Half-Day Heroes

I've been doing a spot of research since posting about my exciting New Horizons on how to transform the flyBown blog and today I discovered what I think may well be my new favourite travel site.

12HRS is a beautifully designed corner of the internet dedicated to whistle-stop tours in popular destinations. It's a must-see for those of us who love a micro-holiday and want to get under the skin of a city but don't have enough days in their calendar to do it.

This beautifully clean and flowing website was created by Anna Peuckert, a fashion and travel writer from Cologne along with Danish photographer Søren Jepsen (who is also a fan of Eurovision judging by his tweets this month -  and therefore clearly a fine gentleman in my opinion). Jepsen's imagery in particular brings the content to life and is eyewateringly inspiring and emotive.

One of my personal favourites, unsurprisingly, is their 12HRS itinerary for Berlin led by local hipster Herbert Hofmann who is the Creative Director of an über-cool boutique in Kreuzberg. The feature includes a stop for dinner at a little known restaurant called Silberlöffel - after reading about this it's now penciled in for my next trip!

I'm really looking forward to delving further into this superbly innovative take on travel writing and hopefully the team at 12HRS will keep these entertaining reviews flowing in! I'd love to see them whip up a tour of Tallinn or maybe even the great city of Nottingham... If Anna or Søren happen to stumble across these absolute gems I'd be more than happy to be of assistance!

You can jump straight to the 12HRS in Berlin feature by clicking here, or alternatively, see the entire site in all it's glory by heading to http://www.12hrs.net/

New Horizons

Hello...

So far in 2014 this blog has been enjoying a small slice of success and is currently pulling in around 200 views per month. I'm under no illusion that this makes me the next Michael Palin or Bill Bryson, but it is a big deal for me at least. 200 views a month means someone out there must be reading what I put down here and I'm more than happy with that!

If any of you aforementioned visitors happen to be regular readers (I'm a little unsure of this as the frequency of my posts can sometimes leave a little to be desired...) then I have some rather exciting news...

At the end of next month I will be leaving my position at Monarch Airlines to work for another carrier and the great news blog-wise is that I will be working long haul services and actually getting off the aircraft at the other end. I'm not going to divulge exactly who my new employer is as social media and blogging aren't always the happiest bedfellows with corporate companies and a professional career - I'm sure you will understand that! I'm also slightly reluctant to say just yet what destinations I will be visiting as even this could give the game away... But what I will say is that flyBown is gearing up for an exciting new future covering places I never would have dreamed that I would be able to experience!

I'm considering a new layout and design to reflect all of this and I hope you will continue to come back and see what life is like for an international trolley-dolly! I for one can't wait to find out! All that said, I'm also considering writing a few posts on how to manage this kind of work with a happy home life too.

A few months ago this blog celebrated its 6th birthday and in a special post I created an infographic which said that so far I had covered 36 destinations. That list is about to get a whole lot longer...

Here's to the future and remembering that everything happens for a reason.

Thanks for visiting...

Adam

flyBown is 6!

I've been blogging for 6 years! Hurrah! Here is an infographic to show the story so far...

On Air...

Whilst planning a little trip to Malaga at the end of this month, I stumbled across a fantastic app for searching out some great independent digs whilst you're away - airB&B...

As you would expect from any well-connected app these days, traveller reviews play a key role in the format of airB&B, allowing you to see what others thought about their stay before you book. The great news is, thanks to the app's focus on independent accommodation, you can also contact the 'host' with any questions you may have before you travel.

Searching for your digs is made really easy with these handy filters. Everything is laid out in a really simple format, making the initial search process a breeze.

The design of the app blends in seamlessly with iOS7 for apple devices and also enhances the app's authority on good design and complements the standard of properties available. Another great tool accessible from the side menu is 'Wish Lists' - allowing you to trawl through any number of potential places and save them to a quick menu for you to review and compare from later making it even easier to narrow down your search.

Search results are displayed in a scroll of beautifully mouth-watering photos, meaning that the only downside to the app is that there is almost too much choice. You can spend hours viewing these properties as they are presented to you in their Sunday best. That said - you could also argue that this is the best bit!

Well done airB&B for taking independent lets which all to often end up looking sorry for themselves and unappealing on similar sites. As always I will be writing a trip report when I return from the good old Costa del Sol early next month and I'll be sure to include my thoughts on whichever pad we decide to go for.

enROUTE

enROUTE is my own portfolio style publication that features my interests from graphic design to travel and everything else in between!

Here's the cover of issue ONE...

If you'd like me to email you a digital copy or post it out in print... send me an email at this address

Eastern Europe 2009

This year I travelled for a month from Kyiv in Ukraine all the way to Istanbul, Turkey by myself.

It was possibly the most amazing experience of my life, and was an enormous source of inspiration for me.

I wanted to share a few of my favourite photo's from the trip that highlight my journey...

Kyiv, Ukraine.
This is part of the entrance to the Soviet History Museum in Kyiv. Of all the places I visited, Kyiv was the most influenced by the power which blanketed the region from Moscow. I have to say that I love the architecture which was produced in this time (purely on a VISUAL and FUNCTIONAL level!!!) The sharp cutting lines and greyness of the concrete forming the star really imposed a sense of power on the viewer as you walked through the tunnel into the museum.

Odessa, Ukraine.

Eastern Europe is full of quirky things like this. The caravan had been turned into a ticket office for a circus which was in an abandoned park overlooking the port. There was a bizarre atmosphere here as there was nobody around even though there was plenty to do - right in the centre of the town!

Chisinau, Moldova.

Moldova is the second poorest country in Europe, has 2 break-away self-declared states within its borders that no other country on the planet officially recognises and has the deepest pot holes I have ever seen!

I took this photo in the capital, Chisinau. I love the contrast between the shiny, well kept car and the crumbling building. I think there is a real mood in this image that jumps out at you and tells a story.

More to follow soon.......