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[svenishere]

six months New Zealand

Have been fascinating. 

I have had the opportunity to work at an incredible Lodge. Meet amazing people and was able to learn a lot about country and culture. I was located in the Far North which provided a rather mild winter for me after the snowy Alps of Switzerland. It did not take me long to figure out I needed to move from there to more adventures. So I made plans to attempt a whole walkthrough of New Zealand's long pathway “Te Araroa”. After just 3 months I left the Lodge. I set out to walk for months and ended after just around 20 days. I walked from the furthers Northern point Cape Reinga for many kilometers. I saw amazing things along the way and learned to be one with nature after walking and living outside for so long. Every moment of the walking was intense and taught me a lot about myself. I also learned that I wanted to see more of this country than I could, just walking it. So I turned to hitchhiking as an alternative. I spent some time on beautiful Waiheke Island just outside of Auckland to figure out my next move. After a few days of party on the island, I headed back to the mainland and towards the Coromandel peninsula. Hitchhiking has turned into my main means of transportation. I ended up in a place called Whitianga in the Coromandel were I almost ended up working on a mussel farm, but then spent my time digging a hole at hot water beach. From there I headed further south to arrive in a place called Whangamata. At the time the weather in New Zealand had not been steady enough for me to sleep in my tent permanently therefor I decided to look for work again to pass time and minimise the spending of my savings. It did not take more than a day for me to find work in Whangamata. I started work in an amazing cafe with a super fun crew of people. Living the good life in Whangamata was a great choice. Surfing lots of days and just chilling in a place I called home after just a few nights. The hostel I stayed at provided me with a nice and cosy place to rest my head for the two months I spent there. It can, as some of you know, get quite lonely on the traveling, but then you find these places that give you that feeling of 'home' for a little while. The family and all the people I meet at the hostel were just wonderful and the experience served me as a very important reminder how important people are in our lives. As good as life was in Whangamata I knew my time had come and I needed to move on. So I have since about 10 days. I hitchhiked from Whangamata to Wellington in that time. My tent has been my home for most nights and traveling with the goodwill of people giving me rides has been exceptional. I have met an array of New Zealander's that I would have never met otherwise. I made it to some interesting corners of the country where I feel like an alien walking the roads with my pack, waving my thumb at every car that passes. If I can I will go to a free campsite. I eat very minimal and try to cook every meal myself, I also carry most of my food. It is either walking or hitchhiking so I'm always prepared to stay anywhere. I'm completely self-sufficient. Of course, there is the occasional slip. I have been in Wellington for a few days spending time with old and new friends. So as a friend once said ‘when in Rome…’ I have been enjoying city life, to say the least. 

Tomorrow I will take a boat to go to the other island. People on the North Island have been saying to me that the people on the South Island are even nicer. I can not imagine that, as I have met some of the most amazing people ever during my six months journey.

I must say New Zealand is an all around epic experience and there is a good reason people are amongst the happiest on our planet. Understanding the connection to the land, which is at least in most Kiwi’s very present, is essential to understanding New Zealand's culture. It is not the cities were this country holds its treasures, but the quirky countryside full of unique characters,  individuals with open hearts and eyes for the world around them. People are very mindful here, a thing that can’t be said for many places. Kiwi's are generally interested in others and curious, but never without great manners and respect for everybody. Space is another thing I must point out here, everyone has lots of space. There are no crowds in New Zealand, nowhere. Once you go bush you don’t wanna come back. Some of the places I have been like 90-mile beach, where I felt like the only human on the planet are so rare in other places, here they can be found behind every other mountain. That brings freedom to peoples minds, gives them space to be free. At the halfway point of my journey through New Zealand, I feel very appreciative of being able to be here and enjoy this little piece of heaven at the end of the world.

Can’t wait to see what's to come.

all photos in random order

[svenishere]

A man meet a girl and turned into a boy

Let me tell you a story about a man who went out to see the world. He has been doing that for a long time without a real goal or agenda not looking for anything just absorbing everything. The man went to the other side of the world. He worked a boring job for a while, but then decided to start walking that land, he did so for some time. Then he decided to stick out his thumb to hitchhike to the next destination. Eventually he arrived at a very spiritual little town next to an amazing beach with very friendly people and a relaxed vibe. So the man decided to stay for a while find work again and enjoy the town and its atmosphere. Then after a few weeks in the town something even more magical happened and the man meet a girl. The girl walked into the place he worked one day and the man was very friendly and tried to help her. She spoke a foreign language that the man also spoke. A few days later the girl arrived at the place the man was staying. She decided to stay there and also work. What happened then is more magical than anything the man had ever experienced. The man started to get to know the girl. The girl was very special, she was into arts and acrobatics which fascinated the man. She was very kind and friendly to everybody even though she did not speak the language very well. She looked at the world in a way that was new to the man. The man was fascinated to meet this girl from the foreign place. When they would spend time together the man turned into a boy again feeling joy like he had not for many years. They started spending more time together and became very close. On their days off they went on little trips around the area sleeping under the stars in the man’s little house that he carried everywhere. They started to feel many things and the world around them became secondary. When something like that happens moments feel like years and hours become like centuries. They spent a very intense time together. The man who now felt like a boy again was very happy to have meet the girl. They learned from each other aimlessly. The boy was much taller than the girl so she called him my giant boy. The boy learned that the girl was very free and left her country to learn about the world and the people she was going to meet along her journey. The boy was not so different to that. So they spent their time together every moment being more special than the last. It did not take long for the boy to realise that he started to fall in love with the girl. So he told her. All of this happened at a time when the boy had been on a journey for many years, but the girl had just started her own. The boy understood that for them to be happy together both must feel happy alone. The girl did not always feel happy on her own. Even though the boy’s wish was to be with the girl for much longer she decided to part ways with the boy sooner or later. Knowing this was hard for the boy, but he understood that the girl was very free and would need time for her own journey. So he enjoyed every second with her until on day not too long ago they split ways in the middle of a road. The girl went left and the boy went right. The boy arrived back at the place they spent all their time together and started feeling very sad, because his girl was not there anymore. So eventually the boy who was so happy turned back into a man again. The man that understood that everybody’s journey on this beautiful planet is their own and sometimes if the stars align in the right way two journeys cross and magic happens. Since the boy left the girl he had to be a man again, because he was alone in the world once more. It’s not a world for boys and girls on their own so they must become men and women to face the path of their journey by themselves. Stories are made of phantasies like this one, sadly not all phantasies have a happy end. This story has no end yet. The man does not know where the girl is now, but he hopes that she won’t be able to be without her giant boy and they will meet again. Its these stories that life writes that fascinate the man and the boy at the same time. Joy and pain so close together. Happiness or sadness around each turn you take. The land in which they meet is beautiful and their journeys alone or together will certainly be spectacular. They will walk with open eyes just looking not searching until they might meet again.  

[svenishere]

my time is now

something about Berlin I have to describe with love,   yet I feel the same with hate.

The city fills my heart with joy, because of relationships with many amazing humans during the course of a decade, because to me it is creative beyond measure and openminded like now other place I have been. 

Though, it breaks my heart when I see the crowds, the poverty and the disconnected people that roam the streets mumbling to themselves.

My Berlin love story continues

Not without another chapter away  

I pack my bags again

Heading of into nature

A far away land that waits to be adventured

My time is now 

I ain’t got a day to waste!

[svenishere]

the next step is nothing new...

its been a while. Not in reality, but in here. 

Heading out the door as we speak gotta jump on a bus,train or plane to get to the next place. 

I can’t wait to discover it. Taste it. Feel it. 

It will be the other side of the world, where I have not gone in so long. 

around 30 hours I will travel in time to arrive at my destination. 

Before I get there my head is full of mountains. Really tall and pretty mountains. Many words swirl around when I want to describe the feelings I have when I leave them behind. 

Magnificent is the place I stayed the past while. 

Glorious will be the next step

and the next step

step by step 

[svenishere]

the return of the log...

