Shanghai: Where our love story began! Our first place that we called 'home' together. Despite being on very different paths whilst in Shanghai, against all of the odds we met and quickly became inseparable. It's true what they say, 'When you know, you know!' and that was certainly the case for us! We've mused many times that we are 'two peas in a pod'-we share the same interests, passions, hopes and dreams and above all we make each other laugh! We loved our time in Shanghai. It is a crazy city full of quirks and we made the most of all the opportunities afforded to us whilst there: We met some wonderful people who will be life long friends, explored the lesser known countryside, took part in different runs and challenges and fully embraced the expat lifestyle. When we left we said it was 'Until next time', rather than, 'Goodbye'.
Running is a shared passion and something we have been able to enjoy no matter where we are in the world. From our first run together along the Bund in Shanghai, we have run in trail races in China (Nocturnes is the race pictured) run along beaches in Thailand and Florida, through tropical downpours in Singapore and snow in the Czech Republic-to name just a few! Our aim for 2020 was to compete in a race a month-this has proved to be challenging given the current situation, but undeterred we have completed races virtually. We are most excited about the London Marathon which we will now be taking part in, in October later this year!
Everyone who knows Martin knows he is mad about all things nautical. The position of 'First Mate' has now been officially filled, with Lisa a sailor in training! Sailing around the Thai islands was the first of many planned sailing adventures. Who knows, we may end up going on the round the world sailing adventure that Martin has always dreamed of...
There is nothing better than being by or in the ocean; a sentiment we both agree on. Lisa loves to be on a board whether on the snow or on the waves. We have been lucky enough to surf in both the Philippines and in Thailand. We are looking forward to exploring more of the Baltic coast this summer as well as other European surf spots. Watch this space....with boards being researched weekly we will have Martin entering the World Surf League in no time!
So we may disagree on the best way to get down a mountain (skis or snowboard) but we certainly agree on the components of any great ski trip...as many kilometers as possible and wonderful food and drink along the way. We have shown dedication to the mountains this season driving over 10 hours to ski in France, Czech Republic and Austria!
Our current home! We moved to Hamburg in October after Martin was offered a promotion that he couldn't turn down. Although not an easy decision, with dream jobs being left behind in Shanghai, we knew it was the right thing to do. We have very much made Hamburg our home now and are enjoying exploring the delights of Northern Europe. Hamburg will forever hold a special place in our hearts as it was the stage for Martin's great 'Engagement Scavenger Hunt'. It is also lovely to be closer to home, so we can see family and friends more often.
We are both believers in travel expanding the mind and being good for the soul. We are the crazy couple who are mega excited to be getting up at 3am to head to the airport....to us an exciting evening is an evening on Skyscanner trying every eventuality to find a bargain adventure flight! We really made the most of our time in SE Asia and were able to travel to Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore to name a few. Since arriving in Hamburg we made it our mission to do the same here and have road tripped to the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Austria, Czech Republic and France...not bad for 6 months! Wherever we are in the world, we know that travel will always be a big part of our lives.
