My Adventures

End of January the European Outdoor Film Tour came to Salzburg and as many friends are huge fans of this format since years I decided to give it a try. The tour is traveling around Europe and has stops in 14 countries. It shows movies from international and cross-national outdoor-projects around the world.

When I arrived at the Mozartkino in Salzburg I noticed immediately that most of the other guests were outdoor-enthusiasts and it really felt like being part of a bigger community. In total we saw nine movies and each movie told the story of a project or challenge and it was so inspiring to see how other people set goals and make dreams come true. Although it's really hard I don't want to spoil you with more details now about the single movies. But I can tell you that all of them were about outdoor sports and some were really surprising (like playing golf through Mongolia or Roller Skating in Ruanda). I loved the mix of classical mountain-sports and newer forms of adventures. If you want to see the movies yourself you should check the tour dates on EOFT and book your tickets soon since most of them are sold out in a short time.

When I left the cinema I was totally inspired by all the amazing protagonists and my head was full of ideas for future adventures. And now, a few days later, I am very happy to say that some of these ideas already became plans and will turn into reality pretty soon, so stay tuned! ;)

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure to travel to Montafon. Although it is 'only' about 3 hours away from where I live, I have never been in that area. But I saw some cool pictures on social media before and knew I wanted to check out those mountains. As you might remember one of my followers, Anna from Bolzano, won the trip and joined me for three awesome days in Montafon. On our first day we arrived in the afternoon and we planned to do a Via Ferrata. Although the weather didn't look to bad at this point we decided to skip the Via Ferrata and went for a short hike instead because the forecast wasn't good. And in fact we got in small thunderstorm while doing our hike. We were not high up in the mountains and had the possibility to shorten the hike a bit. As I always repeat these summer-storms in the Alps should never be taken easy and the right behavior is crucial. Once we finished our hike it was already time for dinner. 

For the next day another hike was planned. Unfortunately the forecast said rain again, but at least no more thunderstorms. When we started our hike the weather was actually quite alright and we got to enjoy some really beautiful moody views over the valley. We also had a guide for the day and it was so impressive listening to her when she explained the different animals and eco systems of the area. She was truly an expert and literally knew the name of every flower we saw! Towards lunch-time, right when we arrived at a hut, the rain started and we had a cozy lunch with self-made cheese inside. After lunch we had to hike a little bit in the rain before driving back to the hotel. Oh, how sweet it was to be in the sauna of our hotel after getting a cold rain-shower in the mountains! ;) It was so cozy to relax inside, to read and to watch the rain outside. Luckily the rain stopped on our third day and we went for a short E-bike-session. As I'm not really used to ride a bike with an engine it was a funny thing to try and I fully enjoyed the sun, the trails and the feeling of getting more and more comfortable on the bike. And last but not least we got the enjoy a pretty fantastic view over Montafon. I definitely recommend this destination for everyone looking for a quiet mountain area for hiking and biking. All in all I had a very good time in Montafon and I'll be back for sure!

Let me know if you have any question about my trip or the area in general. I'll give my best to answer you as soon as possible. :) 

As you might have seen on my Instagram I have been in Vienna several times in the last couple of years: for school trips, for different running races or to visit friends. Nonetheless I was really excited when I got invited to Vienna by Austrian Airlines to watch the Beach Major Series in the Austrian capital. First of all because I have never watched a professional beach volley game and second because I heard of the awesome atmosphere there. To be fully honest I had no idea what to expect, but I was fully ready for a weekend in Vienna. Getting to Vienna has never been easier and faster for me, because I was flying straight from Innsbruck which is the closest airport from my home village in South Tyrol. I know, some of you might question now why I didn't take the train. I had an extremely tight schedule these days and taking the plane made it possible to be in Vienna (and back home on Sunday) on time. I arrived early in the morning on Friday and couldn't wait to be in the Arena for the first games. The first game I saw was definitely one of my favorite: It was Italy against Norway. I found myself cheering for both teams and couldn't decide wether to cheer 'Olé Italia' or 'Heia Norge'. However Norway won and I knew who to cheer for from then on. It was pretty fun as the 'vikings' won every single game and indeed they also won the whole tournament. In the evening when the games were over I had some time to stroll to the city and to do a bit of sightseeing. Although Vienna is so different from Salzburg, I could feel how much I miss living in Austria. Don't get me wrong I fully enjoy my time in Italy right now and I crazily miss Norway, but I look also very forward to be living again in Austria from October on. 
However the atmosphere in the Arena was insane! I have never experienced something like this before and I find it very hard to put it into words. All three days felt like a huge party combined with the perfection of professional sport. I definitely recommend this event for everyone and I found it very cool that the entry was free and everyone was able to enjoy it. Flying back home on Sunday evening was as easy as the travel on Friday. If you would like to see some moving impressions from my weekend in Vienna check my story-highlight 'August' on Instagram and let me know if you have any question about my short getaway to the Austrian capital. As always I'll be happy to give you an answer as soon as possible. :)

