Adventurous Kate contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I will earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks!<\/em><\/small><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n If you\u2019re going to be in northern Europe in December, you need to be prepared for the darkness. <\/strong>Every day gets darker than the last, and by early December, you\u2019ll find yourself wondering just how bleak it can get.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s where the Christmas lights come in. And the markets. And everything becomes a little more bearable.<\/p>\n I know a lot of you have considered living outside the United States.<\/strong> Maybe it\u2019s something you\u2019d do \u201csomeday\u201d \u2014 and someday hasn\u2019t arrived yet. Maybe your job, your kids, or your pets kept you from thinking it was a possibility for you.<\/p>\n This month, my friend Richelle is opening up the Move Abroad Escape Plan Boot Camp<\/a>, a four-day event from January 25-28, where Richelle helps you figure out a specific plan to move abroad.<\/p>\n In four days, she helps you figure out what kind of lifestyle you want, how you\u2019ll make money, which country to focus on \u2014 and a DATE. And yes \u2014 even if you have kids. Even if you have pets, a partner, a condition that requires medication, a career you love. There\u2019s a plan that will work for you personally.<\/p>\n Richelle is very good at what she does, and she\u2019s helped quite a few people move overseas already, as you can see from her many testimonials<\/a>.<\/p>\n This four-day boot camp only costs $37 \u2014 which I think is outstanding value for money. You can learn more about it here.<\/a><\/p>\n I wore the same dress 30 days in a row!<\/strong> Seriously. I have discovered the brand Wool&<\/a> and their marvelous wool dresses, the softest things you can imagine. And because wool is a fabric that doesn\u2019t hold onto body odor, you can wear it tons of times without washing it.<\/p>\n (That doesn\u2019t mean I didn\u2019t wash it at all! I washed it twice \u2014 on day 11 and day 24.)<\/p>\n Wool& does 30-day dress challenges \u2014 if you wear the dress 30 days in a row and take a photo each day, you\u2019ll get $30 or 30 EUR. (They also have a 100-day challenge with a $100 reward.) But I was more in it for the fun than the money.<\/p>\n I chose the black Chloe dress<\/a>, a fitted dress with short sleeves and an above-knee hem, which is probably the easiest, most basic dress you can imagine \u2014 it\u2019s light enough to tuck into jeans, or you can throw a sweater or skirt on top of it.<\/p>\n So yes \u2014 I enjoyed my 30 days immensely! I enjoyed the \u201cuniform\u201d aspect of wearing the same dress every day, and I loved dressing it up with accessories. And if you don\u2019t like wearing dresses in the winter, having thick tights and good leggings makes such a big difference.<\/p>\n You\u2019re going to see me wearing a LOT of Wool&<\/a> in future posts. Once you wear good wool, you won\u2019t want to wear anything else. Stay tuned for more.<\/p>\n Clothes featured above:<\/p>\n A lovely Christmas markets trip.<\/strong> After spending last December in South America, this year I was eager for Europe\u2019s Christmas markets season. Charlie and I decided to do a long weekend road trip to several we hadn\u2019t visited yet.<\/p>\n We drove via Rothenburg to Heidelberg, where we spent the night; drove first to Strasbourg, then Colmar; and spent a day on the Navettes de No\u00ebl Christmas shuttle in Ribeauvill\u00e9, Riquewihr, and Kayserberg, before one more night in Colmar and driving back to Prague.<\/p>\n Overall, it was fun! The two major highlights were Heidelberg, which has such a great vibe, delicious food, and busy but not overly packed markets; and Ribeauvill\u00e9, an incredibly detailed medieval market in arguably the most beautiful town in France.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been writing a bit about this, but the Alsace region of France is so crowded during Christmas that I wouldn\u2019t advise visiting during the weekend AT ALL (except for Ribeauvill\u00e9, whose market only takes place on two December weekends). Basically, all of France\u2019s Christmas tourists get dumped into one tiny region and it\u2019s super, super busy.<\/p>\n But we had so much fun, ate a lot of good food, and enjoyed Christmas cheer in some beautiful places.<\/p>\n We also did a day trip to \u010cesk\u00e9 Bud\u011bjovice in South Bohemia, two hours from Prague by train.