Purplekonnektiv in the Black Forest

Not knowing what to expect, I signed up for weekend gathering by the folks from Purplekonnektiv. I had all intentions of joining a previous gathering of theirs but I had to cancel for health reasons. I was glad it worked this time.

Who or what is a Purplekonnektiv, you might be asking. Purplekonnektiv is loose group of Bitcoiners and Nostriches who come together to just celebrate spending time together, forming new connections and friendships. Spending the weekend with strangers can be hit or miss but I’ve yet to meet Bitcoiners and freedom-advocates whom I couldn’t stand so I wasn’t really worried.

This issue of the gathering was held in the beautiful German Black Forest where they rented a entire house on a mountain. While I planned my travels, I decided that it’d be easiest to just take my bicycle with me, pack it up to the brim with stuff I expect to need for a weekend’s stay and then ride the last remaining kilometers from the closest train station to the house myself. That way I wouldn’t be dependent on someone else to pick me up and provide me with a ride back to the station, I’d get to ride my bicycle and I’d get to test out the waters of bikepacking.

Fully packed bicycle in the train - with coffee, of course

Travel Accomodations

Most of the ride was done via train with additional 45-90 minutes of bike ride to the final location.

The train ride itself was relaxed, though I broke some patterns. I usually try to block out my surroundings with ANC headphones but this time I just read a book and tried to not get distracted by fragments of chatter, noise of people walking around and the persistent humm of the train itself. It worked out surprisingly well. Something’s definitely changing within me.

In typical German reliability, my travel plans where disrupted by Deutsche Bahn due to a train having been derailed, blocking the entire route from Karlsruhe to Freudenstadt for rail traffic. I opted to look for a short bicycle tour around Karlsruhe instead of just waiting at the main station but scheduled enough time to grab a fresh coffee before the next train.

If you live in Germany and you’re heavily dependent on public transport, you either adapt and learn to accept it or you’ll grow even more grey hair and waste a lot of time and energy being annoyed. I used to be in the 2nd camp, settling on the first nowadays. You get what you expect from a failed state. I just never expected it to happen this quickly.

Rain Upon the Impure

Upon the ride to Freudenstadt I already had a chance to get to know one of the Nostriches who was also headed to the gathering because we found ourselves in the same compartment on the train. Once we arrrived, he was about to be picked up while I readied my bike for the final remaining kilometers.

Just when I started the bike ride it started to rain as if the skies had just waited for me to pour their guts out. I never tested how waterproof my backback was so I was worried about my laptop and the rain just kept on coming. Being dependent on that laptop for work I decided to have a short break on the side of the road to check the weather for long it might keep on raining and to check the inside of the backback. I was in luck - and not just once but thrice:

It was supposed to stop pouring down after 15 minutes.

My laptop was safe (though there was a small stain of water inside of the backpack close to the zipper).

A car appeared out of nowhere and came to a stop right next to me. Inside where two nostriches who had seen me by the road and offered to try to fit the bike into the car but I insisted on finishing that ride, though I opted to let them transport my backpack in the car, just for peace of mind reasons: This made for a very chill ride because I wouldn’t have to worry about that fucking laptop anymore, no matter if it would start to rain again. Which it didnt, fortunately. I also gladly accepted the offer of lending out a proper wind and waterproof jacket.

Soaked after 5 minutes on the bicycle

I could’ve cared less about the weather now because the remainder of my bicycle bags were fully waterproof. The remainder of the ride was perfectly relaxed, albeit a bit cold. No one tells you that the temperature can drop quite quickly if you’re surrounded by tall trees blocking out the sun. (You know, that’s the “forest”-part of the Scharzwald (Black Forest). Huge trees. Big surprise there. 🌚) Just like during my Roadtrip to Hesse I was also surprised again by the elevation but that’s what you get when you mostly ride around the city you live in, completely ignoring the closeby and much more hilly areas like Neandertal.

