Spontaneous Trip

Been in Bristol almost four months now and apart from a short trip to Cardiff and my try of completing the Frome Valley Walk I haven't been to the surrounding countryside yet. So it is high time to go for some outdoor action.
When I walked to work yesterday I felt that strong urge again to be in the wilderness, just enjoying the views and freeing my mind. So I made a very spontaneous decision to go to the Brecon Beacons over the weekend. Just pack up and go.
Looked up train connections and Abergavenny is just little more than an hour away billing £22 open return. Found a bothy at Grwyne Fawr just a day's walk away, perfect. Called a friend who's keen on hiking and he was in instantly. Bought a map of the area and started packing my stuff last night. Good opportunity to put my new 33l Osprey pack to good use.
Will leave Bristol tomorrow around 7:30am, have a quick look at Abergavenny and then plunge into the Black Mountains, as the Beacons are called there. Forecast is mixed but we always expect rain on the British Isles, hahaha.
This is probably the most spontaneous hiking trip I've done so far and I quite enjoy the fact, that I didn't bother planning the exact route but will be making that up as I go. Good way to practise map and compass navigation. Cool.

Will be back Sunday night then, probably all covered in mud but one happy camper, hehe.

I Love It When A Plan Comes Together

Seems like I'm putting more and more thinking into my adventures each year. Ireland last year was quite easy as we were walking two way-marked trails. Then some group travels which where absolutely fabulous.

Until now this year was a bit vague, mainly due to starting my new life in Bristol but I can now finally announce my travel plans for 2014. Yeah!!! There's going to be some amazing stories and pictures here, I'm pretty sure.

First Weekend of May - Dartmoor
Since it's a bank holiday weekend over here. I'm going down to Dartmoor to cycle a few trails. Hopefully take my own car to get there if I have one by then. Three days of riding with trails starting from Okehampton and Princetown, staying on the remote and lovely campsites of Runnage Riverside or Cockingford Farm right within the heart of the moor.

Mid/End June - Two Weeks in North West Wales
Since my walking partner doesn't know if he can accompany me in June I changed plans from Skye Trail to Wales since it's closer, not as tough as the Skye Trail, but not too easy as well. And I'm on Skye later this year anyway.
It's been so much fun planing this tour. Spent almost two days now until I came up with the route as it is now. Pembrokeshire Coastal Path was too easy and two weeks of - though stunningly beautiful - coast sounds a bit boring. Offa Dyke's didn't really catch me as did the Beacons Way. The Cambrian Way really thrilled me, but was too long and sounds like of equal grade as the Skye Trail.
What I came up with is now a round trip from Conwy counter clock-wise along the Wales Coast Path around the Llyn Penninsula to Porthmadog, turning then north onto the last four sections of the Cambrian Way right through the heart of Snowdonia.

The first week is full of rugged cliffs, endless beaches and the roaring Irish Sea. The second week will test my endurance and navigation skills as I clamber onto some of the highest British mountains outside of Scotland making this a real adventure and the next big step to becoming a seasoned hill walker.

Last Week of August - Munro Bagging Skye
I couldn't resist to book a place in George's group of just a handful of people aiming to conquer all of Skye's 12 munros. There... I said it. All of them. The Cuillins on Skye are the only alpine mountain range of Britain and probably the most stunning... the most difficult and technical for sure as almost all of them require scrambling and the use of a rope including abseiling from the In Pinn.
Combined with the more than fickle weather there, chances of a complete success are maybe 50:50. Ambitious as I am I'll still be a happy camper afterwards - whatever the outcome - having gained my first serious mountaineering experience.

First Week of September - Munro Bagging Loch Tay
Driving straight from Skye over to Loch Tay I'll spend another week with one of those wonderful wandern-schottland.de groups. I've been to Loch Tay with one of their groups before on an easier walking week, still cashed two munros back then. This time there are some more on the plate and coming back from Skye this will most likely feel like a piece of cheesecake, haha.

