Fräulein Draussen

FRÄULEIN DRAUSSEN,
FRÄULEIN DRAUSSEN HAS BEEN ONLINE SINCE 2013. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO TRAVEL BLOGGING - NOW AND THEN?

"While I initially ran Fräulein Draußen purely as a hobby alongside my full-time job, the blog became my main job in 2016. To my own delight, however, not much has actually changed over the years in terms of my fundamental relationship with blogging. Of course, I now invest a lot more time in creating articles and maintaining my social media channels. Of course, I also approach the tasks much more professionally now. However, I still have a great deal of ease in dealing with my content and channels and the freedom to write about the topics that really interest and inspire my readers (and myself). But that's certainly also because I take great care when choosing my advertising partners, who contribute to a large part of my blog's funding, to ensure that they suit me and my blog."

YOU ARE OFTEN TRAVELLING VERY CHALLENGING ROUTES AND PROBABLY EVERYONE KNOWS THAT POINT WHERE YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO NEXT. WHAT ARE YOUR TIPS FOR "SUCCESSFUL CRISIS MANAGEMENT"?

"Sit down, take a deep breath, eat chocolate - and repeat as often as you need to. You wouldn't believe what a break and a piece of chocolate can do! And apart from that - as always in life: Don't panic and try to look at the problem objectively. This also means accepting that bad days "out there" are simply part of it. No matter whether it's raining cats and dogs, the path is overgrown again or you're feeling homesick. Ultimately, it's often days like these that make hiking so special and fulfilling. Especially when you realise that you've conquered your inner bastard and that rain is followed by sunshine (in every sense of the word). At the same time, it's also completely okay to know your own limits and draw your own conclusions. At the end of the day, it's all about being outdoors and enjoying your time."

YOU HAVE COME INTO CONTACT WITH MANY COUNTRIES, LANDSCAPES AND CULTURES ON YOUR TRAVELS. WHAT MAKES A HIKE A "FEEL-GOOD HIKE" FOR YOU?

"I feel most comfortable hiking when I'm travelling in countries and regions where people with hiking boots on their feet and rucksacks on their backs are not an uncommon sight. In these cases, you often sense a completely different, much more intense kind of connection to the local people and also to the country itself. One example of this is Great Britain. That was also one of the reasons why I chose the island for my first long-distance hike (1,500 km/3 months). The passion for hill walking and other outdoor activities is deeply rooted in society there. You can feel this in the good infrastructure, of course, but also in many small things. Sometimes the 70-year-old, smartly dressed bed and breakfast owner will reach for your muddy and no longer quite so fragrant hiking boots to stuff them with newspaper. And then there are home-baked biscuits or a dry barn with a coffee maker at the side of the trail for exhausted hikers. "Trail magic" modelled on the American long-distance hiking trails!"