Holidays

Over the last few months we decided it was time for us to get out off Innsbruck for some short trips and holidays. Now that we don't have to board a plane anymore, but simply pack the car to travel around in Europe, it was time to enjoy that advantage.

At Easter Kevin called over for a visit and we drove down to Italy, Arco at Lake Garda to be specific. Easter is a busy time there as the weather is very warm already and hordes of other Germans decide to spend the bank holiday there. Hence we weren't able to get accomodation at the lake for the Friday night and stayed in Trento and continued on the next day. The weather was indeed perfect, nearly to warm and the hostel in Riva suited us. We were joined by Peter who tested out his new car coming from Fondo.

Paul & Kevin

However my fellow country men are something else I must say. They make me want to give up my German passport! We are certainly famous for putting our towels down and reserving the chairs at the pool at 5am in the morning, so no one else would snap them up. Package-holiday-makers-mentality you might think, climbers are different. And they are, but only when it comes to the means of reserving. They reserve the routes by leaving in the rope and/or quickdraws. They might be climbing at a totally different place in the crag, but no THIS route is theirs, for no one else to touch, even though they don't go near it for hours. Who cares that there are tons of other people at the crag desperately trying to find a free route. They don't give a toss. I felt embarrased. What a behavoir, shame on all those German climbers, go to the pool!!! Arco is lovely, but we wont be going back there during bank holidays.

Paul & Peter

Our next trip took us to my old home town Bamberg, where I lived for 6 years to study. This was my first time back since I left in 2002 and I must say, not much changed. It is still a nice place. Paul had been keen for a while to get his hands on the Frankenjura rock , he wasn't to be disappointed. We explored the climbing areas around Bamberg, drove through love wooded areas and pretty little villages. I never noticed while I lived there, how lovely the area actually is. No problems with masses of climbers there, even though it was busy at the crags as well. We discoverd also that it might be usefull to own a clip stick. The first bolts are situated VERY far of the ground, usuakky where in Austria you would find the second or third bolt. No good for me and my climbing nerves. I hate run outs and unprotected moves. Thank god Paul has more courage and is pretty bold. We got lots done and we even had the time to meet my friends Ina and Alex in town for a glass of wine. Even though we had stayed in touch ever since I left, I hadn't seen them in 7 years. Time seems to fly!

Frankenjura

After our little trip to Germany it was time for out bigger holiday and we went back to Italy. In just under 6 hours of driving we hit the Meditarenian Sea and arrived in Finale Ligure, roughly 60km west of Genova. What a beautiful spot! Rolling green leafy hills, turquiose sea, sandy beaches, small little Italian villages doted on the hills... One week of climbing and swimming in the Meditarenian. We based ourselves in a little holiday appartment owned by Guiseppe and Elvira, who were very helpful. The weather was perfect, a little to hot during middays as a heat wave had taken over Italy, but we certainly weren't complaining about that. There is tons of climbing in the area and you mostly approach the crags by paths through the heavily wooded forrests of the area. The forrests are so thick, neither of us had ever seen anything like it. The guide book usually described the walk ins as a 15min undertaking. But we never made it in this time, as we regularly got lost in the forrests. Too many small paths and tracks, too little markings or signs. You're left to the mercy of chance. But somehow we always found the places.




The climbing grades are very stiff. So my choice was very limited. Even the grades that I feel comfortable with were quite hard. Two climbs and my arms were dead and pumped as a lot of the stuff is overhanging. Paul was going strong, ticking of his goal of climbing a few 7a's which he did very well. My birthday fel within the holiday and I got the best present ever from Paul, as we got engaged. After that occasion I didn't care anymore what I could do in Finale or not. I was just happy!

Beach time

On our way back we took some time to see our friends Jenny and Nicola in Descezano and visited Peter in Fondo, before we drove back to Innsbruck.

Paul & Peter in rainy Fondo

Driving back to Austria via Alto Adige