Crossing the Alps in 120 days from Trieste to Monaco

This adventure taught me a lot. For example, it can't always be beautiful - keyword: constant rain - but you can still get the best out of such days and enjoy what you are doing.

It also taught me that life is subject to constant change. Nature demonstrates this with the change of seasons. Every season has its own wonderful side, you just have to open your eyes and heart, look, and listen carefully.

"Be like a river" - I once read that. And when I sat and watched a river for a long time on my way, I also interpreted this for myself: it flows unwaveringly in one direction. It doesn't let smaller or bigger obstacles stop it from reaching its destination.

Probably the most important thing I have learned is that life is not always easy. There are challenges and efforts waiting to be overcome. But if I don't give up, I am rewarded with an incredibly beautiful view and the positive feeling of having achieved the goal I set myself.

Nature and especially the mountains are full of metaphors that I can transfer to everyday situations and stages of life for me.

I have been hiking since I was a child. Never such long routes, though. I knew I was sure-footed and free from vertigo, and I knew how to realistically assess my abilities and limits. I certainly had a basic level of fitness. But I think I worked out the fitness I needed for this route step by step along the way.

At the beginning of the hike, I had to struggle with sore muscles. But the body gets used to the daily physical activity over time and it gets easier from day to day. Fortunately, I didn't get any blisters. So I had done everything right with my choice of hiking shoes.

I think that by not focusing so much on the culture during the hike, I didn't notice much change in that respect. Sure, different dialects, different languages...that was the main indication of a complete change of country. Nature is not impressed by national borders. It merges harmoniously, no matter whether you are standing on the ridge on the Slovenian or Italian side. The warmth and helpfulness of the people also never broke, no matter where I was.

The time was so intense that I could mention countless stages here. I also put a few together, so they don't quite match the official stages. But my stage 8, the descent to Trenta, where countless snowfields blocked the way on the mountainside, is particularly memorable.

My stage 21 was also very impressive: to be on the road for days without technical aids such as buses or cable cars, and to suddenly stand in front of the Three Peaks, was very impressive for me.

Also worth mentioning here is my stage on the Aletsch Glacier. That touched me very much.

I felt very welcome at all the huts. I was particularly taken with the Wolayerseehütte. Here I had a break day, sat for many hours in front of the beautiful panorama window overlooking Lake Wolayer, and enjoyed the warmth of the hut people.

Of course, every now and then, during strenuous moments, I asked myself: "Why are you making all this effort for yourself? However, I was incredibly lucky to meet a hiker with the same intention after only a few days of hiking. The time we spent hiking together harmonized so well that we tackled a large part of the route together. Of course, this made it easier to master dangerous situations.

A lot of impressions flooded in on me every day. I focused on the small and inconspicuous things that one otherwise tends to overlook in everyday life. Flowers by the wayside, for example, small insects around me, or individual smells and sounds of nature. I encountered animals every day. Birds, chamois, deer, and marmots were probably the most common. But also ibexes and of course many small animals like mice, beetles, butterflies, ants and and and....

These moments when I asked myself this question came and went. When it became particularly strenuous, the doubts came. As soon as a climb was completed and I was rewarded with a breathtaking view, the doubts were wiped away. Moreover, I never put pressure on myself to see the project through to the end. I always kept it open to myself to stop at any time if I no longer felt enthusiasm and passion for the hike. So I always listened to myself and decided to continue.