Events

This was the look of the morning in Hallstatt Austria so.....

this is where our bikes stayed for the weekend.
We were registered to do the Salzkammergutt Trophy bike race but it was not only raining but pouring all night Friday and all day Saturday. When we went to turn in our time chips we saw the riders who chose to finish the 100 and 200 km routes. They were caked in mud and shaking from the cold. Some viewers were even wearing winter hats. We stayed much more comfortable inside eating pizza and reading our books. Maybe next time...

This is a photo of Lobster Lake in Czech Republic where we went this weekend to finish our Scuba open water diver certification. Action and Dive shop in Ansbach arranged our stay at the Penzion Black Eagle and drove a divers van for the 3 hour drive.
The lake is tiny but used a lot by divers. We finished "making our skills" but did not see a whole lot of fish. There were carps and the elusive catfish that never came out to see us. The lake was more interesting on the outside with carvings like the ones below.

The owner of the lake lives in a cabin here and makes all these decorations himself.

Before we were certified divers we had to take the oath from Neptune who came to swear in the new divers with a dink thru their snorkel We were able to celebrate later with some Gamberinno beer from the lodge.

Outdoor Recreation on post offers kayaking/canoeing trips on Wednesday nights for $25. For this they will take you and your choice of kayak or canoe to the lake and help you get into the water. The Altmuhlsee is a lake not far from our house and there is a stretch of about two miles with nice calm waters. It was a great and peaceful way to forget about work.

Curt taking his first few strokes.

He didn't take long to get the hang of it.
At the end of the river there are restaurants where you can catch a brat and some pommes before going home. The last thing we needed was another hobby but I think we found it 

The drive down to the Black Forest Friday night was difficult due to rain and snow turning to slush and ice. We weren’t sure we knew where we were going and were supposed to be there by 2000 to check in at the Languesthaus Hirschen. It was a surprise to both of us when we found it and we were able to check in. We had to have a radler to calm our nerves!


Saturday morning we drove 13 kilometers to Todtmoos which was holding the International Dog Sled Races.


The town provided a free bus to take you to the site of the race which was only a short walk uphill. There were dogs everywhere being let out of the tiny cages they sleep in.

There were several categories of racers.

Skijoring was something we had never seen before – the dog pulls a skier.

We were also surprised to see so many dogs that didn’t look like the typical husky.

The blue eyes on the dogs are so dramatic up close.

There was a place for spectators at the start and the finish and races were going on all day so there was always something to watch. The dogs were marvelous in their excitement to run. I attempted to attach a video of their craziness.

By late afternoon it was getting colder so we went to the hotel to have dinner.

Sunday was WAY busier at the races so we didn’t stay as long. However I did get a kiss from one of the sled dogs!

It was a weekend well spent – thanks to Curts parents that supported it as our Christmas gift.

Race Day!! Today comes the end of our three marathons in 6 weeks-marathon! Wake up was early at 0500 in order to have the continental breakfast and get to the buses. Apostolos tours coordinated so we could have breakfast at the hotel early and then walk the couple blocks to the Olympic stadium where the buses picked us up to take us to Marathon and the start of the race. The buses went from 0600 to 0700 and we hit one at about 0615. The ride was 45 minutes and made us all sleepy. It was chilly and windy so we walked around the start area with trash bags on. It suprising the difference they make. The race didn’t start until 0900 so there was a lot of time for stretching, petting stray dogs and talking. There was a flame there like at the Olympics and a small rock that was along the route of the very first marathon.
The start was at a dinky stadium that was where the very first Olympics were held in 1896 which did not include a marathon.
Near the start we chatted with a woman from boston but lives in Athens. She had done the race before and told us that it was slight inclines a lot but you didn’t realize you were going up hill. She also stated that after 30K it was all down hill. If we would have seen her after the race we would have choked her out!
The race had about 5000 runners so we made it to the start line in 3 minutes after the gun. The videos of the start are awesome because they show a dog starting with the runners!
The first 5K were nice and flat and we ran around the tomb of the fallen Athenians. I’m not sure what it was though because there seemed to be just a mound of earth in the center that was overgrown with weeds. The announcer said we would run thru 17 small towns but regardless there did not seem to be a lot to look at. This race didn’t have all the bands or crowds cheering so my ipod came out early. After the 5K the inclines started and didn’t stop until somewhere around 32K. And then it was flat with an occasional uphill. They were in fact slight inclines but I was still knowledgable that I was going uphill.
There were the dressed up runners as well – one guy running in armor like a greek warrior. It was not plastic and he looked like he was struggling. Then there was the girl wearing a long white Grecian dress that passed me at the end! There was one water stop that had coke which gets extra points but other than that the race was very difficult with lots of uphill.
Eventually I finished around 4:38 in the original Olympic stadium. Catherine said there was a dog that also finished a couple of times. There wasn’t much time spent in the stadium though – you got your medal, a blanket, water and were shuffled out. I met up with Curt by the “weepy tree” (he finished in 4:35) and we rested for a minute before getting our photo taken with the Acropolis behind us.
There wasn’t much of a party at the end so shortly after we headed back to the room to rest and shower. Catherine was headed after a wool sweater with a fleece lining which sounded warm for german weather so we dragged our tired bodies thru the plaka to the store but didn’t find one to suit us.
After another rest we went to a so-so dinner at the Plaka. I had chicken souvlaki and sprite to try and rest my irritated stomach. Curt got mousaka and some greek meatballs that were tasty. This was about all we could handle for today so we headed home to try and rest our legs.