(1): Maya Angelou’s return ticket to Ghana
At the beginning of the 1960s, Maya Angelou spent two years in Ghana – a stay that shocked her deeply. The African-American writer and civil rights activist, who was born in 1928 in the US state of Missouri and grew up in Arkansas, had previously worked as a dancer, calypso singer and actress. In “I Know a Place Far Away from Here,” a volume of her autobiography, Maya Angelou tells of the search for identity of African-American people of her generation: torn between the racially segregated United States and an African continent they have never known.
(2): Canada: Traveling with the ice canoe
In winter, the frozen water of the St. Lawrence River piles up to form huge areas of ice. The people of Quebec have learned to overcome this challenge of nature – with fragile ice canoes. The indigenous Hurons already used these canoes for their crossings. The Europeans copied them and turned the canoes into the “Canadian automobile”. In the 19th century, the canoeists who were essential to the colonization of the region were gradually replaced by steamboats. Nevertheless, the ice canoe is still considered an identity-forming heritage in Quebec today.
(3): Austria: Elkes beef with potatoes
In Salzburg, Elke fries beef schnitzel and prepares vegetables, which she then purees with the meat juice. The whole thing is served with potato dumplings and a dollop of cranberry jam for a sweet touch.
(4): Paris: A mysterious Russian princess
Amidst the busy streets and wide avenues of Paris, Père-Lachaise Cemetery looks like a mysterious, silent city within the city. For over 200 years, new legends have been spun around the famous deceased. One of them went around the world – that of a rich heiress who placed a strange advertisement in the newspaper… (Text: arte)
