At the end of the month I’d like to look back on where I’ve been, what I did and how I felt. Usually I upload my Instagram photos in the “Looking Back” blogpost, but the second half of October I hardly had any internet. So, no Instagram updates. Because I want my posts to be chronological and it took me quite a while to catch up, I delayed this post. We’re halfway November, but here’s me looking back on October.
Continue Reading "Looking back on October: From Artic Cold to Indian Summer"
The last night of our boulder trip we camped near Treskavec monastery, a brilliant place. Actually it was my last night, the rest of the crew stayed, but I felt ready to continue hiking. To be on my own again. From the monastery I followed an easy going hiking trail down to Prilep. I snapped tons of photos, stopped and stared more than I walked. In a way Pelagonija reminded me of Mojave desert, but without Joshua trees. And slightly smaller. Nevertheless, an impressive landscape.
The flow took me to Prilep, a town in South Macedonia. Prilep is known for its tobacco and beer and for the boulders. Although I already had an idea what awaited me because I watched the 2014 Petzl Roc Trip video about bouldering in Prilep, but these mountains, these rocks, they left me speechless.
Continue Reading "Bouldering in Prilep, Macedonia"
At the end of the month I’d like to look back on where I’ve been, what I did and how I felt. I’ll use my Instagram photos to do so. Here’s September’s photo story, another month in the Macedonian mountains. And a little bit of Ohrid.
Continue Reading "Looking back on September: Dogs and Detours"
Now I’m in Ohrid I of course want to do some sightseeing. I want to, but at the same time I don’t. I find it hard to switch. It’s almost stressful. I probably do it all wrong, I just walk and walk and and then discover that I missed the most popular sight.
Continue Reading "Outdoorfun around lake Ohrid"
At the end of the month I’d like to look back on where I’ve been, what I did and how I felt. I’ll use my Instagram photos to do so. Here’s August’s photo story, a real real sunny August in the Macedonian mountains. And a little bit of Prizren.
Continue Reading "Looking back on August: Macedonian mountains"
The Macedonian Traverse is a hiking trail through the mountains of Western Macedonia. It runs from mountain hut Ljuboten to Crvena Voda or Ohrid if you don’t mind a roadhike at the end. Some see it as an extension of the Via Dinarica or promote it like that, but the Macedonian Traverse has an history of its own. In 1975 a bunch of Macedonian mountaineers set the trail as the “First Macedonian Traverse” or “Prva Makedonska Transverzala”. There’s a documentary of their undertaking where they (try to) hike the traverse in summer ánd winter.
Continue Reading "TRAILNOTES: My Macedonian Traverse, a mountain pathway"
After a fairly late start I left Popova Shapka, crossed the ski piste and walked the makadamroad to Bogovinjsko Ezero. This route goes more or less parallel of the hiking trail to Titov vrv. It’s way less demanding and much more “in the fields”. And thus there are sheep. Heaps of sheep.
Continue Reading "Heaps of sheep, dangerous dogs & one brown bear"
Shar mountain (Shara, Šar, Sharr, Sharri) has been on my list for years. Ever since I first read about the First Macedonian Transversal (Transferzala), a hiking trail that crosses the entire Shar mountain range, I had the wish to explore Shar mountain. I could try to describe what it looks like, but I suck at that. I don’t have the vocabulary and the words I make up probably won’t be much of a help. I’ll stick to sharing my personal experience and add a whole lot of photos to give you an impression. So here we go, here’s my “Exploring Shar Mountain Photo Story”.
Continue Reading "Exploring Shar Mountain, a photo story"