Month in Review: October 2019
Welcome to this month’s recap and review!
If you want to catch up on all our expat months abroad, you can check out the reviews for June, July, August and September!
Travels
This month we went to…
- Nuremberg, Germany
- Munich, Germany
- Bamberg, Germany
- Bratislava, Slovakia
- Budapest, Hungary
It was another big travel month for us after our moms trip in September. It was fun to do some travels closer to home because it meant we got to take the train and bring Ellie along with us. Plus, I got to cross my 41st country off the list (my goal is to hit 45 by the time we leave in June).
Highlights
This month was full of so many awesome highlights! One of the big ones was going to Oktoberfest in Munich! Oktoberfest is definitely a bucket list item and I’m so glad we got to cross it off. Even though it rained and we didn’t dress up, it was still a ton of fun. A post on our Oktoberfest experience (and how to do Oktoberfest on a budget) is in the works!
Another highlight was our time in Nuremberg. I loved how we balanced the cute, fairytale side of Nuremberg with its dark history. It was cool to do some learning as well as some scenic sightseeing. Speaking of scenic, other travel highlights would have to be wandering Devin Castle in Bratislava and seeing the Budapest Parliament Building lit up at night from our Danube River cruise. I also loved relaxing in the Gellert Baths and visiting the Hospital in the Rock!
Back in Prague we had an awesome afternoon at Letna Beer Garden with our good friends, enjoying the summer weather (20+ degrees in October!), playing board games and eating pizza. We also visited the Strecha Lucerny rooftop on one of its last open weekends for the season, and rode the terrifying paternoster elevator (Google it!). And we went to Signal Festival where there are light displays all over the city, which was quite cool.
And we also caught a Praha Sparta hockey game! Fans here get really into it and it was a ton of fun!
Lowlights
October was a pretty awesome month so no big lowlights over here. I guess one of the hard things about all of the travel is catching up on work. As a freelancer, I’ve been taught that I should never turn down work or be ungrateful to be busy, since the job can be feast or famine, but it’s been a lot to keep up with. Luckily, we’re getting into a better work/life/travel routine.
Another lowlight was one weekend where I was really sick. I usually get really bad 24 hour colds that only ever last 24 hours. But this one lingered a bit and then developed into a cough/sore throat situation. Perhaps it’s related to all of the work and travel? Nah!
Lastly, it was sad to not be home for Thanksgiving (us Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving in October). While Colin made us an awesome Thanksgiving dinner, it was still tough to not be home celebrating with our family.
Also, it’s gotten really cold these last few days. What happened to fall?
Posts from this month
Here’s what was published on Teaspoon of Adventure this month. If you missed any of my posts, click below to read them (and add your email to the subscribe box on the right or at the end of the page so you don’t miss anymore!).
The Ultimate Southern Sweden Road Trip
3 Days in Prague – An Expat’s Itinerary
8 Views in Salzburg You Don’t Want to Miss
Packing Tips: 21 Popular Travel Items You Don’t Actually Need
8 Things I Loved About Venice (+ 5 Things I Hated)
Living the Tuscan Villa Dream Life
What I read this month
Below are the books I completed reading this month. If you want to check out my reading and reviews on these books, visit the Story Highlights on my personal Instagram @rianaautumn.
- Nine Perfect Strangers
- Under the Tuscan Sun
It’s been a ROUGH reading month for me. I’ve actually been in a bit of a slump the last two months with all of our travelling and a ton of work to do. Plus, I’ve started a few books I either didn’t like or didn’t get to finish before they were due back to the library. Hoping to improve my reading in November!
Best reads/listens/watches
Reads: To be honest, I wasn’t hugely into either of the (only) two books I finished this month. I’d give the edge to Nine Perfect Strangers as it did get pretty captivating by the end, whereas Under the Tuscan Sun was quite slow throughout.
Listens: I’ve found a new travel/expat podcast called Nomad & Spice and I’m having the best time listening to the back catalogue! Highly recommend it if you’re living abroad, a digital nomad, an expat, or similar.
Watches: Before this month, I had only seen a few minutes of Brooklyn 99 and I swore it wasn’t for me. But I decided to give it another try and low and behold, I have now seen every episode. Colin and I marathoned through all six seasons way too quickly and now I’m hooked. 9-9!
Best and worst meals
Best: We did some pretty fantastic eating this month! I can’t pick just one so I’ll mention a few favourites: an awesome modern Indian restaurant we went to in Nuremberg, the delicious turkey dinner Colin made us for Thanksgiving, the awesome breakfasts we had in Bratislava at Mondieu and Pan Cakes, and a delicious salmon and vegetable dish I had in Buda!
Worst: Luckily, there weren’t any terrible meals this month. The worst I had was a goulash in Budapest and just because it was a bit bland. I don’t think I got the most authentic one, but I’m not a huge stew person so I wasn’t too upset to be missing out.
