Season 1 Recap

My beginning in blogging was a product of a warm and sunny summer morning. I sat down on the balcony and just wrote for some hours and in the end I got the ten first posts finished. But of course there were some tweaks because of the order and stuff. After that headstart there where several evenings I spent on the balcony bringing up concepts for series and the blog itself. My girlfriend got annoyed when I asked her over and over again if this or that would work out but she got her payback.

I tried to get three post a week done but it only worked out for two weeks or so until I set back to two posts and that still works out perfectly. Also I tried to fit the series in the schedule without missing all the latest news I wanted to cover and now ended up with actually two monthly series and a lot of more or less instant content.

It was great to get out once a week, shooting pictures for the Board and Bike Spots. In general I fell in love with photography and even bought my first own camera. And Hamburg is a great city to get started with photography: modern and classic, urban and landscape.

That is my recap of my first six months of blogging with now finally many more to come.


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Board Vibes - Season 2

It's been a long time, eh?

But today I'm back with new motivation, topics and a huge load of news. Of course there were other reasons besides procrastination  for me to stop writing. But those deserve an extra post. Also, there are two more winter themed posts in queue and then, finally, I am personally done with this season.

Following up on Saturday, there will be a roundup of "Season 1" of Board Vibes. I'll just briefly go over the highlights and developments made in those six months. Also there are two spots - one for the board, one for bike - that I had planned since early fall last year that might finally get live.

That's all updated so far, so see you on Saturday.


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In Pictures - Longboarding Together

My fourth post ever was about why it is so great to get together with people when longboaring. This here is a little follow up of pictures I found on Pinterest that really express the message I had in that post.

Each of these pictures tells a story of friends getting out together and searching for the thrill and fun of longboarding. Of course they all need a long road ahead - feeling the freedom and stuff. So beside that cliche and the fact that none of them was a real situation, I really like how they look and have different styles. One is dark and full of tension, another one showing the party going on on the road and one spreading pure summer and very happy and adventurous vibes.

However, I just wanted to show you these few pictures to stay motivated for longboarding - summer isn't even that far away! I'm already planning for new adventures and I might also buy a new board. But I will surely update you about anything exciting as it happens. Protect your spots and keep exploring!


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Blogs To Read - Hand Luggage Only

Recently I really got into travel again but as I'm currently a volunteer at a school I am pretty much limited in budget and time. So, I try to suck in as much about my favorite destinations and routes as possible through the internet. Aside YouTube, blogs are my major source with my personal number one:

© Hand Luggage Only

© Hand Luggage Only

These two guys there on the left are actually still quite new to the blogging business - although their had the idea of Hand Luggage Only since 2012 their started the blog in April 2014. They write about anything they think could be useful or entertaining for their readers: travel logs of the most awesome parts of their never-ending journey, top lists of activities and tips, and guides to make your travel smoother.

"We believe that travel should be accessible and open to all, that's why we try our best to showcase WHYs, HOWs and WHEREs of the very best in travel."

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One Day In Hamburg - Essentials

Water, the most important thing to humans. With six times as many bridges as in Venice or double the bridges of Amsterdam water is also a pretty big thing to Hamburg. These are some shots of the Alster and the Elbe, the biggest and most important water surfaces in Hamburg.

Visual Vibes - He Nailed It

Do you remember Ben Brown from three months ago? Not that it was the only time I mentioned him, but it was the last time that he released one of his Visual Vibes videos. So guess what happened this week: Buffer Festival in Toronto, Canada. A festival bringing content creators from YouTube to theaters all over Toronto. Many more or less famous YouTubers showed their latest creations and milestones and gave a little background information to each of the videos. Also pretty much everyone had a meetup after the screening where as many of the fans as possible got the opportunity to take pictures and get their questions answered.



So, this is Ben's latest masterpiece: The Canada Visual Vibes. Shot on his sponsored trip through Canada two months ago he captured the amazing wildlife and breathtaking views of mountains and ice-cold blue-water lakes that are spread all over the country. The editing took it's time (also because of the Seven Swims where he produced seven awesome videos for Lewis Pugh) but it turned out wonderful. I don't know what it is like if you don't know about the adventures he had in Canada, because for me it is also a awesome recap of all the things he did with Steve Booker and all the other people on the trip.

