Instagram story viewer> @stephenkrcmar> Posts

Stephen Krcmar

@stephenkrcmar

739

followers

398

following

Bike, snow, and feline enthusiast.

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

I started a substack. I’d be thrilled if you checked it out. Link is in the comments. taken in Turin, Italy by @stephenkrcmar

14

3

15 hours ago

Feeling like I skate for Alva. Might delete later. taken in Old Riga, Latvia by @stephenkrcmar

60

4

2 months ago

I spent my last few days in Turin thinking about Nietzsche. He spent one of his most prolific periods in the city, writing some of his greatest hits: Twilight of the Idols, The Antichrist, and Ecce Homo.

Holed up in a 30 lire/month apartment attached to a rad arcade that’s still there, he was in Torino for less than a year. He spent this time writing and walking. Many believe it was the happiest the German philosopher has ever been, even if writing “happy” in relation to Nietzsche just feels wrong.

Our mustachioed homie suffered from paralyzing migraines that laid him up for days. Progressive deterioration of his eyes left him nearly blind and made writing and reading painful. And his intestinal and digestive issues were legion.

Sweet Torino put a spring in his step. He loved the former capital city and its vibe, which he described as “an exquisite sense of well-being that is common to all things.”

Talk about la dolce vita.

Some call Turin the “Paris of Italy” due to the wide, tree-lined boulevards, Baroque architecture, and elegant piazza.

(But with way fewer French people! Talk about facile à aimer.)

Nietzsche lived near the former Royal Palace, which is close to some of the most famous squares in “Little Paris”.

Loosely oriented north-to-south, Turino is mostly a grid. During Golden Hour, buildings facing the sun are next level and made him absolutely giddy, “I would have never thought that the light could make a city so beautiful,” he wrote.

Plodding down the same cobblestones that he described as “a paradise for the feet” is both wonderful and heartbreaking. Strolling in the shadows of giants and all that. Here, there’s an added twist: our German giant of letters and ideas stumbled and landed on his own sword.

[continued in comments] taken in Torino,Italy by @stephenkrcmar

24

3

5 months ago

taken in Turin, Italy by @stephenkrcmar

33

3

6 months ago

A short video of a fun hike. #hiking #turin taken in Turin, Italy by @stephenkrcmar

15

1

7 months ago

Thanks for the birthday wishes, calls, and cards! It was a great one that started the night before at the Italian premiere of the excellent Butthole Surfers documentary.

The day itself was filled with some of my favorite things: talking to friends and family, lunch at my fave sushi place with a Jetsons-like robot waiter, and a pilates class that proved suffering during the abdominal arts is *almost* fun with a great teacher.

I also saw a guy walking down the sidewalk with a cat on his shoulder.

The day ended with drinks with friends who sang Happy Birthday in Italian.

What a great birthday! I’m a lucky man. Thanks for being a part of it. taken in Turin, Italy by @stephenkrcmar

42

8

7 months ago

The first chapter of Ski and Ride Ikon Euro Resorts is closed. I started on Sunday, January 4, in the Dolomites and skied and rode there for six days, then headed to seven days of sliding fun in Kitzbuhel, another seven in St. Moritz, and wrapped up with six days in Zermatt.

Highlights included skiing the Sellaronda in the Dolomites, returning to a full-camber snowboard (Jones Howler), playing with the high-tech and wildly impressive FASE snowboard binding system (Jones Mercury), and getting up close and personal to the craziest downhill course in the world (the Streif in Kitzbühel).

I’m really grateful I could do this. It was challenging and wonderful. I experienced a ton of awe and gratitude — if you ever get the chance to see the Matterhorn, do it! I even created a new meditation practice I dubbed The Buddhist Rosary.

I hope to start chapter two in early March, with a few days of acclimatization and art in Milan before heading to Ischgl, Chamonix, and the Aosta Valley.

