I am staring at my opponent, focusing on every tiny move he makes and trying not to move myself. He looks straight at me with his perfectly round eyes and the bright orange iris. ‘Don’t blink or you will miss it’, I tell myself. I forget about the sun that was shining a bit too …
We stand in front of the entrance to the caves and click our little lights for a last time. On, off. “You know, with all the German campers around us this morning this feels like an episode of Dark and we should not go into these caves.” I haven’t watched Dark, so I don’t get …
Read more “Dark Caves with life [North Island, Waipu, 23.01.2020]”
We sit in a coffee shop. I have just read the introduction of David Sedaris‘ „Theft by Finding“. A fly crawls up and down my forearm. My flat white with oat milk rests on the table in front. The barista has a painted picture of himself as an icon with a latte art halo behind …
Read more “When the days were slow [North Island, 22.01.-28.01.2020]”
The one thing we had actually booked and planned ahead of stepping onto New Zealand’s ground was an overnight kayaking trip in Doubtful Sounds. Doubtful Sounds being the “little, less disturbed by tourists sister” of Milford Sound. Partly – or mostly? – because you can’t reach it as easy as Milford. You need to take …
Read more “Sandflies and Bird Talk [Overnight in Doubtful Sounds, 17.-18.01.2020]”
by guest blogger, Bridget How does this story begin? I guess, like many good novels, with a little research. I was trying to prepare myself for our month long trip to New Zealand, which I was excited for, but also a bit anxious. I was anxious because everyone who’s visited New Zealand spoke about how …
„I’m quoting The Lord of the Rings all day today.“ Bridget looks at me absolutely serious. We are on our way to Mount Sunday, a rather unknown hill on the south island. If you tell someone, that name definitely rings no bells. It would probably not even have a name if it didn’t play an …
„Why did we pick this as our first hike?“ Bridget asks, catching her breath after a long uphill section. I frown while trying to slow my heartbeat. „Because it was the first on our route?“ We are somewhere in the middle of the 1.100 meters in altitude we have to tackle today – uphill and …
Read more “First hike, hard hike [Avalanche Peak, 03.-05.01.2020]”
When the canyon lands in Utah showed up in front of me for the first time I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Knowing these pictures from movies is one thing. But being part of it. It felt so unreal driving in a world like no other and I had a hard time to keep on …
Read more “1.554 miles Roadtrip Los Angeles to Omaha [US trip part 3: 07.-09. September 2018]”
Wait, haven’t I been here before? Yes, it’s undeniable. I like to see places again. It seems if I like a place I have to return at least once more and not too long after to preserve the image and feeling. So San Francisco and LA were again on the list for a short Hello …
Read more “Goodbye to the West Coast [US trip part2: 28.08.-06.09.2018]”
I will never forget the first moment I stepped into New York. I had a couple of ideas what I wanted to do first when I would arrive in Manhattan. And I recalled these plans while I was on the train from my Airbnb in New Jersey where I had arrived after the long flight …