Once upon a time, my happy clumsy writing started as a way of optimizing distribution of information aka letting family, friends, politely interested people and everyone else know what I’m up to and how I do it.
Somehow though, the questions increase still and my email inbox suffers of permanent overload and I, consequently, of my fingertips peeling off trying to answer all of them.
SO – hopefully this page will relieve us a little. Please check if I answered your question here already and save both of us some time 🙂
Where are you from?
I’m German. And 1/8 Dutch. The region where I come from, Ostfriesland in the most Northwest corner, actually has a dialect that sounds a bit like Dutch. Just cooler. Coincidentally, a majority of German jokes is about these people, Ostfriesen.
When and why did you start this blog?
In July 2016, my insatiable urge for wanderlust combined with being locked down in a six months long corporate job had me find a creative solution – a turn my writing, that has been going on for a few years on tumblr and co, into a supposedly professional blog. I already knew that by the end of that year, I would sell all my things and hit the road indefinitely and thought, maybe there’s someone who could be interested in my stories. And boom, an annual hosting subscription and a few bugs spent later, I became a travel blogger – without knowing, what that actually was.
Why “birdwinks”?
Well, a few things come together. My last name is Winkler. I love freedom and traveling and flying and exploring and some might say, also twittering and giggling. Somehow that matched up. Last but not least, that bird for me is a sign of empowerment and overcoming literal and figurative distances.
What are your favorite destinations?
Well, I absolutely love Israel, New Zealand, and Sweden. I spent between 6 and 12 months in each of those so far, and I keep coming back. Got a lot of Hebrew and Swedish slang going on. But honestly, I have real trouble deciding what my favorite place is. Which frequently results in spending whatever my banking account can afford without committing suicide on new plane tickets…. ze chaim.
Where do you take your photos from?
All photos on this website were taken and edited by me, unless noted otherwise.
What camera do you use?
A Canon 550D, a Fuji x70 and currently a Fuji XT20. A few mobile pictures are taken with an iPhone 7.
Do you make any money with this?
Not directly, yet. So far, this blog has been more of a side-hobby next to full-time jobs and has enabled me to score some freelance projects. Now, this is slowly changing by signing up to affiliate programs and including advertisements.
I do live on a tight budget, and that makes it possible for me to keep going and fund my travels with a so far small income.
How do you afford traveling so much?
I mostly pay for my trips myself. As said before, I live on quite a tight budget, and save up everything for plane tickets (aka my personal happiness).
Sometimes, a freelance project, a volunteering position, or companies and tourism boards cover some of my expenses in exchange for my work for or about them. If that should be the case for specific posts I write, I include that information in the respective post.
Can you post a link for me or write about me?
Of course! If you want to collaborate with me or promote your business on my website, check out my work with me page or send me an email and we’ll figure out a deal.
Do you always travel solo?
I mostly travel by myself, yes. This is the way I so far made my greatest experiences and positively sky-rocketed out of my comfort zone. Before you now wonder whether I’m some weird egocentric maniac – of course I love my friends and I enjoy company a lot, more than being by myself most of the time. But since many of them don’t enjoy camping and hitchhiking very much, I love the freedom of making my own decisions. And in the end, I always find like-minded people to hang out with.
I know you, but… something changed?!
Haha. Well. Even close friends from earlier days sometimes don’t recognize me at first sight anymore. It just so happens that I change my hairstyle about every 6 to 12 months, going through all kinds of lengths, colors and cuts. Never gets boring 🙂
What countries have you visited?
Funnily enough, I get asked this quite often, but I wonder who really cares about ’em all? Anyway, it’s been 32 so far, here you go:
Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, East Timor, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Luxemburg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom.
Can I repost your content?
You’re most certainly welcome to share links to my posts on your own website or across your social media (in fact, that makes me very very happy :)). However, my texts and images are my own property, and it is not okay to copy and paste any of this website’s content to your own blog, into a forum or elsewhere. A short introductory paragraph with a link-back is fine, but that’s about it. Please just ask before using my content. *rant over* Thanks for your understanding!
How can I also become a travel blogger / digital nomad?
Frankly, I kinda just stumbled into this whole lifestyle. It just happened and I believed in what I was doing and worked hard for it. It’s such a cliché, but true for me: Figure out what makes you happy. Then go pursue it. Many of my friends and family said I was utterly insane to leave my life back home, give up my apartment and job, without knowing what lies ahead. But it worked and I’m indeed happier than ever!
If you have specific questions, feel free to get in touch with me. But please be aware that I won’t be able to give you an individual detailed step-by-step guide.
Hey, I’m close to you!
Amazing! Drop me a line, and we’ll see whether we’re able to catch up 🙂
I still have a question – can I get in touch with you?
If it’s a general question that might be interesting for other people too, feel free to comment below! Otherwise, please email me.
Thanks heaps my friend for reading through these – much appreciated 🙂
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