26 Jul Ich Möchte Mich Bedanken, Deutschland!
I am skipping the three weeks I spent with my parents in Italy for the time being because I am so behind in my writing! Don’t worry, I’ll come back to it.😉
I had the most incredible time in Germany.
Dresden
I made it to the bus from Florence to Dresden, where my friend Marleen lives. She and I met at the Green Climber’s Home earlier this year, and we took a motorbike trip together through the Laotian coffee plantations. She likes having things prepared in advance, so when I arrived I didn’t have to plan anything for the weekend – I just sat back and relaxed, and it was perfect!
We met at the train station and walked back to her apartment so she could give me a mini tour of downtown Dresden. She pointed out several of the old buildings and what they are or used to be. We checked out the big Women’s Church, which was beautiful, of course. It is especially interesting in that the building was repaired after the bombing of Dresden using mostly new, white blocks, but they used as many of the original stones as they could, which are aged and blackened. These old stones are placed exactly where they were in the original building, and the church now has a black and white checker effect. It is pretty cool to see history in that way.
We grabbed some fudgcicles from the local chocolate shop and walked across the river to the newer side of town. We caught up, cooked some dinner, then went out for drinks on Dresden’s ‘bar street’. The place we went was pretty quiet, but there is a funny spot at a four-way street corner where everyone buys beer and just sits on the sidewalk to drink. There were probably 50 or so people sitting and standing at each of the four corner curbs! The area was neat, though – full of street art and funky buildings, brewhauses, and burger joints.
I slept heavily that night after my long day of traveling. In the morning we met with Jo-jo and Martin, Marleen’s boyfriend and his friend, to get groceries for the weekend. We planned to go climbing and camping in a National Park close by. We loaded up on breads, various jams and spreads, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, and rice. Then we went back to the apartment and had an enormous breakfast of all of these things. By the time we made it out the door we were a bit behind schedule and plans were changed accordingly.
Sächsische Schweiz National Park
They had originally wanted to start across the border in Czech to climb the first part of the day, but with our late start they decided to head straight for Sächsische Schweiz, a National Park south of Dresden on the Czech border. The Sandstone Mountains run through here, and there are some incredible rock formations. It is absolutely stunning, and also happens to be a famous climbing area.
The park has a unique relationship with climbers, and the traditions of the past still hold strong here. This is real old-school traditional climbing, and the rules are strict and precise. I laughed when Marleen started going over some of them, but they are taken seriously. Some basic rules are that no chalk is to be used for climbing, only towers can be climbed – no mastiff walls, and no metal gear may be placed. This means it is all fabric gear: nylon slings and monkey’s fists, and the lack of bolts or modern trad pieces leave you with some pretty run out and sometimes sketchy climbs.
We hiked through the forest to our first climbing area, Falkenstein. The forest was beautiful here. Quiet, with moss covered boulders, tall, bare tree trunks, dappled sunlight, heavy shadows and the musky scent of pine. Everything you imagine when reading fairy tales of wood sprites and pixies. We set up at the base of the route with Martin on lead. He started climbing barefooted on the gritty sandstone. I thought, shit, barefoot? I want to climb barefoot! It was as awesome as it sounds.
The first pitch led up to a ledge that overlooked several other rock outcrops and the massive forest. Marleen pointed out where we would be camping the next night. After the second pitch we had to wait, as there were a few slower groups ahead of us. The queue continued to grow and two groups backed out, putting us next in line. The fourth pitch I used my shoes, because we had to go up a chimney. Grip is helpful in going up narrow channels, and it isn’t fun to fall in a chimney! The fifth pitch I got my foot stuck in a crack and it took a while for me to ease it out. We finally made it to the top and enjoyed a spectacular view. There’s nothing quite like the skyline from the top of a tower.
It took a while for us to rappel all the way down, and Martin had to go back to town. Marleen, Jo-jo, and I hiked back to the road and crossed to another path where we wound up at a cabin. This particular cabin is owned by a climbing club, which rents the space cheaply for members. They happened to have some friends staying there that evening and we were able to crash with them. Jo-jo made risotto for dinner and we sat around drinking wine and chatting. At least, I was trying to chat. The younger people knew some English, but the older couples did not. We still managed to exchange some universal sign language and some laughs.
