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Merry Goes Round
Merry Goes Round

Merry Goes Round

traveled in 16 countries Read more
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  • Merry goes places
    1

    No longer a vagabond. For now!

    April 30, 2017 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    My visit in Kiel and a mini canoeing adventure for now conclude my long term travels. I'm spending the summer in Berlin to work, see & make friends and to figure out what comes next for me. I'm equally thankful for the last year of me-time and excited for a good couple of months in one great place like Berlin.

    And extra thankful for all those who have been part of my journey. It always means a lot to know you are making yourself part of this journey by reading up on my trips and catching up on skype calls and such. Two of these most wonderful people in my life are in this same boat (canoe) with me :)    Read more

  • Merry goes places
    71

    Same climb, different brother :)

    April 29, 2017 in Austria ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    Mo and I had planned a climb into a canyon at lake Wolfgang, but after a full night of snow, the climb was covered in a foot of snow and we had to change our plans​. So we decided to do the dragon wall climb which I had done with my younger brother a week earlier.

    It was so fun, again. Mo is such a natural climber and rocked through the 3 hour climb in just over 2 hours! I could barely keep up ;) The whole trip including hiking in and out was nice, sunny and we just enjoyed a great time together. Thanks Mo, and let's do that again soon :)    Read more

  • Merry goes places
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    Rainy day program

    April 26, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Since it rained ALL day, we went climbing indoors. We've been to a few boulder places​ in the last 2 weeks and this one kind of disappointed us. But it has tons of climbing also which meant that we got to try some higher climbs and it turned out pretty fun.

    After 2 weeks of hitting my shins and knees against rocks and walls, I officially have "Boulder-Beine" (boulder legs) & "Kletter-Knie" (climbing knees) now! :)

    Time for a lazy rest day tomorrow...    Read more

  • Merry goes places
    1

    A day getting better by the hour

    April 25, 2017 in Italy ⋅ 🌫 13 °C

    Today started with heavy rain and no chance of climbing on wet, slippery rock walls :(
    So the day started slowly with work and some ping pong. By midday the rain finally stopped and we got to hike up to a castle through a small trail along olive orchards.

    The weather got even better and so we jumped in the car and drove to Mori, which has a fantastic climb up a steep wall outside of town. We had the best time, I was on a high from climbing and really enjoyed the scenery.

    The third part of the day turned into a small barbeque party with other climbers and base jumpers we met on the trail and in our campsite. I had a great time prepping food for everyone and realized how much I miss cooking. Good timing since soon I'll have my own kitchen again :)    Read more

  • Merry goes places
    2

    Trying to climb

    April 24, 2017 in Italy ⋅ 🌫 12 °C

    After an eventful weekend, we left for Italy, fleeing to the southern Alps for less rain, no snow and hence more climbing!! :) Both my brothers bailed on us for different reasons and so the family trip turned into a trip with my brother's childhood friend Julian.

    Today, we did 2 climbing routes and a scenic 9 hour hike in total. It started a bit frustrating with all the exciting parts of the trail being old rusty ladders (pic 2) instead of rock climbing, but the second climb was great and made up for it all! We also got to explore some old military ruins and tunnels through the mountains. What a fun day!    Read more

  • Merry goes places

    Taming a dragon

    April 21, 2017 in Austria ⋅ ☀️ 4 °C

    Today, we did one of Austria's highlight fixed-rope-climbs "the dragon wall". It was our first longer outdoor climb and a challenging one for beginners for sure. But after the practicing indoors, we felt ready for a more challenging one.

    The hike goes up the steep wall on the left of picture #2 all the way to the mountain summit. We were climbing for 3 hours and then hiked down on the other side of the mountain for another 2. And to be honest, for the first 20 minutes or so I was quite nervous. Climbing outside simply is another story than being indoors where everything is controlled, secured and known. But being on the fixed rope is super safe and so we got to learn and enjoy 3 amazing hours of adventure.

