Michael Urban

MICHAEL URBAN,
WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF AS A CLASSIC OUTDOOR ENTHUSIAST?

"I don't think so (laughs). I don't have much or any special equipment or any speciality. I like to try out all sorts of things. We used to spend a lot of time in the mountains and in the Lech Valley with my family, in the hut my father's family built themselves in an Alpine village without electricity or hot water. And my father is a hunter, so I helped out in the hunting grounds from time to time. All that and growing up in the countryside certainly left its mark. I like to just go jogging with the aim of always taking unknown paths. As a result, I sometimes come home later than expected, but encounter unexpected, beautiful places and new people. Sometimes I go long-distance hiking with my wife along the Green Belt or run the Isel Trail (a long-distance hiking trail in East Tyrol) with her. Sometimes I'm exploring South Carolina with a mate and my camera, looking for different regions, trails and natural monuments. Sometimes I take my basketball team out into the woods for a game of capture the flag or take them on a night hike to a beer garden. Sometimes I play Kubb with friends wherever we feel like it: in a bus shelter in the rain, in the snowy forest, on a dirt track, on a meadow slope in Tuscany or on the beach. Sometimes I organise a day hike with 12 quests from Greek mythology as a wedding present for a couple of friends (which ended up being pretty hardcore...). Sometimes I take my brother on a spontaneous, midnight torch-lit hike at Christmas. Or I dedicate an entire year to "micro adventures". Together with my friend Tobias, this has resulted in a book with over 45 adventures and 300 pictures ("Abenteuer Hallertau - Micro Adventures im Hopfenland"). I like to look closely and be amazed. I like the relaxing, the wild, the creative, the mysterious off the beaten track. i like to be enchanted and inspired by "The Great Outdoors"."

WHAT CONNECTS YOU TO THE HALLERTAU REGION?

"Well, I grew up here from the age of two and have always returned. Here, I can just walk out of the back garden door and I'm already in the countryside and can explore many different paths and winding corners. Despite its heavy agricultural use, it is an area that has retained a mysterious character and has somehow fallen out of time. Its boundaries are not precisely defined and it is larger than many people realise. Tobias and I explored the region extensively via our micro-adventure book and found many special features: carnivorous plants, wild orchids, a 1000-year-old oak tree, dunes in the pine forest, sulphur springs, juniper heaths, floodplain landscapes with ancient quarry forest and dancing glowworms, kingfishers along riverbanks, old abandoned farms, small castles and fortresses, traces of the Celts and Romans and, of course, the spicy smell of hops at harvest time on balmy late summer nights. And there are many more little wonders and stories just waiting to be discovered, but also to be protected."

WHAT MAKES A DAY IN NATURE AN EXPERIENCE FOR YOU?

"When I lose track of time and life is reduced to the simple things. When I can be amazed. For example, when a deer starts grazing under an apple tree in the backlight of the setting sun and doesn't even notice me. Or when I take an unfamiliar path and suddenly realise where I am and that I've taken the right direction. When I suddenly start jumping around, singing or laughing because I feel so good in nature. This can happen through beautiful motifs in the landscape, through fresh, moist air when jogging in the forest or a magical place to take a break for a meal. When your body has to do something and you test your limits. When you can connect - even if only for a moment - with the infinity of nature and dissolve into it. And it's especially nice to be able to share these moments with like-minded people."

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST: DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE LOWA SHOE? WHICH ONE IS IT?

"The MADDOX GTX LO - a really great shoe: light, versatile and yet tough. In a year of over 40 micro adventures, it has already served me very well, whether hiking, tree climbing, jumping around in the swamp, cross-country exploring, cycling or running when necessary."