Franconian Kreuzberg and the ruins of Osterburg

In January, following our tradition of exploring the hills, we set off for our first hiking outing in  Lower Franconia, the region of Bavaria in which Würzburg is situated. A quick search on Komoot showed us that there are a lot of interesting hikes within about a 60-90 minutes radius of Würzburg. For our first trip, Kreuzberg got the nod because 1) it has a monastery with a brewery (Husband’s Choice) 2) it has the same name as a Berlin suburb and we were curious to see “the other Kreuzberg” and 3) it is the highest of the Rhön mountains (928m) in the Bavaria, and is known as “The Sacred Mountain of the Franconians”. Continue reading

9 Differences between hiking in the Alps and in the Cape

Before I came to Germany, I used to spend a lot of time hiking in the Cape mountains in South Africa. Although I’ve been living in a flat part of Germany, I still travel to the mountains every now and then to satisfy my hiking cravings. I love hiking in both places, but I was interested to notice that the hiking experience is a little different in the two places. It made me realize there are many kinds of mountains, and many kinds of hikes.

These are the differences I’ve observed: Continue reading

3 more hikes in and around the Chiemgau region, Bavaria

The region of Chiemgau in Bavaria is in the foothills of the Alps, and its hilly landscape was formed during the ice age. Last year we travelled there for hiking and walked in the mountains on both sides of the German and Austrian border, heading up to Kampfenwand, Wilde Kaiser, Wandberg and the Blumen Weg next to Wildseelodersee. This year we returned and visited Lochner Horn, Brennkopf, Klausenberg, Sonnwendwand, as well as the beautiful lake Chiemsee. We still didn’t manage to get to do two of the iconic hikes in the area, up to the Geigelstein and Spitzstein, but it’s always good to leave something for another day.

Continue reading

Hiking in the Bavarian and Austrian Alps

As winter approaches, we think of the Alps because of snow and skiing, but in summer it’s another world all together. A world of meadows, flowers and cows with bells, like a scene out of Heidi or The Sound of Music. One of my biggest wishes when moving to Europe was to go hiking in the Alps, and in my fifth summer here we finally made it there in summer. (Fifth summer! I had to count this on my fingers a few times. Has the time really disappeared so quickly?).

We went with a friend to Bavaria in the late days of spring heading towards summer, for four days of hiking in the Alps. The weather was great, four days of sun. We stayed in a little town called Aschau, near the Austrian border. There are hikes leaving directly from the town and many more accessible nearby, especially if you cross the border into Austria. Continue reading

Outdoor adventures

So you love the great outdoors? Here are some of the blog posts I’ve written about nature, hiking, biking, swimming, skiing and other sports.

Hiking

Table Mountain

IMG_20150228_223223

The Disa hunters: exploring the top of Table Mountain

 

The Bavarian and Austrian Alps

 

Bavaria, the Chiemgau region 

 

Multi-day trail in Namib-Naukluft national park

531749_10151102421022392_625381164_n

The Thomas Tucker Shipwreck Trail, Cape Point

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

Battle of the Seelow Heights and a walk near the Oder river

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

Sächisches Schweiz

DSC00115

 Hiking in České Švýcarsko/Czech Switzerland

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

Hiking in Svaneti, Georgia

Snow hiking in the Harz mountains

Two late-winter hikes in Brandenburg

 

Cycling

Naturpark Barnim in autumn

12190810_10153731994997392_8538635986800222097_n

An introduction to city biking

IMG_20150621_215910small

My Bicycle

DSC06766

Brandenburg bike rides: Fürstenberg/Havel to Templin

Brandenburg bike rides: Potsdam to Brandenburg an der Havel

Saale river bicycle trail

Biking in the Moravian winelands of Czechia

Cycling from Berlin to Poland in 1 Day

The Spree cycle trail (Spreeradweg)

The last stage of the Spree cycle trail (Spreeradweg)

 

The Elbe cycle trail (Elberadweg) – Magdeburg to Havelberg

Cycling from Havelberg to Waren (Müritz)

 

Watersports

Lakes of Berlin

941270_10151769977952392_1425697064_n

Watersports and beaches at Müggelsee

IMG_20150802_150115

Kayaking at Müggelsee/ Neu Venedig

IMG_20150802_163411

Canoeing in the Rheinsberg lake area /Müritz National Park

IMG_20150808_101713

Camping and canoeing on the River Havel: Fürstenberg to Burgwall

Canoeing on the Spree river: Hangelsberg to Erkner

Canoeing on the Havel river: Pritzerbe to Hohennauener See via Rathenow

 

Skiing

Cross country skiing in the Harz mountains

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Les Diablerets, Switzerland

IMG_20160205_150028

More cross country skiing adventures in the Harz mountains

Cross-country skiing in the Czech Republic: Hejnice/Smědava

 

Snow sports in the Czech Republic: Bedřîchov

 

Cross country skiing in the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains)

 

Nature

Namaqualand

10401058_144613797391_6426609_n

March – Wildlife in the Garden

11760254_10153520246307392_8063086378746383014_n

Notes from the Czech countryside – June, the red month

Battle of the Seelow Heights and a walk near the Oder river

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

Approximately 90km from Berlin lies the Seelow Heights, where the last major defensive line outside of Berlin was situated towards the end of World War II. This area of countryside, woods and villages lies near today’s border of Germany and Poland, near the Oder and Neisse rivers. From the 16-19 April 1945, a battle was fought for passage to Berlin between 1 million Soviet soldiers of the 1st Belorussian front and 110 000 German soldiers. Between 20 000 -70 000 Soviet soldiers (according to different sources) and 12 000 German soldiers were killed, and victory was taken by the Soviets, leaving the road to Berlin open from the 19th April. By the 23rd April, Berlin was surrounded and the final Battle of Berlin began. It is estimated that more than 1 million German soldiers were killed as well as 100 000 civilians and 300 000 Soviet soldiers, and that approximately 100 000 women were raped. Within 2 weeks, Berlin was taken, Hitler committed suicide and World War II had come to an end. Continue reading

The Thomas T Tucker Shipwreck trail – after the fire

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

Last time I was in Cape Town, fires were ravaging the mountains. It was early March, and for days the blaze continued, spurred on by strong winds and dry vegetation. Fynbos, the indigenous vegetation in the Cape, requires fire every 15 years or so as part of its life cycle (smoke causes many seeds to germinate, and fires clear away old and dead plants), but the extent of the fires was large this year and it was sad to see the mountain burning.

At the end of August I returned to Cape Town again and went walking with a friend at Cape Point nature reserve at the southwesternmost point of Africa, where we came across part of the area burnt by the fires. There are many great walks here, and we tried one I hadn’t been on before, the Thomas T Tucker Shipwreck trail. It was a cool and windy day, but hiking is great in most weathers, I love to see how places look different in different seasons. Whipped up by the wind, the ocean looked fantastic, and you could easily image how many ships met their demise. The peninsula wasn’t named the Cape of Storms by Portuguese explorers for nothing. Continue reading