    I definitely learned to trust myself and the equipment and we've all caught the climbing fever now :)    Read more

  • Merry goes places

    Relay racing (but slowly, slowly)

    April 20, 2017 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 0 °C

    I'm on my first trip while spending the next few months in Germany, having some brother-sister time in Austria where my older brother lives. We're here​ for his birthday and for some outdoor fun and so when I arrived, we went straight into the woods to have some adventures.

    This trail is a classic brother-sister hike and the highlight usually is going up to the wattefalls, which you can walk beneath / behind. This time, the waterfall was full of icicles, turning the scenery into a beautiful winter wonderland.

    But the real adventure started after the falls. We went into deep snow - hiking, jumping and siding down the mountainside. Once we got to the base, Mo's dog Calypso started having bad hind leg cramps and soon she was unable to walk. So we turned around, and the guys took turns carrying her along the trail. She's pretty heavy and so we had to switch every few minutes (I took her a few times, but couldn't hold her longer than a minute or two). But it felt like a beautiful team effort and we got reminded of the strength of sticking together and having each other's backs.    Read more

  • Merry goes places
    2

    Surprise, I'm back :)

    April 16, 2017 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    I came home for Easter with the family and mainly to surprise my close friend Elena for her bachelorette party. Once again, I feel so lucky having all these precious people in my life.
    Some additional perks of being back: forest walks with the family, boulder fun in Kiel, kiting at 3 degrees Celsius and hanging out with my mum. It feels good to be here.Read more

  • Merry goes places

    One last adventure in South America

    April 8, 2017 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    My last day in Peru and South America was yet another adventure. Max's flight left in the late afternoon and mine early the next day, and we spent the time we had in the foothills outside of town. On a rental motorbike, we went through small towns and along farms on gravel and dirt roads. A fun adventure and then it started raining and the real adventure began. The dirt roads got so slippery, I had to get off the bike every now and then. Soon the mud was everywhere, I think my backpack will never look the same again ;) After a dry stop in a little town in the hills with a hot tea and soup, we made our way back to dry off and pack for the long flights.

    My weeks in South America have been incredible. Full of awesome locals, beautiful landscapes, unforgettable experiences and our awesome travel family. I plan to strengthen my Spanish and to be back for sure!

    Next stop: Germany for a few months.    Read more

  • Merry goes places
    1

    Long way back

    April 7, 2017 in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    We had another early start, going all the way up out of the valley. By 7am, it was already insanely hot - I've probably never sweated more in my life... Ooh and I've never seen a bigger taranchula than the one in pic 2!

    But with liters of water and a bag full of snacks, we made it back by mid afternoon. Since we still had time and a little delivery pickup offered a ride, we made our way back to Cachora much faster than planned. And started a whole other adventure that day :)

    The pickup stalled and then died partway. Which we almost didn't mind - we had stopped with the most beautiful view! After sharing our leftover snacks with a local family and waiting for a while, we were picked up by another taxi. On the way to the next town, about an hour away, we picked up a few more locals, filling a small car with 7 people plus our backpacks. In our next taxi to the next town, we were 8 people with 5 big bags! We were going fairly slow, as cows, sheep, mules, pigs and dogs were all over the roads, not really willing to let us through :) We then finally took a 3 hour bus and got back to the city by 10pm. Definitely many adventures and a beautiful trek I highly recommend (it's possible to take this one and then continue 3 more days to Machu Picchu and another ancient city on the way)    Read more

  • Merry goes places

    Vertical extremes

    April 5, 2017 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    What a long day! To avoid the brutal midday heat this time, we left at 5am. 6 hours of steep uphill hiking later, we got to the old Incan City and explored the three parts of the ruins. The ancient town was the last Incan bastion unharmed by the conquerors, yet much smaller than it's bigger sister Machu Pichu. It was quite fascination to see the ruins and imagine how life back then must have looked like.

