Travelhector

Hector (Van-Perspective): “People are strange… All this back and forth, the months of nothingness and then immediate action – hope they know what they are doing. At least the wellness treatment with a new toothed belt, bright eyes and a new rear battery is well-planned. Guess it will make me look 10 years younger! Good starting point for the next 5.000 km, be it with 1 or 2 or 5 girls.”

B., Driver’s Perspective: When it is all about spontaneous travelling, why does nobody mention the squeeze of flexibility vs. fully booked campsites? Refusing silly ideas like “hidden places in the middle of nowhere” or “back-country-camping only”, I am confronted with wonderful internet pictures and the “Sorry, we are full!”-lady on the phone.

H: “While drivers and passengers get more and more excited about the upcoming trip, I keep calm and wait for all the piles of stuff to be packed. Hope we will make it to some waves this summer… I wonder if I will get the surfboard I dream of ever since, it would suit me so well!”

B: After some rollercoaster of planning, letting lose and a couple of calls, the spontaneity includes 1 ferry, 2 campsite reservations and the flight dates of at least two travel mates. For all the rest, we will see what the next weeks might bring.

Meanwhile, juggling with Hector’s garage appointments, UK plans and over-sophisticated excel-lists culminates into waking up at 4:15 a.m and a constant buzzing hum. It makes me re-consider my preparation, and not before long, I figure out that some yoga classes, meditation or and a bottle of wine are by far more appropriate than endless to do lists.

Weeks before departure, Hector carries a big smile on his face. Spreading good vibes, he tells stories about how he will enjoy champagne with the girls soon.

Since prices for gasoline reached unknown heights, my van is convinced of getting champagne all the time – nothing else makes sense with the pricing, right? With the utmost positivism, Hector bares hailstorms while dreaming of sandy bays at the sea, castles along the way and rebellious moves when driving on the wrong side of the streets.

Spontaneous Reactions to “Champagne with Hector”

Meanwhile, Linda plays with options for joining us in Brittany. Andy and local friends align for London, and Melly has booked flights in and out of Great Britain. Furthermore, the house-sitter gets accustomed to our place and Barbara plans to hop on towards the end of the trip. Altogether, packing will be more Tetris than ever.

Part 1: Mindset

En Bretagne, il ne pleut que sur les cons.

In Brittany, it only rains on idiots.

Thursday comes and is accompanied by a hurricane. We think of the most exposed lift that might be closed and smile: Having planned a ski tour anyway – fell under ski and walking up with pure fitness, ha, who needs lifts?!

For about half an hour, half of the ski region opens up. Other guests checking out manage their way down just in time and the same is true for their luggage. New guests with scheduled arrival miss their chance – we will have the chalet all for ourselves tonight, but before that, there are hills to run up and blizzards to face.

Meanwhile, the entire ski region is closed and we align with our host the best destination for our tour: Up on the alpine plateau, leaving the trees – slight tendencies to fall over – behind.

Strangest sensation of the day is a rainbow to our right. It remains there for hours, stable as a rock and entirely un-impressed by the squalls.

We make our way up and get a rough welcome by the hurricane’s strength when reaching the Längenfelder high plateau. From here, we could turn left and head for the Hochalm. Yet, encouraged by two other crazy guys, we decide to continue straight on to the top station of the chairlift.

The storm is loud and forceful up here. Every now and then, some of us give secret glances to the signposts along the way, ready to dodge flying obstacles. The last yards towards our target occur simultaneous to one of the storm’s peaks. With 3,000 m altitude more, it would be a copy of the Mount Everest’s base camp at average weather.

Next in our adventurous movie are fragments like: Hide in the few inches of lee behind a skilift’s mast. Strip off the fells, hold tight to every item and step on the skis, prevent them from being torn by powerful squalls. Seek stable stand on the skis and stop thinking of scenes with people being pushed by the wind over a mountain’s edge.

The rest of the day contains sunny minutes on a bench, relaxed homecoming to our chalet, delicacies and wine. And updated plans for our future: Candidate A claims to be out of Himalaya or South Pole field trips. Candidate B promises to look for more comfortable ski tours. However, both are happy and satisfied with another great outdoor day during our wonderful holiday week.

EXPECT NOTHING IN PARTICULAR, BUT THE BEST IN GENERAL.

That is my preferred approach to life, and it rewards me with beauty and snow and all the rest.

Together with my sister, we spend a full week skiing the Alps. Between Hausberg and Kreuzeck, we are located in our preferred place in Garmisch Classic ski area. The hardest choice: find the most charming panorama – when in every direction, out of every window, the surrounding is fantastic.

Timing is excellent with solid conditions on our preferred hills. It takes two days for measuring every inch of the Kandahar weltcup slope, 100% steep and challenging and perhaps the most wonderful way to work on your leg muscles.

Evenings are lazy apart from tough brain exercise: scrabble-battles of the peaceful, yet master-level-kind. On Tuesday evening, the tables are full of ski touring folks, while on other evenings it is just the fireplace, the scrabble board and the two of us.

At 8:30 each morning, the slopes are all ours. Having the pole position for the start into the day is so cool – no matter if we leave the first trace of the day in the Kandahar slope or if we enjoy untouched powder from last night’s snowfall on the No. 2 of our favourite slopes, the Horn-Abfahrt.

Days end with a toast to the Alps and pink skies, immersing the Kreuzeck funicular station in the most romantic light. It all looks peaceful, until… (tbc)

– Part 2 will follow soon –