… jumped on her bicycle and waved her parents and Kari GOODBYE. She was ready for the world …

Her heart directed her South towards Slovenia. On route, she stopped in Graz, where she met her young “old” friend Leo and spent some time with him and his family …

During the first weeks of her journey Karo took hardly any pictures. She was so focused with herself and her new environment and simply forgot to “preserve” all those impressions on her camera. Instead she stored it all in her memory. This picture is already from Slovenia, Maribor.

Slovenia was in fact the most difficult border to cross. Karo was extremely emotional, she knew, “NOW her real journey begins”. Now, she would be a foreigner, not knowing anybody and not speaking the language of its people …

Slovenia is an amazingly beautiful country. Pure and green vegetation, clean, inviting rivers, but also very mountainous. It was physically extremely demanding and Karo was mostly drenched in sweat pedalling up the beautiful mountains …

She also saw not so pleasant things (from her perspective), but because her Journey is about being real and true, she embraced the good and the bad …

After a few days in solitude and only a few and brief encounters with humans, Karo decided it’s time to socialize again. Thanks to the beautiful invention of “Warmshowers” a plattform which helps touring cyclists to connect with locals, Karo found this beautiful wooden cabin and its two friendly and beautiful owners, who were happy to invite Karo in …

it was an incredibly beautiful “homie” home. Karo felt so positive about this place and her company that she stayed for two days …

Marjan, Matjaz and their lovely kids, a traveller couple with a heart of gold …

After having been fully energized by Marjan and Matjaz’ delicious, home grown Slovenian food, Karo continued her journey South, passing through poppy fields and bear forests …

Since Karo had left Home, she has weatherwise been extremely lucky, lots of sunshine on her nose. Once in Croatia the weather god turned his back to Karo and sent her plenty of showers …

After having cycled a few days in pouring rain Karo felt she desperately needed a break. She was physically and mentally heavily absorbed. In Kutina, a small town in the center of Croatia, Karo was lucky. She fell into the hands of Kresimir, who not just shared his flat, but also his warm company and delicious food with Karo. She stayed for two days to fully recharge her batteries …

Strong and motivated, Karo waved Kresimir GOODBYE and headed towards Slavonski Brod, a Croatian town right at the border to Bosnia and Hercegovina …

In Slavonski Brod, Karo stayed for 10 days with a wood and metal artist. She helped mulching the garden …

guarding his three extremely energetic kids …

and ate huuuuuuuge amounts of mulberries. A fruit, which Karo didn’t know before, but won’t forget forever …

sooooooo yummyyyyy …

and very apparently not only Karo had a weakness for mulberries …

After 10 days in Slavonski Brod, Karo decided to cross into Bosnia and Hercegovina. After a few days of cycling the beautiful North with its many forests, Karo met Srjan and Hellen, a Bosnian-Swiss couple, who were living in a selfmade home, surrounded by a permaculture garden. A little paradise for Karo …

Hellen’s and Srjan’s adopted son Nico and a former streetchild was a lovely little fellow and became Karo’s running buddy …

Because Srjan and Hellen’s home was so beautiful and because they needed a helping hand on the farm, Karo stayed for a week. She even got her own little wooden cottage …

and her own bodyguard …

Do not underestimate the power of this fluffy, cute and hairy bundle. He was VERY kind to Karo, but very vicious to many others …

After a week with Srjan and Hellen, Karo continued to Banja Luka, Bosnia’s capital city. Here she met Daka (the guy with the closed eyes and the Hoola-Hoop Halo). His brother had arranged that Karo could stay with him. At first Daka was not too keen on hosting the unknown lady and her bike, but after he found out that they shared the same favourite author, the ice was broken. In fact, Daka and Karo tremendously enjoyed each other’s company. They enjoyed it so much that Karo stayed for a few days. Daka was like a male version of Karo, only better. He had initiated a whole lot of amazing projects in and around Banja Luka raising awareness for environmental and socio-economical challenges. Daka was (and still is) a true delight and inspiration for Karo. And the two fellows next to him, Lijena and Nils, Karo will introduce later. In their amazingness they deserve their own little chapter …

Because Karo and Daka had such a good time together and because they couldn’t stop philosophizing Daka decided to jump on his bike and escort Karo to the Croatian border …

Daka’s company was a blessing for Karo. Not just, because he is awesome, but also because being with a local Karo learnt so much more about the country, its culture and its people …