    One part of the city lays a bit away on a steep mountainside and consists of 30 or so terraces, decorated with white stone lamas. I really wanted to see it, while Max took a quick nap getting ready for the descend. So I hurried and took some pictures to show him. The ranger said it would take an hour to go down and up again - 30 minutes later, I was back ;)

    On the way back, we hung out with an old grandma who runs a little shop for trekkers and cooked us a delicious late lunch. In the most broken Spanish, we talked about life in Peru, mountains in Germany and the latest news of who else passed by her but that day. We got back around 6pm and were sound asleep in our tents by 8 ;)    Read more

  • Merry goes places
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    Concert all day

    April 4, 2017 in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Today we had a steep descend all day, following the rough trail into Apurímac valley. While it was quite cold yesterday, the valley was hot and sunny. After cooling down and crossing the river on the base, we went up for another 3 hours to a campsite we shared with a few other trekkers, porters and a group of mules

    Besides the several mules, we were surrounded by exotic and some annoying insects. Giant bugs, biting sandflies (=the annoying ones!) and loud cicadas. They were so loud, for hours we walked through a percussion concert :)    Read more

  • Merry goes places
    1

    Lets go see some ruins

    April 3, 2017 in Peru ⋅ 🌙 30 °C

    Max and I met up in Peru for a week to go trekking and see the Incan ruins of Choquequirao. The trek is less known than the famous Inca Trail and since it takes two to three days of hiking to get to the ruins, less frequented than their bigger sister ruins Machu Pichu.

    After a day of planning and getting some last minute supplies, we left Monday morning on the 4.5 hour journey to Cachora, where the trail begins. Little adventures started already on the way: first, we took a Collectivo van with 10 other Peruvians. The car wasn't the newest and in a sharp corner, the door opened and an old lady almost fell out of the car. Luckily, she didn't. What did fall out was one of Max's boots though. We got it back and the semitrucks on the route hadn't hit them - lucky after all ;)

    The trek starts in town just below 3000m and follows the mountain range for a few hours. Filled with wildflowers, with views of the steep mountains and small glaciers around, the trail starts easy and beautiful. Just before sunset, we made camp at a covered spot, at a Peruvian family home. I was challenged and surprisingly able to have a good conversation with Gladys and her daughter Valentina (pic 6) in Spanish and we shared a good dinner from our own food and some fresh veggies.    Read more

  • Merry goes places

    Longest work phone call of my life :)

    March 31, 2017 in Chile ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    I've spent a lot of my last few days on a work project, while making my way north through remote Chile. Timing the hours I would have laptop and internet access was quite tricky this time, but thanks to awesome colleagues and helpful locals, we made it work. Today, I basically spent an entire work day in the phone, finishing up a project :)

    I'm so thankful and count myself so very lucky that I get to work together with great people, and all while I'm on the road. In the moment, it's not always easy, while all other travelers go on their adventures and I'm spending entire days in a cafe or a hostel kitchen. But I enjoy what I do and it definitely makes each project fun and reminds me that all I have in life is a gift!    Read more

  • Merry goes places
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    1

    Northbound travels

    March 31, 2017, South Pacific Ocean ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    I had a fantastic trip north on the "Carretera Austral", a 1200 km road that connects southern Patagonia towards central Chile. Our travel family kept growing and changing and it felt nice, after spending a bunch of time by myself, to build friendships and travel together for parts of the way. The hardest one was "losing" Daniela and Benji who stayed​ in Rio Tranquilo to do more trekking there (pic 1 together with our hermano Nicolas from France). Our paths had kept crossing since my very first day in Chile and they make wonderful travel siblings - adventures, lots of laughs and some of the best talks I've had on my travels. But I already know I'll see them again!

