I am behind...I know, I know...

I realize it has been 2 weeks since my last post and soooo much has happened since then in my travels! Posting is proving to be bit more complicated than predicted...just because either hostel computers are always in use or we do not get wifi in our rooms to try and blog. I hope to put up a few more posts in the next few days. Just finished the France tour...Paris took J-Sak and I for all we were worth...still recovering. We spent the past two days in Nice in the French Riviera just chillin' on the beach...soooo needed it. Nice has been great and we are on to Florence, Italy in the morning! Hope to fill you all in soon!

Bicycles and Cheese Wheels

After my half marathon race, Jeni and I decided to check out one of Munich's famous beer halls: Hofbrauhaus. There, we tried wheat beer with lemonade and I had a great post-race meal of goulash! Amazing. We then boarded the night train from Munich to Amsterdam, which took about 9 hours but we sleeped in a couchette throughout the night.

Amsterdam was not nearly as cold as Munich, but certainly soggy. Soggy and mushy. But not cold. We stayed at the Van Gough Hostel which had amazing breakfast for 5 Euro. I loved the Nutella and Cafe Macchiattos! Jeni fell in love with croissants, which apparently she found much more delightful than back home.

Amsterdam is truly a funky, special and fun city...and not for the reasons most people think. Yes, there are plenty of pot-selling coffee shops and a thriving sex industry, but Amsterdam has a vibe that is not like any other place I have been to. The locals are relaxed and helpful and the historical Dutch buildings are spectacular. The city core is made up of very tall, narrow and crooked buildings. Back in the day, buildings were taxed on how wide they were, so people built their homes very tall and narrow. Also, EVERYONE in Amsterdam rides bicycles...bikes have the right-of-way...not cars, not trams, not buses. Bikes. They will run you over. Locals will ding their bells furiously at you until you either move or get creamed! Another kool thing about Amsterdam is that, every year, the city pulls out roughly 20 000 bicycles from all the canals (people love tossing other people's bikes in the canals...favourite pass time of the drunken), and refurbishes them and sells them back to public. Kool, hey?

So, because it seems like all the koool kats were out peddling around, J-Sak and I decided to check out Mike's Bike Shop and joined a country side tour. We toured Amsterdam's bike trails, went to and old windmill (of course) and a cheese farm (of course) mmmMmMmm cheeeeese. Funny story: we had a witty and laid back tour guide, Pete, who is originally from Ottawa but moved to Amsterdam 21 years ago. Many of you know that I have a dark, frecklish/mole spot in the middle of my bottom lip...Pete thought it was a burn mark from smoking a lot of pot. Haha! That one, I have never heard. Pen mark and scab are among the common things people say...but not burn mark. Only in Amsterdam!

 After our bike tour, Jeni and I rented bikes for a few hours. 

 We were told, very sternly, by the bike shop that we were to return our bikes by 6pm. Not 6:01 because they would be closed. The few hours we had the bikes, it poured buckets and we were soaked...but it was fun! Of course, being the way we are, we got lost 20 minutes before our bikes had to be returned. J-Sak and I were racing back to the bike shop as fast as we could go...dodging other cyclists and people...so that we would make it by 5:59. 2 blocks from the bike shop, in an area of Amsterdam equivalent to NY's Times Square, my back tire slid on the cobble stones and I completely bailed. I did a complete 180.The trams and busses and allllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll the other local pedstrians and cyclists came to halt and watched as the Canadian foreigner sloshed around on the street. I was ok...though my ego was badly damaged. To top things off...a delightful lady yelled at us in Dutch, then in English, about how were WERE NOT supposed to be cycling down this street. Though tons of others were riding down it...we were just like cattle. Following. See, then do.

After spending a few days in Amsterdam...we headed back into Germany to see Berlin. Big city with lots and lots of amazing history. And recent history. We took a train from Berlin to Prague, Czech Republic today and so far have been enamored with all the koolness of Prague. These two things I will have to save for another blog post...as I am now hogging the computer at our Prague hostel. Also, I have many sweet pics to put up, but the internet connection seems to be from the stone age and takes several minutes for one pic to load. Thanks for reading!