I’m writing this from Rio de Janeiro round about 7000km away from Medellin Colombia where I wrote the last log. Crazy!  I have now been traveling for so long that the stories blur together sometimes, but I want to share some of what has happened the past months with you.   Nowadays, when people ask me about my trip I sometimes change the truth, because I get responses of disbelief and jealousy when I say how long I have been on the road. Somehow, even though I have become pretty invulnerable, this gets to me as a consequence often I stay quiet. My traveling (I change my mind like a little girl her barbies) on this side of the world will come to an end soon, I don’t know when and where to exactly yet but things seem to be pointing towards a Europe return for the coming summer, expecting there is one.

Lets talk about Colombia now. I spent (all that is legally possible for a german within a calendar year) 6 months there and had the time of my life. Opposing what people hear and feel to know about Colombia back in Europe it presented itself to me as a very beautiful and diverse country with some of the friendliest people I have ever meet anywhere. Yes there are areas and parts where things are not ok but where are they not?! ‚Don’t give Papaya‘ the Colombians say meaning if you make it easy for people to take advantage of you they will, so don’t do it and you will be fine. To me I learned a whole lot about what it means to come from Germany and have grown up/lived in a world where ‚safety‘ is a given. Its pretty simple people most places outside of Europe deal with another scale of problems and we are just lucky we can enjoy what we take for granted. My time in Colombia was filled with spectacular moments through and through and the fact that I had my mom visit and travel with me for a while just makes my connection to this country so much more unique. If you know us you are aware of our personal situation and can understand what it meant for her and me to spend that time there together. To guide my mother after losing parts of her lung to cancer into the Amazon jungle (the lung of this planet! = best air possible) is something I feel very humble about and will never be able to describe or recapture other than with her when we think of those moments together. Let me tell you this though it was not easy, very hard in fact, but that she made it and we came out on top at the other side makes me unbelievable proud of her! To finish this part up a few things I did in my time in Colombia. I watched whales mate in the Pacific, hugged and sat below the tallest palms on the planet, saw the mystic pink dolphins swim in the amazon river, trekked in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta while seeing the ocean just a stone throw away… all things I will carry with me forever. 

Colombia this is a confession to you. 

Te amo mi corazón espero que pronto voy a volver!

Then came Peru and my love affair with Iquitos. I took my first boat down the amazon river from Leticia Colombia to Iquitos Peru. There I meet someone special whom I then dedicated a significant change of course in my travel plans too. But first came my 7 day of the grid, no running water and electricity experience in the jungle of Peru which I enjoyed greatly, but had to break up earlier than expected due to sickness. Living like that even only for a short time taught me a lot and I will seek out more adventures of similar style in the future.   Then just before the old year turned new I would again embark on a journey down the amazon river, in the direction I had come from. 4 different boats, 10 nights in hammocks (with minimal space) and about 3000 km later I arrived in Belem the city where the amazon meets the Atlantic ocean. During those days on the river, the jungle as close as five meters next to the boat and other times were you think you are on an ocean because you can’t see the water end I have learned that balance within yourself is very important. At the beginning of my travel I read Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha (I have previously wrote about it) on his journey Siddhartha arrives at a river eventually. I arrived at a river as well and it changed me as much as it did Siddhartha. It made me understand what is key to my human existence, sometimes you gotta let go and just follow the water where it flows only stay afloat rather than try to take control over the ship and try to direct it. I will carry that knowledge within me forever. I could write pages more about what I came up with while I stared out the boats for endless hours but…

Arriving in Brasil was never my plan, but then again I have always been a romantic and following someone through half a continent seemed like the ultimate love story so I went and meet up with her in Salvador de Bahia on the coast of Brasil. Already then I knew it was crazy and certainly too much pressure on a small little spark. I went anyway thats what I’m all about, follow your heart when it beats.   Good and bad go hand in hand when talking about love so I will tell you about both parts in this episode.  The good, I went to a place I never knew existed and I feel incredibly lucky that I discovered the Chapada, Diamantina in Bahia and went hiking there for some days. Certainly a highlight!   That place has showed me another thing I will take with me forever, I need to be in nature more than in a city. Fresh air, wind, sun or rain on my back a mountain to climb, high cliffs to look down from are things that give me a feeling of being alive and I hope to in cooperate one or another in my everyday life for the future, these things make me whole. The bad, it has been a while that I miss judged a person so much and then got treated like an invaluable piece of sh*t while feeling really bad about myself along the way. I know I’m worth much more and so I got out of there like a roadrunner. Thanks and no thanks lesson learned ;-)

I arrived in Rio de Janeiro a few days ago and so far this city (like Brasil) blows my mind. So many humans - like ants they are making their way through the chaos of this mega city, I’m amazed by how it can all work without imploding. On top of that the most beautiful location anybody has ever planted a city in. I’m writing from my little AirBnB apartment with perfect view of the Christ Statue, today my host and I bought costume for this weekends Carnival. I will be a pink ferry. Even though I’m not usually one for big mass parties, I can get in tune with the idea that I will be able to cross that off my bucket list! Carnival in Rio de Janeiro Wow. After Rio I will head further south to hopefully make it to Patagonia.

In the end I will probably not make it to Antarctica as I thought out to do a while ago, but my cloths are literally falling apart! Yes I know I could buy everything here but also there are fresh cloths and a very welcoming mother awaiting me in Europe. Plus I feel like traveling Europe will be easy after such a long time on this side of the world. Nothing is sure yet but it seems very likely.

So far for this one.

If you find the time to read this I greatly appreciate it!

I like to leave this one open in the end…

…

Please follow the link to find an album of all the pics for this blog here

[svenishere]

The unexpected beauty of Panama and that long awaited travel mate aka the brotherhood…

In the past I had written about being alone – that changed.

 I have now been travelling with my friend, travel mate, brother from another mother - the great Michael Marston aka Mars - for a bit over a month. Travelling with him has changed a lot in my life and how I have been experiencing my trip, short and on point, everything is better when shared! When shared with someone like Mars everything becomes amazing “oh yeaaaa”. We got to know each other in Guatemala and we meet up in Samara Costa Rica and have been having nothing but luck come our way since then. Samara on the pacific was hot and definitely a great first taste of Costa Rica. Not cheap but by far the best amenities on my trip until then… for example we shared a double room with fridge, table and so forth for around 12,50$ each… hint another perk when travelling together you get to share a room with just one person instead of 9 others. The public bus system (Samara to San Jose 6hour ride for less than 10$) of Costa Rica being the other example of how great and well organized this country is compared to others in Central America. From Samara we both didn’t hesitate to go to San Jose the city everybody told us was ugly and not worth going too. Once we got there the mild climate was nice compared to the heat of Nicaragua and the pacific coast. We found a great place to stay in the cities young and hip neighborhood of San Pedro located just around the University of Costa Rica. Luckily we got there during a nice little music festival so on our first night in San Jose we chilled on the street around us hundreds of people our age with great Latin music everybody dancing it was great. Needless to say we did get in touch with the nightlife and made great use of the comfortable beds in our mansion like hostel until midday early afternoon the next day. Slightly hangover, walking around San Pedro during the day offered us a great look at some local graffiti/streetart that was among the best since Mexico for me.