    And so Nicolas and I kept the family alive :) Most the way we made via bus, but also by walking, hitch hiking and a 9 hour ferry for the last bit. Some highlights of the week include finding and making food together in small towns, learning more Spanish as for example from Juan who we met on the ferry and who was killing time by teaching me some grammar (pic 6). We also watched the luckiest drivers in Chile: three tourists in a rental car ran into a ditch full speed while trying to pass our bus on the narrow road. By a wonder, they were unharmed because they hit soft bushes and pretty deep mud. 5 minutes after the accident, a semitruck passed by that happened to have a small crane - and pulled their car out of the mud. Another 10 minutes later, they were driving again with as little as a few scratches and a few pounds of mud on the vehicle but nobody hurt (pic 3).

    One the last stretch, we were unable to get bus tickets and "stuck" in Chaitén for a day, which turned into a fun adventure - this one will get its own blog post though :)

    Thanks everyone who shared these adventures for long or short times!    Read more

  • Merry goes places
    1

    Meeting Edgar

    March 29, 2017 in Chile ⋅ 🌫 7 °C

    Edgar is how I named a giant glacier in Pumalin national park. The wilderness park was just recently given back to the Chilean government after being in private hands for 25 years. Unfortunately, I only had one day here, but fortunately got to make the most of the little time.

    The three of us started around noon - my French travel buddy Nicolas, our new friend and adopted travel cousin Leo, and I. The plan was to hitch hike to a campsite from where we would do a 6 hour hike to the "Edgar" glacier and then hitch hike back. We got a ride quickly, but only for parts of the way. So we simply started hiking along the road. And of course, we were joined by a dog, as it always seems to happen in Chile :) (pic 2)

    We soon figured that it would take too long to go all the way. So we decided to hike up a viewpoint so we could at least see the glacier from afar. On the base, a sign greeted hikers with an estimated 2 hours to get to the viewpoint. This convinced Nicolas to turn around and enjoy the rest of the sunny day in town ;) Having come all the way, Leo and I walked up the steep trail and up there, saw the beautiful glacier and the trail to it (pic 3). We were soooo close. And it was only midday. We did the math and long story short: we hiked all the way to the glacier, finishing 40km and 10 hours of hiking in beautiful weather (until it got dark and we hiked with our headlamps). And a lovely family gave us a ride back to town just after 11pm.

    We certainly missed Nicolas, but had a great adventure that won't be forgotten.    Read more

  • Merry goes places
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    Puppy love

    March 26, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    No matter through which small town or larger city you go in Chile, you can count on dogs to be around. I've had puppies jump on my lap for a cuddle, dogs joined me on hikes and many just want to say a quick Hi. And it's quite the responsibility - I try to name each dog that comes to hang out ;)
    Some of my favorites have been Marcello, Buddy and Louisa 🐕    Read more

  • Merry goes places
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    Stairway town :)

    March 25, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    The first stop on our way north is Tortel, a tiny harbor town, built into the mountain facing the fjords of Patagonia. The most remarkable thing here is that there are no roads, paths or trails, it's all stairs! So to get from A to B, you climb stairs. Up and down :)

    Every house has its own little stairway and they all connect to create a little web through town. We shared a little cabin and enjoyed the views and sunshine, before heading out to catch a bus going north 3 hours. May the roadtrip begin!    Read more

  • Merry goes places
    31

    Patagonia by the sea

    March 24, 2017 in Chile ⋅ 🌫 -1 °C

    It's unbelievable how fast 48 hours can go by! Together with new friends from France and Germany, I set out on the first part of our journey north - 2 days on a 600km freight ferry ride through the Chilean fjords west of Patagonia.

    Like all my time in Chile so far, the weather was a mix of rain, sun, storm, and everything in between. I really enjoyed just sitting outside, soaking up the views, the fresh air and some great music in my ears (which has been full of Italian pianist Einaudi lately). Besides the 3 canteen meals per day, a fond routine became the after-dinner wine drinking which we had to skillfully hide from the crew and which revived memories from being, well..., much younger ;)

    During perfect weather, we stopped at a small, remote fishing village "Puerto Eden", where I feel in love with Helen (pic 4) and found the ship wreck of the Titanic ;) (left boat on pic 5). From Caleta Tortel, as far north as the ferry goes, we'll now continue to the on-land part of our adventure, on the famous and remote carretera austral.    Read more

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    I. Can't. Stop.

