Hey Guys,

my final cuba selection of pictures is ready:

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Yea, with this quote cuba welcomed us and I would definitly agree that not very much in this country is state of the art. But lets start from the very beginning. It started a bit confusing due tot he fact that the envelope with my travel papers was demaged so most oft he staff was missing. The Air France checking lady insisted that I buy another touist card in Hamburg before I was allowed to check in – so i did. After I was through secuity I was able to contact the travel Agency which told me to buy another one for Stephanie as well due tot he fact that Toulouse don’t sell them. So 30min before take off I was running back to the entrance area an bought another tourist card and back to the terminal in 25min. That’s what I call a stressless start. Nevertheless, fhe Air France flight to Paris was delaid so I had to wait another 50min which leads to another run in Paris where I had 30min to reach the other airplane but beleave it or not – I made it. In Cuba the trouble was not realy ending but after 2,5 days we got all the papers and most dificult get another car… Finally we made it and started our tour through the island. Of cause I had my camera with me, even if the secuity on the Havanna Airport was very interessted in my stuff.

Scound day driving and weh ad our first very special moment. We decided to drive a mountainary area. After some realy adventuras ups and downs there was a sign at the road which looks a bit like a construction sign. 100-200m later we recognized why. The whole survace was done new which lead to a very very slippery raod. We made it a for some more hundreds of meters – 2 wheels in the dird 2 wheels on the oily street until a big truck was coming down on our line. We stopped the Truck slided over the street – I already imagined how it crashed into us but the truck made it to the other side. Problem – it was so sleepery we weren’t able to go for one more meter. To sleepy to go up, to sleepy to go down again and everything with a chinese car called Geely. The Truck finally made it to start again and was turning. The Cuban guys on the truck tried to get our car up on the hill but no chance at all. So the only solution was that the truck had to pull us up but not on the street but right next to it. I remember the sentence: „You booked the full inshurance right?“ Of cause I have a picture of this:

Weh ad to improvice a bit with a steel cable and the pulling device was of cause broken so we had to „repair“ it with a bit stone but at the end the truck and the Geely came up the hill and our cars wasn’t demaged at all and Stephanie got  her face colour back ;). I thought African Roads were bad but the differences in cuba for the same type of road mentioned in the map are realy huge. A red street in the cuban street guide could mean:

• No Street at all where you can drive less than 5km/h and you have to fear that your car break down any minute
• Road with holes so big and deep that your whole tire could fit into it. So you take not the left or right line to take the only survifable map.
• Totally new road where you are able to drive 200km/h which isn’t of cause not allowed in Cuba and I think the Geely wasn’t able to do so as well.

As wide as the street conditions are the posibility for acomunidation in Cuba. We mixed the stays of our Tour  between „Case paritculares“ which are kind of private organized hostals and 5* Hotels. Even 3 nights in a all inclusive club where included. Overall I have to say that all these kinds of stays have tehre advantages but also disadvantaces. I enjoied even the all inclusive days but that’s something I will do again when I’m fat and old (like the other guests).

Of cause there is a picture gallery of Cuba – I will add some more in the next days:

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I saw this week the travel documentary “A Map for Saturday” after I got a tip in a forum. The movie reveals the world of solo long-term travelling. A guy from New York with a job as a sports journalist decided after 3 years in his job to quit and travel the world. During his trip he interviewed some people and documented the typical backpacker style. I can’t tell too much – but in my opinion a “must see movie” for all people how have wanderlust and love the backpacker style…

So try your very best to see the movie and let me know your opinion! I had a big big smile on my face while watching the film and I was dreaming about the upcoming big adventure…

Homepage: http://www.amapforsaturday.com/
Trailer: Trailer on YouTube
Blog: http://fiftyweeks.blogspot.com/

Merry Christmas to everybody!

After a very cool drift on the Airbus parking space, some interesting stunts on the Autobahn, and finally with 220km/h (137mph) I arrived yesterday evening in Mannheim. Normally the winter in the south is harder but in the moment it’s like summer here. Not really much snow, it’s more than 0 degree by day and almost no wind. Unfortunately, there is also no sun here so I wasn’t outside today.

In order that I didn’t get bored – I remembered all the fantastic Christmas cards from you guys. Normally I don’t do such things but I had the feeling I should react… I decided to strike back as hard as possible – I took a pen, some prepared cards and… I wrote BACK – BY HAND – WITHOUT ANY COMPUTER – NO E-MAIL – nothing digital – not even by buying anything online. Mission is almost completed – only the stamps are missing. But I have totally no Idea how much a letter or a card is to Canada, USA, Denmark, England… or even Germany. So I promise I’ll go to the post office next week and I’ll finish the job!!!  I hope you can read my terrible hand writing and of course my English and for one person my even worse German.

Hope I will write another Post before New Year – last 3 weeks I didn’t have too much time for such things – it was very very busy at Airbus and my college had holidays.  So more time for even more photography is definitely one of my New Year’s resolutions.

Is it normal to miss people who were only a few weeks a part of your life? Since I’m back from Africa a lot of my friends talk about the “New Sven” – a changed person.  Yesterday, I read in my new book – maybe the first one after years which is not 100% non-fiction book – about travelling alone. Why travelling alone and what this means. In a lot the author wrote I can find myself and after thinking a little bit about the whole thing it’s no rocket science ;). What we single travelers really try to find is simply ourselves – that’s nothing new but do you/we need loneness? The only thing I need is to be separated of my daily friends. As long as anybody remembers you to your normal life – it is much more complicated to do the next step. The big problem gain on you. after you did these steps, you have to go back “home”. Everybody recognize a change but nobody is able to understand it. There is nobody smiling if I look to the sunset and ask yourself where this Ausi with the gloves is now, nobody gives you a hug because you are swearing: “fucking …”, no tent-rules at all in your room, no totally crashed people sitting/sleeping next to you in the morning – opening one eye and give you a smile, no one trying to jump earlier than you into a pool, no dilemmas in the evening, no Americans  you would cross the dessert for or even invest a 1min healing hug, no Ausi drinking you under the table with a simple smile, no 40min for a milk shake and angry people waiting for you in the truck but excuses you everything after a honest sorry (I was so proud Daniel), no one giving you a dressing-down if you are depressed and tried to escape from the group, no bunnies and shorts ;), no lost glasses and you give a shit, no 4:1 and you are still in Africa (our moment Ali), no little girls who make you losing your heart to her with the most beautiful smile ever, no airplanes with totally finished tires, no soooo much more moments… After so much intense situations I think it is totally normal to miss an environment which understands you 100%, which loves you because of all this and not in spite of your trip.

The big question for me is now – Would I do this again or give up parts of it but having people at home who can probably understand at least a part of your trip? The answer today for me: YES travelling alone, which ends up with a lot of new friends, is my way of traveling. Definitely, distance is a big problem for these friendships but my most intense friendship started also with some distance and will survive equal how many km or miles will be between us.

@my Africa family: Hope this memories bring a smile also on your faces – would love to get a picture from these – and I promise I will try to MAKE this picture someday myself. First step will be a hug from my potential daughter for swearing…