Fresch

This mountain is no stranger to this blog; I last wrote about it around a year ago, and before that in the snow, and before that on a day I still vividly remember 3 years ago. After an unfortunate mechanical ruined our hike & bike plans for another mountain, I decided to show Hoher Freschen to my like-a-brother friend Freddie who was visiting from Australia. I'd been meaning to go up there again for ages.

We trudged our way through angle-deep mud, Freddie wearing mere Vans sneakers and getting seriously judged for it by Austrians. I decided that we try a different way up, also along a ridge, and the feeling of reaching the peak in a half-cloud was as magical as all the other times before. I really enjoyed talking to Freddie about anything and everything. I love how this childhood friendship has continued and it was nice to reflect on how we've both changed and grown up during the 14ish years we've known each other.

Apart from that hike, I've also handed in my master thesis and project (!!) two weeks ago which is the main reason I haven't updated this blog in so long. In the archive column there's a pitiful two posts for 2016 which isn't exactly as planned, but c'est la vie. Masters was tough – mostly so in the last two months – and I'm happy to be out of that extremely stressful period. I still have to do a presentation/ test and, importantly,  pass it in about a month, so not all is over yet. I thought I had worked consistently from the start but I hadn't realised the huge amount of work that lay before me for the practical component after Tuscany Trail. The start of the masters-process was much more 'romantic' and I actually found the theoretical part much easier and more enjoyable than expected. I think I wrote the bulk of my thesis in trains to Berlin and Hamburg, cafes and early mornings in bed while drinking tea. I felt inspired to write most of the time and the topics to write about revealed themselves in (what felt like) an organic process.

My project was much harder. Coming up with a concept and trying to clearly and logically visually communicate a very complex idea was a lot of work. And all the more so in German, which I'm starting to feel I've plateaued and won't ever get any better. I might do a post about my project a bit later on because while I still somewhat doubt it, I think the message is worthwhile and very relevant right now.

I feel extremely thankful for the rich experiences and opportunities given to me. The next few months will be a little in-limbo, hoping to receive the degree and thus a visa to be able to work and stay here for a while. I'm savouring these experiences though (both good and bad) and while I don't know where they will lead me, I know it's part of a bigger plan that I trust God with. 

Narrow

I really felt South Africa this visit. Since our move to Australia 12 years ago, I think my understanding of SA has been a bit narrow. We used to go back very summer holiday (not as often now) and visit the same familiar places and see the same people. Since we moved I haven’t really seen any new places or met many different people, so my perception of the country was limited to summer days at the beach house, a suburb in Cape Town and a small town in the Klein Karoo. When talking to Elize before her visit, I had to admit that I didn’t really know much about SA apart from my relatively small and safe bubble, even having spent half my life there. On this visit I tried to be a bit more independent, even though my parents seemed to be convinced that setting foot out of the door alone nearly anywhere in SA would result in certain death. The first 2 days was lovely, Elize was also in Cape Town (cheers for the photos!) so we took the bus around the peninsula, walked around Hout Bay, took a freezing dip at Clifton beach, ate mexican and climbed through the clouds up Table Mountain. I had some quality family time over easter at the beach town where I spent the majority of my summers, ate a lot and ran trails along the ocean. I also went for two beautiful hikes in the Overberg mountains which also has a view of the ocean: perfect. On a longer hike I was lucky to catch up to two girls and chat with them which made the hike even nicer. My family also went to the KKNK, an Afrikaans culture festival in Oudtshoorn and we saw some great Afrikaans plays and a memorable opera performance. My last week there I was back in Cape Town. It was lovely to just spend time with my family and be there for my cousin’s birthday - little family things that I usually miss out on. For the first time I took a train in Cape Town (it was so fine, I think I had this irrational fear instilled in me), took buses around, hiked up Lion’s Head by myself, went for another freezing dip in the ocean, met up with old friends, went for trail runs in Tygerberg Nature reserve. It was great.

 I’ve been super busy since coming back to Austria, will write about that soon.

Ghoerig

It's a hot summer's night. I've been staring out my window over Glebe rooftops for the past few hours, deciding whether to leave the house again today - maybe go for a run to ease my conscience about the block of (delicious) $1 Aldi chocolate I ate or perhaps do something I haven't done for ages; take my camera out for a walk and hope to catch some pretty sunset light. Too late now, it's dark and I should go to bed but all of the sudden I feel restless and a bit guilty that I haven't written on my blog in a while. I feel inspired but I don't really know what to write about.
Actually, I do. Today I think a significant shift happened in how excited I am about next year - I'm going to the mountains again! Three semesters, ha! Back at uni so soon.  I think it's going to be different this time. Well, duh, it can't be the same - I've changed a lot (I think) this year, there will be different people, a different living situation, a legit full Masters in a different language…
Exactly a year ago today I flew to Istanbul for a week. How differently this year has panned out to what I expected at the end of 2013! It was a good year though, tough at times but definitely more highs than lows.
I hope to take my camera out a lot more next year, I neglected that this year. I'm itching to get on my bike and cycle into the mountains, go hiking and have the feeling of looking down onto the clouds.