    March 22, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    For now, today was my last day of trekking in Torres del Paine. I wish I could keep going!

    But I had a ferry to catch.

    So I woke up at 6am, left before sunrise and hiked in the dark for about an hour. And was rewarded with a fire-red sky once the sun came up. I made it back to Puerto Natales in time and am now on my ferry to Tortel, which is 2 days north of here through the fjords of Patagonia.

    I loved the trek. It wasn't at all crowded as I had been warned. I was by myself almost all the time, and the scenery and weather were stunning. Yay Patagonia 💙    Read more

  • Merry goes places
    1

    Eternal ice

    March 21, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    After two days of nonstop hiking, today was an easy-going trek. The campsite by glacier Grey was about 4 hours and from there, I went and explored the glacier tongue coming down into lake Grey for a few more.

    Today's trek itself wasn't the most exciting part of this trip, and it was super windy, slowing me down a bit, but I was in no rush and so I was relaxed and focused on my audio books "The power of habit" (highly recommend it) and then "Oliver Twist" (haven't decided if I like it yet). And the glacier was totally worth it. I wish I had another day to spend here to see more of this giant carpet of eternal ice and a few more glacier lakes that it produces higher up.    Read more

  • Merry goes places
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    All the hours of the day

    March 20, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Today wasn't the toughest, but certainly the longest hike I've ever done. I started a bit before sunrise in the dark and got to my next camp just after sunset. A total of 13.5 hours on the trail.

    So in short: Patagonia rocks! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!

    Here's a 360-view of one of my favorite spots along the hike :)
    https://goo.gl/photos/QQ5AmmzGyzvGFMff8    Read more

  • Merry goes places
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    Los Torres

    March 19, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    I set out with the first light and enjoyed the mountain scenery all by myself for the first few hours of the day. Well, not quite by myself - I saw eagles, horses and met a little skunk on the trek. We walked towards each other not noticing as if both in deep thought, and only noticed last second, looked​ at each other surprised, the skunk lifted his tail to warn me and I decided it might better to walk a few steps back. So I did and the skunk thanked me by not spraying me. I got my phone out so late, when he was already walking away... (pic 4)

    The rest of the trek was beautiful. Sometimes a bit dull, when you walk uphill through the same forest for 2 hours, but the views are always worth it

    Twelve hours of hiking later and at least 7 times putting the rain coat on and taking it off again, I'm in my tent. It's raining and I'm​ once more to thankful for smart people​ who engineered this outdoor equipment!    Read more

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    Icy Patagonia? Guess again :)

    March 18, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Today was the hottest day I've experienced since I left Mexico. By the early afternoon I was hiking in shorts and t-shirt. I loved it. The only downside - I had to carry all my other clothes on my back plus all food for the next 5 days ;)

    My hike was 4 hours short and not too​ steep, a good and easy start. Once I set up my tent, I spent a few more hours exploring and reading. I'm in bed early So have two 12 hour hikes ahead of me! Buenas noches!    Read more

  • Merry goes places
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    More work and some comfort

    March 17, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    I've jumped on a last minute work project, so I've been busy with little interesting to report - unless you're an online retailer in the European fashion space ;)

    Puerto Natales is a charming little town with beautiful views of Patagonia and some great spots to eat. So being busy and working all day, I've been treating myself to good food and mate each day! Enjoying the perks of civilization while dreaming of my next hike already... Yippieh, tomorrow I'm heading back out into the mountains of Patagonia for 5 days!!!Read more

  • Merry goes places

    Two days at the laptop

    March 14, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    Don't have much to share other than I've been working lots. In this hostel, I get to enjoy a view even for work calls early in the morning with a lovely sunrise and the occasional dolphin sighting :)
    Feeling so lucky and thankful for the perfect mix of traveling and the awesome people I get to work with!    Read more

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