The Radio Vagabond

At the time I went from Warsaw to Belarus, they issued a 5-day visa on arrival. So, I decided to spend 4 days in the country, since my flight out would have been a few hours too late. This five-day visa on arrival was changed one day after my visit to 30 days. It must have been because I made such a good impression on the government that they changed it. Belarus It has borders with Poland, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia – and is a fairly unexplored corner of Eastern Europe. The population of Belarus is about 9.5 million people, which puts them on the 93rd place in the world. So somewhere in the middle when it comes to population. But the land mass is quite big so it's not that densely populated. Minsk, the capital of Belarus, is about 2 million, so Minsk is the 11th most populous city in Europe. After an hour bus ride from the Airport to the city, I met my Airbnb host, Svetlana. She let me in to a wonderful apartment with a huge bathtub. TOURING MINSK WITH A COUNTRYMAN I have a Danish friend of a friend who lives here permanently. I've been in contact with him for a while. And it was actually my plan to go to Belarus in the very start of my journey in 2016… but only because he wasn't in the country at the time, I decided to go there later. As we both are Danish, we obviously speak Danish, so you probably won't be able to understand much. If you – on the other hand do speak the language head over to the Danish version of this podcast. While we're walking, we pass the building where the president is working. It's not the White House of Belarus. He doesn't live here. LIVING IN A DICTATORSHIP Belarus is a dictatorship, and a few days before my visit, I shared a YouTube clip with President Lukashenko where he said these words… and I kid you not… "I think it's better to be a dictator – than being gay". Yes, he actually said that. Lukashenko has run Belarus with an iron fist since 1994, and Belarus is often referred to as the last dictatorship in Europe. It's a country where gay rights are almost non-existent, a country where there's no free press. But according to Carsten, it's not as bad as people think. Yes, there's no freedom of speech, and the elections might not be totally fair. But it's not North Korea, he says. There's still a nice quality of life here, and it's not something he feels in his daily life. When I posted the video on Facebook and was appalled by the statement about it being better to be a dictator than being gay, someone commented: " Oh .. how judgmental and prejudiced you are Palle Bo. When you are so biased and negative, I don't understand at all that you choose to travel to Belarus." This was something I also heard when I went to North Korea. But I don't see it that way. Going to a country doesn't mean that I support the leadership and the way things are run. I've also been to the USA during the Trump presidency – even though I'm not a big fan of him. I know, you can't compare USA to a dictatorship. Not at all, but when I go to a country, it's to learn things and hopefully make some local friends along the way. I try to educate myself before, during and after my visit to a country, and I do feel that I also try to keep an open mind. I speak up about the things that I feel is wrong and also talk about the things that are good about my visit. I also did that in my North Korea episode, where I spoke highly of the people. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this… Is it wrong for me to travel to a country like this? Make a comment on Facebook.com/theradiovagabond, drop me a line on [email protected] or record a voice message by clicking on the "talk to me-banner" on theradiovagabond.com. CARSTEN'S VIEWS ON LIVING HERE They do have elections here, but according to Carsten the result is more or less decided before. And they do have a parliament but all the people in it are in Lukashenko's pocket. When I ask him if he's afraid to speak out loud about this he says. "No, as long as I'm not protesting with a megaphone and a sign in the city, nothing will happen. Sometimes I'm a bit tired of the way western media are describing the country. Yes, it is a dictatorship, but many of the countries that we (quote-unquote) are "friendly with" … like Saudi Arabia, The Emirates and China… are also dictatorships." Some things are good in Belarus. Compared to many of the other former Soviet countries, he's cracking down on corruption ­– maybe except for himself. Other good things, Carsten mentions are that it's quite clean here in the city and then it's safe. There's no need to be afraid of walking around even at night here. And in the 90's he came down hard on the Belarusian Mafia. Carsten actually says: "So, there are good thing about having a dictator", which makes me laugh – and we decide that this quote will be the title of this episode. FACTS ABOUT WHERE WE ARE: Here are some facts about Belarus that you might not know: Around 40% of Belarus is covered by forest – and sometimes referred to

WITAM Z WARSZAWY I think I said the latest episode that it was 2 weeks in Kraków and one week in Warsaw. It was not totally accurate: 22 days in Kraków and 4 days in Warsaw. But that's how much I enjoyed my time there. Still, I also wanted to get a taste of the capital of Poland, and this is where we're going in this episode. I'm going to meet an Englishman that has lived here for many years. I'm interested in hearing how and why he chose to live here and hear about the city and the country with western European eyes. I'm also going to the hospital because I discovered that my blood pressure was through the roof. But we start in Kraków where I'm heading to the airport – named after Pope John Paul II, chatting to the Uber driver. FLYING TO WARSAW And then it was off to Warsaw. It's actually not that far – only around 300 kilometres, and I would be able to do that in a bus overland. But LOT Polish Airlines had a cheap domestic flight at only 100 €, so I decided to do that and save a bit of time. I landed at 1 pm and headed straight into the centre of the city – and didn't know where I was going. But I managed to get my host on the phone, and he came rushing from work to let me into the apartment. 6 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT WARSAW The Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw was a gift of the Soviet dictator Stalin to the Polish nation. At 237 meters tall, it's the tallest building in Poland, and at 165 meters, the clock tower is considered to be the tallest in Europe. When it comes to air pollution, Poland is the China of Europe. According to the World Health, a staggering 33 out of the 50 most polluted cities in Europe are in Poland. The capital is one of those. But Warsaw is also a green city. Its Lazienki Park is one of the largest parks in Europe, and pre-pandemic hosted free Sunday concerts from May to October. Probably again in 2021. Traffic jam is a thing in Warsaw. It's the most congested city in Europe: Poles spend an average of 106 hours per year stuck in traffic. With around 1.8 million people Warsaw is the 7th Largest capital cities of the European Union. The oldest evidence of cheese production was found in the vicinity of Warsaw, apparently being produced here around 7,500-8,000 years ago. BLOOD PRESSURE WAS SKY HIGH For a few weeks, I've had a funny feeling that my blood pressure was high. I'm not sure how, but I felt a ringing in my ears and just that something was not right. I went to a pharmacy to get it tested and sure enough, it was much higher than it should be. So, I decided to get a check-up at a hospital, and my private insurance company gave me an address. When you're Danish you are covered health-wise in most of the world. But I'm not a resident there anymore, so I've taken out a private insurance that takes care of me anywhere. Also, here in Poland. First, they did a quick test and then I was presented with the prospect of spending a long time in a dreary Polish waiting room. But then the nurse found another option – just around the corner was another clinic. In fact, this is just the Emergency Room. Half an hour later, I was consulting a doctor, who said that it wasn't that bad – in my age. So, she asked me to test myself three times a day for the next three weeks and go see another doctor then, and maybe get some medication. Stay subscribed to hear what happens in a later episode. MEETING AN ENGLISHMAN If you keep an open mind when you travel you meet people. In this case we met at the sports bar back in Kraków where I was helping the English singing "It's coming home". Well, as you heard in the latest episode, the FIFA World Cup Trophy didn't come home to England for the first time since 1966. In fact, England also lost the bronze match – and then against the small country, Belgium and finished fourth. But still, they did much better than they've had in a long time. I met Mark who was in Kraków to hang out with some friends from England, that took a trip there to have a break, watch football together over pints. Mark and I connected and when I heard that he was from Warsaw, I basically invited myself to visit him. I punched his number in my phone and wrote the name "Matt"… but it turned out that his name is Mark. He's an alien. He's a legal alien. He's an Englishman in Warsaw. It almost sounds like a Sting song. What's he doing here? How did he land here and what does he think of the country, the language and its people? Listen to the episode to find out. FREE WALKING TOUR OLD TOWN. I also went in a Free Walkative Tour in the old town of Warsaw. But in fact, it's not that old. During the occupation of Poland, The Nazi Germans had a plan for a long time to destroy the city. Warsaw had been selected for destruction and major reconstruction as part of the Nazis' planned "Germanization of Central Europe", under the Nazi Generalplan Ost. By late 1944, with the war clearly lost and the Germans gave up their plans of colonizing the East. So, the destruction of Warsaw did not serve any mil

Cześć again from Kraków, Poland! Welcome to the second instalment of my visit to one of my new favourite Eastern European cities. If you missed Part I of my time in Kraków then go back and listen to get up-to-date with what I am doing and why I am here. I pick up where I left off, speaking with my new friend and Walkative! tour guide, Thomasz – a giant among tour guides here in Kraków. Literally… he's more than 2 meters tall. DENMARK AT FIFA WORLD CUP Before I let him go, we had to talk a bit about the FIFA World Cup that was taking place in Russia at the time of my visit. Poland had already been eliminated and now it was time for my own team to play an all or nothing match. Thomasz sympathised with me about how tough Croatia will be for Denmark to take the win. The nerves were kicking in! I found a great sports bar close to Kraków Square that was showing the match between Denmark and Croatia. The first minute of the match saw Denmark score a goal to take an early lead. But my elation was quickly abated 3 minutes later when Croatia equalised. The tight game remained drawn at 1-1 until the end of regular time, so the two teams had to go into extra time... My heart was racing as Croatia were rewarded with a penalty kick…but thankfully the Danish goalkeeper Schmeichel saved it. And when extra time was up, the game had to be decided by a tense penalty shootout. Alas, it wasn't meant to be for Denmark. We lost the penalty shootout which meant we were eliminated from the competition, but it was so close that it could have gone either way. The bar was full of English supporters, who were all helping me cheer for Denmark in between their now infamous chants of "It's coming home". So, I told them I would be back every time England would play to repay their support...which I did. KRAKOW'S JEWISH QUARTER To heal my footballing sorrows, I took another Walkative! Free Walking Tour to hang out with 'Big Tom' again, this time to visit the Jewish Quarter. At the beginning of the tour, Thomasz tells us something I've heard in many places in the eastern portion of Europe: Polish people like to be referred to as 'Central European' and not 'Eastern European'. I've heard this in many countries, from the first stop on my journey in Estonia and all the way down to through the other Balkan countries. Maybe because it has a Soviet Block ring to it? Thomasz asked the group to come closer as he says in a quieter voice (so no Polish person would hear him) that he feels it's a bit of bull crap. In his opinion, Poland is Eastern Europe. I felt that this is something he didn't want to have on tape, so obviously, I had to speak to him about this as we were walking to the next spot. "As a historian and guide, I consider Poland to be part of Eastern Europe. But some 'proud' Poles like to say otherwise. I understand where this idea comes from, and it shows just how upset we are as a nation about how we feel nobody cares or knows about us. It is a common Polish pastime to be sad" he jokes. "We were treated as a satellite country of the Soviet Union for decades and I guess this is a way for Polish people to regain their independent identity. But, as an educated man, I believe that the border between Germany and Poland is the border between Central and Eastern Europe". AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU The next day, I decided to take a tour of the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps - a must-do item if you ever find yourself in Poland. I knew it was not going to be an easy or delightful tour, but sometimes the most important things in life are difficult. All over the world, Auschwitz has become a symbol of terror, genocide, and the Holocaust. It was established by Germans in 1940, a bit more than an hour's drive from Kraków. The direct reason for the establishment of the camp was to accommodate the high number of mass arrests of Poles that were increasing beyond the capacity of the existing local prisons. It functioned in this role throughout its existence, even when it also became the largest of the extermination centres used to persecute Jewish people in the Nazi's 'final solution' campaign of terror, beginning in 1942. DIVISION OF THE CAMP The first and oldest structure was the so-called "main camp," later also known as "Auschwitz I" which was established on the grounds and in the buildings of pre-war Polish barracks. The number of prisoners here was around 15,000 at one time, sometimes rising above 20,000. The second part was the Birkenau camp which held over 90,000 prisoners in 1944, also known as "Auschwitz II" situated about 3 kilometres away. This was the largest part of the Auschwitz complex, and this is where the greater part of the gas chambers and crematoriums for the mass extermination was built. The first prisoners here were Poles, but from 1942 the vast majority of those sent to Auschwitz were Jewish. Throughout the existence of the camp, the authorities there treated the Jewish people with the most ruthless, and often quite refined

