This year, International Women’s Day (March 8) fell on a Monday, which was excellent because Berlin celebrates it as a public holiday. Berlin is, believe it or not, the only state in Germany that stipulates Women’s Day as a bank holiday. Then again, it’s also the state with the lowest number of public holidays in […]
I was just listening to my daily dose of Czech podcast this morning as the host quoted one of the greatest Czech athletes of all time, Emil Zátopek. Když nemůžeš, tak přidej. – Emil Zátopek In English, the quote means “When you can’t (take it anymore), press on”. Such a simple piece of advice, yet […]
Coming from a tropical country, I didn’t know much about trees that typically grow in European forests. Heck, I don’t even know much about trees that are commonly found in rainforests, because I grew up in a city and never bothered to learn about them (embarrassing I know, considering that my father used to work […]
Happy (belated) New Year! Five days into 2021, how are you liking the year so far? To be frank, I haven’t felt much difference from 2020 mainly because of the shutdown/lockdown situation, which is looking pretty grim at the moment in Europe, with no real end in sight. On the other hand, I’m grateful that […]
Along Germany’s southeast international border with the Czech Republic lies the Ore Mountains/Vogtland Nature Park (Naturpark Erzgebirge/Vogtland in German). At 120 km long, it’s apparently the longest nature park in Germany. The region is especially popular for winter sports, but it’s ideal for hiking too. The landscape you see here evolved through 800 years of […]
An einem Sommermorgen Da nimm den Wanderstab, Es fallen deine Sorgen Wie Nebel von dir ab. Theodor Fontane (1819-1898) After summer is over, Sunday mornings become a critical point for me: if someone or some event doesn’t drag me out of bed by 10 AM, lethargy would swoop in and I usually resign into being […]
After three days on the bike (see my Via Claudia Augusta Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 posts), we arrived in Imst, Austria. With our hotel located at 1,000 m altitude and surrounded by beautiful Alps mountains, J thought it would be a waste not to stay an extra day to explore the hiking […]
To start off my birthday (hint: it’s not today), I thought it would be a great idea to start the day actively. So I got up at 7:30, put on my leggings and sneakers, and met Michelle of the Berlin Hiking and Outdoor Adventure Group in Gesundbrunnen. We then hopped on a train to Oranienburg […]