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.