While riding a bicycle in the black forest is great, you’re constantly faced with the feeling of needing to stop more often to capture the beautiful environment

Following my Wahoo’s navigation instructions it was a breeze finding the house we’d be staying in but even if I had somehow missed it, the nostrich flag hanging from the balcony would’ve given it away. One just can’t deny that it had the vibes of a Bond villain hideout in the Alps or the Swiss mountains.

Bond villain meetup

Raising the nostr flag

Meeting Good People Is Worth It

Just as I was arriving at the place where we’d be spending the weekend, I was already welcomed by some nostriches who introduced themselves and it quickly felt as though we already knew each other for quite some time. Not in an intimate friendship kind of way but the usual awkwardness often associated with meeting new groups of people was nowhere to be found. What a bunch of nice people was among my first thoughts before I even got to unpack my bicycle bags. It was a pleasant first impression, especially considering that I started this post using the phrase not knowing what to expect. Just imagine spending the weekend in a house with a group of people you just don’t vibe with. That definitely wasn’t the case here. Instead, the atmosphere was relaxed and down to earth right from the start.

Hanging out wet clothes out to dry

After we assigned beds and rooms to the new arrivals we gathered in the dining room and we got ourselves a very delicious dinner thanks to some of the folks who went shopping and spent a couple of hours in the kitchen to prepare food for about 20 people. It was (mostly?) vegan, very delicious and healthy as fuck. I loved it and considering that almost nothing of it was left, I sure wasn’t the only one.

Delicious food

As I was sitting among all these new people, I noticed how relaxed I was. No matter the fringe topic, everyone listened to what others had do to say and was respectful about the minute differences that arise necessarily. I’m used to much more drama from the people I used to hang around with, making this a very refreshing experience.

The remainder of the weekend was a beautiful experience, no matter if it was late at night or early in the morning. We enjoyed breakfast, went for hikes through the forest, had two rounds of yoga under the sun, enjoyed live music on the guitar, had lots of coffee and tea and everyone just seemed to have a wonderful time.

Exploring the Black Forest

Saturday I wanted to go on a chill ride to explore the surrounding area using one of the hardtail mountainbikes provided by the owners of the house. Though right after leaving the premises a friendly neighbour (or even the owner of the place we rented?) directed me towards the route a group of nostriches took just a few minutes earlier and I decided to follow their route, at least to say hi.

A steep 18° path up the mountain required a tribute of some sweat and suffering though I had to push the bike upwards after finishing the first quarter uphill because my lungs gave out and I didn’t feel confident enough on a foreign Mountainbike and my stability on it, once I hit the steepest part of the gradient. Once I was up, I had to decide if I wanted to take either the left or right path. By sheer luck took the path to the left and found the small group I was after. I joined them for the remainder of the hike and we had some great conversations and some time to get to know each other more.

Two nostriches hiking

I survived a Purplekonnektiv gathering and all got was this beautiful fanny pack

Hail to the Purplekonnektiv

While writing this post it became clear how much energy everyone poured into this gathering. Some rode to the nearest supermarket for supplies, others prepared food, organized a ride to neighbouring Strasbourg, played the guitar, handed out custom fanny bags, recorded snapshots of the entire event on a vintage digital camcorder, handed out fine weed, cleaned up and entertained some kids. Just fine people wherever you look.

Thank you everyone. It was a beautiful weekend. Love you all.

Video impression from the Black Forest weekeend

Some Lessons Learned

My weather- and wind proof soft shell jacket adds basically no weight and it folds down quite well. If I’m not 100% sure about local weather conditions for future trips, I better pack it next time.

I do not need a 20.000mAh powerbank and a 140W wall charger for just a weekend. Even if I had used my laptop much more (and I’m down to 70% while typing this on my trainride back home), even if I had to recharge my Daylight Computer and my phone once, I wouldn’t have run out of juice anytime soon relying just on the powerbank.

I either need a waterproof shell for the laptop or some protection for the backpack itself. Better be safe than sorry. If I find something that works, I’ll write about it.

Arrived at the Freudenstadt station on the way back after an exhausting climb

Gallery

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