smoox's VirtualTourist Home Page

First of all: I have been asked a lot if "smoox" is my real name. Not really - it was the name of my cat. I always thought she resembled me - in her will to be independent. I have developed a cat attitude, too: If I don't like it, I will leave it. Second. I´d like to say HI to my friend Jurgen who will go anywhere IF his camera is with him. "Hi, Jürgen! :)"

I apologize for all the ? you will find in my texts. They popped up when they changed the pages some time ago; a ? stands for an UMLAUT or an apostrophe. Right now I do not have the time to tend to all the sites. Maybe I´ll even pull out, with all the ads, it is no fun any more. It used to be fun when they started on VT.

I have always been travelling whenever I found the time. Let us not forget the $$$$ either: I mostly work in order to be able to travel.

After "discovering" Great Britain I decided that this was only going to be the start. Europe was both small and large enough to discover this beautiful continent by car (gas was cheap back then!), and I have travelled from the North Cape in Norway to Mount Etna in Sicily, from the Atlantic beaches in France to the eastern borders of Turkey. I have been interested in the landscapes, in the endless processes that shape and reshape the earth´s surface. Friends say I have got a suicidal interest in volcanoes and earthquake areas ;-) - .
The work of running water, of rivers and creeks is a fascinating subject for me. That´s why I like the American South West so much - the work of rivers is ever so visible there.
The Nile is a definite favourite of mine. For thousands of years it has brought life and prosperity to the people living next to it, allowing them to build one of the first highly developed cultures of the world which, in turn, is fascinating enough in itself. I´d be happy to be able to safely sail on it between Luxor and Cairo which has not been possible for quite a few years (it was wonderful back in 1985!).
It took a few years until was I finally able to go to Australia, although I could not stay as long as I would have liked to. Again, Nature´s powers and forces greatly impressed me. This continent is OLD, really OLD. No new mountain ranges for 200 million (200 000 000) years! Ayers Rock with the Olgas (Kata Tjuta) in the Red Centre stand as the last witnesses of a long-gone land surface. I´m not particularly fond of big cities, although there are a few I came to really like.
The Big Apple, New York City was my first love, so to speak, back in 1980 when I went to college in Albany, NY. The City has changed a lot since I first saw it, and I haven´t been there for quite a while now (the time! Give me the time!), but my heart still beats faster when I hear or read about it.
There´s a vast country to discover, and over the years I have travelled a lot within the US. I very much like the land of the south western states (see my pages - Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, California), although I do not like so much the urban sprawl that´s transforming the cities.
The last city I really fell in love with was Sydney , Australia. This place has got charme and liveliness, and although I visited in winter (ha! They call THIS winter!), both atmosphere and people were just great. I´d very much like to go back there. (Maybe it´s the language that draws me back!)
Hongkong, Singapore, Bangkok, the Asian cities I have visitied up to now, were an all new experience although you can´t really compare them. As a tourist, you only get a glimpse behind the scenes if you care enough. Reading helps a little.
In my last INTRO I gave a long list of dream destinations - and, wow, I have made some meanwhile, and some more are becoming reality. I have now reached an age when a woman can say "Spend it or give it to your children". I take the first option. Recent entry: China/Tibet.

Watch out for the pages to come . WORLD, I AM COMING!

Until then, I´ll have a look at your pictures and stories which I have learned to appreciate very much.