Memories and hints of a travelling IT professional.
As I was travelling to Sarajevo, Bosnia, I got a very cheap flight which included a 15 hours layover in Beograd. Not much time for the capital city of Serbia, but enough to see the main sights of the city and to catch a bit of the atmosphere. I had to prepare well and especially to get some Serbian dinar in advance.
One of my annual traditions is to participate in the Labour Day march and gatherings on May 1st. As a child my father, who was work council member of Deutsche Bahn, took me there and I never missed this festivity since then. Normally I would attend in my home town, Göttingen, but as I disagreed with some decisions of the local DGB regional organisation (Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, German federation of unions) lately, I chose to relocate for this day.
Continue reading “Labour Day in Hann. Münden”
This time I came to Stuttgart to introduce a friend to the city – and to see my team loose against the Verein für Bewegungsspiele (VfB), a designated candidate for the descent to the second league, in the Mercedes-Benz-Arena. But as we were meeting some friends that moved to Stuttgart, my mood was unbreakable.
Continue reading “Swabian metropolis”
On my last day in Rio de Janeiro, the two most favorite teams in Rio – Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas (Botafogo FR) and the Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (CR Flamengo) matched at Estádio do Maracanã. Of course I had to be there. So I chose the colours red and black (kind of strange for me) and went to support Flamengo (“mengo – mengo – mengo!“).
Continue reading “Botafogo x Flamengo”
When arriving in Rio de Janeiro, I had mostly seen rural life in Brazil (exempt São Paulo). I had the image of the big bad city in mind, having read too many security advices from guidebooks and state authorities. And I had to get rid of this and to find out, that Rio de Janeiro is in fact the cidade maravilhosa (marvelous city).
Continue reading “Cidade maravilhosa”
Going to Vila do Abraão means a slow boat trip to Ilha Grande, enjoying nice views on the green island. As I arrived in the village I was expected by a luggage porter who carried my trunk with a pull-cart to my hotel, the Pousada Naturalia. I was really happy about this, because on the island there is nearly no pavement: Even the streets in the village were simply sand.
Continue reading “Life in Vila do Abraão”
Coconuts can be dangerous, especially when falling from a palm and striking you on the head. But it has to be considered an urban legend, that a considerable number of people per year die because of this fruit. In Vila do Abraão on Ilha Grande they can say: You have been warned.
I’ve been to many places where religion plays an important role, but Brazil seems to rule them all out. Christianity is of massive importance here and even the housenumber signs remind you to smile – because “Jesus loves you”. You can’t omit seeing catholic statements nearly everywhere.
Brazil is a country with a lot of tropical rainforest. Many areas are quite unreachable and in earlier days some places could only be reached by boat. That is why some cities exist: Especially the Portuguese colonial masters arrived with their ships at the coast and had to walk into the mainland to find gold (for example in Minais Gerais).
Continue reading “Road trip from Santos to Rio”
São Paulo is one of the biggest cities in Brazil und going by car into the town is quite an adventure. I wouldn’t say that traffic is as mad as in Marseille, but it is definitivly close to it. Especially the motorways around the city are special: Most times four lanes going parallel, then two surprisingly change their direction or cross the other two via a bridge. A miracle, if you arrive without getting lost at least once.
Continue reading “Entering São Paulo”