The Diary Of A Travel Blogger From Russia To Rwanda

Max Leyerer is aiming to travel to every single country in the world by the time he is 33. Leaving his hometown of Vienna, Austria, he shares his experiences over at Max Around The Globe, and in our travel blogger series, he tells us of some of his most memorable times on his travels.

Name: Max Leyerer
Current Location: Vienna
Occupation: Bartender/Student

Best place you’ve been to this year: This has to be L’Aiguille du Midi. I drove through the French Alps and arrived in Chamonix, a picturesque mountain town located at the foot of the highest mountain in Europe, Mont Blanc. The absolutely best thing to do there is inhaling the exhilarating views up at L’Aiguille du Midi. You take the highest cable car in the world for 20+ minutes up to more than 3800m and there you get off. Be prepared for less oxygen. L’Aiguille du Midi offers four different viewing platforms where you can see as far as Italy. The platforms are at different angles and the whole establishment itself is a masterpiece of structure work, as there is literally nothing else at this height. On one of the platforms you feel very close to the summit of Mont Blanc and the views are out of this world!

Best cold place you’ve ever been to: I flew to Russia with my younger brother a couple of months ago and we spent some utterly cold days in St. Petersburg. The Russian winter is an experience in itself. It has been so cold, that parts of the Newa River were frozen. Therefore we walked a bit on the frozen river in front of the Eremitage. Probably not the smartest and safest idea, but we have some cool pictures now.

Best beach you’ve laid on: I’ve been to many beautiful white beaches with turquoise water around the world. But the one that always stands out a little brighter is Flamenco Beach. It is a large inhabited beach on Culebra Island, belonging to Puerto Rico. I can vividly remember the sheer beauty of this beach. Other-worldly!

Most dangerous place you’ve been to: I guess I haven’t been to a really dangerous place yet. Usually, while travelling I happen to end up in some sort of sketchy place, but that’s it. From all those places I’ve been to, the Congolese Border has to be the most dangerous one. I was backpacking through East Africa with a friend and after a whirlwind tour around Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda we were in Gisenyi at Lake Kivu in Rwanda. We wanted to do a day trip to the infamous border town of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We walked about 3km to the Rwandan-Congolese Border, where the authorities decided to charge us €250 for a day visa. When we refused to pay this ridiculous amount, we were denied entry.

A place you’re yet to discover: AUSTRALIA! It is the only continent I haven’t been to and I’m dying to go there. I booked flights for late summer and will be spending an entire month down under. Can’t wait! Plus, 2015 will be the first year, where I’ll set foot on all six inhabited continents within one year. Just another step towards my dream and plan – to visit all 196 countries in the world!

Follow Max’s adventures at maxaroundtheglobe and keep up with us on Instagram at bbmlivesocial.