Ok, I admit it: I got strongly infected with the biking-fever. But let me explain how I as a runner became that stoked about biking.
A few weeks ago I got an invitation from DAS CENTRAL, a five star hotel in Sölden and I was somehow convinced about the combination of good food, mountains and the very beautiful hotel. I saw there was something written about biking as well, but I didn't think too much about that.

When I then came to Sölden I was an absolute downhill-beginner and I never thought I would be able to ride a line. I mean it's so steep and technical and then there's this bike that I have to bring down in (hopefully) one piece. The easiest option for me would have definitely been to carry the bike and to hike down. But I knew I had to give it a try. My bike-guide, Roli, was truly patient and giving me just the right advices in order to keep me motivated and to see the progress quite soon. And indeed: After the first few hours of technical training I felt much more comfortable on the bike and the next day I was already doing my first lines. I probably still looked like a fish out of the water, but at least I didn't feel too bad. I think a crucial factor of this success was definitely the recovery. Coming back from biking and relaxing in the spa of the hotel and being treated with super-delicious food made it quite easy to relax. I loved all the healthy breakfast-options there! But beside biking and living my best life in the hotel I was showed some more really cool attractions around Sölden. The coolest of them all was probably the cinematic installation '007 elements', a must-see for all James Bond fans! Beside this installation above 3000m there is the Ice-Q, a gourmet restaurant with a pretty spectacular view over the high mountains of the valley. On our last day in the Ötztal we also went to the Area47 and tried rafting. It was so much fun to float down the Inn and my stomach was hurting afterwards from all the laughing. The Area47 is like a huge adventure and fun park for adults (and kids as well). Summed up I have many reasons to come back to Sölden: the awesome hotel, the Bike Republic, the delicious food, beautiful mountains and so many fun activities. Therefore I highly recommend Sölden for all adventure-lovers and I highly recommend everyone to try out biking. It's awesome! 

Let me know if you have any question about anything regarding my time in Sölden. I'm happy to answer your mails and direct messages on Instagram as soon as possible. :)

PS: I'd like to thank all the kind people in Sölden that made my stay that special! You made me feel home from the first second on!

Although I really love being in my home mountains in South Tyrol I also love exploring new areas and mountains in the alps. As I have never been in Schladming and the Dachstein-area before, I really wanted to travel to this place since a while. Especially my friends from Salzburg kept telling me that it is truly a treasure for hikers and trailrunners in summer. Last week the time has finally arrived and I stayed for three days in the Natur-und Wellnesshotel Höflehner, which is a four-star superior hotel run by one family and located directly in the middle of the hiking-paradise around Schladming.
We arrived in the late afternoon last Wednesday  and after a very warm welcome at the reception we spend a bit of time on our balcony enjoying the spectacular view over the Ennstal-Valley. We felt immediately home because of the nature-like design throughout the whole hotel. Although I was not very tired that evening I slept like a baby and woke up full of energy. Therefore, I started the day super-relaxed with a short yoga-session in the yoga-house of the hotel and a healthy breakfast before going for short uphill trailrun and a downhill hike to take care of my knee. It was really easy to find routes in the area as there are many trails starting directly from the hotel and the receptionists had some really good recommendations for us. Once we came back to the hotel we enjoyed the 3,700m2 of newly expanded alpine spa with several saunas, a panorama whirlpool, a 25m swimming pool and much more.
Also our last day in Schladming was filled with relaxing and recharging the batteries before driving back to South Tyrol. In summary I would say this is definitely a good place to stay for everyone who is looking for a vacation close to nature and the combination of an active holiday and wellness. It is also a great starting point for many hikes and trailruns and it really provides the best recovery afterwards. Our three days in Schladming passed way to fast and I am already looking forward to more adventures in this area. 

