Another night flight. This time from Rarotonga to Fiji. On the evening of May 17, 1995, I left the Cook Islands and flew west across the Pacific. The flight itself was not very long, maybe around four hours, but something very strange happened on the way. I lost a whole day. Not emotionally. Officially. Because …
After leaving Moorea, I was still emotionally somewhere between paradise and heartbreak. From the window of the plane, I had watched the island slowly disappear on the horizon, and I had already made my promise: I would come back. The addiction had started. The German man from Fiji had been right. But the South Pacific …
The German man from Fiji had warned me. “Moorea is beautiful, Andi. But be careful. It can make you addicted.” When he said that on the phone in Germany, I smiled. It sounded nice, of course. A good sentence for a travel brochure. But after my first morning on Moorea, after the salty catamaran crossing …
I already told you about that famous Hawaii shirt I bought in Hawaii in March 1993, the one from the Tom Selleck Collection. Back in Munich, this became my newest fashion trend. Maybe “trend” is a bit optimistic, because I was actually the only person following it, but every great movement has to start with …
My 1993 trip to Hawaii did something dangerous to me. It did not calm my travel fever. It made it worse. Hawaii had opened a door, and behind that door was the South Pacific — that endless blue world I had dreamed about since childhood. Suddenly, all those old images came back to me: the …
There are photos from our younger years that do not only show how we looked. They also show who we were trying to become. This one is such a photo. There I am, standing on the rocks somewhere on Oahu in March 1993, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, wearing shorts, flip-flops, sunglasses, a hat, a …
This photo was taken only a few months ago, in Tangalle, on the southern coast of Sri Lanka. But for me, it could just as well have been taken more than three decades ago. The wide beach, the long empty shoreline, the soft morning light, the footprints in the sand, and the ocean breathing calmly …
There are places we visit that leave a brief, fleeting impression, but then there are extraordinary spots that linger in our hearts long after we’ve departed. For me, one such place is the Marco Polo Hotel in Davao City. This hotel is not merely a landmark; it exudes a distinctive calmness and charm that draws …
Sometimes the most interesting finds do not wait politely on a clean shelf, perfectly displayed and ready to be admired. Sometimes they hide in a dusty corner, inside a forgotten box, buried under many other boxes, in a place where nobody seems to look anymore. That is how I found this lovely framed ceramic tile …
This 35 cm high woodcarving from Oberammergau in Bavaria, Germany, is called “Lautenspielerin” — the lute player. It shows a young woman seated gracefully, holding her instrument close to her body, as if caught in a quiet moment of music. With her flowing dress, warm colors, and gentle expression, she belongs to a tradition of …