Between War News and Boarding Gates: Our Most Uncertain Trip to Germany via Qatar
This is a diary of our concerns while preparing for this journey. It records how things felt at the time, rather than current flight conditions. For a trip …
Moments In A Frame
Some journeys stay with us long after we’ve unpacked. Here are the places, people and unexpected encounters we still remember—from the South Pacific to the Philippines, with a few detours along the way.
These are the stories behind the photographs: beautiful views, changed plans and small moments that turned out to matter more than we expected.
Start here: Tetiaroa
A famous name, an extraordinary lagoon and a place I never quite left behind. Explore my guide to Tetiaroa, then follow the stories into the old hotel years, island adventures and a rather unexpected beach clean-up.
Germany in January: Snow, Family Time, and a “Wahlheimat” Pause Button
A note from our January 2026 visit to Germany: these were our plans at the time, with the weather firmly in charge of the timetable. Germany has a …
2025 on Lizz & Andi: A Year Between Two Worlds
2025 didn’t unfold like a classic “travel year.” It was a year of packed suitcases, family responsibility, and long-haul miles, where joy and worry often sat side by …
Sri Lanka: The Substitute That Became a Favourite (in Snapshots)
This follows “Born Restless,” the story of my long-held India dream. Sri Lanka began as another possibility and became one of the places I most wanted to return …
An (Un)Expected Journey: A Blitzbesuch in India
Our return from Europe was supposed to follow a familiar route: Munich, Doha, Cebu and onwards to Davao. My 82-year-old mother was travelling with us, so a smooth …
Escape From East Germany: A 1989 Journey For Freedom
When Travel Means More Than Adventure In late summer 1989, I boarded a train to Poland with more on my mind than a visit to my girlfriend. I …
Beach Clean-Up on Tetiaroa: My Experience in Paradise with a Problem
This is a memory from September 2001, during the old hotel era on Tetiaroa. It does not describe present-day waste handling or conservation arrangements. September 2001 was my …
A Flight to Remember: Meeting Maimiti from Tahiti, a Polynesian Girl’s First Journey
In May 1996, I shared a flight from Tahiti to Los Angeles with Maimiti, a dancer I knew from a cultural village on Moorea. It was her first …
A Foreign Son-in-Law Must Be Found – How I Almost Became Someone’s Ticket Out of the Dowry Game in Sri Lanka
Between 1991 and 1994, I traveled to Sri Lanka three times. When you travel solo, it’s almost inevitable that you’ll meet locals. On my second trip, I somehow …
Weimar: A Place Where Genius, Beauty, and Shadows Collide
Weimar has been part of my life since I was young. Back then it was about 45 minutes by train from my family’s home, yet it felt quite …