On Ben Lawers 2011

Second Week of October - Climbing Sardinia
Those two weeks last year were absolutely amazing and I promised to be back this year. Well, I will. If only for a week this time. But this will be the only holiday with a promise of sunshine this year, haha.

Sardinia 2013

New Years' - Tanzania, Kilimanjaro
I made that plan on last New Year's Day thinking about the next one just wanting to be away from civilisation, doing something cool. The acclaimed Jagged Globe organizers do a Kilimanjaro Tour over each New Year's. Wow. Standing on the highest mountain of Africa, on the world's highest free standing volcano right at New Year's Day at sunrise. How cool is that, huh?
Kilimanjaro... how boring, you might say. How easy. Au contraire! Technically it's easy. Yes. But this bump is almost 6000 metres high. (5895 m to be exact) This is NOT a walk in the park and the height should not be underestimated.
For me it is purely a test. A test if I can cope with the height. How it feels above 4500 metres. When you feel the lack of oxygen in your lungs. When when you have to keep your brain from screaming "Turn around, go back!". When every step is hard labour.
If I pass that test, some more serious expeditions await in 2015. Cotopaxi and Antisana or Mont Blanc, Elbrus, Kazbek.... just to throw some names in.


But this is next year. A fantastic, exciting and adventurous 2014 awaits me with a lot of first-times and a lot of experience to be gained. Scenery that will take my breath away, views that will have tears dwelling in my eyes, situations where I'll have to force myself to go on and ones where I have to come up with plan B.
Bring it on 2014! I'm ready!!!

Been there seen that

On my last offday before I had to concentrate on my new job I decided to do another one of the suggested walks by the British Ramblers. Took bus line 40a up to Blaise Castle. The area actually is a wide spread park with a small castle/mansion somewhere hidden on a hill therein.
Disembarked the bus after an 45 minute ride at the park and came upon a church with a nice graveyard while trying to find a propper entrance. Walked around the park a bit which seems to be a heaven for dogs because they can run free. Never seen so many happy dogs faces.
Climbed up a path through a wooded area that opened up to a clearing on top of a hill with Blaise Castle on it. Very stunning in its own meager way, haha.
Walked through more woods, along a brook, crossing some roads on wide grassy areas and over the Shirehampton Golf Course having a great view of a bend of the Avon from its heightened position.
Walked through some more woods with the trees giving way to a view of the Bristol bay and the Welsh hills behind it every now and then. My first glimpse of Wales! Not very stunning but my heart lept with joyous longing.
It was slowly getting dark since the fourth hour after midday had come and past so I quickened my step as I didn't really wanted to geg lost in darkness. Also I wanted to be back home by 6 to have dinner with my "foster family". Found my way back to the entrance and with luck on my side I only had to wait for the bus for 10 minutes.
The park around Blaise Castle is definately worth visiting though I recon there'll be a lot of people when the weather is really good. If you walk over to the other green areas you're less likely to meet someone.

A Walk Around Easton And St. George

As I had finished shopping for the time being and I would only move to my new home on Saturday morning,  I had nothing scheduled for Friday. Researched some walks in the area and came  across a nice suggestion from the Bristol Ramblers. They offered a map and desciption for a walk through some parks and cemetaries in Easton where I had my first viewing the week before. So it was easy to get there cause I knew which busses to take.
Hopping of at Lawrence Hill station I walked along a quiet road with some not so nice tower blocks seen nearby. The same area had made me feel a bit uncomfortable living nearby since flat must be cheap there and thus attract a certain clientele.
Soon I arrived at Netham Recreation Ground, which is a nice small park with a surprising view over Bristol and its hills in the distance. I never realized I was on ground high enough.

My path led me straight to the Avon View Cemetery. The weak sun struggeling to pierce through dark grey clouds hanging in the sky hiding any hint of blue turned the whole scenery  almost into black and white while gusts of a cold wind blew dead leaves over the withering stones.  It couldn't get any more convenient. 