Expat life
One thing I love is all of the trips we’ve been on and that we have coming up! I know I was whining a bit in July and August when we only managed to visit one new place each month (yes, I am living the most privileged expat life). But these last two months have been a ton of travel and I am loving every minute of it! We even booked a new trip while on a trip – we booked a week in Morocco in February from our Airbnb in Budapest! I also have to give an honourable mention to the summer-like temperatures we enjoyed for most of October. Those seem to be gone now though!
One thing I hate is being cold! Okay, this isn’t totally an expat thing, more of a traveller thing. On our most recent trip to Bratislava and Budapest, the weather ranged from 23 and sunny to near zero and raining. It was very hard to pack and dress accordingly. I stupidly didn’t bring a real coat so was freezing in my jean jacket and one long sleeve. As much as I love these little trips with just a small backpack, I wish I had my whole closet with me sometimes!
One thing I’m learning is how to balance work, life and travel. It’s still a struggle but I think I’m getting better at it. Colin has been a huge help on the work and life front, taking on client work and basically shopping for and cooking all of our meals. And we managed a really good routine in Bratislava and Budapest of sightseeing for half the day and working for the other half.
Gratitude
This month, I’m most grateful for all of Colin’s cooking! As mentioned above, Colin has taken over our kitchen and I could not be happier about it. He’s really enjoying finding new recipes and creating new dishes and I am loving eating it!
Coming up next
We’ve got lots more adventures coming up! Next week, we’re off to Cesky Krumlov, a medieval city in the Czech Republic about three hours from Prague, where we’ll be spending a couple of nights. And then at the end of the month, we’re back to Italy for a week in Naples and Rome. In between, I’m sure we’ll find some fun local stuff to do in Prague and I’d love to attend a few more expat gatherings to try and expand our social circle now that our closest friends have moved to Amsterdam.
What did you get up to this month? What are your plans for November?
As always Boo, I love your monthly updates! It’s a great way to read a quick update at a high level of what you guys did. I am also loving seeing Ellie on these trips more, or loving that you guys are all together. Yum, lucky you having Colin take over the kitchen and that he is enjoying finding new recipes and creating his own menus. Great also that the highs were very high and not so much lows, yay! Can’t wait to read your Nov monthly update.
As for moi and the gang back here in Vancouver, not sure what the plans are for November other than this Sunday we are gathering at Janice’s place for a bday celebration of all the Nov babies (a new friend Ivana, Steve Nash and me)…Costco has seafood on sale this wknd so Janice will be picking up some seafood to marinade then grill in the oven for mains. She will also have a batch of curry mussels as apps. Ivana and Peter will help her out on that front as seafood is costly. Alan will make a Tuscan salad. Ted and I will be taking care of a pasta dish, aglio e olio with shrooms, sauteed asparagus in butter, and dessert I have decided on 3 large chimney cakes from a Bulgarian bakery on Davie to represent the 3 bdays, and will pick up local fresh strawberries and some of them will be marinaded in grand marnier or cointreau overnight and stuffed in the chimney cakes with some whip cream.
Ted will be heading back to TO from Nov 7-17, and Alan may also have a trip planned in Nov or perhaps early Dec. and I am not sure what I have going on.
Thanks, Moo – I always say you’re my #1 blog fan 😉
It was a very good month; busy but good. And sounds like you have a delicious November coming up!
Both Budapest as a country, and Oktoberfest are on my bucket list – I’d love to visit both in the near few years! 😍 Brooklyn 99 is one of my absolute faves, and I did the same in that I didn’t watch it for ages and then ended up binging it with absolutely no regrets.. 🙊
Thanks so much for reading! I hope you get to Budapest and Oktoberfest soon – both are awesome and I highly recommend them. Check back for future posts with tips if you need any help planning. And yes, loving Brooklyn 99 now and can’t wait for new episodes!
Oh my gosh you went to some amazing places last month! I hope you have the most wonderful November my darling!
Love, Amie ❤
Thank you so much, Amie! Hope your October was wonderful too.
This was a lovely post! Love the way you have formatted it too!! Also, love your puppy being in all the photos!
Thanks so much! Yes, we love when Ellie can tag along on adventures.
October sounds like a great month in terms of travel, you went to some amazing places! Good luck with reaching number 45, I’m sure you’ll make it. Sorry you got ill, that doesn’t sound like fun at all. I’ve been thinking about reading Nine Perfect Strangers, sounds like a great read x
Sophie
Thanks so much for reading, Sophie! October was pretty awesome and I think 45 is in sight. Hope you enjoy Nine Perfect Strangers if you decide to pick it up!
You have done more than I this month! I would be lovely to travel with a partner but I have not found my Mr. Right yet. However, I did go to Tucson to spend ten days with my aunt. Since I live in Virginia, it was a flight across all the states (mostly) and it was beautiful seeing the different colors of the desert. 🙂
Sounds like an awesome trip! So nice to see a different landscape. Wishing you lots of beautiful travels in the future!