Real Scandinavia is produced by Annika S. Hipple, a freelance writer and editor specializing in travel, environmental issues, and international development. Annika grew up bilingual and bicultural, calling both the United States and Sweden home. Although she currently lives in Seattle, Washington, she returns to Scandinavia frequently.
Annika’s work has been published in a wide range of print and online publications, including Earth Island Journal, The Christian Science Monitor, Trip Magazine, and Away.com. She is the news editor for Ethical Traveler, a grassroots alliance uniting adventurers, tourists, travel agencies, and outfitters — everyone who loves to travel and sees travel as a positive force in the world. Ethical Traveler feels that all travelers are, in effect, freelance ambassador who have the ability to join their voices and use their economic power to strengthen human rights and environmental protection.
In addition to journalism, Annika works with travel, hospitality, and recreation companies; nongovernmental organizations and agencies working on environmental and social issues; and sustainable and socially responsible businesses. She helps clients communicate more effectively by creating high-quality marketing and informational content, including websites, blogs, newsletters, brochures, annual reports, and other materials.
For more about Annika, visit her website. Annika also recently relaunched her other blog, Crossing Time Zones: Where Travel and Global Issues Meet, which features travel narratives from around the world, articles about sustainability, responsible travel, cultural exchange, voluntourism, and related topics; and profiles of people and organizations that are making a difference through their work on issues such as conservation, climate change, community development, global health, international understanding, cultural heritage preservation, and human rights.