I sat there at 30,000 feet above the Atlantic reflecting back on a summer spent growing, learning, and meeting great people. I literally had the time of my life. It’s depressing when you leave a place where you’ve become attached to the food, people and lifestyle. I started my trip early back to the States (3AM). I decided to explore a few miles of the Bodensee before I began the trip. As I was finishing up you could see the sun rising over the Austrian Alps and lighting up the Bodensee. Then it was off to the train to start the 18 or so hours back home. Whenever I’m on the way home from Europe I get a bittersweet feeling. I’m happy to go home, but I know I will miss the good times I had traveling.
You start to think about the races you won, the races where you got whooped, eating Vorarlberg Käsespätzle with Willi and Harry while enjoying a nice Mohren Bräu, hanging with the Beytrison family, having a nice discussion with Monika as I munch on her famous Risotto, the people you met on trains and planes, running up to Thyon, glancing at the Matterhorn during a race, running 5 min mile pace on Bisse-Neuf, eating Swiss chocolate, sword fighting with Pablo, massages by Denise, laughing with famous Ramos, having existentialist conversations with Tony, making daily visits to the local bakery with Monika to purchase Tarte au Citron, winning the first ever men’s Silver medal at the World Championship and celebrating with my team, drinking beer and laughing all night with the Feuerwehr of Bregenz, gliding through vineyards, driving along the Mattertal Valley listening to oldies with Billy, listening to countless hours of snoring in hostels, getting lost in enormous alps of Switzerland, trying to speak French with Marie and Francine, staring out the window like a little kid anxious to see your next destination, trekking up Bella Lui in Crans Montana, trying gelato in Slovenia, running in the Kamnik alps with Sebastjan, and exploring Lake Bled with Nancy and Garry. Too many memories to share....
(Lindau, Germany from the mountains in Bregenz, Austria)
You can never know if you will see tomorrow. I don’t know if I will go to Europe in the future. Life has its turns, ups and downs so you live life to the fullest when you can. I can honestly say I left Europe this year experiencing everything I could, diving into new cultures with an open mind.
My last race went as I planned. I came to win the race and as always I enjoyed a great time up the mountain and the post-race celebrations that followed. I was able to see Andy and Astreed (pictured above) again this year in Bregenz. It’s always great to see them and even better, they have a new addition coming to the family soon as you can see I’m pointing at her future baby boy, due in a month! Hanging with the people of Bregenz at the local fire station (Feuerwehr Bregenz) was great. I got a chance to meet the fire chief and talk a bit about the race and my time in Austria. He was very down to earth and genuine. We laughed all night and I enjoyed every minute.
On my last day my friends and directors of the race Willi, Harry and I headed to Restaurant Reblaus (pictured above) to give Käsespätzle a try. A local fresh noodle dish in Vorarlberg. This restuarant made it good from what Willi and Harry say, and they were right. We had a great time and even got a chance to talk with the chefs, sign the guestbook and take a few extra shots of local schnapps to help the Käsespätzle digest! My friends in Bregenz will be missed and I hope to come back in the future. One of my favorite cities in Austria as well as one of my favorite races in Europe
Here is a video of the Awards ceremony at the World Championships this year. (Video courtesy of Paul Kirsch)
You can never know if you will see tomorrow. I don’t know if I will go to Europe in the future. Life has its turns, ups and downs so you live life to the fullest when you can. I can honestly say I left Europe this year experiencing everything I could, diving into new cultures with an open mind.
My last race went as I planned. I came to win the race and as always I enjoyed a great time up the mountain and the post-race celebrations that followed. I was able to see Andy and Astreed (pictured above) again this year in Bregenz. It’s always great to see them and even better, they have a new addition coming to the family soon as you can see I’m pointing at her future baby boy, due in a month! Hanging with the people of Bregenz at the local fire station (Feuerwehr Bregenz) was great. I got a chance to meet the fire chief and talk a bit about the race and my time in Austria. He was very down to earth and genuine. We laughed all night and I enjoyed every minute.
On my last day my friends and directors of the race Willi, Harry and I headed to Restaurant Reblaus (pictured above) to give Käsespätzle a try. A local fresh noodle dish in Vorarlberg. This restuarant made it good from what Willi and Harry say, and they were right. We had a great time and even got a chance to talk with the chefs, sign the guestbook and take a few extra shots of local schnapps to help the Käsespätzle digest! My friends in Bregenz will be missed and I hope to come back in the future. One of my favorite cities in Austria as well as one of my favorite races in Europe
Here is a video of the Awards ceremony at the World Championships this year. (Video courtesy of Paul Kirsch)
Videos of the trip to come soon.....
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