sebbo on tour - around the world

Georgia made it to my travel list only recently; I heard more and more friends and people talking about it, especially for Germans it seemed to have become a trending destination. When deciding where to go this autumn/late summer, I had Albania and Georgia as the two final options. Eventually, a dear half-Georgian friend of mine made the difference, so I ended up spending 10 days in beautiful Georgia. As my life had been quite hectic and somewhat dynamic, I did not (want to) spend a lot of time on preparing this trip. I had booked my flights to Tbilisi, briefly flicked through some travel guides resp. websites and left the rest to chance; turned out to be the best idea.. My friends mum gave me a bit of a head start and organized a flat for the first two nights and an airport transfer to the city. As I got my air tickets super cheap, I had to go via Istanbul and arrived in Tbilisi in the middle of the night. Turns out nights are busiest when it comes to flying in or out of Geor...

My wife keeps going on about the beauty of Turkeys coast and its beaches; so this year was the time to check it out. With a rental car we planned a route alongside  the Aegan coast from Bodrum to Kaş at the Mediterranean sea. First stop was Fethiye , probably the most touristy part of the trip. Fethiye is a small town with a marina from where boat trips to the whole region depart (12 island tours). The town centre is full of shops, souvenirs, handicraft and jewelry; the part we really enjoyed was the fish market, where we bought the catch of the day and let one of the surrounding restaurants prepare it; as starters you can enjoy the so-called meze , small portions of seafood, Joghurt-based dips, vegetables and cheeses. It usually goes with Rakı (strong anis-based beverage), and leads to a keyifli (cheerful) evening with music.  The next day we explored the bay by boat and visited places with exotic names such as Tarzan bay, Aquarium bay or Sovalye Island. The high season ...

Escape the grey and cool autumn days in Germany for a few days of surf and chill in the Moroccan sun? ALWAYS :) After I found cheap Ryanair tickets, I packed my bag light (best and cheapest way to travel with Ryanair is hand luggage only) and took of for Marrakech. Since 30+ degrees and infinite sunshine were awaiting me, this was enough for eight days in Morocco: I just made my flight from Frankfurt Hahn, after the bus drivers missed fruitless attempt to avoid a traffic jam by taking a de-tour through rural areas. Thanks to few crowds and kinda fast procedures at the tiny airport, I safely arrived to Marrakech. Marrakech Menara Airport and the lavish and luxuriant palaces with huge pools that I could catch sight of from the plane, gave the impression of a prosperous and rich country. The airport was even rated as 4th most beautiful in the world lately... Given the fact, that the airport was renovated and renewed in just a few months time for the United Nations climate ...

For some reason Bosnia and particularly Sarajevo was the place I was most curious about in the balkan region. Maybe memories of what I heard about the Bosnian war in my childhood, maybe the little I knew about it but few stories... First realization when we arrived in Bosnia was that Euros are widely accepted, almost as common as the Bosnian Convertible Marka (based on the former German Mark). Secondly, we noticed the coexistence of Islam and Christianity - mosques and churches are located right next to each other.  Due to the conditions of ever winding roads and long distances, we decided to focus on two destinations - Mostar and Sarajevo including surroundings - and whatever immediate interest we draw to places on the way. Thus, we took a half day to explore Trebinje, its old town and ancient Arslanagić bridge. When arriving to Mostar we had some trouble to find our guesthouse: in Bosnia guesthouse means a private room in or next to a locals flat/apartment, so...

The first barrier was crossing the boarder from Croatia; fortunately we skipped most of the traffic jam by taking a little de-tour through a forest and mountain sideroad that ends right in front of the boarder. But after leaving Croatia there was a long queue again for entering Montenegro. We moved meter for meter, but it took ages.. Mostly because they checked for an international car insurance that many tourists did not seem to have. Again a few tips im travelling Montenegro upfront  Get an international car insurance if travelling by car (they carefully check at the boarder) The local currency is Euro (even though they are not a member of EU) Learn a few Montenegrian words (locals are very appreciated) When we first stopped to take some cash, we were quite surprised that Montenegro uses Euro as a currency. We learned that despite being not in the EU, they import all Euros and use it as a currency, but don't print or issue themselves. Prices seemed to be a bit cheaper ...

Let me tell you the story of our "travel fail" to Croatia: never underestimate peak season if you want to travel like a backpacker.. Three tips for travelling Croatia upfront Try to avoid peak season for a more flexible and cheap travel (most place were booked or just not affordable) Try to avoid July/August in case you want to do anything but lying at the beach (38-40 degrees are quite limiting) Bring or buy sea shoes (beaches are rocky and full of sea urchins), a mat to lay upon and a sun umbrella (as you will need shade) Bring Euros since many hostels/hotels charge in Euros and use conversion rates to their benefit Instead of carefully planning ahead we wanted to travel a bit more flexible and spontaneous - like a backpacker. Hence, we rented a car (already the price should have made us suspicious - double compared to September) and did not book any accommodation but the first night before we left. After visiting the amazing Plitvice National Park with all its fresh w...