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Tag 38: Geniessen!

15.09.22

Während Josh und Colette heute abreisen, steht für mich heute mein letzter ganzer Tag in Wien bevor. Ich hatte mich mit Melinda zum brunchen verabredet und wir trafen uns deshalb an der Burggasse 24. Von aussen sieht man erstmals nur ein Vintage Kleidergeschäft, beim um die Ecke herumgehen entdeckt man dann jedoch auch das zugehörige gleichnamige Kaffee. Wir sitzen zunächst draussen, als es zu regnen beginnt zügeln wir jedoch ins ebenfalls sehr heimelig eingerichtete Innere. Die Einrichtung erinnert an ein Wohnzimmer und schafft zusammen mit der speziellen Musik eine sehr gemütliche Atmosphäre. Ich bestelle das „Kraftwerk“ - Joghurt mit Süsskartoffeln, Beeren und gerösteten Nüssen. Sieht superschön aus und schmeckt auch gut - trotzdem würde ich im Nachhinein eine andere Wahl treffen: Melinda bekommt nämlich einen grossen Probierteller mit Hummus, gegrilltem Gemüse, Guacamole und Bohnen sowie Vollkornbrot und Bulgurporridge. Alles unglaublich lecker! Wir geniessen den Brunch in vollen Zügen und bleiben noch eine Weile im gemütlichen Kaffee sitzen.

Danach machen wir noch einen Abstecher in den dazugehörigen Vintageladen, wo mir eine Sekunde nach Eintreten ein gemusterter farbiger Ethnogürtel ins Auge sticht. Es ist Liebe auf den ersten Blick und ehe ich mich versehe, landet er in meiner Tasche..

Der Abschied von Melinda fällt mir irgendwie schwer - obwohl wir uns vor noch nicht einmal 24 Stunden kennengelernt haben, ist sie mir mit ihrer offenen ehrlichen Art bereits ans Herz gewachsen und ich hoffe, dass wir unser beider Versprechen, uns zu besuchen, einhalten werden.

Nachmittags treffe ich mich mit Paul, einem guten Freund, den ich vom Studium in Zürich kenne, und der in der Nähe von Wien aufgewachsen ist. Ich freue mich sehr ihn für einmal in seinem Heimatland zu sehen und wir geniessen die Zeit bei einem kühlen Bier, während es draussen weiterregnet.

Da sie mir so gut gefallen hat, setze ich mich Abends nochmals auf eine Bank an der grossen Karlskirche, esse zu Abend und schlendere schliesslich mit ein paar Stops in einigen Shops an der Mariahilfstrasse zurück ins Hostel. Dort ruhe ich mich noch eine kurze Weile aus, bevor ich mich ein letztes Mal durch die Strassen Wiens auf den Weg zum Hauptbahnhof mache. Als ich dort nach einer Dreiviertelstunde Gehtezeit gutgelaunt ankomme, der Schock: mein für 23.27 Uhr geplanter Zug, wird erst um 01.07 Uhr abfahren. Das kann doch wohl nicht wahr sein.. Als ich einen Arbeiter der ÖBB darauf anspreche, ist dieser äusserst unfreundlich und meint nur, da habe es halt ein Problem in Ungarn gegeben, er könne auch nichts machen. Das Einzige, was ihn zu interessieren scheint, ist sein Feierabend: Er schliesse den Schalter in einer halben Stunde, betont er mehrmals.

Na gut, denke ich mir, verzweifeln nützt auch nichts. Glücklicherweise habe ich mein Buch dabei und überbrücke mir so irgendwie die Zeit. Ich lerne dabei eine freundliche 50-jährige Österreicherin kennen, die den ÖBB-Beamten am Schaltern eine Packung Manner-Waffeln als Entschädigung abgeluchst hatte, um die nun unter den Fahrgästen auf dem Bahnsteig zu verteilen. Als der Zug dann um 01.30, also zwei Stunden zu spät, doch eintrifft, sind alle erleichtert. Und ich bin umso froher, dass ich mir dieses Mal früh genug einen Schlafplatz gebucht habe. Das Gute des aus Ungarn komenden Zuges: er hat richtige Betten, relativ breit und mit dünner Matratze, welche unglaublich bequem sind. Ich schlafe ziemlich schnell ein und ruhig wie ein Baby. Ich wache zum ersten Mal in Feldkirch auf, als wir einen Morgenkaffee bekommen und die liebe Österreicherin, die per Zufall das Bett unter mir gebucht hatte, aussteigt. Danach ist nichts mehr mit schlafen, doch ich habe es ja schliesslich auch nicht mehr weit: kurz vor 10 Uhr und mit nur 51 Minuten Verspätung treffe ich schliesslich in Sargans ein.

Und dies ist das Ende meines Wien-Trips. So spontan er auch war - ich in einfach unfassbar froh, dass ich gefahren bin! Mein erstes Mal Nachtzug, mein erstes Mal in der Hauptstadt Österreichs. Ich nehme auf alle Fälle - einmal mehr - wunderschöne Erinnerungen, einen Bauch voll superleckerem Essen und ein paar neue Bekanntschaften mit nachhause!

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Tag 37: Neue & alte Gesichter

14.09.2022

Mein Tag beginnt mit einer zweiten, mehr historisch angehauchten Free Walking Tour. Sie startet am Schwedenplatz, der seinen Namen in der Zeit des ersten Weltkriegs erhielt, während welchem tausende Waisenkinder in Wien lebten, die dann mehrheitlich von Schweden aufgenommen und ernährt wurden. Die Tour führt von dort aus am Barviertel Bermudadreieck, in dem betrunkene Studenten verloren gehen, vorbei ins Stadtinnere. Dabei erfahren wir, dass die Donau als zweitgrösster Fluss in Europa früher den Römern als Stützpunkt einer ihrer Legionen diente, da sie eine wichtige Ost-West-Verbindung war. Die Soldaten waren über 380 Jahre im heutigen Wien stationiert, wovon sie jedoch nur 30 Jahre Krieg führten. Deshalb engagierten sie sich in der Zwischenzeit auch für andere, mehrheitlich handwerkliche Arbeiten.

Die Tour führt uns auch an dem Ort vorbei, an dem einmal das berühmte Hotel Metropol stand: der grösste Hauptsitz der Gestapo, der Geheimpolizei, in Nazi-Deutschland. In ihm wurden Politische Gegner des Regimes, Regierungsmitarbeiter sowie Juden eingesperrt und später meist in Konzentrationslager gesperrt oder direkt getötet.

Ein etwas spassigerer Fun Fact: die Würstchen, die wir „Wienerli“ nennen, heissen in Wien „Frankfurter“ aufgrund der Herkunft ihres Erfinders, der damals zum ersten Mal Schweine- und Rindsfleisch zusammenmischte, was bis dahin noch verboten gewesen war.

Pünktlich um zwölf Uhr Mittags stehen wir vor der Ankeruhr in Stadtzentrum, bei welcher jede Stunde eine andere historische Figur gezeigt wird, und bei welcher um die Mittagszeit alle zwölf Personen inklusive Musikbegleitung durchlaufen.

Danach gehts weiter zum Judenplatz und damit einer der dunkleren Gesichter Wiens. Bevor die Nazis an die Macht kamen, machten Juden beinahe 10% der Bevölkerung Wiens aus. Zwischen 1938 und 1945 wurden dann 65‘000 österreichische Juden von den Nazis ermordet, ihre Wohnhäuser auf dem Judenplatz zu Geld der damals armen Stadt gemacht. Während dieser sieben Jahre des Naziregimes waren die Österreicher auch Deutsche und begingen Verbrechen an den Juden. Diese wurden jahrelang damit gerechtfertigt, dass Österreich das „erste Opfer von Nazi-Deutschland“ gewesen sei.

