Surviving the 2025 Berlin Marathon Being welcomed with open arms to the charming neighborhood of Yeldeğirmeni in Kadıköy, İstanbul Watching a family of dolphins swimming together while on a morning stroll along the coast in Sagres, Portugal Enjoying a garlic-heavy intestine soup and pouring it down with the strongest homemade Chacha I have ever tasted, all that before 10:30 am. It’s called breakfast in Georgia. Hitchhiking along the Turkish-Syrian border from Mardin to Gaziantep in Kurdistan Living in Berlin Almost getting attacked by a moose in Glacier National Park, Montana Meeting a Geisha in charming Sakata, Japan Co-parenting my little puppy Oatly Dancing in a Kurdish Hamam in Doğubeyazıt, Kurdistan Drinking one too many glasses of exquisite white wine at the Cafe de la Republique in Arles, France Berghain Hiking the ancient pilgrimage of Kumano Kodo, Wakayama, Japan Climbing the tallest mountain in North Africa, Toubkal, Morocco Taking the Doğu Ekspresi from Ankara to Erzurum, which was everything but an “express” train One night in Bassiani, Tiblisi Embracing culture, food, and people in Hirakata-shi, Japan Watching the eastern-most sunrise in the world, East Cape, New Zealand Eating the best Burrito in the world at LaJuanitas, in beautiful Sioux City, Iowa Smoking cigars in the Valle de Silencio in Viñales, Cuba Eating the most expensive croissant of my life under the Eiffel Tower, Paris Skydiving in Taupo, New Zealand Surfing in beautiful Essaouira, Morocco Hiking the Tongariro Crossing, New Zealand Drinking Rum in the streets of Habana, Cuba Visiting the birthplace of Capitalism in Amsterdam, Netherlands Milking a goat on a deer farm in Wairoa, New Zealand Swimming in Japan's deepest lake, Tazawa-ko, Japan Diving with seals in the Abel Tasman National Park, New Zealand

How to open up a bottle of beer without a bottle opener (basic skill for most Germans, but very impressive - I learned - to most Americans)

a home-made German dinner called Spätzle and an interesting conversation