London calling, one last time
One last time, ein langes Wochenende in London. Mit kulinarischen und kulturellen Highlights. Die beste Reisebegleitung hatte sehr gut organisiert und es gab Christmas Lights at Kew Gardens, Fawlty Towers at the Apollo und Mad Hatter High Tea at the Sanderson Hotel. Lovely dinners at Sael and Mallow and Mali vegan Thai, plus great breakfasts…
Cross country skiing paradise
Celerina is not just great for hiking, but also a good base for cross-country skiing aka ‚Langlauf‘. I used to cross country ski as a kid, but that was many thousand years ago. So I treated myself to private lesson at Langlaufschule Celerina to re-learn basic technique – and then enjoyed the beautiful setting of…
Morteratsch Gletscher, Berninafälle, Pontresina, Stazerwald
Holy shit! Just when you think it can’t get any better, you turn a corner and see that massive Glacier range, illuminated by the first rays of sunlight, in the foreground a frozen forest and semifrozen river. Fucking beautiful! 🙂 Took the bus to „Morteratsch Abzweigung“ and walked down to Morteratsch station – do this…
Winterspaß galore: Celerina – Samedan – Bever – Spinas und zurück
Zweite Etappe. Während es gestern noch ab und zu ein paar Wolken gab, ist seit Mittwoch komplett blauer Himmel, strahlende Sonne. Besser geht es nicht mehr. Morgens losgelaufen und schon nach fünf Minuten ein erstes Highlight, der „dampfende“ Inn. Die ersten Sonnenstrahlen treffen auf das eiskalte Wasser, wunderschön, die Bilder bringen die tolle Atmosphäre leider…
The new normal?
2024 was the first year since covid hit that I went to more than a few concerts. I have to say it’s not the same anymore. I’m still wearing a mask when surrounded by lots of people for longer periods of time (trains, airplanes, concerts…) and it’s stressful in a sticky, sweaty concert location. Definitely…
Winterwandern im Oberengadin
Oberengadin. Celerina. Back again. Same place, same hotel (Hotelino Petit Chalet), because why change if things are perfect?! Again, a super relaxed and punctual travel … Swiss from BER to ZRH, then via SBB and RhB to Celerina. Everything just works, even my luggage arrived relatively quickly and undamaged. Got settled into my room and…
Spenden gegen Hass und Dummheit
It’s always during December when I review my finances and decide how much to donate to whom. I’ve done a lot of research over the years / decades to find projects that I consider relevant and impactful. And that meet my other criteria, like not being esoteric dickheads, wasting money on excessive bureaucracy, lacking transparency,…
Beautiful foggy day
Der letzte Tag meines Kurztrips ins Oberengadin war eher „so-so“ vom Wetter her. Viel Niederschlag und teils ordentlich Wind und Nebel war angekündigt, also war klar, dass ich eher unten im Tal bleiben würde, weil sonst wenig Spaß und potenziell gefährlich auch. Zum Glück gibt es auch im „Flachland“ ausreichend Wanderwege, die bei nicht so…
Frogs! Frogs! Frogs!
Hard to top yesterday’s hike, that combination of mental and physical exercise and breathtaking views is very rare. But the hike from Pontresina via Fuorcla Surlej to Murtél didn’t disappoint! Fortunately the snow had receded a bit so the pass was mostly clear, super easy to walk and navigate. The first stretch from Pontresina station…
Eye of the Beholder
This was likely the best dayhike I’ve ever done! No kidding. Also serves as a perfect example how conditions can modify difficulty ratings. This route is classified as T2 (Swiss / SAC Classification). So relatively easy-peasy. (Note that this refers to technical difficulty, not to endurance or other factors. A T2 route can be extremely…