The boy with the red shoes

Let it go
Today I took the plane home, to Lake Constance. We have a class reunion, 21 years after High School (we didn’t make it last year…) I was looking forward to it – seeing old friend again… some I see every time I’m back at the Lake, some I haven’t seen in what might well be […] Read More

Where’s home?

Let it go
After traveling for over ten months now, I often start to ask myself: where is home? I have visited so many places. Just to recall, I have been to Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Santiago, Valparaiso, San Francisco, Melbourne, Hobart, Sydney, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and all through New Zealand, Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima, Zurich, […] Read More

1914-2014

Let it go
While I am traveling around the world, I do realize I miss a lot of things in Europe, which I have deliberately left out of this trip. 3 August 2014 though is a day that I regret not spending on my home continent. It’s the centenary of the German declaration of war on France, hours […] Read More

Road trip budget

Let it go
And with the last bills paid, here’s the budget for the 16-day road trip through New Zealand. All in all I spent 1615 € in 16 days, which is basically the budget foreseen. 685 €  Hotels and Accommodation 435 €  Eating out & drinks 260 €  Cultural activities, entry fees, etc… 140 €  Supermarkets 50   €  other expenses […] Read More

Absolutely Auckland

Let it go
And here’s my best-of-Auckland: Best part/scene/place: Ponsonby. Probably the best mix between residential, restaurants and nightlife. Although much more quiet than Melbourne’s Fitzroy, it has it’s charm. Best drink (alcoholic): I didn’t experiment much. Just some local Kiwi brews. Auckland wasn’t cheap to go out, and I needed to save some money. Best restaurant: Xio Dan in Auckland. […] Read More

NZ99

Let it go
I had a great seat with extra legroom and a window… not for free, Air New Zealand makes you pay for that privilege, but I thought for an 11 hour flight, that’s worth it… The flight was good, even though we had to wear the seatbelt a lot flying through some ultra-high and grey clouds. […] Read More

Up north

Let it go
Time to say good-bye to Te Waipounamu, the South Island. I’m flying north to Auckland for one last night at the airport, before taking the morning flight to Tokyo the day after. Here are the flight statisticss: Flight 17 to Auckland Date: 01/04/2014 Code: ANZ648 from ZQN to AKL Airline: Air New Zealand Plane: Airbus 320 Distance flown: […] Read More

Wrapping up

Let it go
This morning I woke up to a light rain, and decided I hit the road straight away back to Queenstown. The drive was surprisingly fast and smooth, funny how a road always seems shorter when you travel it the second time. I was in Queenstown around 1pm, checked in, and would have had enough time […] Read More

Milford Sound

Let it go
Up early in the morning (around 8!) and after a quick stop to get a Latte, on the road to drive the 120 kilometers to Milford Sound, or Piopiotahi in Māori, after the piopio bird, which is now extinct. It really is at the end of it all. Funnily, two days ago I was just about […] Read More

Fjordland

Let it go
The weather was quite grey in Queenstown, I wasn’t up for a lake tour, so I decided to take the scenic drive along Lake Wakatipu to Glenorchy. Glenorchy is supposed to be a cute town at the end of the lake, basically at the end of all paved roads there. Actually, the road only exists […] Read More

On to Queenstown

Let it go
I got up early (e.g. 9am) because I had nearly 300 kilometers to drive to Queenstown. The lovely hosts of my Burkes Pass Motel gave me a couple of tips. So many in fact that I could easily drive on another two weeks, to cover that. Why read a 500 page Lonely Planet? Just ask […] Read More