golegrand

beautiful south tyrol. it's time to bid farewell – to the places we became attached to, to the companions on life's journey, and to those majestic mountains which gave me time, peace, and quietude. i’ll miss them so much. as well as apfelstrudel . we have been living in this beautiful area for over 4 years now... and we had enough time to get to know the other side – that one of the pesticide-farmers (may-the-apples-grow-big-and-abundantly), of the construction sites, piste extensions, and ever-increasing hotel complexes, yes that face of environmental damage and sad mise-en-scène of the alps. it's really heartbreaking. south tyrol suffers from overtourism (call it human pollution ) including stupidity and tourism-related greed for money, as well as from a plague of hypocrisy and lobbying. because one thing really counts: the so-called (german) guests (term in use to avoid calling them tourists) and their pocketbook. during the corona-spring and over this lousy year ruled b...

since all this jinx hit us, i often forget what day it is. days follow each other and are alike. some of them are good, others are sorrowful, and my state of mind is yo-yoing between serenity and disillusion. i'm not sure to understand the true extent of the phenomenon… no pizza & tiramisu at restaurant anymore, home cooked fresh vegetable instead (tummy feels fine). social life happens at the grocery store only. i don't know what to do, so i spend the afternoons outdoor, always alone. so did i even during the weeks we were forbidden to go for a walk – because i’m convinced that an outdoor activity like walking is a great health benefit, physical and mental, to strengthen immune defence system. though, each time i went out and about on the deserted ways, there was this bad conscience that tortured me, this feeling of doing something wrong, even if in fact there was nothing wrong in doing that because observing the safety distances, wearing that stupid face mask , the...

honestly – that was inevitable, wasn't it? this collective burnout.  the "corona crisis" aka covid-19 pandemic is currently changing the world. the general quarantine with everything that it involves – our isolation, the slow pace, the empty hours – might be an opportunity to invent a new life… a beam of light in my darkest thoughts. tons of bad news every day, every now and then positive ones too. nature is recovering in the face of an almost total standstill. the water in the canals of venice, which has been suffering from mass tourism for years, is now cleaner than ever, with myriad of fish swimming around. also dolphins venture into the port of sardinia's capital, cagliari, where ships became something rare. in south tyrol too, the traffic restrictions and measures to contain the coronavirus lead to a significant air quality improvement. so, putting the situation in a positive light – less freedom, better environment… is this the point where the i...

and to think that i was hoping for a better 2020 than 2019 has been… bang! all wrong. january and february have been cold but dry and beautiful sunny. a delight. no need to carry out the umbrella – until the 2nd day of march that brought us the first genoa low. our first mountain adventure this year was a snowshoeing tour from zeppichl (1684 m) to passo sopranes (spronserjoch, 2581 m) in val di plan, alta val passiria (pfelderer tal im hinterpasseier). actually the same as we did in march 2018 , but this time on a beautiful winter day . 7 hours of amazing nature experience on 16,5 km. and then, on 22nd of feb, sars-cov-2 burst out in lombardy, northern italy. on march 9th, italy was declared protected area with the "io resto a casa" (i stay at home) decree which considerably limits travel and activities, allowing italians to leave their homes for "duly verified business imperatives" and "emergencies for health reasons" only – concretely, to ...