Breaking The Bank!)

Bruges And Ghent: A Busy Daytrip From Brussels

The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide To England’s Lake District

Instagram Top 3

Instagram should let me embed photos to this months post again! I’ve found that Instagram especially takes more and more time as my technology slows down. But here are my top 3 posts this month!

Castle Howard, looking beautiful in the summer sunshine! ?☀ . Castle Howard is located just 14 miles outside York – only about a 30-minute drive. It’s also accessible by public transport – bus number 181 runs from central York to the entrance! It’s one of my favorite day trips from York and certainly a sight worth seeing. . The stately home is still owned by the family – and they still live in one of the wings of the house! And while the house is beautiful, it’s really the grounds that make it such a worthwhile visit. The beautiful fountains, the lakes, the temples, the gardens – just stunning ✨ . I went to Castle Howard over a year ago, right before Christmas, but it was so worth going back to see in the summer! Definitely don’t miss this on a trip to North Yorkshire! . . Have you been to any stately homes or fancy manor houses?! Any favorites? Always on the hunt for new places! ? . . . . . #castlehoward #howardianhills #northyorkshire #yorkshire #visityorkshire #visitnorthyorkshire #scenesofyorkshire #bbcyorkshire #visityork #onlyinyork #instabritain #visitengland #photosofbritain #photosfengland #lovegreatbritain #explore_Britain #ukpotd #traveling_UK #mytinyatlas #flashesofdelight #darlingescapes #wheretofindme #prettylittletrips #theprettycities #dametraveler #girlswhotravel #ladiesgoneglobal #guardiantravelsnaps #passionpassport #beautifuldestinations

A post shared by Maja Proescholdt (@awaywithmaja) on Jun 13, 2018 at 11:42am PDT

Hardknott Roman Fort, overlooking Eskdale in the Lake District ✨ . This is one of the more remote regions in the Lakes – there is (basically) no public transportation to this part, so you need to have your own car! This Roman Fort was once one of the highest and (surprise!) most remote Roman settlements in Britain, and sits high above the valley near the top of Hardknott Pass. . . I’d never been here before, but I loved getting to explore a new area. There’s literally so much to see here – I love that about the Lakes! And the views were amazing! ? . I get the entire weekend off (say whaaaaaat?!) and can’t wait to check out some of the festivals in York! I’ve got some big news and exciting changes that I can’t wait to tell you guys about too – but for now I need to wait just a tad longer. . Hope everyone has a great weekend! Anyone have exciting plans?! ? . . . . . #lakedistrict #lakedistrictnationalpark #lakedistrictuk #lakelandphoto #lakescollective #fromlakelandwithlove #notjustlakes #visitlakedistrict #lakedistrictphotography #lakedistrictadventures #igerslakedistrict #igerscumbria #scenicbritain #instabritain #visitengland #photosofbritain #photosofengland #lovegreatbritain #ukpotd #mybritain #gloriousbritain #mytinyatlas #flashesofdelight #darlingescapes #guardiantravelsnaps #dametraveler #girlswhotravel #ladiesgoneglobal #sheisnotlost #wearetravelgirls

A post shared by Maja Proescholdt (@awaywithmaja) on Jun 1, 2018 at 11:16am PDT

Pretty canals in Bruges! ? despite the crowds, I loved this beautiful, charming place. I definitely recommend visiting! . I’ve got a new blog post up on my day trip to Bruges and Ghent from Brussels! This was such a busy day, but so worth it to get to explore these two wonderful cities. I even got a free waffle because the train was super late, and I’m never gonna say no to free food ? . Link for the blog post is in my bio! It’s almost Friday, not long to go ? . . . . . #bruges #brugge #belgium #belgique #visitbruges #inbruges #instabrugge #visitbrugge #brugesbelgium #flanders #visitbelgium #visitflanders #ig_Belgium #igersbelgium #loves_united_Belgium #travelbelgium #ilovebelgium #mytinyatlas #flashesofdelight #darlingescapes #wheretofindme #prettylittletrips #theprettycities #dametraveler #girlswhotravel #ladiesgoneglobal #topeuropephoto #guardiantravelsnaps #beautifuldestinations #passionpassport

A post shared by Maja Proescholdt (@awaywithmaja) on Jun 21, 2018 at 11:32am PDT

Coming Up In July

July is going to be a busy month! I’ve got a few long stretches of work, but the rest of the month will make it absolutely worthwhile! I’m headed to London to see Eminem in concert halfway through the month—he’s my all-time favorite artist and I’m SO excited!!! We got tickets way back in March and I can’t wait. Then I’m headed off towards the end of the month for my big trip this summer: to the Caucasus! I’ll be spending just over 2 weeks in Georgia and Armenia, and with a quick few days in Istanbul at the end. This is going is be an absolutely fantastic trip and I can’t wait!

What did you get up to in June? Any exciting plans for July?!