Samstag, 13. Juni 2015

Communication on a knife edge

But so far we're doing pretty good. Also the first Russian vocabulary sit. I even managed the natives with sentences (ok, there were exactly two) for a big hello to provide.
What we now cope with some routine, had the first night in St.Petersburg, but his test experience. Despite, or because of the rigors of travel, we were hell-bent, arrival and a first NAP, to drink a beer. After all, was Friday and the weekend standing in front of the door.
So we went, were looking for a bar that was recommended to us and found it finally. The shop is not worth mentioning despite the Nice ambience. However, he opened the eyes of the local price level us right. A tumbler of taste-free beer cost us proud 100 rubles. But that is only on the edge. When I turned the back on our small table in a corner for a minute, Jochen got company at once.
Unsolicited continued a very swallowed apparently (even for Russian standards), stiernackiger guy at our table. To be honest, he was more or less already on Jacobs lap. And also when I me to was, he went on rubbing shoulders. My questioning look, how to assess the situation, receipted Jochen with a tight "it smells of stress". And that's only because Jochen had photographed him like in 2016 Ferry Liverpool Dublin .
To shorten it: there was no stress. With most rudimentary language skills and internationally recognized de-escalation strategies we defused the situation. What with a confident "Nastrovje!", some willing Zigarrettengaben as well as gushy tributes of our opponent's hometown and the charm of its female residents can bring about, is amazing. So some wars could have prevented arguably.
Even if it all was not so dramatic, this episode taught us but that's much harder to assess situations without language skills which he also showed on the Ferry Liverpool Belfast Coupon and is more complicated to respond appropriately in such. And we moved our lessons, of course: since then we cram greetings and pleasantries, as well as all possible toasts diligently.
There are cities that you can endure only when the sun shines. There are cities, even blue sky helps with that. And there's St Petersburg. The sky was mostly grey when we met. That however I noticed while looking at the pictures. Here, the weather is indifferent. Just a tip: you should do the city maybe not in the pouring rain. It would rain one constantly in the mouth before Marvel opened.




Mittwoch, 3. Juni 2015

On my way through Trinidad

From the northern tip of Trinidad to Union Iceland , about halfway between Grenada and Martinique to our goal , we should lead our cruise through the Caribbean. Than 24 hours were estimated for the approximately 150 nautical miles. The boats were ready and we were. At least we thought das.
It was already noon when I left in the small Scotland Bay of Jochen , who translated the dinghy with his skipper Torsten for " Tika Roa." In this shabby , cluttered catamaran , even by his owner as " raft " or " glider "means , Jochen should learn to sail or would it this boat but rather the fear of God I was certainly glad to the. ? " to have hired Ruby ": a charming , twelve -meter, which made me a but much trust give the impression when the catamaran. However, the confidence in the material was necessary because the captain of the ship Ferry Rosslare Cherbourg fell into my rapidly.
Larston had a sunny disposition and laid his beaming smile throughout the day only for a purpose from: powerful voice to the sounds of reggae music from the speakers on board. More than a likeable person with a natural openness and a simple good, I had immediately taken him to heart. But we wanted to share out to sea , " defy the forces of nature and how our fate lay in the hands of God ," as Torsten there is something dramatically formulated. How right but he had this testimony , know generations of sailors. And I should learn it soon while checking sejltur frederikshavn oslo.
It made me a little suspicious that Torsten me before we weighed anchor , casually stated that he wished me " give a crash course in navigation times just." That's harmless , I thought me and invited me a program with charts on my computer. How to read a compass , I already knew. How to use the GPS navigation system and determined by the coordinates displayed on a chart position and course , I was told within five minutes. How classic and by the stars a sextant to navigate , I did not learn this lesson unfortunately. Yet in the last few nights were anyway to see any stars , so the introduction was limited to modern technology on new Ferry Newcastle Amsterdam .
I listened attentively , but hislaconic style , the whole matter let me no great importance. What else? Bow front , rear rear, starboard right and left port. Any questions? No. Even though : How likely was it that I would need to demonstrate my newly learned navigation skills? One can never know Torsten from Berlin replied and revealed to me that Larston could neither read nor write and that the numbers were not his best friends. Oha. Good to know. In a silent minute, I then took the program with the charts again before and busied myself with it in some detail.
Confidence in my skipper was not shocked , but I began to doubt some of his skills. These doubts were strengthened by the knowledge that would lead Larston on this ride his first command as captain. Although he sailed since his youth , but apparently always under expert guidance. Its regular exclamation "bless ," which meant , like "God bless us ," was not suitable as a confidence-building measure. Well, nothing helped. Since I had to go through now , because for a retreat it was too late.



