In this episode of the Van Life Diaries: Europe 1985, we move on to Scandinavia. Starting off in Denmark, we looked for Lego, noticed the size of the Little Mermaid, and enjoyed spending time in Copenhagen. From Denmark it was a short ferry ride to Sweden, and while my Dad and I muse that we don't have many strong memories from our time there, my Mum's diary does the heavy lifting contributing details about our time in some seaside islands, followed by Stockholm, and an intriguing visit to a timber mill area. Finally, we chat about how much we loved Norway, including time in Oslo, the fjords and playing badminton in Bergen.

This is the fifth part of a monthly, six-episode series celebrating the fact that exactly 40 years ago this year, my family and I spent six months in a striped motorhome travelling around Europe. I was nine years old and yes, this trip had an enormous impact on my life - I'm sure you wouldn't be listening to this podcast today if Van Life 1985 hadn't taken place! Throughout the series, I'll include chats recorded with my Dad this year, extracts from my late Mum's travel diary from 1985, and of course my own memories and thoughts.

A big thanks to Context Travel for sponsoring this series, and an even bigger thanks to my Dad for agreeing to be part of it.

Links:

• Context Travel - https://bit.ly/contexttravel - use the code THOUGHTFULTRAVEL to get 15% off any online booking. Context Travel operate walking tours in cities around the world, and have interesting and qualified subject-matter experts leading your walk
• Listen to Part 1 of Van Life Diaries: Episode 348 - https://notaballerina.com/348
• Listen to Part 2 of Van Life Diaries: Episode 351 - https://notaballerina.com/351
• Listen to Part 3 of Van Life Diaries: Episode 355 - https://notaballerina.com/355
• Listen to Part 4 of Van Life Diaries: Episode 359 - https://notaballerina.com/359
• Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
• Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin
• Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com
• Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/359

Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Di Westaway is the founder of Coastrek and Wild Women on Top, and she has had the most fabulous career building up these businesses - topped off with many well-deserved accolades like an Order of Australia medal for services to women's health, fitness and charity services. It was so much fun to chat with Di about how her impulsive decision to attempt to climb South America's highest peak, Mount Aconcagua, even when she'd never done anything remotely like it before, set off a chain reaction leading to decades of fascinating travels and influencing and inspiring countless people to look after themselves more and take on new challenges.

During our chat we move from the "big fail" of Mount Aconcagua through some other favourite hiking trips around the world, Di's world record for the highest handstand, a scary night on Mount Rinjani in Indonesia (and a story she said she's never told anyone publicly!!!), and through to the success of Coastrek today in getting thousands of people out there hiking the most beautiful parts of Australia and raising millions of dollars for worthwhile charities like Beyond Blue and the Fred Hollows Foundation.

Links:

• Coastrek - https://www.coastrek.com.au/
• Wild Women on Top - https://www.wildwomenontop.com/
• My blog post including the microlight flight - https://www.notaballerina.com/2016/10/australias-coral-coast-stretched-comfort-zone.html
• Di Westaway on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/diwestaway/
• Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
• Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin
• Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com
• Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/363

Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Creativity is an important part of my life, and I have so often observed that when I'm travelling, and also on my return, my creative thinking gets a huge boost. In this episode I chat with other travellers who feel the same.

First up, I talk to author Spiri Tsintziras. Spiri has written several memoirs related to her experiences and travels in Greece, and explains beautifully how being away from home impacts her creativity so positively.

Next, artist Carol McQuaid describes how travelling not only allows her creativity to flourish, but also talks about how travellers who take her visual art workshops while they are travelling have the same experience.

Finally, author Diane Hartman tells me about her experiences in Ireland and in particular, about a writing retreat in a beautiful part of County Cork which included all the required ingredients for maximum creativity.

I also chatted with friends and colleagues from the Creative Schools program, Claire Davenhall and Joanne Marriott, about how they feel travel and creativity come together, and I've included some of their thoughts.

Links:

• Episode 207 Writing Retreats Around the World - https://notaballerina.com/207
• Episode 52 How Travel Sparks Creativity - https://notaballerina.com/52
• Spiri Tsintziras - https://www.writingspirit.com.au/
• Spiri’s new book Twelve Golden Gifts - https://amzn.to/4mWCqCa
• Carol McQuaid - The Illustrated Vagabond - https://www.theillustratedvagabond.com
• Diane Hartman https://dianehartmanauthor.com/
• Diane’s new book Getting Lost On My Way: Self Discovery on Ireland’s Backroads - https://amzn.to/45Q9Awp
• Claire Davenhall, visual artist - https://www.instagram.com/clairedavenhall
• Joanne Marriott - MOJO Creative Leadership + Culture - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannemarriott/
• Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
• Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin
• Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com
• Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/362

Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This special episode is the audio of the livestream of the August 2025 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, speaking about Chris Broad's book "Abroad in Japan".

If you'd like to join the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, all the info is at https://thoughtfultravellersbookclub.substack.com and you can keep up with all the thoughts about our current books in the Thoughtful Travellers Facebook Group at https://facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers

Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Getting to know new people is one of the fun parts of travelling, and sometimes these encounters turn into long-term and even lifelong friendships. In this episode, my guests have wonderful stories to tell about the friends they have made on a trip - I found it very uplifting!