We slept on mats provided in the loft of the cabin with the other climbers, and left after breakfast. It felt good to wake up in the woods and do yoga in the grass. The air feels so much fresher. We began our hike the same way as yesterday, then turned onto a new path. Our bags felt heavy as we climbed more and more stairs cut into the earth. Then the earth stairs turned into a metal ladder, then a metal staircase up the side of a cliff. I felt like any moment I could trip and the weight of my bag would drag me quickly down to the ground far below. But we all survived, with only our sweat and gasping breaths as a temporary reminder.
We went farther, stopping at a viewpoint here or there for rest and snacks. We took the longer, but more scenic route for obvious reasons. We trotted along, discovering wild blueberries that stained our lips and fingers purple and edging past sheer drops where the sand path beneath your feet feels like it will give way any moment. Marleen and Jo-jo finally decided that we were lost, and we crawled up a steep gully that led us back to a main path. From here we made our way back around to the camping spot. We stopped in the middle of the path and Marleen announced that we were there. I looked around, seeing nothing flat or open around us. She pointed up a steep hill to a collection of towering rocks. Up there.
Boofen
We climbed up the hill, edged around a large boulder (made much more difficult with our massive, heavy bags), and found ourselves on a small plateau with a large open cave behind us. We were on top of the world, and had it all to ourselves. We unpacked our gear and Jo-jo laid a tarp on the sandy floor for our sleeping pads. We napped, exhausted after covering so much ground and abandoned climbing until tomorrow. We explored the area and picked out some routes, lazed around, then made dinner over the camp stove. Another friend, Johann, arrived and we ate together, then climbed into our sleeping bags to sleep in the open air.
This style of camping is called ‘boofen’, and the area is called a ‘boofe’. It is local slang for open camping under a rock overhang. They described it as a word for ‘best sleep’. It certainly was an awesome night of rest and I felt refreshed and alive.
I woke up early, as usual, and did yoga facing the sunrise on the edge of the cliff. The birds and I were the only things stirring at that hour and the air still had the evening’s damp scent, still cool until the sun would rise higher and cut through with its heat. Johann rose next and made coffee while I set out breakfast. When we were all awake and ready we lazily packed back up and headed around the tower to the climbing area, the Bussard towers. We got some great climbing in, and Jo-jo led us skootching up more chimneys, stemming and crossing from one tower to the next, and working up some slab. It was a blast, and it felt good to be relaxed, in nature, and just enjoying the day for what it was.
We had a much shorter hike to get to the train today, but we descended steeply. In Schmilka, a small town at the edge of the park, we cooled off in a small stream and grabbed loads of amazing snacks from the local bakery. We crossed the river by ferry and sat in the grass until our train came, satisfied with our weekend adventures.
The next day Marleen and I decided to go explore the local Asian market and try one of the recipes I learned in my travels. We made pad kra prow, and it was every bit as delicious as I remembered. Then we headed to one of the local bouldering gyms, Mandala. Jo-jo and his friends from the weekend all work and climb there. We climbed for several hours, then gorged ourselves on Mandala’s homemade pizza, local beers, and Pau Pau icecream. We talked about everything and nothing, and about how rarely people mean what they say when they say they will come visit you. I’m glad that I mean what I say, and that this time I followed through.
Berlin
I caught a bus in the morning to Berlin. I took the tram from Alexanderplatz to Bötzowstraße, where my friend Myjah now lives. We met in Boulder, but she recently transplanted to Berlin with her husband, Goody. We had an ecstatic reunion, complete with a barking Indy, their new dog. After a brief catch up session, she got Indy ready and we went to the dog park at Mauerpark. Apparently on the weekends it is pretty popping there, but it was quiet this day and we watched Indy play and checked out the graffiti wall. Across the street from the park is the line of the Berlin Wall, and we followed this a-ways and read several of the information plaques about its history. We kept walking until we hit Brewdog, where we shared a few of the best craft beers I’ve had in a long while 😭. Whew, I got a bit emotional there. They were just so good! We both got a pretty good buzz on and headed back to her apartment to make some lunch.
That night was the World Cup semi-finals game between England and Croatia, so I met some of Myjah and Goody’s friends at a super touristy bar with big projector screens up for the game. We ate schnitzel and drank beer and hollered and cheered for the teams, and all in all had a glorious time. I am not a big sports fan in general, but the energy for these games is fantastic. People go nuts! It’s so emotional, and the entire bar erupts in cheers and jeers. I can’t wait to see Croatia vs France while I’m in France!
We ran to the tram in the pouring rain, drunk and happy, despite the weather. I slept heavily and left to catch my next bus before my friends awoke, slightly hung over and sad to have had so little time in Berlin. Until next time, Germany!
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