Winter ISPO 2011: Day 4 - Technical Treats @ Backpacking Light

And we're done

Winter ISPO 2011: Day 4 - Technical Treats @ Backpacking Light

Winter ISPO 2011: Day 3 - A Smorgasbord of Worldly Flavors @ Backpacking Light

Almost done . . . the finish line is in sight. . .

Winter ISPO 2011: Day 3 - A Smorgasbord of Worldly Flavors @ Backpacking Light

Winter ISPO 2011: Day 2 - Powered by Nutella @ Backpacking Light

Day two for our reporting adventures.

Winter ISPO 2011: Day 2 - Powered by Nutella @ Backpacking Light

Winter ISPO 2011: Day 1 - International Delights @ Backpacking Light

Our first daily report from the International Sports Trade Show here in Munich, Germany. Yay.

Winter ISPO 2011: Day 1 - International Delights @ Backpacking Light

500 Days

Egads! I only blogged once in January and it has been weeks since I last posted. I am very sorry! However, I don't this will change soon. After 500 days of traveling (yay!), Kristin and I find ourselves busier than ever. 

We have finally arrived in Munich, Germany. We are staying with our friends Julia and Zhenya in the student dorms here. We are getting ready for our big writing assignment - four days of daily reporting from ISPO (the International Sports Trade Show) for Backpacking Light Magazine. I have done a poor job preparing, as usual, and so we're already stressed and tired. It's going to be a crazy week. 

Next we go through Austria to Italy, where we'll have a base camp in the Dolomites at our friend's house. There we will finally be able to ski. We missed last winter and are so anxious to play in the snow. And we've had our skis for a week now. It's no fun lugging around a 30kg ski bag plus our backpacks, especially when there is no immediate chance of using them!

So, we're working hard on various projects with Backpacking Light and trying to finalize our plans for the next three months. Everything is going well so far...

 Our first adventure in Germany was to walk to other countries. This photo was taken in Belgium of me in Germany and Kristin in the Netherlands.

Our first backpacking trip in Europe was a 3-day trek along the Rhine River.We were the only ones hiking as it almost never got above freezing and dropped to -10 degrees C at night. We basically lived in our down parkas. But we really enjoyed the hike, with the great parks, castles, churches, vineyards and small towns.

Last Days in Bulgaria

Nearly three weeks into the New Year and finally a new blog post. I apologize for slacking on this, as we have been focusing on a few other projects in the mean time:

• Over the holidays, we drove all around Bulgaria and Romania with our friend Beth, who flew from Texas to travel with us. I'll post a recap of our adventures so keeping checking our blog. 
• We have updated our travel itinerary. The short of it is that we are flying to Frankfurt on January 22 and will be in Germany for 3 weeks. Then we'll spend 2 months backcountry skiing in the Swiss, Italian and French Alps. We hope to fly to Norway by late April and ski for a month there. Thanks again to Jeff, Sebastian, Chris, Vanessa and Simone for helping us get our skis to Germany!
• We have landed a few writing deals with Backpacking Light Magazine. Highlights include: a summary of travels in Latin America and in Russia, eight photo essays, and six reports from ISPO (the international outdoor gear convention in Munich in early February)
• Additionally, we'll start working as gear testers for Backpacking Light. We will be specializing in light and ultralight gear from European brands like Aclima, Vango, Klattermussen, C.A.M.P., Laufbursche, and Berghaus.
• I got a haircut. This might not seem like big news, but it is only my third haircut of this trip. And if you've been reading Kristin's blog, you've seen pictures of my most recent hair style. 
• Kristin has continued to work wonders in our "kitchen," creating fantastic vegetarian and vegan meals and desserts within the limits of a fridge, microwave, and food processor. She has plenty of downtime between programming for her scientific research and waiting for the testing to finish running. 
• Finally, Kristin and I have just thoroughly enjoyed each other's company. It is just the two of us - all day, every day - and we love it. I don't know if we'll ever get a chance to spend this much uninterrupted time together. Being with her is the best part of this journey. 

Sunrise over the Carpathian Mountains in Romania. December 2010.