Not long after I arrived at Troopers Hill. It was used as a quarry and was mined as well during the industrial era. People then successfully turned the hill into a recreational area wich looks quite natural with trees and bushes and several paths winding their way up and down. Only the left over chimney from the miners reminds the visitor of the former use of the hill.

From the top I had a fine view again of the green hills surrounding Bristol firing my desire to walk there. Whenever I see some landscape that is not city I just long to be there. It's almost like it's pulling me, my heart rejoices as I give myself to that painful desire. 

After walking around Troopers Hill for a while I turned north and then west again walking along those typical English semi-detached houses. The next notable landmark was St George Park. Walked along the pond, watched ducks and seagulls and left the park again.

More houses, a short walk on the Bristol-Bath cycle path and then over to Greenbank Cemetary. Spent a good while there as it was quite large and had some nice tombstones. Walked back on a good part of the cycle path which is really nice and I will certainly cycle it as soon as I have a new bike.

Back at Lawrence Hill station my tour ended and it was really nice to realize that you can have a very nice walk with lots of green right in the city.

Netham Recreation Ground

Avon View Cemetary

Troopers Hill

St George Park

Greenbank Cemetary

Getting things done

Monday night I thought things over. On my way back from the nice viewing I had passed the house the Tuesday viewing was at. Even quieter area and obviuously pricier houses. Not bad but it felt a bit... dunno... impersonal. The cosiness of Bishopston was missing. It was still really nice but a bit further off the next bus stop and in order to go shopping I would need to go to Whiteladies which lacks the nice alternative flair Gloucester Rd offers with it's green grocers, butchers, little cafes and alternative clothing shops (I even found a shop selling tools and stuff for brewing your own ale or cider, yay!!)
Also the rent was about 600 per month were as the room in the family house was 350. My mind kept weighing my options as I walked home and had a look at a few shops down Whiteladies and Park Rd. Marked the Hobgoblin music shop, a burrito place and another music shop on my internal map for later visits as I was solely on the lookout for more business clothing.
Back at the flat I told Kim about my viewing and he just said that it seems I have already made my decision. I still wanted to sleep over it.
Next morning I called Miriam the landlady to let her know that I'll take the room. It had just been the one! She was equally happy and we agreed on meeting up Wednesday morning at a nearby cafe to sign he contract. Totally happy and with another big issue off my chest I went on another shopping round at Cabbot Circus. I really don't like shopping and as strenuous as it was I came home with a jacket, two trousers and a skirt. Not bad. Not enough, haha.
At 8pm we met up with the Bristol couchsurfing group at a nearby bar at the harbour. Again very nice people and had just a good time. As I stayed in contact with Zsolt from the Bath group I exchanged numbers with Kristina this time. We immediately clicked and felt like sisters with so many things in common. So within not even a week I've made a handfull of new acquaintances/friends. Awesome.
Met up with Miriam this morning to sign the tenancy contract and give her the deposit. Had a very nice chat over a coffee and the more we talked the more we liked each other. So totally the right decision! Can't wait to move in.
Some more shopping coming up with a pair of shoes this time. Walked around the area north and west of Colston Tower and found the Bristol Cider Shop and an abandoned church with walls slowly being overgrown. Too bad it was locked up well.
Had a great burrito at the one place I had passed by on Monday and set up another blog on wordpress where I'm going to write about all the cool things I come across in Bristol and the southwest from nice hidden cafes to sights and certain areas. When the first post goes online I'll let you know.