Montag, 11. Mai 2015

From Hanoi to the South

After six months and three tours in Hanoi in northern Vietnam, I already know this quite well, but Vietnam is large or rather long and offers enough space for more interesting cycling. Steeped in history and revolutionary it is doing more or less on the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail along which represented the main supply route for the fighting Vietnamese troops during the Vietnam War. At that time, weapons, ammunition and food were brought to the South on heavily loaded bicycles, mostly with 100 kg loaded wheels were pushed by one or two people and also the“ path“ was more of an imaginary line through the jungle as a driveway and ferry from newcastle to amsterdam.
To date, this has of course changed, even though the road condition in Vietnam still can vary from good to dog miserable and we will also carry our own luggage, but the fit in two saddlebags and hopefully pleasantly warm and temperatures not too hot, the cycling through wild landscape, dense jungles, coffee plantations and endless rice fields rather fun to.
Here in Hanoi, the city celebrates are their thousand-year in October 2010, the palaces of the tour starts and then getting to the south, on the way are minority villages, national parks, caves and hot springs, the bizarre rock formations in the dry Halong Bay, Hue, the Cham temples of My Son, the altitude resort of Dalat, at times beautiful beaches and lots of wild roads through the mountains and the sea. Alternately, it goes from the coast back to the actual Ho Chi Minh Trail, but here it is difficult to find in the long nights and acceptable as it pulls us back to the coast and over the clouds pass.
After 2300 km we arrive in Saigon and have traversed the country from north to south. But I have planned 35 days at the moment, possibly even a few to come. Departure would be the weekend of January when I took a look at the new ferry from Dover to Calais.
The stages are between 5o km and 118 km, with an average of nearly 80 kilometers per cycling day. The profile goes from flat to heavy Dutch Mountain in Dalat it goes up to 2000 meters up.
Technically, the climate is very favourable season. It is the dry season and it is the coolest time of the year. At night, temperatures can drop to the north refreshing 12 to 15 degrees, the daily average is 19 degrees in late January with ferry from Dover to Dunkirk. To the south it will be much warmer, this is where the night temperatures in late February already at 24 degrees and daytime temperatures around 30 degrees. So all in all ideal cycling weather and hopefully not too much rain, while in the north it has 12 rainy days in February, it will dry in the south with only 5 days of rain. For equipment that is almost always short pants, but for the evening but then it takes a thin fleece and of course the rain is divide the luggage.
As on all my private tours there is no support vehicle, but after the experience of recent years, the luggage can be reduced to 12 kg, ie, a thin sleeping bag has two rear panniers and since then at it with.




Montag, 27. April 2015

Trip to the Buffalo National Park

Somehow I 'm glad that the ferry was broken to Fort Simpson. Otherwise I would lie flush left the campsite at the Sambaa Deh Falls on the left and the owner Raymond Michaud not met. I would not be staying with him on the rock slabs to the Trout River Canyon and would not roped me to his fishing spot. And the dead moose on the shore I would not have seen.
He was still pondering the mid-sixties has told how the bull, a capital fellow, with powerful blades, was there, at the foot of the cliff, reaches executed. Because he was not crashed, which it is established. When I pull the blanket over his head shortly before midnight, I thank the broken ferry for that day. And dream of brittle ropes and elk with wings and ship like ferry from liverpool to dublin.
Northwest Territories, Canada's last frontier : I drive from Yellowknife to Whitehorse. Twelve days I had this time, over 3000 kilometers ahead of me. I sleep at campgrounds, and where it is not, I just go right quickly. Although I have piggybacked a soft double bed and other amenities that it has to offer a modern truck camper. But the adventure does not diminish as on the new Ferry Belfast Liverpool .
I roll over endlessly empty highways with legendary status. I am learning to throw overboard plans and improvise. And have lost all sense of time after two or three days in this grand emptiness. I can not say exactly where I am and just how late it is straight. The world from which I come, faded every day a little more.
The Northwest Territories are 1.3 million square kilometers. Distances give the approximately 40,000 residents in hours and days. Accordingly, it is a day to Switzerland large Wood Buffalo National Park A long day, as I am assured in Yellowknife, but the bush fire shortly before the park was indeed under control now, so no problem. So encouraged, I rock with 70 to pace around the Great Slave Lake, through a trough landscape that has pushed the schmilzende permafrost in the Mackenzie Highway or on Ferry Belfast to Cairnryan .
To see there's only forest, the circumstances and low poesielos, and sand and gravel pile parked in front of abandoned bulldozers. All in all, a real test of patience, because in Europe I had circled in the same time the Netherlands. At the end of the day moved into Fort Smith a dozen buffalo grazing the entrance to the campsite. As the brown- black giants finally pull off, makes the manager workday.
" Pick the best place," he calls through the car window, "and move the money tomorrow under the office door ! " In the end, I see on the way to Buffalo National Park more than this flesh mountains in the park itself bulls, females, boy. Moments like Safari in South Africa.
According to opinion polls, the situation in Hesse is still pretty confusing anyway. Currently, everything looks like a very tight result in the federal election in two weeks. By the end of August, the published exit polls consistently signaled a slight edge for red-green. On Wednesday surprised the " Presse" with a poll of black and yellow was just ahead for the first time. Whether this indicates a shift in opinion is controversial.





