“Although São Paulo is definitely a city in which cars rule,
you’ll have to possess vast amounts of patience
(and a certain degree of insanity)
to consider renting a car here.”
– Michael Sommers
Driving through São Paulo
Confusion around day & time
When travelling you really need to know which day and which time it is. You need to catch trains, busses and planes. And you need to be at sights and museums while they are open. While being in Brazil I had two big surprises concerning day and time.
Getting familiar with Brazilian Portuguese
Different times I’ve been asked how I got around in Brazil without speaking Brazilian Portuguese or even Portuguese. The answer is quite simple: Sometimes with hands and feet, sometimes with English; but always with a smile. And of course: Badly pronounced Spanish.
Continue reading “Getting familiar with Brazilian Portuguese”
Feel like being at Hawaii
There are some things I would never ever do at home, like walking around without a shirt or wearing flip-flops. I still remember this annoying sound of (mostly female) students walking around with these minimalistic sandals in front of my office door. But coming to Brazil makes doing those things a pure necessity because of the high temperature, especially if you are arriving from a much more chilly country like Germany.
First time in Brazil
As I was looking for a destination in South America, I quickly decided to go to Brazil – mainly because I wanted to see Rio de Janeiro. But the first place I’ve in fact seen was Foz do Iguaçu within the triangular Brazil / Argentina / Paraguay, because I started at the Cataratas do Iguaçu.
Continue reading “First time in Brazil”The animal farm
The currency of Brazil is the Brazilian Real (plural: Reais, spoken: “Reaisch”). It is maybe one of the most beautiful currencies in the world because it has animals on every bill, showing the deep connection to nature. It has been introduced in 1994 (following the Cruzeiro) and the subunit of a real is the centavo.
Warnemünde
Warnemünde is a seaside resort 10 km north of Rostock, Germany. You can go there to walk along the beach, visit the lighthouse or eat some fresh fish. The best of all is Matjes (soused herring) – raw herring stored in mild vinegar pickle. But try for yourself.
Continue reading “Warnemünde”Wismar
Wismar is a small town located Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, 30 km north of Schwerin. Why should one go there? The old town is in fact a World Heritage site of UNESCO. If you’re close by you should drop in to see the marketplace, the small houses – or to get some fresh fish.
Continue reading “Wismar”Diagonally throughout Poland
I did a lot of stupid but somewhat nice things during my life so far. One of these is exchanging my bahn.bonus points from Deutsche Bahn against a weekend of car rental once a year. It all started with me wanting to see the Mont St. Michel close to Pontorson, France. That is why I went there in 2012 by car from Köln, Germany with a pit stop in Bruges, Belgium.
Continue reading “Diagonally throughout Poland”Beautiful Warmia
Olsztyn (Allenstein) is a small town in Warmia (Ermland) and capital city of the region of Warmińsko-Mazurskie (Ermland-Masuren). It is 160 km southeast of Gdańsk and only 130 km south of the Russian city of Kaliningrad (Königsberg). The city has 175.000 inhabitants, the river Łyna (Alle) is crossing and around the town you’ll find wonderful woods and lake regions.
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