 The next day we would make our way (which ended up being a very hot all the way standing 7 hour bus ride) to the Caribbean coast town of Puerto Viejo where we would stay for about a week. Let me tell you if you ever head out looking for the jungle do not go past Costa Rica and Puerto Viejo. I had never even thought I would see nature like I did see it there. No picture comes close to what we saw there, but I will try to describe to you what I saw. Imagine the greenest green you have ever seen, now multiply that times 10 add all the colors of the rainbow to the mix and you are not even close to what you actually find. Standing at the most perfect beach with waves soft enough for most people to swim, but hard enough to surf and bodysurf all day long while you look inside the throat of a green giant leaping onto the beach with palm trees people paint in fantasy books all sorts of flowers growing over stones hanging down trees while all seems in ever growing and evolving state. The world of animals (most of them you can’t see) seems endless with the most amazing ones being the smallest of them all ants in so many forms and so powerful you have to see too understand. Birds are the animals you get in touch with the most since they don’t mind you mostly. Vouchers as big as my upper body creeping around trash parrots in all colors and if you can spot one it is stunning how their colors match the surrounding. What a world I went to see it still keeps me in aww. Then came that day where we went on what I will call a spiritual journey of no comparison and I will remember for a long time as the best day in my life. Starting off at the beach with sand soon becoming part of us and we becoming one with the surrounding nature. Shortly after the sun set we went on an epic endless bike journey just to find the road go no further. We cruised around until late at night with those 40 meter giants along the way and the shadows of the palm trees making us stop countless times. I will leave it at that saying you all can read but only the ones having made similar experiences can understand.

 After Costa Rica showed us the best it had to offer we headed further south walking across a bridge that must have been hundred years old. Reaching the end of that bridge not only means change your clock by an hour but also welcome to Panama. I have to say I didn’t expect what I then experienced. Oh Panama you beautiful country just before that new continent awaiting around your corner. I lost my heart in Panama and I don’t know when I will find it again. Arriving at Bocas del Toro at night while rain poured down on all our belongings with amazing lightening at the horizon beers in our hands – two man form such a strong core not even the gods could have beaten us that day! We thought to stay maybe a night or two and it ended up being almost a month. That little island area in the far north east corner of Panama is a pearl in the Caribbean and should not be missed by anyone travelling past! The taste of salt is all present as you take little water taxis from island to island. There are only 2 reasons people leave paradise again, the crazy humidity heat and the countless hordes of sand flies that feast at tourist meat all day. We tried making them hate us by poisoning our blood with amounts of alcohol that don’t need to be measured here. After some time we both felt reason to leave and so we headed for the more human friendly climate in the mountains, the relaxed little town of Boquete the destination of choice.

 Soon my friend will leave me and I´m not awaiting that moment at all. It will be a goodbye that I´d rather avoid but as in most moments on my trip so far I´m the one that carries on with that great goal the south pole in my eyes and the more current awaited boat crossing into South America which I have been heading towards since the beginning of my trip only to always delay it again for the beauty of the current location. People ask me what has been your favorite spot so far – usually I turn away and head the other way because I simply cannot answer that question. There has not been 1 single place I have not enjoyed. “Why?” Some might question, because every place has some beauty to offer in my eyes. Thanks to having a person so close to me for so long I have at the 6 months mark of my trip gained a renewed power and energy that will last me for a long while and even further then my furthest goal. There is so much more to explore and only one who does not seek finds those places and the beauty in them. Go with the flow someone close said to me… That flow goes through me every day and once I get to a new place and I have mastered another journey may it be by bus boat or foot every new arrival always brings me back to the reason I´m doing this “wanting to explore of this wonderful world what I can while I can!”

 That big continent awaits around the corner with a world I have no clue of yet and so many surprises to come I get goose bumps only thinking about it!

 Next one from South America.

On the boat to Isla Ometepe Nicaragua

Ometepe Nicaragua

That volcano I climebed and didnt see anything - Still lots of fun! 

First impression Costa Rica sometimes a second look is needed

San Jose 

tried most of those fruits ... just kidding I wish though

That hip area in San Pedro San Jose its all about hanging out around a railroad 

Puerto Viejo cruising 

best Ants pic 

On the way to our Canopy/Zipline adventure

Mars on the line

up in the giants 

we found this guy in the jungle

Panama

a good place to relax for a bit... 

oh yeah “ozo perezoso” the sloth we got so close...

living with crabs 

that clear water

great dinner with great people Laura and Pete

can you say FUN

a day in Paradise ... no wait a month

fun times at our favorite restaurant 

then the rain came

oh  yeaaaaa 

[svenishere]

Volcanos, the heat of Nicaragua and ANTARCTICA

WoW describes my life best these days. It’s been more than twenty days since I was in SanPedro and it already feels like a year has passed. Since then I have climbed a Volcano passed through El Salvador and Honduras to arrive in crazy hot beach town Jiquilillo Nicaragua where I thought to have found a home for awhile only to leave with a bad taste not soon after. But first things first.

After leaving San Pedro my goal was beautiful Antigua which in the end was nothing short of spectacular! I had heard a few bad things about people being scammed when climbing Volcano “Acatenango” so I choose to go with the a bit more expensive, but well experienced US owned adventure agency O.X. Expeditions which in the end was a very good decision. A day before we would walk up the 3976 meter big “Acatenango” we had a pre meeting at the O.X. office and basecamp hostel which also served as a great place to stay for me while in Antigua. We first meet our guide Ian and his assistant Jane and had an hour long briefing on what would happen the next two days. Without having comparable experiences I already had a feeling these guys knew what they are doing. The next day we got up around 5.30 to pack our 75liter backpacks with all necessary items for our base camp at around 3500 meter – 4-6 liter of water each, tents, sleeping bags and mats, food and many layers of warm cloths plus a small bottle of whiskey for celebrational purposes had to be carried up and carefully devided between our group of app. 15 people. After a small breakfast and an hour long drive to our start point at around 2500 meters we started walking up the volcano at around 8am. Let me tell you right away the first 2 hours were so hard I thought I would not make it! Imagine dust everywhere, walkways which are steep as hell and each step you make you have to make again because the little pebble stones slide down so hard you have no safe step. There are I think 3 different typs of vegetation on "Acatenango" – farmland, cloud forest and the dry vast tundra like top region.  The cloud forest is surely the most stunning nature wise I think it is best explained with plants growing on plants growing on plants on plants haha. Really this part is truly amazing, but I can only now appreciate it during the climb I was mostly cursing and fighting my inner lazy boy to make it to the top. The group was well lead by my main mountain man Ian, from the beginning on there where frequent breaks to catch a breath and many very helpful encouraging words, to assure that we would all make it to the top! To skip forward a bit and spare you more painful wimping, at around 2pm we arrived in our base camp at around 3600 meters after 6 superman hard hours of hiking! It was without a doubt the hardest thing I have ever done in my life followed by the best thing I have ever seen, an active volcano! The O.X. basecamp is located on a side of “Acatenango” so that you can have a beautiful view of neighboring volcano “Fuego” who greeted us with “one of the biggest explosions” Ian had seen in a while. Wow I thought this can´t possibly get better, but oh did it get better! For the next hours until dinner and bed time we had nothing to do but watch “Fuego” erupt multiple times and there is nothing like the sight of an erupting volcano! Each eruption is followed by growling thunderstorm like sounds, you really get a feeling for how slow sound is! After a great but rustic dinner it was time for celebration whiskey at the bonfire. After a short night (it is told humans don’t sleep well at high altitude) Ian woke us up at 4.30am with his very own interpretation of the   Beatles classic “here comes the sun”. At 5am we would walk the last bit –by far the hardest part of the whole hike – to the 3976 meter crater to see the sunrise and eventually take part in the O.X. crater run challenge. While hiking up we became witnesses of an epic 30-40 second long eruption on “Fuego” – Imagine a volcanic eruption from movies with fireworks and lava flowing down on all sides of the volcano it was epic and left us all in AWWWW! After a good 1 ½ hours freezing cold, dark morning hiking with little volcanic stones and dust everywhere we would arrive at the top.  Witnessing the SUN RISE at that height was what we all came here for! It was by far the best most amazing thing I have ever seen and the pictures I took don’t even come close to the real thing. In front of us the majestic “Agua” (Antigua´s closest volcano) behind him the rising sun, to our right erupting “Fuego” – no words are sufficient to describe this moment!  After the sun had reached a high enough level to call the rising over the famous crater run challenge would take place. The goal is to run around all (I think 3 big and 2 small) crater mountains at the top without stopping or walking! If you finish you get a crater run participant T-Shirt and whoever beats the record time gets the whole trip for free! I did start and boy did I run fast at first only to run out of breathe ¾ through the track – coming up short was very disappointing, but in the end I accepted the challenge and I feel like it’s a reason to go back and try again! After a long while at the top of “Acatenango” we would pack up and walk back down which in the end was almost as hard as climbing up but at around noon on the second day we all had successfully climbed the volcano. Back in Antigua I used the amazing O.X. Expeditions basecamp hostel as a place to regain my form and stayed for another 4 nights – what a great place with a free Netflix account to use as much as you want. I have to say thank you very much to the whole O.X. Expeditions team. Ian you rocked my world and I want to climb many more mountains with you in the future! Jane and Cody you made me laugh and made the place a home away from home, Jane I should have traded for that awesome wine thing after all, Cody I´m practicing Ping-Pong to beat you next time! The team around Biggi that makes the hostel what it is… you guys are awesome!

