Visit Lindsay on Instagram.
About you
Why do you travel and look for adventures?
I love exploring new places (especially secret beaches and hiking trails), food, and cultures – and absolutely love all the people I get to meet along the way!
What kind of adventures do you look for when you travel?
What’s your go-to travel hack?
My favourite plan is to have no set plan at all – usually just wander by foot in a new place and go wherever I’m drawn to. It always leads to the most unexpected experiences and adventures.
Got any gear you can’t travel without?
What destination are you eager to go back to?
How do you stay safe when you’re travelling?
This can be tricky when travelling solo – but it’s always important to let others know where you are or where you are planning to go so they can track your whereabouts if anything were to go wrong.
What’s the best way to experience a destination like a local?
What’s your favourite word in another language?
This is such a hard question, I have so many! “Ikigai” is a Japanese concept that means “a reason for being” and is meant to represent finding happiness, purpose, and meaning in everyday life. And also “Il Dolce Far Niente” which is essentially the Italian art of doing nothing.
When and where are you next travelling?
Visit on Instagram.
About you
A few years ago I quit my office job in Germany and travelled through New Zealand and Australia for 1,5 years. During this time I learned a lot about myself and I absolutely loved my life overseas. I decided to never give up on my dreams and always fight for what I believe in. When I got back home I was looking for a job to work with animals (my goal and dream for a long time). I was lucky and since then I work for a beautiful animal sanctuary in Salzburg. The mountains, the animals and the lakes in this area make me very happy.
Why do you travel and look for adventures?
I don’t want to live according to the norm. I love to find new places, experience new cultures, and meet new people all over the world. I like myself best when I’m out exploring and it makes me really happy to see our planet. I want to live my life to the fullest. Every day.
What kind of adventures do you look for when you travel?
I’m into everything. I like adventures that pushes my adrenaline but also like the peace and quiet. I guess it has to be a good mix of both. My biggest adventure is travelling by myself. Everything else falls into place anyway. And I am very spontaneous.
What’s your go-to travel hack?
Don’t be scared to get out of your comfort zone. It might be scary at first but I promise once you open your heart and trust yourself you will accomplish the greatest things. Go for it and never give up!
Got any gear you can’t travel without?
What destination are you eager to go back to?
How do you stay safe when you’re travelling?
Always listen to yourself. If you don’t have a good feeling about something – don’t do it. I have done a few wild things like hitchhiking through New Zealand for example. People would always call me crazy because I was only 22 years old and all by myself. But as long as you are feeling good with what you are doing and are always careful and thoughtful about everything you will be fine. Trust your gut!
What’s the best way to experience a destination like a local?
Couchsurfing (App): It’s a great way to meet locals. People all over the world offer their ‘couch’ to travellers to experience different cultures and bring the travel vibes into their home. This for me is the best way to experiene a destination like a local and most of them would always show you around. Also a great way to make friends everywhere in the world.
What’s your favourite word in another language?
No worries
When and where are you next travelling?
As soon as possible I will book a flight and travel back to Australia!
Visit on Instagram.
About you
I’m a Colombian girl who loves to travel the world, I speak English, Spanish and Portuguese. I love design and photography
Why do you travel and look for adventures?
It fills my soul, it helps to know me better. I enjoy the time that I spend with nature because my favorite places to travel are nature.
What kind of adventures do you look for when you travel?
Waterfalls and hiking
What’s your go-to travel hack?
Just live your life to the fullest
Got any gear you can’t travel without?
What destination are you eager to go back to?
How do you stay safe when you’re travelling?
Sharing my location with my friends and family
What’s the best way to experience a destination like a local?
Go with local people to know unknown places
What’s your favourite word in another language?
Butterfly in Portuguese is borboleta.
When and where are you next travelling?
Miami in March 2021
Join our Book Club – What Wandering Women Read
On behalf of everyone here at The Global Women’s Project, we are delighted to have been selected as Travel with Jane’s inaugural Scrap the Gap campaign partner for 2020.
As a grassroots, entirely volunteer-run not for profit organisation founded by women, led by women, and which exists to advance the lives and livelihoods of women everywhere, we feel like we couldn’t have found a better partner to help us tackle women’s economic insecurity (wherever in the world it occurs).