So whether you want to see what Canada might be holding for you or just like awesome film making you should definitely take a look at this video and subscribe to Ben for daily vlogs and travelling Visual Vibes.


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Struggling with your motivation

Especially as the days grow shorter, you wake up in the dark and it's dark again as you come back home you might easily slip into a feeling that makes your work, life and all the things you like seem not to be worth the effort. My experience is that you will definitely loose at least one day in this hole until you can do anything against it. This one day you should just spend on Netflix or YouTube because that's the only stuff that you'll get done.

So the next day you should just start off with a good run and a nice glass of milk, smoothie or milk. If you get the morning right, everything that follows will stand in a better light. So things you could perfectly do are:

• Searching for new places to get your work and other tasks done
• Putting the structures of your workflow, online space and data management to a test
• Cleaning up your workplace, desktop and phone
• Searching for inspiration online and in real life

How do you tackle a lack of motivation?

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Fall Longboarding

The first of October - that's when the fall feels really kick in.

Basically, all the time from the melting of the last snow to the first storm of fall is great for longboarding - and of course any other sport on small wheels. Because once the wind blew through the first brown leaves it takes no time until the whole ground is covered in them. That wouldn't be that much of a problem - leaves make the ground slippery, especially when they lay there throughout the last rain, but you wouldn't normally fall from that - if there weren't so many chestnuts and acorns in between them. I was lucky so far, but if you hit one with your wheels, you stop right where you're at - unless you were so fast that you fly and roll on the ground for some feet.


























However, what I actually want to tell you is that the longboard and bike spot series will probably be paused until spring. There might be some possibilities to get one or two of them online if the weather isn't too bad, but not on a regular basis. Therefor I have Blogs to Read and One Day in Hamburg as the winter series. But I will save up some spots and blogs by releasing each series every four weeks and some more random posts in between.

Well, nothing else to say today. See you on                             Saturday.

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One Day in Hamburg - Where to go when you're around

Have you ever been to Hamburg? Well, there are places that are definitely worth a visit. So in this series - I will show you some places to stop by on your short trip or even when you're living here. These spots will be awesome places for photography, videography and spending quality time in the best ways possible. They will vary from urban over lifestyle to nature have everything you need for one day in Hamburg. Each post will be part of a day in Hamburg, concluding to the whole day in three or four posts.

So as any of the posts that introduce new stuff this is rather boring and short. But come back on Wednesday to read a bit more on the changes that come to the blog at this time of the year. Until then, repect your spots and keep exploring.

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Changes are chances

"Damn, you've changed" is mostly used in a accusing way. But why are so many people afraid of changes? A change is always a way to improve yourself, even if they might seem bad at first. You can still improve by dealing with it in a way that builds up on your general management skills and experience. So if you get yourself so far that you don't bother about a change that was bad at first, that's an improvement, isn't it?

So changes are chances to improve yourself. But what if it simply doesn't work out for you? Then maybe this change got you out of a hole in which you were stuck and that stopped you from deesperately improving the situation itself. So do you now have an idea of what would be perfect and even better than before? This is your chance improve the thing within the process of changing.

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Smile, guys!

Over the past week there was only one thing to do when I was on a train. I searched for smiles - and hardly found them. But it is awesome how smiles can help you through the day. Well, at least they help me. Every time someone randomly smiles at me I get this awesome boost that gets me to reach my goals. But one of the best things about it is that you carry that feeling on to other people because you get that happy and friendly smile as well.

This sounds great but not likely at all. You really gotta look into a lot of people's faces to find someone that makes it work. You might think you look silly because you're smiling all day and you're the only one. But it's totally worth it. That feeling you get is just awesome.

Still there's one thing about me that doesn't seem to match with anybody else: I feel really close these people. And the moment we loose eye-contact I miss them because they are just so rare out on the street and I wanna know more people like that. At the very same moment I think that wouldn't work out because a very big part of this effect is that you don't know that person.

But now that I am thinking about this all day I guess that maybe I can't even make it work but it works on me. That's a terrible feeling. Still I have faith in the people and will go on being happy, smiling at everyone and trying to get them happy by that seemingly tiny task. And if you are with me tell me about it, get other people to go with us and don't let anybody bring you down.

