Pyrenees

We tested what happens if you are not used to high altitudes and long uphills, by hiking up from 1100 to 3100m to Pic de Montcalm. Result: some symptoms of altitude disease, some new consepts about physical limits, and some mushrooms from the forest :)

The rock is in many places calcareous rock, full of caves. And the caves have paintings inside them. Not exactly meant for wondering around on your own, but actually rather great with a guide as well.

Toulousesta löytyi aika mainio kirjakauppa-kahvila. Kielitaidottomat voivat nauttia ilmapiiristä, kielitaitoiset kirjoistakin.

Food is good and there is excessive amounts of it.

Living in a small town in the middle of wilderness, you can know that there are a lot of people in the world, but you do not feel it really. The herds of people going through the big airports - and not only when you are there, but constantly - are impressive. What a beehive... Climbing up a mountain and seeing how the landscape is full of houses; the mountainsides have villages, and as soon as the land is horizontal enough, it is covered with some more villages, and fields, fields... We really have eaten up most of the Europe. There is no wilderness around the towns, where one village ends, the next begins. And knowing this is not the same as seeing it, being in it. But finally, traveling does improve your understanding of the world. I have been skeptic, if it is necessary to move around to see things yourself, using up a lot of fuel... or if you can gain an understanding while staying in one place but following actively what happens. Maybe it is possible, maybe you just have keep your eyes open and listen to the people around you to learn a lot (there are 109 nationalities represented in Tromsø, says the rumour). But surely being somewhere else forces you to see different things.