Istanbul Is Magical

The city Istanbul is not without reason one of the most popular cities in the world. It's magical, busy, dynamic, spirited and beautiful, with the Asian and European sites and the Bosporus river, which you can cross by ferry while the sun is setting, enjoying the wind blowing across your face.

 People from all over the world are living there. In the evening the streets are always packed, restaurants crowded, but this is what makes the city special. People show that they are living and enjoying life.

Of course I did some classic sightseeing and visited all the mosques including the blue mosque, Süleymaniye, Sultan-Ahmed and went to the Beylerbeyi Palace, Taksim Square, Kapali Carsi (Grand Bazar), Gülhane Parc.

The nightlife is crazy. One of my favourite clubs is the bar 360. I decided to get more experience in journalism and did an internship at the Dogan Haber Ajans for two months and wrote daily articles.

A Hidden Reporter In Istanbul

A year without travelling is a year without adventure or new experiences. The first half of 2009 was a quiet year. I had a couple of jobs where I travelled around within Germany, but I needed a challenge. I decided to go to Istanbul and work as a producer and stool pigeon for a media company who delivers documentaries and interviews to German media. The owner is a friend of mine who helped me in getting used to the different working habits. One day we fulfilled a task with a hidden camera. I loved this particular task because it was combined with a lot of adrenalin and risk, but I was happy when the job was over and we could enjoy a nice apple flavoured tea!

One Weekend In Ankara

I decided to visit the capital of Turkey towards the end of December and to see my family and to get to know more about my roots. I went to the grave of the first President of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, in the Anitkabir. It’s a very big complex

with a lot of soldiers standing there guarding the monuments. The history is described in detail, and you feel very thankful to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk for what he has done for the country, and at the same time very saddened by his early death.

Next Stop: Turkish Riviera

During my stay in Barcelona I had planned my next trip. I arranged an internship at a German newspaper in Alanya, which is on the Southern Coast of Turkey. After one week at home, I started travelling again.
I stayed at my Aunt’s house in Turkey and wrote articles about Turkish topics, in German.
 After one week I already knew that this wasn’t the right internship for me. I tried to get an internship at a Turkish newspaper and TV broadcaster to get to know the Turkish way of working. I took Turkish lessons and a woman helped me get an internship at the newspaper “Alanya Postasi”. 

After four weeks writing articles in Turkish I switched to the TV Kanal A and worked there as reporter, interviewing tourists in their language.
My languages had been a big advantage.
I enjoyed the work because I love talking with international people and speaking in front of the camera. 2.5 months had gone so quickly, and in January 2009 I went back to Frankfurt, Germany.

Human Pyramid

One of the most famous Catalan traditions is the La Mercé where a lot of people build towers with their bodies. It is very exciting to look at and stunning how high they can get.
This event takes place at the end of summer and is taken very seriously by the Catalan people.

The MacBa museum of art is also a must see. Barcelona has a lot of parks, my favourite one is the Parce de Montjuic, where youngsters meet to make music or do some Capoeira.
The harbour is one of the nicest areas in Barcelona. Artists draw animations of tourists on the street, Las Ramblas, and more or less rob them!

My Adventurous Life In Barcelona

I called a friend of mine to tell them that I was coming to Barcelona. He helped me find a guesthouse for the weekend and a school to learn Spanish. I subscribed to one of the intensive courses and started learning immediately.
I was so excited because it had always been my dream to learn Spanish. Students from everywhere had been there, all for the same reason: Learning Spanish and having fun!

I spent all my earnings on the course. I stayed for two weeks in a flat share with a Norwegian, Dutch and Swedish girl. Next I lived with two Chinese people in a flat and my last two weeks I lived in a guest house with three guys from Marseille and a concierge of Mexico. I met so many people from different countries and this made my time so exciting. It was so easy connecting to people and making new friends. Everyone had been so open-minded. I really enjoyed it. After almost one week I could communicate in Spanish and understand people, although in Barcelona they speak Catalan, which is different.

