Citizens of the World: A Stoic Podcast for Curious Travelers

Today we are talking to my friend Ting Zhang, a New Yorker who now lives in Queenstown, New Zealand — birthplace of bungee jumping and fantastic pinot noir.    In a previous life, Ting had an awesome job as a global product lead at Google in New York City. On paper she had everything, but when she took a step back a few years ago, she realized what she really wanted to do was travel. So, she packed up everything and embarked on a world tour. She originally only planned on visiting Queenstown for a few days, but now she lives there permanently and you will love hearing the story about what kept her there.    Of course, she also shares her insider tips on where to find the best dining, hiking, and drinking options in this boutique wine region of the world.    The Postcard Academy podcast is hosted by me, Sarah Mikutel. You can sign up for my newsletter here, if you so please. And thank you so much for listening to this show. I know you’re busy and have many listening options, so it means a lot to me that you’re here. You are the best.   Find more travel stories and guides at postcardacademy.coDo you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

For decades, Germany has been reckoning with and atoning for its dark past. Museums, monuments, and educational programs teach tourists and locals about World War II and the nazis, and the Cold War and Berlin Wall. In last week’s ‘What to Eat and Where to Go’ Berlin episode, we touched on how important historical tourism is in Berlin, and, today, Chloe Dalrymple, a British expat and tour guide for Insider Tour, and I are diving deeper into World War II and the Cold War (visit postcardacademy.co for show notes).   Obviously, these are huge topics. I’m currently listening to The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich on Audible and that alone is 57 hours long, so we’re only scratching the surface here. But hopefully this quick and dirty primer will help you get your historical bearings before you travel to Berlin.   You might not want to listen with little kids, as we will be talking about one of the worst human atrocities of all time, but I will spare you the most horrific details.    If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe and forward this show to a friend. If you’re feeling especially kind, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. This helps people discover the show. 🤗   Instagram, Twitter, Facebook       Thank you to Six Miles High Design for creating the brilliant Postcard Academy logo.Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

Photographer, potter, and globe maker Chloe Dalrymple fits right in with Berlin’s creative scene. A native Brit, Chloe has lived in Berlin for three years and spends her days guiding visitors around her adopted city as a freelance tour guide, primarily with Insider Tour.    There’s so much to talk about, so I’m breaking this episode up into two parts. Today, you’ll learn more about Chloe and get her insider trips on the best places to eat and hang out in the city. In part 2, we’ll dive more into Berlin’s Nazi and Cold War past, which is a big part of tourism here.    Visit postcardacademy.co for a list of Chloe's great Berlin travel recommendations.     If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe and forward this show to a friend. If you’re feeling especially kind, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. This helps people discover the show. 🤗   Instagram, Twitter, Facebook       Thank you to Six Miles High Design for creating the brilliant Postcard Academy logo.Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

Hi. I’m trapped in no-wifi land at the moment. Just wanted to say a quick hello and let you know that my favorite audio walking tour app — Detour — is offering free audio tours until May 31. I wrote a review of Detour a few months ago, which you can read here.    Unfortunately, Detour has been purchased by Bose and the future of this great walking tour app is unclear. After May 31, the Detour app will stop working. Until then, have an awesome time exploring the world’s best cities with Detour. Even if you don’t live near one of the cities offered, you can still listen remotely and soak in some great storytelling.    Have a great week and talk to you in a few days.      Instagram, Twitter, Facebook     Visit postcardacademy.co for more travel guides and stories.  Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

Shannon O’Donnell, an American who’s been traveling the world since 2008, literally wrote The Volunteer Traveler’s Handbook. Over the years, her website A Little Adrift has become one of the best resources for responsible tourism. NPR, National Geographic, the BBC, and other news outlets have covered Shannon, and her own writing and photography have appeared in BBC Travel, USA Today, Lonely Planet, and other places.    Shannon launched A Little Adrift’s sister website Grassroots Volunteering to connect travelers to local causes and communities. In recognition of her incredible work, in 2013 National Geographic named her “Traveler of the Year.”   In this episode, you’ll learn volunteer dos and don’ts, why most people shouldn’t volunteer while traveling, and why supporting social enterprises is usually a better way to support local communities. We also chat about Shannon’s new life as an expat in Barcelona. Visit postcardacademy.co for links to what we talk about.   If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe and forward this show to a friend. If you’re feeling especially kind, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. This helps people discover the show. 🤗   Instagram, Twitter, Facebook       Thank you to Six Miles High Design for creating the brilliant Postcard Academy logo.Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