At The Global Women’s Project we’re determined to create a world where every girl and woman has the right to influence, determine and improve her own life. Our burning passion is women’s education, entrepreneurship and empowerment and we currently run projects in both Nepal and Cambodia.
Since 2013, we have been working in partnership with the Women’s Foundation of Nepal to jointly develop and deliver our vocational training, economic empowerment and women’s rights programs through our Rural Women’s Resource Hubs in the remote regions of Sunsari, Jhapa and Bhaktapur. Our community consultations in Nepal found that many local women have:
- limited formal education and literacy skills
- lack decision making power in their households
- are subjected to frequent violence and discrimination in the home and in their communities
- undertake the majority of household labour and chores,
work extremely long hours in family farms and businesses for little or often no pay - are generally unaware of their personal and legal rights.
They also commonly lack the knowledge, skills and resources they need to successfully engage in paid employment or other income generating activities.
Our hubs are designed to provide women with a safe place to come together to seek assistance, develop new skills and improve their autonomy, self-sufficiency and overall wellbeing. Members of our Hubs have access to life-changing opportunities and resources such as counselling and facilitated support groups, mediation and legal support services, rights awareness training and campaigns, vocational skills and small business training, and microfinance loans. Membership is free and also includes access to localised savings circles and an extensive support network of other women.
Our Hubs are currently working directly with over 1500 women, with several thousand additional people in the communities surrounding our Hubs also benefiting indirectly, including children, partners, family and friends.
We are able to provide these services at an incredibly low program cost of just $43 per woman per year. This is basically the cost of one main meal and a glass of wine at an Australian restaurant, or the cost of 2 cups of coffee each day during one work week. Pretty extraordinary hey?
Our Hubs program is designed to eliminate traditional barriers to women’s economic advancement and to engage local men in discussions and actions relating to the attainment of increased gender equality within the home and local community. It is also designed to provide women with greater earning potential and access to resources that increase local economic growth and consequently alleviate poverty.
The presence of our Hubs in these regions has been shown improve the social structure of the community through greater education on gender equality and positive changes in women’s lives and social connections. Furthermore, consistent studies have shown that when women are earning their own income, they invest up to 90% of it back into their children and families. For men it is around 30-40%. The effects of this reaches across generations to improve education, health and socio-economic outcomes for entire communities.
If you believe (like we do) in making the world a more equal and enabled place, please show your support by purchasing a Travel with Jane policy during the months of March and April, and 10% of the policy cost will be directed towards our work in Nepal. There is simply no better way to travel.
Whether it’s quitting a job to sail the seven seas, pursuing a search for self across the continents, or overcoming tragedy through travel, the heartfelt travel memoirs of real-life women never cease to inspire us. Here’s 7 reads the Jane gals can’t wait to get stuck into.
Female travel is not a new phenomenon – women have been adventuring solo since the 1800s. Yet, as more women share their stories through travel blogs, social media groups and published memoirs, their intrepid travel tales are reaching a wider audience. By breaking down all kinds of social conventions, they inspire others to do the same. So if you’re thinking of setting off on an epic voyage of your own, or simply in the mood for a bit of armchair travel, let these 7 female travel picks from Good Reads light the way.
