Oh, what a proud mama I am! Today is the day my little Kata Writes blog graduates from an infant to a toddler 😍! Just one short year ago, I started my blogging journey, and in these past twelve months, my little blog baby has gone from cute to petulant, made some moderate-sized waves (in the kiddie pool, that is), won a few battles with HTML, lost a few others, and changed its country of residence from Belgium to Mexico! What a year!
Now, to celebrate my one-year-old Kata Writes, I would like to present my TOP 5 most read posts of the past twelve months (starting from the fifth)! I also talk a little bit about the writing process of these blog posts, the inspiration behind them, and how they were received by you the readers. Regrettably, not all my personal favorites made it to the list (a few of them did, however), but I'm happy that several different topics are represented in this TOP 5.
So, now, without further ado, let's get to it. I hope you enjoy 😊!
5. Lazy Tourist
Lazy Tourist is a blog post I wrote last summer that recounts the story of that one time I went to Bonn, Germany, miraculously managed to avoid all the major to-do's there, took a picture of the wrong Beethoven statue (a.k.a not-a-Beethoven statue), and ate and ate and ate until I could eat no more. It's also the post where I make my big confession: I'm a despicably lazy tourist who'd rather lie on the beach and do nothing than have my itinerary full of various dynamic activities (yes, I'm that person).
To be honest, I expected outraged crowds from left and right to be reaching for their proverbial and not-so-proverbial stones after this shameful confession, but lo and behold, turns out I'm not quite the rare little butterfly I thought I was. Surprisingly many people have come to me after the publication of this post and expressed that they, too, are lazy tourists 😲. Oh, it's always nice to know you're not alone in this world 💖!
So, if you'd like to learn more about my lazy tourist tendencies, you can read my blog post here.
4. Random Things to Know about Liège, Belgium
This blog post was inspired by one sad (but true) story about the city where I was residing at the time - Liège, Belgium. The story goes something like this:
Once upon a time, not so long ago, a young bright-eyed and bushy-tailed girl went to a tourist information center in Liège to ask about the best things to do in the city:
Her: So, what is a girl to do in this charming little town?
Person Who Worked There: You could go dancing at a night club.
Her: Err...well, I'm not much of a party girl, really.
Person Who Worked There: Oh. Well, then I'm out of ideas.
THE END.
Knowing this was not an urban legend (it happened to a friend #NoI'mNotThatFriend #HonestlyI'mNot), the bleakness of this horrific tale haunted me for so long that, eventually, I set out to prove this tourist information center assistant wrong and wrote a blog post about random facts to know about Liège. And I'm glad I did because it turns out there's plenty to do in Liège! Like... ummm... well... I mean... for example...err... well, there's... ummm...
Just kidding.
Have you ever visited a town where you can attend a fake-burial of a bone (literally, no innuendo here), try some dangerously innocent-looking peket shots, attend festivals left and right, have to use an accent to order churros, and actually acknowledge the existence of strangers by saying 'hello' to them 😲 (true story)? Well, I, for one, hadn't before moving to Liège, and I loved writing this post because reflecting on the fun things about my then-city made me appreciate it in a new way. And there's certainly a lot to appreciate!
3. The Anatomy of A Cheek Kiss - The Subjective and Incomplete Guide to Kissing Air
Despite its name (which is quite a mouthful, I know), this post was an unexpected hit! Out of all my posts, I think this is the one I've gotten the most feedback on, as a lot of people have been eager to share their own experiences with the subject matter.
As the title suggests, this blog post sheds some light on different aspects of the feared and revered practice of cheek kissing - How many? Which side? What is the most optimal technique? Things to avoid? - you know, all of the things that a non-native cheek-kisser living in a cheek-kissing country has undoubtedly had to ponder on once or twice. In this post, I also share my personal biggest cheek-kissing mishap - a memory that still today (many years later) occasionally sends me looking for a suitable rock to crawl under and stay forevermore.
It should be stated, however, that even though aspects of this post could be seen as informative, this is, as the titles states, a subjective and incomplete guide, so taking any of its suggestions as gospel might prove a bad idea!
2. The Art of Taco Diapering (a.k.a How to Annoy a Mexican Fiancé)
I love all my blog babies, but I have to admit that this one is my personal favorite! I originally wrote it from the safe haven of my then-home in Belgium, naively thinking I could mess with the Mexican national treasure - the tacos - and suggest some tweaks to the taco-eating practice without ever having to face the wrath of Mexicans for the simple fact that geographically speaking it was very unlikely. But then, as it happens, karma got me, and we actually ended up moving to Mexico (oops) where I'm now suffering the consequences of this post as everyone who's read it is watching my taco-diapering like a hawk. Now, if you're interested to know what this post is all about, you can read it here, but please be aware that this amazing (and, in my opinion, the best ever) taco-eating technique does not get the Mexican stamp of approval 😜!
1. The Chocolate Showdown
This post is important to me for various reasons, and not least because it was my very first blog post ever (posted exactly one year ago)! Being the first might also explain why it's my most read post (in fact, it has double the views compared to my fifth place runner-up Lazy Tourist), but as it's also my most shared post, I feel that I must have done something right with this one!
The Chocolate Showdown is basically about my attempt to prove that Finnish chocolate is better than Belgian chocolate (yep, I just went there), by using the most cutting-edge scientific method (chocolate tasting!) and the help of a varied bunch of test subjects (36 people of 16 different nationalities).
So. Was my hypothesis right? Is Finnish chocolate actually superior to Belgian chocolate? Hm, well, obviously I can't tell you that - you'll have to read the post to find out 😏!
Closing words
That's all, folks!
If you've been with me from the get-go, thank you for sticking around! And if you are new to this blog, welcome! Lots more fun blog posts are in the works (and lots more remain to be written), so stay tuned!
So, until next time, friends! And now, once more, cheers to the one-year-old Kata Writes 🎉🎉🎉!!
