Traveling (2015-2018) - www.hifilounge.eu

An island with great nature and interesting cities - amazing that the island attracts so few tourists. Local and long-distance traffic is impressive, as are the roads. But I had to get into the local cuisine first. 

My first trip to the Caribbean - Dreamlike palm woods and beaches hide with varying success the contrast between high price tourism and the low prices on site.

Since 1986, Chernobyl has stood for the biggest nuclear accident in history. A few decades after the explosion, nature has taken back the surrounding cities. After the neighbouring reactor was only in operation through a 7m thick concrete wall from the site of the accident until after 2000, the plant has now been completely shut down. Under considerable effort a new sarcophagus has just been erected around the reactor.

The cities in Eastern Europe are among the oldest and most beautiful in the world - Kiev is no exception. The tension with Russia is palpable - but everyday life goes on.

An unequal distribution of wealth from oil sales meets an explosive mixture of corruption, population growth and religious conflicts - in a beautiful tropical landscape. 

At the same time a modern industrial country and slums from the third world - contrasts framed by a beautiful landscape. 

In recent years I have read a lot about China, to see the country with my own eyes was a gift. The incredible growth of China, the numerous historical buildings and the excellent cuisine must be experienced.

Greater Seoul offers history, modern skyscrapers and about 20 million inhabitants. Impressive are the record achievements in the (high) school system, the large corporations (chaebols) are world leaders in almost all technical fields. However, the social division is visible - and if the airspace is closed during the stay because of the politically tense situation with the northern neighbour, the everyday life quickly gets something surreal.

My first visit to Paris. The suburbs are frightening, as soon as you leave a main street the feeling of security decreases drastically - The historical city centre is really amazing. Visit to the Louvre is a must! The enthusiasm of the French people concerning their own kitchen is not understandable for me. The USA and Portugal play in a different culinary league.

My third time in Prague is an alumni get-together with fellow students. The historic impresses again and again - as well as the art of brewing and cuisine. One of my favourite cities in Europe.

After the very western Japan I wanted to see a "typical" Asian city. To my surprise, Bangkok was extremely modern - the mixture of continuous rain and temperatures of almost 40 degrees Celsius gives parts of the city a musty smell that takes getting used to. The trains are newer, cheaper and cleaner than anything I know from Germany. The kitchen surprises - almost everything is eaten cold. Why?

A must-see is Ayutthaya, the old capital north of Thailand. Some of the buildings are almost 10 thousand years old - and in a very good condition. In the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam some contemporary paintings are said to hang when the city was still inhabited. On my next visit to Amsterdam I will have a look at these paintings!

One-week business trip for a joint cooperation project on real-time simulation of large microgrids. The owner of the company gives me a guided tour in his old university - the world famous MIT. A little later Harvard joins in. How is it possible that this city alone has more renowned universities than all of Germany? During a city tour I am shown dozens of billion-dollar corporations that were founded in the last 10 years. I painfully realize that the German corporations like Siemens, VW, Daimler or Bosch were all founded more than a century ago. In the last decades Germany has technologically fallen behind in terms of universities and company foundations.

Mafia giants such as Lansky and Luciano built the city as a gambling metropolis, and the explosion mushrooms from nuclear tests were among the sights of the Cold War. With just over 630,000 inhabitants, there are about 150,000 beds for tourists, 100,000 homeless and 20,000 gang members. The traces of the last real estate crash, the artificial lakes in the city centre despite the water shortage of this desert city... No city embodies capitalism like Las Vegas!

The heartland of American hip-hop, the 1992 race riots, Hollywood.... and a great view from the observatory! Amazing city, I loved it.

Known for high-tech companies like Apple, Microsoft and Google - crazy real estate pricing and a army of homeless. The city is like a crazy overpriced Disney land version of a slum in Laos.

Death Valley as the hottest place in the world, the sequoia trees in Yosemite and Sequia and National Park, the Nevada desert in Joshua Tree National Park and the impressive coastal landscapes make the southwest coast of the USA one of the most varied and beautiful regions in the world. The USA is a beautiful country!

Beautiful small town in the north of Tokyo. Parts of the temple complex are rightly world cultural level. The color of the trees and the mountain panorama in the background are magnificent. If you go to Japan you should definitely visit Nikko!

After the visit to Tokyo almost a small town - historically and culturally however very interesting. The colors of the trees are beautiful. The architecture of the houses reminds strongly of Tokyo.

First of all, the sheer size of the metropolis and the politeness of the people is impressive. Then come the baffled questions: How can such a gigantic city be so clean? How can the railways be so punctual? Why are 10 people needed to exchange money? Why does nobody here speak English? Why are there no such huge shops for headphones in Europe?

My first visit to the USA was in New York. The architecture of the skyscrapers in Manhattan is overwhelming - and the museums are world-class. Whoever visits the city: Be sure to take a helicopter ride, bookable south in Manhattan. The flights are expensive but worth the money! A visit to the outer districts is also worthwhile.

This trip is due to a visit to one of my company's locations. It was nice to finally meet the colleagues in person after all the conference calls - and to have a beer together in the evening.

Portugal was actually not on my list, a former student colleague suggested a holiday in this city. A beautiful city centre, great cuisine - and a beautiful countryside. 

Which impressed me more - the historic buildings or the omnipresent corruption? The Eternal City is unique and the former capital of Germany - then the holy Roman Empire of German nations. Every side street holds sights that any other city would be proud of. Actually, the Phanteon was the reason why I wanted to visit this city - but most of all I was impressed by St. Peter's Cathedral. And the walk through the Forum Romanum, the cradle of western civilization. 

A visit with some former fellow students. Great downtown, thermal baths... ...reminds me a little of Prague. 

The capital of the former empire. The cultural diversity of the old colonies mixed with a unique architecture - definitely something special. But I could not get used to the cuisine.

The historic trading metropolis with its allgegegevaluable water areas is a portal to northern Scandinavia.

A mixture of Bullerbü-idyll, scissors and denied NoGo-Areas. A city in transition - and still one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

The former Leningrad: an XXL variant of Venice mixed with Eastern Block prefabricated buildings. 

The canals and the spirit of the Renaissance make this city unique. After each visit, I knew I would come back.

A medieval old town surrounded by panel buildings as far as the eye can see.