BIG NEWS (and getting personal)!

Dear followers! So many things have happened over the past year, I don`t even know where to start. Covid19 changed our lives in a dramatic way and we had to adapt to the situation in the best way we could. Travel suddely became a distant memory, a forbidden fruit. Luckily, this is about to change and we can slowly start traveling again (hopefully it continues to develop in a positive direction).

My travel and food blog, charlotteontheroad, has been quiet lately. Very quiet. But this is also about to change! I am planning a big RELAUNCH of my blog, taking place asap! I`ve developed a brand new logo, which you get a preview of in the header of this post. Do you like it? Let me know in the comments!

My blog will focus on travel, food and accommodation, like it always has. But the look and navigation will change and I will add a few new subjects like more detailed itinerary ideas, more recipes and tutorials (implementing videos from my youtube channel named Cakeissimo), and some more surprises. I can`t reveal everything at once, can I? 🙂

I can`t wait to get the blog up and running again and I feel very excited about it. I truly LOVE writing my blog posts, sharing my journeys and adventures, taking pictures and getting your feedback! It`s one of my favorite things to do!

I want to share something personal with you that I have never shared before. The last years have been challenging in many ways. Divorce followed by exhaustion was one of the main challenges. Losing my job this year due to the pandemic a further one. Being a single mom is more challenging than I could have ever imagined. I have gone through transformations in different ways and I feel like I have a very different perspective on life than I used to. I think differently, I act differently. As a single mom, free time is limited. To keep a travel blog going, this is one of the main aspects. Time to do it! This brings me to a very recent development in my life: the big move!

I lived in Heidelberg, Germany, for 18 years, which feels like a lifetime. Originally, I come from Norway (for those of you who didn`t know) and I have my family in Norway. 2020 was very hard for me being in Germany without family (and without the possibility of traveling or receiving visits from my mom). I felt very alone (not lonely, but alone, which for me is a huge difference). I started thinking differently about the physical distance between me and my family, and this led to a life-changing decision. I decided to move from Heidelberg to my hometown in the north of Norway, Melbu. From a city with over 150.000 citizens to a small village with not even 3.000 people. You can`t even imagine how huge this difference is! I decided to take one year to test it, to see how we (my baby girl and I) feel about it. So we moved in May, 2021!

I had big help from the universe for this move. There are so many practical things that have to work out when you move from one country to another (a blog post on this subject will also follow), and especially with children involved. But it all turned out really well and our time in Norway has been great so far. I am so grateful for everything in my life. We are in good health, I got a new job, we live right next to my mother, my girl is integrating really well…there is just one word to describe it: GRATEFUL!

We all have our challenges. Life is full of them! But, if there is one thing I have learned over the last few years: you cannot change the wind, but you can adjust your sails! It`s not about the things that happen (because they will no matter what we do), it`s about how we deal with it. That`s key, really! We all have the power to change our lives, no matter how dark it might seem. The solution is not always clear to us and it might seem “impossible” in that very moment. But it IS possible. We just have to believe in it. With every inch of our hearts! And so… I ended up in Norway!! Hahahaha! I still have lots of challenges that I have to overcome, but I am positive it will be ok. Somehow. If I believe in it!

I want to thank you for following my blog and for your support! I really appreciate it! I have visitors on the blog from all over the world and they keep reading my blog posts even through quiet times. I got very happy looking at my stats this week, I just couldn`t believe it! So THANK YOU and I look forward to expanding the blog together with you peeps!

If there are any subjects you are especially interested in or if you have any wishes for the development of this blog, please leave a comment and let me know. I would also love to know which post was your favorite so far in the past?

The best way to grow, is together!

Like I always say:

“Dare to make your dreams come true. The journey starts with a single step!”

– Charlotte –