CRIScom travel experience flow – The personal website of Christoph Potzinger

On Saturay, shortly before midnight, we set foot on Indian soil after an eight hours flight from Vienna . An ancient looking taxi driver in an even more ancient looking taxi, which can be considered quite an achievement, brought us to our hotel. The trip was a first taste of what we should experience in the next days on the street of Bombay .
Well, officially Bombay is now called Mumbai as all cities seem to have at least two names. This, of course, makes things intricate for the foreign traveller and adds to the confusion and chaos that emanates from the streets and by-walk in this bee-hive of a city. (more…)

The waiting is finally coming to an end
. The fact that our beloved Gwendoline has just left with Sylvia to her holiday location at Christa’s and Ulla’s castle in Kumber has made me aware that on Saturday Sylvia and I are departing to India .
Sitting here in my office, surrounded by heaps of books, sheets of paper filled with notes and mind maps which serve as a preparation for tomorrow’s seminar, the thought of finding myself in a completely new world on Saturday seems like a distant dream.
I have been working virtually non-stop ever since the beginning of October and although I could continue this working streak, I am more than ready for a break.
Our flight will take us to Bombay, which we have chosen as our starting point for an extensive excursion through India’s South. We will travel by train and are also considering hiring a driver. We are destined South, already flirting rigorously with Goa with its supposedly dreamy beaches, perfect to relax and take it easy. Further on the journey will go to the State of Kerala, its backwaters and Fort Cochin .
Since I haven’t found much time for making a travel plan, we will sort things out on the go. Because of tomorrow’s seminar (which ends at 10 pm) no sooner than Saturday morning I will have time to consult our travel book.
Writing these lines, it becomes apparent to me that I lack an idea of what to expect or what will await us in this vast and diverse country . I am prepared for a challenging experience, though, one which won’t be forgotten for a long time.
Check out this site in the next couple of days. Whenever possible I will post about our journey.

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I am sure most of you know it by now: Sylvia and I are getting married in June this year. We met in January 2005 and – both being lovers of South Eastern culture – we soon made the decision to explore one of South East Asia’s countries. We chose Vietnam for our destination and embarked on a three week journey from North to South, starting in authentic Ha Noi and finishing in modern Sai Gon. We backpacked, saved money on accomodation, sleeping in adventurous ‘hotels’, encountering rats in and out of houses, got a taste of communist mentality when we tried to fly out of rainy Nah Trang, sipped cocktails in Sai Gon and slept in Graham Greene’s favourite hotel. As a whole, it was a great journey, one which we will remember forever for its unique experiences, the beauty of the country and as a first test for our relationship. After all, our time in Vietnam was proof for us that as a couple we could have a wonderful life and would be able to tackle its challenges

. It was a great journey and a great beginning for our relationship
. I have put a gallery online with some shots from our trip. Click here to view it…

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It was a difficult match we had just finished. We had lost 4-6 after a fiery match and, even worse, three of our players had been injured. Franz, our goalkeeper, had broken his finger, Sepp torn his muscle badly, and Horst, worst of all, had broken his colarbone. It was hot when I entered the changing rooms and the over-blown emotion was still there. You could feel it on your skin. Heated discussions were going on and the atmosphere was aggressive. After having shed my boots, I headed for the shower to cool myself off and get a little distance between myself and the heat of the previous match. It is like shifting a gear: when I enter the pitch, I am in soccer-mode. I cannot escape it; it has been installed over so many years of ambition, competition and struggle on the pitch. Sometimes it scares me. Still I see my games with the Ex-socs as a way of coming to terms with this over-the-tops soccer-mode. It is getting better gradually. What helps a lot is that we do not play for points any more, that we do not participate in a league with other teams. It’s just friendlys we play and most of all it is about meeting each other, playing a game and enjoying a few beers afterwards. Since at that time our team had seen a development towards a more agressive and ambitious stance, which, as it were, took its toll, I felt that it was time to introduce, yet again, a more social and laid-back approach. I hadn’t planned it, it was just following an instinct. “What about going to Amsterdam for a friendly there?“ I shouted into the room. No reaction. “Hey, listen, I know two guys there who play in a team the strength of ours. I could arrange a match. And Amsterdam is a superb city.“ Some began to cock their ears and started to ask question. (more…)

On my departure from Australia on February 1, 2004, I had promised John and Simone, more jokingly than not I have to admit, to meet them in two years in Bali. After my return home to Austria in May that same year I was caught by the torrents of neglected issues. Reality hit me mercilessly right into my face
. Never having imagined the struggles I would have to face, I had to invest a lot of emotional and physical energy to get my feet back on the ground. This took a lot of time and finally as 2004 was drawing to its close, a thin line of light was appearing on the horizon of my life. (more…)