Ping me if you want to connect for a part of the journey. taken in Matterhorn, Zermatt, Switzerland by @stephenkrcmar

44

5

8 months ago

I spent New Year’s Eve in transit, a nice metaphor for the continuation of my middle-aged gap year. I landed in Venice on New Year’s Day. Getting to my lodging was character-building, and my first workout of 2026: a 50-pound ski bag, with a 40-pound duffel on top, a rollie bag, and a loaded messenger bag, did not play nice with a handful of little bridges and small staircases.

New Year’s Day is quiet here, and I spent most of the evening looking for places that weren’t.

Yesterday, January 2, was spent bathing in awe, dancing with some ghosts, and sipping prosecco in the sun. The day started well: I met a cat with a shortened tail, before heading to the most popular spot in town.

Most of St. Mark’s Square, the lowest area in town, at about 3 feet above sea level, featured the splish-splashy fun of minor flooding. Vendors hawked booties. Kids splashed with glee. Adults felt some of the same, but most enjoyed it more than they let on. One woman flexed in a big way in her Channel Wellingtons.

I got lucky and caught a midday golden hour, during an outdoor lunch on a canal in Cannaregio.

Before dinner, I snuck in a power hour at the Neoclassical palace-turned-contemporary-art-museum, the Palazzo Grassi. The entire museum was dedicated to a show by French-Italian artist Tatiana Trouvé, so I fired up a Franco-focused playlist and ran through it.

I’m heading to the mountains today. Happy 2026 to all of you. #midlifegapyear taken in Venice, Italy by @stephenkrcmar

67

16

9 months ago

Andrew Huberman is always rambling on about his morning light protocol, so I’ve been taking more walks. I moved into new digs 10 days ago. The new apartment is on the Po, which is to Turin what the Charles is to Boston. There’s a path on both sides, dirt sections that are fun to pedal on, and impossibly fit people pulling massive watts, sliding silently through the water in sculls.

There’s plenty to see, even on a short walk. On this morning, October 7, I headed down towards the statue of one of Italy’s greatest cyclists — Fausto Coppi. Every proper Euro cyclist knows the importance of espresso, and there’s a great bakery across the street from the monument that has the added carrot on a stick of baked goods worthy of a sonnet.

#turin #torino #PoRiver, #fiumepo #italy #raybanmeta taken in Turin, Italy by @stephenkrcmar

25

7

a year ago

It was a typical Friday afternoon. I went for a late lunch at my favorite all-you-can-eat sushi place. It's always good. When the staff robot rolled over and delivered my second course, it got better.

The 'bot has a touchscreen “head.” It gives you a blink when you press the red button, which looks like an off-center micro-beret, to send it away after you've collected your goodies.

Pedaling home through the park, a woman flagged me down. She wasn't quite frantic, but she was upset and speaking quickly in Italian.

I busted out my most-used Italian phrase, “Parlo un po' di italiano…”

She acknowledged my admission that I only speak a little Italian by slowing down.

If Lassie can understand "Timmy's has fallen in the well," I could make out that her young son had pedaled off into the distance on a bicicletta rossa. She wanted me to find him and tell him to stop.

Like that A-list collie, I love to have a task, and I hopped to it.

Getting to the bambino took longer than expected. The little guy was cruising, intoxicated by freedom, locomotion, and independence.

I caught up to him as he was leaving the park path and heading into the two-way road. It's mellow park traffic, but still.

His English was no better than his mother's. I got him turned around, and we rode together until he was eyeshot of his mom, who he was really excited to see, and he put the hammer down.

I haven't checked my Strava for that segment, but I think he nabbed the KOM. At least for his age group. #LassieHasAPosse taken in Parco Del Valentino Torino by @stephenkrcmar

18

5

a year ago

I just started Deliver Me From Nowhere. The book is the basis for the Springsteen movie of the same name. Written by musician, author, and NYU professor Warren Zanes, it’s phenomenal.

And I’m not even a Springsteen guy: I just listened to Nebraska for the first time.

Highly recommended if you’re looking for some tasty non-fiction. by @stephenkrcmar

5

2

a year ago

Throwback to that time I met the star from The New Adventures of Lassie.

Don't believe the hype. She was super down to earth in person. 🙂 by @stephenkrcmar

35

0

a year ago