As a little girl I was already fascinated with nature. I invite you to get to know me better through a personal story.

My hike takes me to a place where as a little girl I could often be found. There, on the edge of the road, the third tree from the left, I step onto a forest path. With every step I find myself more and more between the reality of the here and now, and the daydream within my memory. I feel my grandfather walking by my side, as I often walked with him in the past. He's wearing a green hunting jacket with the dog leash around his neck, and I know he's got licorice in his pocket that he'll be handing out later. Deep in thought he is, while observing the surroundings of the forest and keeping an eye on his hunting dog. He's floating away in thoughts, just like I am doing now. Stepping further through the brown foliage, I notice that coniferous ferns (Polystichum spp.) are now growing on the place where I once had been enchanted by Horn calcareous moss (Mnium hornum). The microclimate yet remains still shady and humid here. A few steps later I find this moss on my right. Both me and the little girl I am in my dream, run our hands superficially through the moss, and notice our hand is now very wet. What a tremendous amount of water this fascinating vegetation holds! I continue on my way and come to where a fallen tree trunk was once surrounded with lively mushrooms. Only a raised hump of ground remains of the trunk, nature has done its work. The tree trunk has, as it were, surrendered itself to nature. As I walk on, I slowly wake up from my daydream in that patch of forest. Like the log, I surrender my emotions. And because of this, I experience a warmth in my heart, a certain sense of serenity and fullness. I feel more charged and ready for the next leg of the hike.