Samstag, 18. April 2015

Summer holiday and getting coffee

Coffee halfway up in palm leaf roofed hut : Four police officers playing cards at the next table : The knowledge that we have no Vietnamese driving license, we know that the know, and who know that we know that they know... The eye contact is extensive, the uniformed estimate how much trouble we would do in case of doubt, and my face trying to say a lot of trouble, a lot of trouble, so much trouble that the dong some not worth the stress. Full seriousness we nod to us, the card game goes on, we will get : lucky and take a look at the cost Ferry Dublin Liverpool.
Again, trying to coffee a few glass beads to sell ( maybe we wear grass skirts and garlands ? ). An old sitting on floor and chews something red : lips and teeth discoloured bloody, as if she had just bitten into something alive. As it is clear that our consumption potential was exhausted with coffee, mineral water and mints, the hysterical friendliness turned into our trip: Even our polite Bye-bye remains unrequited.
The problem is : Hello- hello- country makes a slowly but surely blunted Idiots : In the evening I spoke a young girl in order kindly pointed out to me that I have just a pack of cigarettes has fallen out of the bag: it says " Excuse me " - I look in the first pulse in the other direction and accelerating the pace. And could even slap me then but looked at cost Ferry Harwich Hook of Holland>.
Just because parts of the population play as pushing a button, the trickster - record, as they are a non - Vietnamese sight, as far as I 'm soon to refuse any normal everyday communication. I find myself, as I stop the people to look at the faces : fear I lower my gaze to the floor, if eye contact is threatening : for fear of how- are-you -today -buy -some- peanuts - attack. The mercantile interests, however, does a disservice to the intrusiveness : Hello- hello has been sold to us by the reliable input of each clothes store and Summer Ferry Dublin Holyhead .
Censorship is there to handle it, especially the self-imposed : As at breakfast in the hotel three female chunks suddenly turn out to be those young New Zealanders, with her penetrating "It's just like me on the bus to Ha Long, you know, like, I mean Wow ! " have driven to madness, a renewed reflection on the phenomenon of tourists and tourism is inevitable. So go ahead : Why we hate the German tourism like the plague ?
Why reduce the voice of German abroad when other German locations in the café at the next table ? Why do they hide in the most beautiful places, photographing and get lost rather, to be recognized as by the use of a map as a tourist ? Why do they wear muted colors, subtle hairstyles and long linen pants and furtively eyeing the sights from the corner of his eye, while Spanish, English, Chinese, Japanese and Australians bring legs and cheerful in their Hawaiian shirts and shorts giga - big camera in position ? Is it the Mallorca Trauma in Kiel?
Or are we still afraid to come as conquerors, invaders, invaders in foreign countries ? Basically we are ashamed of the German- being, and because his own German - striking, especially abroad, we are being German with Tourism same.