The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost – Rachel Friedman (2011)
“Rachel Friedman has always been the consummate good girl who does well in school and plays it safe, so the college grad surprises no one more than herself when, on a whim (and in an effort to escape impending life decisions), she buys a ticket to Ireland, a place she has never visited. There she forms an unlikely bond with a free-spirited Australian girl, a born adventurer who spurs Rachel on to a yearlong odyssey that takes her to three continents, fills her life with newfound friends, and gives birth to a previously unrealized passion for adventure. As her journey takes her to Australia and South America, Rachel discovers and embraces her love of travel and unlocks more truths about herself than she ever realized she was seeking. Along the way, the erstwhile good girl finally learns to do something she’s never done before: simply live for the moment.” – Rachel Friedman
How Not to Travel the World: Adventures of a Disaster-Prone Backpacker – Lauren Juliff (2015)
“I had no life experience, zero common sense and had never eaten rice. I suffered from debilitating anxiety, was battling an eating disorder and had just had my heart broken. I hoped by leaving to travel the world I would be able to heal myself. Instead, Lauren’s travels were full of bad luck and near-death experiences. Over the space of a year, she was scammed and assaulted, lost teeth and swallowed a cockroach. She fell into leech-infested rice paddies, was caught up in a tsunami, her motorbike’s brakes failed and she experienced a very unhappy ending during a massage in Thailand. It was just when Lauren was about to give up on travel that she stumbled across a handsome New Zealander with a love of challenges…”-Lauren Juliff
Uncanny Valley – Anna Wiener (2020)
“In her mid-twenties, at the height of tech industry idealism, Anna Wiener—stuck, broke, and looking for meaning in her work, like any good millennial–left a job in book publishing for the promise of the new digital economy. She moved from New York to San Francisco, where she landed at a big-data startup in the heart of the Silicon Valley bubble: a world of surreal extravagance, dubious success, and fresh-faced entrepreneurs hell-bent on domination, glory, and, of course, progress.
Anna arrived amidst a massive cultural shift, as the tech industry rapidly transformed into a locus of wealth and power rivaling Wall Street. But amid the company ski vacations and in-office speakeasies, boyish camaraderie and ride-or-die corporate fealty, a new Silicon Valley began to emerge: one in far over its head, one that enriched itself at the expense of the idyllic future it claimed to be building…”- Anna Wiener
Love with a Chance of Drowning – Torre DeRoche (2011)
“A city girl with a morbid fear of deep water, Torre DeRoche is not someone you would ordinarily find adrift in the middle of the stormy Pacific aboard a leaky sailboat – total crew of two – struggling to keep an old boat, a new relationship and her floundering sanity afloat. Set against a backdrop of the world’s most beautiful and remote destinations, Love with a Chance of Drowning is a sometimes hilarious, often moving and always breathtakingly brave memoir that proves there are some risks worth taking.” – Torre DeRoche
This is How I Save My Life: A True Story of Finding Everything When You are Willing to Try Anything – Amy B. Scher (2018)
“When Amy B. Scher was struck with undiagnosed late-stage, chronic Lyme disease, the best physicians in America labeled her condition incurable and potentially terminal. Deteriorating rapidly, she went on a search to save her own life–from the top experts in Los Angeles and the world-renowned Mayo Clinic in Minneapolis to a state-of-the-art hospital in Chicago. After exhausting all of her options in the US, she discovered a possible cure–but it was highly experimental, only available in India, and had as much of a probability of killing her as it did of curing her. Knowing the risks, Amy packed her bags anyway and flew across the world hoping to find the ultimate cure.”
Laughing Without an Accent: Adventures of an Iranian American, at Home and Abroad – by Firoozeh Dumas (2008)
“In the bestselling memoir Funny in Farsi, Firoozeh Dumas recounted her adventures growing up Iranian American in Southern California. Now she again mines her rich Persian heritage in Laughing Without an Accent, sharing stories both tender and humorous on being a citizen of the world, on her well-meaning family, and on amusing cultural conundrums, all told with insights into the universality of the human condition. (Hint: It may have to do with brushing and flossing daily.) Dumas also documents her first year as a new mother, the familial chaos that ensues after she removes the television set from the house, the experience of taking fifty-one family members on a birthday cruise to Alaska, and a road trip to Iowa with an American once held hostage in Iran.” – Firoozeh Dumas
Confessions of a Paris Party Girl: A Humorous Travel Memoir – Vicki Lesage (2014)
Wine, romance, and French bureaucracy – the ups and downs of an American’s life in Paris. This laugh-out-loud memoir is almost too funny to be true! Drinking too much bubbly. Meeting sappy Frenchmen who have girlfriends or are creeps or both. Encountering problème after problème with French bureaucracy. When newly-single party girl Vicki moved to Paris, she was hoping to taste wine, stuff her face with croissants, and maybe fall in love.
Want more? Join my bookclub on Facebook: What Wandering Women Read
Image by Renato Abati from Pexels
Here’s how Travel with Jane’s standard policies and tailored Pregnancy Pack work for pregnant travellers.
