New Zealand – Kingdom of the Kiwis

Dream destination and synonym for all things called wanderlust as well as being often the first country visited ever after having finished school, that is New Zealand, the upside down boot in the southern hemisphere that came to worldwide fame as unique setting for the epic “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy.… Read More

Doubtful Sound – Where bold Cliffs meet bold Albatrosses

The Doubtful Sound at the south island’s west coast is one of the large impressive fjords New Zealand has on offer. Unlike Milford Sound, that is usually more known to visitors, it is more winding, has even a couple of islands and its steep slopes are entirely uninhabited unlike Norway’s fjords.… Read More

Tongariro – The Film Star among Volcanoes

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is one of New Zealand’s most known hikes, a so called Great Walk and like the name already tells visitors can cross the massif of an active volcano. In particular movie fans will know about this place from the epic “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy as it is the place where finally gets rid of evil ring.… Read More

East Germany’s Soviet Heritage – The mighty Wünsdorf garrison

Village of 6.000 souls versus military town with up to 75.000 soldiers – Back in the days the Soviets knew very well how to make use of Wünsdorf (Вюнсдорф), a settlement being located in Berlin’s south along the railroad leading to Dresden. Even if the whole territory is abandoned for several years now and completely fenced, it is possible to have a closer look at the heart of the complex, the today’s House of Officers, a building telling manifold stories of times when it was Army Sports School for the Nazi as well as even before for the emperor… Read More

East Germany’s Soviet Heritage – Vogelsang’s abandoned Military Garrison

After World War II a huge area being located less than a 1 hour car drive away from the highway ring surrounding Berlin became one of Soviet Army’s most important military sites. This abandoned garrison is located near the city of Zehdenick, in the north of the village Vogelsang. At peak time up to 15.000 people lived and worked in the present-day ghost town; soldiers, their relatives as well as civil associates.… Read More

Kamchatka – Russia’s wild East

Kamchatka (Камчатка) needs no further introduction for people playing the board game “Risk”. It is the tail at Russia’s Far Eastern end, an appendix of the Eurasian contintent kissing Bering Sea as well as taking Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk by the hands. It is the very same offshoot of Russia that made Alaska’s gouvernor Sarah Palin considering to be an expert for foreign affairs.… Read More

Ice Caves and Fumaroles – South Kamchatka’s volcanic Soul

Mutnovsky and Gorely are the names of the volcanic protagonists in Kamchatka’s South; two places known to many tourists visiting Kamchatka as almost every tour makes a stop over there to bring humans in touch with the admittedly weaker appearances of the biggest force on our planet. South Kamchatka is more inhabited than the north, which is no surprise as it is home of the regional capital Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and its suburb Yelizovo, the airfield welcoming the big and small airplanes from coming from Moscow and elsewhere.… Read More

Klyuchevskoy and Tolbachik – The northern Volcano Giants

Kliuchevskoi – an impressive name reminding of a Russian poet and thinker. Actually the official name of Russia’s pyramid is Klyuchevskaya Sopka (Ключевская сопка) but even for the locals this title seems to be a little too long. The fire mountain stands for quite a bunch of superlatives, for example being with an altitude of about 4800 meters the highest volcano not only on Eurasian continental plate but also in northern hemisphere.… Read More