Tom Robbins, my writer of choice to take along on trips of any kind, says…

“Passion isn’t a path through the woods. Passion is the woods. It’s the deepest, wildest part of the forest; the grove where the fairies still dance and obscene old vipers snooze in the boughs. Everybody but the most dried up and dysfunctional is drawn to the grove and enchanted by its mysteries, but then they just can’t wait to call in the chain saws and bulldozers and replace it with a family-style restaurant or a new S and L. That’s the payoff, I guess. Safety. Security. Certainty. Yes, indeed. Well, remember this, pussy latte: we’re not involved in a ‘relationship,’ you and I, we’re involved in a collision. Collisions don’t much lend themselves to secure futures…”

And I believe he is right. Life is about passion and finding your footing in the woods. My personal journey started while traveling….

Hi there, my name is Alexandra Lotte and I rather buy plane/train/bus tickets than shoes. Or most things, fort that matter.
I can’t remember the first time I traveled. My mum told me I was only a few months old, so it must have been the spring of 1980.

Back then, they still had bars in planes and you could smoke while sipping on bourbon, which, of course, I can’t remember.
One thing I can remember is that I always loved traveling. The distinct smell of a place when you exit the vehicle that brought you there, the feeling of excitement when you wake up somewhere new for the first time , the colors, the light, the food. Our parents took us everywhere, along with them. I learned about foreign currencies, how to deal with jet lag and long cues at immigration desks at the age of a toddler.
Before I went to high school I had been to numerous destinations that required 20 hour plane trips and even lived in a few different countries.

I left home at the age of 16, and, by way of a few European addresses and moved as far away as Australia.
The travel bug grew stronger after I was able to travel on my own. After finishing University I traveled with a backpack for the first time and haven’t stopped since. Many places I discovered on my own, sometimes I went with friends, and every time I made new ones.
I am very grateful for these wonderful people all over the world who let me sleep on their couches or in their guest rooms while providing the best intel on the place they have chosen to live in. So I enjoy the privilege of not feeling like a tourist very often…
Well, I guess getting lost in an unknown place, discovering it, taking time and turns into directions unknown is probably the thing I enjoy most in this world, in my life. Next to writing.
So I started this blog to let you take part. Thank you for visiting, I hope you enjoy it.