Burning the midnight oil – my TBEX Copenhagen diary – video

I recently attended the Travel Blog Exchange or TBEX conference in Copenhagen, where I was also thrilled to be one of the speakers – a first for me after nearly 3 years of blogging. I had such fun, meeting  fellow bloggers, soaking up the laid back Scandinavian vibe of Copenhagen and being treated to many amazing entertainments and excursions laid on by Wonderful Copenhagen and the other sponsors . Here’s my diary of the 3 days I was there……

I arrive in Copenhagen early afternoon on Thursday, passing through Schiphol airport and a quick tour of the Rejksmuseum exhibition of old masters.  I’m feeling a little apprehensive about my first time presenting at this kind of event – talking about how to use images effectively on your blog in partnership with Bart from Spotted by locals who is covering  Branding in the same session.

On arriving at the airport it takes me a good 15 minutes in front of the ticket machine trying the work out the different permutations of tickets – price depending on the time of day as well as how many zones you are covering. Finally I jump on the train and after 20 minutes reach the stop only 5 minutes away from Avenue hotel, the charming boutique hotel where I’m staying. First impressions are of a busy main road outside but inside the hotel is warm and welcoming and my room is spacious.

After a quick review and some last minute tweaks to my presentation for the next day I head downstairs ready for the first event of the day, a champagne reception at Georg Jensen that is mainly for TBEX speakers. I unexpectedly bump into Kim Mance one of the TBEX organisers as well as Robert Reid from Lonely Planet who are also staying at Avenue Hotel, so we share a taxi together.  The lovely Anne Mitte, all blond Scandinavian good looks, gives us the tour of the silvermaker’s workshops where the larger statement pieces of silverware are being made. We hear about the history and heritage of the company and end up with drinks in the showroom  where we meet the CEO who tells us of his plans to reinvent Georg Jensen as the leading luxury Scandinavian brand.

Georg Jensen silver workshop, Copenhagen

Georg Jensen silver workshop, Copenhagen

As I once worked in the fashion business I love every minute of our tour but wonder what the other travel bloggers will make of it. Unfortunately the company doesn’t offer such tours to the general public, so while it was a special experience I wonder how to work the story into the blog, and later that evening have the brainwave of writing a post about the Georg Jensen grape ring that all the ladies present were so admiring.

Andrew Evans and Johnny Jet

Lola Akinmade, Marian Goldberg, Karan Bryan

We move on the the speaker’s dinner sponsored by Vail Resorts at the Dining Room on the 26^th floor of the Radisson Blu Scandanavia . The dinner is delicious and the view over the night lights of Copenhagen even more stunning and I note the couples dining beside the window with envy and make a mental note to come back for a romantic dinner with my husband. The networking has started as I make friends with my fellow speakers, talking video with Tim from MyDenmarkTV sitting next to me  and start working out how I can wangle a trip from the Vail girls that includes my snowboarding mad teenage kids but also has something a bit more relaxing for me, as a girl who spent 3 months in the French ski resort of Meribel but more of it clubbing than on the slopes.

Next it’s on to Toldboden a newly opened waterfront warehouse of a club where we follow the flaming lights into the huge bar area. I have a moment of extreme panic when I realise that I’ve left my phone in the taxi but luckily by ringing it it’s found and the sweetest taxi driver returns it to me. Now I can concentrate on the demo going on with Gromit Eudardson who’s apparently a star bartender and maker of the Copenhagen cocktail made with Cherry Heering liqueur. I try to video a bit of the cocktail demonstration, but when I taste the Copenhagen cocktail it’s so eyewateringly strong that I have to park it and leave it behind – I guess it’s back to the orange juice then. The Nordic style canapés are by another renowned Danish chef called Jesper Julian Moller who owns Toldboden but after the dinner I’m feeling too full to appreciate them. So it’s back by taxi to Avenue hotel where I stay up chatting with the other bloggers and then do some internet work. When I next look at  my watch and realise it’s 1am Eek!