Daka and Karo cycled through the North-Western part of Bosnia. A naturally beautiful area, but with a very sad past. Lots of fighting during the Yugoslavian war took place in this area. Warning signs of still existing mine-fields have been a common sight. Daka and Karo had to be careful, where to put their tents …

Many of the houses they passed were full with bullet holes and empty. Many people who escaped the fighting never returned to their homes …

Difficult to imagine that this beautiful and peaceful land has such a tragic, not even long time ago, past …

The history is sad, but the present is astonishing. Daka and Karo found the most beautiful places for camping …

and bathing …

Streetdogs are a very common sight. This two cute fellows have been lucky that evening and filled their tummies on sardines and cookies …

it was almost hard to choose a spot for camping, because EVERYWHERE was perfect …

here …

or here …

After three days of cycling together, Daka and Karo hugged GOODBYE and Karo headed of to Croatia, where she ended up in a small village called Zdihovo …

In Zdihovo stayed with Francis and Ivana, an Italo-Croatian couple, who had a beautiful permaculture farm as well and needed a helping hand …

Francis and Ivana’s adorable youngsters …

Karo originally wanted to stay for a week with Francis and Ivana, but because she cut herself with a sickle and wasn’t able to walk for two days and only limped for a few more days, the one week became two weeks. But Karo didn’t mind at all. The house and its people was full of positive vibes and she really LOVED the place …

Once her leg was more or less fine, she jumped back on her bike and headed towards coast …

Karo was excited to see the coast AND to meet some of her friends, who were promised on the sign post …

“wooooooooow”, is what you feel in that moment, when you pedal through mainland for days and days on end and suddenly the horizon widens and you see this …

Karo cycled through Krk island, hopped to Rab island with a ferry and enjoyed it’s marvellous sunset …

Karo thoroughly enjoyed the Croatian coast and small fishing villages …

After island Rab, Karo hopped to Pag and was surprised to find an extremely hot place with nothing but stones and sand …

Pag turned out to be not quite Karo’s “thing”. Pag is known as a popular party destination. A place, where students from all over the world gather, get completely wasted and have sex with pretty much everything that moves … Hmmm, if Karo had known that before, she would have definitively avoided that place …

but apart from the completely “uncivilized” behaviour of civilized men (and women of course), after a few days Karo started to really appreciate the beautiful nothingness of Pag …

After Pag, Karo took another ferry and hopped back to the mainland, close to Zadar …

Here she camped in a beautiful olive orchard and lavender plantation. She still remembers this amazing scent in her nose. A pity that smells can’t be transfered through photography …

After Zadar, she continued to Nin, a beautiful small fishing village …

Karo really enjoyed her new life, her freedom …

if it was too hot during the day, she would jump into the ocean to refresh herself …

The fig season started and allowed Karo to freely fill her tummy, wherever she found a fig tree …

but Karo had competitors, also wild boars were after the sweet and tasty fruit. Luckily figs were in plenty …

She enjoyed gazing at the star filled sky from her tent and enjoyed night swims in the warm ocean. Everything was perfect …

One of the few downsides of Croatia’s coast, is it’s popularity, but of course, Karo was not the only one, who enjoyed Croatia and so she had to share with others …

Luckily not all places in Croatia are equally famous and crowded, like Kastel Luksic. A beautiful small town not far from Split …

In Kastel Luksic Karo heard of a place, where touring cyclists could spend a night in an empty flat. She was in good company …

From Kastel Luksic Karo went to Split …

and she enjoyed another marvellous sunset …

and another one …

The island fever struck her again and so she hopped to Korcula …

an extremely beautiful and comparatively quiet island with many mountains though …

Korcula, a beautiful little town …

and interesting street art. This one reminds of the Vukovar massacre. A massacre that took place during the Yugoslavian war and in which 300 civilians and prisoners of war have been killed by militia in a small North-Eastern Croatian border town, close to Serbia, called “VUKOVAR” …

after having spent a few days on Korcula, Karo went back to the mainland …

it was hard to imagine that so many of this beautiful, peaceful villages have been center of war and crime not many years ago …

Nature is the best retreat for Karo, especially when she wonders about the stupidity of humans and why they so often are so mean and hurtful to each other …

