Collecting Moments

When we started planning this trip it looked like a typical getaway, a break from the routine and the news. We initially even booked a double room in a hostel for the whole duration of our stay on the island. It had a kitchen, of course, as we like to be self-sufficient and budget-friendly. We are independent travelers, after all, and we enjoy doing things our own way. Since I started working two years ago, I have limited time to travel. So I had to squeeze in four days on Terceira, one of the nine islands of the Azores in Portugal. We took advantage of a cheap Ryanair deal that we booked two months in advance. However, three weeks before the flight, we had a stroke of luck: we found a Couchsurfing host on the island! We were going to stay with a local couple. This was a huge surprise, because we had not been able to find hosts on most of the islands we had visited before, like Madeira or Gran Canaria. We quickly canceled our hostel reservation and got ready for an adventure. For us th...

Distance 9.3 km (gpx) , Elevation gain 280 m, Elevation loss 214 m According to the parish priest who in 1758 reported the disastrous consequences of the 1755 earthquake, there was a chapel near Cabanas that suffered significant damage. This was Ermida de Nossa Senhora das Brótas, located on a hill above the trail that today runs between Azeitão and Palmela. Several short but steep and narrow paths lead up the slope to the ruin. Nature is gradually taking over the space around and inside the chapel. Tall pine trees provide shade and soon might replace the missing ceiling. Plastered brick walls and part of the dome are what remains of the time-worn structure. Traces of blue paint are still visible on the vault. Arched windows reveal sprawling vistas to the north as far as the eye can see. From the bottom of the hill you can continue to Palmela along the zigzagging road. The route will take you up the ridge with fascinating views over the land of Arrábida and São Luís.

I met Edurne and Raul in 2015 when they hosted me through couchsurfing in their cozy wee attic flat in Bilbao. It's from them that I learned about the magical place of Gaztelugatxe . Thanks to their advice, my time alone with the beauty of this marvelous spot remained a particularly memorable moment of the whole trip. Over the last eight years the threads of our travels intertwined in unpredictable and unexpected ways although we did not communicate much with Edurne and Raul after my journey to the Basque Country. Shortly before the pandemic, in December 2019, I arrived in Jerusalem. Edurne and Raul saw my Facebook check-in message and swiftly responded with their location which, as it turned out, I could almost see from my window. And there we were – eating falafel outside of the Damascus gate and discussing plans for their trip in Israel. Actually they had no definite plan and were open to my numerous travel suggestions. We ended up visiting my friend and watching the sunset o...

Подъем на Пагасарри Пагасарри ( Pagasarri ), или просто Пага, как ее ласково называют баски, видна из любой точки Бильбао. По традиции жители города начинают подъем на эту гору прямо с порога своего дома. Затемно в лабиринте пустынных сонных улиц уже слышны постукивания деревянных посохов по мостовой. Махила ( makila ) — баскская трость — верный компаньон путников. Мерно ступая короткими шагами, взбираются они на сотни метров через изумрудный лес к вершине. К гряде лазурно-голубых пиков над шумным котлованом Бильбао. Чтобы задержать дыхание, замереть, сопротивляясь сильному ветру, не зажмуривать глаза, а впитывать, впитывать красоту.

Distance 7 km (gpx) , Elevation gain 349 m, Elevation loss 367 m The queens of this hike were supposed to be abandoned capelas on the hill above the Convent of Our Lady of Arrábida. Those tiny round cupcakes nestled against a lush green slope. Little did we know when we started a 200 meter climb along a narrow steep trail that we’ll end up in front of a fence. Since many abandoned places bear a hint of mystery, those capelas keep their secrets behind a closed gate and a dense forest. So we swung towards the king — the Ocean. Alpertuche Beach turned out to be a gem hidden at the end of a shady eucalyptus alley. We sat there listening to the waves and watching the colors change from turquoise to deep blue. Just before sunset, when all the vacationers had left, an elegant elderly woman came along accompanied by an old dog. She sat quietly on a rock, and from her posture one could tell that she regularly visited this spot. I asked her if she was from the area. "Yes", the w...

If Denmark is about flat fields then Southern Sweden is definitely about lakes. Whether it's Vänern, the largest lake in the EU, or a tiny Södra Kypesjön in the town of Borås, there's always a body of freshwater somewhere near you! Surprisingly, they do not swim naked in Sweden (not even topless), it is much more conservative than Germany in this regard. That is despite Sweden topping the charts as one of the most secular and liberal countries in the world. Almost always we had to cover ourselves in those wet clothes called "bathing suits". Even on Södra Kypesjön where red-faced red-skinned ladies and gentlemen jumped naked from the sauna into the chilly water, I had to swim in those sticky rags. But other than that annoying nuisance, lake dipping in Sweden had been a wonderful experience throughout our whole journey. The water was usually warm enough to enjoy a long relaxing swim and the surrounding nature was enchanting. And, of course, we found a fair bit of se...

Here's the gist of our hitchhiking journey from Copenhagen to Uppsala in June 2023. In hitchhiking communities Sweden (along with other Scandinavian countries) is often described as a paradise for thumbing. We'd say it's a bit more difficult than Iceland but hey, at least the weather is nicer. You don't stand out there feeling miserable under a pissing rain and a freezing wind at seven degrees Celsius in July trying to hitch a ride out of Reykjavik airport. However, we must admit that this particular summer in Sweden was abnormally warm, dry, sunny and overall pleasant. There are also some things about Swedes that we learned from our couchsurfing hosts. This secret knowledge might come in handy if you are planning to hit the road in this country. Firstly, they need a lot of time to make a decision so you'd better be visible from afar. Secondly, they like watching American horror movies where every hitchhiker is a murderer. Just try to look innocent, that's all...