It starts with Gerd saying that we have too much stuff with us. I can't agree with that at all, I think at first, he means my "small" wool supplies, which, stowed away in our cupboards, could also pass as excellent insulation.
No, he means the ski outfits. And yes, I still have pictures in my head of travelling friends snowboarding in Iran, which we also want to cross. So I've packed ski trousers, gloves and thick hats. Better safe than sorry. Gerd laughs about it all the time now because the trousers are always in the way.
A solution (or justification, who knows?) is needed. Near the town of Kayserin, not far from Cappadocia, stands the almost 4000 metre high Erciyes Dağı, a volcano. There is supposed to be a ski resort here in winter. This is my chance!
As soon as we set off (once again to the south, after all, we want a bit of warmth!), I casually mention that we're going to take a tiny diversions. We still have Barbara and Robert in our ears when they tell us about the travellers' saying: "Do we still have time for a shortcut?" Today we're not taking a shortcut, today we're taking a tiny little diversions.
I see strange prices on the ski resort's website, I suspect the site hasn't been updated for years. "Let's go there, then we'll know more," I say to Gerd.
The pedestrian day ticket on the brand new Gondeli costs the equivalent of around CHF 1.20 return, mind you. We sigh briefly, remembering the prices in Switzerland.
Once we've sorted out the budget (1.20 per person is fine!), I pull out my trump card: the ski trousers. We dress up completely for winter. Ski suit, gloves, hat. As soon as we sit in the gondola, we head up the volcano. We leave the gondola at an altitude of 2,636 metres. Unfortunately, the sun has also left us in the meantime. What a shame, really. What's more, there is no hiking trail here, just a single open ski slope. For about 5 to 10 alpinists.
The piste is almost empty, every 10th gondola takes one or two people up. The restaurant at the top is a little fuller, the coach downstairs has brought a few Asian tourists to the ski area.
We are spoilt from the kitchen and they speak German. Why, we ask. The waiters are all from Antalya. They work there in summer, so you wouldn't get very far without German. And in winter they serve here. So we eat Gerd's much-loved manti and I eat my long-awaited gözleme.
After a short walk around the mountain restaurant and a few snow photos, we take one of the many empty gondolas back down the mountain. We pack up our ski trousers again and can say: we didn't bring them for nothing.
Small PS: At the valley station (after our descent, of course) we see that here, unlike in Switzerland, you can not only hire skis and helmets, but also jackets, scarves, goggles, scarves, gloves and even ski trousers. Well, what can I say? Who comes up with something so useful?
Merci for "travelling with us
We are thinking about taking another break from travelling in the summer and visiting our families in Germany and Switzerland. One of the ideas is to organise a Lecture about our long journey to the Persian Gulf to prepare. If you would like to, what would interest you the most? We will also tell stories here that don't find a place here on the blog. We're thinking of the Bern and Berlin area - simply because we have family there. But other places are also conceivable. Feel free to write to us.
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