Yearly Archives: 2016
circles three through six
So the person behind the window (it had been window number 4) had told us to go to a certain address the next morning. The next morning – that was today. So we went to this building that looked like it was from Soviet times: And within the building, it seemed to be just corridors: […]
first and second circle
Okay, so this entry is actually not only about today, but also about yesterday. For once I had arrived at Avrazia, I decided to hitch a ride to the border right away. So I went to the other side of the road and stood there for a while: Hitchhiking turned out to be harder than […]
Kurdistan
Woke up in my tent, and hell yes, I was still alive: And except for my friends (the cows) having disappeared, everything was just the way it should be: It took me almost an hour to pack up all my stuff: By loading the video, you agree to YouTube’s privacy policy.Learn more Load video Always […]
cows not snakes
When I left the little town of Uzynagash in the early morning, I was feeling weak. My allergies had returned, and I was still struggling with a case of bad stomach. It was okay though. I went to a pharmacy to get some meds, then I went to one of these shops to get a […]
singers who fall from balconies
I left Yegbakir’s family after breakfast, and when I did, it seemed as though the Caboose had found a new friend. I walked down village roads: By loading the video, you agree to YouTube’s privacy policy.Learn more Load video Always unblock YouTube It was neither too hot nor too cold, and everything was quiet: It […]
6-0-0-0
I woke up knowing that I would dance today. But when I looked at my foot I didn’t really feel like doing anything: By loading the video, you agree to YouTube’s privacy policy.Learn more Load video Always unblock YouTube I left anyway. With my iPhone gone, I didn’t have any mobile internet anymore. I owned […]
hipster tragedy
Okay, so I finally did it. I got up, gathered all my things and rolled the Caboose out from her storage and onto the street. Then I said good-bye to the good people from the hostel I had been staying at: Only Sarkozy (that yellow-eyed demon on the left) kept ignoring me. I suspect that […]
I can see for miles and miles and miles
I was going to leave today. Load up the Caboose and walk, walk, walk. Promises had been made. Promises that I would leave. Leave. Leave. Finally, there would be one less German in Almaty, one less half-Hungarian in Almaty. One less one-eighth Russian/Armenian/Swiss-French-whatever in Almaty. Yet leave I did not. Instead I went and had […]
self-reflection
Yes, the rain had come: I decided it would be my last day of therapy: Wanted to go to an outdoor store and ended up in a shop full of guns: Bought a knife: The handle was supposedly made from birch wood, and I immediately fell in love with it. I also got some additional […]
my friend Shawn and my mortal enemy Sarkozy
Just a few more days of physiotherapy for me. I didn’t feel quite there yet. My back was better, yes. But it wasn’t 100% fine. I figured it didn’t need much more therapy, it just needed time. And I wasn’t supposed to lift heavily. So I went and had a nice club sandwich: Then I […]
smoke in my head
Today I saw rain come to Almaty: It wasn’t quite there yet, but it would be here soon. I could only hope that I wouldn’t get too much rain when I was walking. Sure, the Caboose was waterproof, so there wouldn’t be much of a problem there, but my backpack and my camera bags weren’t. […]
a man’s hand
Really felt like taking pictures today. So I took my cameras and my tripod and went to Republic Square: There was a big monument, the Statue of Independence: And at the foot of the statue, as I had noticed three weeks ago, an imprint of the (alleged) hand of Nursultan Nazarbayev, first President of Kazakhstan: […]
extreme living
Went to a local university today. It’s called KIMEP, and classes there are almost exclusively taught in English. It was quiet in some places: And not so quiet in others: Lots of pretty girls from what I could tell. The whole place somehow reminded me of an article I had read a few years earlier. […]
Plombir
Went to the post office today: I didn’t just send my books to people. Some of you might remember how during the initial walk in 2008 I was always obsessing about sending my photos home on DVDs. Well, the DVD thing is over. I am using SD-cards now. And since Kazakhstan doesn’t seem to be […]
talking points
Had an interview today. An interview where I talked and talked and talked. In fact I talked so much that in the end I felt a bit sorry for the journalists. Later they would have to listen to all of it again on their dictaphones, and then they would have to write it up into […]
Big Almaty Lake
Went to another lake today: This one is called Big Almaty Lake. I guess it’s big, and it’s near Almaty. So it’s Big Almaty Lake. By loading the video, you agree to YouTube’s privacy policy.Learn more Load video Always unblock YouTube I hadn’t come alone though. My friend and fellow photography enthusiast Nazira was showing […]
dรถner
Time does what it does: it passes. I don’t feel that much better about my back yet. Guess it needs more time. So I went and had a dรถner today, at the Number 1 Dรถneria: It was okay. Not likely to win any accolades in Berlin or Hamburg… …but it was okay. Fall was coming […]
an amoeba
Every day feels the same. I get up. I buy two yoghurts and a bottle of water. I go to my therapy. I find something to eat. I write, sort pictures, do things, meet up withย friends. Then I go and find more things to eat. Like an amoeba. It’s not like all of this is […]
Artbat
I like it when my blog posts are up to date. I mean, this isย the internet, andย itย feels nice to know thatย everything we read aboutย just happened or isย still happening, as opposed to, say, reading articles in magazines or newspapers that are days or even weeks old. But there is a problemย with being up to date. Yesterday […]
the pokemon
So I started my therapy sessions today: By loading the video, you agree to YouTube’s privacy policy.Learn more Load video Always unblock YouTube Actually it wasn’t just one kind of therapy, it was a whole bunch of different things we did: heat therapy ultrasound therapy electronic spider-like massage thing therapy manual massage therapy And then […]