Angelika Mystical landscapes, imbued with a certain nostalgia, have a magical attraction for me. The southern states of the USA have a lot to offer in this regard. In Charleston and especially in Savannah, there are entire avenues of ancient oak trees that spread their branches wide, providing welcome shade. From the branches hangs the abundant Spanish moss, typical for this region, which gives the oaks a unique character. These oak trees are a special variety, called "Live Oak" in English, as they do not lose their leaves in the fall.

My favorite photographer, Sally Mann, has a beautiful photo book titled "Deep South." Sally Mann captures the mood of this historically rich landscape like no other, using old antique cameras for her project. Another book that ignited my desire to explore the southern states of the USA more closely is "Where the Crawdads Sing," in which the protagonist, Kya, lives alone in the swamp and marshland of the southern states (North Carolina). The landscape is formative for the girl, and I loved the passages describing how she glides through the marshland in her boat.

Of course, there's always the risk that the images in your mind don't match reality, but I have to say that I was not disappointed. The Okefenokee Swamp, located in Georgia near the Florida border, exceeded all our expectations. We saw trees rising out of the water, held in place by their unique root systems. Alligators peeked out from the water, and owls watched us warily from the treetops. In the swamp, we discovered vast, football field-sized areas of water lilies as far as the eye could see, along with other water plants we had never seen before. I wouldn't have been at all surprised if a dinosaur had suddenly appeared.

The swamp landscape can only be fully appreciated by exploring it by boat, which we naturally did. You can also rent kayaks and paddle through the swamp yourself, but for our first experience, we opted for a guided boat tour. The boats were small enough that we didn't feel like we were part of a mass tourism event. Our boat guide was a nice young man and a complete outdoor enthusiast. It soon became clear that he had spent his summer vacations in the Okefenokee Swamp as a child, since his grandfather was a ranger there.

His grandfather was completely captivated by the beauty and uniqueness of this landscape and passed on this enthusiasm to his grandson, who then decided as an adult to return from Chicago to the Okefenokee Swamp. The fact that this unique swamp landscape did not fall victim to the madness and greed of the lumber industry, or was even drained, is thanks to the foresight of President Roosevelt, who placed Okefenokee under protection in 1937.

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• More topics you might be interested in:

  	Fearlessly Riding In the Robotaxi
  	Angelika on Jury Duty
  	New Car: Cybertruck
  	Book Recommendation: King of the Hobos
  	Charleston and Savannah
  	Barrier Islands
  	Medjool Dates Mania
  	Top Product: Drawing Salve "Prid"
  	No Retention Permit Required to Keep German Citizenship