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Home
Accommodation
- Hotel Tip
- Housesitting
Destinations
- Asia
  - Cambodia
  - Hong Kong
  - Laos
  - Malaysia
  - Philippines
  - Singapore
  - Sri Lanka
  - Taiwan
  - Thailand
- Australia
- Central America
  - Belize
  - Costa Rica
  - El Salvador
  - Guatemala
  - Honduras
  - Nicaragua
  - Panama
- Africa
  - South Africa
- Europe
  - Austria
  - Cyprus
  - Denmark
  - England
    - London
  - Finland
  - France
  - Germany
    - Berlin
  - Iceland
  - Ireland
  - Italy
  - Malta
  - Netherlands
  - Portugal
  - Spain
  - Sweden
  - Switzerland
  - Turkey
  - Wales
- India
- Mexico
  - Chiapas
  - Mexico City
  - Foodie Mexico
  - Oaxaca
  - Yucatan
- Middle East
  - Israel
- North America
- South America
  - Argentina
  - Bolivia
  - Chile
  - Colombia
  - Ecuador
  - Peru
  - Uruguay
For foodie travelers
LGBT
On a shoestring
Photography
- Photo Essay
- Polaroid of the Week
Travel Reflections
- Personal
Travel Tips
Contact
Gear
Housesitting
About

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Today marks the 57th day of my self-isolation. Eig

Today marks the 57th day of my self-isolation. Eight weeks by myself. I don’t think I’ve ever spent this much time alone. The spring bloom came and went. I love New York in the spring, the cherry blossoms, daffodils, tulips, magnolia trees in bloom. Tiny leaves appear on the trees, and eventually the dull, empty trees look lush and green again. I’ve been trying to focus on the beauty of spring in these last weeks, the beauty of New York City. But even on a sunny day spring, the reality is hard to block out. The sirens outside my window are a constant reminder that New York City is not what it was only two short months ago. The current COVID-19 case count in NYC is 184,319, a staggering number. The death toll number was updated last night and stand now at 20,056. An even more staggering number. Compare that to Germany, my home country, which has less cases than New York City, and 1/3 of the death numbers. New York City has been hit harder than any other city, and has more COVID-19 cases than almost any country (with the exception of Russia, the UK, Spain and Italy). It looks like COVID-19 has peaked in New York though. But despite declining death numbers and hospitalizations, New York City is still far from meeting the health metrics necessary to reopen. The mayor said this weekend that a true opening of New York City remained “a few months away at minimum”. The density of the city makes it much more difficult for the city to reopen safely than most other places. The road to recovery will be long and painful, but I have no doubt that New York will eventually bounce back. #NewYorkOrNowhere #newyorkcity #newyorkcitycovid19 #nyccovid19 #newyorkcityfeelings

The last six weeks have been rough. Some pictures

The last six weeks have been rough.
Some pictures of New York City “on lockdown“: (1) Boarded-up shop in SoHo (2) Grand Central Terminal almost deserted (3) An empty street in Chinatown (4) Street vendors have adapted to the situation quickly and are now selling hand sanitizer and face masks (5) the Brooklyn Bridge without tourists (6) the “new normal” in NYC: signs showing you how far apart you have to be from another person (7) a Statue of Liberty in Brooklyn during COVID-19 (8) the Naked Cowboy, still doing his thing in Times Square #nyconpause #nyconlockdown #newyorkcity #thisisnewyorkcity

I’ve been alone for exactly one month now. Four

I’ve been alone for exactly one month now. Four weeks in self-isolation. I was supposed to go back to work last week, but alas, there’s not really any work right now. I’ve been trying to keep up a routine to give my days some structure and some sense of normalcy. Every morning, I get up and make myself a to-do list, and sometimes I’d completely forget what’s going on in the world right now – and especially here in New York City.. but then I hear the sirens of an ambulance driving past my house - and there are many. A constant reminder of the many people suffering right now💔 Hearing the sirens also scares me, because several people around me have lost loved ones to COVID-19, friends are recovering from bad cases of the virus. Seeing the city I love so much in such a bizarre state makes me so sad. My heart is breaking for New York, but I know the city will bounce back 👊

I have a lot of time to think about things, to worry, and to be too much in my head. I don’t think I’ve ever spent that much time by myself – and at home in my apartment.. Life in New York City is usually so fast-paced, and I am always out and about - there’s not much time for self-care or simply doing things at home. I’ve already done a big apartment spring cleaning, rearranged cabinets and drawers, cooked more than I’ve cooked in years, baked pastries, baked bread. All of a sudden, I have time to try out new recipes, to read books that I’ve bought since moving to New York and then never got around to read, to write, to go on long runs and to exercise daily, to talk to friends on the phone for hours. I realize that I’ll probably never have this again: time. And sometimes I feel guilty for having all this time, knowing that others don’t have this unexpected gift, because they still have their jobs and they have to clock in their usual work hours. Or even go to work, brave the subway, put themselves at risk. I can’t really complain about anything, because all that’s asked of me is to stay at home.

