Java - Island of Volcanoes

Arriving in Jakarta, we wanted to make our way to a national park in the east of Java. However, since the offered tours were really expensive, the plan was to get there on our own. Well, the plan was great but the implementation had its gaps and challenges :) Anyway, when we arrived at a guesthouse, still far from the actual destination, we had a fun day with the owner. An Indonesian retiree who clearly enjoyed spending the day with us and going out to eat. The day ended at the beach for the first time... Oh, how I love the sea. Just sitting there, looking into the distance and listening to the waves. A great way to end the day! We then decided to turn back the next day for time, money, and implementation reasons, to take the train from Jakarta to Yogyakarta. We didn't explore Jakarta itself, what we saw and smelled was enough for us :) Our hostel, on the other hand, blew us away, or rather the people there. It was the Indonesian Games - Table Tennis finals. Indonesia against China. The absolute favorite sport of Indonesians after soccer. They are so enthusiastic about soccer. Every time we say where we come from, it's football, football gooood. World Cup, 'we cried' and they start listing German football players, wonderful :)) Back to table tennis: So, there I was with a Saudi, a Chinese, and a few Indonesians, watching the finals, first the singles and then the doubles. It was so entertaining and exciting. Those who know me, know that I love watching sports on TV. And when I get excited, I get really into it :))) what a great, completely unpredictable evening. Ps: China won both finals.

The next day, after an 8-hour train ride across Java, we arrived in Yogyakarta. Street art, many students, relaxed and hip. In our hostel named hati hati, which means be careful in German, we made music and drank with the owner and the staff on the first evening. There was a type of red wine, a mix between port wine and liqueur, it was good but super sweet (which guaranteed a headache the next morning). The owner Ade can play the guitar well and we 'had' to sing all the time. Beautiful classics like wonderwall, stand by me, and many more. Well, we may not sing well, but we sing loudly. And as it should be, at 12:30 am we actually went dancing a bit :) hahaha I never would have thought that the day would end like this - I love it. What a successful evening! The next few days were quite cozy. We wandered around the city, visited the Prambanan Temple, chilled in the hostel, and made music. Aaaand a highlight, we were cooked for by the hostel crew. Breaded tuna, fish soup, spinach, chili, and of course rice. It was so delicious! It makes me hungry :)

Then we continued a little sadly. Mount Bromo was on the list. An active volcano. We set off at 12:00 midnight to be on top of the mountain for the sunrise and to greet the day. Packed with all our clothes, including our sleeping bag, as it can be around 4°C there. We were lucky with around 8°C :) and it was really beautiful when the sun finally rose. Seeing the volcano in the middle of a completely different landscape, feeling the warmth of the sun... Afterwards, we went through the dusty desert to the volcano itself. Around 300 steps and a few more meters had to be overcome to reach the rim of the crater. Arriving at the top, a direct view into the volcano. You 'only' see the smoke, but it sounds like an airplane taking off. I had never seen that before. It was just an amazing feeling.

Two days later, we embarked on the next volcano trip, Mount Ijen. A sulfur volcano. The tour also started at midnight. Together with 3 Belgians. A really nice group. The ascent was really tiring. It took 1 hour to climb steeply, and I mean really really steeply, upwards. Once at the top, we descended to the volcano itself. Here, we also put on our gas masks. Unfortunately, we weren't quite as lucky this time. It was a bit cloudy, so we could only see the legendary 'blue fire', which was the reason for the night ascent, a bit. But it was still fascinating to stand there, admire the sulfur, the lake, and the interplay of light and blue/green that creates this unique backdrop. I have the utmost respect for the workers who carry hundreds of kilos up and down every day. Without gloves, without gas masks! And you really needed them. The sulfur smoke burned so much in the eyes and nose, despite the mask! It's incredible what they do!

After the tour, our time on Java was over. Bali was waiting. Crossing by ferry. One ferry leaves every 20 minutes, hahaha well, due to a temporary closure of the port, we sat at the port for about 3 hours. But since we were still with the Belgian couple and the other Belgian girl, and we also met an American and two true Bavarians at the port, this time could also be bridged with some old school hip hop and humor. Happy that the ferry even crossed, we arrived on Bali at night. Another 4 hours in a minivan through Bali to our 'spoiler alert: own house with a pool, baby' still had to be mastered. After more than 30 hours without sleep, we were glad to finally be able to fall into bed.

Java, Java I will never forget! Hati hati!