As always: Feel free to send me a mail or a message in Instagram if you would like to have more detailed information about anything regarding my trip, the hotel or Schladming in general. I'll give my best to answer. ;)

Mid of August I got the chance from Land Rover to test their new Outdoor phone: the Land Rover Explore. I have to admit that I am not an expert in this area, because I connected Outdoor Phones always to very thick, heavy and old-fashioned GPS-stations. Until mid of August. When I first saw the phone from Land Rover I thought it was a usual smartphone.  And in fact: the size and the weight are more or less the same as from other smartphones on the market. So you can really use it as an everyday-phone.

What? But on your pictures the phone seems bigger, Heidi?!?
You are right! That's because I added the adventure pack to the phone to have enough battery for two days in the mountains (fun fact: I used it intensely and gave it back after two days with 88%) and to have more outdoor-features such as detailed GPS-functions. There are also other packs you can add to the phone for example for biking. As we only went on a hike on the mountain Wank near Garmisch Partenkirchen in Germany we didn't need that. The weather was truly perfect to test the phone in all conditions: we had rain, we had sun, we had fog and we had wind. We didn't have big differences in temperatures, but apparently the phone works from -25 to +55 degrees Celsius. We went on a solid hike the first day, slept on top of that mountain in tends and walked all the way back down to Garmisch the next day. Troughout those two days I had plenty of possibilities to test the phone intensely.

I was looking really forward to drop the phone into water and on rocks even if it felt very strange and just wrong. But after a while I got used to not treat it like a treasure. In fact I almost dropped my iPhone as well a few times, because I simply got used to throw my phone around. Luckily I didn't.
What I really loved about the phone was the ViewRangerApp. You might have seen it on my Instagram-Stories these days. It's the App where you can see the skyline through augmented reality with topographical cards while using the camera. 
To keep it short: I tested the phone and can confirm that it is water-proof, drop-proof, the battery lasts incredibly long and the phone has some really cool and useful outdoor-features on it. The design of the phone reminds a little of the Land Rover cars and once you have noticed that, it's really fancy to find more and more things in common. My summary: it's a really cool phone and I think price/performance of the device is very good. (it costs 650€)
As always: If you would like to have more detailed information about anything regarding the Land Rover Explore, my trip to Garmisch or my opinion about both, don't hesitate and let me know via mail or on Instagram. I'll give my best to help you out. ;)

Why to get away? I think we all have to get away once in a while (physically and/or mentally) to get a little distance between the hurry of our daily lives and us. As I had a few days off in the beginning of June and I felt this desire to get away, to reorder the priorities and to simply have some time for myself I decided to go to Hotel Ritzenhof in Saalfelden. I heard a lot about this place, but as I have never been there I was really excited to explore this tiny city and the beautiful mountains around.
Immediately after my arrival I took part of a very personalised yoga-class. As we only were three participants, the teacher Claudia was able to help each of us on a very individual level. I incredibly enjoyed this class, because it was a completely different approach to yoga than I was used to. Moreover Claudia helped me to improve some of my breathing-techniques. Inspired and motivated by this experience I did much more yoga than I planned in the next few days. In general those days at Ritzenhof were quite sporty: Apart from the yogasessions I did one long Stand-up-paddle session on the lake next to the Hotel, a trailrun in the amazing mountains close to the Asitzbahn, some core- & stretching-activities and many walks in the area. The Hotel is perfectly located next to the Ritzensee and the huge garden by the lake offers many spots for yoga or relaxing in general. I really liked the well equipped Spa-area, which is pretty big, but still very cozy. The food at Ritzenhof was a blast: regional, fresh and very tasty. I especially loved the breakfast with many different Müsli-options. 
As I didn't know the area before, I was very happy about all the recommendations I got at the hotel. On my last day in the zone I went to Leogang to watch the finals of the Out of Bounds Festival, which included the UCI Mountain Bike Weltcup Downhill-competition. I was and am still deeply impressed how incredibly fast those guys ride down!
After all this getaway to Saalfelden gave me many new inputs and it was definitely worth every second. I came back to 'normality' with new habits and many new perspectives. 

