Mölln, Hills and a Handbag

I love the area where Kai’s mum lives in northern Germany. Mölln is a runner’s idea of paradise: step out the door and you’re immediately surrounded by fields, farmland, lakes, streams and forests. It feels like a special privilege to run there.

As if it weren’t rural enough already, we rent a house that belongs to a farm, so in the mornings we have cows wandering around right outside the kitchen window.

We spent a week there, and I really enjoyed it. The thing that always amazes me most is that there are hardly any other people around. I did my long run on Saturday and I saw only one other runner – and that was Kai!

It was no problem to get all my workouts done except for the hills repeats. There are no proper hills.

Before we left, I asked the internet about suitable hills in Mölln. Apparently, the only match was the excavation slopes of a quarry company called Ohle & Lau. The internet’s suggestion was to ask the company for permission to train there.

For a moment, I imagined myself actually doing that: turning up at Ohle & Lau’s gate and asking security if I could run up and down their gravel slopes while deftly dodging gravel trucks and excavators. Something told me this was not going to work.

It took me a while to realise that the simplest solution was to do the hill repeats at 5am in Zurich before I travelled.

Talking about travelling, this time Kai did the 10-hour trip by car alone while I took the plane a day later. We packed all our bags into the car, so I would be flying with only one small, light backpack. I bought a cheap ticket that limited my luggage to one handbag only.

Kai left on Sunday morning. That afternoon, I went for a walk with my parents, where my mum casually announced that she wanted to give me a present for Kai’s mum for my flight the next day. Just “something small”.

That “something small” turned out to be a bottle of wine, a large box of chocolate, two jars with home-made jam and various other items.

And yes, the next day I found myself at Zurich Airport with two bags.

Fortunately, Zurich Airport is equipped to scan liquids in hand luggage, so at least the wine bottle and the jam jars weren’t a problem.

At the gate, however, my luck ran out. The flight was full, and all passengers with the “one-handbag-only” tickets were stopped and checked. Of course, I failed the check and had to pay USD 85 / EUR 75 for the extra bag.

Well, that was an expensive present! But Kai’s mum really appreciated it, so it was worth the sacrifice.

We got back to Zurich and since then we’ve been in a finalising frenzy before packing our bags (proper suitcases this time!) and heading to Cape Town next week. Right now, our calendar is packed with seeing friends and family, and I’m trying to balance good-quality sleep and nutritious food with late nights and prosecco.

Fortunately, it’s only a short spell, and I know things will calm down again once we’re in Cape Town.

Let’s raise a glass of prosecco to that!

• Ever been caught out with too much luggage and had to pay for it?
• Do you see a lot of people when you’re out running or walking?

I am linking up with Jenny from Runners Fly and Jenn from Runs with Pugs for Tuesday Topics as well as Runners’ Roundup with Coach Debbie Runs, Confessions of a Mother Runner, Mile by Mile, and Runs with Pugs!