Every Monday night, I sit in my shed in Maffra, Australia, and have a chat with my friend who’s in his apartment in Munich, Germany – 16,268 kilometers away.
An old friend of mine, Anders Jensen from Munich, reached out and asked me if I would be interested in starting a podcast with him. I jumped at the chance because it had always been something I was interested in. We record these conversations as a podcast, but that’s almost become secondary to the experience.
How travel created the connection for this podcast
I first met Anders online sometime around 2016. He was in the family travel sphere along with his wife Alex and son Anton. We first touched base on Twitter, and then when we visited Germany in 2017 and 2019, we met up with Anders in Munich, Germany. We did some sightseeing, visited Christmas markets, and had dinner at his place.
Anders hails from Denmark. They only recently finished a family gap year of travelling around the world before settling in Munich. Anders has a long history with podcasts and does a science-based podcast in his native Danish language, which is very popular.
After chatting about this podcast for four or five weeks, we settled on the name Southern Summers and Northern Winters Podcast. The southern represents me here in Australia, and the northern represents Anders in Europe. Since we both have family travel histories, we thought this would be a great way to go. In reality, the podcast touches on family travel and travel in the broader space.
Every Monday evening, we record the podcasts. I am in the office in our shed and Anders is in his apartment in Munich. On the first podcast, we joked that there could not be too many places further apart than Munich and Maffra. In context, Maffra and Munich are 16,268 kilometers apart, and only in today’s age with the technology available can it seem like we are sitting in the same room.
So far, we have recorded 2 podcasts with the plan of recording every week when we are both available. I have found our session chatting has become more than just recording a podcast; I have found them to be really enjoyable on a personal level. A lot of men suffer from not having a lot of social interactions, and I fall into that category.
No scripts are required for this podcast
Don’t get me wrong, I am not lonely, depressed, or any such thing, but just being able to chat about something you love such as travel has been a revelation to me. I look forward to our chats on Monday night and where they lead.
We do not have a set script. Instead, we have a loose topic and go from there with where the conversation leads. It is just 2 guys sitting around talking about something they both enjoy. If we were not separated by such distances, I could imagine us sitting around having a BBQ and a few beers discussing the same things. I have quickly realized the enjoyment I get from this regular social connection with my friend!
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The enjoyment I get from this tempers any expectations that we will make money from or that anyone is even listening. It’s refreshing to do something in the content creation field that you really enjoy where the care factor for it to succeed does not exist. Our blogging journey is something totally different and has always been focused on making a living out of it so we can become digital nomads.
In reality, yes, it would be nice for people to recognise Southern Summers and Northern Winters, and it would be nice if it developed a following and brought in some advertising dollars. However, what’s most important to me is that I am enjoying the journey with another like-minded soul who I can call my friend. Sometimes the best projects aren’t the ones that make the money, but the ones that make my life better in unexpected ways. Thank you, Anders.
Find the podcast at
- Apple Music >> https://shorturl.at/M43Yg
- Spotify >> https://shorturl.at/C2N2X
Who are we?
