Its all about dancing!!!
Monday night is salsa night anyway. But this monday was special. Because of the public holiday on tuesday, this monday is like a "fake" saturday. The Remembar offered a special: Live Salsa Music on Stage + 2 DJs.
So you can imagine that there was little time to take a breath from dancing the whole night long. Besides little time there was most often also little space to dance because the place was so crowded - but it was fun. Many passionated Salsa dancers made the night shiny, hot and sweaty.
Unfortunately I didnt take any pictures but there were party picture people around and therefore I think we will find some pictures on one of the following sites: 4more, WOO.AT or Szene1.At.
Cheers
Salsa Sunday on Pleschingersee
Today was the first time for me joining the Salsa Club at the outdoor session on the Pleschingersee in Linz. Starting with some BBQ and Drinks - ending with Salsa on the meadow.
Before that event I took my bike and rode to Gallneukirchen - my mum invited me for lunch. As you can see from the pictures below - the kids at home hat funny and sad moments.
Cheers
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| Raphael - crying because he injured himself - but he started smiling right after I took the picture | Vanessa and Maximilian |
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| The two kids helping my dad to do some work on his oldtimer tractor | Averna on the Pleschinger Lake |
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| Some Salsa/Rueda | More Salsa/Rueda |
3 Brueckenlauf - tougher than expected!!
Personally I think that todays 6km run over the 3 linzer bridges was tougher than the half-marathon two weeks ago. Why that? Well maybe because of the hot weather - we had 27 degrees!!!
But in the end I "nearly" achieved my own set aim which was 25 minutes for the 6km. I finished in 25:43 with an average speed of 14 km/h.
Detailed results can be found HERE.
Here are some pictures.
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| Our "Borland" Team | Gerald on his final meters |
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| The youngest contestant - 7 year old boy | After the race |
Go-Kart Challenge and 300!!
Its been time again - go-karting in Linz with some colleagues and friends. The past times I was the lucky winner and I was just waiting for the moment where I could not finish in first place. This time it happened. The competitors were just too good for me so I ended 4th in my race (out of 9) with an overall 5th fastest lap time (out of 18).
Congratulations to Stoni and Didi who won their races. Looking forward to the next event - maybe I am lucky again to at least beat Heli :-)
After karting I went to the cinema - watching 300. Well - what should I say: The movie was OK - lots of dead soldiers and half nacked greek fighters :-)
Whats coming up? 3 Bridges Run in Linz on Saturday - 6 kilometers run over the 3 main bridges in Linz - will be fun. cheers
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| My kart competitors | The Kart Arena |
Champions League Tuesday!!
Its 40 minutes in the game of Manchester United vs. Milan - 1:2 is the current score and I can tell you that its a pretty good game. Looking forward to the remaining 50 minutes.
Besides that I can just update you with some information about the past days:
I figured out my personal preference regarding the bike pants question: I tested 3 different scenarios: pants with normal underwear, pants with tight underwear and pants without underwear. The result: tight underware - my preference!!!
Yesterday night - of course - salsa night. Lots of fun - as always - but unfortunately my ankle injury from last year started making troubles again. Hope this is just temporary - but right now its impossible to do serious sports without pain. But I hopefully recover till saturday because on saturday I participate at the 3 Brueckenlauf.
Thats it. Tomorrow is the next Go-Kart Challenge. Will update you about the final results. Cheers
Sunday, Sunny Sunday!!
And again - a beautiful warm and sunny day. I've been invited for lunch at my sisters place. I took the chance for a bike tour from Linz to Grasbach. Returned somewhen around 3PM - did the laundry - and then - fortunately Martin (aka Mole) called me about afternoon activities. We decided to have a bite and a drink in the sun - so we went to the Mostbauern Exenschlaeger.
Thats it - looking forward to a great week - its go-kart wednesday again. cheers
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| Martin serving the desert: wheat beer and a krapfen | Strange combination - I know - but good!! |
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| yummie!! | Walking down to Linz |
Dont loose your way!!!