Friday morning and I arrive at the Wallman’s Cirkus venue where the croissants and coffee are being served in the foyer of this turn of the century building where you can come every night for dinner and cabaret show. I don’t have much time to chat as I’m busy setting up the projector and laptop for my joint workshop with Bart from Spotted with Locals on branding and images – being a bit of a planner I hate to leave anything to chance but everything is working fine. I’m impressed that they managed to rope in Brian Mikkelsen, the Minister of Economics and Business affairs to give us a welcome speech – can’t imagine that happening in London. Next we  laugh at the in-jokes in the comic skit that Kim Mance has put together with Robert , Paul and Johnny and in which Hamlet (Prince of Denmark, Get it?) muses about how to make his writing more creative while Rosencrantz exhorts him to write more top 10 lists to improve his traffic and Orphelia is just the girl with the blog who loves to travel and share her experiences. It all ends with the all powerful Mr Google, beating Rosencrantz around the head for his intolerable his Black Hat SEO techniques. Take a look at the TBEX SEO skit on video here.

Presentations at TBEX, Copenhagen at Wallmans Cirkus

Karen Bryan at TBEX

Karen Bryan follows up with a thoughtful talk on keeping it real and building up your blog gradually rather than hoping it will make a living overnight – guess I won’t give up the day job just yet then. You can read Karen’s presentation here. Next we’re into the workshop that I’m presenting together with Bart and I’m relieved that it all goes well, we have a good size crowd of receptive bloggers and we both manage to deliver our presentations and answer some questions in the allotted time. If you want to know what I covered, you can get the PDF version on how to use images effectively on your blog here.

Over a  baguette lunch we have entertainment from circus performers  Karin whose muscular arms are the giveaway as she climbs up the rope above the stage and Jocke who’s a cross between clown and stand up comic while climbing a ladder and juggling with a range of axe and knives while spinning a plate on his head. You can see the video below.

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After lunch I take one of the behind the scene tours to see all the sparkly costumes with Karen the wardrobe mistress and do a quick video interview with her – see the video below. Abi King from Inside The travel lab is also facinated  and you can see her article and video on How sparkly bras save lives here.

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After lunch I catch a bit of the session in which the PR folk are jointly scratching their heads on how best to work with bloggers. It’s pretty clear that it’s a concept that’s new to many of them and although they’re keen many are not quite sure where to start, and it doesn’t help that their clients are still living in a time when print media was king and still talking circulation figures.

After tea and carrot cake with more networking thrown in I take the tour of the Meyer Vinegar Brewery and Bakery owned by top chef Claus Meyer that seems to be situated on an industrial park on the edge of town. I was hoping to meet the man himself who someone has told me is the Danish equivalent of Jamie Oliver but instead we get a bakery talk on how to make great Danish bread and then move onto the vinegar bit where the overpowering vinegar smell is rather offputting. We find out about the different kinds of speciality vinegar being made there and get to smell some unusual ones like blackcurrent and rosepetal vinegar as well as a syrupy aged balsamic.

Although the chefs giving the tour are passionate about their products I’m finding it hard to get excited about sourdough, but the biggest talking point of the evening comes when we realise that our coach has left us and we’re unexpectedly going to have to take the public bus back. Shock horror, a group of travel bloggers having to take public transport – but luckily David from Monmondo takes charge and waves down the next bus for us and we all feel safe again. Later, I’m at another speaker’s dinner, this time at an Italian fish restaurant called Acquamarina where we’re served a succession of miniature tasting dishes on gorgeous swirly plates from Murano in Venice. It’s all lovely but by the time the meal has ended people are literally falling asleep around me and I get back to Avenue Hotel at 1am for another far too late night.

Acquamarina restaurant, Copenhagen

Acquamarina restaurant, Copenhagen

It’s Saturday and after the coffee and croissants this morning it’s an inspirational and slick presentation from Thorvold Stigsen, CEO and founder of TBEX sponsor Momondo in which he points out how Apple managed to sell us the ideal that buying an overpriced computer was somehow cool and rebellious and would set us apart from the crowd just like Ghandi, Einstein and Martin Luther King. Our workshop sessions continue as we were due to review the assignments we had given out, but as everyone had obviously been too busy networking or partying to do any homework we just use it as a Q & A session. After Lunch Lola Akinmade of Matador network gives us the A to Z of how to pitch article for editors with plenty of tips for aspiring travel writers. Next I attend the session with Maren on marketing yourself which turns into more of a twitter discussion making me realise I really must ditch that out of the ark Nokia and get that I-phone I’ve been promising myself for ages. Later I find out that everyone else is raving about Andrew Evan’s presentation on storytelling and kick myself for missing it.

