Who would have thought it? I like to go out into the wide world, but my heart beats for home. My personal travel recommendation for you is South Tyrol. The culprit: the spectacular mountain scenery and a fantastic cuisine that combines everything I like. If you've ever read my blog, you know I'm a bit of a herb witch. I smell them, I taste them and of course, I cook with them. The variety of South Tyrolean recipes allows me to try and reinvent myself with them again and again. My curiosity is immeasurable: I like to poke my nose into cookbooks or other people's pots and pans, look over the shoulders of culinary artists and discover completely new recipes and products that I had never heard of before.

My motto in life is: Where ever you go, go with all your heart. It doesn't matter whether I'm travelling in Namibia or at home in Austria. Or in the German-speaking part of Italy. I love looking for chanterelles and prefer to spend the night in a sleeping bag high up in the mountains. If you are in South Tyrol, you should definitely go for a long hike. My tip: stop at one of the idyllic mountain lakes. There's nothing better than bathing in the crystal-clear waters on a hot summer day and quenching the beads of sweat from the climb with the cold mountain water on your steaming skin.

Okay - I may be a total nature lover. But admittedly: Even I don't mind splashing around in an infinity pool at a fancy designer hotel every now and then. I like to stay at the Miramonti in Hafling or the Ottmanngut in Meran. The old Grandhotel at Pragser Wildsee is also stylish. Maria's Untersteinerhof is my go-to place when I'm in Villabassa. There are so many cool places where I like to stay. Just when it's not my cozy sleeping bag. I can rarely decide - I would love to make a road trip to all the places.

"If you're out here, you should definitely take a long hike."

Short questions for travel journalist Lea Hajner

That's why you love South Tyrol:
Spectacular mountain scenery and cuisine that combines everything I like. Unbeatable.

The Best Way To Spend The Day There Is To...
a long hike, a mountain lake to cool off and an extended dinner in good company.

When you are in South Tyrol, you love to...
to learn about the preparation of products and dishes

The perfect evening in South Tyrol ends with...
an uncomplicated glass of red wine from the Kalterer See.

What should you definitely see in South Tyrol?
Alpine glow in the Dolomites.

The most extraordinary place in South Tyrol is...
in the Dolomites to the sunrise on the Oberbachernspitze.

Your favorite travel destination summed up in one sentence:
Alpine-Mediterranean experiences with a high relaxation factor.

Facts about Lea Hajner

What inspires you?
Knowledge (e.g. about herbs), history (about places I travel to) and people (who do things I envy).

How would a good friend describe you?
Spends far too long in supermarkets, markets are even worse; always brings back something from her excursions, be it chanterelles or rice from Gambia; likes beautiful things.

Her lifestyle in 5 words:
Wanderlust, Outdoors at home, Design lover, Foodie, Vintage

Her philosophy of life:
I don't have "one" philosophy of life, but "Wherever you go, go with all your heart" comes close. As a writer, I like this reminder, "A writer is the sum of all his experiences. Go get some!"

What else should we know about you?
I love to look for chanterelles, I prefer to sleep in a sleeping bag at the summit, but I also like infinity pools in design hotels, I owe most of my adventurousness to my scouting days, at the moment a weaving frame is waiting for me and cosy autumn days and my best travel memories were made in Burma and Samoa in 2009, I would love to go back to these two countries again.

Traveling means to you:
I put it this way: She is convinced that travelling not only enriches you, but also makes for a better coexistence in this world.

Picture credits: Lea Hajner, Bigstock www.bigstockphoto.comHotel Ottmanngut ottmanngut.it