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Train Blues

Look into a person's eye. What do you see? Sorrow. Exhaustion. Boredom. At least that's what I see right now. I stopped smiling. I get home and close the door to my room. Lie down and recover from the day's horror. These people hurt me. I feel terrible standing right in the middle of them. But why do the feelings of random people even affect me? In fact it would be quite unhealthy to stay in this state of letting all this impact on you for too long. So is this why people just live alongside each other: There is just to much bad mood that would probably kill you if you let it have an influence on you. But this can't be the right way, not the best. Nothing big today.

Hamburg Longboard Spots - Slalom and Speed

Today's spot is a lot shorter but I guess you could say it's a double-spot. It consists of two runs: One is a bit longer and keeps you on a continuous but shallow slope. The other one is just a short downhill track of about 100 meters. I actually had to mark the downhill bit by hand as it is no official way.

So we took some empty glass bottles from home with us to put them up as pylons. Some might say that was a little risky because the bottles might brake when I go around them to close and blah. Well, one did brake but only at the top so nothing too bad. People have done dumber things than that and still there are enough of them alive to go on with dumb shit. So let's go.


You actually drop in with quite some speed to get along the flat bit in the middle. Also there is a little crack just 50 meters after the start but that isn't any real problem. We didn't use all the space we had because we were to lazy to get so many bottles although we actually placed the crate on top of one of the boards. And as there were cars coming it would've been way too much work to get so many bottles out of the way and back into place afterwards. It took quite some time to figure out a setup for the pylons that isn't too hard but not boring either. Once we got it right there were cars trying to get along that street.

Actually we decided that the second built was enough and shortly got over to the downhill bit. Unfortunately we didn't get any good shots of that because of shadow and the wrong lens and stuff. Not my best work.

However, Wednesday I will give you some information on my camera and Saturday we're going to visit a place that you  might know from the morning bike ride. 'Till then, keep exploring and save your spots.

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Alien Post - The Purge: Anarchy

Do you know this kind of movie that has nothing else than action for you but still makes you watch it? The Purge: Anarchy is that kind of movie - at first.

But not too seldom these stories are situated in a really interesting world that directly relates to our world: The rich people want more money, poor people have to find a way to keep themselves alive and both use absurd ways for that - including the trade of people and killing as a festive ceremony or group activity. Also the world the movie plays in is quite well constructed - everything is tuned in on the situation. For example how there are gangs that found together on the streets and fight together as well as businesses employing and equipping soldiers to fight for the night.

It is unbelievable how this movie that almost doesn't even need a story has so many twists in the plot. Some too many I would say. Still it is a movie I highly recommend to watch if you want a hour and a half with nice fights, a overall catching story and a light taste of society criticism.

Hamburg Bike Spots - Green, Planes, Sheep

Here we are, Hamburg Bike Spots episode one. This time it is not about a single route but a complete area of forest, dunes and slopes. The marked area on the map doesn't quite fit the actual area but it gets pretty close. I tried to cover as many of the individual spots as possible but as I said it's quite huge and many of the spots are hidden behind turns that don't actually look that inviting so although I personally kept exploring it for about two years I still find new trails and views every time.

We started at a little trail at the west-end of the area that leads through some trees and bushes. It is actually quite some fun to get along the tiny paths and try not to get your legs ripped apart by all the spiked branches reaching halfway over the path.









Following up there is a longer bit that is rather wide open and you can ride over the sand really fast and also have a wonderful view. You get the feeling of flying over all the little humps and also it feels like you aren't anywhere near Hamburg or even Germany.

You can also get along some small trails that have lots of soft sand on the ground - so wider wheels are recommended. And never stop, just try to drive through it and keep your front wheel straight. It's a great feeling to get across a hump that is fully covered with that sand and ride right down there.

Also, as seen on the map, there is that huge field with a airstrip. Actually there where ultra-lightweight planes flying that day. And also there were sheep. These sheep are part of the area and been there ever since I first explored the spot.




A bit further the surroundings changed to something rather forest-like. To the left was a hill of about 50 meters in total and there is a stair going up at one point. But going up is lame - let's get down there. In fact you could choose between the stairs - two meters forward from step to step - and a steeper bit. Guess what I chose.


However, this is it for today. More pictures, less text. Come back Wednesday for the first episode of the non-regular "Alien Post" series featuring a restaurant that I'm going to go to tonight or tomorrow evening. And still, keep exploring and save your spots.