This is Bristol

Finally I have some time to post an update about my move to Bristol. It's been two hectic and stressful weeks.  I left Berlin on Thursday Nov 21st. My last day at work was Nov 8. I thought briefly about just using my free time to go on a nice hike around Berlin as a way to say goodbye. But I was just up to my neck in preparations for my move. Sold almost all of my furniture and a few other things I didn't want to take with me, packed 12 boxes of stuff I didn't need immediately and stored them in our basement compartment and packed a few parcels to be sent to my by my room mate as well as three more bags to be taken by a friend's brother in December.
I went with a guitar bag into which I stuffed as many clothes as I could alongside the guitar and a huge dark pink bag that I had bought the day before. I came upon this one just by accident. My old black bag is now several years old and needed a replacement. So I was joking for a while that the next one had to be a bright pink to be easily spotted on luggage retrieval. I went to a small shop in a nearby shopping centre just to have a look at the display and there it stood. Price reduced from 129 to 39. Pink. I couldn't resist, haha.
Since I put the smaller one of my pc monitors among clothes and basic outdoor and climbing equipment into Ms Pink it was as heavy as a rock of the same size. Paying of no less than 120 quid at the airport for overweight was a sure thing!
My dad drove me and my little brother (I had kind of adopted him :)) came along as well. The Ms Pink went for 34 kilos! We had to put her on a diet because the maximum weight for one piece of luggage was 32. So we stuffed as much as possible into my hand luggage (which was full of cables and stuff before coming up in the end of easily 15 kilos but no one checked it, haha) and the guitar bag. 31, 6 kilos in the end. YES. The guitar bag was 11, 4. When I had booked the flight the maximum allowance was 20 kilo for all bags together. Luckily they had just recently changed it to 20 kilos EACH. So in the end I did not pay a single euro since the woman at the counter said it's okay. Bingo!!!

Arrived at 22:30 in Bristol and dragged my stuff to the Rock 'n Bowl hostel for one night. It's right in the centre and at 17 £ per night for a 4 bed female dorm quite okay. The place is huge and quite populated at weekends. That's why I only stayed one night.
Next morning I called at Kim's place just around the corner. He was going to be my couchsurfing host for the next few days until I had found my own place. His appartment is very small but lovely and I was so grateful for him to take me in.  It was my first time couchsurfing and I think it's a great thing. If I can I want to be a host as well sometime!
Had my first two viewings of rooms on Friday. One in Easton which was in a nice victorian house in a quiet road. Really lovely but I didn't quite like some of the adjacent areas. The other one was in Montpellier quite close to the pubs and bars of Gloucester Rd. The whole neighborhood reminds me bit of Friedrichshain back in Berlin. Unfortunately the whole flat would have needed a complete makeover so I didn't consider taking the room, even if I would've stayed with two young musicians.
At night we went to The Stable, a rather new pizza and cider place at the harbour. They have a cider tasting board with 5 different ciders 1/3 pint each. The board changes every now and then so you can have a taste of a lot of diffenrent brands. Maybe I get myself a little book and take notes on which one is exceptionally good and which isn't.

More viewings on Saturday. One out in Westbury on Trym which was lovely but in the end too far away from town. One in Stapleton with some kind of esoteric family. The place was nice and they liked my "presence" but it was just a little too weird for me. The other one was with two women just around the corner. The one who owns the house is a yoga instructor and has her classes in the house. The immediate surrounding was okay this time, but didn't like the atmosphere back at the road where I would need to go to get to the bus.
Back in the city Kim convinced me to go ice skating outside on Millenium square. I was a bit hesitant since I hadn't done that in ages and I was scared of falling because that could hurt my sensible back severely or my wrists or hands which I need for guitar playing. In the end I took it slow and was overtaking people after a few rounds. Great fun!!! I 'm glad Kim came up with idea!

Went to a meeting of the Bath couchsurfing group on Sunday afternoon. Kim was going anyway and took me along. Didn't see much of Bath as we went straight to a nice restaurant were the group was meeting. Spent a few hours there. What a great way to get to know new people! Left at 5pm with the few remaining members and went for a last pint to a cosy pub nearby. As the others went home I walked around the deserted city centre of Bath in the dark just having a look around. It's the most beautiful shopping area I've everything seen. Very clean and I just love those yellow sandstone buildings. Reminded me a lot of Edinburgh. Took some pictures and then went home on the train as I was really freezing. I will certainly come back during the day to venture the streets again and see all the sights.