Sights like this, calm and peaceful nature are the best “therapy” for Karo …

In Ston, Karo was surprised to find something which looked to her like “a Chinese wall”. She always thought that would be in China … but “maybe” she thought “they got the idea from Ston and duplicated it, since that wouldn’t be the FIRST time” …

but that was not the only thing she learnt from Ston …

Karo pitched her tent in a quiet, peaceful place not far from Ston …

She really enjoyed that view from her tent …

Karo spent a few hours in the incredibly beautiful, but far too crowded city of Dubrovnik …

then she went South again, heading to Montenegro. A few kilometers from the Montenegrin border, Karo saw this inviting sign …

in the middle of nowhere a lonely Croatian man decided to open his house and garden for passing travellers. Karo found many super interesting travellers there. The evening filled her with plenty inspiration …

Karo fell in love with the unique tall and slim shape of cypress trees decorating most of Croatia’s Southern coastline …

In Montenegro Karo found Kari again, who was already busy building their nest …

Kari and Karo spent 10 days on a nudist (yes, that’s right) Eco Camp, where they helped the owners with all sorts of things (receiving guests, cooking, building tents, gardening, cleaning). It was an enriching experience, because the place was full of enormously interesting people …

People like Hannah, who has been travelling for years with her little dog in her rebuilt mobile Home, a super cosy Van. So much inspiration for Karo …

Each guest to the campsite was welcomed to leave a painting behind. Of course, Karo painted a sheep …

After 10 days, Karo had to say GOODBYE to the ECOcamp AND which was actually much more sad, she had to say GOODBYE to Kari, who flew back to Austria. And Karo jumped back on her bike and headed back to Bosnia and Hercegovina …

She didn’t cycle far and had not even crossed the border, when she met Nina …

a lovely, energetic German cyclist, who was on her way back to Germany after having been in Greece. A beautiful soul and tough young lady …

Since Nina and Karo were heading towards the same direction, they decided to go together and enjoyed each others company …

One evening, the universe painted this beautiful picture for them …

Once back in Bosnia-Hercegovina the traces of the war were apparent again. Just by looking at the houses it is evident that Bosnia-Hercegovina has been one of the centers of the Yugoslavian war …

After having spent 3 days together, Nina continued cycling North, while Karo went inland, North-East, where she stopped at the beautiful Kravice waterfalls …

and Medugorje, a very popular Christian pilgrim destination Karo really wanted to visit. Unfortunately Karo was rather negatively surprised, Medugorje turned out to be rather a center of commerce than a spiritual oasis …

and so she continued to Mostar, one of Bosnia-Hercegovina’s biggest cities …

There she found a very cosy hostel, which shared one of her life perspective’s …

Mostar turned out to be a positive surprised. A beautiful old town, where you would still feel the presence of the former rulers and “long gone” Ottomans …

an interesting, but rather sad fact about Mostar is the still ongoing (voluntary) separation of its inhabitants. On the left side of river Neretva you would find the Serbian-Orthodox inhabitants and on the right side (with all the minarets) you would find the Muslim population. Once again we learn from history, that we don’t learn from history!

but besides it’s ethnical and/or religious challenges, it remains an outstandingly beautiful city …

Luckily, when it comes to sweets and coffee ethnical or religious differences are erased. They are equally loved by EVERYONE … 🙂

After Mostar, Karo went to Blagaj, a small town in Hercegovina, where she found this pretty Derwish monastery nestled into a high rock wall …

Karo was on her way to Sarajevo, Bosnia-Hercegovina’s capital city. From Blagaj she cycled along the extraordinarily beautiful Neretva river. A few kilometers from a town called Konjic a handsome young man passed Karo with his car. He stopped, smiled at her and gave her a big bag of figs, walnuts and apples …

The handsome young man, Nedzad, and Karo met again in Konjic, where he invited her to an amazing dinner. Karo was so touched by Nedzad’s enormous, unconditional kindness …

But Nedzad was not the only one in Konjic, who deeply touched Karo’s soul. Looking for accommodation Karo found a pretty hostel. Its proud owner, Orhan received her with arms wide open and after seeing her bike and hearing her story he refused to take any money from her. Not just that, the next day he organized a full day river rafting with Karo. They had so much fun and the whole trip was absolutely mind-blowing …

That little splash on the water is Karo having jumped from a rock … Because Karo spent 3 days in Konjic, a town she never planned to travel to and she left truly enriched with amazing memories and 3 amazing new friends …