That should have been my motto for today. Why that? I've been invited for BBQ in Hoersching. Juergen and Babsi asked me whether I have time and of course I agreed. And as the weather was fine I though I better take my bike. I asked them for directions and everything seemed to be pretty straight forward. And in fact - I nearly made it on the route that they suggested - just some minor detours. The BBQ was great - and also the time relaxing in the sun.
Before I started my journey home I asked the two about the best way home. I got lots of useful information about best directions - I SHOULD HAVE LISTENED!!! Again it started out pretty good but at some point I decided to change my route - well - after a while I was stuck somewhere in the woods. I followed a very narrow trail (definitly not a bike trail) and multiple times I ended in a dead end. I somehow figured out how to get back to town.
The lessons I've learned: If you want to get home fast and on the direct way just listen to the advise of others - BUT - if you want to explore new territories just do what you think is best :-)
Later tonight I visited Leo - he invited me for drinks and food. Its always fantastic visiting Leo - its always amazing for me how long simple tasks can take when Leo is executing them (but thats probably just in his genes - probably its the mediteranian life style as leo originally is from southern europe). Anyway - Leo prepared a great meal and an even better cocktail!! Prost
Tomorrow - sunday - I will visit my sister for a nice brunch. Again I am tending to ride the bike - up to Grasback where she lives. cheers
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| Juergen preparing the onions to be grilled | Man at work!! |
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| My current bike outfit - still need to figure out if I need underwear to my new bike pants | Leo working on the cocktail |
Salsa Friday!!!
Friday was just great. It started with a good soccer match in the afternoon - lots of running with a lost game in the end - but it was good game - so it was ok. After that I met two of my colleagues - we went down to the danube with a six pack of beer - after that a quick visit in Stieglitz and then Salsa/Mergengue/Batchata in Maestro.
Here are some pictures of a very swetty, rhytmic night.
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| 3 beauties - all of them are excelent dancers!! | The cock of the walk |
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| And another guy enjoying the sweet company | Dancing action |
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| More dancing action | Seems that not everybody takes dancing serious |
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| Gina and Birgit | Lilly and me |
Bike Tour
The weather was just to lovely today - and - as the forecast predicts bad weather tomorrow I decided to take the afternoon off and enjoy the weather with a bike tour. Before I did that I went to the biker shop and finally got bike pants - yeah!!!
As I also had some other errands to do and as I had to be back by 6PM I decided to choose my tour wisely - therefore I made it up to Kirchschlag - 26km in total - 1 hour 40 minutes - max speed: 71km/h. Up the "Haselgraben" it was the first time that I felt a little panic. The Haselgraben at rush hour is just not a lot of fun when riding a bike.
Thats it - now its time to drive to Gallneukirchen - more errands to do. cheers
Updates from the Marathon
Here are two pictures from the Marathon. Fortunately Juergen took a picture while I passed him by - that was about 4 km's before the finish line. The other is from www.firstfotofactory.com.
Now its time for Salsa Monday - cheers
My Linz Half-Marathon Time: 1:35:27!!
Just a quick update on the marathon before I start celebrating my time.
I HOPED to be faster than last year which was 1:42:12. I THOUGHT that I should be able to run below 1:45. I FEARED that I have a bad day and wont finish under 2 hours.
But - with a great motivation from Didi - he offered a box of beer if I run faster than 1:38 - I managed to run the half-marathon in 1:35:27. Prost - time to go to the beergarden.
More results @ Pentek Timing
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Here are some pictures of yesterday/today. After the marathon we went to the Beergarden @ Klosterhof. After that I took my bike to the Pleschingersee where I met the group of friends I've been in Ireland with. Thats it - cheers
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| Pasta Party on Saturday for all Marathon Runners | The final meters on the Landstrasse |
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| Udo with his medal | Our group in the Beergarden |
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| Udo and his marathon team. They ran a relay. | Later today - playing frisbee on the Pleschingersee |
Countdown to the Marathon - Summer in April - and a Guinness Story!!
Hi - there is not much time left to the Marathon on Sunday. Unfortunately playing soccer and going out dancing on friday night was not the best idea:
a) bruises on my feet
b) lack of sleep
But - there are no excuses - at least not already before the marathon - maybe afterwards if I do not run faster as my own set limit.
The next topic is the weather. Isnt it beautiful. Its April and we have temperatures like in June.