Etwas amüsantere Geschichten erzählt unser Guide über den ursprünglich in Salzburg geborenen Mozart, der auch in Wien gelebt hat und bereits als sechsjähriger die Aufmerksamkeit auf sich zog, indem er in den Schoss von Maria Theresia hüpfte um sie zu umarmen. Dies obwohl es allen Nicht-Angehörigen der Königsfamilie strengstens verboten war, deren Mitglieder auch nur zu berühren.

Der letzte Teil unserer Tour geht vorbei am bekannten Café Central, in welchem scheinbar bekannte Persönlichkeit wie Siegmund Freud oder Trotzki ihren Kaffee tranken, weshalb heutzutag die Touristenschlange davor unfassbar lang ist. Im Gegensatz zu heute war die Bedeutung dieses Kaffees damals von intellektueller Art: es diente nämlich als Ort, um Vorlesungen mit Professoren zu diskutieren.

Und noch ein letzter Fun Fact zur Entstehungsgeschichte der Wiener Sachertorte: ein Lehrling wurde beauftragt, einen neue Kuchen für den König zu erfinden, da der Chefkonditeur gerade im Urlaub war. Er nahm also die zwei teuersten Zutaten der damaligen Zeit und vermischte sie: Zucker, welcher damals 60€ pro Kilogramm kostete sowie die etwa siebenmal teurere Schokolade. Und tadaa, schon war die Sachertorte, welche nach dem Erfinder benannte wurde, erfunden. Er wurde damit so reich, dass er schliesslich sogar ein gleichnamiges Hotel erföffnete.

Nach diesem Informationsschwall und Geschichten über Süsses, ist mir selbst nach einem Dessert zumute. Ich gönne mir also einen super-leckeren Apfelstrudel während dem Wiedersehen mit Tom, einem Freund, den ich in Leuven im Austausch kennengelernt habe und der in Wien studiert. Ich freue mich ihn zu sehen und uns über die vergangenen Wochen und Monate auszutauschen und geniesse einmal mehr den Einblick, den ich dank eines Locals ins Leben in Wien bekomme.

Da ich von Tom den Tipp bekommen habe, noch das Museumsquartier zu erkunden, mache ich das schliesslich auch noch. Als ich dort denn Weg auf die Dachterrasse „Libelle“ suche, lerne ich per Zufall Melinda kennen. Sie kommt auch aus der Schweiz, aus Genf, und wir verstehen uns von Anfang an super. Die Aussicht von der Dachterrasse, die wir bald gefunden haben, ist zwar nicht so spektakulär wie erhofft, trotzdem bin ich dankbar für Melindas Bekanntschaft, die ich dadurch machen durfte.

Wir plaudern noch ein bisschen und geniessen das einmal mehr schöne Wetter, bevor ich mich schon wieder aufmachen muss: in Richtung Musicalschule. Dort bin ich nämlich mit Liviana verabredet, die ich noch aus meiner Gymnasiumszeit kenne. Sie studiert seit drei Jahren Musical in Wien und fühlt sich total wohl hier, wie ich sofort merke. Zusammen mit ihr schlendere ich durch die Gassen rund um ihre Schule und wir plaudern über alte Zeiten und das Leben in Wien. Da bei ihr das Semester bereits wieder begonnen hat und die ersten paar Wochen jeweils ziemlich anstrengend sind, verabschieden wir uns schon bald wieder, da Liviana heute Abend noch eine Yogastunde leitet. Ich mache mich daraufhin kurz auf den Weg in mein Hostel, um meine unbequemen Gummistiefel, die ich den ganzen Tag umsonst getragen habe und dank denen ich nun Blasen an den Fersen meiner FussSOHLE bekommen habe, gegen bequeme Sneakers einzutauschen. Danach mache ich mich aber bereits wieder auf den Weg ins Stadtzentrum - diesmal mit der U-Bahn. In der Nähe vom Stephansdom befindet sich das „Gasthaus zu den drei Hacken“, in welchem ich mich mit Colette und John aus Manchester zum Abendessen verabredet habe. Ich hatte die beiden sympathischen Engländer am Nachmittag auf der Free Walking Tour kennengelernt. Ich geniesse ein feines Gulasch mit Serviettenknödel sowie Eismarillenknödel zum Dessert, da mir Tom diese empfohlen hat. Im Gegensatz zu normalen Knödeln besteht ihr Inneres aus Eiscreme - ein Traum! Dabei erzählen mir die beiden, wie froh sie eigentlich sind, dass die am Todestag der Queen gerade auf Reise und nicht in ihrer Heimat sind, da seit da alle Leute total verrückt wurden, wie sie meinten. Die Todesanzeige und das Foto der ehemaligen König Grossbritanniens würden nicht nur Plakatsäulen säumen sondern auch direkt neben den Hamburgern bei McDonalds oder als Werbebanner auf Erotik-Webshops erscheinen. Als sie mir dann weiter erzählen, dass für den Tag der Beerdigung alle Bewohner Englands einen Freitag bekommen würden sowie das ganze Leben in England so gut wie angehalten würde, bin ich schon etwas sprachlos. Alle anderen Beerdigungen seien für diesen Tag abgesagt worden, selbst Spitäler würden bis aufs Nötigste schliessen.

Nach diesem eher dunkeln widmen wir uns in Gespräch jedoch auch wieder freudigeren Themen und so geht ein weiterer ereignisreicher Tag in der Hauptstadt Österreichs zu Ende.

[sunnabluama]

Tag 36: Das Wiedersehen

13.09.22

Hostel Jo&Joe ; 12er Zimmer: 31€/Nacht

Melange. Schonmal gehört? Also ich bisher nur als „Schoggi Mélange“, also als heisse Schokolage mit Schlagsahne. Die Wiener Melange ist jedoch eine österreichische Kaffeespezialität, die 1830 erstmals in Wien angeboten wurde. All dies lese ich jedoch erst nach, nachdem ich das ominöse Getränk aus der Kaffeemaschine beim Frühstücksbuffet rausgelassen hatte. Für mich, als normalerweise nicht-Kaffeetrinker, schmeckt es ganz einfach wie leckeren Kaffee. :-)

Gestärkt am 7€-Frühstücksbuffet des Hostels mache ich mich zu Fuss auf zum Schloss Schönbrunn, der Sommerresidenz der Habsburger. Es wurde für Kaiser Joseph I als Residenz gebaut und von Kaiserin Maria Theresia im 18. Jahrhundert zur Sommerresidenz umgebaut.

Das Schloss ist von riesengrossen Gärten sowie einem Aussichtspunkt - der Gloriette - umgeben. Insgesamt ein sehr schönes Örtchen, wo ich verweile, die Aussicht geniesse und mir die Füsse vertrete. Obwohl es noch vor 11 Uhr morgens ist, ist es jedoch schon überlaufen von Touristen. Diese stürmen jedoch mehrheitlich in die Räumlichkeiten hinein, sodass sich die Menschenmasse im grossen Park etwas besser verteilt.

Mein Weg führt mich weiter zum Belvedere-Park, einer weiteren Grünanlage mit zwei Schlössern. Im Gegensatz zu Schönbrunn ist die ganze Anlage ruhiger, weniger touristisch und irgendwie gepflegter. Alles in allem gefällt es mir hier sehr gut und ich lege mich eine Weile in die Sonne auf eine Bank am Brunnen..