In these parts of the world “semana santa” Spanish for the Easter celebrations have a much bigger weight than where I´m from at least it feels like that. In Antigua they anticipate around 1.5 million people for that 1 week and with that on the horizon I decided it was time for me to head to the beaches of Nicaragua still awaiting reply on the volunteer project I wanted to take part. From Antigua in Guatemala to Leon in Nicaragua it is quite the journey so I decided to stop in between. The 5 hour far small beach town El Tunco on the pacific coast in El Salvador should serve as a perfect spot for a night between the big travels. From there it took me another 12 hours through El Salvador, Honduras to finally arrive in Leon Nicaragua.

What a heat from the first moment you leave the air conditioned van – crazy! At this point I had gotten a positive reply for the volunteer project so after a night in Leon I headed for the remote beaches of Jiquilillo a small community with lots of kids to look after for a while to come. Once I arrived there I learned about major security issues in the project that I wanted to be part of so I quickly decided to not be a part of something that would jeopardize my belongings and saftey so I was again left unknowing what I would do next. Then again being at a beautiful pacific beach isn’t the worst place to not know what to do. So I stayed, doing nothing besides reading and swimming each day seemed perfect to survive the Easter craziness. After a great time at Rancho Esperanza with Toni, Adam and Justin the amazing surfer dudes from Florida, Nate and Shana the owners that create a very friendly - family like - place and are never short of great recommendations I changed my place to Rancho Tranquillo for money reasons. At first Rancho Tranquillo, who had just lost its owner to sudden death, looked like everything I had hoped for - cheap beach front place that would give me a good rate throughout the whole Easter period. This change after a few days and I´m still trying to find out why. I don’t want to elaborate everything that happened in the end the person in charge directed his aggression towards me for reasons that are still not understandable to me. It went so far that he would not talk to me anymore! You learn something wherever you go and in whatever situation you are so I learned that some people just don’t like me or pinpoint their own anger at a truly happy and balanced person. I decided I would not get treated that was and escaped that place in a hurry. I went a bit north again heading to the mountains of Nicaragua where I am now. Here I found a nice little place that will serve me well for the next days.

In the end I have to say that what happened in that beach place really got to me. I have never experience hatred against my person that directly from strangers whom I didn’t even know. I guess there are always two sides to a story, although I have no clue it must have been something I did or said that offended people that much. For me the consequences are clear – talk less listen more and “SH** THE F*** UP” when it matters the most! I definitely took a hard hit to my self confidence and it feels like I´m hiding in the mountains now. I do think this is also part of my journey and will only make me stronger. At this point I will surely be more selective with whom I share things and even talk too. One thing is and will be forever with me, I get excited when I meet new awesome people and I will never hide that excitement ever!  

After the Easter thing is over I will try to head to Columbia in a month! I want to finally reach South America and can´t wait for the first impressions on what will be my home continent for the foreseeable future. I love it here and I have nothing to return to Germany for!  Therefore for the first time I´m writing it down and letting you all know – I WANT TO REACH ANTARCTICA – however long it might take, however hard it might be and however far this goal might seem it is what I will do!

Leaving it at that for this time!

SOUTH POLE - Sven is coming for you

On the way to the top

the climbing crew - thanks julia for waiting!

made it to base camp

its happening! 

buena vista

base camp

Ian and Jane getting dinner ready! 

first moment at the top! 

the first meters down from the top - u can slide down! 

without clouds sooo pretty! 

cloud forest on the way down! 

“Agua”

“Agua” from Antigua 

Antigua is sooo pretty! 

Stone wall El Salvador style in El Tunco

Jiquilillo 

found this guy on the beach... 

Got this bad boy for 1$ in Esteli in the mountains... allthough I dont smoke it is a most when in this region! 

Somoto Canyon great day trip! 

Esteli beauty of the north! 

Plus I updated my map find out where I have been so far here 

[svenishere]

100 days and counting…

Six days ago I passed 100 days of travelling and man that felt good! Travelling for that long without a real plan of return or a real plan of whatsoever has me facing a bunch of new challenges the main one being: all the time I have to myself. For me besides exploring and meeting amazing people that means trying to learn and in a way better myself all the time, so apart from learning Spanish (almost every day – mi primero trabajo ahi), reading, writing and attempting to draw I of course end up thinking a lot when by myself. In a way I see danger in that since I don’t wanna be a loner for the rest of my days, but in another way I enjoy it very much because really there is never a moment were I don’t enjoy thinking  and man that last month had me thinking some of the most interesting thoughts ever! I just finished reading Herman Hesse’s ‘Siddhartha’ not because I could have not finished before, but because I choose to read it in small doses so I could really enjoy every written word, it was that inspiring to me! I like what Hesse says or better Siddhartha comes to terms with in the end of the book, “the river is everything at the same time”, because here in San Pedro I have learned People also have a very special relationship with the water, Vincente the owner of my school for example says “everything is possible, nothing is sure, the people need water to live and the rich gold to get richer” the last part is a bit revolutionary but in a way both say the same. Siddhartha was happiest when he found the river in the end and here people are happy because of their lake. At lake Atitlan even the oldest people swim with joy like little kids - so, I think something must be true to that! Since being away from work for about six months I have found another world here in which  pressure or a work ethic like we have it in most places in Europe does not exsist. I don’t want to judge what is better or worse yet, but only notice that I myself have been much calmer and more balanced since I’m away, being almost always near water! ‘Ha’ might be most thinking now ‘he hasn’t had to work for 6 months’ , ‘but’ I will answer then ‘that is about to change’ as I hope to soon be part of my first communal project (again near the water) at a remote beach town in Nicaragua. I want to challenge myself and see how life will be once I occupy my time with work in this part of the world - I can’t wait to experience it. Hold your fingers crossed for me so I get a positive reply and hopefully write about it in my next log. Some people might see all the above as a result of living in San Pedro for 30 days, I have to respond that they might be right! I started learning Spanish again here and having a private teacher for 4 hours every day brought me in touch with my inner child (stubborn teenager could be well fitted here) as well as the adult that has the expectation to want to speak this language as soon as possible. In the end as for the Spanish I can say I made another huge step but also had to stop after 3 weeks of class because my brain was just overloaded with all the infos! I stayed another week to enjoy this amazing place and take the time to say good bye…  

San Pedro and all of Lake Atitlan being the first place I really stayed longer on my trip so far have been amazing. As everywhere on my trip so far the people that I meet here are the biggest part of this amazing experience. In San Pedro I crossed paths with Roxy who became a friend when I needed one close to me the most – Thank you Chica your fabulous! The teachers and other students I meet at Casa Rosario the best language school in San Pedro. Vincente the most amazing teacher I have found on this trip so far not only for words but for so much more! Johnny my next door neighbour who I maybe already meet a decade ago in lovely Pai – I hope you find your spot brother! Ran into the amazing Katie and Travis, whom I meet in Bacalar – they probably bought a Tuk tuk and are now driving through Nicaragua! Mars you made my last week so much more fun thanks for that! So many more I can’t name you all, but know that you are a part of my San Pedro memory that being one I will not forget for a long time. So with these words in a way my San Pedro month ends and I could not be happier – today no one is here to say good bye which is also a part of San Pedro I came here alone and leave the same way!

