On foot or by plane? On your own or with a tour? What are we actually looking for when we visit foreign countries? What new things do we want to discover, how much of ourselves are we willing to change, what are we ready to give up? The German writer Ilija Trojanow lived on four continents and traveled to over a hundred countries. Based on his experiences, he writes about the meaning and benefit of travel, while in his text he combines a well-founded discussion of the history of travel with funny stories from his own travels. In twelve chapters, he reflects on what is the essence of travel, how trips to foreign countries can (but may not) change our view of the world, and how mass tourism is wrongly understood as travel. Why are book tour guides harmful? Why is it sometimes better to travel alone? Why should one not prepare for a trip in advance? Join the author on an exciting, fun and educational journey! The volume is part of the Gebrauchsanweisungen (Instructions for Use) series by the Munich-based publisher Piper, which aims to publish unconventional and entertaining tourist guides. The author of each guide is a prominent person in the field of literature, culture or journalism. The first volume was published in 1978, and the entire edition has since grown to almost 120 titles. While most volumes in this series focus on one specific country, city or region, this book is unique in that its subject is an entire phenomenon.