Top 10 Popular Posts 2015

10. Beijing Street Style

Let’s get started! Number 10 on my list is about spotting some of the most stylish fashionistas in China: Beijing Street Style. Statistically, my blog posts about China haven’t been as popular as some of my other trips. Nevertheless, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed editing my photos and researching all the places I visited. East Asia really has a special place in my heart. Thankfully, my post about Beijing street style still managed to make the list! I’ve planned many more posts about Beijing, so stay tuned for some awesome photos of the Olympic Park, Forbidden City, and traditional opera in 2016.

9. California: Downtown San Diego

Number 9 on the list is my recent post about Downtown San Diego. My parents and I were on a sunny vacation in California last October. We explored the beaches in and around Los Angeles, drove around San Diego county, crossed the Anza-Borrego desert, you name it! Visiting San Diego was definitely one of the highlights, like visiting Little Italy and the Gaslamp Quarter.

8. Guest Globetrotter: Alhambra

The post that managed to rank number 8 on my list of most popular posts of 2015 is a guest post all about Islamic architecture: Guest Globetrotter: Alhambra. This was the first time writing a travel post about a place I’ve never actually been to myself. Turns out, the globetrotters that managed to snatch the 8th position in my yearly top 10 are actually…my parents. Impressive! I can’t say I’m too surprised, I’ve been dreaming about visiting the Alhambra for years and my parents did an amazing job taking photos.

7. Exploring Croatia: Historic Šibenik

The historic and ever charming town centre of Šibenik has placed at number 7. Šibenik is a city in central Dalmatia and the oldest native Croatian town on the eastern shores of the Adriatic. The town’s present name was first mentioned in documents in 1066 and at one point Šibenik even served as the seat of the Croation King. I visited Croatia in May and was incredibly exciting about my first trip to Southeast Europe. I was not disappointed!

6. South Africa: Cape Town’s Colourful Bo-Kaap

My post about Cape Town’s vibrant and colourful Bo-Kaap neighbourhood places 6. The Bo-kaap is the home of Cape Malay (Muslim) culture and is probably one of the most photographed sites in Cape Town. Locals told me that the Bo-kaap is often a location for film shoots due to its ‘romantic’ and picturesque character. Many of the current residents of Bo-Kaap are descendents of slaves from Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Java Malaysia and other parts of Asia.

5. Rotterdam: De Markthal

In the beginning of the year, I was lucky enough to go on a day trip to Rotterdam. I was invited on behalf of CitizenM to come stay a night at their Rotterdam hotel and enjoy a visit to the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). How could I refuse? I visited the new indoor markthal (market hall) for a much needed lunch break. The Markthal is sometimes jokingly referred to as the “Sistine Chapel” of Rotterdam due to its impressive ceiling design. It proved to be a popular post and placed 5th in my Top 10 Popular Posts 2015.

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4. Road Trip to Croatia

The good thing about doing a road trip in Europe is getting to see so many countries within just a few days. We drove all the way from Breda (the Netherlands) to Croatia, crossing countries like Austria and Slovenia. We stopped for a moment after we crossed the German border into Austria, where the mountain ranges offered some amazing views. We then stayed overnight in Slovenia before setting off to Rab (Croatia) the next day, driving about 1175 km that first day. I had the best time just looking out the car window. My post about our European road trip managed to place 4th!

3. Croatia: Plitvice Lakes

I have to admit, my post about the breathtaking Plitvice Lakes in Croatia is absolutely my personal favourite of the year. I had such a great time going through all those photos. I truly think it is practically impossible to take a bad photo of any of those lakes and waterfalls. In fact, Plitvice Lakes National Park may be the most beautiful and impressive national park I’ve ever visited in my entire life. The Plitvice Lakes made the 3rd position in the Top 10 Popular Posts 2015.

2. 6 Tricks to Learn Languages Faster

This post was published less than 3 weeks ago and still managed to place 2nd on my list of most popular posts of 2015. I love learning new languages, but a lack of progress can be a bit demotivating. I’m not an expert by any means, but all those years of (mandatory and voluntary) language courses and stressful exams have definitely helped me find a few life hacks to speed up my learning process. I shared 6 of my tricks to optimize your learning process.

1. Dordrecht: The Oldest City in Holland

The number one post in the Top 10 Popular Posts 2015 is about the oldest city in the provinces of Holland: Dordrecht. You can find over 950 monuments, 7 churches, and 6 museums in the medieval city centre alone. This post is over 2000 views ahead of my 2nd most popular post about language tricks. The main reason for this post being the most popular of the year is that the official tourist information office of Dordrecht shared my post on their Facebook page. I was delighted to see so many positive reactions.

Tell me, were you surprised by my top 3? Would you have liked to see a different post in the top 10? I’m quite happy with the list. Thank you for visiting my blog this year. Anyway, this will be the very last post of 2015. I want to wish all of you the happiest New Year’s you ever had. See you in 2016!