In Sarajevo Karo mainly visited war memorials and historical sites like “Tunel Spasa” a hidden tunnel underneath the airstrip of Sarajevo’s airport. From 1993 to 1995 the tunnel was basically the lifeline of the city, bringing food and medical aid to the capital which was besieged by the Serbian army …

the tunnel from inside …

This pretty bridge in Sarajevo, is the very bridge on which Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary has been assassinated in 1914. Unfortunately, many more dead bodies would follow since that event triggered the beginning of the First World War …

Cementaries and graves everywhere in Sarajevo. Karo had never seen so many cementaries in her life …

After having spent a few days in Sarajevo mainly focussing on its sad past, Karo felt it was time for nature. It was time again for a retreat to forget about human destructiveness towards his own kind …

Karo went to Sutjeska National park, where she hiked for a few days …

and met new friends …

Karo loves to be on top of a mountain, the best place to realize how small we all are and to find gratitude for one’s existence …

a heart shaped lake … LOVE is everywhere! 🙂

When the hiking expedition came to an end, Karo crossed into Montenegro, which literally means “the black mountain” and indeed Karo found a LOT of mountains in Montenegro …

lots of up- and downhills for Karo …

a country with magnificent scenery …

She stayed a few days in Pluzine, a small town in North-Eastern Montenegro, where a whole town had to be resettled for the making of Montenegro’s biggest man-made lake …

By building a dam for a hydro-electric power plant, river Piva gradually created “Lake Pluzine”. If the water level is low, you can walk through relicts of the old town …

this house, has not yet been fully swallowed by the river …

It was a beautiful, but spooky lake at the same time …

in Montenegro, Karo also came across her first dangerous wildlife, a nose-horned viper, Europe’s most venomous snake …

Karo loved the distinctive wooden houses so many Montenegrins build and choose to be their home …

more typical wooden houses and Montenegro’s number one car: a white Golf GTI. It seems everybody in Montenegro was driving that car …

in Pluzine Karo met Nils and Lijena again. The Ukrainian couple she had met in Bosnia before. Nils and Lijena left the Ukraine many years ago and are travelling around the world in search for a new home. Since Montenegro is so small they decided to discover it by foot. An extraordinarily fascinating couple, with outstanding integrity and a pure and golden heart …

They were so HAPPY to see Karo again, that they all celebrated with a bar of white BELGIAN chocolate … WHAT a treat!!! 🙂

After a few days with Nils and Lijena, Karo continued her Journey towards Durmitor National Park. To reach there, Karo had to climb the highest mountain pass of the whole country. It was incredibly exhausting, but Karo made it to the plateau …

and was rewarded with immensely beautiful scenery …

and found a basketball ground in the middle of nowhere on 2000m altitude! A little weird, found Karo …

Durmitor National Park is one of Montenegro’s richest assets …

a must see for nature lovers and adventurers …

The good thing about uphills is the very fact, that there is a downhill on the other side. And so Karo enjoyed a really long downhill, speed-tears of joy running down her face. Then she reached the beautiful Tara Bridge …

The next few days she cycled alongside Tara river to Biogradska National Park …

of course, many more ups- and downhills followed …

in Biogradska National Park she found lots of yummy mushrooms …

and a new friend, who accompagnied Karo for a full day during her hike through the forest …

one of the hiking routes led her to this beautiful alpine pasture …

in one of the farms, she got served the most delicious homemade foods …

She jumped in the freezing waters of Biogradska Lake …

and really enjoyed the peace and silence of nature …

Then Karo headed towards Podgorica, Montenegro’s capital. On route she found a “Chinese camp” obviously busy mining something. Karo was surprised about Chinese mining presence in the middle of Montenegro’s nowhere …

Instead of figs, blackberries were in season then and Karo could fill her tummy with those yummy, sweet treats from heaven …

Again, the route from North-Eastern Montenegro to Podgorica was not the easiest, many mountains to climb …

in Podgorica, Karo was hosted by Giovanni and his family. A bit scary at first sight, the family turned out to be really lovely and kind-hearted. Being a vegetarian it was just a bit tricky to find something edible on the table, which was filled with all different types of sausages, meat and sheep head …

Climbing up the hill to Cetinje on her quest to overview the legendary bay of Kotor, Karo met this inquisitive Bosnian motorcyclist who found Karo on the side of the road eating blackberries. He found her absolutely crazy and offered to take her up the hill with his bike instead. Karo remained stubborn. In the end, they had a really good chat and were eating blackberries together … 🙂

