JUST TRAVELOUS

Between you and me: I don’t like Munich. There is no particular reason, I just can’t stand this city. Munich is pretty and some of my friends even live there and like it. And yes, Munich gets even me every single time I’m there. Kind of. For one night. A wink, a “damn, this is beautiful”, some sighing, sleeping on it, but then. Then you’re awake and you look to the left (or the right) and the hot fling from last night is not as smashing as you thought. And you just wanna run. But as it is a city and not a person you can’t say “I’m sorry but I have an early meeting at work” and that’s it. You could leave. But then again sometimes you can’t.

The sky above Munich. Blue-White. Almost.

I couldn’t because I was there for work. And if you stay things will happen. Munich things. And stories. Like this one time I asked the bus driver if this bus stops there and there and he said: “How should I know? Look at the map!” Or this staring thing. The people in Munich do star. All the time. Not only at me. They star at EVERYONE. From the bottom left corner across their designer sun glasses. And I always think: “Dude, what’s wrong?” But I was told they don’t mean it in a bad way.

And what they are talking about. Dude. Seriously. I did a case study at the newsstand.

It’s all about beer, naked people, people freaking out and football. Yap, that’s Munich.

To be honest I have no idea how to survive Munich. Best thing is to leave as soon as possible. And no, “You can do so many cool outdoor stuff here” doesn’t count as a reason to stay. I have no idea how to ski and Berlin has more lakes than Munich. And prettier ones. In my opinion. But ok, I do have some tips which may help you to survive Munich if you have to stay there for more than one night.

- start drinking beer

- buy a Dirndl (or Lederhosn)

- use this staring thing

- don’t ever take the bus

- go and have a pizza at “Pizzeria Europa”. Best pizza in town in my opinion. (But that’s also the only pizzeria I’ve been to in Munich)

Disclaimer: don’t take this too serious. Seriously.

When the moon hits your eyes like a big pizza pie – that’s amore. Yes, it’s love. How could it be something else. I’m talking about Rome. Yes, I know. Dean Martin is not singing about the eternal city. But seriously. When you dance down the street with a cloud at your feet, you‘re in love. Exactly. That was exactly how I felt after I stood for the very first time in front of the Colosseum and when I was walking back to my fancy apartment (wait for the video!) through the nearly empty streets of Rome by night I knew I’m in love. Rome was exactly how I always imagined it. Ciao, ciao bella. Come stai? Sigh.

Dean Martin-That’s Amore

I will soon publish more about my trip to Rome including some videos. But until then I’ll let you suspiring. With Dean Martin and my Instagram pictures of Rome.

View from my apartment in Via delle Quattro Fontane. Thanks to wimdu for hosting me!

Balconyporn deluxe. Would do anything to live in this apartment.

Mercato Testaccio is closing soon. Better go on a foodtour with Kenny there soon.

You get to the underground of the Colosseum with a tour of WalksofItaly.

Definitely NOT the best Quattro Formaggi I had in Rome. But this view. Sigh.

I will tell you soon where I had the best Quattro Formaggi in Rome, what I’ve did in Rome and what I will never do again and also how many coins I threw into the Trevi Fountain. So stay tuned and check out more pictures of my trip to Rome on my Facebook page.

Sun is tickling my skin and I close my eyes to drink in her smell. An ant scuttles across my arm and waves are pounding on the lakeshore. Summer arrived in Berlin. Finally. The city is seething and groaning and is vibrating full of zest for life. And we’re driving. Out of the city into the countryside. To Königs-Wusterhausen. Just because we like the sound of it. And we want to spend the perfect summer day at a lake around Berlin. At any of these. Somehow we will find one. There are so many. Hundreds of lakes around Berlin. To the right? To the left? Oh: Nixenweg (mermaids alley). That’s where we want to go. And then we’re sitting there at the Krüpelsee, of which we’ve never heard before.

Thanks to Nina Hüpen-Bestendonk and Kathrine Opshaug-Bakke for this wonderful day!

A typical Berlin-like weekend and me as your tourguide. I’m totally overwhelmed how many of you wanted to spend a weekend with me and entered my contest. How life goes, there was only one winner. And this was Alexandra.

We had a lot of fun and did almost everything you need to do and see in Berlin. And we’ve met Mickey Mouse at the Brandenburg Gate, visited Madame Tussauds (where Alexandra had a short romance…), got the “I’m on a boat” badge, tested for sure the new Meininger Hotel Berlin Airport, cooked a delicious dinner (well ok, Alexandra cooked, I was busy filming), laughed a lot and had breakfast at Anna Blume…

Thanks to Meininger Hotels for making this travelous weekend possible.

I love sunsets. To be honest I could watch sunsets all day long, from the morning until the evening, watching, adoring, taking pictures, adoring. Rewind and repeat. And I was lucky enough to see so many beautiful sunsets. Here are my favourite sunsets around the world and the story behind.

Andalusia, March 2008

We were filming for German TV in Andalusia and our trip went from Malaga, along the coastline to Costa de la Luz. It was march and the water of the Atlantic Ocean was freezing cold, the beach deserted. In the moment sun was setting, she painted not only the water but also the beach in a colour-ocean of red, blue and yellow. Ever since the best sunset I’ve seen so far.

Jamaica, February 2009

They say Rick’s Cafe in Negril is the best place to watch sunset in Jamaica. I think I’ve took over 1000 pictures of this sunset, to conserve it, forever. But I didn’t really FEEL it. Two days later I was at the beach, alone. Just me, the sun setting and the water sparkling. I had no camera with me. And enjoyed the moment to the fullest.

Koh Phi Phi, April 2010

I will never forget the feeling when my toes first dipped into the powdery sand at Long Beach in Koh Phi Phi. My first thought: I will stay forever. Two hours later I knew this will be the place to open my coconut bikini company. And watch this gorgeous sunset every single day.

Norway, September 2011

I wouldn’t have been surprised if in this very moment a troll would have crossed my path. And a fairy would have asked me for directions. Somehow I had the feeling the trees were whispering something. Something I couldn’t understand. As I don’t speak Norwegian.

Cuba, October 2010

We’ve been on our way back from Cayo Largo to Havana. The old Russian plane had no AC and only three windows on each side. I felt very Indiana Jones-ish. The sweat was running down my back and the bags in the luggage net were waving, flurrying. One after the other passed his camera to me sitting in the front, next to one of the few windows, with the perfect view on this amazing sunset.

Berlin, December 2011

This sunset was kind of sublime. The Brandenburg Gate with it’s rich history and this cloud formation which could be also likely from the movie “Independence Day”. And my camera was dead. Thank god I have my iPhone so I am now able to share this sunset with you. I bet you wouldn’t have believed me otherwise.

Do you love sunsets as much as I do? Then follow my sunset board on Pinterest for the best sunset pictures from all around the world.

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