Just over 20 years ago the Rwandan genocide took place and yet the country seemed to me to be the most organized and cleanest country in Africa. The atmosphere on the sleepy streets of Kigali, which wind their way up the green hills of the city, seemed somewhat bizarre and surreal. A country with a violent history, great ambitions and concealed contradictions.

If you travel to Togo as a German, you can be assured that you will often explain where that is. The country is hardly known in Germany - despite 32 years of colonial occupation. Although Togo is hardly bigger than Lower Saxony, it has a lot to offer. Here is a list of things I would have liked to have known before I got there.