So I am trying to put things into perspective, reminding myself that I am not alone in this, that we’re all in this together, and that this is not the end of the world, but something that will pass.

Hi! 👋 I just wanted to share a quick update wit

Hi! 👋 I just wanted to share a quick update with everyone. It felt silly to continue sharing photos from my Australia trip when things took a turn for the worse here in New York with regards to the Coronavirus. So I stopped. I am looking at this photo now that I took only a few weeks ago, when in most parts of the world it was still “business as usual”. I was on Rottnest Island, a small island off the coast of Western Australia, and had the best day, beach hopping and hanging out with these adorable quokkas. Taking a #quokkaselfie was one of the bucket list items for my Australia trip. I will continue to post photos of my trip when I feel the time is right (and there will be many more quokka photos coming your way! ☺️), but for now, I am stuck in New York, and who knows when I’ll be able to travel again. Or just have a normal life here. With corona cases skyrocketing in NYC at the moment, I think it’ll be months until things go back to normal. I was supposed to fly to Guatemala on Monday, after a quick stopover in New York to deal with some life stuff (I definitely chose the wrong year to pay my taxes early – considering that my income is almost ZERO right now..), but last Friday Guatemala announced it was shutting its borders to residents of the U.S., Canada and many European countries. Oh well. My first thought was: “I should have stayed longer in Australia!” but now that Australia has closed its borders, too, I am glad to be at least in my own apartment and not stuck somewhere, like many of my friends who are traveling full-time and don’t have a home to go back to. It is not easy for me to be here in the U.S. all by myself, worrying about my family thousands of miles away, but I’m trying to make the best of the situation. I have food, I have shelter, and I have some savings to hold me over for a few months. I know that many people around me, especially here in New York, aren’t that lucky. I am trying to stay optimistic – and so far I’ve been doing well. But who knows how I’ll feel a month from now. I’ve only been by myself since Tuesday, when my friend left to fly back home. The Insta community has been amazing –> (continued in comments...)

Treated myself to a resort 🌴 for a few days, as

Treated myself to a resort 🌴 for a few days, as part of my visit to the Whitsunday Islands. The actual plan was to spend a couple of nights on a boat and cruise around the islands but I’m gonna be honest here: staying in a resort sounded more appealing to me than sleeping in a bunk on a boat 😄 #gettingold #flashpacker #whitsundayislands #whitsundays #ride2paradise #australia #australia2020

Bondi Icebergs Swimming Pool is one of the most ic

Bondi Icebergs Swimming Pool is one of the most iconic swimming pools in the world, and probably the most photographed ocean pool. Perched on rocks right next to famous Bondi Beach, the saltwater pool overlooks the ocean, and is open year round. The pool is almost 100 years old - it opened in 1929. Admission to the pool is only AU$9 (around US$6) and includes access to the sauna- but be warned, the pool is not heated and the water is quite cold 🥶 #bondibeach #bondiicebergs #bondiicebergspool #bondibeachicebergs #bondibeachsydney #sydney #sydney🇦🇺 #sydneyaustralia #australia #australia_shotz #australiagram #poolwithaview #oceanpool

One thing I loved about Sydney was how green the c

One thing I loved about Sydney was how green the city is (it felt like I was never far from a park, a green space 🌳 or the water 🌊) and that there were birds everywhere! As usual, I am bad with bird names and don’t know what these white birds are called (pls help!) but I was able to identify the large white bird with the big (and somewhat scary!) beak as an ibis (I’ve never seen them just wandering around parks anywhere but here.) Swipe for more pics ⬅️ #Sydney #sydneyaustralia #birdsofsydney #birdsofsydneyharbour #sydney🇦🇺 #sydney_insta #australia #australiagram #birdsofaustralia #ibis #sydneywildlife #australiawildlife #australiaiswild #birdwatching #birdwatchingaustralia

The growing skyline of Sydney’s Central Business

The growing skyline of Sydney’s Central Business District (CBD) #sydney #sydney🇦🇺 #sydneyaustralia #australia #australia2020 #sydneyview #pylonlookout #

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