Our journeys

From a hot air balloon to a sail boat; from scorching heat to icy extremes

Coordinates are much more than just numbers that mark a specific point on earth. They are code for wanderlust and adventure and stand for fascinating places, captivating stories and magical moments. Explore the world over the next twelve months with “Coordinates. A Serious Case of Travelling” and the Lufthansa Aluminium Collection – a blog dedicated to intriguing travel stories.

USA – Showdown in the desert

Welcome to the most film-worthy place on Earth. The greatest storyteller the world has ever seen.

How the American West became a dazzling stage

Rumbling engines, hot desert, endless stretches of road. Nowhere is the American Dream as big and American as here. The Southwest is the queen of backdrops, the mother of all clichés. A drive through Earth’s most film-worthy landscape where the boundaries between reality and illusion blur.
Discover the USA story

London – The world is a sphere

More than any other object, globes have fuelled our desire to travel, have encouraged us to set off for distant shores ourselves.

All-round success:
The Earth as an artisanal masterpiece

The explorers departed from the River Thames, traversed oceans and made their way to India and Africa. London became known as the capital of travel. What remains to this day is the city’s enthusiasm for the world and a knack for manufacturing exquisite globes.
Discover the London story

India – Queen Coconut

Coconuts are not easy to reach. To harvest them, you have to climb the tree.

The star of South Sea fantasies is an age-old globetrotter

The coconut conjures visions of distant shores, snow-white beaches and blue lagoons. It’s also an economic resource and tastes incredibly good. Sometimes, though, Queen Coconut just lets herself drop, rolls into the water and embarks on a voyage across the sea.
Discover the India story

Sardinia – An ancient American and the wind

The boat wings over the frothy waves at a speed of seven knots. True sailing bliss.

Weigh anchor and cast off:
Sailing the blue Mediterranean Sea

Open sea, alabaster beaches, blue grottos. What could be more beautiful than the Mediterranean? But a visit to Sardinia on an old, well-travelled sailing yacht is a next-level experience. Amidst the crooning of the lines and the thrumming of the shrouds, you’ll discover beauty where you never thought to look.
Discover the Sardinia story

Namibia – Oscar Lima India: An airman named Oli

Namibia is called the ‘Land of Open Spaces’. You don’t have to fly very far to understand why.

The call of the desert:
And an unconventional career move

A man, a flying machine and a manoeuvre you won’t read about in any book. One day, Oliver Braun packed up his things in Germany and started a new life. The print salesman from Bad Homburg became an African bush pilot who flies safari tourists across the oldest desert regions in the world. Meet airman Oli.
Discover the Namibia story

Switzerland – Way out there

Is there a second Earth? Do planets exist out there that have an atmosphere?

Flying high in Switzerland:
A journey into space

The Swiss aren’t only good at making cheese, cowbells and expensive watches. From Bern to Geneva, they’re developing instruments that search for life on distant moons. But that’s not all: high up in the Swiss Alps, astronomers are peering into the universe to discover the origins of space and time.
Discover the Switzerland story

Thailand – A Deafening Plea for Rain

Incense burns, candles are lit. A quiet moment of contemplation before the rockets set off for the realm of the gods.

Rockets for the gods:
Thailand celebrates with a bang!

Shortly before the monsoon starts, people in Isan turn their eyes to the sky, hoping the heavens will send rain to northern Thailand. To increase the odds and ensure a good harvest, they fire rockets up to the gods.
Discover the Thailand story

Svalbard – Turn of the Tide in the Arctic Ocean

The Wild West was one thing. The Wild North is something completely different.

Research and innovation:
Change is underway in the Arctic

The realm of polar bears and whales begins north of the 66th parallel. From Svalbard, early explorers set off into the icy wilderness. But this remote corner of the world is changing. Researchers, free thinkers and nonconformists converge on a territory being shaped by a new way of thinking.
Discover the Svalbard story

Kenya – The mzungu from East Frisia

It’s about water, food, education. That’s why Fokko Doyen is here. To help.

Devoted to Africa:
Pilot Fokko Doyen doesn’t talk – he acts!

A boy grows up on a remote farm, goes to sea, becomes a pilot and flies around the world. Fleet manager Fokko Doyen builds his own story. It takes us to Africa, has to do with travel and the wonderful things that seeing the world can achieve.
Discover the Kenya story

Isola di San Pietro – Italy’s most captivating island

Vibrant, ancient, authentic, and surrounded by the sea. San Pietro Island is very far away from the rest of the world.

Isola di San Pietro:
all roads lead to the sea

There it lies in the sea, south-west of Sardinia. An island off an island – ancient, authentic and just a little bit old-fashioned. Famous people sometimes stop here, but that doesn’t matter, they don’t play an important role. What matters on Isola di San Pietro are the marinai, the tuna and the taste of the sea.
Discover the Isola di San Pietro story

Rio de Janeiro – The Sound of Brazil

The music was outrageous. Warm and soft like the sea on our doorstep.

Rio and its magical music:
The birthplace of bossa nova

Bossa nova – the sweetest temptation since the invention of music – was born in the centre of Rio. Emanating from three small pubs, the velvety tunes, among them the immortal ‘Girl from Ipanema’, took the world by storm. A return to the roots in Copacabana, where the guitars never sleep.
Discover the Rio de Janeiro story

Alps – Crossing the Mountains in a Basket

An elevating experience:
See the Alps from a hot-air balloon

Mountain high: Sailing over the Alps in the oldest craft in aviation history changes the way you look at the world. Welcome aboard a hot-air balloon!
Discover the Alps story
Hot air balloon floating over the Alps
Hot air balloon floating over the Alps

An elevating experience:
See the Alps from a hot-air balloon

Mountain high: Sailing over the Alps in the oldest craft in aviation history changes the way you look at the world. Welcome aboard a hot-air balloon!
Discover the Alps story
Space stretches endlessly in all directions. A white hallucination. What’s there to say? Right now, there’s just breathless amazement.
Headphones lying on a suitcase

A listening experience:
Unabridged versions of all of our stories.

Immerse yourself in other worlds: Enjoy our exciting stories and adventures uncut in full length. Read by the author himself!
Listen to podcast on Spotify
Listen to podcast on Apple Music
Marc Bielefeld
Marc Bielefeld
Author
From a balloon to the desert, out to sea, into the ice: in twelve captivating reports and podcasts, the author describes fascinating places around the world and encounters with remarkable people.
marcbielefeld.de
Jens Görlich
Jens Görlich
Photographer
Great moments, peaceful bliss, poignant scenes: the photographer from Frankfurt always has his camera ready to capture what words can’t express.
jens-goerlich.de
Lufthansa Aluminium Collection
Lufthansa
Aluminium Collection
Travel companion
The trusty case goes along on every adventure: it travels by hot air balloon, rides on a dog sledge and attends a rocket launch – bringing home an exciting experience every time.
worldshop.eu/alu

Discover the world with us

Discover the world with us
Lufthansa Aluminium Collection in front of balloon basket

Always at your side: a companion with no destination too remote

Designed with the spirit of travel in mind, this case – the ultimate symbol of travel – is always packed full of inspiration, longing and the urge to set off. Let’s go!
To the Lufthansa Aluminium Collection