Am I covered while pregnant?
If you’re heading off on a babymoon, or for any other reason while pregnant, you’re definitely covered for most items listed in your travel insurance policy. So for claims like lost luggage, trip cancellation, legal liability and some medical, you’re covered.
Where it gets a little technical is if you’re needing to claim for certain hospital or medical emergency expenses that are related to your pregnancy, including childbirth.
Pregnancy is viewed as a pre-existing medical condition and your due date play an important role in whether you can get cover or not.
On all of Travel with Jane’s policies, except our Domestic, you are covered for any pregnancy-related claim, up to 26 weeks in the case of a single baby, and 19 weeks in the case of a multiple pregnancy. Cover is provided to you, but not provided for childbirth or the health of a newborn child.
If I give birth overseas, will I be covered?
Having a baby overseas in a medical emergency is no doubt the last thing you’d want. Unfortunately, childbirth is not covered on our standard policies. So for any of these, you won’t be able to claim on medical costs.
Read our full guide on airline rules and flying while pregnant, here.
And with the pregnancy pack, is birth covered?
For extended cover while pregnant overseas, we offer an additional product called our Pregnancy Add-on. First, you’ll get an extension on the week’s you’re allowed to claim at – so this means you have more time to be able to claim for trip cancellations, and pregnancy related medical bills.
- Single pregnancy up to and including 32 weeks gestation
- Multiple pregnancy up to and including 23 weeks gestation
If you’re up to 32 weeks pregnant with a single child, or up to 23 weeks with twins when an incident occurs, and you have written certification from a medical practitioner that you are fit to travel up to ten days prior to your departure, your emergency medical costs are covered under our Pregnancy Pack. The maximum payout under this benefit is is $1 million.
Just to be clear, even with our Pregnancy Add-on, emergency childbirth coverage includes the costs related to your birth and post-birth medical care. It won’t cover your newborn’s medical costs. The costs that come with looking after a newborn after an emergency birth can vary greatly. If we covered this risk, it pushes up premiums across the boar
What does the pregnancy pack cover, and not cover?
Conditions you’re covered for
If you purchase the Pregnancy Add-on, many medical expenses that stem from pregnancy-related complications, otherwise excluded by our standard policy benefits, are covered. This includes:
- toxaemia
- gestational diabetes
- gestational hypertension
- pre-eclampsia
- ectopic pregnancy
- molar pregnancy or hydatidiform mole
- post-partum haemorrhage retained placenta membrane
- placental abruption
- hyperemesis gravidarum
- placenta praevia
- stillbirth
- miscarriage
- emergency caesarean section
- a termination needed for medical reasons
- premature birth more than 8 weeks (or 16 weeks if you know you are having more than one baby) before the expected delivery date.
What you are not covered for
Your pregnancy-related medical costs will not be covered by Travel with Jane’s Pregnancy Add-on in these situations:
- if you have experienced any pregnancy complications prior to purchasing your policy.
- multiple pregnancies arising from services or treatment associated with an assisted reproductive program, including but not limited to in vitro fertilisation.
- a single pregnancy after 32 weeks
- a pregnancy with twins after 23 weeks
- neonatal care
Why are newborn’s not covered?
Even with our Pregnancy Add-on, emergency childbirth coverage includes the costs related to your birth and post-birth medical care. It won’t cover your newborn’s neonatal medical costs. The costs that come with looking after a newborn after an emergency birth can vary greatly. If we covered this risk, it would push medical cover premiums across the board. For your safety, and the safety on your baby, the overriding message is to avoid all chances of giving birth overseas.
Am I covered for fertility treatment?
Unfortunately not. Fertility treatment at any time, including any resulting pregnancy, is not covered by our emergency medical benefits, nor under our Pregnancy Add-on. For claims related to lost luggage, trip cancellations, and legal liability – not related to your treatment, you are eligible to claim
Am I covered for trip cancellations?
