Here you’ll find travel stories that had a lasting impact on me. For some reason I felt extraordinary self-confidence in some mysterious and critical travel moments. Intuition or instinct, like I call it sometimes, are important resources of trust on my way into the unknown…

Warnings outside, hugs inside. Kibera – Africa’s second largest slum.

Nairobi. Poverty, illness, diseases. Adding murder, drugs and rape. And that mix would be a warning sign for most people. The Kibera slum in Nairobi earned a reputation for being one of the most dangerous and contaminated slums in all of Africa. When I was in Nairobi, friends and police tried to stop me from visiting the poor district without success. I wanted to go alone. And strongly believed that nice and lovely people must live here.

License to smile with black teeth

Northern Thailand. The tourist bus to Mae Hong Son was only a means to an end. I got out halfway. Spontaneously. Without having a clue where I was. I didn’t want to find out either. For some reason I was attracted to the jungle. The deeper the better. And so I made my way. Cross-country. What sounds like an exciting adventure turned out to be one of the most humble experiences of my life.

Lost in the jungle of New Zealand

Actually it should have been a normal hiking day. Juka palm trees, tree ferns and waterfalls line the paradisiacal trekking route in Waitakere Bay directly in front of the Tasman Sea. Until we had the idea of leaving the trail markings and to walk across the New Zealand jungle. Read here why I’ve come face to face with death and felt a metaphysical power for the first time in my life.

The hand of Rio de Janeiro

January 2014: the start of my longest journey until then. My very first days were turbulent: my flight to Rio was the worst flight of my life. I was in the infamous Rocinha favela without police protection or a guide. I was attacked at Copacabana. And then, when I got lost in Rio’s center, out of a sudden, something took me by the hand…