schneeverhältnisse

Today was a day I filled with cleaning the apartment (the dust exists even though it's wintertime and you are gone two weeks to toronto), making the laundry (I have a huge washing machine, it is the size of two European ones) and ironing them apples. Fun, huh....... :) Not to be granted the housewife title, I put on my snowboard pants and run out in the wild. The weather was gorgeous, the sun showed its beautiful face and the temperature rose from negative twenty to positive five - me, I was running in the soft snow, up and down the fields and hills, and suprisingly, I was not the only one - there are people in this country that not always use gasoline to perform any action. This Sunday was the perfect winter day! :D

Before bedtime, I will see The Good German and fall asleep reading The Shadow of the Wind (anyone feeling guilty of the present?). Have a great week! :)

The Tibidabo run

The results of the Tibidabo run:

Uptime: 59 min
Downtime: 54 min

Except the apparent difference between up and down, the roads chosen were not the same. Running up I chose what I know to be the shortest possible way, taking the rough paths rather then roads, which I chose on the way down. The two distances were circa 8 and 12 kilometers, making it a bit over 10 km/h. Not bad, but I will of course make another attempt to improve it as soon as I can. ;)

Good beats for going Tibidabo up:

• Vitalic – Woo
• Thomas – Brinkmann Piste 7
• The Egg – Wall (Mylo Remix)
• The Tough Alliance – Many Man

Great beats for going Tibidabo down:

• Foo Fighters – Breakout
• Tiga – Jamaican Box
• Missy Elliot – Loose Control (Scumfrog rmx)
• Kaiser Chiefs – I predict a Riot

The monestary is visible from a long distance

Some people choose to bike up, good not to be the only one that is crazy...

Communcation tower, I think it was drawn by Calatrava...

T-tags everywhere...

Blackberries - the favourites besides cherries

View over Barcelona

Amusement park next to the monestary, suitable choice

Monestary

The guy guarding the monestary, stiff most of the time

The explanation to the name of the mountain...

Can you see it (him)?

Yes, it's a wild boar!

Tibidabo

Today’s activities include climbing the 512 meter high Tibidabo Mountain, being the highest peak of the Collserola mountain range, delimiting the organic growth of the city of Barcelona inwards the Catalan country. The area delivers a well needed portion of green to the city, making the air a bit more fresh and breathable. The name Tibidabo origins from Latin’s

“… ET dixit illi haec tibi omnia dabo if cadens adoraveris me”,

meaning

"… And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me",

being said by the devil to Jesus from a high peak (not this very one that is) looking upon the beautiful land below. The view from the mountain is truly nice, giving you an impression of the plan of the city of Barcelona (or rather the lack thereof ;)

The mountain is crowned by a monastery, with an amusement park being placed just beside. You can reach the peak by metro and funicular, but some choose to ride their mountain bike, walk or run upwards. I will do the latter and discover how sweaty and tired a man can get.