Homework
I love podcasts. There are many that I follow, and I want to listen to every new episode of each one, but for years, I was so busy. The times I had to listen were on my morning runs, a few minutes in the car here and there while doing
Done
Done! Finished! Finito. I am in Zermatt, having walked from Mt Blanc to the Matterhorn as planned. Tomorrow I head back to Amsterdam, and then home. Despite significant pain in my left foot, despite the cold shared with me in the first hut that wont go away, despite some discouraging
Ups and Downs
The alps are immense. They are always bigger in reality than in my memory. You can walk for days and not get from valley to summit. The average distance on this hike is 10-12 miles a day. Pretty moderate, right? But it's the elevation gain and loss
Hut life
The Swiss Alpine Club boasts 150 huts 🛖 scattered across the alps 🏔️ The huts provide accomodations at high elevations, which is important for mountaineers planning to summit any of the dozens of peaks, and for touring hikers who don't want to go all the way down into the valleys
Why worry?
All my life, I have worried about things in the distance, only to discover that when I actually get there, they are fine. As a child, I worried incessantly about the mysterious intricacies of marriage, education, professional identification, and all manner of adult pursuits. In college and grad schoool, I
Every little thing is gonna be alright
No idea what I was worrying about, this trip is squarely within my comfort zone. I knew that, I just got spooked. My biggest issue has been the astonishing number of hikers on trail. The first two days, my route overlapped with the world beloved Tour de Mont Blanc, and
Time to take a walk
I first heard about the "Walkers Haute Route" a couple of years ago when I was hiking the AV2 in the Dolomites. It was mentioned as another long, alpine "hut to hut," meaning no need to carry tent, bedding, and food. The advantage of this kind
Friendships Reclaimed
When I lived in Switzerland approximately 100 years ago, I had one very dear friend, Birgit. Last Summer I went to visit her after an absence of 29 years. During those years, we had emailed occasionally, mostly on birthdays, but even that had entirely stopped the over last 5 or
Updates
Look who I found! On her way to visiting her son in Paris, Jody came to share van life with me for several days. Totally game, she slept in my spare bedroom, and weathered the pleasures and challenges of vagabond life. AND, she completely rehabilitated my vocal chords, which were
City Life
Bergen, as Norway's "second city," also known as "the city of seven mountains," is extremely picturesque. It is right on a harbor, surrounded by the aforementioned mountains, and boasts cobblestone streets and tightly packed, colorful houses. It is also a prime destination for cruise
Ode to Norway
I have fallen in love with the big older brother. Somehow, I never knew about the spectacular beauty of Norway. North of Oslo and Bergen, there is nothing but stunning cliffs plunging into crystal clear fjords, imposing mountains surrounded by verdant pastures, open hills nestled against the shore, high mountain
Interlude
Mirabel and Omar flew into Trondheim which is a charming little city half way up the coast of Norway. We had an astonishingly fabulous meal before heading out to our Airbnb which was in a remote area with nothing around us but scrubby, knobby hills on one side and water