Am I the only one feeling like each year passes faster than the previous one? To be honest, I have the idea that the beginning of 2019 is only a couple of months ago, not a whole year – but I am still more than ready for 2020. But before making plans for the new year, it’s time to look back on the 10 things that rocked my world in 2019. Here we go!
1. The year started where it is going to end for me – in the Netherlands. While still living in Southern Germany in January, I spend the first week of the year in Holland, exploring The Hague and even having a look at some houses already. So far, it had only been a vague idea to move back to the Netherlands in 2019, but during that first week of the year, it became more of a plan.
2. And as often, plans are made to not follow them. In February, I decided it was time to quit my job way earlier than the original plan (which was to quit by the end of October and use the rest of the year to travel). Although it meant to reduce the possibilities of travelling without having the obligation of a job, it felt like the right choice and was a big relieve altogether.
3. Another thing that definitely rocked my world in 2019 was the journey through Australia! I was able to travel to Tasmania for work and continue with a two week holiday in New South Wales and Victoria. Loved it! And after Australia has been on my bucket list for so long, I am 100% positive that I will try to come back as soon as possible to explore more of this beautiful country!
4. Not sure what was the reason, but I reflected a lot on my (career-) choices in 2019. It is not always easy to be honest with yourself and it took some time, but afterwards I was able to make some good decisions. One of them was to not go back to work in an agency when moving in the Netherlands – which already turned out to be a good decision, as it works so much better for me!
5. After having quit my job by the end of July, I was off in August – time I wanted to use to travel a bit, but for some reason, it didn’t really work out. Which was fine, because I really much enjoyed the time I had for myself. And to be honest, I also needed the extra time to start packing all those moving boxes…
6. …because obviously, the move was going to happen shortly after. Although I tried to be as prepared as possible, it was pretty chaotic as always. I expected it to be harder to leave Munich for good, but it felt like relieve to finally close the door of our apartment for one last time. Munich and me, it never was love.
7. Dancing! It has always been one of my hobbies, but never really got space here on the blog, mostly because my last dance partner wasn’t really a fan I guess. But after having trained alone for some months in Munich, I wasn’t really hopeful to find a new dance partner quickly when moving to the Netherlands. However, I gave it a shot and ended up finding a perfect match pretty quickly. Looking very much forward to our first competition in January!
8. If anybody had told me that I would start running (and taking it seriously) by the beginning of the year, I’d probably just laughed. But when the topic of running a marathon together in Rotterdam next year was raised at work (team of 4 runs 25% each), I was a little too enthusiastic and said I’d join. And as I always try to keep my promises, I started training and realized it went better than expected. Expectations for 2020 are high, as I am planning to run my first half marathon by the end of the year!
9. Another thing I didn’t really expect to happen was that we’d buy a house this year. I mean, we started looking and were hoping to find something, but prices are high and there are way less houses on the market than interested buyers. But for some reason we have always been lucky when it comes to housing (also with renting), and were able to find and buy the perfect house. Some pretty weird and exciting and nerve-racking weeks, in which I didn’t really have an eye on the blog, sorry for that! But so looking forward to moving into our very own home in February!
10. I always knew that I had the best friends I could wish for, but 2019 showed me again, how great they are. It was a year full of changed plans, self-doubting, making decisions and questioning them. And they always had my back and were there to help me with everything, something I am so grateful for. Also, I don’t always find it easy to get in touch with new people and find new friends, although I have moved places a lot over the past years. So it came as a positive surprise that I found some very good friends in and around The Hague so quickly – another reason I think that move was a very good decision!