Yes – provided you are under 26 weeks or 19 weeks with twins, or 32 weeks and 23 weeks with twins under our Pregnancy Add-on. , you are eligible to claim for the costs of not being able to go on your trip. You’re also able to claim of you need to cancel a portion of your trip, your, or activity. So for example, if you discover you’re pregnant while on our trip, and are not able partake in pre-booked strenuous activities, you are eligible to claim for lost deposits or full payments.
What should I do if I’m pregnant and have a medical emergency overseas?
For medical emergencies overseas like broken limbs, a severe and sudden toothache or becoming seriously ill with pneumonia for instance – you’re covered whether on one of our regular policies, or under the Pregnancy Add-on.
When it comes to pregnancy-related medical emergencies, your ambulance or hospital bills are only covered by our Pregnancy Add-on.
In both cases, you’re first action should be to contact our trained customer care team. We’re available 24/7 by phone, and during business hours on live chat and email.
If I need to claim while on a holiday in Australia, what am I covered for?
The key thing about travel insurance and domestic travel, is that although we offer a domestic policy for trip cancellations, legal liability and so on, we can’t cover medical claims. That’s because in Australia, emergency medical care is covered by Medicare, and when possible, private health insurance.
As the Pregnancy Add-on is geared to assist with medical claims, it cannot be added to a Domestic policy.
Photo by Daria Shevtsova from Pexels
Solo female travel is on the up and showing no signs of slowing down. But where are the best – and safest destinations for women to go it alone?
Why do women love solo travel? There are many answers. Sometimes it’s about the practicalities of not having someone to travel with, or wanting an interference-free itinerary. At other times, it’s about breaking out of our comfort zone and creating space for growth. With an endless amount of benefits to go it alone, the only real question is, where to? We looked to 3 experienced female travel bloggers for the answer.
Discover the safest places for solo female travel according to our favourite travel bloggers The Blonde Abroad, Be My Travel Muse and Haley on Holiday.
Nomadic Matt with Kristin Addis
When our favourite guy traveller blogger needs a female perspective, he looks to Kristin Addis from Be My Travel Muse. In her post, 10 Awesome Destinations for Solo Female Travellers, Kristin curates a list that empowers women to discover more about themselves.
Traveling solo as woman is a unique opportunity to find out exactly who you are in completely new surroundings and without anyone around from your past to influence you.
– Kristin Addis, Be My Travel Muse
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Solo in Moab, Utah, USA
“I easily met people just by hanging around the free campsites, the coffee shops, and while watching the sunset over Dead Horse point during my solo American Southwest road trip.”
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Solo in Yubeng, China
“Yubeng is a remote village in the Chinese Himalayas that can only be reached by foot or mule.”
“In the big cities, scams often target young female tourists, but in the Himalayas, you’re more of an esteemed guest.”
See our travel advice on China travel in 2020.
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Solo in Maui, Hawaii, USA
“There are female-focused activities — like the Maui Surfer Girls camp, designed specifically for solo female travellers who are looking for a supportive group of women to take up a new sport with. It’s an experience that is both empowering and fun!”
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Solo in El Chaltén, Argentina
“With its constant catcalls, South America can sometimes feel stressful for solo female travellers, but this trekking town is different. It’s full of nature-loving artists and hippies who are welcoming, as well as hikes that are full enough of people that even if you show up solo, you can easily meet others on the trail.”
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Solo in Iceland
“Iceland is the safest country in the world. Seriously, people leave their cars running, with the keys inside, when they go grocery shopping.”
“Plus, the capital draws so many solo travellers on layovers from the US that it won’t be hard to meet someone cool at your hostel to split a car rental with for a day trip like the Golden Circle or even a longer journey like the Ring Road.”
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Solo in Ylläs, Finland
“The locals are so darn amiable that you’re sure to make a few friends, especially if you head to the female-owned-and-run Aurora Estate, where the owners can help you plan some awesome excursions snowmobiling and snowshoeing.”
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Solo in Big Sur, California, USA
“Camping in Big Sur is the perfect opportunity to meet others because campers are friendly. Chances are good you can make a pal at the very next camping spot, especially if you offer them a locally-brewed beer.”
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Solo in Nusa Island, Bali, Indonesia
“Most couples traveling in this area opt for Bali, so chances of you sitting awkwardly next to a loving couple on a stunning beach is much lesser on the Nusa Islands.”
