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!

So, when we encountered the first puddles of half-melted soggy, greyish snow, we were actually as excited as little children and took many selfies. “Look! Snow! Real Snow! In May!” Remember, Sebastian had just come back from the Southern Hemisphere and I had had a grey Berlin winter (without much snow) behind me. Yes, our trainers were soaked through after the first 4minutes but hey, the landscape looked so pretty! We loved it!

Gesa in Winterwonderland!

Higher and higher we climbed and soon, we had to look hard for spots that were NOT covered with a white blanket. Up on the summit (above 1,400m), we regularly dived into snowdrifts up to our knees. And what had been a light drizzle in the valley, had developed into an icy blizzard on top. But since we were beyond caring about wet feet by then and because it was honestly a hell lot of fun to run and skid over the ice, we just laughed about the fact that Sebastian had actually brought along his board shorts. And his long- instead of his snowboard (we did get to skate in the valley on our last day though). It’s in moments like this – when you are soaked through, can’t see the next signpost through the swirling snowflakes while realizing that daylight is running out – it’s then you realize what a great match you have with your adventurous, ever-happy-go-lucky partner in crime. As you can see on the map below, we did something absolutely typical for us: set out for a casual stroll –> ended up doing a trek that was suitable for army-training…

Oh, and speaking of army: We spotted a few small, snow-covered bunkers up here and after a quick research found out the following background: They were built in the foreshadowing of WW2 and were meant to block the way for German troops. Up to this day, they are forming an almost complete defence line through the mountains. If you’re interested in war history, check out this link.

Safely back in the valley, we devoured a hot soup, took an even hotter shower and fell asleep quickly. Pew, what a great first day in the Sudetes!