mountains – Ashatta

Hiorthfjellet – “The Arctic Challenge”

28/09/2020 04/10/2020

It seems I am that kind of person who likes to be exhausted on their vacation 😀 Of course, when going to Svalbard I had to take the toughest available activity there…

Mount Hiorthfjellet does not look intimidating at first as it is only 900 meters tall – nothing compared to the Swiss Alps I am used to. So why is it considered the hardest day hike of Svalbard, was I wondering? I have an answer now and wrote about it in this post, so if you would like to know as well – read on 🙂

Five Lake Hike at Pizol

05/07/2020 03/10/2020

Did you ever feel like there are just too many cool places on Earth and struggle to fit as many as possible into a single vacation? Good news! With this 4-hour hike you will not only visit Switzerland, but also (kind of) Norway and (almost) Iceland 🙂

This post is about one of the best hikes in Switzerland – Pizol “5-Seen Wanderung”, or Five Lake Hike. Great accessibility, a challenging ascent, and mind-blowing landscapes – everything you ever wanted from a hiking day trip!

24 hours in Zurich

19/06/2020 04/10/2020

Going to Zurich and searching for some advice? Mine is very simple: do not come to Zurich 🙂

Seriously, visit Switzerland for its mountains, meadows with grazing cows, for mighty waterfalls and lakes still like a mirror. Cities like Geneva or Zurich are well-suited for a business trip or a layover before / in between the flights but not for a full-fledged vacation experience. Read on to learn how to spend a few hours in Zurich in between more interesting destinations.

Taormina: sea, ancient ruins, and volcanic dust

19/03/2020 07/06/2020

It is so unbelievably sad that Italy is living through really dark times at the moment. For a traveler like myself it is double-fold devastating: only few countries can boast amazing landscapes, rich culture, and delicious cuisine compared to that of Italy. In these dire times, I would like to think about all the beautiful things that Italy is home to and celebrate its potential for cultural visits which we all can hopefully soon enjoy again.

This story is of a little town of Taormina which finds itself perched upon a tall rock on the Western shore of Sicily. Taormina is a tiny city and is probably not the first one that you think of when someone mentions Sicily. Most of the travelers use the town as the base for conquering Etna, one of the world’s most famous volcanoes, and, to be honest, so did we, but this little Mediterranean town certainly has a charm of its own!

Fjord roadtrip in Norway

23/08/2019 07/06/2020

I always treat my travel seriously: a couple of months before I start reading travel guides and blogs, compile lists, book activities. The travel to Norway was, of course, well planned too, but the purpose of planning was different: this time I had to make a list of things to NOT see.

Lugano: to the other side from the mountains

27/07/2019 07/06/2020

Lugano is the biggest city in the “Italian” part of Switzerland, canton of Ticino. Located on the eponymous lake and surrounded by picturesque forested mountains, it offers the most typical impressions of nature and culture of this region of the country.

I have to say, travelling across Italian Switzerland is quite a strange experience. It is almost impossible to tell Lugano from cities of Northern Italy. Everything is the same: food, vegetation, building styles… Pretty much everything, except for prices. Looking at them, you are reminded that it is still Switzerland… So why pay more if Milan is only one and a half hours away by train? Let’s try to find out.

Zermatt: 5 lakes trail

13/07/2019 07/06/2020

The most famous and the most photographed mountain in Switzerland is, of course, Matterhorn. Although it is not the tallest peak in Alps, its unique shape and detachment from other tall mountains nearby make up a really pretty landscape =)

Four lessons of Mount Fuji

29/06/2019 07/06/2020

The magical Mount Fuji has been charming her visitors for many a millennia. Every year millions of tourists travel to small towns at her foot to climb or just admire the landscapes and her snowy peak.

For centuries Fuji inspired artists and poets, but this mysterious mountain is also able to influence less pretentious matters. For example, today we are going to learn from her how to travel and do sightseeing correctly =)

So what can Mount Fuji teach us?

First time in Japan: Mount Takao

22/05/2019 31/05/2020

Looking back at my experience with New York, this time I decided that four days in a big city is all I can take and that I would definitely need a nature retreat after that.

A quick search revealed that there is a cool mountain called Takao just an hour by train from Tokyo center, with a number of hiking trails up to the summit and cherry trees that bloom later than in Tokyo thanks to the altitude.