Mein Spaziergang führt mich weiter zum Hundertwasserhaus und zum Prater, wo ich mich mit Anja treffe, die ich anfangs Reise in La Spezia in Italien kennengelernt hatte und in Wien wohnt. Was für ein Wiedersehen! Wir fahren mit dem völlig überteuerten Riesenrad (13.80€!) und dem weltweit höchsten Kettenkarrussell und quatschen über alles was seit unserem letzten Treffen geschehen ist. Wir haben insgesamt eine sehr gute Zeit und ich nehme nur mit halbem Auge die schönen Alleen des Praters wahr und die ganzen Fahrgeschäfte und Restaurants, an denen wir vorbeiziehen. Schliesslich setzen wir uns in ein typisch Österreichisches Restaurant und Biergarten, das ironischerweise „Schweizerhof“ heisst. Hier stösst schliesslich nach Feierabend auch Anjas Freund Moritz dazu, den ich auch bereits aus Italien kenne. Wir haben einen wirklich tollen Abend, ich esse ein sehr leckeres grosses Wiener Schnitzel, hell-dunkel Gemischtes Budweiser und zum Schluss teilen wir uns noch einen Teller Mohnnudeln als Nachspeise. Die süssen Nudeln sehen ein bisschen aus wie Schupfnudeln, bestehen ebenfalls aus Kartoffelteig und werden mit Butter sowie reichlich Mohn und Puderzucker bestreut. Einfach köstlich! Zum Abschluss eines sehr tollen Abends geben wir uns noch eine Runde Extasy. Diese gibt mir so richtig den Kick - ich erinnere mich nicht, wann ich zuletzt mit so einer spassigen Achterbahn gefahren bin! Auch wenn mir das Bier kurz hochzukommen droht..

[sunnabluama]

Tag 35: I‘m back!

11./12.09.22

Reisezeit: 9h 43min

Sonntagabend, 22.30, ich stehe in Sargans auf dem Bahnhsteig und warte auf den Nachtzug der ÖBB. Mein Entschluss, in meiner letzten Ferienwoche vor Semesterbeginn nochmals wegzufahren, hatte ich spontan gefasst: Erst am Vorabend war ich zum Bahnschalter gegangen, um mir dort meine Sitzplatzreservation zu kaufen. Aber ich konnte nicht anders - mein Interrailpass hat einfach zu sehr geschrien - ich musste nochmals los. Die Dame am Schalter hat mich dann erstmal etwas ausgelacht, als ich mit meiner Anfrage zu ihr kam. Die Nachtzüge seien momentan so ausgebucht, dass ich bestimmt kein Bett mehr bekäme, und nach einem Blick ins Buchungssystem bestätigte sich ihre Prophezeiung. Das einzige, was sie mir noch anbieten konnte, war ein Sitzplatz, welchen ich dann auch annahm. Vielleicht hatte ich ja Glück und nur wenige Leute bei mir im Abteil, sodass ich wenigstens über die Sitze hinweg liegen könnte. Wie naiv ich war, merkte ich erst, als ich vierundzwanzig Stunden später in Sargans in den Zug einstieg. Mein Abteil war eines der wenigen, in dem Licht brannte und in welchem bereits drei Leute sassen. Nichts mit Liegen also, und dank grellem Licht würde das Schlafen wohl auch schwierig werden. Ich kam mit dem Typ gegenüber von mir ins Gespräch, der scheinbar keinen Sitzplatz gebucht hatte. Hätte ich mir meine Reservation für 15€ also etwa auch sparen können? Ich kam mit ihm ins Gespräch und er erzählte mir, dass er eigentlich eine Liege gebucht hätte - jedoch versehentlich im Frauenabteil. Nach einigem Hin und Her bot er mir schliesslich seine Liege an, da er sie sowieso nicht benutzen würde, und er dadurch schliesslich immerhin (m)einen Sitzplatz bekommen würde. Ich war todmüde und mehr als glücklich - da hatte ich also doch noch einen Liegeplatz ergattert! Das Abteil war zwar eng - sechs Betten befanden sich insgesamt in dem Raum - doch ich konnte mich nicht beklagen. Ich hüpfte in mein Pyjama, und wollte dann ins Bett, welches sich jedoch als ein schwieriges Unterfangen herausstellte, da man sich etwas verrenken musste, weil der Abstand zwischen eigener und oberer Liege unheimlich klein war. Irgendwie schaffte ich es jedoch und legte mich, mit meiner NorthFace Tasche bei den Füssen, auf die Liege, welche aus dem gleichen Material wie die Sitze zu bestehen schien. Es war trotz Orstöpsel recht laut, die Pritsche sehr schmal und die Fahrt etwas ruckelig. Irgendwann schlief ich dann jedoch trotzdem ein und wachte nur wenige Male auf, bis es um etwa halb sechs Uhr morgens an unsere Tür klopfte, und eine Dame vom Zugpersonal „Linz“ rief. Da niemand in unserem Abteil reagierte, kam sie kurze Zeit später herein und rüttelte an meinem Fuss, sagte mir ich müsse in Linz aussteigen. Ich und alle anderen in meinem Abteil verneinten. Sie meinte, bei ihr auf dem Plan stehe, dass jemand in Linz aussteigen müsse, verliess jedoch das Abteil kurz darauf wieder. Mir fiel ein, dass der Typ, dessen Bett ich übernommen hatte, in Linz hätte aussteigen sollen und hoffte nun, dass der Tausch nicht auffiel und ich mich nicht rechtfertigen müssen würde. Bisher hatte nämlich noch niemand nach meiner Fahrkarte gefragt, und würde es auch bis zur Ankunft nicht mehr tun. Die Fahrt verlief also eine weitere halbe Stunde lang ungestört, bis es um sechs Uhr morgens erneut klopfte. „Frühstück“ hiess es. Damit hatte ich nun also echt nicht gerechnet. Jeder bekam ein Tablett mit zwei Semmelbrötchen, Butter und heissem Kaffee!

Um acht Uhr morgens kam ich in Wien an und machte mich durch die Strassen auf den Weg in mein Hostel am Westbahnhof. Obwohl der Weg etwa eine Stunde dauern würde, hatte ich mich entschieden zu Fuss zu gehen, um etwas von der Stadt zu sehen. Wien schien erst dabei aufzuwachen und war noch ziemlich ruhig - es war ja schliesslich auch Montagmorgen.

Im Hostel deponierte ich mein Gepäck und machte mich auf eine Free Walking Tour, die ich noch im Zug gebucht hatte. Während zweieinhalb Stunden wurden wir durch die Wiener Hofburg geführt, der einstweiligen Winterresidenz und Regierungssitz der Habsburger und Ort, wo Hitler einst eine Rede auf dem Balkon hielt, und der seitdem nicht mehr benutzt wurde. Die Habsburger waren seit dem 13. Jahrhundert an der Macht in Wien und regierten bis zum Ende des ersten Weltkriegs. Auf dem Eingangstor der Hofburg sitzt Göttin Athene, als Symbol der Weisheit. Die Hofburg war Sitz der Macht der Habsburger für 650 beinahe kontinuierliche Jahre, bis 1918 das Ende des ersten Weltkrieges mit dem Ende der Monarchie einherging.