The legendary bay of Kotor, unfortunately covered in mist …

Karo found she had spent enough time in Montenegro and was ready for a new country …

and so she headed towards Albania and through marvellous landscapes …

so much beauty, Karo almost forgot to pedal …

in Virpazar, the last town in Montenegro, Karo met Benjamin, a swiss touring cyclist, who gave her plenty adivce for Albania …

Alongside the beautiful Skadar lake she crossed into Albania …

She immediately noticed a big difference between the Europe she has been to and another Europe in Albania, but she immediately LOVED it …

In Shkodra Karo stayed in a pretty hostel with an even prettier garden full of amazing fruits. It was so beautiful that Karo stayed for a full week to help Mikel, the happy owner …

Mikel, a “masterpiece” of Albanianism and a true delight, not just for Karo, but the whole world …

Mikel treated Karo like a princess, but Tia was OF COURSE the queen of the house …

Mikel told Karo to discover the marvellous Valbona valley and hike in its beautiful mountains. So, she left Shkodra and headed off to Valbona …

on route, she met this cute duck family. Ducks always manage to make Karo incredibly happy …

Since there was no road from Shkodra to the Valbona valley, Karo hopped on a ferry …

and enjoyed a beautiful, scenic ride along Komani river …

After a beautiful river ride and an exhausting climb along the Valbona valley, she finally reached the small village. Here she found a couple of Albania’s famous bunkers …

Those bunkers, which look like little mushrooms are scattered all over Albania. They are relicts from Albania’s difficult past. Their former communist dictator, Enver Hoxha, was feared of foreign invasion so ordered those bunkers to be built. About 173.000 bunkers have been built between 1960 and 1980. Needless to say, this enormous expenditure had a serious effect on Albania’s national budget …

Karo enjoyed a couple of days of beautiful hiking …

and relaxing in beautiful Valbona …

it felt a bit like being home, in the Austrian Alps …

After Valbona, Karo decided to do a little exursion into the Kosovo …

close to the border of the Kosovo, she met this lovely group of inquisitive road workers …

They were so amazed about Karo’s journey, that they invited her for a stop-over coffee with their family. Luckily, one of them spoke English …

In Junik, a small town in Kosovo, Karo met this lovely family. Actually, she first met the “head of the house” in a little park, where she was having a break. Since it was getting late, he noticed that Karo needed a place to stay and invited her to stay with him and his family. Karo experienced incredible hospitality and is still touched by the kindness of those people …

After having been in Peje and Pristina, but not having found much there, Karo went to Prizren, a beautiful small town in Kosovo’s South …

After 5 days in Kosovo, Karo pedalled back to Albania …

and enjoyed it’s amazing scenery …

It was very hard for Karo to communicate in Albania since most of the young and educated people have left the country and the older ones or less educated didn’t know any English. Nevertheless, Karo fell in love with Albania, its peculiarity, its authenticity, its pureness, its honesty …

Karo cycled through the Eastern highlands of Albania. The roads were getting worse …

Sometimes Karo wasn’t sure if she was actually still on a road …

One day, close to Stebleve, a tiny Albanian mountain village, Karo met Metje and Enver, an Albanian farmer couple, who were harvesting potatoes in the fields. When Metje saw Karo on her bike, her mother instincts must have carried her away. With “hands and feet” (she didn’t speak English) she asked, where Karo was going to spend the night. It was getting dark and a thunderstorm was approaching. When Karo formed a little tent with her hands, Metje heavily protested and almost dragged Karo to their little farm house …

Metje and Enver or “Mama e Baba albansko” as she calls them now, have been so incredible kind to Karo, that Karo’s eyes always fill with tears of joy when she thinks of them. This two amazing people were far from being rich, but they wanted to share everything with their new daughter …

Because the thunderstorm lasted for two days, Karo spent two tremendously enriching days with Mama and Baba albansko. They couldn’t speak English and Karo couldn’t speak Albanian, but they found a way to communicate without words and created a long lasting bond between them. Karo is still (1,5 years later) in regular contact with them and she knows, one day she will be back …

Karo still has the distinctive smell of mountain tea in her nose, which was boiling on the stove, in front of which they gathered because it was the only warm place in their humble home …

it was by far, the most touching and heart-warming encounter Karo had on her trip and she will never ever forget again …

After having waved Metje and Enver GOODBYE, Karo continued to the beautiful Lake Ohrid …

