Category Archives: Travelling

10 tips to self when travelling

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People who know me, also know that I can get easily distracted, a little naive and drifting sometimes. Which is quite ok if you walk around in your own neighborhood but can be even up to dangerous when you’re in a foreign environment. So the last days in New York where quite a good practice to put together a list to myself what to do when travelling since South America will be a bit more challenging. You might laugh at the advices or think they are trivial but they have been proven to be useful. At least for me. I am going to learn them by heart now. If you have any more suggestions, please put them in the comments!

1. Most important, but always done wrong: Don’t take more with you than absolutely necessary. You have to carry all the shit around and a shirt more or less can make a difference.

2. Put your stuff always in the same pockets so you know where to find it. And that something is wrong when it’s not there.

3. Never put all the valuable stuff in one place so if you get stolen or robbed, it’s not gone altogether. Always keep a dollar in your pocket, for tips and robbers.

4. Remember key features of your environment like shops or houses.

5. When riding a bus or the train, make sure you’re going in the right direction and you get off at the right station. Sounds easy. It’s not.

6. When entering a store or coffee shop, make sure which direction you came from so you know where to continue.

7. Turn around once in a while to see what the way looks like you came from, so you’ll recognize it coming from the other direction.

8. Information in emails is fine but useless when you cannot access it. Write the important stuff like telephone numbers, flight dates or addresses on paper.

9. When in need for some advice for the right way, ask women who could be your mum. In terms of age I mean. They will help you.

10. With all the caution it’s also ok to trust. Trust yourself, trust trustworthy people, trust your luck and fate.

And number 11 I gladly take from the comments:

11. Make a picture of your luggage in case you have to check it in. Very helpful at the lost baggage counter.

Strolling in Brooklyn Bed-Stuy

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Whilst being in New York, I have the great pleasure to stay with my friend Anna who is a photographer with a very warm-hearted eye for what makes people special. Her flat/studio is located in a former shoe factory, it’s very spacious, with lots of light falling in, the sun wakes me up in the morning. And besides letting me sleep on her couch she even teaches me some photography basics. That’s a good start for my trip, definitely!

The studio is in a part of Brooklyn which is called Bed-Stuy, since the streets Bedford and Stuyvesant kind of define it. It has some famous children, like Jay-Z or Mos Def and is traditionally a residential area. Currently, it’s in a state of change and many people claim it’s the most exciting and dynamic part of New York right now.

While Williamsburg, the part of Brooklyn which is right opposite to Manhattan, could be seen at the end of a development, Bed-Stuy might be at the beginning of it. Williamsburg has lived a tremendous change in the last 20 years with the typical mechanisms of gentrification. First came the artists, later the bars and cafes, the galleries, the fashion shops and all of a sudden the rents are expensive, tourists flood the streets and no young artist can afford to live there anymore.

Williamsburg right now is a prosperous and stylish neighborhood full of people and trendy shops, bars and clubs. In Bed-Stuy you see uninhabited houses with wood nailed to their doors, lots of trash laying around and Anna’s place is in a street which was called ‘crack alley’ only a few years ago. When I arrived yesterday, I did not really feel that comfortable. It was dark, the shops you could see around where mainly second hand furniture places or cheap restaurants that sell food over a counter secured with a plastic wall and people seemed to hang out in the street for no obvious reason, just because they didn’t have anything to do. It was impossible to find a bar to sit in and have a tea and a beer.

Now, two days later, I know that there are very nice places, I just didn’t know yet where. Despite the area being mainly rough, there are some nice coffee shops already and of course many creative people who use the space they could never afford in Williamsburg, not to talk about Manhattan.
Yesterday morning, I got to see the office of longform.org who do summaries of essays and reports in magazines like The New Yorker, Time magazine or GQ. They have a very fluffy cat and look forward to their launch party to promote the upcoming ipad app. Moreover, there are coffeshops like Choice or Outpost and bars like Tip Top where I hope to meet some friends tonight. Maybe we’ll be discussing to what extend Bed-Stuy can be compared to Williamsburg and if it’s really on a similar path.

How to prepare a tortilla

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Here is a tutorial with many pictures about how to prepare a typical spanish tortilla. I did this for an interesting market and innovation research for Phillips who wanted to find out how people in Europe eat and cook in their everyday life. A very well done project, thanks to Funky Projects for inviting me! I learned the recipe from my flatmate Juan, here is another video with him showing how to prepare a delicious pasta. Unfortunately German users are not allowed to see it because of the music in it 🙁

The slideshow describes the steps: Ingredients potatoe, onions, garlic, spices, olive oil. Cut the potatoes in cubes, the onions and the garlic and heat up oil well in a pan. Frie potatoes, onions and garlic at hot temperature for about 7 minutes. Meanwhile stir the eggs with salt and peppar, about 2 eggs per person. Put the eggmass to the potatoes and turn down the temperature immediately to the lowest level. Cover the mass and let it cook for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile you can prepare a simple tomatoe salad with basil, oil, vinegar, honey, salt and peppar and cut ham and salsicha as side dishes. Uncover the pan and make sure the egg mass has become solid. Now be brave! Cover the pan with a big plate and turn around fast. Put the tortilla which is almost done back in the pan for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it slow down for another minute. The tortilla is now ready to be served and can be cut like a cake. Eat with salad, cheese, ham and bread. Beer goes along well also.

