Weekend Recap

Ahhh the weekend. So much to see and do in this city! We haven't had the time to really "get out" for a weekend and visit Salzburg, Slovenia, the Alps, or Germany yet so we've been exploring Vienna. As I write this I can say we've seen more than expected in Vienna.

Vienna is Austrias wine Capital. Often overlooked by tourists it's a must see for anyone looking to get away from the crowds. Viennese have these cool taverns called "Heuriger's" in the foothills - think an outside beer garden. However, instead of beer you sip wine. It's pretty much a red or white choice, they pour what's in season, and full glasses. Not at all like tasting in the states, they also have buffet-style food and awesome views to go along with it. In our effort of finding/trying to walk the wine trail we ended up getting lost and confused. So we just dropped into one of these and called it good. We drank quite a bit of wine over the 6 hour tasting, but not so much we would be considered drunk, it's a slower pace out here. And drunks are annoying. We didn't want to be "those drunk Americans."

Also, since Vienna was a hotbed for baroque sculpture, architecture, painting, and music back in the day it's a good idea to see some baroque stuff. So we checked out the Belvedere palace. If your short on time this one is easier to access than the Schoenbrunn and has more to it. Split into two palaces, the upper and lower, with a manicured garden between them (think fantasyland) the upper is an art musuem and the lower a restored baroque palace & horse stables. The gardens are free to visit. There was a good number of runners in there simply doing laps around the palace gardens - yes, it's that big.

We checked out the upper palace. It took about three hours to cover that many floors. It houses collections by Gustav Klimt, Monet, Renoir, and Austrian art pieces ranging from the middle ages to present. Frescos adorn every ceiling and all art subjects are covered. This place was really cool to visit. We're kinda deprived of old world art in the states for obvious reasons. This place has got the stuff you usually only see in text books. Obviously pictures are not allowed inside so I can only post a few images I found of the art online.

Location:Friedlgasse,Vienna,Austria

Bratislava

Took a trip to Bratislava this past Wednesday. It's not at all like what you'd seen in "Euro trip" if you remember that stupid movie. Well, it kinda is, near the rail station anyway. But most areas around the rail station are kinda dingy in any european city so this isn't anything new. Anyway, there are two ways to get to Bratislava from Vienna - by rail or boat. We chose rail because at 14 euro it was the cheapest. Plus it seemed to have the most frequent departure/return times. More on that later.

For being only 40 miles away it took an excessively long time to get there. To the tune of an hour and a half to cover the short distance. Once there the rail station was a bit of a shock - it looked like something out of the former Soviet Union! Oh yeah, thats because Slovakia used to be known as "Hungary" and a part of the Eastern Bloc until 1989. It was as dirty as you could imagine. Seems like half the arrival/departure board seemed to work. More on that later. Anyway, we scratched outta there and just walked in the general direction of the Danube. We didn't have a map, we didn't have an iPad so we couldn't access a map, and we couldn't find any maps at the rail station. Keep that in mind if you ever go. In any case it's a relatively simple city to navigate and public transportation is severely lacking - they have busses, and the rail pass gives you access to the busses, but it's so close it's better to walk than be crammed on a 20' bus with 100 other tourists. And potential pick-pockets. Yeah, it seemed like that kinda area.

Walking gives you the chance to check out other sights anyway. We stumbled on the on presidential palace and watched the changing of the guard. Walked halfway up to the castle before noticing the UFO bar on the bridge and decided to check that out instead since we were hungry. Decided against that because it was 6 euro to simply ride the elevator to the top and the cheapest meal was around 30 euro. Because we were too lazy we just cruised into the downtown area and hung out there all afternoon. Note to self: there are plenty of bars in the area. Including a Mexican restaurant I didn't check out. And a ton of shopping to do. Be careful because it's all really cheap to eat and shop but it's really easy to get out of hand. We wrapped up the evening at a outdoor restaurant, ordered a "pigs knee"an Abbey Leffe to drink, and shortly after consumption I was feeling no pain.


Getting back to Vienna was a bit of a chore. We tried to take the boat back but missed the last one by ten minutes (it was 6:10) so we resorted to our plan B: the train. Took a overpriced taxi back to the rail station, looked at the time board, and the next train was to depart in 20 minutes. All sounds good up to this point. Anyhow, the train never came. Ran back to the board and the next train arrived in a hour. However it didn't depart until an hour after that. So, after trying for about 3 hours we finally ditched out  of the Eastern Bloc by 9, arriving in Vienna around 10:30, and arriving back to the hotel around 11.

