I missed this in the news, then saw link refers to Kronen Zeitung report which is not a great newspaper to cite so thought for sure it cannot be entirely true? But it is! And here another link from Die Presse (google translate works fine here) which tells us it was not a jerk dad who brought his kid to drill holes but an idiot mom.

I think it’s Lay it on me by Vance Joy. It has a part about him being sad, then there is love, and then an instrumental chorus to which I dance to (given a chance). I guess I find it pretty uplifting.

This is excellent!

It can really depend where you live so I think the first advise is to take it easy on yourself.

• It is ok to combine ways of transports, say cycle to the first train/bus then load the bike on it/park at the station
• Start with a sturdier bike, the one which is bigger and more visible in traffic and gives you a better sense of control.
• don’t expect cars to respect you because you cycle or to know what to do around you. Bad drivers are everywhere. Don’t try to prove points. Safety is more important than ego.
• get yourself a good, large backpack. This will be your new back seat
• Take taxi/uber when needed. I once arrived to a friend’s wedding held out of town in a taxi and literally everybody I knew there looked at me as I was either a fool or a millioner. The bill was like 35$. Way cheaper than owning a car.

Lastly, enjoy how good you will feel. Climate protection and all that is great but your body will love you for it and you will feel it. Good luck

Yes!! Funny story, I learned about redwood from a boardgame when I was six and thought they are some trees from this magic game world that don’t exist in real life. You can imagine how excited I was once I realized they are real and more so when I first saw them! Californian ones are the most impressive, no debate there, but I actually found quite a few across Europe too, often in super random places. So maybe you will also find some around where you live? You never know.

Lived in Bay Area for some time and been up to the Redwood National park but not to Santa Cruz! Just checked it out and now I have another reason to visit again. Honestly, I would have even stayed there - NorthCal’s nature is simply breathtaking - but unfortunatelly so are the living costs around there.

Trees! Those big, old giants which make you feel like they are indeed harboring some ancient wisdom, being there, in the same spot years before you, barely brushed by the passing of time. And then if they are evergreen not even season affects them - they just keep on existing, all tall and gracious. How awesome is that.