My trip to South America

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Within two weeks I will be off and travelling South America for two months, and I am dead excited! Preparations are almost made, I have a perfect bagpack, not too big, not too small, I have the right jacket, shoes, one of these lights you can put on your head, a sleeping bag, a kindle device for reading books, lots of audio books on the ipod, I have a towel which is light and tiny but has the superdrying powers and I hope the vaccination from the Thailand trip should also work in South America.

I got tons of tips from friends what to visit and to see, I have adresses to tango bars in Buenos Aires and to surfer beaches in Ecuador, hostels in La paz and trails in the Andes. But even more important, I have people to meet, friend’s cousins in Argentina, a friend in Lima, friends of friends in Quito and so on.


Größere Kartenansicht

And here is the route I’ll be travelling: To NYC on the 8th of feb, stay for three days, fly to Buenos Aires, stay for a week, than a long trip to Salta, Atacama desert, Potosí, La Paz, Puno, Titicaca, Cuzco, Inka Trail, Lima, stay for some days and travel slowly north at the coast line to Ecuador and finally to Quito from where I fly back via NYC again after two months. Back in Berlin in april when the weather should start getting better slowly.

So, the excitment grows every day! I don’t know how much internet I am going to allow myself, but I will sure post some updates about the trip from time to time. Also, I want to thank all of the people who help me with advice and lend me stuff, my flatmates who are going to take care of our place while I am away and last but not least, the PANORAMA3000 team who make it possible for me to leave the office for quite a long time. It’s going to be great!

Streetmapper auf Konbini

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Nischiger, professioneller und urbaner Videocontent: I like! Und bei Konbinis Streetmapper Shows haben wir es mit solchen Inhalten zu tun. Auskenner und Szenegänger aus Paris, Berlin oder Barcelona ( stellen ihre Lieblingsplätze vor und erzählen dabei auch immer etwas über sich selbst. In Berlin sehr gut gelungen mit Philip Gaedicke, der u.a. den SOTO Laden macht. Have a look:

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Urlaubslektüre

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Morgen ist es erstmal vorbei mit Schmuddelwetter und enttäuschten Frühlingsgefühlen. Hoffentlich. Denn ich bin erstmal für eine Woche weg und werde die schöne Insel La Gomera auf Wander- und Wein-auf-der-Terrasse-Tauglichkeit prüfen. Kein TV, kein Telefon, vor allem kein Internet. Nur Natur und Bücher. Aber was lesen? Es gibt so viele tolle Romane, eine kleine Twitter- und Facebook-Umfrage brachte schnell viele Vorschläge, hier ein Überblick der Empfehlungen, der mich stolz macht angesichts der kulturellen Versiertheit meines Freundeskreises. Danke an alle!

Von Matthias: “Der Nazi und der Frisör” von Edgar Hilsenrath– laut Spiegel “eine Satire über Juden und SS. Ein Schelmenroman, grotesk, bizarr und zuweilen von grausamer Lakonik …”

Von Verena: “Die Welt ist nicht immer Freitag” von Horst Evers : “Horst Evers’ schrägen Geschichten ist ihre Kneipenherkunft anzumerken” meint Klaus Bittermann via Perlentaucher. Schräge Kneipengeschichten, das klingt wie gemacht für mich.

Von Hans Inherent Vice von Thomas Pynchon (“leichter Brocken”) und Infinite Jest von David Foster Wallace (“schwerer Brocken”)

Von die_anderen und gawd668 Matt Ruffs “Fool on the hill” und “Ich und die anderen”
sowie von Tom Robbins “Völker dieser Welt relaxt” und “Halbschlaf im Froschpyjama”

von @nilzenburger Dave Eggers – Ein herzzerreißendes Werk von umwerfender Genialität

von @herr_kiebig Im Wald der gehenkten Füchse von Arto Paasilinna

von @SPD_amin Christian Krachts Faserland

Von @reen3000 “Die Zunge Europas” von Heinz Strunk oder “Kill your friends” von John Niven

Von nordfischbaby “Hard Boiled Wonderland” von Murakami, “Und im Zweifel für dich selbst” von kumullus und “Ein perfekter Freund” von Martin Suter

Und dann kamen noch:

Von Julia: Hairstyles of the Damned von Joe Meno

Von Anne: Das Buch der Illusionen von Paul Auster

Von Maria: Siri Hustvedt – Sorrows of an American oder What I Loved

Von Benjamin: The Road von Cormac Macarthy und The Terror von Dan Simmons

Von Imran: Rawi Hage: Als ob es kein Morgen gäbe und Junot Diaz: Das kurze wundersame Leben des Oscar Wao

Damit nicht genug, ich musste die Geschichte natürlich abends auf einer Party erzählen mit dem Effekt dass ich noch mehr Autoren und Bücher empfohlen bekam: Neil Stephenson, Bräuning, Alexander Osang, Bruce Sterlin, “Ich schlage vor dass wir uns küssen”, Basil Davidson, Tiziano Terzani, Gregory David Roberts “Shantaran”, Fabrizio Gatti “Bilal”.

