Apr 22, 2020Emergency Contact“Do you have an emergency contact?” the lady from Avianca Airlines at the airport in Arequipa asked. I had to think. And then, sadly realizing how alone I was in this world and that nobody cared, I said “no”, evoking pity from the young woman at the counter as well…Flying1 min readFlying1 min read
Mar 27, 2020Hitchhiking in the Time of CoronaTwo weeks ago, when the Corona crisis really hit, I was on the island of Pico, part of the Azores, in the middle of the Atlantic. There are only two bus routes, each going twice a day, which was not enough. So I had to hitchhike, which I was looking…Hitchhiking3 min readHitchhiking3 min read
Jan 28, 2020Does the Federal Republic of Germany even exist? Debating with a “Reichsbürger”.Many years ago, someone walked into my law office, showed me a notice about some traffic fine and explained, confusing our respective roles in the attorney-client relationship, why he definitely wouldn’t need to pay the fine. According to him, the notice was issued by an authority without authority because the…Germany12 min readGermany12 min read
Jan 18, 2020Two Books on North KoreaSure, you could go on one of those expensive and chaperoned tours to North Korea to take a look. But it would be a rather limited and censored look. Unless one can travel freely and speaks the language, I think one often learns more about a country by reading about…North Korea5 min readNorth Korea5 min read
Nov 15, 2019A Train full of Old Men — From Edmonton to WinnipegIn the first part of this Trans-Canadian railway trilogy, the prior perusal of which I recommend for reasons of strictly following the timetable, I had written about the historical importance of the railway for the establishment of Canada. The current importance for passenger traffic can be inferred from the location…Travel15 min readTravel15 min read
Nov 9, 2019The Revolutions of 19891989, those were the times! With each broadcast of the evening news, the world changed so quickly that most people already lost track back then. Now, 30 years later, only a vague recollection of falling walls, fired shots and popping champagne bottles remains. As a special service for the forgetful…History3 min readHistory3 min read
Sep 26, 2019A Walk around TbilisiEach year for my birthday, I like to explore a new country, preferably alone. In July 2017, I treated myself to a trip to the Caucasus (and ended up celebrating my 42nd birthday with the former president of Azerbaijan). The Georgian capital of Tbilisi impressed me so much that it…Travel37 min readTravel37 min read
Jul 1, 2019A historic visit to North KoreaSo, Donald Trump stepped into North Korea, smiling like a kid who was the first to visit an amusement park, knowing that his peers won’t be able to do so because it’s not yet open to the public. …North Korea3 min readNorth Korea3 min read
Mar 28, 2019What kind of Brexit do you want? No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!With only a few hours left before the Brexit deadline and with the United Kingdom still unclear about what it wants to do, British Members of Parliament were presented with eight options today, some of which they had already refused in the past, some of which were new, some of…Brexit2 min readBrexit2 min read
Feb 7, 2019Don’t be afraid of the stranger!My default attitude towards other people is trust. Unless or until I become aware of a reason to mistrust someone, I will trust anyone whom I meet. Because of this I use Couchsurfing when travelling, I host Couchsurfers, I have hitchhiked in cars, on quads, on pick-up trucks and lorries, …Travel2 min readTravel2 min read
