Mountain

I'm so lucky to be surrounded by this. Even though it's truly supposed to be summer by now but it's been less than 10 degrees and raining non-stop for more than two weeks, I love it. Heck, may as well stay the whole year.

Lugano

Photos from another dreamy day trip to Lugano. It was nice to have a break from chaotic Italy on my recent trip in this very nostalgic & photogenic Swiss town.

Running and Salzburg

Reading Susie Bubble's post on her first half marathon played an embarrassingly large part in me deciding to run in one myself. That, and my weird mood that might be described as nerves the night before I left Australia three months ago lead to impulse googling and registration for the Salzburg marathon. I guess the real reason was simply to see if I could do it. I have no self control when it comes to late night chocolate-gorging, but I am quite disciplined when it comes to making myself run when the warmth of my bed seems like a much pleasanter option. Somewhat surprisingly, I loved training for it over the past 2.5 months (albeit a large part in the snow); I've discovered so many places around my new town that I wouldn't have otherwise. I was lucky to find a talented running-friend who I convinced to do the half marathon with me within one week of meeting one another. Unlike Susie I didn't cry towards the end - I was mostly occupied with pleading with my legs to go faster, they seemed to lock in pace and refused to speed up to the finish line. Usually, running is a kind of therapy for me - a time where I can think and process the last day's events and clear my head. I really can't recall though what I thought about during that 1 hour 43 minutes yesterday (apart from when we ran past The Sound of Music house - I can definitely remember that). Although I felt a bit queasy as I crossed the finish line, I had to laugh when I saw my friend waiting for me with a beer in hand - only in Austria would that be the first thing handed out after a marathon. It was a challenging but good experience - definitely helped by Salzburg's romantic backdrop and beautiful Spring weather.