I had heard and read about Corsica, but the island was always so far away for me – the long drive from Germany and then the ferry. So, I probably would never have come to the island if I hadn’t decided at some point to get my pilot’s license.
But as it turned out, the journey is more than worth it…
For many years I worked in the Porsche Supercup, which was always organized together with the Formula 1 circus. There was no time for time-consuming leisure activities. However, photography has always been a passion and so has sporting activity. There was somehow a place for the mountain bike in the racing transporter.
After 12 years of motorsport and always on the go, it was time for a change and I went to Munich and a job with normal working hours. The amount of free time was unusual and I started running and hiking. Every week in the Alps for hiking, at any time of the year and in any weather. The tours became more and more extensive and demanding.
Snowshoes were also needed to discover the fresh snow without seeing any human traces – every tour was unique and fascinating!
Then there was the dream of flying. It’s been in my mind since childhood, but it was just an unattainable dream – until then. Since flying is a very time-consuming activity and now I had an unusually large amount of time, I took a closer look at it. I was quite amazed that it was actually a realizable dream. Once decided, the possibilities were almost unlimited.
Starting with microlight aircraft, then sports aircraft and why not the flight instructor for the UL right away. With the management of a flight school, there was also the flight instructor license for sports aircraft and to round it all off, the instrument flight license.
With this newly won freedom, the world has also become a whole lot “smaller” and there has been more and more extensive air travel. From the North Cape to the Greek islands, everything was accessible in a very short time and could also be planned – without traffic jams and detours. Since islands in particular are easy to reach by plane without the annoying ferry, Calvi was one day on the flight plan.
After a three-and-a-half-hour flight from southern Germany with wonderful impressions of the Alps, Lake Garda, the Po Valley and the Maritime Alps, Corsica was already in sight. The mountains in the sea, as the Corsican mountains are also called, came closer and closer. Past Cap Corse and the bays in the north, the mountains up to 2700 meters in the background, we went to the Bay of Calvi.
A beautiful approach, turquoise water, pine trees on the sandy beach and extremely friendly and helpful employees at the airport, from the controller to the gas station attendant. As is almost always the case when traveling, the camera was a must, which resulted in many impressive photos being taken over the course of time.
As in the racing transporter, the mountainbike was in the luggage. With two people on the plane, there was still room for 2 mountainbikes if you removed the rear seat. An incredible feeling, Germany, rain and 8 degrees and in Calvi sun and 20 degrees. So, unload everything and get on the bike, already from the plane to the terminal. The astonished looks of the passengers from the holiday planes were quite amusing.
Even the ground staff at the airports were sometimes overwhelmed. In Greece there was once a Cobus 3000 bus for us 2 people with our bikes and in Ajaccio they tried with all possible means to push the bikes through the scanner.
At the end, the bikes disappeared via a kind of baggage carousel in the basement of the airport and came out on the other side. Whether there was a large scanner down there remains a mystery.
This way I was able to visit and explore many of the islands in the Mediterranean and Aegean by bike.
However, Calvi remained my favorite destination. Other places and islands are also very beautiful, but I fell in love with Corsica and Calvi from the first moment.
I can’t say whether this is due to the consistently friendly people, the excellent food, the Mediterranean climate or the untouched and varied nature in many places. It’s probably the perfect combination of everything for me, which is how I ended up moving to Calvi.
Over the years, this has resulted in a large collection of photos, recorded routes and experiences. A life without sporting activities is unimaginable for me, I’m still on the road almost every day and why not pass on these experiences to interested people? Hence the idea for this website…
