A New Blog Title: Hello Monkeys, Mountains and Maultaschen

Bye Bye Expat in Germany:  Hello Monkeys, Mountains and Maultaschen.  When I first started Expat in Germany 18 months ago, it reflected where I was in my life.  I had just moved to Germany to be with my German fiancé, who became my husband last summer.  I was writing about the daily trials and adventures of adjusting to life in Germany.  Over time as I have become accustomed to living in Germany, the blog has evolved along with me and I find myself more often writing about travel experiences in not only Germany, but Europe and occasionally beyond.  I especially take pleasure in writing about outdoor and off-beat experiences that show travelers how they can replicate the same experiences, that are often not found in guide books.  Furthermore, the title Expat in Germany was understandingly misleading people to think the blog only applied to expats, or was only about Germany, which is not the case.   It was based on numerous types of these discussions that I decided to change the name.

So why “Monkeys, Mountains and Maultaschen“? you may be asking.  Simply because I wanted a blog title that was unique, but still personal to me and one that would evolve with me no matter where I was in the world.  And if it makes you smile, so much the better!

MONKEYS – I LOVE monkeys and even hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Primatology (the study of primates).  I’ve studied howler monkeys in Belize, conducted observational studies on captive gorillas, taught primate enrichment programs at a zoo,  and in February 2012 will be volunteering at a chimpanzee sanctuary in Spain.  Unfortunately for my husband, my love of primates has made its way into our house decor.  I have several large primate paintings/portraits in our house.

MOUNTAINS – Regular readers to the former Expat in Germany will know how much I love being outdoors and in the mountains.  I grew up near the Rocky Mountains in Canada.  Now I am fortunate to live in Munich which which is just a short drive to the Alps and where I can be found more weekends than not.  Mountains are where I go to play, to unwind, to celebrate and to challenge myself.

MAULTASCHEN – Maultaschen is a regional dish (Schwäbisch) from the SW part of Germany where I lived for my first year in Germany.  It’s often described as “Schwäbisch ravioli” It’s a tasty dish, but what I love about it is how it was reportedly invented – by sneaky monksin Maulbronn who were trying to sneak in forbidden meat! I love the idea of sneaky monks and Maulbronn still remains my favorite town in Germany.

So while Monkeys, Mountains and Maultaschen is very personal to me, I know the name change won’t be without it’s challenges, including re-branding the site, having to set up a new Facebook page, manually changing hundreds of links and I’m sure 100 other things I haven’t thought of yet.  Expat in Germany had a loyal readership, page rank of 3, hundreds of incoming links, and regular advertisers, none of which I want to lose. Frankly I’m petrified.  Blood, sweat and tears have gone into Expat in Germany to make it what is is today.  I’ve heard more than one blogger comment that they would like to change their blog name, but are too afraid of the repercussions.  I’ll be writing a future post on how it all went, so stay tuned…

I will be creating redirects and am working to ensure minimal disruption, most of all to my loyal readers.  Please note that I  have changed the following accounts:

Twitter:  Laurel_Robbins (@Laurel_Robbins)  (previously @ExpatGermany) (if you’re already following me this just impacts new tweets)
Facebook Page:  Monkeys Mountains and Maultaschen (This one hits hard, if you have more than 100 fans, FB doesn’t allow you to change the name for the page, so I had to create a new fan page from scratch.
Instagram:  MonkeysMountainsMaultaschen (previously ExpatGermany)

If you have any tips on making the transition smoother, please share them with me below, or if you notice any pages that are not redirecting, please contact me at:  info {at} monkeysandmountains.com

P.S. The new url is coming, but is not synchronized with this post due to technical delays.