Several people have recommended her to go there and it turned out to be good advice: a magnificent lake of outstanding beauty …

and the bunkers again, the most peculiar “landmark” Albania is known for …

a bunker from inside …

Karo spent a night in Lin, a beautiful fishing village on the shore of Lake Ohrid …

overlooking the beautiful lake. On the other shores lies Macedonia …

Karo continued South to Korce, where she met Matthias …

Matthias, a German touring cyclist, was on his way to Greece. Matthias and Karo cycled for two days together, before he crossed into Greece …

Karo stayed in Albania and continued enjoying her marvellous surrounding …

In Kosine, a small Albanian village, Karo was hosted by Erlet and his Mum. That very night Karo experienced her first earthquake …

Karo found, she had had enough mountains and decided to go back to the coast …

In Ksamil, a hidden gem of Europe’s coastline, Karo relaxed her tired legs …

after that, she hopped on a ferry and headed off to Greece …

It turned out that Greece has a LOT of mountains as well and so Karo kept pushing her tiny legs …

Having arrived in Greece, Karo immediately noticed she was back in the EU. Good roads, pretty houses and complaining people, but the nature was marvellous …

Pluto, Karo’s first bodyguard in Greece. He guarded Karo and her little tent the entire night and followed Karo several kilometers on her bicycle. It was heart-breaking …

an Oyster farm in Lefkada …

On Lefkada peninsula, Karo met Trevor. Trevor lives in a small Greek mountain village called Kalamitsi. He was born in the UK, but had spent the last 20 years in Greece. He did not just host Karo for a few days, he also showed her the most exciting places of his new home. Karo really enjoyed Trevor’s company, his kind heart and warm personality …

After staying 2 days with Trevor, Karo was fully energized again to climb the various mountains, which stood in between her and her next destination …

many tempting beehives all along the way. Karo loves Greek mountain honey, but didn’t dare to disturb the tiny, busy fellows …

She tremendously enjoyed the sound of goat bells in the Greek and Albanian highlands. A very meditative sound …

She found the most amazing camping spots all along the coast …

and she really fell in love with Greece’s outstandingly beautiful coastline. I mean, look at THAT!

In a small village close to Akrata on the Peloponnesus, she met Bessy and Ioannis, who became over the next few weeks Karo’s Greek parents. Ioannis found Karo outside his summerhouse, while she was having a little break. Curious about her bike and her heavy load he invited her in, where she became witness of true Greek hospitality …

Karo continued to Akrata, where a very happy Kari was waiting for her …

Kari and Karo spent one week in Akrata before Kari went back to Austria and Karo continued her Journey. Cycling gradually became more difficult since it was getting colder and colder. It was November by now and camping on high altitude became more and more challenging. She wasn’t physically and mentally prepared for frozen water bottles and toes in the mornings. As beautiful as the mountains were, she decided to stick closer to the warmer coast …

The beautiful Dome in Patra …

On her way to Sefalonia, a Greek island, Karo passed lots of greenhouse plantations. All sorts of fruits and veggies were growing there for the European market. Even more interesting were the little shacks made of wood, ironsheets or plastic film, which were built next to the greenhouse tunnels. It turned out to be the accommodation of the workers. Most of them from Bangladesh or India. Sometimes, Karo met so many of them on the road, that she thought she would be on another continent. Many of the workers, have a very sad story to tell. The price of our “cheap” vegetables and fruits in our supermarkets is actually high. Those people, who work most of the time illegally for a few Euros a day, are paying an extraordinarily high price for our convenience. Karo was sad again. She decided to be a vegetarian to reduce suffering in the world, but apparently also fruits and veggies have their past, which is often sad and brutal …

Karo stayed one week on the island of Sefalonia with an interesting, but a little too egocentric Greek, who decided to live without money. At his place she also found Alex, a lovely Austrian, who volunteered as well. Karo was supposed to harvest olives, but she didn’t and so she got quickly tired of the place and decided to go somewhere else …

Karo felt it was time to settle somewhere for a few weeks, to have time for herself and to write about the past months …

Thanks to a Greek friend, whom she met along the way, Karo found the perfect place in Kryoneri, a small fishing village on mainland Greece …

It was a perfect, peaceful and relaxing environment …

She could see and hear the sea from the window and terrace of her little home …

She was harvesting olives with an Albanian couple, who was living in the same village …

and Karo got the possibilty to see and learn how olive oil is being processed. An exciting experience for the olive loving Karo …

the delicious, healthy “green gold” …

Karo couldn’t believe HOW physically demanding the harvest was. She only helped for a few hours, but her hands were full of blisters …

