Our 2025 Adventures Pt. 1

I ended my last post with our unexpected trip home in December 2024. Now, it's February 2026 and I feel like a cliche when I hear myself say in my head "time really DOES go by faster the older you get". (Thanks Mom!) Additionally, having spent most of our lives living in a part of the world with four distinct Northern Hemisphere seasons, it is sometimes difficult for us to remember what month it is when we have 85 degrees in December or 55 degrees in July while living in other parts of the world.

Let's recap where our travels brought us in 2025.

Quick Stats

COUNTRIES VISITED

2025: 6 New Total: 32

CONTINENTS VISITED

2025: 1 New Total: 3

MILES FLOWN

2025: 35,550 Total: 137,890

PETS CUDDLED

2025: 5 New & 1 Repeat

Total: 26 Cherished Clients

BOOKS READ

2025: 100 (huge goal accomplished!)

Worth noting, in 3+ years of full-time travel, we have only had 1 flight cancellation, 1 missed flight, and ZERO lost or delayed bags! I am reluctant to write this on paper for fear of it turning around in the wrong direction. HA!

January-March 2025

London and Scotland

After returning from the US, we spent two additional weeks in London before taking the train north to Inverness, Scotland. We booked a 7-week dogsit for a sweet, cheeky Jack Russell Terrier named Rowan. He made us laugh every day with his antics. During our sit, we took Rowan on a weekend adventure to the Isle of Skye and a road trip through the Scottish Highlands. We fell in LOVE with this picturesque area of Scotland. It felt a bit untamed with its dramatic landscapes and rugged coastline, not to mention the absolutely darling Highland Cows. Brad got sick of me asking to stop for more photos of the cows! (almost like I didn't grow up on a farm surrounded by cows!) Additionally, we drove around Loch Ness, but sadly, no sighting of Nessie. Scotland has secured a spot in our top 3 most beautiful places. Our daily walks in the Culloden Forest, literally in the backyard of our dogsit, were a true highlight with miles of gorgeous trails. Unfortunately, we also fell in love with Mackie's Traditional Ice Cream and ate our weight in this decadent treat. So far, we think it's the best in the world and we're willing to try all others just to prove it.

During our Inverness dogsit, I took the train solo to Edinburgh to watch a previous clients' dog for 10 days. Bodi and his human family have become special to us and it was kismet for their family holiday to line up with us already being in Scotland. Not gonna lie, since Brad & I spend 24/7/365 together, it was a welcome break of alone time too.

After seven weeks, leaving Inverness and Rowan was difficult. We get so attached to the pets we care for and truly miss them after bonding during these long-term sits.

With a three week gap until we needed to arrive in Portugal for our next big sit, we took the train to Dundee, Scotland and ended up finding a shorter term sit for a sweet ginger cat named Koba. This area of Scotland is truly underrated! We were able to squeeze in a day trip to St. Andrews. It was a perfect day to wander around this quaint village which is home to a few notable sites:

• Oldest golf course in the world, aptly named The Old Course

• World-class University of St. Andrews where William met Kate

• West Sands Beach, made famous in the opening scene of the movie "Chariots of Fire"

• Fisher & Donaldson Bakery, one of Queen Elizabeth's favorites as well as ours

April-May 2025

Portugal

From Scotland, we flew to Porto, Portugal for a three week dogsit for Pera, an adorable one-eyed collie. Interestingly, even though I graduated from a very small high school class of less than 40, one of my classmates and his wife live in Porto! It was wonderful catching up with Jason Carlson and his wife, Marcey, hearing about their ex-pat lives living in Portugal, and getting reacquainted. Porto is a vibrant, colorful city with stunning views of the Douro River. The steep hills will give you quite a workout! We marveled at the gorgeous Azulejo tilework, and blend of ancient vs. modern architecture.

Additionally, our son Noah joined us during our last week in Porto! He had been traveling solo in South America since November of 2024, but wanted to spend the summer in Europe. We were glad to have him with us for a few weeks and for me to have a companion to explore during the days while Brad was working. After leaving Porto, we took the train to Lisbon, where we spent an additional 5 weeks. Overall, both cities had so much to offer and we explored numerous museums, miradors (viewpoints), parks, and historical sites. While Lisbon was interesting and had a lot to offer, of the two cities, we preferred Porto. It's less hilly (but still steep!), more quaint and quieter.