Wir erfuhren, dass Wien einst die fünftgrösste Stadt der Welt war und von einer Mauer umgeben war, die sie vor den Osmanen schützen sollte. Auch wenn dieser Schutz nach dem Fall des Osmanischen Reiches nicht mehr nötig gewesen wäre, blieb die Mauer intakt und bildete fortan eine Art inoffizielle Trennung zwischen Adel und Mittelstand. Wo die Mauer einst war, wurde schliesslich die heutige Ringstrasse durchgezogen. Als die Mauer entfernt wurde, wurde viel Land im Stadtzentrum frei, die als Baufläche diente und neuen Wohnraum schuf. Dieses Ereignis diente als Trigger für die Goldenen Jahre Wiens ab 1900, die danach folgten. Diese hielten an bis zum ersten Weltkrieg, nach welchem Wien 1918 wortwörtlich in Schutt und Asche lag. Nach dem Fall der Monarchie war die Stadt einfach viel zu gross und die Ernährung der vielen Menschen sehr schwierig.

Im zweiten Weltkrieg wurden etwa 30% der Stadt zerbombt, wobei historische Plätze bewusst ins Visier der Aliierten gerieten. Auch etwa die Hälfte der Wiener Staatsoper, dem Symbol als Stadt der Musik, wurde zerstört. Die andere Hälfte blieb intakt, da als Schutz eine Mauer errichtet worden war, da die Wiener ihre Oper gemäss unserem Guide „so sehr lieb(t)en“.

Sie erzählt uns weiter von Maria Theresia, die einzige Frau, welche in Wien an der Macht war und unter anderem die Schulpflicht einführte. Sie hatte zudem 16 Kinder, unter ihnen Marie Antoinette, welche zusammen mit Ludwig dem Sechzehnten während der Französischen Revolution enthauptet wurde.

Die Tour geht vorbei an der spanischen Hofreitschule, den Stallungen der Lippizzaner und endet am Heldenplatz wo ich mir eine Mittags- und Verschnaufpause im Schatten der Bäume im Burggarten gönne, denn es ist mittlerweile ziemlich warm geworden.

Später geht mein Spaziergang durch die Stadt weiter entlang an den Universitätsgebäuden, dem Justizpalast, dem Parlament, bis zur Votivkirche wo ich dann zur Donau abbiege und an ihr entlangspaziere. Gemütliche Strandbars sowie Graffittis säumen das Ufer.

Ich folge der Verzweigung der Donau weiter zum Stadtpark und zu meinem nöchsten Ziel: der Karlskirche. Das riesige weisse Bauwerk überwältigt mich wie es da so dasteht, im Licht der langsam sinkenden Sonne. Ich besichtige die eindrücklich hohe Kuppel von innen und sitze am Teich nieder, um die Enormheit der Kirche wirken zu lassen.

Es ist schliesslich Abend geworden und mein Magen knurrt, weshalb ich mich schliesslich auf zum Naschmarkt mache. Zwischen einem Mix aus Souvenirshops, Fisch-, Fleisch- und Gewürzverkäufern setze ich mich schliesslich ins „Gasthaus zur Eisernen Zeit“ und geniesse Käsespätzle mit Salat und „weissem Sturm“, noch gärender junger Wein, der sehr lecker ist, nach Apfelschorle schmeckt und mir ziemlich schnell einen sturmen Kopf beschert…

Obwohl ich die beinahe dreissigtausend Schritte bereits in den Beinen spüre, kann ich es mir nicht nehmen lassen, die Hofburg und das Museumsviertel noch bei Nacht zu erkunden und danach schliesslich todmüde ins Hostel zurückzuspazieren. Für meinen ersten Tag in Wien hatte ich schon echt viel erlebt, und die vielen schönen Gebäude, welche die Zeit des Kaiserreichs wiederspiegeln, sowie das gemütliche Flair der Stadt hatten mich bereits total in seinen Bann gezogen!

[sunnabluama]

Day 34: The End

19.08.2022

When I returned to my compartment I saw a group consisting of five teenagers approaching my compartment. It was too late, they had already seen that I was awake and therefore asked whether they could join me. Of course they could. Usually I would‘ve enjoyed company, the only problem was that it was now past midnight and I really would‘ve been in favour of some good night‘s sleep which would‘ve been way more comfortable in a laying instead of the sitting position I was in now. In addition to that, the teenage girls constantly kept chatting and giggling around. I finally put my earplugs in and somehow managed to get some sleep. I woke up at least every hour when the train stopped in a rather rough way or, another time, when somebody had the amazing idea to pull the emergency break.

I barely noticed the teenagers leaving the compartment but when I woke up we were already close to the swiss border. Finally. I felt rather destroyed at first but after I‘ve been awake for some hours and had enjoyed some breakfast I felt already much better. In the end, my train was only around half an hour late when we arrived in Zurich and I fortunately just made it in time for my connection to Chur where my mum would pick me up to have lunch together. I was very happy to see her. Because what I had been missing most about home, besides the mountains and nature in general, was definitely the people. And the feeling that you get by just being home again. Everything feels so natural, not like I had not been there for so long. It just feels comfortable. And this is, where my interrail adventure ended. It is still hard for me to realize that it is over as I‘m sitting at the airport while writing this, three days after I came home, already going on my next trip. But that‘s gonna be a completely different story.. :-)

For now, I just want to appreciate my interrail trip again to the fullest. I had the possibility to explore so many different places, thanks to some very good friends of mine that I could visit and thanks to some like-minded travellers I met along the way. First of all, I want to thank you all for having made this trip as unforgettable as it was! I learned a lot for and about myself, grew a lot and had time to think and redefine values and importance of different relationships. As this was my first longer solo-trip I learned how to be alone without being lonely, how to be more self-determined and confident in a lot of things. And one thing I know for sure is that I will definitely do this again. This experience was unique and I definitely want to go for more solo-trips as soon as I have time for it. But for now, I don‘t want to prolong this any further, but I want to thank you all that are still reading until now. For having accompanied me on this journey, having read about my highs and lows; I really appreciate it! And if you ever think of doing anything like this yourself, I can only tell you one thing: don‘t hesitate, just go. You won‘t regret it!

[sunnabluama]

Day 33: Departure

18.08.2022

Travel time: 26 hours

I‘ve been lying in one of my previous posts: THIS would be the longest travel day of my life. :-) First, however, I had to say goodybe to my godmother and her husband which hurt a lot. Although it has only been a few days that we got to spend together I have definitely enjoyed every second of our time together. And I definitely know that I will go back!

So it was 7am when I took the train that would bring me from Sweden to Copenhagen and then to Hamburg where I arrived at 6pm. The time until then had passed as quickly as always on my travel days, I haven‘t been bored for a second but rather enjoyed the amount of time I had while travelling. In Hamburg, however, I had almost three hours to wait for my connecting train that would departure at 8.50pm and arrive in Zurich around 8am. I passed the time by buying some food in areas I‘d rather not be on my own at night, it was on the other side of the station that I had never seen during my stay in Hamburg. And now I now also knew why. Also, while I was eating my food outside a closed Starbucks at the station it became rather annoying that literally every 15 minutes someone would come and ask for money. I didn‘t feel scared or anything, just rather uncomfortable with time.

The austrian nightjet departured ten minutes late from Hamburg and not as fully packed as I had expected it to be. I had tried to buy a bed reservation beforehand but it had been sold out already a week in advance. But since the train was rather empty I ended up sharing a whole compartment of six seats only with a couple so that I had three seats in a row for my own to sleep on. I had troubles falling asleep and it was right before midnight when the couple left my compartment and I was on my own. And this was the moment when I decided to go to the bathroom. Which turned out to be the worst decision I could‘ve made..