WITAMY W KRAKOWIE Since recording my last episode from Slovenia, I visited a few places in Europe on business which is why I decided not to post any episodes from that time. But just to keep you updated on my recent whereabouts: I've been recording interviews for the follow-up to the first season of The LEGO Technic podcast. In the first season we chart the journey of the design and build of a 1-8 scale Lego model of the Bugatti Chiron in 9 episodes. And in the second season for The LEGO Group, I went to the large Lego factory in Kladno, Czech Republic, where they produce all the big scale models for the LEGOLAND Parks and big stores around the world. In the second season of the podcast series, we follow the built of a 1-1 life-size LEGO model of the Bugatti Chiron. After Czech Republic, I travelled to Rotterdam, Netherlands, for a travel bloggers conference called Traverse, before returning home to Denmark to visit my family, attend a travel podcast conference in Copenhagen, and meet with clients. I then travelled to Cannes, France, to attend the Cannes Lions festival and meet more clients and network/"shmooze". After that Wolfsburg, Germany, was next where I visited the Volkswagen headquarters as part of my work with the LEGO Technic Podcast. Here where we tested the Bugatti Chiron LEGO model on the test track. They shot a film while I was standing at the side of the road with my microphone, recording stuff for the podcast. Phew, loads of flights! Anyway, after my business was concluded, I made my way to Kraków and this is where this episode begins! EXPLORING KRAKÓW My arrival in Kraków happened to coincide with the day the Polish national football team played against Colombia in their Group H match of the 2018 FIFA Football World Cup in Russia. Unfortunately, the Polish team lost the game 3-0 which spelt the end of the World Cup hopes. On Sunday morning, I decided to take a much-needed break from a week-long podcast editing binge to take a Free Walking Tour of the old town. You know how much I love a tour like this; they are a really great way to get to know more about a new city and provide you with ways to meet locals and fellow travellers as well. After a quick online search, I decided to go with Walkative! Free Walking Tour. Our tour guide's name was Thomasz but he is known better by his many nicknames: Calen, Big Tom, The Giant. He's really tall, which apart from his bald head and goatee, is his most defining feature: he is the one and only 2 metre (6ft7) tall guide in Kraków. He is born and raised in Kraków and graduated from Jagiellonian University with history as his major subject. His thesis was on Kraków, so he's the perfect person to talk to us about the old town of Kraków. He is a remarkable tour guide who mixes warmth, humour, and interesting facts into his tours to create a magical experience. Here's what I remember about Thomasz' anecdotes about his home city: FACTS ABOUT WHERE WE ARE Kraków's entire old town, including Wawel castle, the market square, and the Jewish district, was one of the first sites to be added to the UNESCO World Heritage List when it was created in 1978. In 2013, Lonely Planet voted Kraków Square the best market square in the world. It's called Rynek Główny in Polish and it's also the largest medieval town square in Europe. It's a square space surrounded by historic townhouses and churches. The centre of the square is dominated by Cloth Hall and it's stunning two towers. There's a knife that hangs from a rope on the wall of Cloth Hall. There is a legend that tells the story of the two brothers who built the towers. When one of them realised that his tower could not be as tall as this bothers' due to weak foundations, he killed his brother with that very knife out of envy. The knife hangs there as a reminder of humbleness. According to Polish folklore, a dragon lived at the foot of Wawel Hill which required regular offerings of livestock, so it didn't end up eating the local human inhabitants. The dragon was killed either by the sons of the city's founder, King Krakus, or by a cobbler's apprentice, depending on who is telling the tale. There is now a statue of the Dragon of Wawel Hill close to Wawel Castle. It's a bit of an attraction because it breathes fire every few minutes, thanks to a natural gas nozzle installed in the sculpture's mouth. THOMASZ THE GIANT TOUR GUIDE We finished the walking tour at Wawel Castle and Thomasz was kind enough to spend a little extra time with me for a chat. According to Walkative! Free Walking Tour's website, Big Tom is a huge fan of British comedy and coffee and was a full-time guide to his children before becoming part of the Walkative! team in 2015. We start our conversation with Thomasz giving me a quick grammar and pronunciation lesson regarding the Slavik roots of his name, telling me about the Portuguese-like vowels in Polish being short and flat, and others being long and deep. He wonderfully ties this into ideas about the hi

Pozdravi from Slovenia! To kick-off my visit, I decided to take a free walking tour of the capital city of Ljubljana. I always enjoy walking tours in each city I travel to as they're a really cool way to get more familiar with the area and its history. The tour guide spoke English very well and had a good sense of humour which made the walk through the small city highly enjoyable. We visited Ljubljana's famous Triple Bridge and caught the sights and sounds of the cosy and car-less city centre. Along the river, there are plenty of bars and quaint restaurants where locals and tourists alike flock to in the evenings. Ljubljana is home to around 300,000 inhabitants, making it one of Europe's smallest capital cities. Slovenia was the first of the former Yugoslavian countries to gain independence in 1991 and 2004 became a member of the United Nations. But before I get stuck into my adventure, here are a few more facts about where I am: 10 FUN FACTS ABOUT SLOVENIA Slovenia is the only country in the world with LOVE in their name. And the capital, Ljubljana, translates to 'The Loved One'. Slovenians love bees. There are around 90,000 beekeepers in a population of just two million – that's one in 20 people. It is tiny. Slovenia covers less than 0.004% of the Earth's surface and has a population of just a little over 2 million. The capital, Ljubljana, is the country's largest city but is also small compared to other European cities with less than 300,000 inhabitants. It's one of the world's most environmentally friendly nations, according to The Environmental Performance Index. The index indicates which countries are meeting internationally established environmental targets. Only four nations are better: Finland, Iceland, Sweden, and you guessed it: Denmark. A remarkable 53.6% of Slovenia is protected land, the 2nd highest percentage than any nation on earth behind Venezuela. With more than half of its total area covered in forest, Slovenia really is one of the greenest countries in the world. In fact, Ljubljana was named Europe's Greenest Capital in 2016. And more than 500 brown bears roam the Slovenian forests. The people are tall and old. Slovenia has one of the tallest populations on the planet, with a typical male measuring an average of 1.8 m (5.9 feet) tall. Additionally, the average Slovenian age is 43.5 years old, making it also one of the oldest populations in Europe. There's one winery or vineyard for every 70-75 people and in Maribor they have the world's oldest vine which is 400 years old. Slovenians love wine: they are the 6th biggest consumer of wine in the world per capita. Slovenia has a tiny coastline spanning a meagre 46km (30 miles). You can spend a night in a Ljubljanan jail without doing a crime. Hostel Celica is an old prison where the cells have been renovated into rooms, but it still has the same appearance as a prison cell. Slovenia has the world's largest ski jump. Planica is an epic place for ski-lovers, especially if you like heights. The ski jump is legendary and many world records have been set here. MEET WINE MAN SASO PAPP The next day, I met up with my good Slovenian friend, Saso Papp. He runs an online business selling wine across Europe. It's kinda funny that the rest of the Balkans drink Rakia but as I mentioned above, Slovenians really love wine. "It's true that Slovenia has many vineyards. Although I have some vines, I personally don't have a vineyard, but most people I know do. The problem with having so many vineyards is that the wine can turn out to be bad if you are not careful. In the Balkans, most people brew their own Rakia, and in Slovenia most people make their own wine" Saso says. "With a Slovenian population of 2 million people, about 30,000 are winegrowers – 3,000 of which are professional winemakers and bottlers. Additionally, we have over 200 winemakers that make sparkling wine which is very rare for such a small population". Saso explains that the Slovenian climate is perfect for winemaking, as Slovenia sits on a similar line of latitude with southern France's famed wine regions. Slovenia's microclimate also plays an important role. "We have a perfect climate in the Western part of the country which borders Italy and the Adriatic Sea, bringing warmth. In the Eastern region of Slovenia, we make fresh, crisp white wines thanks to the cooler temperatures." Saso tells me more about Slovenia's 400-year-old vine which is named the oldest vine in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records. The vine was discovered not long-ago during renovations in a forgotten part of the city of Maribor. The vine was carbon dated and is currently the world's oldest vine still producing grapes. SIMILARITIES BETWEEN SASO AND ME I know Saso from the radio industry. We've met many times over the years at various radio conferences around the world and have become good friends through our love for radio. I realised that we have a lot in common: Saso was a Group Program Director w

DOBRO DOŠLI U HRVATSKU Let me recap my Balkan road trip so far… I started in Albania, then I went to Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and now, I've arrived in Croatia. If you haven't heard the other episodes from this region, I suggest you go back and do that too. Croatia is a country in Southern Europe with a fascinating history, cultures, and a lot of incredible outdoor attractions and historic monuments. The capital is Zagreb and the official language is Croatian – that is not that different to some of the other languages in Ex-Yugoslavia. Unlike Kosovo and Montenegro, they don't have the Euro… their currency is "Kuna", even though they are a member of the European Union. That happened in 2013 and that makes Croatia the newest member of the EU – and some of the other countries in Ex-Yugoslavia would love to join them. Both North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia has applied but still not accepted. The same goes for… Albania and Turkey. With a population of around 4 million and an area of 56,000 square kilometres is it a small country… Slightly bigger than Denmark and a bit smaller than Ireland. Their neighbouring countries are Hungary, Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. And across the Adriatic Sea is Italy. FREE WALKING TOUR IN SPLIT One of the things I do often when I get to a new place is to go on a so-called "Free Walking Tour". I find them all over the world, and it's a great way to get introduced to a new place. It's called "free" but technically you're expected to pay a tip. People always do but it is really your choice. Here in Split, there's so much history, so I went on one with a guide who really knows her little city and the history behind it. And she showed us where she lives herself – in a building that is 400 years old. GAME OF THRONES SET WITHOUT DRAGONS We also went to one of the places where scenes with the dragons from Game of Thrones were filmed. The dragons were gone, but there was a bit of turmoil. A local man crossed a barrier and was washing his face in a wishing well. When one of the guards told him not to do it, he felt the guard was humiliating him in front of us and they almost got into a fight. The tour guide told me that the strong reaction might be because of PTSD from the war. A QUICK VISIT TO THE ISLAND OF HVAR The island of Hvar is a one-hour boat ride from Split and is called the queen of the Croatian Dalmatian islands. Thanks to the mild climate, the warm winters and pleasant summers Hvar receives many guests every year. According to HvarInfo.com, we're attracted by the dense Mediterranean nature, the rich tradition and architecture, and the nightlife. The boat arrived at Stari Grad. It's the oldest town in Croatia dating back to 384 B.C when the Greeks settled here on the island and named it Pharos. Now it's called Stari Grad ("old town") and is in a landscape where the deep blue bay touches the green of the field with vineyards and olive groves. I spent a few hours walking around in the hilly streets of Stari Grad, taking it all in. Browsing through the many small shops on the pier and having a nice lunch. A bit overpriced though since this is a very touristy place. This is an island that it might be worth spending a bit more time on since it has much more to offer than just Stari Grad. 7 FUN FACTS ABOUT CROATIA You might think it's a new country – after the breakup of Yugoslavia… but they have been that before: In the year 879, Croatia was internationally recognized as an independent state. 46 years later they became a kingdom and maintained its sovereignty for two centuries. Croatia has more than 1,200 islands off the coast of the mainland, but only 48 are inhabited. The city of Dubrovnik, in Croatia, had one of the first medieval sewer systems in Europe. And speaking of Dubrovnik … it was the main film location for King's Landing in Game of Thrones. Split (where I am right now) was also used as one of the film locations. Nikola Tesla was born in Croatia – the northern region of Lika. Croatia is one of the greenest countries in the world. The country is home to 11 Nature Parks, 8 national parks, and 2 nature reserves. According to Alfred Hitchcock, the city of Zadar has … as he called it: "the most beautiful sunset in the world, more beautiful than the one in Key West in Florida." BEAUTIFUL SUNSET IN ZADAR And Zadar is my second stop in Croatia… I have to see if good old Alfred was right. Another things Zadar has going for it is that it's a region rich in history and natural beauty, and still relatively undiscovered. Here you can wander quiet streets of marble, enjoy cheaper prices than in the southern part of the country and in Split and Dubrovnik. Ryanair and EasyJet fly direct to the city. The best spot to watch that sunset that Hitchcock named the most beautiful sunset in the world – with a drink in hand is Café Brazil, close to the Monument to the Sun. CREATIVE ARTWORK ON THE WATERFRONT It's a 22-meter diameter circle with three

See pictures here. DOBRO DOŠLI U MOSTAR Again, I go by bus to my next Balkan destination. This time north from Kotor in Montenegro to Mostar in the southern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was one of the other guests at the hostel in Kosovo – an English guy called Edward, that recommended Mostar and Rooms Deny to me. There's a river that runs through Mostar from the north to the south and cuts the city in two halves. Deny, the owner of 'Rooms Deny', the hostel I'd booked, came to pick me up at the bus station, and even though both the bus station and the hostel are on the eastern side, we're taking a bit of a detour into the western side because cars are not allowed in the old town. That gives Deny time to do his 'tour guide introduction' to Mostar. DENY IS THE PERFECT TOUR GUIDE My host Deny Kadric is a very open young man and has an impressive knowledge about his country and especially Mostar. As we see the iconic Stari Most Bridge (the Old Bridge) for the first time, Deny asks me what I know about Mostar other than the bridge. But no, I didn't even know about the bridge, and since that's the most iconic thing about Mostar, I didn't know much. Or anything – other than what Edward told me. That it's a quaint little city with a lot of history. We'll get back to this bridge and why it's so important later on in this episode. SMALL COUNTRY WITH TWO NAMES Bosnia and Herzegovina is home to 3.8 million people – and it's important that you say both names. Basically, it's too regions with Bosnia in the north and Herzegovina in the south. In fact, I'm not even in Bosnia. Mostar is in Herzegovina and has a population of 113,000 and is Bosnia and Herzegovina's most divided city. Nowhere is this more evident than in Mostar, where Bosnian Croatians live on the western side of the Neretva River, and Bosniaks on the eastern side. Even to this day, more than 25 years after the war, this is still the case. They rarely go to the other side and interact with the people on the other side. Both sides have their own national theatre, post office, and other separate public services. Deny tells me that he does have friends on both sides, but he's more the exception to the rule. THE SCARS OF THE WAR IN MOSTAR Deny recommended that I took 45 minutes to see a documentary called Unfinished Business in Mostar before I walked out to explore. It's a BBC documentary presented by Jeremy Bowen, filmed in 1993 in and around Mostar at the height of the Bosniak-Croat conflict during the Bosnian War. And I did, and already one minute in we see some guys come running with a wheelbarrow to get an old man that had just been shot. They wanted to rush him to the hospital. He'd just stepped out of his house to get some water when it happened. At the hospital, a doctor gives him CPR in an attempt to revive him. But there was nothing he could do – he was dead on arrival and his old wife breaks down. These first few minutes of the documentary sets the tone for the rest of it. It's heartbreaking but I suggest you see it. We should all see it and learn from it. It's surreal to walk around in the streets of Mostar after seeing them as a war zone. You can still see the scars of the war. Many of the buildings are still in ruins and you see bullet-holes on the walls everywhere. STARI MOST BRIDGE WAS DESTROYED The Siege of Mostar was fought during the Bosnian War first in 1992 and then again later in 93-94. As a result of the first siege around 90,000 residents of Mostar fled … and many religious buildings, cultural institutions, and bridges were damaged or destroyed. Between June 93 and April 94, the besieged Bosniak-concentrated East Mostar, resulting in the deaths of many civilians, a cut off of humanitarian aid, damage or destruction of ten mosques, and then the blowing up of the historic Stari Most bridge on November 9, 1993. Croatian general Slobodan Praljak was deemed the main responsible for the destruction of the bridge and sentenced to twenty years. He was the one who declared that "those stones" (meaning the bridge) had no value. Stari Most Bridge, also known as The Old Bridge and Mostar Bridge, connects the two parts of the city. It was a 16th-century Ottoman bridge and stood for 427 years, until that day in '93. After the war, a project was set in motion to reconstruct it; the rebuilt bridge – that looks like the old one opened on 23 July 2004. It's now an iconic tourist attraction. It stands 20 meters over the river and often you can see people jumping of it into the water. MUSEUM OF WAR AND GENOCIDE VICTIMS I decide to spend a few hours at the 'Museum of War and Genocide Victims 1992-1995'. It's a small but interesting and very moving museum about the events leading up to the breakup of the former Yugoslavia. The way the history of the war is explained is very moving and extremely touching. What the people of Bosnia and especially Mostar have been through is unimaginable. The personal stories of those who lived through these times are as alw