June-July 2025

North Macedonia

We spent two glorious months in Ohrid, North Macedonia, which is (so far) our favorite place in the world! So much so, we plan on spending the summer of 2026 back in the same apartment. The city of Ohrid is located on the shores of scenic Lake Ohrid, which is the oldest and one of the deepest lakes (max. 945 ft.) in all of Europe. The lake itself lies on the border of Albania and N. Macedonia (which cuts through the lake) and is surrounded by several stunning mountain ranges, making the landscape dramatic. It reminds us a bit of our beloved Minnesota lakes country but with mountains! The water is deep blue and crystal clear. We spent every Sunday relaxing, reading, drinking wine, and swimming in the lake.

We were fortunate to meet another fantastic nomadic couple and spent some time getting to know them. They too are planning to return this summer and spend 2 weeks with us. Can't wait to see you Yung & Christine!

August-September 2025

Albania

After spending 5 weeks in Albania in 2024, we knew we would be back. Since it's hot in August, we decided to spend our 7 weeks on the coast in Vlore. We rented an apartment across from the beach, with a balcony, which was perfect for people watching along their mile long boardwalk. Vlore is a perfect place for families to vacation, since the water is quite shallow in the bay with gorgeous sand, numerous restaurants and hotels, and multiple events scheduled throughout the summer. Many Italians vacation here by taking the ferry across the Adriatic, so there is a strong presence of Italian food. The weather was hot and humid but the beach offered a great reprieve.

Mid-September, we boarded a plane bound for Valletta, Malta to meet up with some friends.

Malta

First, let me tell you a quick story. We traveled to Paris in 2017 for a 12 day vacation. On our 1st night, jetlagged and trying to stay awake, we found a jazz club near our hotel that we figured would be the perfect way to kill a few hours while acclimating to our new time zone. Google Maps directed us to a location but we found no sign of promised jazz. We spotted a cute Parisian cafe and instead decided to sit for a drink and regroup. While Brad was getting us drinks inside, I overheard the table near us speaking (non-native) English. I leaned over and asked if they knew Paris and could you help me find this jazz club? Sure! They lived several blocks away and pointed to the black door across the street. It's there - that unmarked door. Just open it and head to the basement. In the meantime, would you like to join us? Um, ok! So Brad comes back to find me sitting at a table with two Germans living in Paris and some of their friends. They end up going WITH us to the jazz club, taking us to their favorite neighborhood bars and we didn't get back to our hotel until after 2am!

So what does a wild night in Paris have to do with Malta you ask? Well, Frank (far left) and Caroline (across the table from me) are the above mentioned Germans and have become dear friends. They moved back to Germany so we've been able to visit them twice since we left the USA. Caroline grew up spending summers in Malta on the smaller island of Gozo. They invited us to spend 12 days in the village of Xaghra on Gozo in September with them and their German friends, so 9 of us shared a gorgeous farmhouse with a pool and had an incredible time exploring the island. For those unfamiliar, Malta is an independent country in the central Mediterranean Sea between Sicily and Northern Africa. It was ruled by the British until 1964, so English is widely spoken. We were fortunate to have one of Caroline's native Maltese friends with us for multiple outings to provide additional information on this lovely land. It was a dream trip and we sincerely hope to go back to this idyllic island destination.

Denmark

A great flight deal routed us from Malta to Copenhagen. Since we'd never been to Denmark, we decided to spend a long weekend roaming around before flying back to the USA. Copenhagen is a notably clean city, in fact, even the harbor is clean enough to swim. (If you like cold water swimming that is!) It is consistently ranked as one of the happiest countries in the world and it ranks only behind the Netherlands as the most bike-friendly city.

It is definitely a foodie city with multiple Michelin restaurants. We found it expensive, almost everywhere we went, and likely will not spend any extended time here. However, if you find yourself in Copenhagen, do yourself a favor and head to Juno the Bakery for a cardamom bun. It was one of the most delicious treats we've ever tasted!! It's a little out of the way, but completely worth the trip.

What's Next and Where Are We Now?

I'm still reeling that 2025 is over and we're almost half-way through February 2026! My next post will finish our 2025 travels and catch you up to our current location of Cuenca, Ecuador. We've only arrived a few short days ago but have a feeling we're going to love it here. It's been quite an adjustment physically since it's nestled in the Andes Mountains at nearly 8,400 ft. The weather is temperate, almost spring-like year round due to its elevation. We are here until mid-April before making a very quick trip home for my niece's wedding. After that, it's back to Europe until we find our way home again for Christmas and New Year's in late December! Hope to catch up with some of you at that time.

Cheers, Peace, Love, and Kindness,

Jenn