I hope to arrive in Antigua where I want to climb a Volcano – no biggie really ;-)

Hasta pronto

Sven

Following Pics are in random order because the computer did´nt like me...

Amazing natural pools at Semuc Champey in the deepest jungle

entrance to my spanish school in San Pedro

Had this classroom for a few days!

Guatemala pure - San Pedro waking up in the morning

sunrise from the indians nose

Tikal - (freezing) sad face Sven because no sunrise view that morning

Did have an amazing view from that spot later that day

Tikal simply took my breath away! 

[svenishere]

Restless days and a Hip-Hop video called Belize

I left Tulum 11 days ago and have been restless ever since. I left at the right time after I had stayed there for 2 amazing weeks it was the best thing for me to move on and do that alone. I left to the Laguna Bacalar a quiet little town about 3 hours south of Tulum located next to a peaceful sweet water Laguna. I stayed there for 4 nights at the amazing Magic Hotel Bacalar which was the perfect place to relax after busy Tulum. In Bacalar I meet many amazing people to whom I almost only spoke Spanish so that was a very good situation that definitely improved my skills. Also I had the most amazing massage in like forever - 2 hours for less than 12 Euro was a bargain and after some bad beds (evolving to a sore back) a very well deserved wellness moment. In Bacalar I decided that I could not head to Guatemala without visiting Paradise – Belize that is – so I went from Bacalar with a local ‘collectivo’ to Chetumal where I then took a watertaxi to ‘Caye Caulker’ an Island in the middle of the Caribbean sea and a promising destination on my trip. The boat ride would take around 4 hours with a border stop in San Pedro. Once I arrived in Caye Caulker I was in a bit of a culture shock. From the really cheap layed back Mexican Bacalar to the rather expensive Jamaican influenced English speaking Caye Caulker, it really was like day and night a great experience for sure, but in the end not so much for my taste. I enjoyed the food – had amazing fresh lobster twice – and thought the island was beautiful. Though as the title of my log already says Belize and mainly Cay Caulker seemed to me a bit like a bad 1999 hip-hop movie, almost every guy is black (no racism intended here!), wears a basketball jersey (of course I didn’t mind that), baggy pants and timberlands not to forget lots of fake bling bling! To round it up, the English the Belizians speak seems as if Snoop Dogg personally went and trained everybody, they also speak creole which sounds nice but seems as it is only used to scam tourisms and it really only is a washed away english. So here I was in Paradise with no Idea what to do all day but count money and look for cheap ways of living on an island that really didn’t offer that, so I thought to myself why not do something special – aka a 3 day trip on a sailing boat along the Great Belizian Reef the second biggest after the Great Barriar Reef. So on day 65 - after leaving Germany - 17 other people, me and 3 crew members would set foot on the about 10 meter long ‘Ragga Queen’ 

Let me tell you right away this has been pretty much the most amazing thing I have ever done in my life. First day we caught a 1 meter Baracuda which we ate as dinner on ‘rendevouz caye’ our sleeping place for the first night. Besides us 21 people the island has 1 inhabitant March the caretaker. It was the most amazing Caribbean island you can think of, from one end to the other not more than 50 meter wide, 12 (yes I counted) palm trees, lots of sand and a vibe that is not to be put in words. The first time on my trip that I really felt away from my old life! The second day was all sun and blue skys a lot of snorkeling and see video below (although to be correct that was the first day) lots of jumping off the boat for my part. In the evening we would arrive at also amazing but slightly bigger ‘Tabacco Caye’ with around 25 inhabitants a small bar a restaurant and some guestrooms. The last day was not sunny and we had some rough winds in the morning which is why we could not snorkel anymore, but we ended our trip being followed by a group of up to 10 dolphins who followed our boat for about an hour and a half before we arrived at the far South of Belize a small town called Placencia. Wow what had just happened I thought when I arrived, it was unreal, amazing, indescribable and really something I will never forget…

Since I had what I was looking for – the ultimate Caribbean experience – I left Placencia and also Belize to the ‘Isla de Flores’ a small town in the middle of the lake ‘Peten Itza’ in Guatemala the next morning. Here I have been for 2 nights now and had the most amazing time in the ancient ruins of Tikal today where I spent about 8 hours exploring the 16 square kilometer big historical city located in the middle of the deepest jungle. That experience just added to two amazing weeks and the feelings are still to fresh to describe them, but let me tell you this much being in a Mayan City is something really special - a mystical place!

Tomorrow I will head deeper into Guatemala and hopefully will arrive at ‘lago Attitlan’ where I plan to stay for a while to learn Spanish by the end of the week.

The days since Tulum have been really long and without much sleep. I have had a feeling of restlessness and needed to get out of my early January emotional slump. I’m more than ever in my life free, single and on the adventure of a lifetime. Today compared to the last time I wrote something I actually think I might never return, that being said I really live in the present more than anything these days. The things that happened the last month had me go through some of the most painful emotional moments in recent years and the solution I found for myself is to keep pushing forward and do what I left everything behind for to do – see this amazing planet! I don’t want to say I’m better today, I think being with someone for that long will leave a scar forever, but I can say that I know a good medicine. Waking up in a new country with no Idea where to go next is pretty liberating! Today I know I’m alone. Beeing alone is very lonely, but the best way is to embrace that feeling and go left when everybody goes right, that’s when the special things happen! I hope many more will come! 

I will leave it at that.

Best

Sven

[svenishere]

Vamos a Tulum

Starting this blog seems harder than ending the last.

I need to add to my last entry that I’d ask you who you are reading this not to take all that I write to serious and judge my thoughts as the thoughts of a person who is in a phase of his life that is new to him. Also it needs to be said that the people closest to me that I spent the last many years with are still most important and already today it is very clear to me that I will sooner or later return to where my home is – Berlin!

Gustav and I left Zipolite together heading east to a city called Palenque in the middle of the Jungle. After my longest bus ride on this trip so far (11,30 hours) we arrived in San Cristobal de las Casas in the morning for a short overlay of 6 hours. I found San Cristobal de las Casas a very beautiful and scenic place the houses and buildings looked much different than the ones I saw before in Mexico and I would have liked to spent more time there, but you can only see so much. In the Evening we arrived in a very wet Palenque as it had rained all the way since leaving San Cristobal in the midday. Let me tell you a secret about my travel partner Gustav – he really does not like the cold even though being from Bern, Swiss that seems crazy, good thing is he enjoys sweets like no other so when it’s cold give him some chocolate cookies and he is happy again J! Palenque was indeed very cold when we arrived and the rain added to that so since I have been enjoying Gustav’s company a lot we (more him than me due to the cold issue) decided to go for another long bus ride the following night heading to Tulum a small town in the Caribbeans and the place where we would meet my friends Ema and Lucia. Of course we did not leave Palenque before heading to the amazing Maya ruins that are located just outside of town in the middle of the Jungle. Of course none of the pictures I took come close to how majestic the place is in reality still I want to share some with you. I think the fact that it was not a day with blue skys but rather foggy when we visited made it much more mystical. In the evening we then went for another monster bus ride (12,30hours) this was hard, because they cool down the buses soo much at night it was freezing!