Zdravo! In the last episode of the Radio Vagabond, I was in Prizren Kosovo. From there I took a 300km bus ride west to my next destination, Montenegro! It was a country I had never seen before and the trip took me back through Albania which borders this small but beautiful land. Before I get into the details of this leg of my trip, I must say that travelling by bus through the Balkans is a great way to get from place to place in this region. The bus is nice, it's easy and best of all it's relatively cheap. FALLING IN LOVE WITH MONTENEGRO During my visit to Montenegro, I had planned two stops. The first was Ulcinj, a little town on the southern coast of the country and Kotor which was famous for its very old-world atmosphere. In Ulcinj I'd booked an Airbnb titled 'New Cozy Apartment with Perfect Sea View' and it did not disappoint. It did have an incredible view and was just perfect for my needs. I've included a few pictures on TheRadioVagabond.com. I rented the apartment from Marko, a 24-year old student at the University of Tourism and Hospitality. He even went the extra mile and had his father pick me up at the bus station. I think he's going to do quite well in the hospitality industry. MORE ABOUT ULCINJ Ulcinj has an urban population of just over 10,000 people with the vast majority of them being Albanian. It is the centre of the Albanian community in Montenegro. Incredibly it is one of the oldest settlements along the Adriatic coast. Founded in 5th century BC, it had been part of the Roman Empire at one point. During the Middle Ages, it was under Southern Slavic rule for a few centuries and it has also been part of the Republic of Venice as well as the Ottoman Empire. As you can imagine this place is just steeped in history. Today it is a popular destination for tourists because of its 13km long beach (called Long Beach), Lake Šas, Ada Bojana Island and for its two-millennia-old Ulcinj Castle, which was exactly the place I was heading as soon as I settled in. MONTENEGRO NICE TO KNOWS Before I continue on with my story about my adventures in Montenegro, I'd like to share a few more details about this lovely country. It's situated on the Adriatic coast in South-eastern Europe. As I've mentioned it is a small country, home to only 622,000 people and it is only about 14,000 square kilometres in size. That's about the size of Connecticut in the US and is even smaller than my own tiny home country of Denmark. The landscape is diverse with rugged mountains, a narrow strip of beaches, azure water and picturesque coastal plains. Montenegro has a Mediterranean climate, winters are relatively mild and wet while summers are long, warm and dry. In the mountains of Montenegro, you'll find alpine conditions throughout the year. ULCINJ CASTLE AND OLD TOWN Seeing Ulcinj Castle or "Kalaja" is a sight to behold. It's also known as Ulcinj Old Town and the ancient castle and its surrounding neighbourhood is what makes this place very special. Interestingly, the castle and old town were built on a small peninsula to the right of the Rana Gulf, which is part of the Adriatic Sea. The rest of the city which is more modern was built outside the castle and its fortress. Ulcinj's Old Town is actually one of the oldest urban architectural complexes on the Adriatic Sea. It's been said that some people feel that the castle resembles a stranded ship with its arresting narrow and curved streets which were very typical in medieval times. I found myself marvelling at what a fascinating place this was to walk around as the sunset on the coastline. Two and three-story stone houses are packed closely together and are decorated with elements of the both the Renaissance and Baroque periods. It is in fact, considered one of the most unique representations of medieval architecture in Montenegro. As the sun goes down on an interesting day, I find myself sitting at a lovely restaurant sipping a glass of wine and watching the sun disappear into the Adriatic Sea. This is the good life... A FEW OF THE LITTLE-KNOWN FACTS ABOUT MONTENEGRO Despite being known as a stunning summer destination because of its sun-drenched beaches, Montenegro's nickname is derived from its epic mountains. The name comes from the Italian 'monte' means mountain and 'negro' means black. So, Montenegro is the land of the Black Mountain. Speaking of beaches, Montenegro has 117 of them along 293 kilometres of coastline and they come in all manner of terrain. You'll find everything from rocky ones to sandy ones, tiny hidden ones and glorious pink pebble ones. Montenegrins are known to be very relaxed and don't take life too seriously. In fact, they've developed their own set of commandments to live by. Among them are: "Love thy bed as you love thyself"; "If you see someone resting, help him"; and "If you have the urge to work, sit down, wait and you'll see it will pass." This is a culture I can truly get behind :-) Now I'm fairly certain that for those 007 fans out there when I

Tungjatjeta from Kosovo! After an unexpectedly amazing time in Albania, my next stop was Kosovo - one of the youngest countries in Europe. As you know, my goal is to visit every UN Nation in the world, so technically Kosovo isn't on my list. But my travels are not just about ticking off items on my list, it's about embarking on adventures. And seeing as I was so close, I simply had to visit - and I was not disappointed at all! AN INTRO TO KOSOVO At the end of the Yugoslav Wars in 2001, Kosovo was a part of Serbia until February 2008 when the small country declared its independence. The declaration has only been recognised by 116 countries, which is not enough to get on the list of the 193. Even though they are not an official UN Nation, they competed at the Olympic Games in Rio 2016 and sent a total of 8 athletes. They returned with 1 gold medal in Judo. Kosovo is home to 1.8 million people (90% of whom are Albanian) and is about 10,900 km2 (4,200 sq mi), roughly the size of the island nation of Jamaica. Kosovo is a Muslim nation. WELCOME TO PRIZREN I decided to stay in Prizren in the southern part of the country. It's a 3-hour drive on a newly constructed highway from where I was in Tirana, Albania. The highway is referred to as a 'masterpiece of civil engineering' and it takes you over the mountains boasting dramatic views. And it just happened that my friend Adam from Albania Express Travel had to go to Kosovo for business, so he offered me a lift. It was a nice drive but when we got to the border, we ran into problems with the border control. Apparently, you need a special permit to drive with tourists when entering the country, and Adam got super annoyed with the border patrol who had a hard time accepting that I was not a tourist, I was a friend. After some discussion, we were allowed to continue into Kosovo, thankfully. Adam dropped me off in Prizren where we said our goodbyes. Although, it was more of a 'so long' as I am sure we will meet again. I had grown rather fond of my Albanian companion. As the historical capital of Kosovo and one of the oldest settlements in the country, Prizren is a small city with a population of 178,000 people. Thanks to my sponsor, Hotels25.com, I booked into Driza's House, a cosy hostel close to Sinan Pasha Mosque. I asked my host, Erdis Driza, to explain the complicated situation with Kosovo not being a UN Nation, and why Serbia and other countries won't recognise it. Erdis explained that Serbia and Kosovo have a turbulent history, and although they do not recognise the passport of Kosovo, they do recognise the identification documents (ID) of Kosovo. Prizren is a charming city home to beautiful mosques and monasteries dating back to the 14th century. Thankfully, the city was mostly spared from the "destroy the old, build the new" drive of the Communists during the early years of their rule in Yugoslavia. In addition, Prizren was spared from destruction during the Yugoslav War, making it the best-preserved old town in the country by far and is referred to as the cultural capital of Kosovo. Prizren Fortress is a fortification situated on a dominant hill in the city and it's well worth making the steep 15-minute hike up from Prizren's old town. The views of the entire city and surrounds are absolutely stunning from up there. Thanks to archaeological excavations, the infrastructure was discovered with remaining walls enforced with towers, labyrinth corridors, depots, and other inner rooms and dwellings. Human remains have been found here dating back as far as 1100 BC. QUICK FACTS ABOUT KOSOVO Tony Blair and Bill Clinton are both considered heroes in Kosovo. Pristina, the capital, has a major road named after them, including a 3m tall statue of President Bill Clinton. Moreover, a number of children are given the names Toni, Bler, or Tonibler in honour of Tony Blair, the UK's Prime Minister at the time, for his support of the 1999 NATO air campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. Although Kosovo is not an official Eurozone member, it has adopted the Euro as their official currency since 2002. I come from Denmark (an EU country) and we don't even have the Euro, which I find quite interesting. However, Serb-majority communities in the country are still – illegally – using the Serbian Dinar as an unofficial currency. The national anthem, titled "Europe", has no lyrics. The Albanian-speaking government decided not to risk offending Serbs who live in the country by having lyrics in Albanian. More than 70% of the country's population is under the age of 35, which makes it the youngest country in all of Europe. The median age of the people of Kosovo is only 29.1 years. The flag is unusual among national flags as it uses a map of the country's territory as a design element. Cyprus and Kosovo are the only two countries in the world whose flag doubles up as a geographic representation. After Moldova, the people of Kosovo are the second poorest in Eur

Përshëndetje for the last time from Albania! As I mentioned before, Albania is a country that I didn't expect much from initially but it turned out to be pretty amazing. If you want to know why I enjoy this place so much then be sure to listen to Part I and II if you haven't already - it's worth it :) A big part of why I enjoyed Albania so much is because I connected with Adam - a really great guy who works in the travel industry and took time to show me around. I would also like to mention that these episodes are not sponsored. I am not obliged to say nice things - everything I say is my own genuine opinion. DICK & BALLS...WHAT'S IN A NAME? If you've listened to the previous episodes of my Albanian adventure, you may have noticed that Adam only calls me "Bo". When we first met, he asked if it would be okay not to call me by my first name. When I asked him why he began to blush and told me that the word 'Palle' in Albanian is a very bad way of saying… 'dick head'. This was not the first time I have been met with bemusement regarding my name. When I was on Nomad Cruise, I met an Italian guy in the pool bar on the top deck. He just looked at my name tag, laughed and said, "Stay there…I'll be right back". A few minutes later, he came back with another Italian guy and pointed at my name tag. They both broke down laughing. When I asked what was going on, he said: "In Italian, palle means balls!" They told me that Italians have a term where they say che palle – which means 'what a pain', 'how annoying', or 'that sucks.' And in Finnish, palle means clown. No, my parents didn't give me a travel-friendly name - they either had a wicked sense of humour or were blissfully unaware that my name has different, hilarious meanings around the world. Anyway, enough about balls... I'M FAMOUS IN ALBANIA...AGAIN Adam was still intent on honouring his promise to make me famous in his country, and on Sunday morning we met up with Mohammed, a reporter, who interviewed me for Report TV. Check it out and marvel at my Albanian stardom :) Report TV is a privately-owned TV station that brings news 24 hours a day and some information shows. After the interview, I turned the microphone around… I had a nice chat with Mohammed, who spoke with me about life as a free-press journalist in Albania, and how national television is run here. The station was launched in 2015 by a former Albania correspondent for the Italian news agency ANSA, Carlo Bollino. The Constitution of Albania now provides freedom of speech and freedom of the press, but obviously that wasn't the case in the Communist era. So, the tradition of journalism is relatively new (since the early 90's), which can also be a challenge as the first journalism schools opened in mid-1990. But Mohammed tells me that journalism is growing in the country, and they are adapting to the challenges of new media, like the rest of the world. COOL T-SHIRT BRO...LET ME BURN IT Adam's father was a powerful commander in the Albanian military forces and was quite famous in those days. Adam told me a story that illustrates what it was like living in the Communist dictatorship - which made my draw drop. When Adam was about 7-8 years old, a police officer saw him wearing a t-shirt that looked a little bit 'Capitalistic' (and absolute no-no back then). The t-shirt had a picture of a monkey on the chest and was a gift from Adam's father from his trip to Tanzania. The cop summoned young Adam and asked where he got the t-shirt from, to which Adam replied that it was a gift from his father. The cop then slapped Adam in the face a few times, ripped his t-shirt off, and burned it in the street in front of horrified onlookers. Adam was then sent to a jail cell for a night - completely naked. Adam's parents had no idea where he was. When Adam's father came to the police station asking where his son was, he demanded they release him after finding out what happened. Being a famous military commander, Adam's father then made the entire police force line up in the town square and told Adam to identify his attacker. To this day, Adam has no idea what happened to the police officer… BERAT The next day, I took a bus to Berat - a beautiful small town in central Albania roughly 70 kilometres (43 miles) south of Tirana. It's a tiny town with a population of around 46,000 people. They call it "the city of a thousand windows" and I've seen it described as one of Albania's most enchanting sights. It has a unique style of architecture with influences from several civilizations that have coexisted here for centuries throughout history. The old part of the city became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2008. Overall, Albania was a big surprise for me, and I discovered that it has much more to offer than I expected. Stunning nature, interesting history and culture, vibrant modern cities, great weather, reasonable prices, and most of all, really friendly people. And I only got to see a little bit of the country. For one, I never made