And now the Guinness Story: I never really liked a Stout - the only way I could drink it was by mixing it with another beer - which is called Black N Tan or Half N Half. While I was in Ireland last week I started enjoying the flavor. I thought that the Guinness in Ireland just tastes different and therefore I like the Irish version of it. Thats also what I told my friends at home - that the "real" Irish one is really good.
But yesterday I was disabused - went to my local irish pub and guess what - just liked it as much as the one in Ireland.
Long story short: A Stout is no longer a disgusting beer for me.
Finally - here are some pictures from last week.
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| Enjoying the weather on the Donaulaende in Linz - with Udo and Heisi | Heisi and myself |
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| Nadine showing me her new tent | Poker games after work |
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| Hilli preparing for the marathon - please focus on his ear | Prinzregent Udo with a Prinzregent beer - first this year in the beer garden season |
Sports!!
I hope that some of you had the chance to watch yesterdays champions league match of ManU vs. Roma - 7:1 - what a game!! Tonight it will be Munich vs. Milan - lets hope it will be somewhere close to yesterdays match - Didi and I are going to watch it.
Besides soccer there is another sport event that is holding my attention - its this sunday's marathon in Linz. My goal is to run the half-marathon in at least the time that I ran it last year - and that was 1 hour 42 minutes. Last year I ran the time without any special training - which still amazes me.
This year it will be tough - had a final 10km run yesterday with about the average speed that I need on sunday for the complete distance - and to be honest - I dont think I can ran that long with that speed - but we will see.
Cheers
Easter Monday!
What a beautiful sunny day it was. Spent most of the afternoon at the danube - lying in the grass. Now its time to meet the friends that I've been in Ireland with for the traditional easter egg crushing. Before that I would like to list some Irish facts:
Full Irish Breakfast: Its really delicious - but dont be fooled by the word "pudding" - its not a pudding as we know it. Its blood sausage. Along that you usually get baked beans, ham, egg, tomato and a normal sausage.
Stout: Thats the Guinness kind of beer - but - there are more breweries that produce that kind of beer - not just Guinness.
Roundabout: The americans call it rotary. You can find them nearly everwhere - on the smallest streets as well as on the motorway (or autobahn). But be careful - the roundabout needs to be driven clockwise!!
Good Friday: All Pubs are closed on that day. Supermarkets are not allowed to sell alcohol - nor are restaurants. So - you better fill your beer stocks before good friday if you are planning a party.
Roads: Don't be fooled by road maps. If it tells you that there is a highway between to cities you cannot assume that you can actually drive the allowed 100 km's. I think our average speed was about 60 - which would have been better to know before me made our driving plans.
Pubs: No matter how small the city is - there will always be a pub.
Sheep: Plenty of them on the island - you may even find them on the road in front of your car.
These are some facts - keep them in mind when you travel to Ireland - and enjoy it. cheers
Easter celebrations!!
Easter celebrations are typically very traditional. Saturday night going to mass celebrating resurrection. Sunday - meeting the family - the kids looking for easter presents from the easter bunny.
As I am too old to get easter presents I decided to give myself a present in the form of a couple of wheat beers in the new Exxtrablatt pub that moved its location. I was accompanied by Udo and Martin (aka Mole).
Thats it - cheers
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| The grabner kids waiting for the easter cake | The kids with their easter presents |
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| Maximilian looking for his present | Easter for us "older" guys |
A Trip to Ireland!!!
After 1200km by car - lots of ruines, churches and cathedrals - countless pints of guiness - several full irish breakfasts - lots of sheep - ... (I could probably continue this list forever) - anyway - the trip was really great. Ireland is a beautiful country and was definitely worth a visit.
Here are some pictures of our trip. More stories and pictures will follow.
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| Our group in front of an old abbey - somewhere south of Dublin | Enjoying the great irish landscape |
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| Typical Irish: Guinness | Again typical Irish: Full Irish Breakfast |
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| Of course there is not only Guinness - lots of different Stout's are brewed in Ireland | Jameson Whiskey Distillery |
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| Cool ruine at the Ring of Kerry | Sheep farmers |
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| Visiting the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin | Always good to remember - traffic comes from a non expected direction |