The Postcard is 1 Year Old!

A year ago today, I published my first post on The Postcard.

Dan and I had just left our jobs in New York for a three-month-long trip to Europe. The idea was to put out feelers to companies here and decide for ourselves if we could actually see ourselves living in a foreign country for some period of time. We sold off most of our belongings and put the rest in storage before boarding a plane bound for Europe at the end of March.

After a quick stop to visit friends in Sweden, I met up with Dan in Amsterdam, the first major stop of our tour and where we planned to spend the next three weeks. It was a great time to be in Holland — a long, cold winter was just coming to an end and spring (and tulip season!) was in full swing. We visited Keukenhof Gardens, made a day trip to the Waterlands, and spent a lot of time in Amsterdam’s many fantastic museums, thanks to our Museumkaart!

The original plan was to head next to France but our journey was temporarily rerouted to Ireland, where we spent a few days driving along Ireland’s south-west coast, which was one of the most beautiful road trips I’ve ever done. We kissed the Blarney Stone, walked along the Cliffs of Moher, and drank many pints of the most delicious Guinness — it really is better in Ireland!

We eventually made our way to Paris, our home-away-from-home for the next leg of the trip. We crossed off nearly every must-see site around the city over the course of three weeks — the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Coure, Notre Dame, the Louvre, to name a few — and hunted down the best view in Paris. With more time in the city than most tourists, we also got to cross off some less-visited places, too, many of which were free to visit! We ventured outside the city to see the impressive gardens and palace of Versailles and even made a day trip to Disneyland Paris, which ended up being one of the highlights of the whole year.

Midway through our time in Paris, we ventured south to the Loire Valley for a few days, where we stayed in a cave and took a hot air balloon ride over Amboise and along the beautiful Loire River. We also visited our favorite chateau from our time in France, the fairytale-like Chateau Cheanonceau.

Our original plan after France was to train to Spain, but we ended up cutting our trip short when Dan accepted an offer with a company in Amsterdam. After swinging back by Amsterdam to find an apartment in just three days, we boarded a plane back to the States to prepare for the biggest adventure yet: starting life as an expat in the Netherlands!

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Becoming an Expat

After a couple of weeks of relaxation and packing in Cape Cod, Dan and I boarded a plane (with our cat in tow) bound for Amsterdam. The next couple of months were focused on getting settled and acquainted with our new city. Several trips to Ikea and many government appointments later, we were official residents of the Netherlands.

Before the summer was over, we went for a 2-week-long trip to Portugal, which started with riding a tiny e-car around Sintra and ended on some of the most beautiful beaches in the world in Portugal’s southernmost Algarve region.

Several weekend trips filled in the remaining gaps of summer — we visited Bruges, Belgium, and many adorable towns in the Netherlands, including Haarlem, Delft, Utrecht, and Leiden.

Once fall was in full swing, we headed to the Hoge Veluwe National Park for a lovely bike ride through the orange and yellow forest. We also finally made it to Maastricht, a beautiful Dutch town with a fascinating history that’s at the southernmost end of the country, sandwiched between Belgium and Germany.

Finally the warm summer months and crisp autumn days came to an end, and we settled in for our first winter in Europe. A week before we headed home for the holidays, we visited Cologne’s legendary Christmas markets, complete with lots of handmade crafts and German snacks.

In February we crossed another one off the bucket list with a long weekend skiing in the Swiss Alps in the breathtakingly-beautiful Jungfrau region. And just a few weeks before our official one-year anniversary, we visited Barcelona and had a whirlwind tour of the city and the art, architecture, and cuisine it’s known for (tapas!).

This year has been one of the most challenging years of my life, but it’s also been the most rewarding (probably by a long shot). The decision to move to Europe wasn’t an easy one, and I’ve certainly had my doubts throughout the past year. But I’ve definitely learned much more than I ever could have imagined — I’ve learned about other places and cultures outside of the United State and even more about my own interests and values.

It hasn’t all been roses — there have been more than a few difficult days this past year — but in the end, I am so glad that we took the leap and look forward to what our second year holds.

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The Postcard’s Year in Stats

Countries visited (in the order visited):

1. Denmark
2. Sweden
3. Netherlands
4. Ireland
5. France
6. Belgium
7. Portugal
8. Germany
9. Switzerland
10. Spain

Number of posts: 52 (one per week!)

Total number of unique visitors: 2,927

Total number of page views: 17,665

Top 5 most visited pages:

1. Our 9-Day Trip Itinerary Around Iceland’s Ring Road
2. One Day in Utrecht: Exploring the Dutch City’s Historic Old Town
3. Our Destination Wedding in Iceland
4. My Top 5 Most Memorable Airbnbs
5. 3 Days in Amsterdam: What to Do & Where to Eat

Top 5 locations for visitors:

1. United States (59%)
2. Netherlands (8%)
3. United Kingdom (5%)
4. Canada (4%)
5. India (3%)

Number of Instagram Followers: 14.5k (follow me!)

Number of Facebook Followers: 99 (follow me!)

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Thanks for Reading!

It’s been fun sharing my travels and experiences with you all. I really hope you’ve enjoyed following along. If you’ve made it this far, I would LOVE to hear from you! Please leave a comment below to say hello (think of it as a birthday gift!).