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Solo in Sossusvlei, Namibia
“Namibia is adventurous and social without feeling dangerous. All of the backpackers and camping accommodations have pools and other common areas, which makes it easy to meet others if you’re solo.”
“You can also join a tour or safari and meet plenty of other solo travelers. It’s what I did, and I loved it!”
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Solo in Berlin, Germany
“Berlin draws many solo travelers, and it’s easy to meet others. It’s also a socially progressive city with a low violent crime rate that’s simple to navigate and easy to love.”
Find more of Kristin’s musings at Be My Travel Muse, Instagram and Facebook.
Haley on Holiday
To qualify as a good destination for independent female travel, Australian blogger Haley on Holiday lists four criteria. She has to feel safe and comfortable, Secondly, destinations need to offer good attractions that she can enjoy alone, and it needs to be easy to navigate via public transport. Finally, the language barrier can’t be too much of a struggle.
In her post, My 15 Favourite Solo Travel Destinations Around The World, Haley rounds up 15 of the best destinations she’s personally experienced as a female travelling alone. Here are 1o of our faves.
It’s widely known on this blog that I am an introvert. But solo travel has made me step out of my comfort zone on hundreds of occasions. For this I will be forever thankful, because stepping out from inside my bubble has allowed me to experience much more than I could have inside that zone of comfort.
– Haley Simpson, Haley on Holiday
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Solo in Dublin, Ireland
“I wouldn’t say Dublin is my favourite place in the world, but it’s a great city to visit alone. Although I only took one bus during my visit, there were different transport options available. I also felt very comfortable walking around the entire city early in the morning and at night.”
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Solo in Amsterdam, The Netherlands
“To be honest, travelling around Europe solo did make me nervous because of the language barrier.”
“Amsterdam was the best city I visited in Europe in terms of the minimal language barrier.”
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Solo in Las Vegas, USA
“Yes, Las Vegas would be a lot of fun with your favourite people, but I am here to tell you that you can still enjoy yourself in Vegas alone.”
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Solo in London, UK
“London is a fantastic place to visit solo, especially if it’s your first time travelling alone. The city’s public transport is fantastic – expensive, but extremely efficient. There’s also possibly too much to do in London. I have now spent about 10 days in the city and I still have SO many things left on my bucket list.”
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SoLo in Vancouver, Canada
“Firstly, public transport is fantastic. Secondly, there’s lots of things to do. Thirdly, there are plenty of accessible day trip options, like getting the bus to wonderful Whistler.”
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SoLo in Singapore
“Singapore is a great Asian destination for solo travel. The transport is excellent and the city is very safe. I felt totally comfortable visiting sights at night and walking back to my hostel from the train station.”
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SoLo in Tokyo, Japan
“Another place I was anxious about visiting solo was Tokyo.”
“But I loved it and I hope to return soon, now that I’m based in Australia again. I felt comfortable walking to my hostel at night and the Japanese people I interacted with were all very friendly. The public transport is also fairly easy to use, as there are thankfully signs in English everywhere, directing you where to go.”
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SoLo in Melbourne, Australia
“Finally, I have to give a shoutout to Melbourne, my current home. Because in Australia, Melbourne is hands down the best place to visit alone. There are plenty of transport options and too many things to do (like, my list is still long and I’ve lived here for nearly two years). Go to brunch, visit St Kilda, spend a day wandering around the city’s many laneways and go on a day trip. I promise you’ll love it.”
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SoLo in Paris, France
“Paris is synonymous with romantic escapes, but I’m here to tell you it’s a fantastic city for solo travel too. Although some French people won’t converse in English, I think you can get by just pointing at the delicious pastry you want.”
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SoLo in Edinburgh, scotland
“I loved its gorgeous brick buildings, free attractions and pub offerings. I also only walked around Edinburgh, because both the New and Old Towns were easily accessible from my hostel.”
“If you have time, I also recommend doing a day trip through the Scottish Highlands.”
Find more of Haley’s solo travel tips at Haley on Holiday, Instagram and Facebook.
