North Carolina - Blue Ridge Parkway

IBMA World of Bluegrass Festival in Raleigh North Carolina

IBMA World of Bluegrass Festival I probably would never have come to Raleigh, North Carolina without the IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) World of Bluegrass...

Boone and surrounding areas

Boone From Sunday, October 1st, the small university town of Boone in western North Carolina will be my home. The city is dominated by the rather large Appalachian State...

MoMA in NYC

After the MoMA was in Berlin in 2004 (and the exhibition catalog is now with me), I visit the MoMA and walk through all the floors. The many audio guide tips are well done and...

Newark, Abdullah Ibrahim concert

I had already landed in Newark as an exchange student in 1987/88 (and flew back to Germany from there almost a year later). However, I had hardly seen anything of the city at...

Metropolitan Museum of Art (almost only musical instruments)

When I hold the map of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in my hands, I decide to first look for the collection of musical instruments. After asking several times, I found this...

Plymouth Colony, Mayflower II, Cape Cod

Kilauea Eruption - Episode 52

As previously mentioned, Kilauea is currently erupting every 2-3 weeks for about half a day. The volcano is monitored with extensive technology and personnel, and thus there is a...

Week 65 - it's all about wildlife

This week we experienced a lot again, starting on Sunday with a highlight. Under bright sunshine, we ventured out on a boat to cruise for 6 hours in the fjords of Kenai Fjords...

Big Island

Our last stop on the Hawaii island-hopping tour is Big Island. The name says it all: The island is so large that it takes about 2 hours to get from one side to the other. That’s...

Week 64 - Glaciers Up Close!

The weather in Valdez unfortunately wasn't in our favor, and so it rained almost continuously. This left us completely unable to view the surrounding mountains. However, we...