Munchen Marathon 2011

I just have to say...J-Sak and I just had the best meal ever. Ever. A true Czech dinner...

It has become difficult to update my blog for various reasons...one being that we are out all day every day, and by 10pm, we are exhausted! Not wanting to wait in line for a computer, but rather wanting to hunker down in our bunks and turn out the lights! I do have a few things to write about :D

So, a week a go now, I ran my first half marathon (21.1 km) in Munich! The weather was COLD man. The entire time we were in Munich it rained and was no warmer than 5 degrees. Cold enough. The day after we landed in Munich, I complained the whole day of being frozen. Jeni reminded me that if I was gonna be like this the whole trip, I'd better find a sheep and sheer it myself for its wool, or find a new traveling partner, haha.

The evening before my race, Jeni and I found a nice Italian restaurant to eat at...gotta carb load yah know! This restaurant was a recommendation from our hostel and it was delicious, and we got complimentary Prosecco. So, the menu was all in Italian and, because I like to wing it, I didn't really ask what I was ordering, I just knew that it had penne in the description and I was good to go! Well, I ordered the most spiciest thing I have EVER eaten...the penne had a nice tomato sauce...and two nicely chopped chilli peppers in it. Let's just say that two chilli peppers + pre-race jitters = not such a hot night! Pun intended! My system was well cleaned out though by morning :)

The next morning Jeni dropped me off at my race destination...there were hundreds of people there...swarms! I was sooo nervous and cold that I had to pee numerous times before the race and the line up for the WC simply became too long...and you know what happened next. People were bush squatting left and right! I flashed the entire world. Hardcore.

The race was wonderful...it took me all through Munich and ended in the Olympic Stadium and I felt kinda pro! haha! J-Sak was my cheerleader, my groupie and my personal paparazzi! She saw me at the start, took the metro and caught me at half way and then cheered me on in the stadium at the end, it was great!

The race was harder than I anticipated. I think mainly because it was so bloody cold and I had been training throughout the summer. Also, I trained on the Goose in Victoria, which is mostly a gravel trail and easier on your body to run on...but the race was all on pavement, cobble stone, or concrete. My joints from the waist down were giving me grief by the end. My pace slowed significantly after kilometer 15. I was just getting more and more tired. I was hoping for a 2 hour finish, but finished in 2:15. I am not disappointed, not to worry, there was no way that I could've done it in 2 hours that day...my main goal was to run the whole 21.1kms without stopping...and I did just that.

To show some home town pride, I doctored me up with some Canada tattoos (thanks Mum!)...I received many positive hellos along the way. Some dood introduced himself to me as Mr. St. Catherines...I simply replied "Edmonton" in exhaustion at kilometer 18 and he patted me on the back and said I was doing great. At kilometer 20 a German man said "All the way from Canada?! You've come a long way, good job!" I thought: Yes, I have come a long way...in many respects...and I'm almost done this race!

I then ran into the Olympic Stadium to finish off the race with my dear friend waiting for me. In true German style, the post-race food consisted of large salted pretzels and beer! Good pics to follow! I think more half marathons are in my future...maybe in Canada, or maybe elsewhere...

Running into the Olympic Stadium

Relief and excitment of finishing!

Munich Thus Far...

Jeni and I finally arrived in Munich the morning of October 6th. Unable to sleep on the plane, we ended up being supremely jetlagged once we were out of the airport and on the train to the city centre. We arrived at our hostel at noon, but could not check in until 2pm. Our plan was to try and stay up until 8 in the evening...we made it until 3pm. We wandered around the Old Town and had some pork schnitzel for lunch to kill some time before check in.


We are staying at the Euro Youth Hostel here and it, so far, has exceeded my expectations of what a hostel would be like. The staff are super helpful, the rooms and showers are very clean and there is breakfast every morning for 3.90 Euros. Liking it!


Today J.Sak and I took a tour to Dachau, which is a town 15 minutes outside of Munich, where the first concentration camp of WWII was built. I am not usually a fan of tours...as I usually like blazing my own trail on my own timeline... but this tour was exceptional! Our guide was very well educated on the subject and provided a lot of interesting information that we probably would not have known otherwise. Yesterday it was 25 dgrees, warm and sunny....today, rainy, gloomy and 6 degrees. I froze my ass off...