As always all of you can send me a mail or a message on Instagram if you would like to have more detailed information about anything regarding my trip, Hotel Ritzenhof or Saalfelden in general. I'll give my best to help you out. ;)

As I will probably spend the next few weeks in Austria, I decided to go for some quality-days at home in Italy far away from stress and hurry. And I think I found just the perfect place for this kind of getaway: the Chalet Grurmer Suites&Spa, a beautiful Chalet in South Tyrol. I have to admit that I never knew about this place although it is so close to Bolzano. Therefor I was really curious to get to know it and super happy to spend a few days in this calm and exclusive chalet in the mountains to relax and to recharge the batteries. This means for me to have plenty of time for myself, to eat attentively, to get enough sleep, to read a lot and to go for some easy runs or bike-rides. When I arrived at the Chalet Grumer the best host ever welcomed me: Mike, the labrador. Together with his owners, Philip and Alexandra, he made this place feeling immediately like home to me. Alexandra and Philip opened the chalet six years ago and I could feel their passion for this place throughout my whole stay. The fact that the chalet has not more than five suites allows them to lead it with only a few other employees. This keeps the atmosphere very private and authentic. The location of the chalet is perfect: completely secluded and away from any source of noise, but still not too far from Bolzano and close to Soprabolzano. Moreover it is a perfect spot to start many mountainbike- or trailrunningroutes to Rittner Horn and further. (as I did)
Something else I really appreciated was the delicious food: all regional, all from a very high quality and very tasty. My suite had an absolutely stunning view on the dolomites and every morning I saw some deers on the fields around the chalet. The spa of the chalet is very well equipped and it was very relaxing to go to one of the saunas or to chill in the whirlpool to recover after some outdoor-activities.

After all I'm leaving my beloved South Tyrol and this beautiful chalet with many positive vibes and with lots of energy.

Many thanks to Alexandra and Philip for these awesome days and for making them a real homecoming.

As always all of you can send me a mail or a message on Instagram if you would like to have more detailed information about anything regarding my trip, Chalet Grumer Suites&Spa or South Tyrol in general. I'll give my best to help you out. ;)

Climbing? Me? No way! I am a runner and I always preferred to have my feet on safe ground. I tried climbing a few times in the past, but it really wasn't a pleasure. Shoes were always too small ("That's just how they need to be for climbing", they always said to me), my hands became very rough and my arms were anyway too weak. But: I have many friends who incredibly love this sport and somehow I was always a bit jealous of their passion.  As I got an invitation from Innsbruck tourism and Black Diamond to go to Innsbruck for some climbs I decided to give it another try. I mean, I had nothing to lose. ;) To prevent some of those bad feelings I prepared myself with some proper (arm-) workouts. (Nothing special: just push-ups, ugh!)
I arrived in Innsbruck around noon and after a few minutes in the amazing Hotel Adler, Johanna from Innsbruck Tourism and Sabine from Black Diamond came to pick us up. We went then to the KI, THE climbing hall of Innsbruck. The European Headquarter of Black Diamond is located right next to the hall, so first we had a short theoretical part, where Sabine presented the brand and its history. After this short insight Reinhard Scherer showed us the huge climbing hall (aka his 'baby'). And then it was finally our turn to climb. I was really surprised how much fun it was and with the time I developed an ambition that didn't allow me anymore to give up without reaching the highest point. Ok, I have to say that I only did quite easy routes, but I think I started to feel this climbing-passion. It was pretty cool to see and feel that I first did everything with force and with the time I started to use more and more tactical moves. The next day we went to Ehnbachklamm (a famous climbing-spot superclose to Innsbruck) and combining mountains and climbing felt much more like home to me. It was funny and somehow I felt comfortable from the very first moment on. Beside the climbing it was amazing to get teached how to safe others and to get to know all the necessary climber's know-how. Actually it was also good to have an excuse for some pauses from climbing. Those two days were pretty intense for my body: My arms shaked while I brushed my theet in the evening and I didn't know that I have so many (or little) muscles that can be sore. Luckily I brought my Mini-Blackroll to relax them a bit. On my last day in Innsbruck I got to see the biggest treasure of this city: the Nordkette! Those mountains and the city embody the amazing urban alpine lifestyle. As we were short in time we took the cablecar up to the top and Stephan Wiesner took some running pics from me in this stunning surrounding (I'll share them on Instagram). After three days in Innsbruck I leave this city with crazily positive feelings and I'm pretty sure I'll come back soon. Moreover I am so happy about the opportunity Black Diamond gave me and I am pretty sure I will continue climbing. Two days after I left Innsbruck I already went for some bouldering and I can highly imagine including bouldering and climbing into my weekly sports-routine. After all I would like to give a special THANK YOU to Sabine and Johanna for making these days so great, you really rocked!
As always all of you can send me a mail or a message on Instagram if you would like to have more detailed information about anything regarding my trip, Innsbruck or climbing in general. I'll give my best to help you out.;)