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Day 32: Relaxing

17.08.2022

Since yesterday‘s morning had given me such a great start in the day I decided to copy it today, the only different thing being my running route. I chose it to be a bit shorter today but with a bit more ups and downs as well as more inside the forest. Also the after-running swim in the lake was as refreshing as yesterday and I felt very balanced and happy when I enjoyed my breakfast afterwards. Some coffee-talks throughout the day and some reading of my Harry Potter book that I‘ve been carrying around with me for half a year and never had had the chance to read a single page of it made my day one of the most relaxing ones on my trip. I enjoyed it to the fullest, laying on the sunchair on the terrace, listening to the sound of the waves, feeling the sun on my skin and just BEING. Being one with nature and feeling relaxed. I realized that it was exactly what I needed after those four weeks of intense travel, city exploring without ever taking a day off. Those calm hours helped me reflect on what I have experienced the past few weeks, the many impressions, the many people I‘ve met, all of which I had again much more time to appreciate now.

This day could not have ended better than with a beautiful red sunset I watched, sitting at the water and simply enjoying the power of mother nature.

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Day 31: Sweden‘s nature

16.08.2022

It had been long ago that I had woken up in such a calm and peaceful way. I drew the curtains of my cozy stuga aside and looked outside. It looked like the sun wasn‘t burning down that much yet so I wanted to take the possibility and go for a run to explore the neighbourhood. I ran along the beach, through the forest, discovered some hidden bays with only a few houses alongside. All in all, a very picturesque scenery. When I came back there was only one obvious thing to do afterwards: cool myself down in the lake! After I‘ve had a first swim yesterday afternoon I was eager to jump in again. The water temperature was rather refreshing, so just exactly what I needed.

In the afternoon my godmother took me to the nearby town Sjötorp where we had a walk along the famous Götecanal which starts here, at the Vänern lake, and continues until Stockholm. It is therefore a popular biking route and attracts many tourists every year. Sjötorp itself is a very cute town with a lovely harbour. We enjoyed our time there while having the biggest soft ice I‘ve ever eaten in my life! Although we only ordered a medium-sized one, it felt like there was one kilogram of ice cream on my waffle and it was rather challenging to finish it before it had melted away. However, it was super-delicious!

The evening finished by me trying „real“ fish for the first time in my life: trout, which my godmother‘s husband had fung himself. Super-tasty! We enjoyed it on the terrace in the garden which has an amazing view on the water and the downgoing sun.

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Day 30: Goodbye Stockholm

15.08.2022

Travel time: 3 hours

I didn‘t want to leave Stockholm without having said goodybe to my new canadian friend Claire with whom I had spent quite some time these days since we had luckily discovered that we were quite like-minded. So we met up for a last cup coffee and chai before I had to hop on my train.

The trainride to my next destination took me only three hours and was therefore one of the shortest of my trip. I was therefore more than happy that I arrived there in no time and was finally able to embrace my dear godmother awaiting me at the station. I had been looking forward for so long to spend time with her and her husband on their camping at the biggest lake of the country, the Vänern. We were both so happy to see each other and thanks to her presence but also the very cozy „Stuga“ I got to live in as well as the incredible nature at the lake, this place immediately felt like home to me. So much, that I just decided to ignore my phone for these days, to relax to the fullest, and therefore quite forgot to take a lot of pictures.

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Day 29: Reunions

14.08.2022

I don‘t know how it happened - but somehow my last two days in Stockholm had just flown by. That‘s why today was pretty tightly scheduled since there were still quite some things on my list that I wanted to see. First of all, I wanted to get an overview over the city from a different perspective: namely, the tower of the city hall, which I climbed in the morning. Especially since I had already discovered big parts of the city by now it was very interesting to see it all from above.

Another day, another museum: this time I had decided to go for the Nobel Prize one. Since a friend had recommended it to me as „his highlight of Stockholm“ - though he wasn‘t even into science - I wanted to see it. And it turns out he didn‘t overexaggerate. Though it was probably not my highlight of the trip, it was definitely worth a visit! And again, I lost myself in there for four hours. Once more, like in the vasa museum, you could follow a short guided tour as well as audioguides and read about all the laureates on screens. And those were a lot: the nobel price was first given out in 1901, and since then every year in physics, chemistry, medicine/physiology, peace and literature. Those were the five categories that Alfred Nobel had written down in his will. Amongst the three scientific fields he wanted to support peace as well as his passion for literature and poetry. According to my free walking tour guide Francesca there was a particular reason why Nobel introduced this price: after he had been wrongly announced dead after an explosion he had learned how bad the world thought of him. As a result of wanting to create a stable form of nitroglycerine he invented dynamite and was therefore seen as the creator of a terrible weapon. As a result, he wanted to contribute something positive to the world after his death and wrote down the will in which he gave all his assets to the Nobel foundation since he didn‘t have a wive or kids. Whether this story behind the motivation for his will was true or not is not clear though.

Nominations for the five disciplines of the Nobel Prize are being made every year until january 31, the decisions about the laureates are made in early october and on December 10, the date of Alfred nobel‘s death, the nobel prize is presented at a ceremony. All of the prizes except for the peace price are handed over in Stockholm. The peace price is given out in Oslo, also based on Nobel‘s Will and probably the fact that Norway was still a part of Sweden back in the days.

In 1986 an additional price in economic sciences was introduced in memory of Alfred Nobel since the swedish bank was celebrating its 300 years jubilee. The money that the winners of this prize receives therefore comes from the bank and not the Nobel Prize foundation, since it is not considered a Nobel Prize.

The amount of Prize money has varied over the years but consists of 10 million swedish kroner right now which corresponds to 1 million euros.

Apart from personal objects, of which every laureate had given one to the museum, there were screens reporting the work and life of every single one of the Laureates among the years. I spent hours reading about amazing scientists such as Marie Curie, who had been the first and one of the two only people winning two Nobel Prizes - in physics for the discovery of radiation and later in chemistry for the discovery of radium and polonium. I also got reminded that Marie Curie had organized mobile x-ray teams during the first world war.

Apart from that, there were letters from Albert Einstein to his children and other scientists about his work on the law of the photoelectric effect for which he had got the Nobel Prize in Physics. The law describes the way light is able to release electrons from its atoms and provided the basis for a lot of applications within the field of electronics. His theory of relativity for which he is more famous was still contested at the time. Since you are, as a Nobel Prize holder, allowed to nominate others, I also found out that amongst 11 others that Einstein had nominated, sooner or later they also received the price. Must‘ve paid itself out being friends with Einstein back in the days, as well as being related to Marie Curie - since the Curie family alone received five nobel prizes. :-)

After this museum had made me eager to continue studying in september I decided to be a tourist again for the rest of the afternoon. But first, I had a lunch reunion with two of my erasmus friends from Leuven: Rebecca, who lived in Stockholm herself, but also Eedith from Finland who was also in Stockholm for only this day. What a coincidence! We had lunch together and talked about the good old days in Leuven, which seemed further away from me than only two months ago.

After this break I hopped on a boat and discovered the Archipelago for three hours. The whole Archipelago consists of an estimated number if 30’000 islands, of which approximately one hundred are inhabited by a total population of around thousand people. The three-hour tour (price: 345 SEK) took us out until the capital of the Archipelago: Vaxholm. Though the boatride took quite some time there were roads connecting most of these closer islands of the what is called „inner“ Archipelago and therefore makes it plssible for its inhabitants to reach the city of Stockholm within a half an hour car ride. Living on one of thise Archipelago islands while commuting to the city for work: this seemed again like living the best of both worlds and reminded me of the people living on the islands of Oslo.

