Blogs from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, North America - page 13

Waking up to the beautiful white surroundings of snow is definitely something that is yet to bore me. I rush down stairs like a kid on Christmas day who is eager to open their presents just to see the snow. I rug myself up and can't wait to get out into the fresh air and admire its beauty as walk to and from different points of destination. This is when the year of 2014 had one last test, the test of frustration and uncertainty that lead to my next adventure. One of the most important forms of communication in the world as we know it is a mobile phone. I woke up with one goal in mind and that was to get a phone or a new Sim card for Canada so that I could actually ... read more

I canNOT imagine why I haven’t started geocaching before now. It seems like the PERFECT blend – Biggest Ball of String roadside attractions andGeocaching sites! How many have I missed already??? What is Geocaching? Well, according to the geocaching site, it’s: “a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (container) hidden at that location.” Basically, it’s a world-wide (185 countries, at least) scavenger hunt! but, instead of taking something from a location, you leave something there! Someone, at some point (it can be you!) has set up a secret hiding place, with a geocache locator, and the treasure hunter has to find it! (There’s GPS coordinates, for the treasure map.) Once you find the treasure, you can si... read more

First Episode: Calgary Tuesday morning 8:05h my trip started in Kiel in a rush... (not my fault ;-) ...the taxi was early...) but I was at Hamburg Airport 2.5 hours before take off... that must have been a first - the backpack ended up with19kg and I had a "not so small" piece of hand luggage in addition... so this means "no shopping" or "getting rid of some of my old stuff soon"! I made the mistake - or maybe it was good I prepared myself - to check the weather forecast the night before leaving...and couldn't believe what I was seeing... CALGARY max. 2°C and SNOW!!! In my head I had planned sunny days around 20 degress...(which would have been more normal for Calgary...and they will be back to it in the coming days...well, no ... read more

Geo: 51.0451, -114.063Who is Ernestine Ulmer? Even though a very famous quote is attributed to Mr. Ulmer, most people have never heard of the man, myself included, until I recently Googled his well-known words. "Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first." So simple and somewhat funny, but those are some of the most profound words ever spoken in the history of mankind, particularly for North Americans, where the rat race is a reality of everyday life.It's a reminder to live for the moment, something which we all need to hear every so often as we are busily working away in our cubicle farms, oblivious to the World passing us by. It also became something of a theme for this trip, as we crossed off item after item from our bucket lists. Truth be told, as this trip ... read more

Tomorrow we lift off!! Ten months ago David and I started planning a trip to the other side of the world! It feels a bit like a ball of string … at first it unwinds slowly … but near the end, it unravels quickly! This will be a very special trip not only because we will be going to see some incredible places, but also because we’ll be visiting some very special people. What will we do for six weeks? I know David will take some fabulous photos. And I hope to answer a few questions I’ve had since childhood like, “When we’re on the bottom of the world, will our feet stick, or will we fall off?” (I have some other questions, but I thought I’d start with the easy ones first.) I hope you ... read more