Last year, The New Yorker ran an article titled #vanlife, the Bohemian Social-Media Movement: What began as an attempt at a simpler life quickly became a life-style brand. And it's true, if you look up #vanlife on Instagram, you’ll find nearly 3 million photos of perfect couples driving through the desert or drinking beer on top of their vehicle.    But there are also tons of people choosing to live in vans or RVs or old bread trucks because they want a simpler life. Fewer things. More experiences. Jema Patterson talked about her van life experience with us on the house-sitting episode a few weeks back. Today, we are taking a deeper dive into van life. We’ll hear more from Jema, and also from new guest Casey Sheppard, from Case of the Nomads.   Casey spent two years living in a van with her dog, India, before embarking on her latest adventure, biking all the way across New Zealand. She just finished her 30-day, 3,000 km bike ride. But she still made time to chat about travel and the ins and outs of van life.    If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe and forward this show to a friend. If you’re feeling especially kind, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. This helps people discover the show. 🤗   Instagram, Twitter, Facebook     Visit postcardacademy.co for more travel guides and stories.     Thank you to Six Miles High Design for creating the brilliant Postcard Academy logo.  Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

Have you ever wanted to try solo travel, but you’re not quite ready? But the idea of group travel sounds too crowded and rushed? Dan Pierson founded the Bolt Collective, a travel community that could be just right for you.    Dan’s bringing together kind-hearted, curiosity-filled people to help them access travel experiences that might be too expensive if they did them on their own. Think of the Bolt Collective as group travel for people who hate group travel. He’s already taken a diverse group of people on some incredible adventures, celebrating New Year’s Eve on the beach in Oaxaca and dining in an igloo they built on a ski adventure in British Colombia.    An expert in designing experiences, Dan works with companies like Airbnb, and led Travel Partnerships at the ride-sharing service Lyft.   If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe and forward this show to a friend. If you’re feeling especially kind, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. This helps people discover the show. 🤗   Visit postcardacademy.co for travel guides, tips, and inspiration.    Instagram, Twitter, Facebook       Thank you to Six Miles High Design for creating the brilliant Postcard Academy logo.Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

This year’s World Happiness Report just came out and once again, all the Scandinavian countries are at the top of the list. The one I haven’t been to yet is Sweden, so today I am speaking with Eric Wall, an American artist living in Stockholm, to get his advice on the best things to see and do in Sweden’s capital city.  Stockholm is actually made up of 14 islands, and Gamla Stan, its old town, is one of Europe’s best preserved medieval historic centers. Eric and I talk all about the delicious baked goods you must try, the museums you can’t miss, and other ideas to make your trip to Stockholm a great one.  Eric hosts the podcast By The Way: A Contemporary Art News Podcast, and co-founded Cultural Bandwidth, a podcast network about art, so of course we’ll share where to find the best art when visiting Stockholm.  Find links to places we discuss in this episode at postcardacademy.co If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe and forward this show to a friend. If you’re feeling especially kind, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. This helps people discover the show. 🤗 Instagram, Twitter, Facebook   Thank you to Six Miles High Design for creating the brilliant Postcard Academy logo ❤️Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

Travel expert Jema Patterson from the site 'Half the Clothes' discusses how to house-sit around the world and other free accommodation travel tips on this week’s episode of the Postcard Academy (visit postcardacademy.co for detailed show notes).   We break down the best and worst house-sitting sites, how to write a profile that will get homeowners to choose you, and other important information you need to get into house-sitting. Even if you find the idea of living in someone else’s house insane, hopefully you’ll still get some educational value out of this episode.   Jema has been wandering the globe non-stop since 2010 and just started a podcast called Ticket 2 Blog, the no-BS podcast about how to be a blogger and a nomad (without losing your mind or selling your soul).    We literally talked for hours, so I narrowed down our conversation to focus on house-sitting, work exchanges, and other ways to score cheap or free accommodation around the world.    In other news, I just wrote a blog post on Medium titled Women Don’t Need to be in Crisis to Travel.    Not long ago, a guy asked me if I was traveling so much because I had a divorce to work through. It was an innocent question. And who can blame him for it? Most films and books about female travelers are about women in crisis struggling to find themselves.    Yes, those stories are important and have inspired many people. But a lot of us already know who we are. In fact, that’s a big reason why I started this podcast — to share more stories of women who are out there exploring this world simply because they want to. My guest today is one of those fun and fierce women.        The Postcard Academy podcast is hosted by me, Sarah Mikutel. You can sign up for my newsletter here, if you so please. And thank you so much for listening to this show. I know you’re busy and have many listening options, so it means a lot to me that you’re here. You are the best.    Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

Mole, memelas, and mezcal — oh my! If you enjoy Mexican food, you will fall madly in love with Oaxaca, Mexico. In this episode of the Postcard Academy podcast, my favorite travel expert, Cristal Dyer, and I eat our way through one of the world’s best gastronomic regions. You’ll learn where to find the best food and drink in Oaxaca’s capital city, and how to entertain yourself during a four- or five-day stay in this gloriously sunny and colorful UNESCO World Heritage Site. We also talk about our experience staying in a youth hostel when we’re no longer youths, an awkward yet hilarious encounter with restaurant management, and acquiring a taste for mezcal. Seriously, why aren’t we all living in Oaxaca? I’m already planning my return. Your travel itinerary to Oaxaca is waiting for you at postcardacademy.co If you enjoy this episode, please subscribe and forward this show to a friend. If you’re feeling especially kind, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. This helps people discover the show. 🤗   Instagram, Twitter, Facebook Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.