To end the evening we head by coach to Green Square, the most amazing series of warehouses stuffed full of antiques for a cocktail reception hosted by Løgismose company owned by the leading Danish Gronlykke family who own a number of top restaurants in Copenhagen. The setting is stunning although I barely know where to put down my glass for fear of spoiling some priceless polished antique as we tour through the warehouse to 3 different reception areas where various canapes have been laid out. There are oysters and lingonberries from the Kong Hans restaurant, salmon delicacies from the Falsled Kro country hotel outside Copenhagen and chocolates from Summerbird. I spend most of the time doing short interviews with the other bloggers to record their thoughts on TBEX but just manage to try one or two of the delicious canapés. You can see my video interviews from TBEX here.

Once back in the centre we group up for dinner and I head out with Abi (Inside the Travel Lab), Monique (Traveling Mom), Belladana (BelladanadailyLA), Dylan (The Travelling Editor) and Maren (Marenated) to a Japenese restaurant for Terayaki – my steak cooked on the grill in front of us is amazing but the Americans especially are noticing the high Danish prices, compared to what they’d pay back home. Back to Avenue and determined to have an early night to get rid of the dark rings under my eyes but make the mistake of lingering just a little longer in the cosy Avenue bar soaking up the  laid back atmosphere, when Kim and Robert arrive. We sit gossiping inside stories about Rick Steves and other not to be repeated travel tit-bits. I can’t believe that once again it’s 1am before I get to bed and don’t even dare log on for fear of being even later.

Next morning it’s all over and after the delicious Avenue breakfast I’m off to catch a mid-morning plane back to Bristol – my carry-on luggage bulging with the Snuggie I won from Vail Resorts, which turns out to be a great hit with my kids. I pass time at the airport by stopping in at the Georg Jensen shop,  trying on all the different jewellery ranges, as worn by everyone from the Danish royal family to Lady Gaga before it’s back to Bristol and reality again.

Compare prices and book hotels in Copenhagen through Hotels Combined.

Read my other articles on TBEX Copenhagen

TBEX Copenhagen – what were the highlights for you? – Video

What the TBEX girls want for Christmas – A Georg Jensen grape ring

SEO for travel bloggers – the Hamlet skit from TBEX Copenhagen – Video

Read what the other bloggers said about TBEX Copenhagen

I Eat my Pigeon: TBEX Europe ’10 Top Ten Lists

MyDenmarkTV: EPISODE # 76 – INSIDERS LOOK INTO TBEX

Nomadic Chick: TBEX – Romantic Backdrops and the Cirkus

Zurika: TBEX Copenhagen: travel that must be blogged

Inside the Travel Lab: Hygge – Copenhagen’s Secret

Inside the Travel Lab: How Sparkly Bras Save Lives

Spotted by Locals:  Enjoyed TBEX Copenhagen Travel Bloggers meeting!

Sophiesworld: TBEX in Wonderful Copenhagen – very international!

Caandaceroserardon: how travel bloggers spend their saturday night.

Momondo: TBEX Europe – The Movie

Kim Mance : TBEX Europe in Copenhagen

Tripbase: 6 Reasons Why I Love Copenhagen

Europe A La Carte: Copenhagen Canal Cruise: A Photo & Video Tour

The Spain Scoop: TBEX – Travel Writer’s Conference, Copenhagen

48 Hour Adventure: 48 hours in Copenhagen

Expat in Germany: Top 10 experiences in Denmark

Learn more from the workshops at TBEX Copenhagen

Karen Bryan from Europe a la Carte on Keeping it real

Lola Akinmade from Matador on the A to Z of pitching outlets

Heather Cowper on How to use images effectively on your blog (PDF)

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey

Don’t miss out – subscribe to Heather on her travels

Culture and adventure staying in the Paradores of Spain

This Guest post showcases the Paradores of Spain; historic palaces, castles and monasteries now converted into hotels steeped in history and culture. Many are set in scenic locations where you can also enjoy activities such as walking, hiking and biking combining adventure in stunning scenery with a luxurious retreat to return at the end of each day.

