Delegation to Madrid

View across Puerta del Sol in Madrid's centre

Three weeks time in downtown Madrid. My work place was located a bit more north, in Tres Cantos, so just around the corner. That offered some time to explore the city's beauty. And the metro station was in 1 minute walking distance from the hotel in the capital's north. Excellent!

Catedral de la Almudena at night

Madrid itself is famous for its nightlife. People are going out to the restaurants, bars, clubs or lounges on every day of the week. Quite an impulsive life, in Madrid. As soon as the clubs close, the first bakeries and cafes open up already. And where every you go to have lunch or dinner, almost everything is worth trying. Taps, burgers, fish, just to name a few. A three course lunch menu always comes with a good red vine, if you allow yourself to have a glass or two.

View north-east from the hotel at sunset

One thing Spain is famous for: The ham! Stores can be found across the whole city, supermarkets are selling and almost every restaurant is offering the air dryed delicatesse. So I bought one of those 5 kg ham things and brought it home to have something for dinner.

Heaps of stores selling ham, so called "Jamon", in the city

I got some visitors, too. Jouni, from Finland, spent a weekend with me there. So did Antje during the last days and we strolled around, joining the Sandeman guided tours which took us through the cities' history.
In Madrid's north, you can find the hiking paradise "La Pedriza". Manzanares el Real is a good starting point to hit one of the numerous hiking trails, or to have a coffee.

Manzanares el Real and La Pedriza in the background

Spaghetti Napoli along the Amalfi Coast

One week holidays, with lots of thoughs where to go, but no final decision. A long time I was not sure to travel at all. Home sweet home, why not?!?! Heaps of things that could have been done there as well. But yeah, not acceptable after all. Thus, I booked a flight to Naples, less than 24 hours before departure. I've found a bike store, too, offering racing bikes for rent. So it happened I got this Bianchi machine! Cool man. After 5 kilometres, I've just been outside the cities centre, I've got a flat tire. Damn! What a start - perfect! Thanks god they gave me the puncture and toolkit. From then on, no more challenges, except the mountain itself. I made it, found my way through hundreds of tourist, and foot climbed the last metres to the summit. Time to relax and chill out, before going down to Sorrento.

The next day, I had the highlight ahead - the coastal scenic drive along the Amalfi Coast with its rugged coastline and small villages built up in the mountains. A scenic look of exceptional rarity. Thousands of Chinese tourist must have think the same. I've found a place to stay in Maiori and had the so far best clambs ever. Thumbs up! On the last day, I had more than enough time to ride back to Naples and exploring the city with its chaotic, hectic rubbish-strewn life. But still, it had a certain flair which said: "Look here, I'm interesting on my own way!"

Four nights in Paris

Rue d'Anjou and Rue de Surène

It's been some years ago. Now, I was sent once again - to Paris! I picked a hotel near Place de la Concorde and took the metro to La Défense every morning and evening. The trains are full of people, and even if no space is left, more are coming and trying to squeeze themselves in. Hard to catch breath, though!

The Eiffel Tower in details

But at the end, I got out alive. And spent too much time working at the laboratory. Luckily, I still was able to shoot some pictures.

View from Sacré-Coeur

Notre-Dame Cathedral

View from Pont Neuf

It's time to move forward

Time to say "goodbye Erli". After living in Erlangen's beautiful suburb Bruck (locals, tenderly, call it Brucklyn) it was time to leave it behind and move forward. It didn't take me far, thus, I considered Nuremberg to be my new hometown. With the best company imaginable.

1142 metres above sea level

Every once in a while it's time to climb the highest mountain in Middle Germany, this time - cousin power. Gathering in Thale was offering a perfect option to race against each other. There was just one thing in the way: the Brocken mountain.

Just going somewhere else quickly

Split overview

While Antje had to work and thus, was not able to spend a long weekend abroad, I was packing my stuff and took a flight to Split. I joined a colleague who was organising the whole trip and everything. That made it quite easy and enjoyable for me. We spent a night in Split before renting a car and heading south, along the coast, had a stopover in Omis and followed the river Cetina. It offers spectacular views into georges and rough vertical cliffs. Some freeclimbers are trying to find their way up to the top.

Omis and its river

We crossed the border - Bosnia and Herzegovina. There was just one city to visit without going too deep into the country: Mostar. The centre still overwhelms withs its historic charm. Little stone houses and streets made of small round-shaped rocks. If you'd have some Euros left, hand it over to one of the guys on the bridge, the stari most. They will just jump for you, more than 10 metres down into the Neretva river.

Mostar's stari most

Last stop on our roadtrip: Dubrovnik. The city impresses with everything which is inside the city walls - it's like you've been thrown back a few hundred years. Stroll along the tiny narrow alleys and climb the big wall to get an overview how big the historic inner part really is. Lot's of restaurants and cafes are opening their doors to pause a while.

Dubrovnik, seen from the city wall

High up in May

Summit near the Hochsteinhütte

Time to ride the bike again. Haven't done that for a while in the Alps. This time, a 4 day trip around Lienz, Austria. My cousin was with me, and right after getting parked in Oberlienz, we had to go uphill without any warmup. The cottage Hochsteinhütte was still closed, unfortunately, but we've found a perfect stay in Abfaltersbach - residence Mitterdorfer. Clompletely renovated, the re-opening was just a few weeks ago. Pure luxury!

The drink to toast to the day

The next day started rainy. We extended the breakfast as much as possible. But there was coming a time where we had to leave. It was just too rough that day, and we didn't get far. Maybe only 30 km later we arrived in Obertilliach soaked to the skin. Positive side effect: Enough time for a good dinner.

Mud pools on the way Obertilliach

The less kilometres we had the day before, the more we needed to go the following day. We passed the Porzehütte and the summit "Tilliacher Joch" at 2094 metres above sea level. The ridgeway was leading us, finally, to Casera di Sesis before going down once more to Avoltri. Albergo al Sole - our place for overnight. The excellent food is definitely recommended.

Tilliacher Joch, 2094 m above sea level

The last stage was as well the longest. The track up to Rifugio Marinelli had a debilitating effect on me. I made it to the top, more than exhausted, and needed a break. The Mauthner Klamm was making up for any agony before. Riding along the Drau river towards Lienz was meaning our tour to be going to an end.

Rifugio Marinelli