Welcome to Sophie’s World – a blog about the world’s curious and often unsung corners. And travelling with children.
Quirky corners
I hope to entertain you with tales from the world, but perhaps most especially from places that may be less familiar. I’m fascinated by the world’s more remote and often unsung spots, such as Skopje, Chisinau, Minsk, Vaduz, Pristina, Mbabane, Maseru and Nuku’alofa. Heard of them? They’re all national capitals.
Other interesting and remote outposts I’ve been fortunate to experience include Arctic Svalbard, Faroe Islands, the Azores, Norfolk Island, Srpska, the Great Rann of Kutch in India’s Gujarat province, the five lesser-known Arabian emirates and the somewhat obscure non-country Transdniestr.
Others I have yet to experience. High on my travel list are Kaliningrad, Pitcairn, the Caucasus, Afghanistan, Suriname and St Pierre & Miquelon. I dream of taking the Royal Mail Ship to St Helena. Antarctica is another dream – along with South Georgia and the Norwegian island of Bouvet. Just waiting for my youngest to reach the age limit required by the expedition companies – not long now…
Travelling with children
Sophie’s World is also about showing how the exhilarating world of travel need not diminish once you have children. I’ve travelled as a single mum for many years. In my experience, children and travel are easily combinable. You can find a few general tips in this article.
About me
Ever since I was a child, I’ve enjoyed writing. Every job I’ve had has included a fair share of it – from speech writing for government ministers to random scribbles. Now, I’m a bilingual freelance writer. I’m also a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. From 2009 – 2011, I authored NileGuide’s Oslo blog. My work has appeared in in-flight magazines and various other Scandinavian and English print and online media, including British Airways’ Business Life, Qatar Airways’ Oryx Magazine, the Matador Network, National Geographic’s Intelligent Travel and more.
And travelling? There’s little I enjoy more than hopping off a train in a new city, not knowing what’s around the corner. I’ve lived in New Zealand, Norway and the USA and have visited 109 countries. Or 145, depending on how you count a country. Do I think that’s fun? I kinda do.
I was first on an airplane when I was 11 years old. In 1988, my oldest daughter took her first flight at 11 weeks. How things have changed! 23 years later, things have changed even more. Back then, I didn’t see many families travelling with children outside of charter groups. In 1992, my then 4-year-old raised curiosity everywhere. She must be in at least 100 family photos around South-East Asia. Today, European children are no longer a rare sight in other corners of the world.
In 2002, I adopted my youngest daughter from China. Her first flight was on her first birthday, going from Fuzhou to Beijing; the first leg of her journey home. The memory of that trip still brings happy tears to my eyes. China – and most especially the province of Fujian – will forever hold a special place in my heart.
Random facts:
After high school, I turned down a job as a piano player on an Alaskan cruise ship. (Still haven’t made it to Alaska). I adore Black Adder and have had a crush on Michael Palin ever since I bumped into him in a book shop in Takapuna (New Zealand).
Follow along as I wander the world’s curious and unsung corners – mostly with children, sometimes solo.
Sophie’s World
