Well guys, I didn’t win. But it sure was uplifting to know that I was named one of just five finalists for the German National Tourism Office’s #joingermantradition travel blogger photo contest (though I have no idea how many were entered – safe to say, it was at least 6). Actually, a quick search of the contest hashtag on Instagram reveals that there are 2,190 posts, so that seems like as good an estimate as any!

The funny thing is, I had no idea until I was notified of the following tweet:

Entry #3 comes from the USA – thank you @Brianwbeard (http://t.co/esRc36PFVb)! #JoinGermanTradition #gntb #itbberlin pic.twitter.com/u4QBkWDqXL

— GNTB Live (@gntblive) March 4, 2015

At that point, they were just an hour from announcing the winner, which was an exciting hour for me, to be sure. But ultimately, the German National Tourism Office decided to go with a food theme, and I can’t blame them. Food does as much as anything to get tourists to come, and this contest’s winner will collaborate with GNTO this year on at least one project. Here’s the winning photo:

Congratulations to Sustainment https://t.co/41ZYGt8H2t for that wonderful #JoinGermanTradition shot! #gntb #itbberlin pic.twitter.com/DnaLpqMrs9

— GNTB Live (@gntblive) March 4, 2015

While I didn’t win, it’s still exciting to be recognized!