Since we arrived in Tulum that morning things have been very exciting. Meeting my friend Ema and Lucia from Berlin here in Mexico has been spectacular and will make a very long lasting impression on me. Lucia is from Mexico and besides being amazing Gustav and I due to her recommendation ended up in the coolest hostel in Tulum which has made us stay here for more than a week already! Ema is a great painter who goes by the name Alaniz and he was working on a wall in the hostel so the first few moments when we arrived were really special! For me it’s amazing to see friends from home so far away from home it is hard to put in words. The next following days another great guy I meet here on the road arrived - Brice the crazy French man. Being with some old and new friends has been awesome and to get them all together in 1 hostel made it even more special. So as you can imagine since my level of excitement was pretty high from the beginning on something crazy would happen. After the first night out in town with many beers and probably 1 too many shots of mescal I ended up drunk in bed nothing too crazy until here. The next day I woke up with no idea what had happened until I was told that I had sleep-walked naked (once again) in the dormroom acting like I had lost some cloths looking for them only to then try to reenter the dorm through a small window over a sleeping guy that woke up wondering “Wtf!?” to then head back to my bed – nothing crazy really as I just had forgotten to put on undies that day – I think. Once again I’m now am known as the “naked german” this time in Tulum. This has provided for great laughs and much fun all around. The hostel and the people staying at it have made me and also Gustav stay until today and probably a bit longer. There are great things to do around here like snorkeling with turtles and swimming in Cenotes, they are like little lakes in the jungle (mangrove forest) with amazing clear water and sweet little cliff jumps. A really nice thing for me is that there is a really good basketball court right next to my hostel with lights at night so I have been balling almost daily which is a good change to the last months of traveling.

My plan is to stay here for a few more days and then make my way to Lake Atitlan in Guatemala where I will attend a Spanish school called Casa Rosario for a month. The school is very cheap and you have a private teacher plus you stay with a family so I hope to take the next step and speak more fluent Spanish after that month.

To also lose a few words about the current status of my mind. Travelling for 53 days has taught me so much about life already that it is hard to write down all that I feel, but I get a lot of joy out of all my thoughts it does not matter if they are good or bad and I think it is exactly that what I have been searching for before leaving. I also think that the relationships that I have built up with some of my friends have become so much more valuable, because when you travel it is so hard to meet people and then get to that second or third level of getting to know someone closer that I realize what I have shared with all my friends in Berlin the past years has so much power. Please don’t misunderstand this I have meet amazing people in the past 53 days and I will meet many more, but not everybody can be a friend neither can I be close to everybody. I’m still very in doubt with a lot of things but being at a place for a few days with great people has helped me a lot. I hope to further progress as a person work on all the thoughts and figure out more about who I am.

So long

Enjoy the pics

Buena onda

  a nice beach view of Zipolite

traveling mexican style 

with a full "collectivo" a mexican bus/taxi/rideshare 

San Cristobal de las Casas (Gustav was cold here) 

Rain view in Palenque

Then the sun came out! 

Palenque ruins - magical

to me it is crazy to imagine this was done more than 2000 years ago

Many stairs to take 

turtles are awesome

underwater fun with ema and leni 

Also if you get this far down to the post I made a map with all the stops I took so far and where I will head in the future check it out here

[svenishere]

Buena onda y feliz ano nueve

Paradise that is the word that describes best where I´m writing this blog post from – Zipolite the towns name - is the other Word. Today marks the 40th day since I left Germany and started my adventure so I have a bit of an anniversary feeling YAY! For Christmas and the following days until the 30th of December I stayed in a hostel called “Cabanas Buena Onda” (buena onda - good vibes) it is located in La Punta a part of Puerto Escondido. Life there is simple and joyful. I meet many amazing people ate great food and got tanned, all while feeling no hurry or need to do anything. The 4 Australian girls Sam, Hannah, Jess and Georgina I meet in my hostel in Oaxaca recommended the place to me, great feat girls it was amazing thanks soo much! “Buena Onda” was a place where I meet many interesting people like Max from Germany who taught me to deal with things as they arrive and not worry too much (he is probably still there waiting for his Credit Card to arrive) Max if you read this – I hope you find a good surf soon and I will see you again along the way it was great to meet you. The first person I noticed in puerto escondido was an older “robinson Cruso “ look alike man wondering the beach and nearby streets, turns out he also stayed in the “buena onda” Fracesco (48) his name, Italian his origin and just the most amazing person to get into a conversation with. All in Spanish, I found out more about his thoughts on life and how to live it. The ocean calms him he told me and makes it easier for him to think about his path - Francesco I hope to meet you again so we can continue our talk and I also hope my Spanish is much better than. So many more people in that hostel, Joe from the States who stays in Peurto forever to learn surfing and Spanish – thanks for the ride Joe! Nico from France - what a nice roommate you were I know I will see you again and then we speak more Spanish promised! Tobias, Mia and Max from Germany who made the hostel my home for a while and brought so much German vibes to the nights in the common area – You guys rock and I wish we could have traveled more together – I will see you again at home! It was amazing to meet soo many great people there I can’t possibly mention them all, but If you end up reading this you know it was the conversations we had that made it such a memorable time for me! 

Sometimes though you meet someone a bit more special and then you have these great conversations where it feels like you could just talk forever to that someone and keep going until the end of the day, week, month or even year. I did meet a person like that and because that person left the “buena onda” a bit too soon for my taste I felt like following to the next beach to find out more about what was behind that first impression I gained. This was certainly not an easy decision, but sometimes you gotta go with a feeling. At that point I need to say thanks to Ishara and Cynthia it was you two and the words we exchanged that made me leave! So I did leave the “Buena Onda” with me the amazing Joachim and Franziska a very well traveled couple of soon to be GREAT teachers from Germany on to the magical place of Zipolite. The much smaller town about 1 and a half hours further down the coast from Puerto Escondido hosts a small hippie community and is one of Mexicos only nude beaches. It was very helpful to have Joachim and his awesome lady with me as they both speak amazing Spanish and that was a great profit for me since it was very hard to find a room here during high season. Joachim and Franziska if you read this I would “again” like to thank you very much for the help, you are both amazing I enjoyed our talks a lot and I know you will find your “Teresa” someday, also I cannot wait to hear from your first teaching experiences at home! After finding a room we headed to the beach to enjoy some (side note I have been drinking way too many) beers and enjoying our first impressions of Zipolite. At that point my mind was wrapped around finding the person I was looking for.First I found my friend Gustav who I meet for the first time in Mexico City then again in Puerto Escondido and now for the third time in Zipolite – I will tell you more about Gustav in a bit – also walking down the beach the first person we meet was Christoph a friend of a friend I also meet in Mexico City - small world really. It took until the end of the day for me to find who I was looking for. At this point of this post I gotta stop saying too much and tell you what happened the last few days in a way so none of the involved persons feels hurt. For me the objective in writing about this are the emotions and since I see this blog as more of a travel journal that is what I need to write about the emotions that happen while I travel and the feelings I feel. I did have an great time that I spent with someone who will somehow always have a place in my mind, someone that fascinated me from the beginning, but also someone that is in a much different place than I am. Being with someone while traveling means something different than I thought it would It means finding a safe harbor for a little while where you don’t feel lonely and lost, a harbor where you can chill for a bit and refuel the tanks! In the end the ship though parts from the harbor again often in a great way sometimes not. This experience made me realize more than before how lucky of a guy I am that I have found my partner in life already and she my partner is the person that Is my home harbor. So I start with talking about a special person I meet ending with talking about the one and only special person in my life somehow I think ironic and a life lesson at once. I can not put in words how much I wish for you to be with me here in this world partner I wish I could have all these adventures with you in my arms and next to me at night.

New years in Zipolite was a great way to start the new year and I could have not found a better party a better group of people to be with and a more amazing place. I hope you all had as great of a start to 2015 as I did. The person I have to highlight a bit now is my friend Gustav. He was the second person I meet in Mexico, my roommate in Mexico City and a great person to share dinner and party with. Him and me have been hanging out here in Zipolite and decided to move to the next place together so we head into the jungle of Chiapas to a city called “San Cristobal de Casas” tomorrow night, doing my first monster all night 12 hour bus ride in Mexico, I´m very curious how it goes! Then we will head on to a place called Palenque, there waterfalls, nature pools and Mayan ruins await. Gustav is a great guy and we share some of the same beliefs in life – it is great to have a travel mate and a Swiss one on top of that makes everything easier and more fun – Gustav you great traveler I cannot wait to share more adventures with you – see you in a bit for dinner! Haha

On another note I would like to thank the ones of you who encouraged me to continue writing that did help me make a decision and I feel good about writing this. Thank you!

