Back in March, I’ve been skiing/snowboarding in Livigno for the first time. I had heard good things about it in the past, but there are just so many other ski-resorts closer to where I live. I wasn’t disappointed. They have two small ski areas, that are not linked together. But there is a lot of …
Category Archives: Travel
Apa Kabar, Lombok? [en]
When I visited Indonesia back in 2003, I spent most of my time on the island of Lombok. On my latest trip, I saved Lombok for the last three weeks. I sorta knew what to expect there, so travel planning was less of a hassle, as compared to Sumbawa or Flores/Komodo. The phrase “Apa kabar?” …
Komodo & Flores – Last Chance To See? [en]
It’s been a while since I’ve read Douglas Adams’ (et. al.) Last Chance to See, but I remember that it had Komodo Dragons in it. The German edition prominently features a Komodo Dragon on its cover, while the English editions feature the diverse animals that are discussed in the book in a more balanced manner. …
Continue reading “Komodo & Flores – Last Chance To See? [en]“
Back to Wallacea: Sumbawa [en]
After my Singapore stopover, I headed straight to the Indonesian island of Sumbawa. Sumbawa lies between Lombok in the west and Flores in the east. Its location can be classified in many different ways. Amongst others, Sumbawa is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Lesser Sunda Islands, the province of Nusa Tenggara Barat …
Singapore Stopover – No Smoking, No Durians! [en]
I hate air travel. I just cannot afford it. Nobody can. But many of us are doing it anyway. At least those who can afford it financially. Sadly, this includes myself occasionally. For damage control, I’ve self-imposed a flight reduction policy, which I’ve been trying to follow in recent years: In theory, my ongoing Indonesia …
Continue reading “Singapore Stopover – No Smoking, No Durians! [en]“
Bali Picdump [en]
I’m currently on a trip to Indonesia. I’ve spent the first month on Bali, mostly surfing. But I’ve also had a chance to do some other tourist activities. So, let’s dump some pictures here, with just a little textual context… Uluwatu Uluwatu (on the Bukit peninsula in Bali’s south) has some of the most popular …
Once upon a time in Indonesia [en]
Today I’m on my way to my yearly surf-trip. This year it’s gonna be Indonesia. My third trip to the country. I might share some impressions later. But right now, I want to revisit my first trip to Indonesia. That was more than 20 years ago, back in 2003. It was my first big journey …
Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Nouvelle Vague [en]
I guess I should not dabble in French wordplay, since I barely know the language. However, my surf trip this year did take me to the Atlantic coast of Nouvelle-Aquitaine and I did get to know many new waves… Unlike previous years, I was too lazy to keep a detailed surf diary. But I’d still …
Interrail — Voyage, Voyage [en]
Another train trip, this time to the French Atlantic coast. (So, pronounce the title of this post in French, please!) After questionable financial outcome of a similar trip 2 years ago, I gave Interrail another shot. This time, I put more effort into upfront planning and bought the smallest Interrail pass that fit my journey. …
Warning: This route crosses through Austria [en]
Well, thanks for the warning, Google Maps: Now I’m wondering: Do you know something about Austria that I’m not aware of? Or are you just upset about Austropop, après-ski, Opernball, and what happened in Braunau? I should mention that I was planning a car trip from Munich to the Friuli region. (Shout-outs to Lago 3 …
Continue reading “Warning: This route crosses through Austria [en]“
Morocco — Surfing the Land of Rights [en]
Just returned from one of my yearly surf-trips, this time revisiting Morocco. Here is some old pics, from when I visited there back in 2011: Unlike last year in Iberia or the year before that in Zanzibar, I only had four weeks. So I wanted to do less sight-seeing and traveling, and focus more on …
Continue reading “Morocco — Surfing the Land of Rights [en]“
Iberia Impressions: Cantabria [en]
From the Picos de Europa I headed back to the Bay of Biscay. Cantabria was the last section of Spains northern coast that I hadn’t visited yet. Santander I only spent a few hours in Cantabria’s capital Santander, because I had to return my rental car there. As ever so often, the most apparent landmarks …
Iberia Impressions: Picos de Europa [en]
I hadn’t known about the Picos de Europa mountains before planing my trip to Iberia. But a Spanish colleague from work recommended them to me, when I asked for hiking recommendations in the Pyrenees. Pictures on the Internet looked promising and it was not far off my route along the coast. Since the swell forecast …
Iberia Impressions: Galicia & Asturias [en]
After two weeks of surfing in Portugal, I headed back north, to the Spanish region of Galicia. They must have great beaches and surf-spots, but I hear that many of them are pretty remote. Traveling by bus/train and not having infinite time left, I decided to leave Galician waves for some other time and to …
Continue reading “Iberia Impressions: Galicia & Asturias [en]“
Iberia Impressions: Portugal’s North [en]
After Madrid, I headed for the coast of northern Portugal. Less sight-seeing and photographing, more surfing and partying. Didn’t even make it nearby Porto. Well, I’ll get to see it some other time… Esposende/Ofir First stop was the Ofir peninsula near the town of Esposende (the proper Portuguese pronunciation of which I will never learn). …
Continue reading “Iberia Impressions: Portugal’s North [en]“
Iberia Impressions: Madrid Stopover [en]
I hadn’t been to Madrid before and the city has always been a mystery to me. How could one of the most notorious maritime empires have been governed from a landlocked place like this? The geographic location seemed unappealing — no harbor, no impressive mount-range serving as backdrop, not even a noteworthy river flowing through. …
Iberia Impressions: Euskal Herria (Basque Country) [en]
After visiting Biarritz on the French side of Basque Country, I finally arrived in Spain and on the Iberian peninsula. Donostia (San Sebastian) First stop was in Donostia, a city famous for it’s surf beaches, like Zurriola. It’s located by a river mouth and two bays. In the middle, there’s a small hill raising from …
Continue reading “Iberia Impressions: Euskal Herria (Basque Country) [en]“
Iberia Impressions: In Transit through France [en]
I’ve already written way too much about my recent Interrail surf-trip to Spain and Portugal. So this time let my just dump some photos from the places that I came through. Let’s start with my journey through France… Paris Two days stop-over. Always liked La Defense and the modern stuff (we don’t have much of …
Continue reading “Iberia Impressions: In Transit through France [en]“
The Gotchas of Railroad-Safety [en]
They say trains are one of the safest modes of transportation. And while I can think of several horrific train crashes in the past, I generally believe it’s true. But now I’m wondering about all the small things that could go wrong? How common are they? On my last surf-trip, I witnessed this small incident …
Interrail — was it worth it? [en]
I wanted to avoid flying during my surf-trip to Iberia, so I only used trains and buses instead. My trip took me from my home in Germany through France, Spain, Portugal, and back. Altogether this went really well. I was impressed by the punctuality and comfort of French TGVs and Spanish Renfe long-distance trains. In …