PËRSHËNDETJE AGAIN FROM ALBANIA! It's another day in the Albanian capital of Tirana and I am about to meet Adam and Elira Kadriu, a journalist from the Albanian online media and TV channel, Dritare, at the luxurious Tirana International Hotel. You might recall from Part I that Adam joked he would make me famous...and it looks like he might have been serious! We met in the outside café of the hotel and while the TV crew was setting up their lights and cameras, Adam finally let me in on what was about to happen: I was going to be interviewed about my impressions of Albania as a famous radio podcaster. See me razzle-dazzle my way through the video interview, and read the article on the Dritare website. See? I'm famous in Albania! Don't worry, I'm not quitting my day job just yet :) ABOUT KRUJË After my 15 minutes of stardom was up, Adam and I drive to Krujë, a small historic town about 35km from Tirana. Adam wants to show me the town close to the hearts of all Albanians and made famous by Albania's national hero, Skanderbeg, who built a kingdom there. The town is also host to the country's oldest bazaar (about 300-400 years old). In 1190, Krujë became the capital of the first Albanian state in the middle ages. And later the capital of the Kingdom of Albania. In the early 15th century Krujë was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, but then recaptured in 1443 by their famous national hero, Skanderbeg. "When he was 8 years old, Skanderbeg was taken by force to Turkey by the Ottomans and trained to fight for the Ottoman Empire. After training, he quickly became a high-ranking official in the army. In his 30s, he escaped Turkey to return to Albania and was upset at what had become of his native land. He then endeavoured and succeeded to unite all Albanians under Christianity and raised an army to fight the Turkish invaders - and prevented the Ottoman Empire from entering Europe via the Adriatic Sea" Adam tells me. ALBANIA'S COOL FLAG The Albanian flag (one of the coolest in the world in my opinion), is blood red with a large black double-headed eagle sprawled in the center. Adam tells me that it is actually almost the same flag that Skanderbeg used back in 1443. So that makes it one of the oldest flags in the world. Fun fact: the oldest flag in the world dates back to 1219 and is from the small, humble, and proud nation of Denmark :) #proudlydanish RELIGION FOR EVERYONE As I briefly mentioned in Part I, Albania used to be an atheist state, the first of its kind in the world. That was during the Communist era, and if you were caught praying or worshiping a God, any God, you would be thrown in jail. Yikes. Today, however, religion is back, and Albanians enjoy the freedom of a variety of religions. The majority of Albania's population are Muslim but live side by side with people who prescribe to other religions. In this sense, Albania is unique as Adam tells me. "Albania is unique in the sense that we have a Muslim majority, but our state does not rule according to the faith. We have mixed marriages, we drink alcohol, we eat pork. I am Catholic and many of my friends are Muslim, so I go to church and they go to the mosque, and afterwards we all meet up and get drunk together" he jokes. "In the end, we are all Albanians". GEORGE W. BUSH IN... ALBANIA? On the way to Krujë, we drive through Fushë-Kruje, a tiny village that achieved a surprising claim to fame in 2007 when it received a visit from the then-sitting American president, George W. Bush. The town is tiny and doesn't offer much and so it is a mystery as to why he came to give a speech here. Adam tells me a funny story of how a local stole the president's watch while shaking his hand and remarked to the president that his security was up to shit. He returned the watch obviously, but the point - and joke - was made. Shortly after returning to the USA, Bush replaced his entire security staff. The town is known for 2 things: a statue of George W. Bush erected after his notorious visit, and a cement factory rumoured to be secret CIA headquarters. The plot thickens... CASTLE OF KRUJË We finally arrived in the beautiful historic town Krujë nestled in the mountains boasting incredible panoramas stretching far to the Adriatic Sea. The Old Bazaar of Krujë dates back to the 17th century. Back then, it had about 200 shops, starting from the City Hall through to the entrance gates of Skanderbeg's Krujë Castle. It is perched atop a craggy mountain about 680 meters (2,230 feet) above sea level. The view from the castle spans from Mount Tomori in the south to Ulcinj in Montenegro in the north (where I plan to go later on in this journey). The castle has an arched tunnel as its entrance and once you're inside you can find old remnants, such as the watchtower, alongside two museums, a few restaurants, and homes that are still occupied to this day. Inside the castle, we visit Skanderbeg Museum and here I meet Clod who has worked as a guide in the museum since 2005. So, he knows a thin

Përshëndetje from Albania! After my incredible journey aboard Nomad Cruise, it was time to get back to reality. Sadly, I was unable to join my fellow nomads in Santorini for a post-cruise reunion as I had already booked my trip to the Balkans, but I promised myself I would hang around after my next Nomad Cruise - yes, I was sure there was going to be a next one. So, after a sad 'nomad goodbye' in Athens, I hopped on a flight headed to a country that had previously never featured high on my bucket list (but turned out to be one of my favourite places I visited that year) - Albania. ADAM THE ALBANIAN As a delightfully handsome and modest vagabond, I sometimes get friend requests from people I don't know. A month before my trip to Albania I got one from a guy called Adam. I almost declined but then I saw that we had a mutual friend (an extreme traveller from Denmark whom I respect) so I decided to accept his friend request. This turned out to be a really great decision as Adam works in the tourism space in Albania and he agreed to show me around after I said I was on my way to his neck of the woods. Adam is the General Director for Albania Express, a travel agency and Balkan tour operator with great experience in arranging accommodation, transport, and group and individual tours with experienced guides in different languages. They also organise events and meetups, treks, hikes and walking tours, as well as holidays to Albania and its neighbouring countries: Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovenia. I landed in the Albanian capital of Tirana, where Adam had offered to pick me up. Unfortunately, Adam had some important tourism work to attend to but had arranged for his good friend to welcome me to the city. I was taken to my hotel and the next day Adam and I met for a coffee. But before I tell you about my chat with Adam, here are some facts about where I am: QUICK FACTS ABOUT ALBANIA Hoxha's official title was 'Comrade-Chairman-Prime Minister-Foreign Minister-Minister of War-Commander in Chief of the People's Army' – quite a mouthful! Under the leadership of Enver Hoxha, Albania was declared the world's first atheist state in 1967. Tirana, the capital of Albania is one of the few European capital cities to not have a McDonalds. However, it does have a chain named Kolonat whose logo looks suspiciously familiar! The official name for Albania is "Republika e Shqiperise" meaning the Republic of Albania. Between 1950 to 1985 around 150,000 bunkers were built in Albania, they are nearly impossible to destroy so many are still in existence. Nodding your head in Albania is a disagreement while shaking the head means "yes", so it can get pretty confusing for tourists! At its closest point, Albania is only 10km away from Corfu across the Ionian Sea. Albania is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the southeast. ALBANIA OF THE PAST Let's be honest: for most Westerners that want to go on holiday in the southern part of Europe, Albania is definitely not on the top of the list. But maybe it should be, and maybe it will be in the future. According to Adam, the country is changing. "Albania was a Communist country for 50 years, with nobody allowed in or out during that period. We had our first democratic election only in 1992. The transition of power was a turbulent time for Albania and poverty was rife. We had never heard of a 'free world' before, we didn't even know that Coca-Cola existed. The country was like a big jail." says Adam. "But now Albania has grown up economically. We have slowly emerged into the rest of the world and we are a beautiful country - we are in the heart of Europe and our land is full of raw natural beauty. And our cultural sense of hospitality is unmatched!" he says. Imagine growing up in a dictatorship in a country that was totally closed to the outside world. And then after 40 years of Communism and isolation, as well as the revolutions of 1989 and the fall of the Soviet Union, people here in Albania (mostly students) started to become politically active and campaigned against the government. That led to the first multi-party elections in the early '90s and the victory in the general elections of 1992 led by the Democratic Party. And then freedom, choices, and open borders. It was so different and not easy. So now the system has changed and the country enjoys a democracy. But it was so different during the dictatorship. What they did to keep people in check is horrific. Adam tells me a story of what happened to his neighbour. A friend of his went to a bakery and complained about the stale bread they were selling. Someone in the bakery overheard him and reported him to the authorities and he got a 10-year jail sentence for this. ALBANIA OF TODAY I don't know exactly what I was expecting from Albania. But it's definitely much more modern than I pictured. Tirana is

Next week we're going to Albania, and it took me by surprise. See you Wednesday.

Welcome to the third and final instalment of my Nomad Cruise adventure, where I hopped aboard the Horizon cruise ship and sailed from Spain to Greece for 9 days with a bunch of incredibly talented digital nomads. If you haven't already listened to Part I and II then go back and do so before continuing :) Let's jump back aboard the Horizon! CRETE We arrived on the lovely Greek island of Crete on Saturday. I was really looking forward to this stop a little more than the others because a bunch of us nomads decided to go scuba diving. Unfortunately, our scuba diving excursion got cancelled due to bad weather, which is precisely what happened when I tried to go scuba diving in the Bahamas previously – I guess I'm not meant to frolic with the fishies :( Anyway, a bunch of us decided to hire 3 cars and crammed ourselves in the back to explore the island. I was assigned the driving duties, naturally. If I managed driving up to Sani Pass in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, with a Toyota Corolla then I can certainly handle a few winding roads along the coast of Crete! Because my hands were on the wheel, I enlisted the services of Rosanna to chat with a few of the nomads in the back seat for you to meet. Our nomad convoy drove to a lovely beach and soaked up some Greek sunshine for the afternoon. After our skins were sufficiently sun-kissed, we headed back to the ship to join the rest of the gang. RYAN/RIAAAAAN (FRENCH) Ryan runs his own travel blog called Le sac à dos has been a full-time traveller/digital nomad for 8 years. Although he doesn't count the number of countries he has travelled to, the list of places he hasn't visited is far shorter than the ones he has. Like most of us, Ryan joined the Nomad Cruise to connect with other digital nomads to network and make new friends. He has an interesting story as to how he came to be a full-time nomad, and his blog shows his unique style of travelling. He also developed an iPhone app, Budji, which helps you keep track of your budget while you travel. Be sure to follow Ryan on his website/blog and his Instagram. NAFPLION We arrived at the beautiful seaport town of Nafplion in the Peloponnese in Greece, up the hillsides near the north end of the Argolic Gulf. The port is so small that we took lifeboats to the shore. I decided to explore the port alone, so I grabbed a nice coffee at the restaurant overlooking the quaint port. Over coffee, I had a chance to quietly reflect on how incredible this Nomad Cruise journey has been so far. I made so many new friends in such a short space of time, establishing deep connections with so many like-minded people. I am still in contact with so many of them to this day - we are a kindred community of nomads and our connection is meaningful. DINING ROOM FAREWELL For the final dinner of the cruise, all the waiters and chefs hosted a really loud and vibrant farewell ceremony for the guests. It was really entertaining. Here I linked up with Carou Llou – you might remember her from episode #24 when I met her and her husband in Chiang Mai, Thailand. But she lost her voice from all the excitement. :) NOMAD CRUISE CLOSING CEREMONY To keep us all from being sad to say goodbye to each other, Johannes and the Nomad Cruise team put on a closing ceremony for us nomads. Here, we were treated to more performances from a few talented nomads, including guitar virtuoso and good friend, Tobias Rauscher who stole the show with his own song Memories. A big challenge for many nomads is that there isn't really a defined space for deep connections due to the transient nature of the lifestyle. But Nomad Cruise has done just that: they have created a place for all wanderers to come together to make real connections with each other. People who do not live the travelling lifestyle don't really understand it, and so it is really special to come together with a large group of people who know exactly what it is like on the road. I have a great sense of belonging with these people. I feel welcome, and even though I'm not the youngest member (nor the oldest), it really doesn't matter. What matters is our connections we form with one another. It may sound cheesy, but I truly feel like I have finally found my tribe, my people, my extended family. So, I knew for a fact that this wouldn't be my last Nomad Cruise. When Johannes told us that the next cruise was going to be from Barcelona, Spain to Recife, Brazil – across the Atlantic Ocean – I knew I was going to make it my mission to be on that boat. Did I make it to the next cruise? You'll just have to stay tuned to hear if I did… Until the next time… my name is Palle Bo and I gotta keep moving. JOIN THE NOMAD TRIBE As I've mentioned before, this episode series was recorded before the pandemic. Right now, obviously the cruises are cancelled, but when things get back to normal, I'm sure there's going to be more. If you want to join the next Nomad Cruise then drop me a line, I have a way of getting you a discount. You can fill o

