वुआलू.टिमो.बोका.मेटे

Two things are clear... first, it was once a journey halfway around the world for me, just across the Pacific, to South America. A new continent, located at the other end of the world from home, a new language and finally not western culture. Secondly, after all the overwhelming nature, I was looking forward to exhaust fumes, honking cars, dust, many people, and large architecturally appealing buildings. Welcome to Buenos Aires! Didn't I say 'not western culture'!? Well, Buenos Aires is also called the Paris of South America and at many street corners it lives up to its reputation. However, one immediately notices that one is not moving in the western hemisphere, but has arrived on a continent where people walk slower, the streets are more colorful and unkempt. At the latest, the language and the temperament crush any doubt that one is in the West.
But first, a little jump back in time. It is a sunny late summer evening at Münchener Freiheit. I came here for a day to say goodbye to one of my best friends, Timo. Timo is going to the USA for an internship for 6 months. Both of us are just sitting there with beer and cigarette and decide that we will meet in South America at the beginning of next year, when and where is still uncertain. It would later be revealed that it became Buenos Aires.
And here I am now: alone, loaded with my big and small backpack, in the midst of a huge South American metropolis. Not able to speak the Spanish language, disoriented and tired. But I know that it is only a few minutes walk to the hostel until Timo and I finally see each other again. Arriving at the hostel, suddenly this bald and bearded face is standing in front of me and we embrace each other. The South American adventure is really starting now!

What do two German boys do when they meet again after six months? Right, buy beer and go to the rooftop terrace. Talking, drinking, and talking until the sun sets. There was a lot to tell, but even more to discover in this metropolis of millions. Armed with a map, we set out to explore the city on foot, as always. We didn't really use the map because our hostel was right in the center. We simply walked along Avenida de Mayo. Every few meters we noticed the Parisian charm, suddenly Spanish and Italian buildings mixed with the streetscape. The metro stations are modeled after those in Paris. Art Nouveau and deep green. The facades sometimes gray, like in Paris, sometimes ornate and elegant like in Italy, and then again light facades, like in Spain.

What is really recommended is the Free Walking Tour, which started at Congreso Nacional, right next to our hostel. During this tour, our tour guides explained to us the unique mixture of streets in Buenos Aires that I just described. The most striking similarity between Buenos Aires and Paris is noticed at the "Kilometer Zero" point. From here, all the streets go in all directions, across Argentina, and meet here again. Centralistically designed just like in the capital of France. In Paris, you can find this at the Arc de Triomphe.
During the five days in Buenos Aires, there were two absolute highlights. The first was the world-famous Boca Juniors stadium. La Bombonera. Translated, it means 'the candy box'.

This memorable stadium got its name because of its shape and view from above. The story behind this club and stadium is truly impressive. Blue and yellow are the colors of the team. Back then, Boca lost a game and was not allowed to keep their traditional colors black and white, so they went to the harbor and decided that the color of the next ship that would dock would be theirs. A ship from Sweden docked, and since then Boca Juniors have been wearing blue and yellow. As a person from Hannover, that's a rather bad color choice! You can also feel the atmosphere of the passionate, or rather fanatical, fans even in the empty stadium. Even the team colors dominate a large part of the facades in the La Boca neighborhood.

Highlight number two was our dinner at the restaurant 'Parilla Pena'. A mighty, tender piece of Bife de Lomo with fries, baguette, and sauce landed on our plates. Along with a bottle of red wine, we were now in the seventh Argentinean taste heaven! After these exciting days in the capital of Argentina, we took the ferry and bus to Uruguay. Montevideo, the capital of this small country by South American standards, was our next stop.
We didn't know much about Uruguay and its people, only that life here is supposed to be super relaxed and that there is supposed to be one of the highest qualities of life in South America. So let's dive into this unknown city...

Right from the first glance, we noticed that there is more South American flair to be felt here than in Buenos Aires. Undoubtedly, this is because Montevideo probably has about a tenth of the population of Buenos Aires, and the European influence is not as strong here. The streets were often deserted, the people relaxed and slow in their movements. In our hostel, we met a New Yorker and a German with whom we were immediately on the same wavelength. The Spaniards and South Americans who also lived here were loud and full of joy of life as always. In the evenings, we gathered on the incredibly comfortable rooftop terrace to drink beer, smoke, listen to music, and laugh. We didn't really see much of Montevideo, but there isn't much to discover here either.

But the old town is definitely worth a walk, and we rented a bike to ride about 15 kilometers up and down the coast. Freedom and weightlessness without end on the eastern shore of South America.
Each evening brought something new, although it was actually always the same: we drank beer and talked about everything possible. Guitar sounds in the background. But what's wrong with it being always the same? I'm not traveling to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible, but rather to get to know people, to engage with them, and to exchange ideas. You could hear German, French, Spanish, and English. A colorful mix in a colorful hostel. The days in Uruguay went by very quickly, probably because we used them very intensively with the people. The next stop will be the southernmost tip of the inhabited world: Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego! Everything is happening so fast, but I can't wait to get to this piece of earth. Hopefully, I will collect just as many beautiful impressions and memories here as I did in the first two stops of the South American continent! See you soon and hello Patagonia!