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The Blonde Abroad
Splitting her home base between California and Cape Town, prolific traveller blogger Kiki has been just about everywhere, and is a huge advocate for independent female travel. In her post 10 Safest Destinations for Solo Female Travelers, Kiki rounds up the 10 destinations she loves for safety, ease of getting to, and the potential for meeting other like-minded travellers.
I’m a firm believer in the power of women traveling alone and on girlfriend getaways. Traveling alone or with other women can be empowering and so much fun! There’s nothing more fun than connecting with other female travelers and sharing experiences around the world.
– Kiki Rich, The Blonde Abroad
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sSoLo in Iceland
“Join a tour and snorkel or dive the Silfra Fissure and hike a glacier. And don’t miss a bath at the beautiful Blue Lagoon!”
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Solo in Switzerland
“Geneva was one of my favorite spots on my recent summer in Europe—with access to the lakeshore, the jet d’eau, Parc de la Grange, and more, it’s the perfect spot to be immersed in the Swiss culture.”
The Blonde Abroad, Lake Geneva Switzerland -
Solo in New Zealand
“Adventure awaits in the glaciers, beaches, and fjords of New Zealand.”
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Solo in Australia
“I explored The Outback and Uluru, rode the Ghan Train and hiked through Kata Tjuta and the Valley of the Winds.”
The Blonde Abroad, The Ghan South Australia -
Solo in Canada
“Canadians have a reputation for being the friendliest people in the world and, while traveling alone here, you’ll see why!”
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Solo in French Polynesia
“With diverse marine life, some of the world’s best diving, incredible natural beauty, and a heavy vanilla scent that follows you wherever you go, the islands of French Polynesia is a place that you’ve never seen the likes of before.”
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Solo in Ireland
“Cozy up in a local pub, catch a football game or head out to the countryside for an incredible Irish experience.”
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Solo in Namibia
“Namibia is the ultimate road trip destination and a fantastic destination year-round. Home to deserts and stunning coastlines, it’s one of my favorite Africa trips to date.”
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Solo in Amsterdam, The Netherlands
“Rent a bike and run into (not literally of course) some friendly and laid back Dutch locals.”
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Solo on a cruise
“While it’s not a specific destination, a cruise in any part of the world is a great travel experience for female travellers. Enjoy the convenience of an itinerary and secure accommodation.”
Check out Jane’s Cruise Add-on for specialised cruise travel insurance.
Discover more of Kiki’s travel tips at The Blonde Abroad, Instagram and Facebook.
Image by Artem Beliaikin from Pexels
Seventy-five years ago, in February 1945, during the Second World War, Allied forces bombed the magnificent baroque city of Dresden, Germany, destroying most of it and killing thousands of civilians.
In central Dresden, however, a bank vault holding two precious medieval manuscripts survived the resulting inferno unscathed. The manuscripts were the works of the prolific 12th-century composer, writer and visionary, St. Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), who had established a convent on the Rhine River, near Wiesbaden and 500 kilometres west of Dresden.
Hildegard, whose writings documented her religious visions, including a theology of the feminine and an ecological consciousness, and who practised medicinal herbology, was venerated locally as a saint for centuries. The Catholic Church only recently recognized her as one, and also designated her a Doctor of the Church.
After the Dresden bombings, the Soviet Army seized and inspected the surviving vault. The first bank official to enter the vault afterwards found it pillaged, with only one manuscript remaining. The bank could never confirm if the vault was emptied in an official capacity or if it was plundered.
The missing manuscript has not been seen in the West since. The other made its way back to its original home of Wiesbaden, on the other side of Germany, through the extraordinary efforts of two women.
This is the story of how those women conspired to return the manuscript home.
The librarian
In 1942, Gustav Struck, the director of the state library in Wiesbaden, became worried about local air raids. Following many European institutions, he decided that his library’s manuscripts needed to be sent elsewhere for safe keeping.
Two of the library’s most valuable possessions were manuscripts of Hildegard’s works. One was a beautifully illuminated copy of Scivias, a collection of 26 religious visions. The other manuscript, known as the Riesencodex, is the most complete compilation of her works, including the visionary writings, letters and the largest known collection of her music.
