Gloomy day on the camino
The people in my room are early birds. Even though one stumbled in drunk last night, the alarm was set for 6.30am. Ok, she stumbled in at 9pm. But she was so drunk she couldn’t open the door and later fell out of her bed. I tried to ignore the…
Picking up the camino
During the pandemic I spontaneously started walking North from Lisbon. It had been a dream to walk a longer camino route and I was excited to have the time to do it. I met 2 other pilgrims along the way and besides that it was quiet, solitary. But I loved…
2 days in the Schlaubetal
I had a new tent and I was super keen to try it. So I planned an overnight hike in Brandenburg and invited some colleagues. We had a rough start and missed the train by 2 minutes. The tension was real, and so was the disappointed as the train left…
The waterfalls at the end of the world
The long Easter weekend was pretty windy in the Alps. Some days I got warned when taking the lift over to the other side of the resort: the connection might close later on if the wind picks up. From the other side of the mountain it would be a long…
Trekking from Sary Mogul
Sary Mogul is a small town in the South West of Kyrgyzstan, on the way to the Tajikistan border. Sary Mogul is a destination for people who’d like to experience a bit of local Kyrgyz life, rural life, or venture off into the mountains. For me it was the starting…
Yurt life in the Alay mountains
During my 11 days hiking in the Alay mountains I mostly stayed in yurts. I had no idea what to expect, so it was an amazing experience! A bunch of families throughout the mountains make some extra money by putting up yurts for hikers. It may not be as popular…
The start of a mountain adventure
After a night in Sary Mogul the adventure could begin. My hiking group was loaded into a tiny Lada and a space wagon and we drove out to the start of the hiking trail to the Sary Mogul Pass. For about an hour we drove deeper into the mountains, passing…
One day in the Pamir mountains
I still wasn’t sure if I had altitude sickness. For a couple of days I’d just been feeling kind of weird and weak. When we climbed I could hear my breathing inside my head as it seemed my ears blocked. I had some headaches and one night I had no…
3 days trekking to Ak Tor Pass
As part of my Kyrgyzstan trip I’d booked a private trip with a guide trekking through the Alay mountains. At 9am my guide Elaman picked me up from the hostel and after dropping off extra luggage and receiving a brief explanation of the trekking, we were on our way. I…
Following the Havel river
On a hot Sunday I invited the hiking group from work to explore the Havelhöhenweg. I had some vague information about the route and had estimated we’d walk for 10 to 12 km. I figured we’d walk along the Havel river, so you couldn’t really get lost. We gathered at…