I kept in contact with my friends Isa and Arne (who I had met in Turkey on New Year’s Eve and later on Cyprus). They told me that they had found a nice crag for rock climbing and so we met at that spot.

I was interested in rock climbing my whole life. Some years ago I did a top rope course in Hamburg and later I went bouldering for just two times. Although I loved climbing, I never got fully into it. I was just too much in love with Trial and downhill biking at that time. And I did not like the idea of doing a sport in which I’m very dependent on someone else.

With Isa and Arne I did my first climbing outside in a proper rock and my first routes in leading. I absolutely loved it and after our climbing, I started thinking if I should get my own climbing equipment.

We spent some beautiful days together and when we went shopping, a super nice fruit dealer gifted us kilos of banana. That evening we made liters of the most concentrated banana shake possible and drank it until we felt banana all the way.

It felt very good to me to spend some time with friends and in combination with pretty much accepting what was going on in my mind (see the last post), I felt way more balanced.

And Isa and Arne connected me with a climber they had met before. A pretty special climber. But at that point I did not know how special the connection to her would become.