<\/strong> I\u2019m not big on Prague\u2019s Christmas markets, which are super commercialized, but \u010cesk\u00e9 Bud\u011bjovice has a really wonderful market with vendors who are actually local, an ice skating rink, a ferris wheel, and a beer hut.<\/p>\n And \u010cesk\u00e9 Bud\u011bjovice is my final new Czech destination of the year! I actually visited at least one new destination each month of 2024!<\/p>\n Christmas fun in Prague.<\/strong> We had a fun Christmasy day out going to a roller derby \u2014 my first ever \u2014 that was Santa vs. Grinch! Super fun! We topped it off with the Krampus parade in Prague.<\/p>\n Also, this year, we got a Christmas tree \u2014 which is a big deal, because I\u2019ve never had a Christmas tree in my adult life. It always seemed like there wasn\u2019t a point when we have to travel for every Christmas. And honestly, I kind of felt like I didn\u2019t deserve one \u2014 until this year. It was time.<\/p>\n We bought our first stockings and decor, our friend generously gave us some ornaments and lights, and it was so nice not only having decorations, but giving the kitties a special Christmas. Lewis was SO excited to get the toys out of his stocking!<\/p>\n Christmas in England.<\/strong> This year, Charlie and I celebrated with his family in London. It was great spending time with all of them, enjoying the over-the-top Christmas decor at my sisters-in-law\u2019s house, and eating the fantastic meal Charlie cooked.<\/p>\n New Year\u2019s at our place. <\/strong>We had friends over for New Year\u2019s Eve, we drank the wines we had bought on our trips over the course of the year, Charlie made beef Wellington, and of course our friend Klara brought her tiramisu.<\/p>\n We had a tough time illness-wise with our Murray Bear this month.<\/strong> Murray peed in a few places where he shouldn\u2019t have \u2014 and once we realized it was a pattern, we took him to the vet.<\/p>\n That started a waterfall of events \u2014 Murray peeing on the bed, multiple visits to the local laundromat because it\u2019s the only washing machine that can fit our duvet, Murray and his brother Lewis suddenly not eating (that might be due to several days of New Year\u2019s fireworks scaring them), Lewis recovering and Murray refusing to eat anything but Churu, Murray getting constipated, Murray and his brother violently attacking each other all afternoon long after a vet visit.<\/p>\n After some meds and a few changes at home, Murray is doing SO much better. He hasn\u2019t peed anywhere he shouldn\u2019t for weeks now. (I just knocked my wooden floor.) And he\u2019s been extra cuddly, snuggling up to me when I go to bed most nights.<\/p>\n My reel about the Ribeauvill\u00e9 Christmas market in France went crazy!<\/strong> And deservedly so. This truly is a special market unlike any other I\u2019ve ever visited.<\/p>\n You can watch the reel here<\/a> and follow me on Instagram at @adventurouskate<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Kate](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Kate-and-Charlie-and-Tarte-Flambee-1024x768.jpeg\"\/)
![\"Kate](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Kate-and-Charlie-and-Tarte-Flambee-1024x768.jpeg\")
\n<\/picture>Destinations Visited<\/h2>\n
\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Rothenburg-ob-der-Tauber-Germany-1024x768.jpeg\"\/)
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Rothenburg-ob-der-Tauber-Germany-1024x768.jpeg\")
\n<\/picture>Do You Want to Move Abroad in 2025?<\/h2>\n
![\"Four](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Dress-Challenge-2024-1024x576.jpg\"\/)
![\"Four](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Dress-Challenge-2024-1024x576.jpg\")
\n<\/picture>Highlights<\/h2>\n
\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Christmas-Carousel-Colmar-1024x768.jpeg\"\/)
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Christmas-Carousel-Colmar-1024x768.jpeg\")
\n<\/picture>![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Ceske-Budejovice-Ice-Skating-1024x760.jpg\"\/)
![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Ceske-Budejovice-Ice-Skating-1024x760.jpg\")
\n<\/picture>![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Lewis-and-Murray-and-the-Christmas-Tree-802x1024.jpeg\"\/)
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Lewis-and-Murray-and-the-Christmas-Tree-802x1024.jpeg\")
\n<\/picture>Challenges<\/h2>\n
![\"Heidelberg's](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Heidelberg-Christmas-Market-1024x768.jpeg\"\/)
![\"Heidelberg's](\"https:\/\/www.adventurouskate.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Heidelberg-Christmas-Market-1024x768.jpeg\")
\n<\/picture>Blog Posts of the Month<\/h2>\n\n
Most Popular Reel on Instagram<\/h2>\n