Ahoy again sailors! Welcome back to Season 5 of The Radio Vagabond. In the second instalment of the season, I re-join the gang of loveable nomads on Nomad Cruise 6 sailing the Mediterranean from Spain to Greece in 9 days. If you missed Part I of my Nomad Cruise journey, then be sure to go back and listen to the podcast or read the blog. Ready? Let's hop back aboard the Horizon cruise vessel! We pick up where we left off in Part I, where I talk to Rod, Tilo, and Austin at the meetup I organised about how their impressions of the digital nomad lifestyle. Nomadic veterans like myself and Rod talk about our experiences regarding life on the road to newcomers to the nomad scene, Tilo and Austin. MENORCA The next day we docked at the first of our list of destinations along the way, at the small Spanish island of Menorca situated in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea. The name comes from the Latin Insula Minor meaning 'smaller island' which later became Menorca. Its name derives from its small size, contrasted with nearby Mallorca, 'the larger island'. Menorca is home to almost 95.000 people and its highest point, called El Toro or Monte Toro, is 358 meters (1,175 feet) above sea level. Here I met Judy, a British ex-pat who has been living on the island for 37 years. She and her Mallorcan husband decided to leave the UK and open a restaurant in Menorca 37 years ago and haven't looked back since. They are two of many Europeans who have fallen in love with the Spanish islands after a vacation and decided to start a life here. TALENTED NOMADS There is so much talent in the Nomad Cruise community that they organised a talent show for us nomads to entertain (and embarrass) ourselves in front of each other. It has become a tradition over the years to take over the big theatre on the ship for one night. And it didn't disappoint: we had people performing comedy stand-up, singers, magicians, dancers - you name it. MALTA On day 5 of the cruise, we docked in the island country of Malta, spanning just 122 square miles with a population of just under 450,000 people - making it one of the world's smallest and most densely populated countries in the world. They speak Maltese and English, as it was once a part of the UK until 1964. I went on a bus trip around the island called 'The Best of Malta' which was super informative as I didn't really know much about the island country. I learned many interesting things, and I encourage you to visit Malta if you haven't yet. It's a really pretty island in the Mediterranean. GREEK ISLAND & WINE Our next stop was the first of 4 scheduled stops in Greece. I linked up with two of my new friends, Angus and Scott, and we decided to rent a car and go for a drive to explore the area. We arrived in Olympia, a small town on the Peloponnese peninsula famous for the nearby archaeological site of the same name. It's among the most important archaeological sites in Greece as it was the site of the first ancient Olympic Games. These games were held to honour Zeus and included a series of athletic competitions with representatives of all the Greek city-states. It was a great honour for a city-state to give birth to Olympic winners, whose only prize was an olive branch. We walked around a bit looking at the Ancient Stadium, the temples of Zeus and Hera, the palaestra, and the workshop of Phidias. It was truly remarkable to visit these ancient sites where real-life heroes and heroines lived. We then got back in our hired car and headed to a small winery. Scott and Angus are two guys around my age, so we considered ourselves to be The Three Stooges among the younger nomads. Angus is a Scottish nomad living in Australia who runs an Infrastructure as a Service business. Although he is based in Australia. Even though he's not travelling full-time, he travels the world extensively and feels he has earned his nomad stripes. Scott is a Canadian whose work can be done from anywhere in the world. He really enjoys the digital nomad community and says he is happy to be among like-minded people. The Three Stooges had a lovely afternoon chatting and sampling some incredible Greek wine overlooking the vista. I also chatted with Amanda from the winery who told me that the winery has been going for almost 100 years. It was an amazing way to end our day on this beautiful Greek island. We sobered up in the shade of an old tree and then headed back to join the rest of the nomads on the Horizon. Stay tuned for Part III of my Nomad Cruise adventure. More islands, more chats with nomads, and more adventures to follow! Until then, I'm Palle Bo. And I gotta keep moving. See ya! JUMP ABOARD THE NEXT NOMAD CRUISE As I've mentioned, this episode was recorded before the pandemic. Right now, obviously the cruises are cancelled, but when things get back to normal, I'm sure there's going to be more. If you are thinking of joining the next cruise, then drop me a line. I can organise a discount for you. See, being a listener has its perks

Ahoy sailors! Welcome to Season 5 of The Radio Vagabond. Join me as I embark on an epic 9-day cruise through the Mediterranean from Malaga, Spain to Athens, Greece with a large group of digital nomads. Are you ready to hop aboard Nomad Cruise 6 with me? Let's go! After a minor hiccup trying to get on board the cruise vessel (I left my passport in one of my check-in bags…) I soon found myself making my way to the top deck bar for an ice-cold cocktail to cool off from the blistering Spanish sun. While I sip on my pina colada, let me give you some background information about Nomad Cruise and why I'm even on this boat in the first place. A BOAT-LOAD OF WANDERERS Nomad Cruise was started in October 2015 by Johannes Voelkner as a way to gather like-minded nomads into one place (like herding ants at an outdoor rave) to network, share stories, and start an official digital nomad community. Three years later I am joining the tribe on Nomad Cruise 6 – they put 249 nomad strangers on a boat and created an environment of learning, sharing, creating, and most of all, connecting. We get some mind-blowing sessions. Here are just a few of the talks and workshops that were on offer: How to design a winning morning routine How to hire remote employees Creating a Social Business Learn how to create your own Facebook Messenger Chatbot A Fresh Perspective on Cryptocurrency for Nomads and Entrepreneurs How to start your Affiliate Marketing Channel Reframe your brand with great photography How to become Google's best friend Turn your passion into a fully automated 6 figure business Strategies for sustaining a Digital Nomad lifestyle How to travel the world for a year with carry-on luggage only…And look good while you're doing it! In a nutshell, Nomad Cruise is a floating conference for travellers, digital nomads, and people who are location independent. But also people who are testing the waters of what a nomadic lifestyle can offer are also invited to dip their toes into the experience. But it's not just any conference: because we are stuck on a boat we don't go home after workshop sessions; we all hang out on the boat and network and mingle. We are all in the same boat, if you like. And you would be surprised just how much of a close bond you can form with people like this in just a few days – it's unbelievable! Nomads are a special breed of human, and we are not like most people. Many of us have no home base and live a life of full-time travelling with few belongings, many stories, and a lot of uncertainty, which makes for great conversation. In this episode, I will introduce you to a few of these weird, wonderful, crazy, and inspiring people. ALL ABOARD Since we are on a ship, we all have to go through the mandatory drill so we know what to do in case of an emergency (que Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On). It was funny to see everyone lurking around their muster stations in their big red lifejackets. After the drill, we all congregated at the discotheque venue (not for a party yet) where we received our Nomad Cruise wristband and workshop programs. Our wristbands were to differentiate all nomads from regular cruisers – yes, we were mixing with normals the entire time. This room is where most of the talks, workshops, performances happened, so it was our base for the next few days...with a bar. Yay for bars. Johannes kicked off proceedings welcoming us all to the cruise of a lifetime. He told us that we were a bunch of 249 digital nomads from 42 countries around the world. A happy global family. He then introduced the Nomad Cruise team who will be facilitating the conference. Johannes and I have before. When I was in Cape Town a few months before, he was also there and organised the wine tour that I went on. In fact, 10-15 of the people from that wine tour were also here on this cruise. I had the feeling that this was going to be an amazing journey. DAY 2 Having a Nomad Cruise wristband on was a really great way to easily identify fellow nomads to engage with. Every mealtime we were encouraged to sit at new tables to meet new people and make connections. And since I always carry a microphone around with me, I used it throughout the cruise to bring my experience to life for my listeners. One of the first I chatted with, was Maya from Bosnia. She's also a first-time Nomad Cruiser and told me about her work in human resource in a Sarajevo based tech company. She's not a digital nomad but might be at some point. So, she is excited to meet the community of nomads and get inspired. We were then placed into groups and asked to develop a business idea in 20 minutes as a team-building exercise. We had to present a 60-second commercial to the rest of our nomad friends which was hilarious. This was a great way to break the ice and interact with our fellow cruisers in an entertaining way. And guess what? We didn't win. Apart from the keynotes and workshops, we can also organise meetups ourselves about anything really. All we need to do i

The Radio Vagabond is back with new episodes next Wednesday. In season 5 you can join me in Europe. We're going to Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Poland, Belarus and The Czech Republic. But we start on a cruise from Spain to Greece.

This is something special – and something that has become an attempt to set a World Record. Before we kick off the next season of The Radio Vagabond, where I will be roaming around in Europe, you will get the entire fourth season as one long episode. And the good part is that there will be no interruptions from my sponsor and any other plugs for Facebook and all the other bits and pieces where you might look for the skip 15 seconds button. This is 100% all travel content seamlessly edited together so you won't even know when we go from one of the previous episodes to the next. This is one long episode and after I edited, I thought that this might just be the longest single podcast episode in podcasting history. And I think it is. I found one that was recording podcast for 36 hours straight but that was released as 36 episodes. I also asked three of the leading podcast experts in the world if they had heard of one that was longer. And they hadn't… So now I've submitted it to Guinness Book of World Records and asked them to look into it. Anyway, all that isn't really that important for you as a listener. Here it is. Join my trip through Africa starting in Fez in North-Western Africa and ending up as I leave South Africa. A five-month journey in a little more than 12 hours. This is an episode that is good for a lazy Sunday or a long road trip of your own. Enjoy. 00:02:10 – WELCOME TO FEZ, MAROKKO 00:18:45 – VISA HUNTING IN RABAT 00:43:25 – UBER DRIVER IN RABAT WANTS TO LEAVE 01:05:50 – MEET THE MAGIC MAN OF MARRAKECH 01:24:10 – QUAD BUGGY BUDDIES ON CAMELS 01:35:05 – THE BUTCHER FROM TIZNIT 01:56:25 – A REAL NOMAD AND MY VISIT TO A HOSPITAL 02:18:20 – A SAHARA ROAD MOVIE FOR YOUR EARS 02:38:00 – WELCOME TO SENEGAL 03:04:55 – OUR TAXI DRIVER GOT LOST IN DAKAR 03:27:10 – LUXURY IN THE FOREST IN THE GAMBIA 04:02:55 – HEADING FROM THE GAMBIA TO SENEGAL 04:21:40 – ADVENTURES IN CAP SKIRRING, SENEGAL 04:46:50 – SAVING CHILDREN IN GUINEA-BISSAU 05:06:10 – MASSIVE DETOUR TO GET TO GUINEA 05:30:05 – SURPRISE: I FELL IN LOVE WITH CONAKRY 05:59:35 – THE BEST DAY IN ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA 06:17:55 – THE WORST DAY IN ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA 06:41:05 – WELCOME TO "THE MOTHER CITY", CAPE TOWN 07:02:55 – SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN 07:26:10 – FINDING SUGAR IN CAPE TOWN 07:54:55 – THE DARK HISTORY OF DISTRICT SIX 08:21:05 – VULAMASANGO 'OPEN GATES' ORPHANAGE 08:45:40 – VULAMASANGO VISIT PART II AND FOLLOW-UP 09:27:10 – TOP 10 THINGS TO SEE IN A WEEK IN CAPE TOWN 09:47:45 – GARDEN ROUTE ROAD TRIP FROM CAPE TOWN 10:13:25 – OSTRICH, OYSTERS AND BUNGY JUMP 10:42:25 – SOUTH AFRICAN ROAD TRIP FROM PE TO DURBAN 11:20:10 – SWINGING IN DURBAN 11:31:30 – THE DAY I NEARLY WENT TO LESOTHO 11:56:55 – OUT OF AFRICA Abonnér: Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/2Dpt1D2 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2PuM15q Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/33tS6r7 Subscribe: Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/30xyDnp Spotify: https://spoti.fi/30xymB3 Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/2XBslBv

While I'm working on episodes for the next season, I'll give you some flashback episodes that you might have missed. This one was recorded in January 2018 and is from my visit to Conakry in Guinea. Find pictures and more here: Surprise: I Fell in Love with Conakry. We will kick off Season 5 in September.

While I'm working on episodes for the next season, I'll give you some flashback episodes that you might have missed. This one was recorded in May 2017 and is from my visit to Toronto, Canada. Find pictures and more here: On the Air in Toronto, Canada. We will kick off Season 5 in September.

While I'm working on episodes for the next season, I'll give you some flashback episodes that you might have missed. This one was recorded in July 2017 and is from my visit to St. Louis, USA. Find pictures and more here: I Told a Lie When the Dog Ran Away in St. Louis. We will kick off Season 5 in September.

While I'm working on episodes for the next season, I'll give you some flashback episodes that you might have missed. This one was recorded in May 2017 and is from my visit to the Bahamas. Find pictures and more here: Eating Conch and Scuba Diving in The Bahamas. We will kick off Season 5 in September.

While I'm working on episodes for the next season, I'll give you some flashback episodes that you might have missed. This one was recorded in May 2017 and is from my visit to Montreal, Canada. Find pictures and more here: I Met an Aboriginal from Bear Klan in Montreal. We will kick off Season 5 in September.

While I'm working on episodes for the next season, I'll give you some flashback episodes that you might have missed. This one was recorded in December 2017 and is from my visit to Senegal. Find pictures and more here: Welcome to Senegal. We will kick off Season 5 in September.

While I'm working on episodes for the next season, I'll give you some flashback episodes that you might have missed. This one was recorded in August 2019 and is from my visit to Sri Lanka. Find pictures and more here: Unique Experiences in the Center of Sri Lanka. We will kick off Season 5 in September.

While I'm working on episodes for the next season, I'll give you some flashback episodes that you might have missed. This one was recorded in August 2017 and is from my visit to New Orleans, USA. Find pictures and more here: Tarot Card Reading & All That Jazz in New Orleans. We will kick off Season 5 in September.

While I'm working on episodes for the next season, I'll give you some flashback episodes that you might have missed. This one was recorded in August 2017 and is from my visit to Nicaragua. Find pictures and more here: Learning Spanish and meeting the locals in Nicaragua. We will kick off Season 5 in September.

