Oh boy, the Czech beer from last night did make us wake up a little lazier than usual… Which is why we decided to spend our morning skating instead of cumbersomely ploughing our way through more knee-high snow drifts. After all, our boards would have been pissed-off if we hadn’t made use of them at all.

No sooner said than done. We quickly settled for a middle-steep, well-paved road next to a little river for our training. MY training, that is. I’m still a little wobbly down-hill while Sebastian masters even sharp turns with ease. So, almost running over little children and barking pets, we cruised down this road in slalom over and over again and hey, I only fell once! But don’t worry, the crash merely left a scratch on my knee and a little shock. In fact, I doubt it could have left more serious injuries at all since I was patted up like a Michelin Männchen. Better be safe than sorry!

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Yeah, go us! We woke up fresh and not sore on day 2 of our little trip – despite the exhausting hike yesterday. The sunlight was streaming through the windows and it promised to be a clear day. Perfect hiking conditions, I’d say! So, after sneaking some sandwiches off the breakfast buffet of our hotel, we tied our boots and set off.

The first few kilometres were horrid. Just asphalt und super steep. But as soon as we had gained some height, the path became more natural and the sunny conditions made up for the sweaty effort. Other hikers we met greeted us with a jolly “AHOJ!”. The first time I heard it, I was quipping like “Oh cute, mountain sailors. Where the heck is the Czech sea, I have never heard of it…”. Turns out, it just means “Hello” in Czech. So, while bellowing jolly “Ahojs” in all directions, we eventually reached the same hut (Labská Bouda) we had stumbled past in the blizzard on the day before. There, we enjoyed our well-earned lunch in the sun.

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The story of this spontaneous trip is quickly told: Sebastian came back from Lesotho. It had been over three months since our last trip together and we were both hungry for fresh air and clear views. But because we only had a long weekend, we needed a destination that wouldn’t require a day’s travel. Alright then, google maps, please help us out! After a quick research, we settled on the Sudetes Mountains. The equally close German Harz just wasn’t high enough. We would have loved to camp outside, but since the weather forecast had warned of temperatures below zero at night, we quickly decided against that pleasure. I love sleeping in the outdoors, but my ten toes prefer to stay alive, too.

We set off in Berlin at 5am and pretty much tackled the first slope after checking in to our hotel in Spindleruv Mlyn. Since a light drizzle fell outside, we decided to take our hats and gloves – just in case. Little did we know that we would walk through a full-on blizzard only a couple of hours later. And no, Dad, we are no irresponsible fools: Of course, we had checked the weather forecast and expected some leftover snow from winter on top of the mountains. But not this MUCH!

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