Because I can never resist statistics, here are the top ten most-read posts on Middle Europe for 2018.
1. Perníčky (Czech gingerbread) recipe
Surprisingly, this was the most viewed post this year. It seems like a lot of people were looking for a Christmas gingerbread recipe. This one was given to us by my husband’s mom. Despite the name, there is actually no ginger in this recipe! But these biscuits are often made around Christmas and decorated with sugar icing, and the recipe could also be used to make a gingerbread house. If you enjoyed these, you might also like the recipe for vanilla crescents. Maybe I should post more recipes?
2. Namaqualand
This one was popular in 2017 too. A visit to Namaqualand in spring is the experience of a lifetime – do it if you get the chance! The flowers normally come out in August.
3. Hiking in the fairytale forests of Czech Switzerland
Autumn is a great time for hiking, especially in the colourful forests of Czech Switzerland (České Švýcarsko) or Saxon Switzerland (Sächische Schweiz), national parks on either side of the Czech and German borders that are famous for their otherworldly sandstone formations.
4. Cross Country skiing in the Harz mountains
This was the first post I wrote about the wonderful winter wonderland that is Harz. If you liked it, you might also like to check out the sequel – More Cross country skiing adventures in the Harz mountains!
5. Lesotho: the mountain kingdom
I finally got to check off an item from my travel wish-list in 2018 – a visit to Lesotho, a kingdom in the mountains that is entirely surrounded by South Africa.
6. Road trip through Europe: Bussana Vecchia
In 2017/2018, I wrote a series of posts about the places we visited during our summer road trip in Europe 2017. For some reason, the post on the artists’ village of Bussana Vecchia in Italy was the most popular. Our trip took us to various other places in Germany, France and Italy too – you can find the full itinerary here.
7. My culture shocks in Germany
Because everyone loves reading about culture shock! (at least I do). Learning about the differences between ways of doing things in different countries is one of the most things I find most fun about traveling.
8. Easter Weekend in Denmark
We spent the Easter weekend in Denmark this year, and I wrote this post about the places we visited and the Easter traditions in Denmark. For more on Easter traditions, see here, and also this post on Easter egg trees.
9. Leaving home – again
A lot of bloggers seem to be expats, so maybe this post I wrote about my feelings on returning to my expat life after visiting home resonated with some people.
10. The legend of Drachenfels (Dragon Rock)
Germany has its own myths and legends, and this post explores the legend of Drachenfels, an old castle next to the Rhine river.