Lauren, Nils, Moo, Karsten, Chris, Yannick, Danni, Anja, Antoniya, Jason, James, Rike, Adisson, and soo many others these days made me miss you my Berlin Family a lot and so I would like to tell you all - you are amazing I love and miss you and many of my thoughts go out to you all the time!

So long “buena onda”

Gustav and me in Zipolite (iphone pic) 

white sand beaches, bathtube warm water and a sven in the middle 

amazing sunsets every day!

[svenishere]

hermosa méxico

today is my 13th day in Mexico and one thing is for sure so far it has been nothing short of amazing! I arrived in Mexiko City short DF (Distrito Federal) on the 11th of december - thats when my real adventure started! A country where people speak another language (that I don’t speak well yet) and everything feels different than anywhere else I had ever been before! The first ride with the taxi through town to get to my hostel was a moment where I realized what will be ahead of me more than at anypoint the many months of planing and thinking about it prior to that! DF is full of life, everywhere you look something is happening and one can feel the pupming atmosphere of this mega city at any moment! The hostel I stayed in was the best place to meet new people and so I did right away – the first person to get in touch with me was the 60 year old Paul from denmark who didnt wait a second to give me great insights and travel tips for DF and Mexico. The first evening I just went for a walk and had no Idea where abouts I’m in a city that once was the biggest on this planet this beeing said It never really changed during my 7 day stay there, you never know where to go ahah, thank god I found a good map! The next day I went with Paul and Gustav another one of my roommates to the festival of the ‘virgin de guadalupe’ at the ‘basilica de guadalupe’ and wow was that a thing to start my time in DF with. Millions of people all coming from all corners of Mexico to celebrate this religious day at their sacred site the third biggest in the world as I later learned. It was amazing to see that people would sleep on the street without care and all seemed soo peaceful and friendly not once I did I feel unsafe! The next day I went to the beautiful area of ‘coyoacan’ where the ‘casa de azul’ Frida Kahlo’s house and today a museum is located. Don’t miss going there when you are in DF it is a magic place where one of the most important artistic figures of this country lived. The area is full of little markets, the houses seem like they where painted to make people happy so many colours my heart exploded! The next day was Sunday the 14th of december a day I will never ever forget in my life! Partice who I stayed with in San Antonio put me in touch with Aida who is a native Mexican, she also intended to travel to DF. As it turned out Sunday the 14th was Aida’s birthday and so she had the kindness to invite me to her boyfriend Miguels house where she would have a family get together for here birthday. There is no way I can ever write down what happend this day but to make u understand a bit I will try my best to recover the afternoon.I was welcomed as a guest and felt like I left as part of the family. I stayed from about 3-10 and allthough my spanish is not very good I think a big part of the talks I had that day where held in spanish, of course Aida, Miguel and his brothers as well as his father Luiz all speak very good english and so they helped me out whenever I could not continue in spanish. Luiz, Miguels father and I ended up having a for me and I think also for him exchange of thoughts that I had never had before. He is 65, grew up in DF and his ideas of life and how to live it are going to change my beliefes forever. His views on Mexico and the world as it exists today left me speechles. Luiz If you ever read this – muchas gracias por la conversation – it was amazing to meet you and I hope to see you again! I left the house with a first impression on what it means to be mexican. The next day I spent with Aida exploring DF, she was the best tour guide anybody could ever have, she showed me special places and made me eat flaudas and then some churros for dessert – Aida you are a great person never change your kindness and keep exploring the world you live in it is beautiful, also please invite me to your wedding and dont eat too many churros ;-) ! The next day I spent in DF’s huge city park ‘parque de chapultepec’ with Angelo, Claire and their 4 year old daughter Suzanne whom I meet in the Hostel. This was a very relaxing and entertaining day that ended with a 4 hour tour through the ‘museo de antropologia’! The place is huge and in 4 hours of intense reading I don’t feel like I saw more than 40% of the museum, after all I think it was nice to see it, but my mind was not able to take away much from this powerful accumulation of history, i think I’m not Smart enough to understand much of what happend millions of years ago! At the last day of my time in DF (its the 17th of december) Aida, Angelo, Claire, Suzanne and me went to the ‘piramides de teotihuacan’ that was the first time that I left the mega city DF and the busride to the pirámides was a great way to at least develope some kind of idea on how huge this city is. I added some pictures from the busride to make you understand a little bit, endless mountains of houses on houses in houses. The day at the historic city was another spectacular thing and allthough a bit of a hike the top of the ‘piramide de sol’ must be reached to understand the size of the sight. It would’nt be my adventure if I would have not ended up meeting some germans that I meet at the Frida Kahlo muesum before up there on the top of the piramide. It ended up beeing a funny photo session as it seems to always be something special for young mexican girls to meet germans or at least guys that look like some! During these days in DF I made up my mind what the next steps would be and so I hitched a ride with Angelo and his girls first to the nearby town of Puebla about 2 hours south east of DF for a fun night in a town full of christmaslights, beautiful churches and great food. We had a crazy dinner where a guy puked from the balcony on the first floor almost on our table – it ended up making us laugh alot and enjoy the vino even more! A reunion with Mike and his brother Philip, whom I meet first at Frida Kahlo and then at the pirámides, on top of a nice hotel in puebla with some tequilla was a nice end to a long day and the first night out of DF. The next day Angelo and his troops aka Claire his almost ‘driving-like-a-mexican’ lady, Suzanne and me in the back went on a bigger tour to oaxaca city the capital of the same named staat about 4 hours away from puebla in the south. Riding a car through the mountains of mexico is alot of fun and to me it was the best way to do it – also having a little person next to you can provide for a lot of fun moments on a long car ride! Arriving in Oaxaca meant the temporary end of our small travel group as I was dropped of at my hostel. Thank you Angelo, Claire and Suzanne for taking me in! You are a great family I learned alot and I will never forget the dinner as well as all the interessting conversations with you Angelo - I’m very interessted to see where you will end up next! That night marked the first night since arriving in mexico that I spent alone and it was a very much needed time to reflect soo much had happend until there! The next day I went to meet Valerio and Chloe for breakfast, I meet them in DF and they also arrived in Oaxaca the night before. We went on to explore Oaxaca together, wow what a different world then DF and Puebla. So calm and peaceful very fascinating. We had an amzing experience on a local market beeing the ‘almost’ only non mexicans eating traditional mole and enjoying a cerveza for lunch, what a world that is where you can buy a pigs head next to some socks! The evening our little group got bigger again for dinner – Angelo Claire Suzanne Valerio Chloe and me all went out together and again enjoyed laughter and lots of drink at a beautiful restaurant which seemed it could be placed in the middle of Berlin! Valerio, Chloe and I had booked a tour for the next day which ended up showing us a lot but also made us realize that beeing a classic tourist can also sometimes be rather annoying. If someone does not understand a ‘no gracias’ it can be hurtful to feel that you are only good for money, but that means only experience is missing we could have done it without the tour! In Oaxaca I meet a group of awesome spirit animals oh sorry australian girls hehe, they as well as Valerio and Chloe ended up beeing my travel mates for the next days 8 hour monster bus (minivan aka Mercedes Sprinter) ride through some of the thoughest serpentines I have ever ridden - all that is forgotten now that I have arrived at my christmas destination the beautiful beach of the Pacific town Puerto Escondido!

On a daily base I have been overwhelmed by my emotions since I arrived here and I’m sure it will not get less, the people I meet the things I see changed me so much already I can not start to explain. I try to write it all down everyday, but I would need 1 extra day per day to capture it all. Some of you might think and say to me ‘enjoy it also Sven’ but I must write I must keep track I must unload thoughts so I can créate more space for new things! I feel the best after a two hour long writing session! I’m lost in my mind too much so this is the best ventile I have and know how to use! I’m still in doubt what to do with this blog and the future of it so it would be kind to hear from you, person that you are reading these words, should I continue?

