My Grand Cycling Tour: Alps

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(Story)

It is the season of the Grand Cycling Tours. Hundreds of the world’s best cyclists compare their strength and endurance day after day making huge distances and climbing great mountains. Their inspiring performance should not only pin you in front of the TV, but also make you follow their example and make your own Grand Cycling Tour. Here is the story of my tour in Switzerland: the first part is in the Alps, followed by the story of the Jura and the Lake Geneva, and finally the best part: crossing of the 2005 m (6578 ft) high Simplon pass to Italy.

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Off to Antarctica

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I wanted to write you the story of an amazing cycling tour in the Swiss Alps that I made not long ago, but I really couldn’t focus on it after I received that mail from the British Antarctic Survey: “We would like to offer you the position of Electronics Engineer for a Halley Winter.” Okay, but who cares about me spending 18 months on that frozen continent apart from my family and girlfriend? Well, since I consider it the second best thing after going to space, it might be interesting for some others too, but I wouldn’t really write about myself, not even about Antarctica yet, there will be plenty of time. I would rather write about what lead to this. How the impossible might happen.

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Hiking in the rain

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(Advice)

A water elemental has inevitably some strong skills to spoil a hiking day. Still, you shouldn’t let her stop you hiking. On one hand because she doesn’t always show herself before striking down, so if you hike regularly, then you will hike in rain anyway. On the other hand, if you are prepared, you will have a good hike, with or without her blessing. So in case you are not made of sugar, read these simple advises and see how you can survive a little water, while the others stay at home.

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If you are not made of sugar

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Beyond the Arctic circle

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(Story)
The polar region: an endless remote landscape speaks about the history of the world in an ancient language to the visitor, who can discover a gentle wildlife behind the harsh cover. Scandinavia opened a portal to this mystic place when the regular trains started between the iron mine of Kiruna in Sweden and the port of Narvik in Norway. We stepped into this world beyond the polar circle and it captivated us.

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Lake close to Unna Alakas

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Peaceful hunt for wild beasts

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(Thought)
The patience has finally paid off. The beast appeared on the edge of the meadow. My hearth was beating fast, the grip fit securely in my palm giving a familiar feeling. The call of the water overwhelmed the caution of the beast and it started to cross the meadow. I raised the optics to my eyes and aimed on the silhouette through the high grass. The next moment it was in front of me enlarged by the zoom like it would be within reach. It looked directly at me frozen for a moment. I pulled the sensitive trigger and it released the precise mechanism while the beast stood on its back legs and jumped. It reached the edge of the woods in seconds, but I already got what I came for: a photo of a grown deer in its own habitat.

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Catching a deer in the Zemplén

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How to pack light

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(Advice)
Packing for a hike is like selecting your armor against elemental. I guess you have some experience of the value of an extra sweater that looked useless at the warmth of home, but I’m sure that none of you would start a half-marathon in a full alpinist gear. Sure, you got no chance to stand against the elementals unequipped, but you don’t always have to take the fight.

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The essentials

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