Certainly, in addition to the interest in my PC and the Usenet there are other leisure activities. Even a few by which I pretty work up a sweat and that intended. ;-) To relieve occupational stress there are nothing better than working out. This has moreover the positive effect that it is beneficial to health and makes sure that I keep in good shape. <g>

Mountain Hiking

My relation to the mountains is difficult to describe. When I am en route in the mountains - preferably aloof from summits accessible with any cable railways where it swarms with tourists with high heeled shoes and sneaker tourists - it is for me as if I am walking in another, better world. It is indeed easy to get away from it all when sitting on the top under a blue sky and in bright sunshine with a unique mountain view.

At the most, reaching the top is very hard. <g> Yes, of course, I'm not running uphill like a chamois, I'm rather moaning when I lose my wind. ;-) Nevertheless I might not do without the feeling I have when I reached the cross on the summit, all exertion slips my mind directly.

On the page Mountain World you can find some scenic hikes with reports and photos. I will hopefully find time someday to scan photos and to create further pages.

Badminton

"High-speed"-shuttlecook-hitting ;-) I had played Badminton for a long time and it was the first sport which I went in for regularly. But the ambition was lacking to join the team. For one thing laziness and for another thing I didn't fancy to be bound on the weekends due to tournaments. Since a few years I haven't played anyway as the sport hall conditions became somewhat restricted. Unfortunately an indoor sport which is not much fun in summer when being outdoor attracts me more.

I had a lot of fun the time I was playing Badminton. Once in a while I would like to dust off my rackets; should an opportunity arise I certainly will do.

Since May 2010 I have been playing Badminton again regularly and it's great fun. :-) Can't get enough of it at the moment. Guess, I missed it. ;-)

Tennis

At the beginning of the 1999 season I had been admitted to our company's tennis club after a long time of waiting. There I met a very good tennis teacher with whom I regularly practised and thus have well developed my techniques. As tennis is no individual sport it does not work out as desired for want of fellow tennis players and too long working hours. There's room for improvement. ;-)

Inline Skating

In 2001 I could buy the K2 Flight ALX™ (one of the few soft boots in the market which are good) by chance at a bargain price. I had already for a long time planned to have a go at this. Well, skating itself is not a problem, it works automatically if one is not clumsy. Difficult however is stopping. That's why I begun with an Inline Skating Course where I learned safety falling and the different techniques to stop. Not to mention that we had a lot of fun during the course being trained in these techniques reduces the risk of injury significantly.

Skiing

And again the mountains. They also provide an attraction in winter. I learnt skiing on my own and it has improved considerably since I moved to Munich and the Bavarian foothills of the Alps have come into reach. More often than not I met a good skier whom I could follow suit - and who willingly kept me company ;-). Since a few years I have very easily turning skis from Authier, Switzerland, the Vampire, (meanwhile these are a rarity or even antique as Authier regrettably stopped making skis) with which skiing is twice as much fun.

Squash

I tried playing squash years ago for a significant other's sake. Plain-spoken, I could not at all take pleasure in diving for this funnily bouncing rubber ball in such a square cage. For this reason it was only a momentary 'guest performance'.