As a child my parents always took us on adventurous holidays, from hiking in Austria and Norway, to a self-guided canoeing trip through the rural, remote and wilderness areas of Sweden. During my childhood years I got to see a fair bit of Europe.
My mum is a Kiwi, so I grew up with stories about her homeland New Zealand. Ever since I was young, I have always been intrigued about the Land of the Long White Cloud. So when I was given the opportunity to do my graduation assignment in Christchurch, New Zealand, I grabbed that chance with both hands and made it my first overseas travel experience in 2010. I lived and worked in New Zealand for 6 months and got to see quite a bit of that beautiful country.
During these 6 months I caught the ‘travel bug’. I felt the urge to travel the world and explore new places, but not alone this time, but with my boyfriend Remy. We got to see some beautiful places in the years that followed, and made more and more travels each year.
It was the Summer of 2012 when we were planning our five week New Zealand and Australia trip for early 2013, when we got the crazy idea to get married in New Zealand during that trip. That crazy idea turned into plans, and while travelling through New Zealand, in between sightseeing the North Island, we got married at one of the most beautiful beaches of the Coromandel.
From seeing the Northern Lights in Tromsø to celebrating New Year’s Eve in Dubai and Berlin, from snorkeling both the Great Barrier Reef and the Ningaloo Reef to doing the Cage of Death in Darwin, from the Big Buddha in Hong Kong to the Table Mountain in Cape Town, and from the most beautiful nature and spotting orca’s in Western Canada to the city that never sleeps New York, we have been very lucky these past few years, but still have a never ending bucketlist to go through.
I joined team Traveltomtom in July 2018. The international focus of Traveltomtom is what got me excited. By joining Traveltomtom my articles with our experiences and tips would reach a large and international audience. I get really enthusiastic about travelling and with over 8 years of travel experience I think I can help other travelers by answering questions they may have and create their dream trip.
Curious to what destinations and travels we have lined up for the year ahead? Keep following our travels through this website or via my own Instagram Travelashie.
Feel free to contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have any questions!
Find below Ashley's latest articles for Traveltomtom
Teufel Noise Cancelling Headphone | Review
Noise cancelling headphones are a must have essential when you travel. Not all noise cancelling headphones are equally good especially for traveling. The Traveltomtom team is always looking for the best ones to make traveling for us and for you more comfortable and more enjoyable.
Just recently we were introduced to a tech company that was unknown to us at the time: Teufel. Have you ever heard of Teufel?
Who is Teufel?
So, who is Teufel then? The company Teufel was founded in 1979 in Berlin as a retailer for loudspeaker parts. The basic idea of offering the market a technical alternative with high-quality hi-fi loudspeakers in the form of pre-assembled components was immediately very successful. With the slogan ‘Teufel – rather build better loudspeakers yourself’, the models were among the most successful on the Berlin Market. And that as a do-it-yourself-kit! Over the following years the loudspeaker kits and components were sold thousands of times. Caught by the success, Teufel now also decides to sell ready-made speakers as a specialist retailer. This also turned out to be a huge success.
Later Teufel completely changed the sales system by saying goodbye to specialist trade-oriented sales and selling exclusively directly to the end customer. This resulted in products being sold up to 66% cheaper than in the specialist trade.
Teufel is at the forefront and continues to develop in the fields of wireless, gaming, sound and overall experience. They listen to their customers. This ensures a reliable customer base and a good relationship.
When we visited Berlin earlier this year, our hotel happened to be located right next to the Teufel flagship store in Berlin. I just had their noise cancelling headphone in use and was super excited to see their store in Berlin. Of course I had to visit the store and check out what else they have to offer.
Unboxing
Unboxing these headphones is so much fun already. The Real Blue NC headphones comes in a really nice and super handy Real Blue Case. It also includes a USB-C charging cable, Real Blue NC ear cushions and an audio cable including inline control. Especially the case is a winner for me. It’s an essential when you travel and want to store your headphones safely.
Real Blue NC
The Real Blue NC is an over ear noise cancelling headphone. It’s Teufel’s showpiece and surely a high-end model. It offers great active noise canceling, modern Bluetooth, long battery life and best-in-class sound. A headphone that sounds good anywhere.
Long lasting battery
The battery is truly impressive. It has a playing time of over 55 hours without Active Noise Cancelling and over 41 hours with Active Noise Cancelling. The Real Blue NC intelligently controls its power consumption.
ShareMe feature
The ShareMe feature lets you share the music you’re listening to with another pair of compatible Teufel headphones. Also ideal for netflixing together.
Active Noise Cancelling
This headphone has digital, hybrid active noise cancelling for highly efficient noise reduction. The new Active Noise Cancelling technology that is packed into the Real Blue NC gives you the ability to take breaks from the outside world. It’s ideal in the train, plane, at the office or when the neighbours are doing odd jobs. From now on you can relax anytime, anywhere.
