Sleeping Beauty

One of the subtle advantages of travelling far and wide is not only that you get to see  places, but also that you can ultimately affirm your friendships. As there’s no better way to truly know someone than when you travel with them. Whether you find yourself in trains, crammed buses, tents, airports or guesthouses, you can always catch your companions unaware, especially if they are sleeping. There is this […]

 
 
 
 

9th of October/13

There are those mornings when, despite living in your own house, your own kids seem to be a couple of strangers lost in the middle of a Transylvanian nowhere as if woozily beholding the mosaic in a rank railway station after a drinking binge along with some herdsmen who, the night before, around the fire, looked like gods only to turn out as demons the next morning. You can’t even […]

 
 
 
 

Talk about Culture!

I admit I like the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. I like the architecture, the collections, the atmosphere, the audio presentations, the photography gallery, the gardens as well as the view onto downtown L.A. My teenage son, on the other hand, prefers Venice Beach and its accompanying street show: 5 skateboard shops, the street artists and performers, the flower-power vibe and the skate park set up right on the beach […]

 
 
 
 

The People of My World (1)

The people of my world are nothing but the sum of certain wondrous encounters. Over the years, I have pinned them fast to my emotional panoply. Some of these people I only passed by in my travels while others I keep revisiting as I have for years on end. I lingered beside many of them at some point in space and time, trying to figure each and everyone out. They […]

 
 
 
 
 

Can you spare 5 (+) minutes?

Can you spare 5 (+) minutes? Thank you very much, but don’t forget: I need 5 real minutes – undivided, thoughtful, with all your heart. Because I’d like to tell you some things that you might not know about the digit 5.