About me

I am a Classical Archaeologist from Germany who loves travelling, good food, and being creative. A scholarship of the German Archaeological Institute has allowed me to travel from southern France to Tunisia by bike together with a colleague, before I was appointed lecturer and curator at the University of Heidelberg. The new job does not, however, prevent me from posting personal impressions and opinions on this blog, even if some colleagues and students might be following it. Thanks to my work I travel a lot, attend international conferences, and go on archaeological field trips. Whenever I can, I extend these visits to explore spaces on my own. So far I have lived in Heidelberg, Rome, Munich and Cambridge. I love Europe because it offers such a variety of mentalities, languages, and landscapes that there is still so much to explore for me, but archaeology leads me around the whole Mediterranean.

In my opinion, travelling does not only provide us with new experiences and make us capable of dealing with unexpected situations, language barriers, and possible sudden dangers. Insights into different societies also let us reflect and understand where we come from and what has influenced us. Travelling sensitises us for different cultural norms and moral values and the way these are expressed.

I am probably very German in a way: I hate when things do not work the way they were announced. I have a great respect for authorities and an awkward feeling about being on first-name terms with former teachers or total strangers. I love setting up to-do-lists, and I might be overly dutiful regarding time limits for my work. In this respect, I am reliably disciplined, but I also expect the same from others. As a very direct and pragmatic person, I love German because it is a very precise language. Since I do have quite some international friends and colleagues, however, I post in both German and in English (please forgive any mistakes).

My camera is always with me, and I like to capture moments of daily life and to turn banal things into beautiful pictures. This blog shows the view through my glasses (“durch die Brille”): It is usually being fed with photographs of my trips but also with some of my thoughts and opinions on things and people that matter to me; and it can serve to keep people updated about my latest activities, field trips, and current places of residence.

Enjoy, and feel free to like & share!