Into The Woods
I get lost in the beauty of the place and forget to run. Instead, I listen as the trees engage in whispered conversations around me, the wind gently teasing their uppermost branches. I watch as …
Category: Austria
Cold Waters
I start walking. Tomorrow’s teenager, still small and high-pitched, scoots past me as I make my way along the river embankment. He has known this place for as long as he can remember, has grazed …
On Learning to Fly
Ich war vierzehn, schüchtern und unsicher. Vor mir auf dem Tisch lag ein Anmeldeformular für einen Schüleraustausch in Deutschland mit dem Hinweis, dass Teilnehmer:innen extrovertiert und selbstbewusst sein sollten. Tja, ich fühlte mich nicht ganz …
Mountaineering and the History of Fear: an Essay
If I were to fall, I wouldn’t fall far. I could feel the reassuring weight of the harness around my waist; I could feel the slight tug of the carabiners that joined me to the …
The Call of Snow and Ice
It is August and my fingers are numb. I squeeze my hands into fists inside the gloves and watch Serena secure the crampons onto her boots. When my fingers have regained feeling, I do the …
Ski Teacher Training
‘Hi, my name’s Rebecca and I’ll be your ski instructor today.’ Eight familiar faces smiled back at me encouragingly. Most of them still had the examination ahead of them. I have to admit, I wasn’t …
An Ode to June
June. My final month in Innsbruck. I would like to invite you on a jaunt through June. On the first Sunday of this fine, summer’s month, after a night spent in a mountain hut, I …
The Merry Month of May
If you had asked me last week, while I was sitting in the waiting room of the local police station, how I would describe the month of May, ‘merry’ probably wouldn’t have been top of …
Innsbruck
What has roots as nobody sees, Is taller than trees, Up, up it goes, And yet never grows? Gollum in ‘The Hobbit’ by J.R.R.Tolkien They are still there. They are always there. Only when the …
Where words and colour were lacking
There were not enough words to describe Russia. They flowed effortlessly onto the page, they overflowed: first onto paper, every day, something of a stream of consciousness; and then onto the screen, this time with …