Teufel Real Blue NC Review
I wanted something different this time and chose the blue color and I loved it. The Teufel Real Blue NC is a real piece of technology. Wearing comfort is very important to me, especially when you use the headphones for a longer time, on a long-haul flight for example. It’s a light, stable headphone with large, soft, ventilated and replaceable ear cushions. Very suitable for long listening sessions.
Over the past few weeks I have used the headphones extensively. We have multiple noise cancelling headphones we use for our travels. I think this Teufel is now one of my favorites. It’s comfortable, the noise cancelling is really good and the battery life just doesn’t disappoint.
This blog was written by travel writer and Traveltomtom team member Ashley. She received Teufel Real Blue NC headphone to test extensively and to write this review.
Hotel Haarhuis | 5 Star Luxury Hotel in Arnhem
The Netherlands is just a small country and it doesn’t have many 5 star hotels. So, when they open a brand new renovated 5 star hotel and you get invited to come and check it out, then that’s a straight yes!
Traveltomtom team member Ashley got to experience first hand this luxury hotel in Arnhem and wrote this review of Hotel Haarhuis.
Read more ...The North Face McMurdo 2 Parka | Review
The destination was set: Lapland. But that immediately led to the next question. What are we going to wear? When it comes to cold winter destinations, warm clothing is super important. Getting the right travel gear is an essential if you embark on an Arctic adventure.
A jacket is fundamental in staying warm in cold conditions. Picking the right one can be a challenge but is crucial at the same time.
Read more ...Trying out Revolution Race | Outdoor Travel Gear
Good and decent outdoor clothing is a standard part of our travels, wherever we go. Especially when it comes to extreme outdoor destinations, such as our trip to Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland, having the best possible travel clothing is really important.
Revolution Race stands for high quality outdoor clothing at affordable prices. They make a difference in the outdoor industry with their colorful, stylish and affordable outdoor clothing with the perfect fit. And we got to try it out.
Read more ...Fjällräven Nuuk Parka | Review
In the Winter of 2020 we had our first collaboration with Fjällräven. Back then they provided us with a full Fjällräven winter clothing set to review. It was our introduction to the Fjällräven brand. We really liked their products and quality.
When we started planning our most recent trip to Lapland, we knew we needed only the best possible gear. Knowing that the temperature in Lapland can drop well below 0, only the best of the best would suffice. With our previous Fjällräven experiences, there was only one way to go for me.
Read more ...LOWA Renegade EVO ICE GTX (Ws) Review
For a bucket list trip to Rovaniemi in Lapland we wanted to take the best possible gear with us. Decent and warm clothing and shoes are key when visiting extremely cold places like Lapland.
We both had pretty decent hiking boots. But we instantly knew that these weren’t going to be good enough for a trip to the Arctic.
Read more ...Sleeping at Rolduc Hotel a Medieval Abbey in Kerkrade
Sometimes you don’t have to travel half way across the world to discover some unique hidden gems. In this case we only had to travel 5 minutes from home for a super special accommodation. I knew the medieval Abbey of Rolduc from back in the day when we used to run the annual Abbey Cross running event here with our primary school. But after that I actually hadn’t visited this corner of the Netherlands for years, even though it’s only a 5 minute drive away.
We travel to every corner of our world for Traveltomtom, but now it was about time to explore our own backyard for a change and that is how we ended up staying in the Abbey of Rolduc.
Read more ...Winter & Summer Guide for Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi
Rovaniemi is one of the most magical places in the world. Main reason for this, Rovaniemi is the official home of Santa Claus. When you visit this place in Winter, with lots of snow and freezing temperatures, it actually feels like you’re visiting the North Pole.
We consider ourselves very, very lucky, because we got to visit Santa Claus in Rovaniemi twice already. After visiting Santa Claus Village two times now, one time in summer and one time in winter, it became one of my favorite places ever visited. And definitely the most magical place.
Read more ...Travel Guide for Visiting Rovaniemi in Winter
Welcome to the ultimate Lapland destination in Winter: Rovaniemi! It has been on top of our bucket list for at least 5 years to visit Lapland in winter. It’s a magical and dreamy destination that we simply wanted to discover ourselves. Little did we expect that we would actually visit Rovaniemi in Summer first. That Summer trip to Lapland however, made us fall in love with this place and was the decisive moment we started to make serious work of traveling to Rovaniemi in Winter.
Read more ...Sleep in an Ice Hotel | Arctic SnowHotel & Glass Igloos
Some things are on everyone’s travel bucket list. The Arctic SnowHotel and Glass Igloos are two of these examples. I think every traveler dreams about staying at places like these. And so did we! Dreaming about traveling to Lapland, the Snow Hotel and these Glass Igloos have always been on top of our wish list.
So, I simply can’t wait to tell you all about this amazing place in Lapland, just keep reading.
Read more ...
