Exploration. A thing of the past, when there were still blank spots on the map?
Maybe not, if only we realize how much there is left, certainly for us personally, to learn and see.
Let’s call it microexploration.
Like the knights of medieval Europe, so the samurai of Japan hold great fascination. Maybe, with a touch of orientalist exoticism, all the greater a fascination.
The Interstellar Bivy from Outdoor Research sets out to hit a sweet spot between lightness, protection, and usability – with a “wearable” approach to what a bivy can be.
People keep saying that outdoors experiences are as good as therapy for one’s mental health. And wonder why people would climb mountains while putting great athletes on pedestals.
Where does that leave a normal person with some outdoors interests, but no particular inclination to do anything noteworthy for others?
One of the shoes I was least sure about turned out an absolute favorite: Icebug’s Oribi 2 GTX with their RB9X rubber compound sole.
Fastpacking – carrying as little as possible while moving like a backpacker, but faster – has been a thing even before ultramarathons became so popular. In a running vest/pack like the Fastpack 35 from Ultimate Direction, ultramarathon running meets fastpacking.
Snowy Salzkammergut winter, and I wanted to try another approach to Hallstatt. This time, over the Sarstein.
Hallstatt is usually visited quickly, coming by bus or by train and the boat across the lake. I decided to go slow, measure my approach in steps climbed and descended, following part of the BergeSeen Trail over the slope of the Dachstein. Overnight.
Japan tourism is booming – and the Fascination Japan still arises from its foreignness and the peculiarity of its culture. With Japan being seen as so different from the “West”, a Japanese influence on highlights of European art, works by artists such as Monet, Van Gogh or Klimt, surprises.
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