A Family Travel Journal
Stories from the trips we've taken, and the places still on the list.
A Family Travel Journal
Every pin here is a place one of us has actually stood, not just read about.
worth wandering to
38 countries, 7 continents, see the full map →
The latest story
What actually happens once you get to Antarctica, and what we wish someone had told us before we booked it. Our full trip summary, start to finish.
Read the story →
Family Travel
What our kids actually remember a year later, and it's rarely the thing we planned hardest for.
Destination
Our full ring road guide, with the stops worth the detour and the ones you can skip.
Family Travel
Horses, campfires, and a week where nobody asked to see a phone.
About
We're Jennifer and Brian Schwan.
Most of what's on this site started as a note typed into a phone somewhere between a hotel checkout and a flight delay. We write it up properly once we're home, kids asleep, still slightly jet lagged.
This isn't a highlight reel. If a day went sideways, that's usually the part worth reading.
Jennifer is also the founder of Schwan Travel Co.→, a travel advisory for safari, polar and expedition travel. Schwanderlust isn't the sales pitch version of any of that. It's just what we actually thought once we were there.
Jen & Brian