I am running the Munich Half Marathon this coming Sunday. It is my first half marathon and I have been training since February to run this kind of race! I am very excited about it and today we headed down to the Olympic Park to collect my race package and see the race expo. Free Powerade, good deals on running gear and an all around exciting atomosphere. I am running on Sunday and I know a few people out there who are running marathons and half marathons in other places around the world this Sunday as well! Good luck to all you runners out there!! 

Well, my time is almost up on the hostel computer...and I am still feeling the effects of jet-lag...so hopefully this blog post was somewhat interesting...and now I am headed to bed. Tomorrow Jeni and I are hitting up a free walking tour around the city and attempting to make a reservations for the night train on Sunday...on to Amsterdam!

Goodbye Canada...Hello Munchen!

Well I can't sleep. It's the morning Jeni and I leave and I am wiiiiiddddde awake. Perfect time to update my blog. Yesterday proved to be a stressful day for both of us...ALWAYS is the day before travel. I applied for a second credit card ages ago and have yet to receive it in the mail...kind of stressful. I leave for the airport at 9:30am and our mail usually comes at 10:00am...no joke. My Mum, half-jokingly, thinks we should drive around our neighbourhood before we go and track down our mail guy and ran-sack his bag to see of my credit card has arrived...the DAY OF, haha. Schiza!! 

But, the day is finally here and it's exciting...but I'm anxious too! We fly out of Edmonton and stop over in Toronto for a few hours, then board our international flight to Munich, Germany. We should arrive in Munich at about 10:00am Germany time...annnnd let the jet lag begin folks. I usually like to book international flights where I arrive in the evening of the country I'm going to, so I can just go to bed as soon as I arrive, but we didn't have that option. Plus, we can't check into our hostel until 2:00pm...we'll have to wander with our loaded backpacks...grab a beer and maybe some wiener schnitzel...and hang out.

The first hostel we are staying in on our trip is the Euro Youth Hostel. It has great reviews and is loaded with all sorts of foreign tourists (as probably all hostels are). It's close to the train station and very central in Munich...so it should be great! Always wear flipflops. Always. 

Well, the next time I post, I will be overseas! Now it's time for me to get up, go for a run and grab a Timmy's before heading out. Ahhhh, yes, I am back in the land where Tim Horton's is kool! Just a little nudge to all my BC people...I don't know why this paragraph is a different font, I'm a new blogger, whatever.

As One Door Closes...Another One Opens...

There are many reasons why I have decided to begin a blog. When I first thought of writing down my thoughts for the rest of the world to read, I felt that it seemed a bit self-centered...do people really care to know what I am up to and what I am thinking? Maybe. Maybe not. I am leaving on an adventure in 2 days that I have dreamed about doing for a very long time...and I am embarking on this with one of the closest people in my life, Jeni (she will sometimes be referred to as J-Sak). We are journeying across the pond (as my Dad likes to say) and will be backpacking around Western Europe for two months. This adventure, I know, many people would like to hear about and so it seems fitting to start my own blog now.

I recently closed one important and influential chapter of my life and it has come with mixed emotions. Four years ago I decided to pick-up and move cities, from Edmonton to Victoria, to check out a new scene, get my education, and see what would happen when I let myself go in a completely unknown environment. I have to say, I discovered many things about myself and life that I never new existed and went through some very high times and low times in Victoria. However, when it came time to close that chapter of my life, it felt like climbing Mount Everest some days. And here I sit, in my room in my parents house, writing my first blog post with boxes and boxes piled high around me, containing everything I own...and a transition begins...

I will not say all the places that Jeni and I are going to just yet...our destinations will be revealed blog post by blog post...as this is what our trip kind of looks like in reality! We have some definite plans and many loose ones and have decided to take our trip as it comes, be open to what the world has to offer, and see how our trip turns out! It is very rewarding to see a goal that has been in hibernation for so long come to fruition...

 

In many ways, this trip is reflective of the direction my life is going...there are many unknowns but I am leaving my heart open to what opportunities may arise...oooOoo scary...

~Fear is not the opposite of courage, it's a prerequisite...~