Faces of Osh Bazaar

By |March 27th, 2015|Asia, Central Asia, Journeys, Kyrgyzstan|

I'm reluctant to bazaars, first because I find shopping in general stressful and secondly, because being in crowds drives me to the brink of insanity. In Kyrgyzstan, thirdly, police has found an additional source of income, by searching tourists, more precisely, their purses. But where, if not at a marketplace, you can experience a country's [...]

Winter Hiking in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains

By |February 15th, 2015|Europe, Germany, Journeys, Outdoor, Rock, Winter Sports|

"To hell and back" was our hiking weekend's motto. "Wild Hell" is the name of a hiking trail that ended with a heavenly view. Although I've already heard of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, I have to admit, it would not have occurred to me to go hiking there. Unfortunately, I am one of those people [...]

Skitour at Bullhead Mountain

By |January 28th, 2015|Europe, Germany, Journeys, Outdoor, Winter Sports|

In addition to alpine skiing and cross country another winter sports discipline ist getting more and more popular at the Northern Bavarian Fichtelgebirge mountain range: ski touring. For three years, the summit restaurant Asenturm has been a regular meeting point on Wednesday evenings. […]

The Pants for Every Purpose

By |December 8th, 2014|Gear, Journeys|

I've been wearing them almost  every day for ten months straight, no matter if I was horse trekking in Mongolia, on a glacier expedition in Kyrgyzstan or on a desert tour in Uzbekistan. My Fjällräven Barents G-1000 never let me down. Before the trip, I bought it  in a shop for hunting gear and I [...]

Working on a Mountain Farm

By |November 23rd, 2014|adventure, Europe, Journeys, Outdoor, Switzerland|

Fresh air, mountains, green meadows, and above all, honest physical work – this is how you imagine a summer job in the Alps. But when the joints ache, breaks no longer suffice to recover and the neglected brain screams for new tasks, this is when you wake up. […]

First Man vs Augmented Reality

By |October 26th, 2014|Journeys, Philosophy|

Ironically, there are African Bushmen standing in the exhibition hall of the Munich Media Days. I do not know why they selected this project, along all the social media and TV themes. Perhaps the scenes of the Kalahari desert are supposed to remind us of an old reality, that soon will become augmented. […]

Road Trip in Karakalpakstan

By |September 5th, 2014|adventure, Central Asia, Featured, Journeys, Off Road, Outdoor, Uzbekistan|

"Where the f** is Karakalpakstan?" I wonder when I hear about it the first time. It doesn't have anything to do with Pakistan, the country. Wikipedia explains: "Karakalpakstan is an autonomous republic at the northwestern end of Uzbekistan. It has an area of 160,000 square kilometres (62,000 sq mi)  and a population of about 1.7 Million. The [...]

“Feel the Dolomites”

By |July 31st, 2014|Europe, Italy, Journeys, Outdoor, Rock|

... was the motto of the climbing festival MOVE which I got invited to by the Val Gardena Tourism Organization last weekend. For me right now, the Dolomites feel like sore muscles, the result of an adventurous presstour with via ferrata as well asalpine rock climbing and hiking tours. http://youtu.be/Utnu01okJT4 As contrast to the packed [...]

Blog Care for Beginners

By |July 15th, 2014|Journeys, Philosophy|

Just going on vacation is not enough these days. No, the world needs to know that Aunt Inge stepped on a sea urchin on the island of Tenerife  or, where you can buy the cheapest vodka in Novosibirsk. Travel blogs are very much in trend - who still hasn't an internet diary, is considering getting [...]

The Shoggi Job

By |June 20th, 2014|Europe, Journeys, Philosophy, Switzerland|

"YOU got the shoggi job," says my boss when we're talking at lunch about the general trend towards summer jobs in the mountains. With shoggi the Swiss mean chocolate, in this context my boss means that I got really lucky with my job. I pretend to not understand and ask if this has something to [...]