Hiking- But what kind of shoes should I wear?

Before we started our hike on the Rheinsteig we were thinking a lot about what shoes would be appropriate. In the following post I will tell you about our opinions and experiences.

Last year I decided to invest some money in order of buying hiking boots. By that time I already did a few day hikes and realized that my trainers which I was wearing weren't really supportive for my feet and also for my ankles. That made me sure that I wanted new shoes before going on an overnight hiking trip.

I went to many different shops and tried dozens of hiking boots but none of them fitted perfectly. So I continued my search and that is something I really recommend everyone who is buying new boots: don't give up if you can't find fitting ones in the first shop you go to. Try as many boots as it takes to find the perfect ones for your feet and purposes. Believe me it may take some time but you will find the right ones.

Important is a good informed shop assistant who gives you advise on what shoes could fit you and how you know when you find the perfect ones.

I found my perfect boots in March while I was on holiday in Bavaria. They are unusually light and not as high as normal hiking boots. They bareley cover my ankle but because I'm not going mountain climbing and I'm planning on hiking in summer mostly that's totally fine. They are waterproof and have a special technology called "air active". The brand is called Meindl and I am very happy with them. Even though I bareley used them before our two day hike I had no blisters at all. That is why it is so important to keep looking for a boot that fits perfectly even though it takes more time.

My Meindl boots in action

But also if you don't want to invest in expensive hiking boots you don't have to miss out! My boyfriend hiked the two days in normal trainers and did perfectly fine. Only at stoney passages he could easily twist his ankle and the sole wasn't thick enough so he could feel the stones through it.

All in all I can definetly recommend hiking boots but it's not a must-have if you're only going hiking once or twice a year.

If you're interested I can report how my boots will look after some more km so you get an impression of the quality of the brand Meindle.

As always,
Travel well

Rheinsteig, Germany

Long time, no see. Or better: no read. I am so so sorry. Somehow I totally forgot to write blogposts because everything was really stressful the last few month. I am visiting a new school and I am preparing for my leaving cert so I hope you understand but from now on I will try to post more often! I promise!

Now back to the real topic of this blogpost: I did it! I did my first "long" distance hike. Together with my boyfriend I travelled to Kestert which is in Germany at the river Rhine. From there we hiked to St Goarshausen. It was a 12,5 k hike which might seem very easy but it still was very exhausting because of the mountains we had to go up and down.

The landscape was really beautiful and we enjoyed the hike a lot. After ca 4 hours we arrived in St Goarshausen and had to take the ferry to the other side of the river to St Goar where our hotel was. It was a very cute little hotel right next to the ferry docks. In the evening we got Schnitzel for dinner in a very good restaurant just a few metres from our hotel,

The next day we started from St Goarshausen and hiked 21,3 k to Kaub. The hike was even more exhausting but we had great views of the valley with the river and lots of castles.

That tour and the one from our first day aswell are part of the Rheinsteig. A 320 km long hikingtrail that connects the cities Bonn and Wiesbaden. I can totally recommend this trail, every few metres are signs so you cannot get lost and there are lots of huts where you can rest.

All in all it was a great trip and we will soon visit the Rheinsteig again to hike other tours.

As always,
Travel well

*Backpack: Vaude (Maremma 36l)
  Cap: Columbus
  Boots: Meindl

Kylemore Abbey

As some of you might know I'm currently staying in Ireland (in Galway until the 9th June and then I'll travel around until the 16th June)

Today my Mom and I did a bustour to Connemara with Kylemore Abbey as a highlight. The weather was horrible cold, windy and rainy but I'm so glad I did this tour because Kylemore Abbey is really impressiv!

About Kylemore Abby:

The castle was built in 1867 by the english man Mitchell Henry after his honeymoon in Ireland when he and his wife fell in love with the place where they built the castle.
After his wife died he built a small church for her. Then he sold the castle to the Duke and Duchess of Manchester (1903). They only stayed in the castle for a few years but changed a lot of the beautiful inside.
Nowadays the castle is a big tourist attraction and Benedictine nuns now live there after the castle was a girl boarding school for many years.

If you want to know more about the castle click here

If you have any more questions feel free to ask

And as always,
Travel well!

The reason why I want to Travel

I want to see more than just Germany and Ireland! I wnat to go to Sweden, to Iceland, to New Zealand, Australia, Amsterdam, Canada and so many other places!

I want to hike through deepest wilderness and cycle with a beautiful view of the blue sea and I want to ride on a horse at a beach with crystal clear water into a total cheesy sunset!

I want to sail and to go canoeing and I want to try how it feels to ride a Jetski!

I want to camp in pouring rain and brightest sunshine and I want to come home filled with new storys to tell.

This life has so many oppertunities and I just want to use all of them. I don't just want to sit around at home and get lost in my everyday routine.

I want to LIVE  in a way not many people do it: With adventures and risks and with my head full of ideas and memories!

Leaving my heart

Today was my last day of irish school and it made me realize that my time here in beautiful Ireland is almost over.
But although I'm leaving a part of my heart, a part of my mind will always stay here with the incredible people I met and with the wonderful places which mean so much to me. Which mean HOME to me.

But thats the price of travelling. There will be always people you will miss badly but I think it is worth it.

Travelling makes you so much richer with life and even if you leave a piece of your heart. The people you met, who became your best friends will send a piece of their heart with you.

And if you think about it: Is there any better feeling than coming home after a long journey?

But nevertheless I'm really sad to leave all this behind because I know even when I visit it won't be the same.

As always,
Travel well

Your life in a bag

As you might now I'm an exchange student at the moment and because I'm going home in less than 20 days I'm facing a huge problem: My luggage!

How will I get all my stuff back home?

And because that's not just a problem that exchange students have but everyone who goes on holiday by plane I thought I could share my experience with you.

What I'm going to say might seem a little bit obvious but in some situations you just dont think of it.

1. Do I really need this? It's not going to be very cold: Do I really need this second jacket? No you don't!What about if there is a party where I can wear this shoes? If there really is a party you could still go to Penneys or somewhere else and buy shoes for 3 Euro!
Only pack stuff you definetly need. "Maybes" just make your suitcase heavier!

2. Am I going with a second person? Can we share stuff? Do you really need 5 bottles of shampoo if you are together with your friends/family? Talk to the people you are travelling with and make sure you don't all bring the same stuff.

3. Write a packing list. If you write down what you are definetly going to need it's less likely that you pack two more pairs of socks/another t-shirt/another hoodie "Just in case"

If you follow these tipps it should be easier to keep the weight of your luggage down. Also a very light suitcase helps. Maybe you should pay attention to that if you buy a new one.

What are your tricks to pack your luggage? Let me know!

And as always,
Travel well.

Postcards

Like most people I love to get mail. Especially postcards.
They show me citys and countrys I haven't visited yet and make me dream about places far away.

On the picture you can see a small part of my postcard collection.
And now you can do something for yours!
The first person who comments this blog post gets a postcard from Oughterard Co Galway, Ireland.
You don't have to be a follower of my Blog but it would be nice.
If you can't win here look at my facebook page. There is also a chance of winning a postcard.

Good luck!

And as always,
Travel well