Oops, I did it again - Morning Bike Rides

Storm it! Once again I got caught up getting ready for a bike ride instead of going to bed when arrived at home at six in the morning. This really get close to a bad habit as these hours decide whether your day will be awesome or terrible.

The obvious thing about going to bed at that time is that you won't wake up until noon. That might be part of a lifestyle for some people but I do not like that anymore as it destroys your biorhythm and leaves you with half of the day gone.

On the other side you might have a problem when you're inexperienced with staying up more than 18 hours at once. Because if you decide to stay up throughout the morning you'll have to keep it going until the following evening. What is just as bad as missing the first half of the day? Missing the second half. Or even most of the next night as well.

But once you are about to get out of your cycle or if it is already out of control, it is the best possibility to bring it back with one -- for your body terribly shocking -- night and day with out sleep. Because when you go to bed at the time you actually need to you will actually sleep. At least if you didn't use caffeine or anything alike to stay awake, they might actually get you into trouble in terms of sleep.

Morning Bike Rides

Do you know these mornings when you come home at five in the morning and the sun is up already but the world is still sleeping? I love that! Who needs a bus or a cab? Just walk home and enjoy the nature.

Everyone else on the way home was like "Finally getting some sleep, yay!" but I just thought that you'd loose a whole day because you just sleep 'till dinner. Well, you could get ready for the next party already. But no! Bad boy! Stop it!

But also you'd miss one of the best times of the day to do your workout or just drive around and be happy about yourself, the nice people that are already up and the weather. Especially when you get out of the city, the people you meet are totally different. They don't get up so early and suffer getting ready for the day. Those are the people who live for their work, learned everything about it from their parents and spent their whole life there.

So the next time you're coming home too late to go to bed, just take yourself a moment and try to get yourself motivated for a ride into the nature.

Also this post features my first edited video. Captured with my Galaxy S2. Awesome.

Enjoy Life and Live the Adventure

Enjoy life!
That's very important. If you can't enjoy your life change something. Even if it's just a simple thing like feeling uncomfortable in your clothes. But most importantly, it doesn't have to be the thing that annoys you that has to to change. Anything else can have just the same effect on you and how you feel.

Live the adventure!
As I recently found out this is a awesome little advice that changes a lot. Whenever you ask yourself whether to stay at home or go out with friends, just get ready for the adventure. Are you wondering if  it will be fun although you only know one person at the event: It will.

How do I know that for sure, you ask? Look at Louis Cole, he taught me that lesson. He lives this slogan and has awesome experiences everyday just because he takes his opportunities whenever possible. I tried it and it works. Evenings outside with friends are a lot more fun that sitting on your bed all night. Also you'll get to know many new people that again give you new opportunities to take. And this is one of the things that may be hard at first but will make you happier than ever before as soon as you get into it.

Visual Vibes - Ben Brown Shoutout

Huge shoutout to Mr Ben Brown who did a awesome job on this video. In only one day of filming time he managed to capture this awesome adventure.



I've now been following Ben Brown for about a month now and it is amazing how inspiring he is. His daily Vlogs are like caffeine for me because he shows me that your day will be great - no matter what - if you just take your opportunities and live the adventure. A follow-up on this post will be out on Saturday, stay tuned.

Longboarding influencing lifestyle and personality

Originally inspired by a German youtuber, I got into longboarding and also snowboarding. Flowing across the ground, no matter if snow or concrete, that's what I wanted to do. And then I just did it and experienced some awesome rides, hard crashes and wonderful moments with wonderful people (gonna review that point on monday). And though I started snowboarding half a year earlier this feeling actually came alive with my first longboard, a 120 bucks masterpiece that I am now scared of when I stand on it again as it is indeed quite shaky. But it got me into the hobby. I started off trying mongo pushes, breaking while pushing (not the best idea..) and not daring to get one inch of a wheel onto the grass.

As I made progress and got faster and more confident on the board the whole feeling of the longboarding got mixed up with my personality and made me also more confident in every-day life. This got me in to trouble sometimes because the people weren't used to me opposing them but I am happy about this change. Also I'm pushing it to the limit more often in all kinds of situations.

It's fascinating how you can spend hours to read articles about the behavior of boards with different parts and shapes. You learn how to counteract problems that other people have on their boards and you also get the ability to advise them on what board or what new parts they should by.

Tell me how your personality got influenced by longboarding or any other hobby, I'd like to hear your stories.