This is my first flight to Japan. Yippee. I am so excited and due to a pilots strike we get to stay a day longer. A first stroll through the city and taking a look around is the perfect start into this Japanese experience. I find the vending machines fascinating. They are at almost every street corner. And the restaurant windows displaying the different dishes is equally interesting. In the evening we go to dinner together and discuss going on a possible road trip.

In the end we are six people hitting the road towards Takayama. One of my colleagues does not mind driving on the left hand side and with the rental company setting our navigation system, we do not get lost. As always I love looking out the window and marvelling at the landscape whizzing by. Soon we reach the Japanese Alps and drive through endless amounts of tunnels.

The smell that I associate with Takayama is one of warm wood. The old wooden houses stand close together and we take a walk through the old town towards a shrine at the outskirts of town. There are lots of shops and we stop by a number of them. The Higashiyama Walking Course leads to several shrines. At times we have a good view of the city from between the trees.

As it gets darker the bats come out of their hiding place and congregate over the river. The sight is beautiful. Black clouds swirl around and form new shapes, it feels like the ebb and flow of the sea.  We stay in a small guesthouse and sleep in Japanese rooms. The smell of the tatami mats guides me to sleep.

We wake up early and head to the morning market before breakfast. There are so many things to see. Quite a number of things are unknown to me and I like observing the locals and seeing what they buy.

Later we continue on to Shirakawagoo. It is an UNESCO World Heritage site, which lies deep in the mountains and I am immediately in love with the tranquillity of the villages. Everything looks so calm and harmonious. There are not a lot of people as we walk through the village. The old wooden houses with their famously steep thatched roofs stand in neat little gardens. A canal system provides them with water. The orange of the Chinese lantern plants glows in the sunlight. We stroll along and marvel at the architectural style of the houses. The roofs are so steep because of the amount of snow in winter. Some of the souvenir shops show winter photos to give us an idea of what it must look like. The valley has only very limited flat surface along the river and so space had to be utilised efficiently. The steep roofs provided living and working space.

Because we passed through so many tunnels on the way to Takayama we decide to guess the number of tunnels until Nagoya and count them. It is a funny pastime and time flies this way. As I lie in the hot water of the hotel onsen and reflect on the last two days I cannot believe my luck that my first trip to Japan turned into a little road trip.

Der Beitrag A little Japanese road trip erschien zuerst auf Where in the world is... Susanne?.

The sun is shining and we are on our way into the city centre. We have a day off here today and four of our crew want to make the most of the sunshine and head to the Red Square. The others have been to Moscow several times and I enjoy just following along. I can fully concentrate on sightseeing.

Our first stop is the Red Square and the Saint Basil’s Cathedral. I love the colourful details of the building. As a child we had a 3D puzzle of the Cathedral and so the building feels familiar. The onion-shaped domes sparkle in the sunshine. I love orthodox churches. They smell of incense, the gloomy twilight, the high ceilings with low-hanging chandeliers and the golden saints. We walk along the Kremlin walls and I feel dwarfed by all the tall buildings and towers. We chat about crewlife and things we see. I have been working as a flight attendant only for half a year and I am still fascinated by the stories people tell who have been in the business a lot longer.

The glass roof of the GUM department store is fascinating. I love the intricate detail and the coolness inside the building. Outside, along the river it is hot. Across the river from the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour we find a restaurant with a rooftop terrace. Here we spend the next couple of hours talking and laughing, observing people, all within sight of the beautiful monuments.

On our way back to the hotel we stop at a restaurant for dinner. Ordering from menus, which only show pictures, is always fun and often delicious. The cockpit crew guide us through the maze of the Moscow streets back to the hotel. It was such a wonderful day. Hopefully, I get to return to the city and get to discover much more.

Der Beitrag A Summer Day in Moscow erschien zuerst auf Where in the world is... Susanne?.

We only have the morning to explore beautiful Venice and we sure want to make the most of it. Despite having gotten to the hotel only very late last night, my colleague and I meet at 7.30 this morning. We want to take the train from Mestre to Venice. Neither of us speaks Italian, but at the third ticket vendor we get our tickets and hop on board the next train to the “floating city”.

In tourist terms it is still pretty early and the streets are rather empty. A few locals pass our way as we follow the signs towards the Rialto Bridge and the Piazza San Marco. I cannot get enough of the house colours. Every time I have been to the Venetian Lagoon I have admired the mix of sunny and citrus yellows, different hues of orange and all the reds from strawberry to grapefruit. Sometimes the alleys end right at a canal and we have to back track our steps. Other times we find a little bridge and continue on our way. Getting lost in the little alleyways is such a pleasure.