With those thoughts I’ll end my post today.

I wish you all whereever you are a happy healthy and blessed christmas – my thoughts are with my granny she is with me wherever i go and the reason I’m here!

  Feliz Navidad

Merry Christmas

Frohe Weihnachten 

Claire, Angelo, Suzanne, Michael, Aida, Phillip and me

for the pattern lovers - I know you are out there! 

Valerio and Chloe 

[svenishere]

Austin was awesome. Such a great vibe there and everybody was super friendly, I had planned to have my first couch there but it didnt come through so I went to the Drifters Jack hostel (which I can only recommend) there I meet a lot of people one of them was Curtis a mid 40 year old ozzy trying to make his dream to be a singer songwritter come true - Curtis if you ever read this it was an honour and I wish I could have said a proper goodbye! I also ran across Filip and Alex two mid 20 year old guys from Goeteborg in Sweden that wanted to travel to San Antonio by car the next day, It took me about 5 minutes before I asked them If I could join their ride they said yes right away and so it was a done deal! I spent my one day in Austin with alot of walking (which felt super special since my past US expierence was rather not walking soo much) I saw some cool urban area with some free to paint walls and I meet a few nice people there! Then I went on to the South Commerce area of Austin full of beautiful vintage shops with thousands of things I could have bought instead I decided for a more permanent thing so I got me a nice little "Austin-memorie" tattoo (sorry Mom) at the awesome South Side Tattoo shop! Noska who tattooed me had some awesome stories about Berlin to share - overall awesome times that I had there and a little banger that will always make me remember Austin! I then went to look for the biggest bat collonie - about 1.5 million bats living under a bridge - I waited for about 1,5 hours only then I found out that they had already left further south since it is winter... ah well I had a beautiful sunset on that bridge! In the evening Alex Filip and me went for some live music on 6th street and allthough it was a monday night Austin proved to be nothing less than the live music capital of the world!

At noon the next day I meet with my two travel mates to finally fullfill a live long dream of mine and head to San Antonio. The ride there went pretty uneventfull and after about 2 hours we finally arrived. The river walk of San Antonio was the first thing on our list and it did prove most things I had heard before wrong, maybe it was the autum looking tres or the already setup christmas lights but it was a really pretty sight and definatley not to be missed! Next up the Alamo the old fort that helped the Texas rebell army fight of Santa Ana and his huge army in the late 19th century. After that we all went on to meet our hosts for the night. To our surprise we meet Patrice and her Boyfriend AJ at their friends house. Ben an Jullien meet us with amazing warmth and proved to me once more that the famous "southern hospitality" was not only a myth! After a few beers and some very nice conversation we drove another 20 minutes to get to our couches/matress for the night.

After a great night sleep and an awesome breakfast/lunch at Cracker Barrel I said goodbye to Alex and Filip they went on to see Houston! (It was great meeting you guys, Alex get in touch with me when you go to berlin and do it for sure! Filip have a great time in Cuba and see you again soon!) Then I went on my way to finally go see my first (and most likley last) San Antonio Spurs game. I was at the Arena almost 3 hours early and after endless waiting was allowed entrance about 2 hours before the game. Man I was soo excited to see and experience everything from top to bottom! After a stroll through the whole arena, my small but successfull trip to the fan shop (got a Manu Ginobili jersey), the obligatory picture infront of the 5 NBA Championship trophies I entered the inside of the arena for the first time. Boy that was something really a breathtaking moment for me! I found my amazing seat and never moved a centimeter for the next 2 and a half hours. Let me tell you that was the right thing to do. The game itself was rather disappointing because the New York Knicks the opponent on that night was truely not a good opponent, Coach Pop left all big 4 of Tim Duncan Tony Parker Manu Ginbiobili and Kwahi Leonard out of the game and still there was never a doubt the Spurs would win. In the end a 109:95 win was never in trouble! My end review is still clear, I fullfilled a dream and it was nothing less of absolutly amazing to feel the atmosphere and see all the stars up close! I also know that my seat will be infornt of a screen again in the future and that is ok!

Yesterday I travelled to Mexico City which is where Im writing from now - so far this city blows my mind!

[svenishere]

Miami

was awesome, crazy, pretty, insane, scary, sunny, warm, inspiring, wonderful and full of amazing people that i hope to meet again sometime somewhere! Here are a bunch of pictures that discribe all the above mentioned! Excuse the poor quality most of them are taken with my iphone!

Big shout out to mike and natalie for letting me stay with you - sorry for the door!

[svenishere]

Doing Dallas

Big Bigger the absolute biggest = Dallas Texas. I have to say I have never seen so many for me unusual big things in one place especially the cars streets and distances are huge! Seeing Dirk Nowitzki play live was nothing short of amazing - 30 points from the big German and a Mavs overtime win vs the knicks - I will never forget that i was there. I have to say the music & art scene in Dallas surprised me the most - go find out about CoLab Dallas they are amazing! In the end I had the honor to hang out with amazing people that showed me what 'southern hospitality' is all about - thank you dear 'Dallasites' for making my Dallas Trip unforgetable!

[svenishere]

15

is the number of kilos that measures all possessions I will be carrying on my back for the near future. My aim was to travel as light as possible, I have read of some backpackers with much lesser weight, but for me these are the things I will have with me.

The past two weeks leading up to today have been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster ride, staying at your Mom’s and being a ‘tourist’ in your own city (Berlin that is) does that to you I guess… ah well nothing out of the ‘normal’ here as I have always been a bit of a drama king. 

In those moments it is of great comfort to know I have amazing friends that help me out with giving great advice. One needs to be quoted here

Relax about your worries that you might have, things will be always how they should be and one who understands that is truly the happy one 

That is what I will do.

Now back to the future. Tomorrow I will take a flight that takes me away from Europe for the first time in many years, first stop will be America with some long awaited NBA action and a surprise visit to the epicenter of the art world Art Basel Miami that is! After two weeks in the States I will take a flight to get me to the 10th largest urban area in the World - Mexico City. 

From there I don’t know what will happen…

… but that very thought gets me excited like never before! 

[svenishere]

First stop Salamanca

A few weeks ago my long awaited “big trip” started with a short flight to Madrid, Spain where I spent a night before heading further. Madrid is a very beautiful city with lots to see and just by walking around the city center for one day I was able to get a great taste of what Madrid is like. I then took a bus with destination Salamanca a smaller city about 170 kilometers west of Madrid. This should be the place where I would start to learn Spanish for the next 4 weeks. Now at the near end of those 4 weeks I want to review my experience with a few words.

Salamanca is marvellous, it looks like what cities must have looked like when Cesar was “the man” in Europe. My school and the task at hand – learning Spanish – were not so much to my taste. I think I’m just not made for classrooms! I had more success learning by myself in silence with my own pace and way of understanding. Therefor the school isn’t to blame for the rather unhappy times I spent there. Also after a first week with lots of motivation, frustration set in. All of you who have tried to learn a language know what I’m talking about. I found, that in this situation the best thing for me was to try to stay focused find balance in playing some hoops and fight my own fight… I still haven’t won but I feel good about not giving up and I have much more time ahead of me to master spanish. Important is that I now understand much better what it will take for me to win in the end! I had the pleasure of meeting some interesting people from various different cultures, many of them much younger than me something I had not experienced much before. I knew that I’m much “older” when I was able to impress fellow schoolmates with my (bad) cooking skills! At this point it must be said one very special thank you goes to my awesome roommate Aliai who was a great listener and “helped” (special Ali sound implied) me when I was feeling bad. Everybody needs amazing people like Ali along the way of an adventure like mine. Overall I have to say I learned a lot and ultimately thats what my adventures are all about! 

I’m now about to leave Salamanca to head back to Germany for a quick two weeks.

Then I’m planning to head to Texas USA at the end of November for some fun times with my buddy James plus some long awaited live NBA action!!

To show a few of my favorite places in Salamanca click here and enjoy my first little GoPro video

Adios muy hermosa salamanca