While I'm working on episodes for the next season, I'll give you some flashback episodes that you might have missed. This one was recorded in April 2017 and is from my visit to Japan. Find pictures and more here: Top 3 Things to See in Japan. We will kick off Season 5 in September.

This special bonus episode will so much meta on so many levels. Let me start by rewinding about a year back. I was approached by someone who was in the process of starting a brand-new radio station in the UK. The plan was to build their programming around good podcasts from around the world. And they said that they would like to have The Radio Vagabond on the program. I thought it sounded quite exciting and different – so I said I was in. And right from the launch of the radio station in February, The Radio Vagabond has been a part of the program daily. The station is called Podcast Radio and they broadcast online to the whole world and on DAB radio in London, Surrey, Manchester & Glasgow. In between the various handpicked podcasts, they do news and interviews. And one of their hosts is a radio legend. Literally. His name is Gene Baxter – and went by the artist name Bean for many years. He is an Anglo-American born and raised in West Yorkshire, England. When he was 15, the family moved to the United States and he started doing radio. For about 30 years he was part of a legendary morning show "Kevin & Bean" on an at least as legendary radio station… KROQ in Los Angeles. It was such a huge success that in 2015 they were inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. That's a huge deal, so he's truly a legend. In March 2019, Bean announced that he would stop later in the year and move home to England with his wife. Because even though he sounds very American, he also feels very British. Now he is one of the hosts on Podcast Radio. And as you will hear, he is an amazing natural talent behind a microphone – and I was honoured to speak to one of my personal heroes in the industry I have worked in since 1985. So welcome to Meta-Monday… Here is an interview with me… so an old radio dude being interviewed by another old radio dude… from a radio station that broadcasts this podcast and now this interview is here too. It will not be more meta than this. Enjoy. LINKS: Listen to Podcast Radio. Podcast Radio on the web.

While I'm working on episodes for the next season, I'll give you some flashback episodes that you might have missed. This one was recorded in December 2017 and is from my visit to The Gambia. Find pictures and more here: Luxury in the Forest in The Gambia. We will kick off Season 5 in September.

While I'm working on episodes for the next season, I'll give you some flashback episodes that you might have missed. This one was recorded in August 2019 and is from my visit to Sri Lanka. Find pictures and more here: Welcome to Sri Lanka. We will kick off Season 5 in September.

While I'm working on episodes for the next season, I'll give you some flashback episodes that you might have missed. This one was recorded in May 2017 and is from my visit to Quebec City, Canada. Find pictures and more here: Quebec City Is a Charming Laid-Back City We will kick off Season 5 in September.

After I left Pietermaritzburg, I went to St. Lucia – the hippo place of South Africa. There were signs everywhere saying that the hippos roam in the streets at night. The day after I joined a Hippo & Croc Boat Cruise in iSimangaliso Wetland Park just outside St Lucia, and I was picked up at the hostel and got into an open minibus with some of the others and our guide Ndu. It's a 2-hour boat tour, where they make a promise: "100 % Guaranteed Hippo Sightings or You're Money Back" And I guess it's a promise that isn't hard to keep as St Lucia is home to the largest free-roaming population of hippos in South Africa. Not only is it home to 800 hippos but also approximately 1000 Nile crocodiles not to mention the abundance of birdlife here in the Wetland Park. THE HIPPO IS A WEIRD ANIMAL Here are some interesting facts about hippos that you might not know. The name Hippopotamus comes from the Ancient Greek and means 'river horse'. Hippos bask on the shoreline and secrete an oily red substance, which gave rise to the myth that they sweat blood. The liquid is actually a skin moistener and sunblock that may also provide protection against germs. An adult Hippo needs to resurface every 3 – 5mins to breathe. The process of surfacing and breathing is automatic, and even a hippo is sleeping underwater will rise and breathe without waking. Both reproduction and birth occur in the water. Hippo calves weigh approximately 45kg at birth and can suckle on land or underwater by closing their ears and nostrils. Each female has only one calf every two years. Despite its stocky shape and short legs, it can easily outrun most humans. Hippos have been clocked at 30 km/h over short distances. Hippos will travel on land for up to 10km to feed and spend four to five hours grazing and can consume 68 kg of grass each night. That might sound like a bit but considering their enormous size, their food intake is relatively low. The hippo is one of the most aggressive creatures in the world – and is often regarded as one of the most – if not THE most dangerous animal in Africa. But if they threatened on land they will most often run for water. We saw a lot of hippos and but no crocodiles… until the last few seconds of the trip. At the bank, we saw a huge Nile crocodile in the sun. I LOST RECORDINGS As I was continuing the second half of my road trip, I was still recording a ton every day, but then when I came to Johannesburg 10 days later something awful happened. As I travel around, I always carry a recorder and I record so much. Normally for one 30-minute episode, I might have 2 hours of recordings that I need to go through and decide what to put in each episode. And even though I'm only on halfway through my road trip – and also the last leg of my African adventures, this episode is … the season finale. Because I lost all the recordings, I did in the second half. I deleted all my recordings by accident. Long story how that happened. You have to listen to the episode to hear what happened. HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED ON THE LAST TEN DAYS IN AFRICA Let me tell you what happened after St. Lucia. First, I went to Swaziland – or 'the Kingdom of eSwatini' as it's called now. The king renamed the country shortly after my visit. Here I stayed at Sondzela Backpackers in Malkerns In Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary. It's in the middle of a national park, and in the late afternoon, I went on a game drive into the wild. Here I saw a lot of animals and some stunning nature as the sun was setting. After that, we went back, where they were a wonderful cooking local meal over an open fire. MOZAMBIQUE From there I went to via Nelspruit to Komatipoort close to the Mozambique border and just south of Kruger National Park. I spent one day in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. Here I couldn't drive, so I walked across the border and got into a small cramped minibus. In Maputo, I walked around the city, having coffee and lunch and getting a good sense of the local life there. KRUGER NATIONAL PARK And then, one of the highlights of my Africa trip: Two days in Kruger National Park. It's the flagship of South African National Parks and one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of 19,485 km2 (7,523 sq mi) – or nearly 2 million hectares of land. It extends 360 km (220 mi) from north to south along the Mozambique border. And 65 km (40 mi) from east to west. It's larger than Israel. It's an almost indescribable wildlife experience – rated as the ultimate safari experience. Here are some of the numbers: Elephant: 13,750 Giraffe: 10,000 Hippo: 3,100 Impala: 175,000 Crocodile: 4,420 Leopard: 1,000 Lion: 17,000 Spotted hyena: 5,340 These numbers are from 2011 so they might have changed a bit. But there are a lot. ELEPHANT TOLD ME TO STAY WHERE I WAS One of my most interesting things was when I was driving in the park and a group of elephants were walking across. As one of the last the biggest male elephant, I've ever seen in real life appeared. He stopped right i

Greetings from KwaZulu-Natal! Welcome back to the next instalment of my enchanting road trip across South Africa. This episode is part 5 of my journey, so if you have missed the previous 4 episodes then I suggest you go back and catch up, otherwise you will never know just how I ended up here. I left Durban in the rear-view mirror of my hired Toyota Corolla en route to Lesotho - a tiny country completely surrounded by South Africa. It's a country within a country - like a Russian doll of autonomous land, or as I like to say, it is a 'country-ception'. It is a small country, around 30,000km² (11,500 square miles), and is about the size of Belgium. It is perched high up in the mountains roughly 3.4km above sea level and was granted independence from the United Kingdom in 1966. Having the goal to visit every UN Nation in the world, obviously, Lesotho was on my list as one of the 193. It is a fairly short drive up a mountain road to get to Lesotho from Durban, so I decided to book a place to stay for one night and then head back down the same way the next day. I love driving on beautiful mountain roads and taking in the scenery, so I was really excited to get to visit this small African kingdom. But the day turned out to be much different from what I expected… YOU SHALL NOT (SANI) PASS Let me set the scene for you: I'm driving on a mountain pass called Sani Pass that cuts through the peaks of the famous Drakensberg Mountains between South Africa and Lesotho. The route up Sani Pass starts at 1544m (5,065ft) above sea level, and climbs to an altitude of 2876m (9,435ft). The views up here are out of this world. And, well, so is the road I'm driving on. It feels like I'm driving on Mars. The road is a very steep gravel road, which can be difficult to drive in bad weather and near impossible in the winter where it is sometimes covered with snow and ice. Sani Pass, the highest pass in South Africa, is known for being a death-defying experience. The Smithsonian Channel calls it one of the most dangerous mountain-passes in the world - and that's if you have a 4x4 vehicle like a Jeep or Land Rover. Your favourite Danish vagabond was driving a Toyota Corolla, which is like running a marathon in flip-flops. Little did I know, that it is actually against the law to drive this pass with anything other than a 4x4. I guess that makes me an outlaw... After an intense drive with my Toyota's tiny engine heaving all the way up like an asthmatic at a harmonica convention, I eventually reached the border at 1 pm. I actually passed the border illegally. But my time as an outlaw was up... To cross the border, you have to drive through a small river. In a 4x4 this would be an easy task, but my Toyota was having none of it. As I was about to attempt the river crossing, one of the border patrol officers came over and politely enquired what I thought I was doing. "Your tiny car won't make it much further," he said. "The way from here is much more arduous than where you have come from". I'm sure he was actually trying to hold his laughter in and probably wanted to say something like "Dude, what the fuck are you thinking?" But he was very polite and didn't make fun of me. STRANDED AT THE LESOTHO BORDER There were mountains on my left side and a steep drop on the right side, so turning the car was not an option. So, he got in the car with me and I started backing down - very slowly - down to the border office where I would assess the situation and find out exactly how I would make it to my eco-lodge with a stunning view in Lesotho. Inside the office, he started speaking to his colleagues in what I assume was probably Zulu - and they were all keeping a straight face. Basically, they were telling me that the prospects of me reaching my accommodation were remote. But I'm a collector of good stories, so whenever something bad happens I always try to stay positive and remind myself that I'm in the middle of a good story. And I still really wanted to go experience Lesotho and tick off another country on my travel list. After some convincing from my part, they said that I could wait with them and maybe, just maybe, a 4x4 taxi may pass at some point. One of the border patrol officers kindly phoned a 4x4 taxi company to find out if any taxis were headed in our direction. Luckily, I was secured a spot – the only thing was that we didn't know when it was planning to arrive. As I was standing outside the office, my new friend comes out and tells me that he's been speaking to a local tour guide who knows the lodge I'm planning on staying at in Lesotho. However, the guide told him that the lodge was very far from where I am and it would be very far to drive, and impossible in my tiny Corolla. I wouldn't make it until sundown, if at all. So, I had a tough decision to make: I couldn't drive my Toyota due to the road condition, and I would have to take a few taxis to get there. Seeing as though I was only planning on staying one night in Lesotho, I also had

Groete van Durban! Welcome to the next instalment of my amazing road trip across South Africa. In this episode, you still find me in the vibrant coastal city of Durban - but more specifically, perched on top of one of the city's most renowned landmarks, Moses Mabhida Soccer Stadium. Just what exactly am I doing 106 meters (348 ft) from the ground? I'm about to jump… The reason why I am about to jump off this stadium arch is not because I'm crazy, or because this global pandemic has gotten all too much for this weary Danish vagabond, but rather it is because I am about to do The Big Rush Big Swing: a thrilling leap swinging out into a massive 220m arc soaring over the entire stadium. It has been officially named the world's tallest swing by the Guinness Book of Records since 14 May 2011. Okay, I might be a little crazy after all! But first, let's backtrack a little. WHERE WE LEFT OFF IN THE PREVIOUS EPISODE After a great chat with Nkonzo aka Dat Boy Mreppa in the Sky Car (listen to the previous episode here), we returned safely to the ground on what had become yet another glorious day in the African sun. I went into the Moses Mabhida Stadium tourism office to see if any of the other attractions would arouse my interest. And then I saw it - the brochure for The Big Rush Big Swing. My heart started pounding. Then I heard two voices on each shoulder, an angel and little devil, trying to convince me of the pros and cons of attempting this crazy swing: A: "Why put yourself through that? You know you're going to hate it." D: "No! You know you're going to regret it if you don't do it!" A: "Come on. You don't need that. Just get in an Uber and go have lunch." D: "If you do it, you'll feel good about yourself!" A: "Feel good??" D: "Yes! The big rush…the big adrenalin rush!" A: "You know what would feel good? A nice cold beer and a big juicy cheeseburger!" D: "Remember just a few days ago when you were at the bungy jump place? Didn't you just say that you regretted that you didn't do it?" A: "Yeah…but you already did the world's highest bungy jump." D: "Yes that's right…but do you know what you haven't done yet?" A: "No...what?" D: "The world's highest swing..." Yes, they were having a lively conversation. And I was struggling to make a decision. But I mustered up enough courage and made the decision to get a dose of adrenaline over Durban's skyline. I sounded calm when I got up to the top - but I wasn't. MY VAGABOND RULE When I was in the tourism office an hour earlier, the tourism officers could see that I looked scared, so I told them that I needed time to think. I actually thought this must be something that happens on a daily basis, and I was sure they were making bets if I would return or not. Let me tell you a bit about my Vagabond Rule. On day 2 of my nomadic journey back in July 2016, I made the rule to myself which stated, 'when in doubt, just do it'. This rule has always steered me in the direction of adventure and discovery and has provided me with countless serendipitous moments I have been lucky enough to experience. I have tried to live by my Vagabond Rule ever since, and it has never let me down. This was not the day I would break my most valued rule. So, I bought a ticket and started preparing myself for what was to come. Oh yes, did I mention that I am terrified of heights? SWINGING IN DURBAN "Would you like to pay extra for the video and the photos of your swing-venture?" the tourism officer asks. You bet I would. I was here alone, and I definitely needed some proof of me doing this. I mean, who wouldn't want to see my poor, terrified face hurtling towards the ground for their own amusement? That's why you're here, isn't it? :) The Big Rush Big Swing is not your average swing. It allows you to take the thrilling leap from a small bridge between parts of the iconic arch of the stadium, some 80 meters above the spectator stand, swinging out into a massive 220m arc where you soar into the centre of the stadium. This is not a bungy jump. There's no big rubber bungee cord this time. Only a rope. One end strapped to my waist and the other strapped to the highest point of the arch. Before I jumped, I was presented with some legal papers with a lot of fine print to sign, which would take me hours to read, and then a dotted line after the text where my shaking signature should go. When I'm nervous I tend to make jokes, so I asked them if I was effectively signing my life away, to which they responded "Yes". Yikes. After I bravely signed the consent form, the tour operators began to attach the harnesses on me. It was all getting too real at this point. They attach the harnesses onto you on the ground because the only way to get to the jumping-off point at the top of the stadium arch is to walk up the 352 steps of the actual arch, which carries a strong risk of falling. So, the experience of thrill mixed with danger begins when you are still on the ground and haven't even started the swing yet! Before we embar