Today was my first proper shopping day since I need a business outfit by Monday next week. I think I spent at least two hours at Marks & Spencer trying on every pair of trousers I could find, only to realize that there seems to be none that fits to the hips. They're all fitted to the waist or slightly below. Yay... it just looks stupid on me. At least I came up with a nice coat that is a bit business and a bit rock 'n roll and a nice leather bag.

After lunch I took the bus up to Bishopston for another viewing. I stayed in that area when I was in Bristol for the first time and loved it. Cheltenham and Gloucester Rd lead from the city centre up north being lined with countless pubs, bars, organic food shops and alternative clothing shops. If you go left or right into the residential areas it's very quiet all of a sudden with those beautiful british houses left and right. Bishopston is just one of the areas that Gloucester Rd passes through. So it seems to be the perfect spot for me.
For the first time I had nothing to complain about. Nice cosy house occupied by a mother, her 8 and 12 year old sons, a little dog and a cat. The room spacious enough with a bed, wardrobe and chest of drawers looking out to the garden in the back. A bike shed would have space for just another bike so I could store away my new mountain bike. The area very quiet and just a 5 min walk to Gloucester Rd and a 30min walk to work or a 15 min bus ride.
Had a nice chat with the landlady over a cup of tea and some biscuits and really liked her a lot. I don't have a problem living with kids as long as they won't disturb me in my room and they're not infants anymore.The older one even plays guitar so maybe I can teach him some.
Thing is I have another viewing on Tuesday night in Redland. So we agreed that I would call her Tuesday right after the viewing to tell her if I'm in or not but I was really inclined to say yes immediately. If the other viewing wouldn't be Redland I would have said so. Redland is one of the pricier areas with nice houses. The offered room is just below the maximum rent I'm willing to pay so I didn't want to cancel the viewing. So by tomorrow night I'll have this settled and can move at the coming weekend hopefully.

Ruin at Castle Park

Bath

More Bath

Bristol on the Horizon

In three days I'm going on my biggest adventure ever: moving to another country!

After living almost 36 years in Berlin I finally turn my back and leave. I should have done this earlier. Maybe after my study. I realized I always wanted it but never really pushed things and was never determined enough to really pull this through. Now I am. Actually it's a now-or-never. I'm still very fit in body and mind and have not yet settled down. I could write pages about why I want to leave, but instead I'm going to look ahead.

I'm basically leaving with little more than the clothes I'm wearing. It's a very distinct feeling of freedom. Brave enough I would quit my life completely and travel the world for years. I just feel the strong urge to be off and away. Some people say I'm obviously looking for something and they're right. I just don't know what it is I'm looking for so I have no idea if I'm going to find it in Bristol.

My furniture is almost gone, sold it all. Makes no sense to take it with me as I'm going to live in a furnished shared house or flat. At least for the first 6 months. Even with my rooms here almost empty it still doesn't feel like I'm leaving for good. Maybe because I still have so much to do.

Met almost all my friends last night for a goodbye drink. This is the hardest part. Leaving your family and friends behind. It's not about a good job or a nice flat, it's the people you love. Seeing them one last time was really great and really sad at the same time knowing that I won't see them for a while. I think I will only realize how much I miss them, when I'm gone. Now it just feels like going on a long holiday.

I will go back to Berlin for a few weekends to do the recordings for my rockband Luzid early next year and I will play any gigs with them until they found a decent new guitar player to fill in the vacant spot. I will also be back for gigs with my country cover band so I'll be in Berlin every other month or so.

But now it's off to new shores!!! Exploring Bristol and its surroundings. Settle in and have a good start at my new job, that's the plan for the rest of the year. I'll keep you posted so stay tuned!!!