First up, Heidi Brown describes how taking solo trips to indulge her love of U2 has led to a delightful network of similarly U2-obsessed friends, who continue to meet up around the world. I then chat with Shari Leid, who carried out a fantastic project having a meal with a stranger or near stranger in all fifty US states, making some good friends along the way. Finally, Steve Hoffman ponders the difficulties inherent in making lasting friendships when we travel and gives a great example of a friend he made while spending an extended period in rural France.

Links:

• Substack post I mentioned: Conversations that changed my perspective on life - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/p/conversations-that-changed-my-perspective
• Heidi Brown - https://www.heidikristinbrown.com/
• Heidi’s memoir The Map I Draw: A Memoir of Travel as a Passport to Self - https://amzn.to/44Mky6T
• Sharri Leid - An Imperfectly Perfect Life - https://animperfectlyperfectlife.com/
• Shari’s book Table for 51: Lessons Learned from Sharing Meals across America - https://amzn.to/4ls5WOQ
• Steve Hoffman - https://www.sjrhoffman.com/
• Steve’s book, A Season for That: Lost and Found in the Other Southern France - https://amzn.to/3DSqosP
• Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
• Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin
• Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com
• Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/361

Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When my friend Tracy Collins messaged me to say hey, I'm doing a new series on the Global Travel Planning Podcast and I want to interview you first - I said yes as fast as I could. Tracy had an idea to guide me through a chat about a number of my very most special travel experiences and I knew it would be fun.

In fact, I think it turned out to be such a great chat that I asked Tracy if I could share it here with all my audience too. We cover so many topics: who inspired me to travel in the first place, some of my favourite trips (taking the Trans-Siberian across Russia and my road trip in Iceland both got airtime here), why I love and keep returning to Japan, how speaking a language can help you connect more deeply with a place and where I'd really like to return to soon. And more! Hope you enjoy listening just a fraction as much as I enjoyed being interviewed - thanks Tracy!

Links:

• Global Travel Planning - https://globaltravelplanning.com/
• Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
• Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin
• Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com
• Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/360

Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is the fourth part of a monthly, six-episode series celebrating the fact that exactly 40 years ago this year, my family and I spent six months in a striped motorhome travelling around Europe. I was nine years old and yes, this trip had an enormous impact on my life - I'm sure you wouldn't be listening to this podcast today if Van Life 1985 hadn't taken place! Throughout the series, I'll include chats recorded with my Dad this year, extracts from my late Mum's travel diary from 1985, and of course my own memories and thoughts.

In this episode, we move on to spend time in Germany, a country that would become very important in my future life. We bypassed Munich, visited the Black Forest, Baden Baden and Heidelberg, and spent time staying with friends near Frankfurt, where my sister and I especially enjoyed the flying fox play equipment in a local path. Belgium featured very briefly in our trip and we then carried on to the Netherlands, enjoying a cheese market in Alkmaar and a canal cruise in Amsterdam.

A big thanks to Context Travel for sponsoring this series, and an even bigger thanks to my Dad for agreeing to be part of it.

Links:

• Context Travel - https://bit.ly/contexttravel - use the code THOUGHTFULTRAVEL to get 15% off any online booking. Context Travel operate walking tours in cities around the world, and have interesting and qualified subject-matter experts leading your walk
• Listen to Part 1 of Van Life Diaries: Episode 348 - https://notaballerina.com/348
• Listen to Part 2 of Van Life Diaries: Episode 351 - https://notaballerina.com/351
• Listen to Part 3 of Van Life Diaries: Episode 355 - https://notaballerina.com/355
• Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
• Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin
• Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com
• Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/359

Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Solo travel might seem daunting, but as you'll hear from my guests today, the benefits can be amazing. While this episode features women who travel alone, the advantages they talk about are definitely relevant to anyone.

First up, Heidi Brown shares her love of solo travel and explains that she's developed a unique strategy for finding great restaurants when she's travelling alone - it's surprisingly effective and has something to do with design choices.

Next, Kaila Yu travels solo frequently for work and has discovered a clever way to avoid unwanted attention as a solo female traveller. She also talks about the freedom of not having to compromise when you're on your own.

Renae Ninneman then tells us about her spontaneous encounter with a fellow traveller at a music festival in South Korea - one of those benefits of travelling alone when you can be completely flexible.

Finally, Chelsea Gruber shares her approach to staying safe while solo travelling, including some practical preparation tips and a system involving her mother back home.

Links:

• Heidi Brown - https://www.heidikristinbrown.com/
• Heidi’s memoir The Map I Draw: A Memoir of Travel as a Passport to Self - https://amzn.to/44Mky6T
• Kaila Yu - https://kailayu.com/
• Kaila’s memoir Fetishized: A Reckoning with Yellow Fever, Beauty, and Feminism - https://amzn.to/40EL7ID
• Renae Ninneman - Beyond Tourism Cultural Travel and Training - https://www.goingbeyondtourism.com/ cultural training and cultural competence biz
• Chelsea Gruber - https://www.chelseasolotravels.com/
• Chelsea's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/chelseasolotravels/
• Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
• Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin
• Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com
• Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/358

Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.