Nothing goes to waste! After the harvest, the cut branches of the olive trees are munched by sheep. Apparently they absolutely love the juicy and rich leaves …

such a POWERFUL fruit …

Although her hands were still sore, Karo went for another harvest. This time, she endured for two days …

and that was her payment … 🙂

Karo also met a few new friends in her little village …

Some, like Jessy, joined her regularly on her jogging tours …

Kryoneri was the best place for Karo to reflect on her past months and to write about it …

Karo also often went and visited Mesolonghi, a beautiful and small town surrounded by an even more beautiful lagoon …

Lucky Karo was many times invited for delicious, authentic Greek food. The best restaurant in the whole area just around the corner …

Fotis, the man who knows how to live, became Karo’s best friend. He is an amazing character and Karo spent most of her lunches with him and his mother …

Fotis and Karo also went to the Meteora monasteries together. The impressive, architectural masterpieces are found in the very heart of Greece …

During the Ottoman invasion, monks feared of being forced to another religion and therefore they decided to build their monasteries on top of mountain peaks, where access was limited to ropes and winches …

amazing to see, what man is capable of doing to defend his belief …

Karo spent 4 weeks in her little fishing village. After that she decided to go to Athens …

The only 230 km between Kryoneri and Athens turned out to be incredibly challenging for Karo, for two reasons: The first reason was the high climb to the Oracle of Delphi, which she desperately wanted to visit …

and the second reason was the cold. On top of the mountains Karo would find snow. Being outdoor pretty much all the time, Karo had to admit to herself that the last 100 km were pure torture …

but once she arrived at the Oracle of Delphi all her frustration and pain had vanished …

The Oracle of Delphi is an ancient sanctuary, which has been visited by people to seek advice and to ask for their fate and future. The answers were provided by the Pythia, a priestess, who communicated with the Greek gods and godesses. So, they say! Today there are still lots of visitors, tourists, who are not seeking for advice or answers to their fate, but who are interested in taking pictures and walking around at this well preserved ancient, sacred site …

Although Karo is usually not a fan of museums, she must admit that she was truly amazed by the Oracle of Delphi, the museum as well as the historical site …

Karo was not surprised that the Greek God’s chose Delphi to be their sanctuary. Embedded in beautiful mountains, the place radiates spirituality …

Finally Karo arrived in Athens …

where her parents were already waiting. They have decided to come and see their only daughter, since she didn’t want to come and see them in Austria …

They went to the famous Acropolis …

Karo’s Mum and Dad resumed that the historical site hadn’t changed much. The stones were still the same, as they were during their first visit, during their honeymoon 30 years back. The only difference was that they now were with their 28 year old daughter. That was the only indicaton that time had passed A LOT …

Christmas in Athens …

After Christmas, Karo and her parents took a ferry to Crete …

to discover the beautiful gem in the Mediterranean Sea …

it was truly picturesque …

Crete’s endless olive orchards …

They went to the Crete mountains and found plenty of snow …

and made the best of it! What could be better than building a snowcat?

They went hiking …

enjoyed beautiful scenery …

more beautiful scenery …

and they became witness of the extraordinarily warm Crete hospitality …

a beautiful Crete mountain village …

and a very happy Mum …

They explored Heraklion, Crete’s capital …

and found some beautiful, but thoughtful street art broaching the issue of the current refugee “crisis” …

Yes, Karo and her parents fully enjoyed and embraced Crete …

Unfortunately, time had come to say GOODBYE again. Back in Athens Karo hugged her parents GOODBYE, not knowing when she would see them again. They went back to Austria and Karo remained in Athens …

where she stayed with Bessy and Ioannis, her Greek parents, who treated Karo like their own daughter …

Ioannis always says “Greece is the place, where democracy was born and where it died”. On the picture above you see its “grave”, the Greek parliament …

Karo’s new home for another week, the room of Bessy’s and Ioannis’ only “real” daughter Meni, who lives and works in Edinborough. Bessy and Ioannis were happy that finally there was LIFE in the room again … 🙂

December 2016/January 2017 was the coldest winter Greece had experiences in 30 years …

Karo really didn’t feel like spending her nights outside in her tent in such conditions. She knew she could, if she wanted, but being in a house with a proper roof in front of a simple fire place currently felt so much better. Karo had to face it, she had to make a decision. She either had to stay in Athens for a few months until the arrival of spring or she had to change the continent …