It was a long, but fun day. Lessons learned: Pay attention to arrival/departure times, and carry a map.

My Rules for traveling in Europe (Specifically Austria)

1) Never pass up a free bathroom
2) Always take advantage of restaurant bathrooms
3) Carry toilet paper
4) Know some basic German
5) Always order the "special for the day"
6) No need to tip more than 10% on food (they dont make their $ on tips)
7) Chill out, people here eat slowly, up to 2 hours for dinner! And they eat late!
8) Don't buy a subway pass, you can if you like, but the fine is $100 for not having one - the same as a monthly ticket costs. FYI they only check on Wednesday's in Vienna.
9) Just carry $100 on you somewhere, you may need it in a pinch. See #8.
10) Everything is closed Sundays, including pharmacies. So carry what you need!
11) Don't expect them to know English
12) Your an American: We speak louder than they do and we like our space. If they push you out of the way - call them out on it.
13) Stay to the right on escalators, the left should be kept clear for people in a rush.
14) If you find something that loods good (i.e. edible or a souvineer) then buy it - it may be the last time you see it
15) Be aware of the exchange rate!
16) talcum powder
17) Remember plug adapters! Buy them before you leave the states.
18) no one in Austria jay walks, be careful if you do it cuz cars don't slow down!
19) it's not uncommon to see pregnant women smoking and drinking. This makes perfect sense in a country with socialized healthcare right?
20) there will always be someone with bad body odor around you, at all times, just make sure it isn't you.
21) Austrians are terrible at washing their hands, especially after using the bathroom. Be prudent about washing yours. Otherwise you might find yourself in the bathroom more than you like.
22) keep hand sanitizer on you
23) don't order bottled water. Its overpriced and tap water is tasty here, it comes from the alps via an old roman aqueduct.
24) always keep 20-50 cents on you to use a public restroom.
25) Have an accurate watch and keep it set to military time (if possible). I set mine to the US Navy master clock and find trains/subways run with accuracy down to the second.
26) Be aware of transportation schedules, i.e. what time subways close down, their intervals, when the next train from Salzburg to Vienna leaves, etc. IF you get confused about the platform number you can figure it out based on departure time.

I end with this note - this is why I love Europe:

Without a Box?

"Plan your work and work your plan"

~ Vince Lombardi

THE CHALLENGE:
So I'm "box-less" for the next three weeks. Kinda sucks but that's part of moving, traveling, and life in general. Needless to say most Crossfitter's aren't quitters. So I'll try to describe the solution to my current problem to non-crossfitters that may read this. This basically focuses on improving my weaknesses. Maybe it will help you make improvements in your routine as well.

ON BEING WITHOUT A BOX

"Accept challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory" 

~ Patton

Basically, there are two ways to look at being without a box:
1) Fix the problem - I'm not about to roll over and simply accept the problem, take a few weeks off, and get back into the swing of things at a later date. I hope you dont if you ever find yourself in this situation either. Besides, we all know how that mindset goes: "I'll do it tomorrow," tomorrow comes, and before you know it tomorrow becomes next week, next week next month, etc......address the issue now. I've been crossfitting on my own since returning to Europe. It's not as cool as going to a box and knowing everyone. There is no community when you WOD on you own. I miss that, but at the end of the day It's all about bettering ourselves.
2) Don't fix the problem - Be lazy, inactive, and feel like crap.

ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM
Equipment:
If you plan to WOD on the road you should carry the following when traveling (at minimum): A jumprope, lacrosse ball, 65# resistance band, AbMat and gymnastics rings. Oh, and a kettle bell if your driving somewhere. You can do a grip of WOD's if you have that gear, which probably tally's up to less than $200. Finding a place to run costs nothing, same applies to ledges for box jumps, stairs, and there's likely a park around with a good pull-up bar. Think of the possibilities!
Programming:
So you've got all the equipment, what to do with it? Rather than go into detail I'll give you a screen shot of what I've programmed for myself the coming month.

Address your weaknesses! Mine are double unders, Oly lifts, and HSPU's. Force yourself to do them! I need to mention that the Olympic lifts, (and other lifts) aren't going to be done with a bar & plate set. I'm gonna perfect my technique with a PVC pipe and a gopro (for analysis) until I get it down flawless. Boxes are awesome, but being away from one helps you focus on what you suck at. Go check out sitegonebad.com and watch some clips on how to improve. Youtube is a great tool!

Technique --->Consistency--->Intensity!

24 Hour Photo Doc

Quick photo doc from around town:

Nasch Market

 My next photo documentary?