Time Machine 1

Have you ever looked at the night sky and wondered what it really looks like?

I had that sense of wonder first in an unlikely place – Mawenzi, a sister peak to Kilimanjaro. Having woken up to an urgent call from nature, I got out of my 4-seasons sleeping bag, put on protective gear for the -15C outside the tent and went about my business. On the way back I paused and looked up at the moonless sky. Wow! With no light pollution anywhere near, and at 16,000 feet above sea level (no atmospheric pollution), I got the most amazing view of the cosmos.

Of course, it’s a Time Machine – by the time the light from some very far-distant star hits our eyes, that star may no longer exist (swallowed up in a black hole, gone supernova and collapsed, or otherwise).

Time Machine 2

The last 9 days’ cycling has been like travelling through another Time Machine:

– benefitting from the 12 million cubic tons of ice from the last Ice Age that gouged out a passage for the Rhine to travel

– the endless conflicts over the centuries redefining national boundaries, over and over

– the extraordinary engineering feats that tamed the river and facilitated extraordinary levels of commerce

– the monuments and museums that celebrate the achievements of individuals along the way. Like Margrave Karl Wilhelm II who founded Karlsruhe in 1715. At its centre is Schloss Karlsruhe palace from which 32 streets radiate, giving the city its nickname Fachterstadt (fan city). It is said that Karlsruhe’s layout provided inspiration for Washington DC. Nearby Marktplatz is home to a pyramid, the city’s emblem, covering Karl Wilhelm’s tomb.

It’s hard not to feel utterly insignificant in that grander scheme of things – and yet so lucky to be able to contemplate it