Snapshot Stories

This snapshot shows the beginnings of the biggest journey of my life - physically and mentally. Armed with my travel essentials - water, a good book (given to me as a gift by my dear friend Sahar) and my multifunctional travel buddy Froguson aka Ferdinand aka Froggsy - I took to new adventures. I remember feeling a very strange mix of emotions. I've been away from home before,I lived in London for a long time, however, I was never away this far for this long. I'd just parted from my parents, who - as always - stayed and watched behind security for as long as they could see me. Their beloved eldest child was pulled away by wanderlust and curiosity yet again. Little did they know how much more this was for me than 'just' travelling. Where I was, I was lost. I had no perspective and felt out of place in my current situation. I did the only thing I believe can show people back to their path - go somewhere else, start a new chapter of your life, get lost so you can find yourself. And boy, did I find myself.

I had just arrived in the neighbourhood that I would call my home for the next six months. Walking around in Melbourne was such a pleasure for me, I hardly knew where to put my eyes next. Where I come from in Germany, most houses look pretty plain and dull, which is why these houses, remnants of Melbourne's gold rush era, fascinated me everywhere I went. Those early winter walks reassured me in my decision to come here, not one second was I afraid or regretted this step.

My first trip to Williamstown with Peter. It was July 2015 and not too cold yet as we rode all the way (roughly 11-12 km) to Williamstown with our bikes on a mild but sunny day. Our first stop was the pier, where you could see Melbourne's CBD in the far and where I tried myself at SLR photography again. When we arrived at the beach, there was a family playing in the sand and people walking their dogs. It was so idyllic and I absolutely loved it. I took more pictures and ended up taking this snapshot by blindly pointing the camera from above. This is one of my favourite pictures because it represents the carefreeness of that day, the feeling of a cold sea breeze on a sunny day, the beginning of new friendship, new love. 

I took this picture just a couple of days ago in a private hostel room in Darwin. Peter had just fallen asleep and as I sometimes do, I just took a sneeky snap. It was one of our second or third to last night together in Australia, after we had finished our 3-week Outback roadtrip. For some reason it represents the end of our Australia chapter for me. It's peaceful and calm and I look at it in quiet, loving wonder. The opposite of what I felt like when I came here.