Welcome to CraigsCrusade
CraigsCrusade | Personal Blog
Hey guys, welcome to my personal blog!
It’s a site that I’ve created firstly for myself but also to inspire others to break out of their routines and embrace positive changes in their lives.
On the site you’ll find posts on my main interests in life which are; Fitness & Nutrition, Dating & Relationships, Self Development and Travel. You’ll also find posts from my daily life, which could be thought provoking, amusing or just plain random!
I hope you enjoy my site and I look forward to reading your comments!
-Craig 
Are you living YOUR life?
This video is taken from a dating coach’s YouTube channel, however it’s centered around a book called The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, by Bronnie Ware.
Watch it. It’s truly inspirational.
-Craig
Is technology making us anti-social?
Its 7am at the train station, you’re about to catch your commuter train to work and as you look around the platform what are the majority of people doing?
If you’re like me, you’ve probably noticed the majority of people these days are glued to their electronic devices like they are their ‘get out of jail free’ card in Monopoly.
It’s not just public transport either, literally everywhere you go these days; people are interacting through their devices and not face to face with other human beings.
Take the dating scene as a perfect example; over the past few years there has been a meteoric rise in the number of people that have taken to the internet in order to find a spouse, partner or a casual fling.
Apparently one in five relationships starts online in the UK, only third behind ‘meeting through acquaintances’ and ‘meeting in pubs/bars.’
This implies that unless alcohol is involved, people aren’t interacting with each other in the real world without the use of an intermediary such as their friends.
Now of course I’m speaking in generalisations here. There are people (me included) who enjoy meeting new people in a variety of environments that have and will continue to date people they’ve met out on the streets, in shopping centres or coffee shops.
The sad part is that there are people that view this as strange behaviour or something that they would not do. I mean, if that is the case then how did any of us get here today when Plenty of Fish or nightclubs didn’t exist?!
One thing for sure is that there was once a time when strangers would greet each other, stop for conversations and share pleasantries without being judged or labelled as strange. If you don’t see where I’m coming from just go and say hello to someone in London, especially on the tube…!
It’s about time we start to break down some of these social barriers that have been erected over the past decade before we end up like the people in the movie Idiocracy, which I highly recommend you watch as I honestly believe we are heading that way!
I really believe that if everyone had one genuine conversation with a stranger every day, the world would be a better place.
Social networking: Are we addicted?
Guys,
I wrote an article for Yuppee Magazine on our societies addiction to social networking and my experience of becoming Facebook dependent.
It’s got some good feedback, so check it out by clicking here!
-Craig
Time for an update
Okay,
I’ve been letting this site fester away in the background for the last six months or so whilst ‘searching’ for the passion I had when I first decided to set it up.
When I first set up the site, I did so for myself as a way to write about my travels and to get into the travel blogging scene. I’ve since realised that a lot of the posts I was writing were written for others and didn’t fully encapsulate my personality.
Going forward, posts will be a lot more personal, travel posts will be about the stuff I find cool when abroad, I’ll be writing about the goals on my bucket list and generally injecting a lot more of my personality into the site.
I’m contemplating a YouTube channel where I’ll vlog about some topics I’m passionate about including dating/relationships & self development.
Finally I’m hoping to get a lot more people interested in the things I’ll be writing about as I believe there’s a lot of people living unfulfilled lives out there through conforming to societal norms!
Anyway, that’s enough for now..stay tuned!
-Craig
A Weekend in Kaunas, Lithuania
Kaunas, once the capital of Lithuania (temporarily), is the second largest city in the country behind Vilnius (the capital).
Having previously travelled Europe quite extensively, I was keen to explore further east and the once described to me “wild west of Lithuania” was just a cheap flight from my local airport.
When I booked the trip at the end of summer 2012, I’ll admit I didn’t really know anything about Kaunas only that Lithuania was amongst the Baltic States, which are infamous for producing extremely attractive females. Ironically, I met a lovely Lithuanian girl in my hometown a few weeks after booking the trip, who eventually ended up coming with me.
My first impression of Kaunas, despite being particularly cold at that time of the year (November), was that it fitted the stereotypical communist landscape I’d pictured in my mind. On the drive into the centre from the airport there were lots of grey rundown buildings and old German cars driving around.
I was only in Kaunas for 3 nights so booked a nice hotel on Laisvės Alėja (Freedom Avenue), which is the central hub for anyone staying in Kaunas.
The first night was spent exploring the Old Town before being taken for some traditional Lithuanian food. I’ll admit, the ‘Cepelinai’ (potato dumplings filled with meat) didn’t float my boat, but I did enjoy a traditional Lithuanian beer served in a rather ornate mug.
The following day, I was taken out of Kaunas on a day trip to Trakai Castle, which I’d read about before I left. Trakai Castle is a castle built on an island and once had great strategic importance during the 14th Century.
Today, Trakai Castle is a museum that pulls in hundreds of thousands of visitors a year and is home to a large collection of antiques ranging from military weaponry to early coinage, 14th century art and the odd stuffed animal head!
Kaunas is a city worth visiting for those interested in military history. Having previously visited a number of iconic sites with military history, the next stop on my itinerary was the Ninth Fort.
The Nint
h Fort was a part of a number of fortresses set up to protect Kaunas towards the end of the 19th century and was originally used as the city prison. However, what drew me to visit this site was the darker side of the fortress.
During the Nazi occupation of Lithuania, the Ninth Fort was used as a place of mass execution and at least 10,000 Jews were murdered there!
The final day in Kaunas I spent taking photos and checked out the local shopping mall, which contains one of the largest indoor aquariums in Europe!
Kaunas is a place I’d recommend for anyone who has an interest in military history or is looking for a day trip on a larger tour of the Baltic States. There’s not a great deal to do there, however it would be a shame not to visit if you are in the vicinity.
Oh and if you do visit Kaunas, be sure to check out possibly the highlight of my trip, ‘Charlie Pizza’ which is a bizarre but amazingly tasty pizza restaurant complete with Charlie Chaplin inspired décor!