After the tour I had another reunion with a traveller I had only met further on my trip. Remember the professional poker player from India? He turned out to be - by coincidence - in Stockholm as well these days and we therefore decided to catch up while having dinner at a vegan all-you-can eat buffet. Whoever knows me well enough is aware of the fact that I‘m having a love-hate-relationship with those buffets, mostly based on love though. However, the hating part of the relationship comes into play when I enjoy the food so much, lose myself in the need to try everything available and having to carry a foodbaby home with me. So not too surprising that it also happened this time. The buffet was amazing, cots only 20 euros for students and they were also having a BBQ in addition. This heaven-like place is called Hermans and offers, in addition to the amazing food, a splendid view over the city. Kshitij and I had a great evening, interesting conversations again about the cultural differences he had become aware of when coming to Europe. For instance, he had first tried to use a knife in his life only a few years ago, and, since he failed, afterwards rarely done it again. In India, everything is eaten by bare hands, he argued, and for cutting most of the other stuff - which did rarely include meat since 40% of the population are vegetarians - you would not need a knife. Interesting point of view. I kind of got it but had still difficulties imagining how I would desperately try to eat rice and curry without cutlery.

Like this, my last evening in Stockholm sadly came to an end. I was sad to leave the city tomorrow, but very excited for my next stop, which was motivation enough to go to bed in time..

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Day 28: the dark and bright sides of Stockholm

13.08.2022

Imagine you spent two years building one of the biggest ships of the time and when it finally starts its maiden voyage it capsizes after a total sailing time of only twenty minutes. Sounds tragic but thanks to this event we‘re now able to admire a very well preserved warship from that time. The ship I‘m talking about - the Vasa - was built in the 17th century and was the biggest ship that has ever been built at that time. It was built on the orders of king Gustav Adolphus as part of the military expansion in the war against Poland, over which his cousin was ruling at the time. The king‘s order was simple: he wanted a fast ship that was able to carry as many canons as possible. This resulted in the ship being 50 metres tall and almost 70 metres long and the first one having two instead of only one canon decks. Its enormous size was the main reason why it was only able to sail 1.3 km on that day in 1628 before it was tilted through the wind and sank not far from the harbour of Stockholm. Since Stockholm‘s waste is dumped directly into the water for centuries, as it rots there, it produced hydrogen sulphide which consumes oxygen in the water. The polluted water, low in oxygen, helps preserve the Vasa as it is difficult for wood-attacking fungi and bacteria to survive. So thanks to the waste and the uniquely low salinity of the water of the baltic, there were now shipworms destroying the Vasa and 98% of it is still preserved! Some screws and nails made of metal would roast but the oak would withstand the conditions.

All of this I learned in the Vasa museum where the ship can be admired. It‘s enormous and impossible to capture in its full size by camera.

But it‘s not only the size of the ship itself but also the details in design that it entails: it has been put a lot of work into of sculptures representing roman emperors as well as lions representing the power of the king. The ship was decorated with many of them, showing once more that the ship‘s purpose was to frighten the enemy and defend it in a battle.

However, while the vast majority of the ship is preserved, its colour in which the oak was originally painted was of course not. One can only imagine how even more makestic it must‘ve looked like, painted in red and gold.

Nowadays we know that a ship of those dimensions was prone to sink. It would‘ve been stable if there weren‘t two gundecks or if it was built in different dimensions. The ship was too narrow and therefore didn‘t have enough space to compensate for its height which resultet in a centre of mass located way too high. Like this, when it was tilted, water could come in through the gunports and make it sink. After this disaster, however, the shipbuilders learned from their mistakes: they built another ship, similar to the vasa, which had only one metre more in width. This changed the game though: this ship, called „the apple“, sailed for more than 30 years!

After the Vasa had spent 333 years underwater it was salvaged in 1961 and was still able to float after all this time when it got to the surface. In order to preserve it it was sprayed with PEG, a presarvative replacing the water in the wood and precventing the wood from shrinking and cracking. Noone had previous experience of conserving such a large ship, so that was a huge experiment for everyone. Finally, after spraying PEG on its surface for 17 years and letting it dry for another 9 years, approximately 500 tonnes of water evaporated awa. The ship weighs 800-900 tonnes today, which corresponds to six jumbo jets.

As one can probably tell, I was super fascinated about the history of the Vasa and spent 3.5 hours in the museum. Afterwards I walked around on Djurgården which is a small island in Stockholm where not only the Vasa but also many more museums were located. However, it also has a huge green area with forests and flowers of the Rosendal. I finally made my way to a grassy surface next to the water where I took a break and enjoyed my lunch.

I didn‘t have too much time to relax though since I had registered for the „Death in Old Town“ tour. Another free walking tour led by Francesca, where I would also meet Claire again. We learned about the worst massacres and darkest sides of swedish history such as the „angelmaking“ which referred to women, „baby farmers“, taking unwanted babies for money in order to take care for them but killed them instead. In contrast to this tragic and dark mark there were however also more positive events to think back of as for instance the story of Raoul Wallenberg. He was a swedish diplomat at the time of the second world war and thus used his power of legally creating official documents to provide thousands of jews in German-occupied Hungary with fake swedish passports in order to save their lives.

The tour continued with stories about bloodletting, which has been used as a therapeutic mean in the 19th century, and of which also George Washington had died although he was only suffering from a cold which would‘ve healed by itself. The tour ended with the story about the square Stortorget, with the beautiful colourful buildings that one can find on many postcards and on which, ironically, Stockholm‘s blood bath has taken place in 1520 when king Christian II ordered to kill about a hundred guests that he had invited to his crowning party. Speaking of executions: In Stockholm there was only one way to escape executions: you had to take over the job of the executioner himself. The advantages consisting in being alive and getting accomodation and food for free would however often not outweigh the disadvantages, which included amongst the obvious, getting your ears cut off and being branded with a sign so that everyone would recognize you in case you wanted to escape from Gamla Stan. And all of this was only a prolonging of your own execution, until the next condemned do death would decide to take your job over.

After this rather dark though historically extremely interesting afternoon I decided to get some sun and spent the rest of my evening enjoying the sunset from the Skinnarviksberget.

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Day 27: Stockholm by feet

12.08.2022

Did you know that one in ten europeans is conceived on an ikea bed? That’s one of the first things that you learn on a free walking tour in the capital of sweden I guess. Or at least what still sticks to your mind afterwards. Our guide Francesca, who originally came from London and therefore added a lot of british humour to the tour, also told us the story about Queen Christina that had been ruling over Sweden in the 17th century and was a rather interesting person. Not only did she decide not to marry - which was a huge scandal these days - but also she left Sweden with all of the crown jewels, went down to Rome where she became friends with the pope, converted to catholicism and is now one of the few women buried in the Vatican. Another funny story about the swedish crown was the one of Princess Victoria who had fallen in love with her personal trainer Daniel who had to go through a three year learning process about the habits of a prince before actually receiving the king‘s blessing to marry Victoria.

Last but not least: Did you know where the term Stockholm syndrom comes from? The condition gets its name from a bank robbery incident that happened in 1973 in Stockholm in the building on the picture below. During a six-day standoff with the police many of the hostages which were bank employees became sympathetic toward the bank robbers and rather angry at the police.

After this free walking tour that had brought me around the newer parts of the city I decided to join another one around Gamla Stad, the old town, which was located on two islands separating the baltic sea from the lake. That is were Stockholm was originally founded since it was a strategically imporrant merchandise town and a good control point of the baltic sea. Btw - if you were wondering where the name of the city came from - stock coming from the old swedish word „stokker“ means log or pole and refers to the logs that the city used to prevent enemy ships from entering the area, and the second part „holm“ means island. So „Stockholm“ - island of the logs.