Like A Bird In A Cage

As the days passed I felt like a bird in a cage. The whole system was full of rules. There wasn’t any flexibility. As presenter I wasn’t even allowed to eat with the passengers and chat with them. On the other hand it was quite interesting to observe people living there for a minimum of half a year, without seeing their families or even sun light. Even though I loved my job, I couldn’t deal with the whole situation on the ship. I always got sea sick, my body didn’t feel good and I was constantly freezing because of the over acclimatisation. The lack of contact to passengers made me feel imprisoned and this is why I decided to leave the ship as soon as possible. No sooner said than done, I decided to leave the ship in Barcelona.

How Is Life On A Cruise Ship?

After one week of security preparation I flew to Palma de Mallorca to enter the ship AIDA DIVA. The ship toured Palma de Mallorca – Barcelona – Marseille – Civitavecchia – Naples. Everything went so fast I can’t remember everything.
My first impressions of the cruise ship were that it was massive and incredibly high. When I walked inside I started thinking about the sinking of the Titanic.
I got quite scared and didn’t feel well.
The first week I had to participate in security training so that in emergencies the crew knew what to do and how to react.
Every Saturday the security training involved the passengers too.

Unfortunately the passengers were predominantly German, so didn’t get a great chance to use the various languages I had learnt. My job was exciting; I was a show presenter, announcing all the shows that took place in the evenings.
I always was in close contact with the artists. I also moderated games and morning shows.
I loved my job, because I love being on stage and entertaining people, making them laugh.

Next Mission: Rostock

Rostock is in the North of Germany and is mostly visited by Germans on their holidays.

My reason for going there wasn't as a holiday, but as preparation for my new job on the Cruise Ship AIDA. We had one week of preparation including theoretical and practical exercises.

During this week we slept in a little ship to get used to the surroundings and the limited space in a ship. The theory part wasn't as exciting as the practical part.

 I loved the part where we had to get into fire fighters outfits and practice an emergency situation, in which we were locked in a room and had to extinguish a sudden outbreak of fire in different areas of the room.

The next task was to simulate a sinking ship. Everyone had to get into orange outfits, which allowed everyone to stay on the surface of the water.

I enjoyed the week with the whole team and was excited and well prepared to work on the big ship one week later!

Deauville American Film Festival

The next weekend my friend and I decided to go to Deauville which is also in the North of France, famous for the American Film Festivals taking place at one of the posh cities of France.

Deauville has a very nice yacht, casino and many many beautiful hotels (e.g. Le Normandy Barrière) and villa. At the beach are in front of every changing room names of Hollywood celebrities who have been already there.

The city airs so much harmony. Every corner is beautiful. If you'll be there one day, you should definitely enjoy one of the delicious seafoods!

One Day In Rouen

Rouen is a city with 108,569 inhabitants, situated in the North of France, close to the river Seine. I went by bus to Rouen with a friend, spending one day there. It was a long drive. Finally we arrived in Rouen. It was really cloudy, but didn't rain. The city is small, but beautiful. The cathedral of Rouen is one of the tourist features, as well as the L’aître Saint-Maclou and Rue du Gros Horloge with the famous watch. In the evening we went to a Mexican party with Mexican students. It was interesting to see how extrovert they are. A lot of self-made tapas and quesadillas had been waiting for us. In the night we went back to Evreux by bus, sleeping during the whole drive.

How My Love With Paris Started

Evreux is a very small city, with 51,485 citizens and is just one hour away from Paris. I spent most of my weekends in Paris, with my friends Céline and David.

I always felt so comfortable in the city of love and romance. I visited the Museum of Louvre , the Eiffel tower, and walked up and down the Champs-Élysées several times.




Shopping was so much fun, especially close to the metro station, Les Halles. The long long hours at a table, chatting and eating gourmet food with a nice red wine always reminds me of Paris.

Welcome to Evreux!

During my studies of online journalism I wanted to do an internship abroad. I worked as a freelancer at a newspaper in Rüsselsheim and I always participated in exchanges from my home city, Evreux. One day I was in the city hall, chatting to a woman and describing to her my wish to take an internship in France. The rest went pretty fast. I forwarded her my CV and kept in touch with her. She arranged an internship at the weekly newspaper "La Dépêche". The translator of Rüsselsheim helped me find accommodation at a hall of residence. Everything was arranged and I couldn't wait to live in France, speaking one of my most favourite languages.