Our mission. Our values. Our team.

Catharine von Witzendorff

Travel Designer

Growing up at the Schaalsee in Northern Germany, nature and sustainability have always played a big role in Catharine's life. Catharine studied international hotel management, is passionate about travelling to the remoteness of central Sweden and is now supporting The Niche Traveller as a travel designer.

Annika Herting

Community Growth & Brand Ambassador

Annika’s passion is travel, connecting with people and delving into foreign cultures. She studied Tourism Management and has worked in marketing for luxury cruise lines, as well as in international event planning. Her brilliant people skills help our community grow faster and our brand shine brighter.

Mirjana & Philipp Bernstorf

Travel scouts

Berlin-born Mirjana is a journalist and social media manager for a variety of brands. Philipp works as a creative director and as a photographer. Together, they love travelling with their baby son and are always on the lookout for hot new restaurants and authentic spots to share with The Niche Traveller clients.

Josephine Bartels

Content Team & Travel Scout

Josephine grew up on the wind-swept shores of the North Sea and may be the only person on the planet who loves nothing more than glaciers, ice and pouring rain during a summer holiday. Josephine is a journalism graduate and is the Online Editor for The Niche Traveller.

Alexandra Cohal

Travel Scout and Romania Expert

Transylvania-born Alexandra now lives in Austria with her husband and two boys. She is passionate about sustainable tourism and is always on the lookout for new family destinations that combine nature, tranquility and authenticity – and loves nothing more than writing about her discoveries for The Niche Traveller.

Daniel Bognár

Creative director

Daniel loves design – you’ll usually find him art directing for a variety of glossy print publications. For The Niche Traveller, he’s gone back to his roots, applying his skills to creating our logo as well as our digital design. He also loves travelling, of course, and is always heading off to new off-the-chart destinations.

Alexandra Philipson

Travel Scout

Alexandra is a travel and lifestyle journalist and broadcaster based in Mallorca. She is also a judge on a cooking show on German primetime TV. Her most frequent trips are with her young family, writing for The Niche Traveller and numerous publications on family-friendly destinations.

Özlem Özsoy

Travel scout and photographer

Özlem works as a freelance photographer and picture editor for numerous magazines, specialising in travel and portrait photography. She admits to being addicted to travel and loves sharing her experiences with our clients, often taking her French bulldog, Gizmo, on the road with her – although he can be quite demanding.

Tatjana Seel

Travel scout and Lake Starnberg expert

Tatiana has been travelling the world as a journalist since 1996. She was editor-in-chief of the interiors magazine Deco Home, and now writes for The Niche Traveller and numerous publications. When not travelling, you’ll find her hiking in the mountains and swimming in Lake Starnberg with her family.

Friederica Stöber

Online marketing team

Friederica has always travelled, having grown up in the USA, Switzerland and Germany. She now lives in Hamburg and specialises in online marketing, but is as passionate as ever about exploring new places and discovering different cultures – and has a serious weakness for local food.

Estelle Marandon

Travel scout

Estelle lives in Paris, where she gets to discover new and enchanting places as a travel and lifestyle journalist for a wide variety of international publications. She has three young children, which means there's really nothing she doesn't know about the challenges – and joys – of travelling as a family.

Mareile Braun

Travel scout and Crete expert

Mareile spent a good chunk of her journalistic career travelling to remote corners of the world, and now writes for The Niche Traveller as well as being the Editor-in-chief of sustainable lifestyle magazine, SLOW. She has two daughters, and her first yoga retreat is launching in autumn in her beloved second home, Pitsidia, Crete.

Ulrike Barcatta

Travel Scout

Ulrike grew up in South Tyrol, and now divides her time between Tuscany, South Tyrol and Munich. She studied in Austria, Germany and Italy and went on to work in wine and art PR and marketing in Italy, followed by a stint as communications manager in a five-star hotel in Munich. She is currently a hospitality PR consultant and runs a large network spanning Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Northern Italy. She loves travelling with her three-year-old daughter, Philomena.

Heleen Schlottau

Travel Scout

Heleen grew up in Paris, where she studied languages and international management, and is now based in Hamburg with her half-Greek husband and two kids. Passionate about travelling off the beaten track, innovative and sustainable lifestyles and good food, she is currently on a one-year-trip through Europe in a camper van and is keen on sharing her latest discoveries.

Laura Bonito & Frederico Baptista

Travel Scout

Laura grew up in Melides in Portugal and Frederico is a born and bred Madeiran. They share a passion for travel and discovering new cultures, and have lived in Italy, France and the UK. Both love looking for authentic retreats, less-travelled paths and eco-friendly destinations. They are currently living in Madeira and loving rediscovering every corner of this beautiful island.

Elizabeth Heath

Travel Scout

Elizabeth Heath is a writer and editor based in central Italy, from where she writes about travel in Italy, Switzerland, the rest of Europe, and points farther. Whenever possible she brings her family along for the ride, including her husband and daughter, who's seen more places in her nine years than Liz saw in her first three decades. Liz is a fan of thermal spas, slow food, sustainable travel, and luxury hotel suites.

Juliane Clüsener-Godt

Travel Scout

Juliane is probably the most French German you will get to meet. She grew up in a bilingual household in Paris and lived in Germany and Spain before returning to France. She is currently starting her career in the luxury sector in Paris, where each day leads her to new discoveries in the realms of travel, art, design and gastronomy.

Anne Haladin

Travel Scout

Anne grew up on a small Danish island and in Hamburg. She loves travelling between luxury and adventure. Her favourite destinations: Asia and South America. Since her son Bruno has been born, her priorities have slightly changed. For example, she now knows pretty much all the playgrounds in Paris. When she is not travelling, the former journalist works for her corporate publishing business Haladin & Weber.