While walking through the narrow colourful streets of Gamlastad I also learned that this neighbourhood had not always been as pretty as it was today: back in the days Stockholm had a problem with waste. Basically everything just got thrown on the streets and washed down to the harbout with the rain. This did not only result in terribly polluted streets as well as drinking water but also in a rise of the streets of Gamlastad which is visible nowadays. According to our guide the island of the old town was only half as big as it was today - so we were basically standing on a lot of waste from the medieval times.

After I have learned so much about the past and present of Stockholm my brain felt like a saturated sponge and I needed a break. And what does a soaked sponge do to empty itself? Exactly, he jumps into the water. Badumts. That‘s what I did - together with Claire from Canada that I had met on the morning free walking tour - we met up at Långholmsbadet. The place seemed to be pretty popular since the weather had been around 30 degrees these days but the refreshment in the lake definitely helped!

In the evening I met up with two friends of friends that I knew from home and who coincidentally were also staying in my hostel. What started as a cozy evening at the hostel bar ended with a small concert and us dancing in front of the stage. Though I had never consciously listened to swedish music before I really liked the songs that Sannah Sae and Ellen Bergelin, both swedish artists, were performing that evening. After such an eventful day I was definitely ready to get some sleep and restore energy reserves for tomorrow.

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Day 26: Longest travel day in my life

11.08.2022

Voss - Stockholm

Hours of travelling: 15h

Time spent on train: 11h 20min

Accomodation: Generator Hostel Stockholm; 46€/night (6 bed room)

While leaving Bergen has been hard because of the people from the hostel, leaving Voss was hard because of the amazing breakfast buffet. It was challenging not to stay longer and actually leaving on time in order to catch my train early this morning. Since this was my last morning in Norway I wanted to have some typical norwegian brown cheese with rasperry jam one last time. In the end I even ran on the train because I had a long journey in front of me today and missing this train would mean not arriving on the same day anymore. While running I felt my knee complaining, but it would get some rest today. The railway between Bergen and Oslo was very popular due to its spectacular landscape it was driving through. It was hard for me to judge at first whether this hype was justified because all I could see was fog. But what I saw after it had cleared up was actually very scenic! Picturesque hills surrounded by lakes and green grass.

I arrived in Oslo half an hour delayed, which was no problem since I had one full hour to change. I had started this trip a bit nervous since I had not been able to make a seat reservation for the last part of today‘s trip. However, when I checked connections again in Oslo I found a different one that had never been suggested to me before but that was even better since I didn‘t have to change. And: there were still seats available! The only drawback might have been the time gap - I had to wait three hours in Oslo - but that was rather positive for me since I really liked the city! It was funny to be back in Oslo, the city felt very familiar to me, as if I had just been here some days ago. It has not been too long now that I thought about it - around 1.5 weeks ago - but on the other hand I had experienced so many things in the meantime that it felt like ages ago. When I left the station a heat wave hit me: it was perfect weather here, no si gle cloud and the sun was shining - amazing! Because as much as I had liked Bergen, I had missed the sun a lot and was therefore very happy to have it back!

I made my way along the harbour, walking with my warm long trousers as well as too many layers and a pullover when I could not bear the heat anymore. Since there were not many people in this side street I just decided to exchange my long warm hiking pants against my short pyjama trousers since they were the most accessible ones on the side of my backpack. Fortunately, they didn‘t look too bad and could‘ve been seen as normal summer shorts. :-)

Since Emilie was working in the city centre I had spontaneously texted her and we met up in her coffee break. This was once again a perfect and simple example how always another door opens if one closes and how it then usually even turns to the better!

On my remaining train ride I met a girl from Germany (surprise; never have I met so many germans on a trip before) that coincidentally was staying in the same hostel as I would. So we spent part of the trip talking, partially sleeping since it was getting quite late. I enjoyed watching the sunset from the window while driving through the woods and across lakes. The view would’ve been way better though if the windows would’ve been cleaned once in the past few years. :-) I was very happy when I finally, after 15 hours of travelling, reached my end destination: Stockholm!

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Day 25: The Queen‘s hike

10.08.2022

Hiking distance: 20.8 km

Elevation gain: 1.17 km

Duration: 4h 45min

I felt a calm and warm feeling in my chest when I opened my eyes this morning and could see the great view on the lake out of my window. Nature had its very own way of giving me energy and peace at the same time. My mood got even better when I saw the big breakfast buffet this morning which varied from fresh vegetables and fruit from the hostel’s own garden to a lot if different breads, yoghurts, cheeses - also the norwegian brown cheese of course - eggs, porridge, and so on. Since I had been too tired yesterday to make a final decision about what to do on my only full day in Voss I figured it out while having breakfast. In the end I went for a hike that I had already had a look at some weeks before: Dronningstien it was called and also known under the Queen‘s path, since it was said to be queen Sonja‘s favourite hike. Fortunately the bus connections from Voss were way better than from Stavanger but nonetheless there were 2 hour gaps between them. I therefore took it chill and bought some hiking pants in an outlet store in the city centre. Voss reminded me very much of Samnaun in Switzerland or Serfaus in Austria: a centre for hikers as well as other types of mountain sports which was famous amongst people interested in it but unknown for the typical tourists. A lot of people I had told about it didn‘t know the place at all. This led to Voss being touristic but definitely not as crowded as the other cities, which I really enjoyed.

This applied also to today‘s hike, starting from Kinsarvik which was about an hour by bus from Voss. The presence of fridges with drinks on the hiking trail which relied on hikers being honest enough in paying it with no cashier present as well as cherries of farmers being sold next to the street was the confirmation of the absence of mass tourism. Also throughout the hike I mostly met norwegians and only few germans. The hike consisted in 1.1k metres of elevation, rewarded with a splendid view over the Sørfjorden while walking on top of the plateau for hours.

It was stunning, I have no words. This was definitely one of the most spectacular views I had seen: the fjord was laying down there, visible in its whole length and beauty. In addition to that, the weather was pretty good today and the sun was even shining!

Knowing that I would have to wait for three hours if I missed the bus at 6pm in Lofthus I suddenly realized that I might have to hurry up again. It was already 5pm and I was still standing on the plateau, enjoying the view. The way down usually takes longer than what it first seems like and I therefore hurried up. The way down led through a very dense and beautiful forest with a lot of moss covering the ground. The sun shining through the trees gave the whole scenery a very magic atmosphere..

As soon as I was sitting inside the bus I had struggles keeping my eyes open. Those two intense hikes close to each other and travelling from one to the other hostel in between with not a lot of sleep definitely showed its consequences now. However, since I wanted to enjoy the view on the fjord on the busride back to voss - also realizing that this was my last day in Norway - I forced myself to keep my eyes open. A traffic jam caused by many campervans in combination with a building site on the road didn‘t make this any easier. When we finally arrived in Voss it was already 8pm. And here comes my final highlight of the day: since my hostel had its own garden they did not only provide some of it for breakfast but moreover also encouraged their guests to harvest their own vegetables and cook with them! So that‘s what I did: I grabbed a small knife from the kitchen and made my way down to the garden, eager to see what they were growing. And this turned out to be a good question, since I first could only recognize different types of green leaves coming out of the soil. This was when I realized: I and probably also a lot of other people in general paid too little attention to what we are eating every day. Rarely did I ask myself the question: how does a zuchhini actually grow? Well, at least I found it out today. I left the garden with a head of lettuce, two onions and two zuchhini which ended up in my tomato sauce for my pasta. It tasted amazing, mostly due to the fresh vegetables of course. What a perfect ending to this wonderful day! Before going to bed I checked my face in the mirror: I had got slightly slightly sunburnt. What might have usually rather annoyed me I found quite satisfying in this moment since it was the receit of a successful hiking day. :-)

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Day 24: No good in goodbye

09.08.2022

Bergen - Voss

Travel time: 1h 40min

Accomodation: Voss Vandrarheim Hostel, 40€/night (5 people bedroom)

Although my muscles didn‘t hurt as much from yesterday as I expected them to I decided to take it a bit slower today. It was - surprise - raining once more and I was kind of grateful for it since this helped me relax. After a long breakfast with my hiking friends I took a one-hour walk to the stave church of Fantoft close by. While doing so I could definitely tell that those legs had been working the past 24 hours. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the walk through the rain. Visiting the church was not as spectacular as I thought, it looked definitely less impressive than on the pictures I had seen. And the biggest scam of all: though being so remote from the city they were charging 7€ entrance fee to get closer to the church and inside. However, since the lady at the cashier didn‘t seem too keen on doing her job and was busy otherwise, I just decided to step in without paying. And I was definitely happy I did so, the inside was even less spectacular than the outside.

