Nina Sedano has traveled to all 193 UN countries in the world. This makes her the most well-traveled woman in Germany.She has recordedher travel experiences in her book Die Ländersammlerin (TheCountry Collector), which made it onto the Spiegel bestseller list.
Now she's on the road again, and I'm delighted that she has entrusted inventia, her trusted travel agency, with booking her trip. Last week, I finalized her travel documents. A sure sign that she'll be setting off soon. On Tuesday, to be precise. Yay! Nina is already excited, and I'm excited for her and with her.
At the beginning, I suggested various cruises and expeditions to Nina. The first step was to find out exactly how she wanted to travel to Antarctica. There is a world of difference between a luxury cruise and a hardcore expedition with tent camps and multi-day ski tours. Especially for Antarctica, it is important to know in advance what to expect. If you are more active, athletic, and nature-loving, a comfortable expedition ship is more suitable for you than a luxurious motor yacht. If you don't want to miss out on gourmet dinners and champagne in Antarctica, one of the small cruise ships is recommended.
Nina Sedano did everything right. As an experienced traveler, she knows that she will most likely not be returning to the southern end of our wonderful world anytime soon. That's why she opted for the 19-dayGreat Antarctic Journeyonthe MV Placius, an expedition ship that tours the Arctic (during our summer) and the Antarctic (during our winter = the Antarctic summer) all year round.
The routing of an Antarctic voyage also plays an important role: most trips to Antarctica start in Ushuaia, the Argentine part of Tierra del Fuego. The Antarctic Peninsula itself is the star attraction of an Antarctic expedition (apart from the South Pole, which can only be reached by plane (South Pole inquiries to welcome@inventia.de)).
Nina first travels to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world on the Argentine part of Tierra del Fuego. From there, the journey continues on the MV Plancius to the Falkland Islands. The archipelago has been British territory since the famous war in 1982, and during her visit to the capital Port Stanley, she will gain an insight into the inhospitable life of the Falkland Islanders while visiting pubs and museums.
The visit to South Georgia is another highlight of the trip. The famous polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton is buried here, and in addition to visiting his grave, Nina may also have the opportunity to follow in his footsteps to Stromness Bay.
In the South Orkney Islands, she will visit the Argentine research station "Orcadas" before finally heading through the Weddell Sea towards the Antarctic Peninsula and back to Ushuaia.
A magnificent experience lies ahead of her.
The next season for Antarctic voyages begins in November
March is coming soon – and with it the end of the season for expeditions and cruises to Antarctica. At least for the current season. When it is winter here, it is summer in the southern hemisphere. When spring arrives here – and with it autumn in Antarctica – it becomes completely inhospitable there. The ice masses thicken and expedition ships often find it impossible to pass through.
From mid/late March, the expedition ships set sail for the northern hemisphere and cruise around Spitsbergen, Greenland, Iceland, and Alaska in the Arctic during the summer.
But the next Antarctic season is sure to come. Starting in November, the next great expeditions and cruises to the southern end of the world will take place again , and Nina's Great Antarctic Journey will be among them.
More from the country collector
In her book "Die Ländersammlerin" (The Country Collector), Nina Sedano recounts her grand journey around the world. Her travelogue made it onto the Spiegel bestseller list and is available in all well-stocked bookstores and here:
They know each other. Among the hunters of the magical 193, where 193 stands for the number of official UN states.
Lee Abbamonte For example, is the youngest American to have visited all 193 countries. In his book Chasing 193 – The Quest to visit every country in the world Nina is already mentioned in fourth place. She is the only woman among 33 men interviewed. Traveling can also be athletic :-). Congratulations, dear Nina.
On Travelbook, she reveals her three favorite travel destinations in the world. Three destinations that also rank very highly at inventia .
Happy ending: The world's quiet little places. News from the country collector.
In the meantime, the country collector has added to her collection, and the title of her second book really made me laugh. When I was still touring the world as a tour guide with travel groups, the topic of "toilets" was a daily – almost hourly – issue. Across countries. No matter where we were, everyone has to "go" at some point. You wouldn't believe where the toilets are clean and where they're not. There can be some surprises.
There were also surprises when my male fellow travelers wanted to save the equivalent of 20 cents (!!) for the toilet and urinated "in the wild" right next to it. The fly was barely closed when the Russian police came rushing over with blue lights flashing. The entire tour group was taken to the police station in Smolensk (just across the Belarusian border), where the officers demanded 500 euros from the gentlemen for this "cost-saving" measure. It's hard to believe, but my guests refused, talking about extortion, rip-offs, and saying that you couldn't do that to good tourists from Germany who had paid a lot of money for the trip (yes, that's what the 20-cent savers said). The Russian officials remained unimpressed and wanted to take the wild urinators into custody until they paid up.
The other travelers were now extremely annoyed (not to say "pissed off" (sorry!)). Our 17-day Russia program was tightly organized, and the discussions were costing us valuable time. Unfortunately, I had to give the gentlemen a choice: pay up or stay here.
Finally, they realized that public urination in Russia would cost them their status as "good German tourists." The schadenfreude of their fellow passengers and the shame of their wives also helped. After two hours of waiting and arguing, they finally paid. And no, there was no receipt. The moral of the story: it's not worth skimping in the wrong place.
Even though this (my) story is missing from Nina's book, Nina's stories and anecdotes about toilet culture around the world are extremely worth reading! As mundane as the topic may sound, the book will surprise and enrich you. And make you laugh out loud a few times.
But for now, I'm looking forward to Nina's report on Antarctica and hope that I'll be able to report on it here again.
Yours, Stephanie Gräf
