An Alpine Monday escape

After two jam-packed weeks with many tasks that I could mark as done (and more tasks that were added), I started this week with a hike in the Bernese Oberland. 

Just do it

You have to take the time for a getaway, schedule days for it, otherwise they never happen. Unfortunately, I forget this far too often myself and always want to get the just pending work done first and only then devote myself to leisure. But free time is so important and in the end it’s not even wasted time. On the one hand, it is simply good to air the head, on the other hand, it is precisely these moments, far from the studio and the usual environment, in which the thoughts go new ways and new ideas arise. In the overwhelming beauty of nature, a feeling of deep contentment, of happiness emerges and so many things have an inspiring effect.

Feeling small = feeling good

I especially like the emptiness of the high alpine landscapes above the tree line. The gentle mats in contrast to the rugged rocks. And the rocks themselves, which hold stories of millions of years and come across so diverse in terms of color, structure, texture. How they surround you mightily and impregnably and reprimand you by the dimension. You suddenly feel very small and unimportant and with you the worries and everyday burdens.

Step by step

I already wrote a few years ago about what fascinates me in hiking through the mountains. It is always this reaching of a goal, the climbing of a peak, that reminds me of what one is also confronted with in life. A challenge, a task that seems big and powerful and that gives you sleepless nights. In fact, I often sleep badly before my hiking days too, tossing and turning in bed wondering if I’m fit enough, if I’ll make it to the top. But when the morning comes and it’s time to set off, all doubts are gone and the thirst for action prevails. And when I am standing at the start of the tour after a train and bus ride, usually with the goal high up and seemingly unreachable in front of my eyes, then I know there is only one solution to reach the peak. And this is a very simple one: to put one foot in front of the other! This is exactly how all bigger goals can be achieved, by focusing on the small steps without losing sight of the big goal.

Kandersteg – Bundnerspitz – Adelboden

So this week has brought me right at the beginning, on Monday, on the summit of the Bunderspitz in the Bernese Oberland. I started in Kandersteg, or after a short ride with the cable car from Allmenalp up to the top and then on the other side back down to Adelboden, from where I went home again by bus and train. A great hike in the most beautiful autumn atmosphere under a bright blue sky. 

Delivering paintings

The rest of the week was then again marked by everyday life, which was interrupted by an evening in Bern. I brought two paintings to a customer, which he had bought. Before it got dark I was able to take two more pictures on the way.

For all Photos of the week click here