Ein Buch habe ich schon, das ich auf jeden Fall mitnehmen werde: “Generation Porno” von Johannes Gernert und ich jetzt gehe ich los und besorge mir noch ein paar andere. Toll! Das wird mich sicher auch über den Urlaub hinaus vom Fernsehen befreien. Ich danke euch allen sehr und vielleicht schreibe ich anschließend noch die eine oder andere Rezension.

Goldener Oktober in Paris

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Vor ein paar Wochen war ich ja in Paris und es war toll. Viel schöner als ich erwartet hatte, um ehrlich zu sein. Das Wetter mit seiner golden-milden Oktobersonne war daran nicht ganz unschuldig, tatsächlich war es so angenehm draußen dass man gar keinen Fuß in ein Museum setzen wollte, sondern nur durch die Gegend laufen. Was wir dann auch gemacht haben, nur ganz am Ende habe ich mir dann doch noch das architektonisch unglaublich aufregende Musée am Quai Branly angeschaut (das aber innen dann nicht mehr ganz so irre ist wie außen).

Die Wohnung war auch irre (gefunden via Homelidays, danke für den Tipp, Lisa!), denn sie hatte 4 Etagen. 4! Dafür aber auch nur ca. 15qm Grundfläche, aber alles war drin was man brauchte. Wir durften sogar die CDs hören und die Comics lesen, die in der Wohnung waren, normalerweise wohnt dort nämlich ein Fotograf, Lehrer und Kletterer, das merkte man an all den schönen Büchern, der Fotokunst und den Kletterhaken die an die Wände geschlagen waren. Kochen konnte man dort auch sehr gut, einmal haben wir uns aber ein Diner in einem kleinen gemütlichen Restaurant im Marais gegönnt, dort wird mit viel Liebe und ganz einfach gekocht, dazu gab es lockeren Jazz von zwei Gitarren, der Tip: L’attirail in der rue au marie.

Und hier: Fotos!

Looking back at Reboot11

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Danish is a funny language. Let alone pronouncing the Reboot11‘s venue “Kedelhallen” correctly is a command of its own. It’s something like “cahilhäln” but we never got it right. Said it, looked into puzzled faces, wrote it down and were told “oh, you mean cahilhäln!” Finally got there, were amazed.

An old industrial building with several rooms, the walls covered with handwritten paper and plans and rooms and talks, with small wooden chairs outside and a 3d printer which can repair its 3d printer brother and a supercreative crowd who didn’t care about business cards and seemed to be really interested in answers (not the kind of people that ask “so, what do you do?” and then look the other way).

And: Whenever talks mentioned the word “crisis”, they never meant the financial crisis but were talking about the climate crisis ahead and how to adress it with smart technology and will. Most of the sessions I found interesting, but I was surprisingly dissapointed by two internet legends who seemed not to care so much about inspiring people: Dave Winer who just let the audience talk and produced a lot of unstructred noise (nothing against open mic but without some outlines there will be nothing of substance) and Stowe Boyd who told us to use our rights on the net. Yeah, thanks.

But some stuff was truly amazing, there was a hellride through all sorts of geo location examples and tools by Andrew Turner, a very dark yet humorous speech by Bruce Sterling (“get the best bed you can get!”) and again, the Placebo of tech festivals, David Weinberger about Cyberutopianism. Not to mention Tor Nørretranders who showed us how literally sharing your shit makes things better.

Look for more posts about reboot11, thank you again Peter for suggesting me to go!

“Captured” – documenting Clayton Patterson’s work

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On saturday I had the chance to see the European premier of “Captured” at Babylon Berlin, as part of the American independent film fest “Unknown Pleasures“.

“Captured” is a film about the New York artist Clayton Patterson and a film about the change in the Lower East side, Manhattan, during the last 20 years. Patterson has tons of foto and video material from the time when the Lower East side was a dirty, cheap, chaotic, independent, arty, druggy, anarchic area. Not only with Giuliani this changed into yet another hip and expensive place to live in New York nowadays. “Captured” shows this change and the protagonists around Patterson, e.g. the art scene, the hardcore scene (with Bad Brains e.g.), the queer scene, the squatters.

Filmmakers Den Levin, Ben Solomon and Jenner Furst managed to boil down Pattersons’ hours of film into a consistent, exciting and interesting 90min movie, which literally makes you feel sad you hadn’t been there when it was still rough.

Captured Homepage
Captured MySpace