Sonntag, 5. April 2015

Trans-Siberian Railway to China

We will probably never in the Trans-Siberian Railway forget the day, nor the rigors of bus trips to Southeast Asia or South America. It is God knows not only positive ( or safe ) experiences, but to all formative experiences. The same goes for our motorcycle tour, even if scorners of course rightly noticed that our plane in this country only fall into the category of“ moped." It was far more adventurous as expected, but certainly nothing to compare with what we have experienced so far.
Also boats of all sizes and species we have already driven many who cruise through the Caribbean and the cross oceans on container ships but were for us a whole new experience and definitely unforgettable with cost Ferry Holyhead Dublin.
We do not want to talk about big drum: Luck was hold us in all the time. We did not experience a few dicey situations, but we all survived intact. Whether it's the trouble with the authorities in Moscow and various motorcycle crashes, there were tsunami alert, language barriers or corrupt policemen who wanted us to your savings - it was in all cases lightly. We were spared from serious diseases and other misfortunes. A lucky. We were also largely spared from attacks and theft.
We met many others who did not fare any way. However, we also noted in those stories that you develop a sense for certain situations over time. One senses a rip-off against the wind, being aware of potential dangers and learn properly assess risk. At least mostly. On the other hand, one lies down with a certain serenity. Serenity fed from confidence and trust. Trust that there is a solution for every problem. But also trust in the people and a general benevolence in this world ( this trust but should not be confused with naivety ). We drove very well. We were helped selflessly and often especially, we experienced hospitality. In almost every country we visited and looked at the cost Ferry Harwich Hook of Holland.
We can only hope that we retain this serenity, this confidence and trust. We can only hope that we will have the opportunity to return the kindness shown to us. And we can only hope that we will continue with the Luck.
The campaign was a success, but now I want to talk not about marketing, but about the bars, which was helped by the message conveyed by Coca-Cola. Those who were in Spain, know with certainty that the bars are an integral part of society. In my street, in a five-block radius, there are at least thirty bars.
Since I live in Spain, I have not seen a football game at home and received the same quarter of home visits compared to my stay in Berlin. To drink, eat, watch football, eat breakfast, hang out, greet bartenders to talk with the neighbors, which we know only from the bar... I am convinced that the apartments much smaller than in Berlin in Madrid are, because we spend half the time in the bar.




Freitag, 3. April 2015

Car trip to Lanzhou

The basic price of the cruise should, unless expressly included in the price, the cost of arrival and departure will be added to the transfer port. Also, tips on board are not included services and must also be factored in budget planning. In addition, most drinks, and offered shore excursions or other on-board services, such as spa treatments, extra. A fuel surcharge may also come to the passenger, especially in times of high oil prices and ferry crossing cairnryan belfast.
This is the provider but then indicated separately. Also applies to concerns that the catalog prices are usually on double occupancy. If you're travelling alone, you can expect a premium for single use. So it is always important to consider the total cost of the cruise in the focus, because not always a cheaper base price is really a bargain and is quickly met by the high charges on board. Especially in base price can save neat!
On 27.9.2010 it started, with Andreas and Thomas together, I threw myself into this new adventure at the edge of Tibet, it was very exhausting and a little too cool, because the weather was not the best this fall and farmers have grumbled because they could not bring dry their harvest. You can find all my adventures in the same blog,“ mountains, temples, Tankhas and ferry crossing Dublin Holyhead.
From Lanzhou, the large city on the Yellow River it comes to the northwest a piece on the silk road. We drive on crumbling sections of the Great Wall of China along and visit the largest reclining Buddha in a traditional temple hall of the Qing Dynasty. On the tripwe equip the bustling metropolis Province Wuwei a visit. This stage is still very much influenced by the Muslim Hui minority, we have also roam the edges of the erstwhile Tibet, with its characteristic prayer flags and stupa. I remember also my last ferry crossing Cairnryan Larne.
A detour takes us into the caves of Matisi, this former monastery on the Silk Road is home to a variety of wall paintings and Buddha sculptures that were sponsored by merchants and caravan leaders and protect the trade route. The system is not so big such as the Cave Grottoes in Dunhuang, but also less frequented by tourists and you can calmly take his tour of the caves on stele ladders and stairs and enjoy the wonderful views of the nearby foothills of the Shan Qinlin.
In Zhangye, we have the opportunity to admire the largest reclining Buddha like in the BBC report. Zhangye but also stands otherwise with charm, good restaurants and excellent Tea and was an important trading centre on the ancient Silk Road for centuries. Then we turn towards Tibet and at first welcomed us passports Tibetan prayer flags and Manistones large pile of stones, in which the Tibetan incantation“ omani patme hum" were engraved.
The shepherds have built their rectangular, black tents in the summer camps and large herds of sheep and yaks grazing in the green plateaus, while all around the eternally snow -covered summits shine. Almost 4000 meters to overcome the well-paved road in the air, but we have been well used in the past week, to the height, so we have no fear of altitude sickness.