joernme's VirtualTourist Home Page

Hello travel bums out there!

"Travel bum", that is how my American grandmother once called me. Actually she is not my real grandmother because all of my blood and much of my soul are very Nothern German. Even though living far away, she has been a very important person to me since I have met her as an exchange student staying with my wonderful host family in the US. And she has been a "travel bum" herself. She is a very open-eyed, open-minded and open-hearted person and I believe there is a connection to being a travel bum - even if you are over 90! She is my true "American Idol"!

I'm from the beautiful old hanseatic city of Bremen, Northern Germany. I'll have an extra page for that in here as it really is a place worth visiting. I love to go back there frequently which is not so hard as I currently live only 70 km away in the small town of Nienburg.

That's also on the river Weser and quite a cosy place to live. I don't know how long me and my wife and little daughter will stay there, but for the moment we enjoy small town life.... Nienburg also has a historical old, well...., sort of town, and we live right in the center of it. It's really worth coming to the old part and walk around the nice little streets to get an idea of a typical Norhtern German old town (at least if your train should get stuck at Nienburg Station for any reason).

As I already mentioned I am a completely married man since Aug 2003 and have a little daughter named Olivia, who made her first travel to arrive on planet earth in Sep 2002. All this keeps me a bit from travelling like I used to but that is more than ok for the moment.

I have made an agreement with my wife (who hates insects, dirt, dark streets, say all the things we travel for) that we will take separate holidays every year or every 2 years so I can keep my backpack. My last trip was to Venezuela in Dec 2002, only 2 weeks but really great (see pics inside). I will add more and more content whenever I find the time, so keep visiting if you like to.

From Germany with love,

Joern

This is my 15 months yo daughter Olivia. She is the greates travel to new emotional depths that I did not even guess would be possible.

She is a true sunshine and these eyes (her mother...) just can't take No for an answer. Playing with her I turn into a wild crazy child myself again (my friends would ask: "Where's the change?" but anyhow...)

- already the decision process on where to go and the waiting for d-day
- my travel mates
- clima shocks
- full sense enjoyment
- my backpack
- backpackers get-togethers (the relaxing type)
- the spanish speaking world
- most of the rest, too
- talking to locals on buses
- buses
- sucking in landscapes
- hiking where the next people are always far enough away to not make me feel they are there at all
- loving home but not missing it at all

Of course there is also some things I hate about travelling, but they can't stop me....
- backpackers get-togethers (the less relaxing ones. You know these people telling you even though you did not ask them to that the mountains here are quite nice but nothing compared to Nepal)
- diarhoea
- everyone seeing me the first time and calling me "my friend"

Music of:

- Dido (just the greatest music out on the mass market right now!)
- Manu Chao (so hot and cool at the same time)
- La Ley (so perfect Pop en Chileno)
- Moby (the master of relaxation)
- Herbert Groenemeyer (the greatest texts on the planet, now also with great music...)
- Simple Minds (talking about the old albums, so much feel and presence on stage!)
- Cafe del Mar (sit back, relax, listen, imagine addtl. sound of waves)
- Buddha Bar (I love ethnic ambience!)
- Lamb (try out this one!)
- Heather Nova (What a voice is this grand little woman)
- Yosefa (Middle Eastern pop full of harmony and beauty)
- Thievery Corporation (take this one to your favourite bar/lounge and ask the DJ to change the music)
- Cristina del Valle (An opera voice goes pop pearls)
- Vaya Con Dios (real music - timeless music!)
- U2 (no explanations necessary)
- some 80's Glitzy Junk Rock (yeah, that old Bon Jovi, Europe, Cinderella, White Snake trash - wonderfull!)
- diverse Ethnic Ambient (always open for new combinations)

Films like:
- Lord of the Rings (how boring, I know :)
- Life of Brian and other Monty Pyton movies (LOLling like hell, over and over again!)
- Mississippi Burning and American History X (no movies showing better the senselessness of racism)
- Naked Gun (so stupid it's great again)
- Pulp Ficition and Jackie Brown (too cool to be real)
- Loriot Movies (German Humourist - don't laugh!)
- The Lover/L'Amant from Marguerite Duras (most erotic movie)
- Fried Green Tomatoes (no movie makes you jump between laughing and crying so often
- From Mice and Men (simply wonderfull)
- Road Movies (slow and deep)
- Best series: Monaco Franze and Die Hausmeisterin, The Wonder Years + Sex and the city (don't care too much about the crap series, where they add the laughter so you know when it's funny)

Actors that can save every movie:
- John Malkovich
- Winona Ryder
- John Cleese
- Helmut Fischer
- Loriot
- Julia Roberts