my travel blog

Thursday 6 December 2012

DesignAlive

My pictures have been published on the cover and from page 80 onwards in the design magazine DesignAlive - No5 2012/13. Out soon - get your copy now! The story publishes a series of photos from my time in Chandigarh, India - have a look at the original post here.

Photo: Nasz Maly Przyjaciel / D-zion

Thursday 20 September 2012

The End

It is time to say goodbye from the world of travelling - at least for a while. After about 7 months on the road other challenges and opportunities are waiting.
It has been a blast. Thank you to everybody who made it unforgetable. I'll be back...

Here's a link to a selection of the most popular posts - Enjoy

India - A day with Osho (a kind of)

India - Holi Festival in Hampi

India - Andaman Islands

India - Kolkata

Bangladesh - Chittagong Brickpit

Bangladesh - Ship Breaking Yards

Bangladesh - Khulna and Bagerhat

Bangladesh - National Assembly by Louis Kahn

Nepal - Chasing rocky the rhino

Nepal - Three passes around Mt Everest - part I to VI

India - A cleansing bath in Varanasi

India - Crumbling Concrete in Le Corbusier's Chandigarh

Thailand - Karl's first fight

Mongolia - Nadaam Festival

Mongolia - Gobi Desert

Mongolia - Central: Horses and more

Mongolia - Foodsafari: Mutton, goat or horse?

Friday 7 September 2012

The final round - Austria and Switzerland

Before going back to real life, a visit along some more or less architectural gems in Austria and Switzerland are a must. You find more pictures here.

First Salzburg...

then Bregenz,...

Zurich,...

Basel and...

...finally Weil am Rhein.

Friday 31 August 2012

Austria - Klettersteig Heaven

In Nepal I fell in love with the mountains. Once back in Europe, I realized that there are some big and scary ones just around the doorstep - in Austria. So I got my introduction of the so called 'Klettersteig'. I have to admit - don't laugh please - I have never heard nor seen of such thing. In principle it is a fixed steel cable on a steep mountain wall which you can take as a safety line while climbing up in order to avoid taking the much longer (and less scary) hiking path up to the summit. Austria's mountains are filled with these extended lightening protection cables and they are available in all kinds of grades ranging from A = easy to E = professional. For ease of access there some fixed metal rods and the safety net is a double karabiner on a piece of rope around your hip.

My ambitious Austrian friend thought that Nepal would have been training enough so I ended up on my first attempt on a grade D which kept me busy for more than 4 hours locked to the cable and my muscles sore for the following days. Once convinced that I am not scared of heights the mountains around the Dachstein - one of Austria's highest - were the next destination. In heights of just under 3000m the cold and wind are not forgotten but are made up by views onto the ski fields and the glacier. Another vertical face of Klettersteig 'Irg' going hundreds of height meters up in the air kept my heartbeat up, my thoughts of the 'what if...' spinning in my head, my body sore for days after and my fellow Austrian smiling. This country is Klettersteig Heaven.

Shortcut with view of Lake Atter...

...the only way is up...

...hold by a steel cable.

Be god with you... shortcut fnished.

Another shortcut towards the summit...

...but some work has to be done up the rock face...

...down via the glacier...

...across the wall...

...and up the rock to the...

...summit with view of the Dachstein (2995m) from
the 'Grosser Koppenkarstein' (2865m). Bergheil.

Thursday 9 August 2012

Weymouth - Olympic Spirit

There is hope that there is still some Olympic spirit left in the world. After a lot of complaining over the ticket buying disaster I was sitting in Weymouth besides the Olympic ticketed area and was preparing myself for a long day of not seeing a lot. Then suddenly I hear a friendly voice behind me asking me if I wanted a ticket. To my question about how much he simply answered 'Nothing, it is Olympic spirit'. Thank you so much Steve, very much appreciated.
It was a good start of the day which only got better and better. In front of a huge crowd - lots of Australians as well - Nathan Outerridge and Iain Jensen won the 49er sailing event for Australia. The event was followed by a decent celebration at the local pub invaded by basically all Australian television stations I could think of: Channel 7, Nine, Ten, ABC... Not sure if the young boys were super keen on the cameras after the first couple of drinks which broadcasted straight to the morning shows at 9pm local time...
more pictures here