Molweni! Welcome to Part 3 of my epic road trip across beautiful South Africa. In this episode, we pick up where I left off in Part 2, leaving local bungy jumpers at Bloukrans Bridge on my way to Port Elizabeth. But not long after I hit the N2 national highway I made a scheduled stop at one of South Africa's rare gems. The exquisite Tsitsikamma National Park is nestled along the southern coast of South Africa and forms part of the Garden Route National Park. With dramatic coastlines of towering mountains meeting the pulsating tides of the warmer Indian Ocean, this is truly a beautiful place. So, I decided to get out of my car and take a quick hike to explore some of the raw natural scenery. After my hike, I got back into my car and continued towards Port Elizabeth, almost 200km away along the East coast. After a scenic drive, I arrived at my hostel late in the afternoon and after a long day of hiking and driving, I had an early night and decided to take Port Elizabeth by storm the next day. Port Elizabeth is a quaint city with friendly people and a beautiful coastline. It gets rather windy in these parts I am told, so I wore a hat so I wouldn't have a bad hair day! INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT PORT ELIZABETH Port Elizabeth is in the Nelson Mandela Bay municipal area. It's actually South Africa's second largest city – with regards to its area at least. If you go by the population count – 1.2 million, it's the 5th largest city in the country. The city is nicknamed "PE" by South Africans and is also known as 'the Friendly City'. The city has 40 km of unspoiled coastline (consisting mostly of beaches). Forget about Route 66 – PE has something they call 'Route 67'. Spread out around PE, you can experience a collection of 67 artworks symbolising Nelson Mandela's 67 years of work. Although my time in PE was short and sweet, I still managed to come away with a good feeling about the city and its people. In the afternoon I handed my trusty steed (Toyota Corolla) back to the car hire shop and jumped on a flight headed for Durban. Yes, I know that flying is technically 'cheating' on a road trip, but the distance from PE to Durban is almost 1,000km/12-hour drive. My time here is short, so I made the decision to cut out a few cities and towns along the coast to instead have more time for the last bit towards Johannesburg – and to play around in Durban. And it turned out to be a good decision. DURBAN, HOME OF THE ZULU I landed at King Shaka International Airport just outside of Durban in the evening, jumped in my hired car (another Toyota Corolla), and made my way to my hostel in the city. Everyone here dispenses with friendly reminders and warnings about driving cars in South Africa at night. For instance, a few people told me that if I get to a red robot (they call traffic lights 'robots' here for some reason) at night, and if nobody is around, I should just drive through. Why? Because hijacking is common in South Africa, and when your car is stationary at a red light is when potential hijackers take chances. With that sobering thought, I cautiously entered the city of Durban - but with more excitement than intimidation. While on the plane, I read that Durban is considered South Africa's 'middle child', with Johannesburg being ambitious and soulful, and Cape Town is picture-perfect and the apple of everyone's eye, and Durban, despite many charms, is often overlooked by tourists. Durban, the biggest city in the KwaZulu-Natal province and the 3rd largest city in South Africa, is situated on the Eastern coast of the country. It is a vibrant, multicultural city and home to the largest container port in Africa. With a population of almost 3.4 million people in the metro area, Durban is also home to the largest population of Indian people outside of India. KwaZulu-Natal is home to Zululand, a traditional region in the north-eastern section of present-day KwaZulu-Natal (formerly Natal) province. It is the home of the Zulu people and is the site of their 19th-century kingdom. Durban is also home to the majestic Moses Mabhida Stadium, the city's iconic soccer stadium built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, dominates the Durban skyline from afar. The stadium has a capacity for 56,000 people (expandable up to 85,000) and the most recognisable thing about this stadium is the arch. It's a 350-meter (1,148 ft) long arch that holds up the roof of the stadium. The top of the arch rises to 106 meters (348 ft) above the pitch. They offer a lot of different attractions when you visit: stadium tours, Segway tours, adventure walks (where you walk up to the top of the arch), and they also have The Big Rush Big Swing and the Sky Car tram that takes you to the top of the icon rooftop arch of the stadium. ROOFTOP CHATS WITH A VIEW After a cup of coffee, I jumped in the Sky Car and made my way to the summit. Here, I got to chat more with my guide, Nkonzo. Perched at the top of the stadium arch overlooking the vast Indian Ocean and sprawling city of Durba

Welcome to the second half of my meetings with Tarek Kholoussy. If you haven't heard the first half yet you should definitely do that first and then come back here for the second part. In the first one that was recorded back in December 2018 when we just arrived in Brazil on the Nomad Cruise from Spain, Tarek talked about him fulfilling three big life goals: To run 25 marathons, to visit 100 countries and the third one – that we'll dive deep into in this episode, to start a social enterprise. When we met in Brazil, Nomads Giving Back had just been started a few days earlier, and it was hard for him to see where it was going. So, I asked him again when we met in Bali here in 2020. If you want to get involved, here's what you can do: Join their team as a volunteer or ambassador. Join their newsletter to stay informed on impact events and opportunities. Join the online community and the Global Tribe on their Facebook group to stay connected and inspired with socially conscious friends. I hope you found it inspiring and feel like getting involved with the project. Soon another JOURNEY episode of The Radio Vagabond where we continue the road trip in South Africa.

This and the next episode are about a nomad called Tarek Kholoussy, recorded in two continents. In Brazil and Bali. Tarek's life had taken a huge turn a few years back, and today and tomorrow you will hear about that. This is the first half of Tarek's story, and get ready to meet a super interesting guy. It's a story about change, about goals being fulfilled, signs from the universe, and a bit of serendipity… We start in Bali, where I'm at the beach having a cold beer with my good friend Tarek; and then we jump to Brazil, let me describe Tarek for you: He's got long hair tied up in a man-bun and a short beard. He's always wearing relaxed clothes. Often a t-shirt with colourful decorations, and always bands on his arms. I feel it's relevant for you to get a mental picture of what he looks like now – because it was very different a few years earlier when he was a corporate employee on Wall Street when he lived in New York City. He was working for Goldman Sachs, was trading stocks, where he wore a tie. Then, 4 years ago, he made a change in his life and became a nomad. And made three goals a thousand days before turning 40. Running 25 Marathons. Visiting 100 countries. Starting a social enterprise. And those three goals are coming true one by one. When we got to Brazil Tarek had just visited his country number 100. In the conversation, I said that I would go to Bali next year and stay longer. And that's exactly what I did – and where I met Tarek again. In the second half of the interview with Tarek (tomorrow), we'll hear about the social enterprise he started called Nomads Giving Back. That whole thing started just a few days earlier on the Nomad Cruise that brought us to Brazil. We'll also get to hear what has happened since then and why he's here in Bali right now So much more to come in the next episode tomorrow. My name is Palle Bo see you tomorrow.

Welcome to day 3 and 4 of my road trip from Cape Town. In this episode, I visit Safari Ostrich Farm in Oudtshoorn here on the Garden Route in South Africa. It's the only Tractor Safari on an Ostrich Farm in South Africa, and it's interesting to see and learn something new about this weird bird – a specie whose ancestors have been around since the age of dinosaurs. Then I head to Knysna – a quaint town located in the heart of the world-famous Garden Route. If Oudtshoorn is big on Ostriches and Knysna is mostly known for Oysters. So, I go to a restaurant called 34 South at the Waterfront after a long walk to Knysna Head to see the sunset. On my way from Knysna to Port Elisabeth I was driving straight east along the coastline on the N2 Highway. Again, the view from the window of my Toyota Corolla was unreal. On the border between the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape, I get to Bloukrans Bridge where they have the world's highest commercial bridge bungy jump, Bloukrans Bridge Bungy. It's 216 meters (709 ft) above the Bloukrans River. Here I speak to some of the jumpers both before and after their jump. . LINKS: Sponsor Hotels25.com The Radio Vagabond is produced by RadioGuru. See pictures on TheRadioVagabond.com You can follow The Radio Vagabond on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

The Radio Vagabond podcast is back...! This is an episode that was recorded pre-Corona and is the first leg of my road trip from Cape Town to Johannesburg. I start driving Garden Route to Cape Agulhas – the southernmost point of Africa where the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean meet. Then I head north towards Oudtshoorn and on the way I visit Ronnies Shop that had its name changed to Ronnies Sex Shop as a prank from his friends. He was angry at first but that turned the business around, because as he said: "Sex sells, my friend". See my route on TheRadioVagabond.com along with a few pictures of the shop and some stunning landscape. LINKS: Sponsor Hotels25.com The Radio Vagabond is produced by RadioGuru. See pictures on TheRadioVagabond.com You can follow The Radio Vagabond on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

This is really a story of connecting the dots as Steve Jobs talked about. This guy went from studying to be a nurse – to becoming a soldier in Kuwait – to being stationed in Guantanamo – to working for the FBI busting criminals – to landing a high-paid job while being drunk in a karaoke bar – to doing spy-stuff and nearly getting killed in a rocket attack in Afganistan – to becoming an app developer and then a digital nomad. Wade Sellers is also a Nomad Cruiser but we've never been on a cruise together. I've been on Nomad Cruise 6, 7 and 10 and he was on number 9. We met in Canggu Bali for a chat about the first 34 years of his life. A very nice guy with a remarkable story. LINKS: Wade's blog AppsWithWade.com and his newsletter AppsWeekly.com. Sponsor Hotels25.com The Radio Vagabond is produced by RadioGuru. You can follow The Radio Vagabond on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

As a full-time solo traveller, it's always great to have visitors, especially from your kids. You might remember that my youngest daughter travelled with me for four months at the beginning of my journey to Asia. She met me in Bangkok, and then we were in Chiang Mai, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Hongkong, China, North Korea, South Korea. And when we got to Japan, my oldest daughter joined us, and we had two weeks together there – during cherry blossom season. Since then, I've only seen them when I've been back in Denmark. When I knew I was going to be in Cape Town, they decided to be spontaneous and book a flight to visit me. And I can't be happier. I've planned to show them why I love this place, and I'm going to be the best tour guide I can be, and below you can find my personal Top 10 Things to See in a Week in Cape Town. The first thing on the list is a must-see when you're in Cape Town. Like San Francisco has Alcatraz, Cape Town has Robben Island. An island close to the city where there used to be a prison. When you visit Robben Island, you start with a 40-minute boat ride from V&A Waterfront. FACTS ABOUT ROBBEN ISLAND: The World Heritage Site, Robben Island takes its name from the Dutch word for seals (robben), the Dutch/Afrikaans name Robben Eiland translates to Seals Island. It's 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) of the coast of Cape Town – and the island itself is 3.3 km (2.1 mi) long, and 1.9 km (1.2 mi) wide. The island was first used as a political prison in the mid-1600s. This was where the Dutch settlers sent people who refused to bend to colonial rule. In 30 years from 1961, a maximum-security prison here held enemies of apartheid. One of the prisoners was behind bars here for 18 years, was a political activist named Nelson Mandela. The South African also call him Madiba – and our guide, who's also an ex-prisoner, calls him Father Mandela. In total Father Mandela served 27 years in prison until he was released in 1990. After the fall of apartheid, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 together with the former president, Frederik Willem de Klerk, and one year later this former prisoner of Robben Island was elected President of South Africa. The guide takes us for a walk around the prison and tells stories of what it was like being there. And then we get into the corridor with the cells in B-Block. One of them being the cell of prisoner #466/64 A 2 x 2-meter cell with a thin mattress on the concrete floor as a bed and a bucket for a toilet. They were allowed one visitor a year for half an hour, and one censured letter every six months of no more than 500 words. Outside is a courtyard where Mandela and fellow prisoners would eat breakfast, exercise and worked long days in the yard hammering rocks. A WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY Editing this episode, we're in the middle of the Corona Pandemic, and I'm alone in an apartment in Cape Town during the lockdown. We're not allowed to go for a walk unless it's to a supermarket or the pharmacy. We're to stay at home. When I think of the 18 years, Mandela spent in this tiny cell on Robben Island, and we really shouldn't complain. We have Netflix, YouTube, WIFI… and TikTok. We have music, radio and podcasts. We can talk to our friends via video calls – and we do that all the time. Mandela was just alone with his thoughts. And still, he later said that he came out of prison a better man. Thar being alone with your thoughts give him a "wonderful opportunity" to think. What a remarkable man. He said this not that long after he was released from 27 years in prison most of this in a small cell with a matt as a mattress and a bucket as a toilet… and a light bulb shining in his head 24 hours a day. Let that sink in. And then maybe give this a thought: Can we use this difficult time with social distancing as a … "wonderful opportunity" to sit alone and think. LIMESTONE QUARRY MADE MANDELA "SNOW BLIND" Then we went on a bus ride around the island and passed a bleak limestone quarry. It was here Nelson Mandela, and his inmates worked virtually every day for 13 years, digging up rocks, some of which paved the road we were driving on. The sun was so relentless, the white limestone quarry so bright and dusty, that Mandela got "snow blindness" – something that damaged his eyes. Our guide also tells us how Mandela and other heroes of South Africa's anti-apartheid movement used their time in this quarry to teach each other literature, philosophy, political theory, and much more. In 1997, three years after apartheid fell, the prison was turned into the Robben Island Museum. Robben Island is a must-see for any visitor to South Africa. Tours leave Cape Town four times a day, and even though I've been here before I'm glad I went back and shared the experience with my daughters. BO-KAAP WALKING TOUR We're at the foot of Signal Hill, at the edge the city centre; and we're about to go on a tour in what used to be known as the Malay Quarter. We're going to Bo-Kaap, one of Cape Town's most distinc

