linoleum knife

i got back from my trip on monday night. it ended up being so much better than i thought and was one of the biggest adventures ive had yet. i went on a hunt 2 different days for castle ruins in austria and was successful both times..between not knowing at all where i was going by bike, and then having to figure out how to get up the mountain to the ruins, thats always one of my favorite things to do. especially when you have the best soundtrack on your ipod as background music. pretty much i just biked and hiked and explored non stop for 4 days. it was as magical and metal as i could have hoped for. the biggest adventure i had (and definitely the stupidest thing i did) was hike up an experts only cliff..not having seen the sign that said "stop, only for experts." it was 1880 meters high and i went with a girl from my hostel. we got to the top of the normal end of the mountain around 1680 and saw the big cross higher up at the peak, and saw a few people up there in teh distance, so we said ok lets go! i did it a few times in austria last year and it was easy..but i failed to realize it was easy because i was shin deep in snow and didnt really have to "climb" or hold onto anything. but about half way into our ascent, it started getting really difficult and eventually i realized it wasnt fun anymore and it wasnt safe for me, someone with a big fear of heights and no climbing experience. the rocks were so slippery from melting patches of slosh and the only thing you had to hold onto was some chain and had to climb straight up. its funny because my roommates and friends all say "big deal, that doesnt look so bad" ahhhh!!! thats because you are all german mountain climbing freaks, but i did not grow up like fuckin heidi (i wish). so i am envious of you all for doing this all the time. maybe i would be over my fear of heights by this point. i like to challenge myself with my fear, but this was taking it to the fucking extreme. i have to say, even though i was stuck on the side of the mountain clinging to the chain in tears and shaking for about 5 minutes before i could go any further, and felt myself slipping on the ice, and had nightmares about falling after that day..i kept going back to the mountain over the next few days and had this mixture of "im never doing that again" and the feeling you get after you do something crazy and now youre addicted. something you get from a huge rush of danger. ive never felt that before. i dont know if this means im gonna become some crazy mountain climber (probably not) but i had a little of that twinge of a feeling. hehehe. anyways DAVID also came by for a day to hang out and it was so awesome, we just rode the alpine slide 6 times in a row, being as loud as possible, and scaring all the families away so we had the whole thing to ourselves. then hiking up to neuschwanstein eating candy and pretzels. best day ever!! im so glad he came by. i miss him! so yea, one of the craziest, best trips ive had for sure. heres some pics, you can click on this link here to see the whole set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nilbog2021/sets/72157624134155552/

view during our hike


biking in austria


crossing into austria


sunset


my profi mountain stance...unaware of the dangers that lie ahead


hanging out in a glacier and i aint got no jacket on (ben says i look like im taking a crap)


part of the climb, before we were too scared to take pictures


the climb straight up (i found this picture of the mountain online, didnt take it. but just picture this with slosh and some snow on the rocks)


best part about going to all the random castle ruins in the mountains is no one is ever there


heres a video of us on the alpine slide. no breaking allowed


time to clean up my room and go pick up erin and kyle from the airport, and let a weekend of partying ensue!

btw i have been downloading a ton of old songs recently...so into it