… until a hopefully adventurous 4 weeks vacation with a 5,40 meters short camper van, 2 persons, 2 enduro bikes (Canyon Strives) and tons of equipment will start.

So right – everything should be already well prepared – packing list, shopping, … but so far what we managed to get organized is the van rental and the reservation of the camping slots, so the last days until departure are going to be busy for obvious reasons.

I ordered tons of things that I thought might be useful for camping but now I am not sure how all that stuff may fit in a van with the size of a bigger station wagon.

We’ve chosen the following spots for our mountain bike and hiking vacation, besides Schlanders the locations are new to us but if you can trust social media they must be hot spots for trail surfing, so I hope they will deliver.

• Sölden, Austria https://www.camping-soelden.com
• Kronplatz, Italy https://www.campingwildberg.com
• Sexten, Italy https://www.caravanparksexten.it/de/caravan-park.html
• Schlanders, Vinschgau, Italy http://www.camping-vogelsang.com
• Finale Ligure, Italy https://www.campingtahitifinaleligure.it/de/

We rented the camper van at https://www.gast-caravaning.de

I am grateful for the chance to get 4 weeks off from work, so thanks boss and team mates and of course – the better half’s boss.

I assume it’s about time to feel small again in the mountains, to be brave, to settle the foundation for my existing MTB trail skills and develop new skills on tricky trails or via ferratas (where I am still new to).

Only if you have been in the deepest valley, can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain.

Richard M. Nixon