Since I felt like I had seen all of the things on my Bergen-list now I made my way to the Sjøbad next to the harbour. After I had been unsuccessfully searching for something like a thermal bath, this was probably what came closest to it and what the volunteers recommended to me. There was a rather small outside swimming pool heated up to 30 degrees and the possibility to jump into the ocean nearby. What I did not understand, however, was that the pool was mainly made for swimming rows instead of relaxing. Who wants to do a swimming workout if the water is 30 degrees hot?! I tried it but the temperature made me rather tired than anything, so I decided to just flot in the water, facing the sky and the sea nearby. Though I had initially been keen on jumping into the sea after a while in the warm water and with the cold outside temperature around my head I realized that I would not do it today. Disappointingly, the sauna that I had been looking forward to use was currently out of order. Too bad. In conclusion, the swimming experience and what you got for those 9€ wasn‘t that exciting but the best I could do this day. And the warm water definitely did good on my sore legs.

I walked around the small half island the swimming pool was located on my way home and almost stumbled over an hedgehog! Yes, a hedgehog! Those small creatures that were usually rather shy and that I had never seen that close before was just sitting at the border of the street. In order not to scare it too much I didn‘t want to stop for too long, but still had to take some time to take a picture of this cutiepie!

I returned to the hostel being super-tired but also satisfied about my spontaneous decision I had made yesterday during the hike when I had cancelled my last night in the Bergen hostel and decided to leave one day earlier since I felt like I had seen everything I wanted and more exciting destinations were waiting for me. However, I also regret my decision some hours later, after the cookie and coffee time, since our hiking group had decided to make a cooking battle of spaghetti carbonara between the italians and spanish people. And the rest of us was of course happy to judge. I had therefore decided to take my last possible train to get to spend as much time as possible with my new friends that I felt incredibly familar with after having spend only one full day together. Saying goodbye was very hard and I got very sentimental when my train left Bergen while it was already dark outside.

My arrival in Voss at 11pm elevated my mood since the city was laying just next to a big lake and surrounded by some mountains. In addition to that, I had a whole shared bedroom for myself and could therefore choose the widest bed of all of them, in which I fell asleep in no time.

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Day 23: The 6 mountain hike

08.08.2022

Lyderhorn (396 moh) - Damsgardsfjellet (345 moh) - Løvstakken (477 moh) - Fløyen (399 moh) - Rundemanen (568 moh) - Sanviksfjellet (392 moh)

Hiking distance: 33.2 km

Elevation gain: 1810m

Moving time (without breaks): 11 hours

Sometimes you just need some crazy people around you that help you put your crazy ideas into action. And I was very happy that I had found some here. There are seven mountains surrounding the city of Bergen, the highest and most popular of them - Mount Ulriken - I had already climbed on the day of my arrival. But there were six remaining ones and I thought it might be funny to hike them all in one day. Since Emma, one of the volunteers organizing daily activities in the hostel, was also very much into hiking and liked the idea, we persuaded the other volunteers to suggest it as the activity of today. Some other travellers that were staying in the hostel joined as well, so it was the eight of us leaving the hostel at 7.30am this morning. Apart from the volunteers Mario, Antonio and Emma there were Arian and Lea from Germany, Carlos from Spain and Matthew from the US. All in all a very mixed and funny crew. Carlos for instance had just been playing a concert in Oslo since he was playing in three different metal bands at a time and trying to make a living out of it right now, at the age if 26. On the other side, 28-year old Antonio was about to switch job and was getting paid by his company for this stay in Norway in order to improve his English. While hiking and being on vacation, well played. Interestingly, Lea from Stuttgart often goes hiking in the region close to my home in Switzerland and her parents were there right now - what a coincidence! And Matthew, living up to the cliché of a guy from Florida going on a proper hike for the first time in his life, had of course arrived in some sort of sneakers. I was curious to see how far he would make it. :-)

We had to drive almost one hour by bus to arrive at the starting point of the hike and to climb the first one of the mountains: Lyderhorn, 396 meteres above sea level. The climb up there and moreover the way down was quite challenging. Not because it was steep or anything but because all of the trail was very muddy and swampy again and the stones were super slippery. It therefore became a challenge not to fall - which I did not succeed in. We had only reached the bottom of mountain 1 out of 7 and I was already wearing a plaster on my hand.

We continued to the second one, Damsgardsfjellet with 345 metres above sea level, and further to the 477 metre high Løvstakken. At this point it was already 3pm since we had been walking rather slow due to some shoe issues of a person whose name I‘m not gonna mention here. :-) I therefore suggested that we would skip Ulriken since it was the one closest to our hostel and since I and some others had already been on top of it. So we made our way further to mountain number four: 399 moh Fløyen, from where we continued to 568 moh Rundemanen, today‘s highest. Though half of our group was about to call it a day at this point and we could definitely all feel our legs - everyone stayed strong and we made our way to the last mountain of the day: Sandviksfjellet, 392 moh. It was around 9pm when we took a final picture with an amazing view over Bergen.

As a final effort this day we then had to take down what a local called „the steepest stairs in the world“ to get down to the city. After some steps I could definitely see what he meant. We all concentrated on not falling on those last steps and gladly made it safely down to the city. It was 11pm when we arrived at our hostel, everyone super-tired and feeling the 33 kilometres in their legs. However, none of this held us back from having an amazing rest of the evening with deep conversations until 3am. Those are definitely my favourite type of days! It was unbelievable that I had met most of these people only this morning but already felt like I knew them way longer. What an impact a day of hiking together could have..

[sunnabluama]

Day 22: Let it rain

07.08.2022

Today Bergen completely lived up to its name of being the rainiest city in all of Europe. It only rained once today. However, we made the best out of it by joining a free walking tour in the morning. By us I mean me and Veerle, a very sympathetic girl from the Netherlands that I met at breakfast this morning and who spontaneously decided to join. The tourguide gave its best to make us forget the bad weather and entertained us while showing and explaining the backstories of the most popular landmarks of the city. The UNESO world heritage region called Bryggen was known as the german dock in the earlier days, since Bergen as a Hansecity was home to a lot of germans that stored and traded their goods in the harbour around Bryggen. Fun fact: since there was a ground as well as a window tax for all the buildings in Bryggen the inhabitants and traders decided to build them as balconies and constructing doors instead of windows to decrease taxes.

Our guide also showed us around the fishmarket where we had the chance to try dried whale as well as reindeer meat. Surprisingly, the whale meat had more in common with a normal salami in comprison with the reindeer meat which had a rather unique taste. All in all the tour was very interesting and definitely the best option to spend such a rainy day!

After a chai break and a long way back to our hostel me and Veerle just arrived back in time for the happy tea and coffee hour where we met all the other hostel visitors again and spend a lovely evening.