Why Struck chose to store the manuscripts in a bank vault in Dresden is still a mystery, but their journey there by train and streetcar mid-war is thoroughly documented.
The manuscripts sat in the bank vault for three years until the attack on Dresden.
After the war
Immediately after the war, the Americans sacked Struck in their denazification efforts. Librarian Franz Götting took over his job.
Götting inquired about the manuscripts as soon as mail service to Dresden resumed, and learned that the Scivias manuscript was missing, either seized or plundered, but that the bank still had the Riesencodex.
Götting asked repeatedly for the Riesencodex to be returned from Dresden to Wiesbaden. The difficulty was that Dresden was in the newly formed Soviet zone, while Wiesbaden was in the American zone. (The Allies had divided Germany into four occupation zones, and similarly divided Germany’s capital city, Berlin, into four sectors.) The Soviets had issued a decree stating that all property found in German territory occupied by the Red Army now belonged to them.
The plan
A scholar and medievalist in Berlin, however, came up with a scheme to retrieve the manuscript. Margarethe Kühn, a devout Catholic who expressed a great love for Hildegard, held a position as a researcher and editor with the Monumenta Germaniae Historica project. After the war she found herself living in the American sector of Berlin and working in the Soviet sector.
Kühn had stayed at the Hildegard Abbey for several days in March 1947 and had even explored joining the Abbey as a nun herself. She must have heard while she was there that the Riesencodex was being held in Dresden without any promise of return. She devised a plan to help.
Kühn asked Götting for permission to borrow the manuscript for study purposes. Götting asked the Soviet-run Ministry for Education, University and Science in Dresden on Kühn’s behalf. Much to the librarian’s surprise, ministry officials agreed to send the manuscript for Kühn to examine at the German Academy, a national research institute established in 1946 in Berlin by the Soviet administration.
Kühn was convinced that the bureaucrats in Dresden would not recognize the Riesencodex. She decided that when returning the manuscript, with help from the Wiesbaden librarian, Götting, she would send a substitute manuscript to Dresden, and the original to Wiesbaden.
The crossing
Kühn enacted the plan with the help of an American woman, Caroline Walsh.
How exactly Kühn and Walsh met is not known, but Caroline’s husband Robert Walsh was in the American air force and was stationed in Berlin as the director of intelligence for the European command from 1947-48.
In an interview in 1984, Robert explained that when he and Caroline were in Berlin she had “worked a great deal with the Germans and with the religious outfits over there, too.” Since the Walshes were also Catholic, it is likely that they and Kühn met through Catholic circles in the city.
Caroline’s position as the wife of a high-ranking military officer may have made it easier for her to travel across military occupation zones and sectors.
In any case, we know that Caroline travelled by train and car and delivered the manuscript in person to the Hildegard Abbey in Eibingen on March 11, 1948. The nuns notified Götting at the Wiesbaden library and returned the manuscript.
The swap
It took some time for Kühn to deliver it to the Ministry for Education, University and Science in Dresden, and two further months before anyone there opened the package in January 1950. By that time, Hildegard’s manuscript was safely in Wiesbaden. But officials spotted the deception and Kühn was in trouble.
An official in Dresden wrote to the German Academy in Berlin demanding to know why they had been sent a printed book rather than the Riesencodex manuscript.
Kühn’s boss, Fritz Rörig, who received the letter was furious with her. Rörig and Götting smoothed things over with Dresden by offering another manuscript in exchange. But Rörig told Kühn that the East German police were inquiring about her, the implication being that he had reported her.
One still missing
Although she remained deeply worried for some time afterwards, Kühn never lost her job at the Monumenta nor was she arrested, despite Rörig’s threats. For the rest of her life she maintained a rare cross-border existence, living on Soviet wages in the American sector while continuing at the same job until her death in 1986, at the age of 92.
As one of many scholars who regularly consults the Riesencodex, now available online, I am enormously grateful to Caroline Walsh, and particularly to Kühn who risked her livelihood for the sake of a book.
I am not alone, however, in hoping that during my lifetime someone, somewhere will find the pilfered Scivias manuscript and return it as well.
Jennifer Bain, Professor of Musicology and Music Theory, Dalhousie University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.