This episode is recorded in November, before the Coronavirus outbreak. Since then, Matt Kepnes has tested positive for COVID19 – but as he's telling on his blog, he's feeling better. - - - - - - - Matthew Kepnes is an American travel blogger, and among travel bloggers he's a rock star. He's a New York Times bestselling author and has been featured in the New York Times, CNN, National Geographic, Huffington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and BBC. Matt was born in Boston in '81 and growing up, he wasn't a big traveller. In fact, at 23, he had never left the United States. But in 2004, he took a trip to Costa Rica, and that experience changed his life. From that moment on, he was hooked on travel, and when he came back from a trip to Thailand the following year, he finished his MBA, quit his job, and began travelling the world full time and blogging about his experiences. In short, he became Nomadic Matt, and in 2008, he started NomadicMatt.com to record his stories and monetize his travelling. Now he built an empire around the Nomadic Matt brand. He runs an online blogging school called Superstar Blogging, where he offers online courses in blogging and also hosts other courses. He does guidebooks, he owns a hostel, and he created TravelCon – a conference for travel bloggers and content creators. Kepnes' first book, "How to Travel the World on $50 a Day: Travel Cheaper, Longer, Smarter", was published in 2013. That was one of the books I bought in the planning of my journey leading up to the day I left in July 2016. The first time I met him was a week into my journey when I was at a travel bloggers conference in Stockholm. Here I had him on the podcast (it's episode #18), and since then we've met a number of times. Including when he hosted his first TravelCon in Austin two years ago. He's still "Nomadic Matt" but his life a full-time traveller is over. At least for now. This is the topic for his new book, and since we both were in London for WTM, we decided to meet and catch up. LINKS: The Nomadic Network Nomadic Matt Check the list of Matt's books on Amazon. Sponsor Hotels25.com The Radio Vagabond is produced by RadioGuru. You can follow The Radio Vagabond on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Welcome to the second half of my visit to a child and youth care centre in Cape Town. If you haven't heard the first half, you should listen to that one first. And then you will know that Florian Kraemer, the CEO and founder of this place called Vulamasango is so passionate about caring for these kids. He goes out of his way to do what is right. He tells about a specific girl in the children's home and how far he went in her case. Her mother who was an alcoholic – and regularly he had to take her to the police station to sign papers. Like, when they take the children overseas on the tours they have to get the visas and the parents permission. He ended up adopting that child personally. In this episode, we go for a walk around the area and see how the kids live and get to hear some more mind-blowing South African statistics. And Florian tells me how he was highjacked and nearly killed in a township at some point. At the end of this episode, I check in with Florian again here in March 2020 to hear how they are coping with the Corona Virus in Vulamasango and hear Florian's thoughts on the situation in the poor townships. LINKS: Vulamasango Sponsor Hotels25.com The Radio Vagabond is produced by RadioGuru. See pictures on TheRadioVagabond.com You can follow The Radio Vagabond on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

We're in the Cape Flats – the township-areas around 25 km/15 miles south-east of what we know as the city of Cape Town. Here we meet the CEO and founder of Vulamasango, Florian Kraemer. This is a remarkable story that comes full circle, about a man that was saved by a young African boy when he was just a teenager himself. At that African boys ends up getting killed in an attack in the civil war in Congo the very next day. This was a turning point and Florian from Germany dedicated his life to helping African children. Changing lives and maybe even saving a few. In a few days, I will continue my walk around Vulamasango. He shows me where and how the kids live here and tells me how he ended up adopting a girl himself. We also talk about townships, teenage pregnancy, the aids problem, how he was highjacked and nearly killed … and much more. And then, I will do a follow-up with Florian. We will meet here in Cape Town to talk about how they are coping with the Corona outbreak right now – in March 2020. What are the consequences for this country, the orphanage, and especially the millions of people living in the townships, if this thing spreads even more? Enjoy this first half, and see you in a few days. LINKS: Vulamasango - Open Gates. Sponsor Hotels25.com The Radio Vagabond is produced by RadioGuru. See pictures on TheRadioVagabond.com You can follow The Radio Vagabond on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

In this episode, I speak with Jason Moore. He's an American living in Norway, who does a popular podcast called Zero to Travel. LINKS: Zero to Travel Zero to Travel on Facebook. Location Indie. Sponsor Hotels25.com The Radio Vagabond is produced by RadioGuru. See pictures on TheRadioVagabond.com You can follow The Radio Vagabond on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

It's Sunday, March 15th 2020. This is a special episode where we dive into the situation of the world right now. Both my own and the effect it has on my travelling friends around the world. How should I react to my government's recommendations? GÆSTER: Toti from Italian Trip Abroad. He's an Italian living in London. Nick and Margherita from The Crowded Planet. They are in Milan, Italy. Becky Gillespie from The School of Travels Podcast. She's an American in Japan. Torbjørn Pedersen from Once Upon A Saga. A Dane travelling to every country in the world without flying. He is stranded in Hong Kong. Bill Osei Akomea from Ghana. An attorney living in Berlin. He's also the co-founder of the organization Plight of the Child, caring for unprivileged children in Ghana. Monica Mzungu from Kenya. She's running the travel agency Scenery Adventures. Nadine, a French teacher from Mauritius that just travelled to China where she lives.

Today we're meeting Sean Tierney. I got to know him through Nomad Cruise and he's got an interesting story, that he's sharing with us today. After Nomad Cruise X we both ended up in Bali and got to hang out even more. He's also nomadic like me. Well, partly nomadic now. We started around the same time but he travels slower than me – hence the title "Sean Tierney is Slowmadic". He's also a podcaster. He does the Nomad Podcast – and actually I'm a guest on that one also today. Recently he quit his day job and went fulltime on an initiative called Charity Makeover, where he facilitates that people with different skills get together and find out ways to help local charities. This is really awesome and everything is something we will get into in this chat with my good friend Sean Tierney. CHARITY MAKEOVER Charity Makeover is a grassroots movement of doers around the world organizing hackathons to fundamentally change the game for local charities. Their website sums it up in a few lines what they do: "You have a unique gift. And it's the best charitable contribution you can make. Anyone can donate money to support a charity. What if instead you could work alongside other talented knowledge workers and contribute your unique skill set to help improve how that charity functions?" If you think this sounds interesting go to CharityMakeover.org and see how you can get involved. NOMAD PREP We didn't even get into this in the interview, but Sean also helps aspiring nomads take the leap with his Nomad Prep. LINKS CharityMakeover.org Watch Sean's keynote on Nomad Cruise X here. Subscribe to The Nomad Podcast or listen here. Nomad Prep. Remote Year Nomad Cruise – let me know if you want to go, I can get you a 100 € discount. Sponsor Hotels25.com The Radio Vagabond is produced by RadioGuru. See pictures on TheRadioVagabond.com You can follow The Radio Vagabond on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Welcome back to The Radio Vagabond and Cape Town and in this episode, we're going driving – chatting with Uber drivers. And then we're visiting the District Six Museum. THE UBER DRIVERS OF CAPE TOWN I've learned that some of the best people to talk about what it's like in a city are Uber drivers. So, in this episode, we will do just that. A lot of the Uber drivers here in Cape Town are from other countries. Three of the four, I speak with here, are from other countries: Congo, Malawi and first Philip from Rwanda. He has lived eight years here in Cape Town. A lot of people think that there is much crime in Cape Town, but Philip mentions that the low crime of the city of Cape Town is the best thing about living here. As long as you're in the city and not in the townships in the middle of the night. He also mentions that the police are friendly and willing to help you if you need it. "Also, it's a beautiful city with the mountain and the ocean," he says. My next driver calls himself Annes from Congo. He agrees with Philip that it's a peaceful place, but he's more talking about peaceful compared to where he's coming from. He wanted to get away from the civil war in Congo and came here as a refugee. It was not only the safety situation that made him flee to South Africa. It was also the fact that the civil war made it difficult to make money and a decent living. Here in Cape Town, it's better and since he came here he's got two kids. One is turning three today and one is only week old. So, while the party is taking place, he's out here driving to make money. EXPENSIVE RENT I also asked Philip from Rwanda if there's something bad about being here. He says that the worst about living here is the prices for accommodation. A simple one-bedroom apartment is 5000 R per month ($320, €290). To us, that might sound cheap, but compared to how little low-income families make, that is a lot, he says. POVERTY AND CRIME IN THE TOWNSHIPS My next driver is called, Facel and is born and raised in Cape Town. To him, the best thing about living here in The Mother City is the people. "Cape Town people are very relaxed", he says. "They are not as violent as Johannesburg people for instance. Generally, in Cape Town, the people are very kind towards each other – although there is a lot of crime in the local townships." He then goes on to tell me about the area I was about to visit. "We used to have a place called District Six, where everybody lived together. But because of the government, that tried to get segregation in motion by splitting up the people, they had to move out of town. And they were placed in various places in the outskirts of Cape Town. Because of that, they developed a lot of poverty and unemployment. And that has resulted in many youngsters have resorted to crime", he tells me. AUDI IN A POLO The last Uber, I get into in this episode is a Volkswagen Polo, but the driver's name is Audi. Yes, that is his real name, and Audi is from Malawi. He came here ten years ago, not only to make money. It was more to learn stuff, he tells me. Right now he is happy to live here, but his heart is still in Malawi and he expects to go back at some point. THE DARK HISTORY OF DISTRICT SIX District Six is a former inner-city residential area in Cape Town, South Africa. By the turn of the century, it was already a lively community. It was home to almost a tenth of the city of Cape Town's population After World War II, during the earlier part of the apartheid era, District Six was relatively cosmopolitan. It was a vibrant area with whites, blacks, colored living together. Many Jews, Hindus, Muslims. Portuguese, Indian, Chinese … you name it they were all here. According to one of the former residents, I spoke to it was one big happy family. They were the living proof that it can work living in peace side by side. And the apartheid regime didn't like that. At the District Six Museum, I was given a tour and was shown a picture of this vibrant part of Cape Town. Or rather two pictures of the same street – before and after. The before-picture was a vibrant street with a lot of smiling faces and the second picture was a sad wasteland. On February 11, 1966, the regime declared District Six a "whites-only area" and they started removing the people and leveling the area. They were moved to what was called the Cape Flatlands at least 20-30 kilometers outside of the city. At the time it was in the middle of nowhere and totally undeveloped. Not only did they get a lot longer transport to and from work, it also meant an extra cost for them without any increase in their pay. The people of color who owned their houses got an offer well below market value for their property. And if they refused to sell then they would take the property and give them what they thought it was worth – which was even less. Almost 70,000 of its inhabitants were forcibly removed during the next 10 years. They not only moved the people. They tore the communities apart and put

Recently I was in Dubai and heading to Kathmandu in Nepal. On the flight next to me was a young guy with one of the friendliest smiles I've seen in a long time. On the flight, we became instant friends and decided to hang out some more when we got to Kathmandu. That young guy was Robin from Germany. This is an interview episode and you do not want to miss this one, because Robin is a very different type of full-time traveler than most of us. And the way he travels has really inspired me a lot for my future adventures. Robin Ey Manni is 28 years old and has been traveling full-time for seven years. I also met Robin's Nepalese friend, A Jay. He is really a nice guy and Robin sees him as a friend for life and a second home. A Jay went out of his way to show us around and I'm still in contact with him. If you are going to Nepal, reach out to A Jay. He enjoys getting visits from travellers. He just bought his own tuk-tuk and will be able to take you around. He would be a great guide and you could pay him a bit so he can support his family. He's a proud man and probably will say that he doesn't want your money, so you might need to persuade him. He's called A Jay Uni on Instagram and Facebook. You can also reach him on WhatsApp on +977 981-4471341 Just tell him I sent you. You can follow Robin on Instagram as The_Life_of_Robinson. Soon there will be another episode from Cape Town. Here I talk with four different Uber drivers about what makes Cape Town special – and visit the District Six museum and tell you the story of a vibrant part of the city that got demolished by the apartheid regime in the 70's and still to this day is mostly an empty field. LINKS: Sponsor Hotels25.com The Radio Vagabond is produced by RadioGuru. ou can follow The Radio Vagabond on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.