Last weekend I was invited by Odlo to the biathlon-worldcup in Le Grand Bornand/Annecy.  As I really need to improve my french I was superhappy about this possibility to go to France. Ok, to be right, I don't speak french at all and except a few very important words like 'baguette','croissant' and 'champagne' I don't know anything. So I started very early on Saturday and was right there for the mens pursuit in the afternoon. The atmosphere was amazing although Boe won instead of Fourcade. After the race I got to explore our very cozy Chalet (Le ferme de Juliette) and I had the possibility to speak with a designer from Odlo. I have to admit that I didn't know the brand very well before, but I was deeply impressed about the kindness and professionality in the whole team of Odlo. In the evening they organized a party at our chalet to launch the new racesuits of the Swiss, French and Slovenian biathletes. The racesuits look amazing and I think the athletes will perform and look good in them in 2018. For me it was very cool to get in contact with the athletes, coaches and the whole crew behind a good biathlon-performance. On Sunday we got a behind-the-scenes tour through the stadion before watching the women's massstart. I think I don't have to say anything about the atmosphere as two french athletes won. All in all it was supernice weekend and I enjoyed it at its fullest. It was great to make a lot of new friends and now I can't wait to test all the great products I got from Odlo. Big thanks to the whole team for making this experience possible especially to Margherita, Silvia and Bruno!

The first days of November are each year like a lottery: You could get warm and sunny autumn-days or cold and snowy winter-days. As the weather in South Tyrol this year tended very strongly to the second option, my cousin and I went for a short getaway to this beautiful Wellness-Resort in Ridnaun called Gassenhof. We had an amazing suite and the new wellnessarea was simply stunning. We felt immediately home. It was almost always snowing during our stay and we enjoyed staying inside, reading, doing yoga, having lots of tea or going to one of the saunas. Nonetheless it was a must to get out into the fresh snow and to throw some snowballs like the kids do. I can highly recommend this place for anybody looking for some days of rest, because of the great architecture, the delicious food and the very warmhearted staff. We had a very relaxed time and it was good for both of us to slow down a bit before getting back to routine, for my cousin in Zurich and for me in Salzburg. Oh, and all those pics are made by my very talented cousin!

Well, this was an end of September to remember. Crazily blue ocean, amazing weather and a pretty cool place to stay sum this holiday up. It was a very spontaneous getaway for five days and I highly recommend it to everyone. Although summer was already over, Ibiza is also in September definitely worth to visit. If you have a car or a scooter you get easily and in short times to amazing places all over the island and away from mass tourism. This counts also for the island of Formentera, a little diamond next to Ibiza. But pay attention: On Formentera you may go crazy because of its beauty but also because of the prices. Best lowbudget-version is to make only a daytrip to this tiny island, to bring yourself some food and to rent a scooter there. The most beautiful thing about those islands were definitely the sunsets. Oh, and I forgot: the parties of course.

Last year my friend Anna Lena and I did something very stupid. We started very spontaneously to the mountains and decided to sleep close to the peak, but we had no tend, no sleepingbag, not enough clothes and we were generally not enough equipped. Nonetheless we had some 'grappa' and a very funny night up there. This year we made it much better. We planned this sleepover, had sleepingbags and our thermojackets with us. We had also plenty of chocolate and although the temperatures were not really very high (-10 degrees Celsius), we felt much better than the year before. We slept on the Milchseescharte in the Texelgroup. Sunrise and sunset were breathtaking! Highly recommendable (with the right equipment)!

Once in a while we manage to make a family trip all together and those trips are always very funny. Last time we travelled to Paris and this time we chose the capital of Portugal. We arrived in Lisboa around noon and I was immediatly amazed by the stunning colours. The very blue sky gives a crazy contrast to the red roofs and all the beautiful mosaics on the walls. As usual on those trips we had a flat in the city center. We had an amazing time there strolling around the city, having lots of icecream (always lemon) and 'Pastel de Nata' (nothingtoadd!) and just enjoying being all together. As you all know I am not a very big fan of mass tourism, but I highly recommend the touristic tour 'We hate tourism' and I guess the name speaks for itself. My favorite restaurant in Lisboa was 'Chapito a Mesa', the food we had was very delicious and the view over the city simply stunning. All in all I was positively surprised about the city and the very friendly people we met.

Obrigado Lisboa!