Or also: Bianca has to let off some steam ...
Do you know what I can't stand? When something goes really wrong, and I shouldn't / shouldn't be negative at the moment when it really picks me up. One should constantly focus on the positive of the situation and see the good in it. But honestly: the person whose self-description "optimism" and "good mood" is at the top of the list is certainly not me ...
Ok, ok, but what is it all about now? It all started in early September. Luca and I wanted to go to Berlin. It had been planned for ages and I was really looking forward to meeting old friends who mean a lot to me and who really miss them. And then came the rail strike. I'm a pro union, so I totally support such actions. Still stupid timing, viewed so completely subjective and egotistical. So all plans thrown overboard and off to Scuol to fly and visit a friend of Luca who is attending an “Artists in Residence” program there. That was super nice. The weather was great, the area was impressive (I don't understand a word of Romansch, which is still spoken here every day) and the first evening was super cozy - including a fire on the Inn.
Christopher Street Day was announced for Saturday in Zurich. If not Berlin, then at least be LGBTQI + ally and support wherever possible - also because the “marriage for everyone” vote was just around the corner. So we thought we'd go in the right direction a day earlier and explore another flying area: the Pizol.
Departure towards Walensee
After a very shaky, but long and rapidly rising thermal flight in Scuol, everything packed up again and the bus back to the loading station and the mountain railway on the Pizol. We got there just in time to be taken upstairs.
left: Luca's new friend is already looking forward to the flight 😉
right: arrival at the launch site
The launch site is a super big and wide way and was empty. What's going to go wrong there? Hahaha ... At first there was no wind at all, then there was a downdraft. I tried to start anyway. I ran as if something was behind me, the umbrella also went into the air, but I didn't take off. I had to stop, fell down and noticed that my knee hurts. Breathe in deeply, calm down for a moment, gather everything together (me and the umbrella) and walk up the hill again. My speed system was affected and my down jacket felt feathers. They were still very useful for determining the wind direction
Unexpected consequences
And then? Then there was only a downdraft and nobody got into the air anymore. Not even an umbrella anymore. The train stopped running either, so we had to admit defeat, stowed everything in our rucksacks and started the descent. It just got more and more strenuous because my knee swelled more and more. Clenching your teeth didn't help much. But we were lucky, and shortly before the middle station a woman took us with her car and brought us to our bus. At that moment I could hardly move my leg. A night pharmacy and what feels like 500 painkillers later we are on the bus and I can hardly sleep because of the pain. The next day we drive to the emergency room (after the medical center sent me away again - thanks for nothing ...) - that’s it with the CSD in Zurich. I get crutches, thrombosis injections and an MRI appointment. Three days later the result: the anterior cruciate ligament is gone. Completely. Uff ...
There should be something inspiring here now, but sometimes it's just Oasch and that's okay too
Parabunda
misfortunes never come singly
That sounds terribly trite, but it is also justified. Because not only did I have to run to the physio for 5 weeks and listen to advice (asked, but mostly uninvited) from all sides, whether to operate or not, I couldn't fly all the time and I barely an eye in pain for nights got closed No, that wasn't enough ... In addition, our dear Freddy stayed directly at the MFK. Defect in the brake hoses. Risk of total failure when braking. Called the breakdown service and drove back to the workshop (where he had previously spent 2 weeks). At some point you will have your first doubts.
Waiting for the first diagnosis 
Learn to use syringes yourself 
Fredy is towed away
Conclusion
Of course, everything can now be seen as positive: It's good that this happened in Switzerland, good that I am insured and nothing bad has happened, good that I now have time for other things and good that we already have the opportunity have to prepare for such upcoming “breakdowns” and realize that we can deal with them.
But honestly? It is just as justified to simply say “Shit!”. It pisses me off that my knee is broken now and that I have to fly with a splint. It also pisses me off that life just had to keep my transience in front of my eyes out of nowhere. I know that we were lucky, I know that everything is still feasible and that new ways will always be found if our plans collapse like a house of cards, I know that, and I also trust this knowledge. Emotions that come are just versatile and diverse and they all need their space. Yes, I'm fine again and yes, we got through the MFK after all (and immediately afterwards even "Din Busmech“And helped us with the parking heater) and no, it won't be the only time that something like this happens to us. I know all of this. And yet I was carried away by the events and just needed space to process it. In addition, this is supposed to be an authentic insight into our travel life. And that has its ups and downs, but the next highlight is sure to come 😉
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