Get to know the world - and yourself along the way!
To experience Carnival in Brazil, I preferred to choose a more relaxed place than the strongholds of Rio, Salvador or Recife: Olinda. At first glance, the small colonial town seemed very peaceful to me. Already upon arrival however, at my Couchsurfing accommodation, this impression was …
For eleven months, I had traveled – mostly overland – once across the Asian continent. The biggest culture shock awaited me at the transition to Europe. But Istanbul proved to be a perfect seam for me. As I walked across the Galata Bridge from the …
At first glance, many of them seem cold, grumpy and unapproachable: the so-called cholitas, recognizable by their man’s hat, thin black braids and a broadly lined skirt. But anyone who has done any research knows full well that these women are in many ways the …
The higher you wander into Indonesia’s hills, the more ornate the rice terraces become. On my way to the top of Kelimutu volcano on the island of Flores, I spotted a particularly interesting terraced cultivation in which only a single rice paddy glowed in a …
After visiting some of the genocide memorials in Kigali, I often wondered during my subsequent trip through Rwanda what thoughts were going through the minds of local people on this subject. Did it still matter among younger Rwandans whether someone was Hutu or Tutsi? Officially, …
Every year, the bridge builders of Kampong Cham start from scratch: They build a bamboo structure across the Mekong River that connects the city with Koh Pen Island. During my stay, when the elaborate construction was already half-completed, a local resident told me trucks would …
Lured by a little leftover lunch or something interesting to snack on, the coatis of Panama and Costa Rica can suddenly come very close to you, with their dachshund snout and their long tail stretched vertically into the air. In the town of David, at …
All morning I had hiked alone through Los Alerces National Park and had not encountered a single person there. Then, as I ate my empanadas at noon at Lago Menéndez, I felt an intense loneliness. In my melancholy mood, I gazed boldly at the majestic …