Spanish Paradores are perfect stop-offs for adventure travellers across Spain, located in key areas of tourism close to historic towns, stunning coastlines and areas of outstanding natural beauty. Paradores not only guarantee exciting explorations nearby, but are historical adventures in themselves. Whether your holiday is based on hiking through mountainous areas to biking through beautiful wine growing valleys, planning your trip around some of these properties will be culturally enriching and often luxurious places to relax at the end of an active day in any Spanish region.

Paradores in the Basque Country

This beautiful area of Northern Spain is rich with history and culture and offers impressively lush natural landscapes. There are very peaceful, pretty villages to explore which provide a taste of this provincial area of Spain as well as wonderful unspoilt conservation areas. You can hike or bike across the Gorbea Mountain range and there are excellent guided ‘green’ tours and excursions on offer. The Parador de Argómaniz is a wonderful place to stay whilst visiting the Basque country and is located in an impressive Renaissance palace that has been converted into a lovely luxury hotel celebrating the history and culture of this region.

Paradors in Granada and Andalusia

Andalusia is a drier, olive-tree rich province with both Christian and Moorish influences, very different to the Basque region. Granada has its famous cathedral and a number of beautiful old churches, and is also the location of the amazing Alhambra, which has been described as one of the 10 wonders of the world. The Alhambra is an impressive royal palace, once the fortified home of powerful Arabic Sultans and is one of Spain’s most visited historic buildings.

Granada is in the shadows of the great Sierra Nevada Mountains and is centrally located in Andalusia, the treasure of Southern Spain. The other cities and coastline are within easy reach, with plenty of water sports, winter sports, biking and hiking. There are miles and miles of beautiful scenery to explore, and to experience the wonders of these two amazing provinces then a stay at the Parador de Granada is highly recommended.

This beautiful hotel is located right in the grounds of the Alhambra in an old former monastery.

Paradors in Galicia

Galicia is a becoming a more popular destination for active tourists as it is a green and lush province with a great sense of traditional Spanish culture. The temperate climate and stunning natural landscapes are ideal for exploring on foot or by bicycle and there are impressive mountainous regions that provide more energetic trails.

Galicia also has a lovely coastline with plenty of good beaches. You can explore Galicia from the comfort of the Parador de Santiago de Compostela, which is a fine hotel located in a historic royal inn once a famous resting place for weary pilgrims. The Camino de Santiago, or Way of St James, is a pilgrimage walk finishing in Santiago de Compostela.

What better way to soak up centuries of history – perhaps even looking forward to staying in the sumptuous Parador after the strenuous trek.

My thanks for this guest post to Escapio.com where you can find a handpicked range of boutique and small luxury hotels with style and charm.

Useful unformation

Parador de Argomiz – a romantic hotel in a Basque Renaissance palace

Parador de Granada – Granada in essence – staying in the Alhambra

Visit the Alhambra Palace

Parador se Santiago de Compostela – history and pure luxury in Santiago de Compostela

Visit Santiago de Compostela

Disclosure: If you decide to book any of the Paradores through the links on this blog, I will receive a small commission.

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey

Don’t miss out – subscribe to Heather on her travels

TBEX Copenhagen – what were the highlights for you?- video

So, we’re all back from the 3 day whirl that was TBEX Copenhagen and the articles are starting to flow from the many bloggers who attended. From what I’ve read so far, most other bloggers shared my impression of a really enjoyable event in Wonderful Copenhagen set in the unique venue of Wallmans Cirkus, with plenty of social events in stylish locations to enable us to network and meet up with friends we’ve followed (or maybe stalked!) through Twitter, Facebook and our blog comments.