This article is amazing and probably more interesting for me than for you, but still worth a read if you're curious to know why I go on about this place so much.

I'll be back with some fresh photos soon.

Change

And breathe.

I feel like my life has completely changed over the past 3 months. In a very good way. When I've asked friends who I haven't seen in a while what they've been doing and they answer "not much" I find it hard to believe - how can so much change in one person's world but not another's? 

The glaringly obvious change is that I've now finished uni (in Australia…), that I've been settling into a new house, a new job and a new church. So much else though, so many little things that I guess would never have happened if I hand't moved physical locations. My whole schedule has changed because living in the city has allowed me to cycle regularly groups, and I've seriously fallen in love with it! Maybe I'm still in the honeymoon-phase of road riding but I love the adrenaline rush and the camaraderie with fellow riders. Going for a very early ride and watching the sun rise over the ocean puts me into a good state of of mind for the rest of the day (until I start crashing again around 9pm…). I wrote a really 'down' post earlier this year after my heel injury, and I'm truly thankful for this unexpected silver lining.

New friendships. Meaningful ones. A support circle and the feeling of genuine care and love.

Realising I've become so much more sure of myself, my faith and being comfortable in my own skin this year. A really awful thing happened a few weeks back but I think I'm coping okay, and I'm going to take that as a sign of becoming more resilient. Maybe I'll make a zine about it these holidays.

Oh yeah, I'm another year older! I think my perception of age has also changed though, and I no longer feel like I need to ask someone's age straight away and then write-off potential friendships if they aren't within a few years of me. 

I'm excited for what I think the next couple of years might have in store, for now I'll  be putting more effort into writing more on here. I've missed it.

PS. These ^ are some shots from my major project. Have a look at  more here, at my and my colleagues' work here, and at some of my other stuff here. I'm currently available for freelance work, projects and collaborations for anything to do with design, linoprinting or photography - I would love if you or anyone you might know want to get in touch!

Blue

I'm not the best at coming back from travelling, but I felt a sense of peace as I landed in Sydney this morning. The crisp winter air, the familiar eucalyptus smell, a welcome note from my mum and jasmine next to my bed, tea and funny stories with my brother. I feel (kind of) ready for what is bound to be the biggest semester of my studies yet and I'm looking forward to having some routine again. Post-travel blues will no doubt come soon but for now, it feels okay to be home.

By the way, the past 6 weeks have been amazing - many stories, so many beautiful places, countless wonderful people. I'll share some of it soon.

South II

Hello, I'm back! It was a lovely semester until the last 2 weeks - which were mad - but that's all done now, had a wonderful exhibition of our designs for a Visualising Research subject on Wednesday night, and now I have just over a week to get organised before north America! So finally... part II of my cycling trip in Tasmania.

After we hiked down Cradle Mountain, we decided to head for a free campsite a few kilometres from the national park. I'd never done any off-road or mountain biking so it was a bit scary being introduced to it with a heavily loaded bike that would only change to the easy gear if you physically changed the chain. It was worth it though, I will never forget cycling down into that valley during that stunning sunset. This campsite was such a gem, there was only one German couple also camping there and in the evening we sat around a fire together. The guy, being a chef, offered us some ingredients upon seeing our very sad pasta & canned soup situation (I never said we ate well during this trip...). The next day my friend had the idea of making my bike seat lower which instantly made it a lot easier on my knee which by this point was almost unbearably painful when cycling or walking. I really loved this day of cycling, it was quite an easy 80km through beautiful forests and countryside. We had lunch at the tiny town of Tullah and nearly cried tears of joy at the sight of real food (burger with the lot) from the milkbar for lunch. That night we found another great place to camp (with taps and bathrooms, luxury!) in Rosebery, a small mining town not far from the west coast. That night was so good, we went to the Rosebery RSL (last photo) for a beer and started talking to the locals there who instantly bought us blue shots (...) and gave an interesting insight into life in the town and their experiences of working in the mines. The man in the last photo had been working in their mine for 45 years (!), from when it was 15 levels down to now,  60 levels down, 2km under the earth! Conversations with such genuine and honest people are so good and this night was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. The next day I got a bus with my bike to Launceston, explored the town and stayed with a family of a friend of a friend. They were so hospitable and lovely, trips like these restore my faith in humanity!
Tassie was so so good and a trip to Hobart and the east coast (hopefully by bike again) is definitely on the cards for next semester.

I'm leaving for the States/ Canada next Sunday! My trip will roughly be: NYC - Montreal - Toronto - Chicago - Seattle - Vancouver - Whistler - San Fran - LA. I would love any tips for those places, especially where to go for walks/ hikes/ bike rides in the vicinity of those cities.

ALSO, I made some zines for the exhibition I mentioned earlier and I've got a few copies left. It deals with a topic I've been researching in depth over the past few months; Australia's offshore detainment of asylum seekers. If you would like one, email me your postal address and I'll mail you one :) madeleine.mtn[@]gmail.com