Welcome to Fresh Air Outdoor Club!
Iβm Alexandra, a hiker, cyclist and outdoorsy gal in Berlin. You can use this page to find tips, ideas and routes to get outside more. Enjoy!
I grew up between the woods and a lake, and being outside has always felt second nature to me. But fast-forward a few years, and I felt more removed the outdoors than ever. By 2015 I was working in my dream job in publishing but stressed out of my mind, and spent weekends in pubs, or recovering from them. What seemed like living the dream for a few years had become a hamster-wheel of stress-headaches, anxiety and hangovers. I was sick of the life I was living, and if Iβm totally honest, I probably didnβt like myself very much, either.
As many of the greatest ideas in world history, my personal lightbulb switched on over pizza with a friend. βI wish I could just get out of London for a day. Sayβ¦ What if we went for a country walk?β Boom. That Saturday we took a train out of London at 7am, and thus my love for hiking was born. That first day walk felt so liberating: actually seeing the sky, getting out of breath from romping up a hill, wrapping up warm on a chilly day and feeling totally at home outdoors. On the tube home that evening I had mud up to my knees, rosy cheeks and a massive smile on my face. Iβd found something just for me that made me feel free, empowered and inspired. Not to mention curious to find out what else I could do.
Since then Iβve followed my re-found love for spending time outdoors on a 3-month sabbatical across the West Coast of the USA and India, the West Highland Way in Scotland, the Malerweg in Germany and ultimately to my new hometown, Berlin, Germany. Wherever I am, itβs always that fresh-air-pink-cheeks glow from spending a day outside that reconnects me to nature and myself. And yep, thatβs what this blog is named after! Here you can read all about my hiking trips, thoughts along the way, and practical tips how you too can become a hike-obsessed naked-swimming mountain-goat. Just kidding. But really I do hope to inspire you lovely folks to spend more time outdoors and hopefully show you some easy ways to get a bit of breathing space.
Thank you for following me on my journey!
You can find more of my hiking guides on 10Adventures.com