The closing event of the conference was held at Green Square – think of a wonderful antiques shop filled with covetable objects and multiply by several warehouses – I hardly knew where to put my champagne glass for fear of spoiling the polished surface of some gorgeous armoire! We were treated to champagne and canapés showcasing the finest of Danish cuisine hosted by Løgismose who run fine restaurants and hotels, with Oysters and Cranberries from their Kong Hans restaurant, salmon delicacies from the Falsled Kro country hotel outside Copenhagen and chocolates from Summerbird. Unfortunately while my fellow bloggers were happily drinking and tasting all this delicious fare, I barely got a mouthful, as (just for your benefit) I was busy recording the impressions of my fellow bloggers on the events for the video below.

If you cannot see the embedded video above, you can view it here
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I asked all the bloggers to answer two questions;

1. What were you hoping to get out of TBEX?
2. What were the highlights for you?

Most bloggers came with a primary aim of meeting up with fellow bloggers, networking and generally learning some new tricks and tips that they could use on their blog. As to the highlights, they were many and varied and a reflection of the variety of options in  workshops and Copenhagen experiences that had been organised for us. The highlights that were mentioned most often were;

• Meeting and networking with other bloggers that we’d made friends with in the virtual world but now had a chance to chat to and hang out with and feel part of the travel bloggers’ community.
• The general quality of the workshops and speakers was praised but Andrew Evans and his storytelling and narrative writing session was raved about by so many that I’m kicking myself that I didn’t attend it, and those who took part in the video making workshop also really seemed to enjoy the experience.
• The SEO skit on the Hamlet theme was also enjoyed by us all and learning more about SEO and traffic generation was a general goal for those who wanted to take their blogs to the next level.
• Having the chance to meet PR representatives and find out how to work with them in the future to get more travel opportunities
• Everyone seemed to love Copenhagen, the Wallman’s Cirkus event space (not to mention the sparkly bras in the costume department) and the social events that were laid on for plenty of networking time.
• Last but not least, thanks to Johnny Jet for saying that meeting me was a highlight (I’ll fall for any amount of flattery)

It wasn’t all perfect and the perennial problem of poor  wifi in the venue did crop up, and I might mention the coach that dropped us off on one of the trips but then disappeared, leaving us standing on an industrial estate in the dark wondering when the public bus might come (luckily Copenhagen local, David from Momondo took charge and guided us safely back to the centre). But the grumbles did seem to be relatively few and I personally felt the registration fee was incredible value considering the venue, trips, evening receptions and everything else that was laid on with the support of Wonderful Copenhagen and the other sponsors.

So, I’ll definitely be looking forward to  next year’s TBEX Europe in another new city to explore and enjoy. If you were at TBEX Copenhagen, do add your highlights (and anything that wasn’t so great) in the comments – and see you all next year.

Compare prices and book hotels in Copenhagen through Hotels Combined.

Many thanks to the bloggers I interviewed;

Lola Akinmade of Matador Goods @LolaAkinmade
John E Discala of JohnnyJet.com @JohnnyJet
Robert Reid of Lonely Planet @reidontravel
Karen Bryan of Europe a la Carte @KarenBryan
Amie O’Shaughnessy of Ciao Bambino! @Ciaobambino
Abigail King of Inside the Travel Lab @abigailking
Matt Preston of Travel with a mate @travelwithamate
Carol Margolis of Smart Women Travelers @smartwomentrav
Andrew Evans of NationalGeographic @WheresAndrew
“Liv” of I Eat my Pigeon @ieatmypigeon
Bart Van Poll of Spotted by Locals @spottedbylocals
Nancy Todd of The Spain Scoop @TheSpainScoop
Jeannie Mark of Nomadic Chick @nomadicchick
Dylan Lowe of The Travelling Editor @TravelingEditor
Kim Mance of Galavanting.tv @KimMance

Shout out to the Sponsors

Part of what made TBEX so enjoyable were the great venues, tours and social events, made possible by the sponsors, so all our thanks to;

Momondo
Finnair
Wonderful Copenhagen
MyDenmarkTV.com
Vail Resorts
VisitFaroeIslands
Copenhagen Island
Avenue Hotel Copenhagen
Raddisson Blu
Nimb Hotel
MatadorU
Eurocheapo

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com – Read more travel articles at Travel Blog Home

You’ll also find our sister blog with tips on how to build a successful travel blog at My Blogging Journey

Don’t miss out – subscribe to Heather on her travels

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