CURRENT MISSION

From summer 2014 to summer 2015 I traveled around world, always eastwards. I took as few flights as possible - actually only to cross the Pacific and the Atlantic - and spent hundreds of hours on rusty busses, ancient, but beautiful trains, or just hoping for a coincidental ride to my next destination.

My route was leading me from Norway through Russia to Mongolia, and after seven months in the Mongolian countryside, further on through China, Viet Nam, Japan, and from the Canadian West coast to the East of the US.

I prefer traveling slowly, and so far it´s been the best year of my life. I learned more than school, books or the internet could ever teach you. Like the taste of freshly milked horse milk, shared with nomads from the Gobi desert, the smell of burning incense torches in a Shinto-shrine in the middle of Tokyo, or the laughter of a little Vietnamese girl who climbs up a tree to pass down a never before tried fruit.

All those people who hosted me, let me sleep in their yurts, on their kitchen floors and sofas, they were and are the greatest teachers.

ABOUT ME

I grew up in a small village in Germany with only 700 inhabitants back then. I longed for seeing the world, getting to know other cultures, meet people who were different. I belong to the generation who still grew up without the internet, but with a tiny local library that opened twice a week for a few hours. So I sticked to books at first, became a reader, then a bookseller and a literature student. It took a few years before I was able to make my wish come true. My parents and grandparents never left our home village, and I'm happy to see how interested they are in my experiences, encounters and adventures. It brings the world back home to them.

Warum ich bei Couchsurfing bin

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Couchsurfed in Russia, Mongolia, Japan, Canada and the US, and hosted people from Europe and America...

Interessen

Photography, art, writing, reading, listening, staying curious, making friends, being a friend.

• arts
• writing
• books
• literature
• photography
• picnic
• walking
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• mountains

Musik, Filme und Bücher

Books: "Beatles" by Lars Saabye Christenssen. "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger (and all his other writing). "Wild" by Sheryl Strayed. "Quiet" by Susan Cain. "The Gift of Fear" by Gavin de Becker. "Thinking Slow and Fast" by Daniel Kahnemann. Most books and essays by Daniel Kehlmann. Graphic novels by Chris Ware, Jason, Will Eisner, Lewis Trondheim, Marjane Satrapi, Schuiten and Peeters, and many more.

Movies: Lost in Translation. The Skeleton Twins. Harold & Maude. The Graduate. John & Mary. Groundhog Day. Back to the Future. Boyhood. Francis Ha. Oh Boy. Blue Valentine. Wish I Was Here.

Eine tolle Erfahrung, die ich gemacht habe

Leaving my tiny hometown. Living under the Polar Light and the Midnight Sun for a year. Traveling on the Transsiberian Railway and looking up to the full moon and the stars from my berth. Finding shelter from the rain in a tiny Russian village, and getting spontaneously served home-made vodka and homegrown cucumbers by the locals. Surviving a stormy night in the tent on the shores of Lake Baikal. Seeing the sunset in Gobi Desert, watching the camels return back home to their owners, and then discovering the Milky Way above. Attending a wedding in the Mongolian countryside and joining the several-weeks-lasting New Year's celebrations in many Mongolian homes - being the first foreign guest in each one of them. Having a picnic on the Great Wall of China. Riding on a motorbike through the Highlands of Viet Nam. Visiting Fukushima where I got lost in the woods, before I made the acquaintance of several warm-hearted, welcoming locals. Waking up in a tent, looking outside and seeing the snow-covered Canadian Rocky Mountains. Spending 90 hours (non-stop) on the train to cross North America from West to East. Sleeping in my hammock on the balcony of a kind, funny and warm-hearted Arabian host in Washington DC. Walking through the streets of New York City for 14 days and nights, and realize that this is hardly more than a glimpse of the world we live in. To be continued...

Was ich mit Gastgebern teilen kann

https://nachostenundweiter.wordpress.com/

Länder, die ich besucht habe

Austria, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Malta, Mongolia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United States, Viet Nam

Länder, in denen ich gelebt habe

Germany, Mongolia, Norway