Monika’s name is probably new to most climbers in Malta.  I got to know about her through Club Secretary Kurt Vella Haber who climbed with her in Malta a couple of years ago.  Since then, Monika has become somewhat of a Malta fan and has been to Malta about 7 times in the past two years!  I met her for the first time on a windy but sunny Sunday morning at the terrace overlooking the Blue Grotto earlier this month.  She was accompanied by her partner Florian Hopflinger and both were keen to enjoy a couple of routes.  Wied Babu was the obvious choice as its a fast and easy to  climb there so we met up at the Blue Grotto viewing terrace where I took the opportunity to point out the photogenic Blue Wall, Babu Face and of course the view up Wied Babu itself. We then made our way to the climbs at Babu.

I made it a point of writing this piece about Monika as she is a benefactor of the MCC and has generously donated funds towards financing our activities.  When I asked her about her motivation in doing this she replied:  “You have to give too”.  A simple answer but so honest and true.  You can’t just take in life, you have to give something back, otherwise life is meaningless.     Monika said jokingly,  that all she wants in return is that a climb in Malta is named “Wojdyla” – so we need to find a project!

Monika grew up in Poland and is NOT related to the pope!  She moved to Berlin at an early age and has spent time living in the US and even Tahiti before settling in Switzerland where the mountains captured her imagination. When she saw the alps, she knew that she had to live there.  She now works in sales and lives in Neuchatel just by the lake and is keen to develop her climbing abilities and visit Malta again as soon as possible!