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Month: October 2010

Never thought


I never thought that I could get tired of flying. But at the moment I am. The past year I have been flying a lot to Zürich, once or twice each month. Normally the trip is a part of a journey for me, a part I rather enjoy. At first the beginning of a trip when expectations are built and you finally realize that you are on your way. Then at the end when you have time to think about what you have experienced and decide whether you will miss it or not.

Basically I do like flying, the atmosphere at the airport and the isolated time on the flight itself. But in this case the flight has just become a way to get to where I need to go. Like taking the train to work. I don’t go by train because it is fun but just because it is the only way of getting there. The flight is not important anymore, just a hassle, just a long train ride. I have noticed that I don’t really think of it as travelling but just going somewhere. I do not experience the flight like I normally do. I either sleep or work because otherwise it would feel like a complete waste of time. Every time I am on my way I am eager to get there, I don’t feel like spending time on a plane. I just want the time to pass and the flight to be over instead of feeling that it is a part of an exciting trip.

Soon the trips to Switzerland will be over. I can’t wait. Then I hope the feeling of flying will go back to what it used to be. Hopefully I will soon enjoy a view like the one in the picture above (which is the Swiss Alps from a flight from Stockholm to Milan).

Climbing in Melchsee Frutt

This past Sunday we went to Melchsee Frutt for some climbing. They have a big climbing wall just a few minutes walk from the car park and cable car station. The wall is not high but long, most routes are one pitch only but there are a few 2 pitch routes around. Totally there are about 130 routes ranging from grade 3 to 8 on the UIAA scale. So there is plenty to choose from although this easy to reach place attracts a lot of climbers.
Having a break at the climbing wall.

As well as on Saturday it was cloudy below 1500 meter but we had beautiful weather. Today it was also 10 Franken day which means it only costs 10 Franken to take the cable car up to Melchsee Frutt. Due to this there were loads of hikers around and you can see the ant trail along the lake which had no end. Fortunately though there were not too many climbers.
The view from the climbing wall. This is the difference between climbing in the Alps and in Stockholm area…

Autumn hike in Switzerland

This past Saturday we did the Four Lake Hike (Vier Seen Wanderung) between Melchsee Frutt and Engelberg. The SBB (Swiss Railway) has a special ticket for this hike which includes train, bus and cable cars on both ends which makes it quite worth its price. Otherwise the trains and cable cars in Switzerland are very pricey.

In the valleys the fog was thick the entire day but above 1500 meters or so the sky was blue and the sun was shining. The perfect day for an autumn hike on high altitude.
Hiking along the rigde from Bonistock towards Tannensee. Below us on the right side there is a climbing wall with more than 130 routes in all ranges. Actually we came back on Sunday to do some climbing there.
Tannensee.
Having lunch at Engstlensee. This was the lowest point on the hike and after this we had to climb about 400 meters to Jochpass and then down again to reach the cable car on the other side. On Jochpass we did get a well deserved beer before we walked down the last bit. The hike took about 4 hours. With breaks we spent about 6 hours on the track.
All pictures were taken by Michael Wicki who brought us on this hike. Thanks for a great day, Quicky!

Autumn finally

One morning this week as I was heading off to the subway as usual I saw something unusual. I have been living here for almost 10 years and I can not remember seeing anything like it. It looked like the building was radiating.

A man who passed me as I was taking the picture had not noticed the light phenomenom but when he saw me looking up he had to stop and take a better look at it. How many people this morning missed out on this because they were only looking down at their feet?

It is now a lovely autumn, cold fresh air and sunshine. The sun is getting lower which means that the sunrise is now coinciding with my travel to work. The light this time of year is magic in the morning. The combination with the colours on the leaves makes this my favourite season in Stockholm. Not even the complete stop in the subway which added 30 min to my trip could spoil my mood after seeing this view.