My colleague visits the city for the first time and so we stop by the Canale Grande, the Bridge of Sighs, the Piazza San Marco and the Rialto Bridge. Even though we only have a few hours for exploring I always feel like I am on holiday. It is such a gift to be able to stroll through a city and then wake up the next day in another city and walk around there for a while. Summer in Europe is full of tourists, but also wonderful. The sights, the sun, summer skirts and sandals…

As it is getting later more and more tourists appear. The gondolas fill the canals now. The black and white striped shirts of the gondolieri shine on the dim waterways. I love the sights in Venice just as much as the houses further away from the main tourist lanes. I love the areas where washing lines hang between the houses; colourful flower pots adorn the windowsills and Italians go about their daily business.

We do not feel ready to head back to the hotel as the clock strikes 11.30am. But we have to continue on our rotation and start our working day. Tonight we are going to sleep in Munich. We wave goodbye to beautiful Venice as we head back over the dam to Mestre.

Der Beitrag A Short Stroll through Venice erschien zuerst auf Where in the world is... Susanne?.

2014 I have just begun working as a flight attendant and cannot believe my luck that I won a rotation to Kuala Lumpur. It is hot and tropical and seems very exotic to me. I have not been to Asia much and love this experience.

The train station for the sky train is not far and I love flying above the streets. Yesterday coming from the airport we got stuck in terrible traffic. I get off in the city centre and continue to explore on foot. Traditional houses, colonial buildings and skyscrapers make for an interesting mix. I love strolling through the touristy markets as well. It is loud and colourful and there is so much to see. I take it all in and enjoy myself immensely. Of course I walk past the imposing Petronas Towers. The surface looks so silky smooth and hard as steel at the same time. Chinatown is amazing to see. I pass by Mosques and the National Palace. At some point in the afternoon I am hungry and I buy something delicious from a street vendor. It is overcast and I hide from a sudden heavy downpour in one of the many malls. Luckily, the rain does not last long and I can continue my tour of the city.

A stop at the supermarket is always a must wherever I am. I love exploring the different wares on offer. Strolling along the aisles I discover the most delicious and interesting things. Of course I add a few items to my shopping cart in order to be able to recreate some of the delicious meals I have eaten here.

The second day I take the train out of the city to the Batu Caves. It is a popular Hindu shrine and I can already see the golden statue at the foot of the hill from the train station. It only takes a few steps to be soaked in sweat again. Elderly ladies single out tourists in shorts and get them to put a sarong around their hips. I chose a longer skirt today and can immediately start my climb up. It takes 270 steps to the main cave and a few more to the cave in the back. There are small shrines along the way and statues of Hindu gods. They are welcome stops on the way up. The view all the way to Kuala Lumpur is beautiful. The monkeys are not very interested in the views, but rather in the food that people drop. They sit on the banisters and observe everything keenly.

I step into the first cave and my eyes have to adjust to the dim light of the caves. There are shrines everywhere and candles flicker in the dark. I love observing the people for a while and take my time strolling through the cave system.

On my way back to the city I stop by the Central Market again. I found a kimono that I liked and now I want to quickly buy it before we have to fly back. I would have loved to have been able to stay a bit longer in this fascinating city.

Der Beitrag Kuala Lumpur erschien zuerst auf Where in the world is... Susanne?.

One of the fascinating aspects of my job for me are the “exotic” destinations and the cultural experiences. Flying to Saudi Arabia certainly qualifies for an interesting layover. As we get to the hotel, we do not only get a room key and instructions for breakfast and wifi, but also an abbaya and a head scarf.

The next morning a colleague and I take a taxi to the National Museum. It was a bit difficult at first to find out the times women could visit, but with a little help from the concierge we figured it out. It is nice and cool in the museum and fascinating to see all the things, which have been taking place on the Arabian Peninsula over centuries. I am amazed by the cities similar to Petra in Jordan which the Nabateans built here as well.

After the Museum we try to hail a taxi in the street. It takes a while to find one, maybe because we are women, maybe because we are two foreign women, but eventually a driver stops and we are on our way to the Kingdom Centre. Before we head up to the sky bridge we stop for lunch in the food court. We quickly figure out that there are separate lines for women and men to order. But we need a minute to figure out where the women have their seating area as there are only men sitting in the main area of the food court. Observation is once again key and we follow women going behind screens and entering a separate eating area. It feels like entering a different world. Here women are among themselves. We admire a baby at the table next to us and talk to the proud grandmother. Women rearrange their make-up and chat with friends. For a short while we get a little glimpse of life behind the veil.

Two elevators take us up to the sky bridge. Even though it is a bit hazy, the view of Riyadh is spectacular. There are so many skyscrapers, roads, and such dense city life. Parts of it feel quite artificial, especially when remembering the heat outside and the air-condition everywhere. A little further the city merges with the desert and the brown sand continues all the way to the horizon.

Der Beitrag Riyadh erschien zuerst auf Where in the world is... Susanne?.