Prepared for Samos
Today was our last "meeting" before we (Resl, Juergen, Sandro, I) fly to Samos on thursday for a one-week sailing trip. We met at Sandro's place to get some "excercise" for the upcoming "challenges" :-).
Well - besides the excitement for the upcoming trip there is a lot of salsa going on. The usual monday night till 1:30AM - and - as a special event - a cuban concert tomorrow in Remembar.
So - thats probably the last entry before we visit Samos and some other greek islands. Will be back on May 8th with hopefully many nice pictures and stories.
Countdown to Samos: 30 hours!!
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| Very interesting toilet accessoire in Sandros bathroom | Sandro, Juergen and Resl - ready for the training :-) |
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| Yep - good preparation - keep the glas high :-) | 3 Stamperl Beer |
Tu Was Gutes Lauf
One day after the Brueckenlauf we ran again. This time it was a 6.5k run - starting from the Pleschingersee - along the Danube towards Linz and then back on the Donaulaende to the Pleschingersee. The time was ok - finished after about 29 minutes. Considering the run yesterday - the 5 beers - caipirinhas - ... I would say that 29 was the maximum to achieve.
Now its time to enjoy the great sunday that we have. Its sunny and its warm outside - so - lets hop on the bike.
Countdown to SAMOS: 4 DAYS!!
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| Start and Finish Line | Hans-Peter (the old man) and myself |
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| The kids had their own race | And their own award ceremony |
3 Brueckenlauf in Linz
Its been another good run at the 3 Brueckenlauf in Linz. 6k in 25:12. As I have to head to the next run now - tu was gutes lauf - I keep this entry short.
Road to SAMOS Update: 5 more days!!!!!!!
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| Our running crew: christrian ran the 6k in 24:09!! | After the run we celebrated in the beer tent |
Another Farewell Party - Good Bye Christina
Christina is not only going to leave her old employer - she also going to leave the country - switzerland is her destination. To say farewell we have been invited to Walker. As always its been great to see my former team again. Its hard to see that they struggle a bit with the recent losses of team members - but I am sure that they will fight through it.
I dont remember the number of drinks that we had. All I remember is that Christian and I ended up in Remembar where we had some drinks "for the road" :-).
What else is going on? Well - the bad news first. I recently started playing soccer without the special cask for my left foot. I used to wear it because of my injury that I had two years back. Well - not sure if that was a smart decision. I had to stop playing a bit earlier today because I twisted my ankle again -> painfull. Anyway - tomorrow is the next running event - I will hopefully be fit enough for that :-)
Thats it. Only 6 DAYS till we finally fly to SAMOS - bye bye
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| Lexx handing over christina's present | Cooking book for Geeks :-) |
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| A round of B52's | What a look!! :-) |
Boring Semi-Final
Its been a rather boring semi-final match between Barcelona and Manchester. I went to the my local Irish Pub to watch the game. Had a burger and some beer - met some friends - watched the game. Unfortunately ManU missed to score a goal with the penalty they had in the 2nd minute. That goal would have changed the game - probably.
What else is going on? Well - Salsa on Monday (till 1:30AM) - a .NET User Group meeting on tuesday (very interesting) - sport tonight. Tomorrow will be another farewell party in Walker. Christina is going to leave the country - time to say good bye.
What else is coming up? 3 Brueckenlauf on saturday - tu was gutes lauf on sunday.
The best at the end: 7 DAYS TILL SAMOS!!!!
Working in the Rafting Camp
Its been a great saturday, saturday night and sunday morning in the Up-and-Down Rafting Camp on the Salza. We helped the Rafting Team with several tasks that needed to be done in order to start the season next weekend. After the work was done we enjoyed the evening outside at the open fireplace.
Now its sunday noon - time to drive to my parents. They have computer problems which need to be fixed by tomorrow - well - not the best thing to do on a sunny sunday afternoon. Would have preferred to join the others at the Rafting tour :-(
Here are some nice pictures from yesterday - cheers
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| PROST to Samos - 10 more days :-) | It was sunny enough for Lissy to consider sun cream |
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| The Salza River | Sandro - pumping up the small rafts with air |
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| Time to relax | Chili Con Fart :-) |
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| Commercial break :-) | This happens if you think you can open a bottle of beer with another bottle of beer |
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| Laola | In the evening at the fireplace |
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| Knacker - jummie | Despite some rainshows at night we stayed up till midnight |
Salsa Workshop
Its been a great experience - learning from two cuban salsa professionals. Two nights in a row we had several workshops where we learned new moves - hopefully I will remember some of the new stuff next monday :-)
Well - the weekend is here - and this weekend seems to be fun: we are going to drive down to the Up&Down Rafting Camp - helping them to prepare the camp for the upcoming season. Martin (aka Resl) is a raft guide and we (Sandro, Lissy and myself) will help them over the weekend.
The only thing that is left to mention are some countdowns: 11 days to SAMOS - about 15 weeks till I go back to BOSTON!!
Bye bye
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| Some salsa dancing in Pueblo on thursday - after the workshop | And some more :-) |
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| Our cuban instructors | I wear this shirt with proud - it also reminds me of my old team |
Hair- and Ear-Cut
Usually you get less for the money you pay for a service. Today I got much more from the barber than I would have hoped. The lady who cut may hair accidentially cut my left ear as well :-) - it bleeded for quite a while but in the end everything was fine again.
Other than this funny story there is not much more to say. I am still struggling with my health - I even had to skip salsa last night - and this my dear readers is not a good sign :-(
But I am on my way back. I drink tea instead of beer - I go to bed early instead of hanging out late.
Whats comming up? Salsa Workshop on thursday and friday (that should cover for last night) - and probably some rafting on the weekend. Thats all.
Countdown to SAMOS: 15 days!!!
Playing Robin Hood
Thanks to Robert - we had a great afternoon in the woods. We did some archery - its was great. It was tricky in the beginning - but once you figure out how it works its really fun.
The facility where we went to had a parcour of 28 stations. In each station you had to shoot a different wild animal from different distances and angle. Well - time to go to bed - the day was exhausting (first the run - then 4 hours in the woods) - bye bye
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| Equiped with arc and arrows | Klemens showing the special hand and finger protectors |
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| Lukas with an arc that was taller than himself | Taking aim |
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| Today group | Klemens trying to teach Mario how to do it right |
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| One of our "victims" | All lined up |
Finished in 1:35:34
Despite my small physical and health problems I had a great run today. The weather was perfect and the motivation was high. I missed my goal of being faster than last year by 8 seconds :-). Thanks to Pentek Timing I can already see a statistical analysis of my run. Seems that I had a slow start (had to get through thousands of people as I started in the very end of the field). Got constantly faster and finished the last 30 minutes with an average speed of 13.52km/h.
Here are some pictures of today and yesterdays pasta party. bye bye
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| Pasta Party: Felt more like "Last Supper :-)" | Yeah yeah - on saturday our mood was still good :-) |
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| Finding the right running outfit | Will I be fast enough to need a helmet? :-) |
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| Thats an interesting outfit | 3 of the dynaTrace Running Crew |
The Beergarden Aftermath
Its saturday morning - I have a sore throat - my whole body feels like I was hit by a truck - and I think I have fever. That all just one day before the half-marathon tomorrow. And why that all? Probably because I went to the beergarden on thursday night without proper clothes - well - I have my lesson learned :-(
Now its time to recover - quickly if possible. I canceled the beer festival last night and I probably just stay home today - keeping myself warm (with a hot bath, hot drinks or hot ... :-) ).
Tonight at 6 I will pick up my start number for tomorrow. I will also check out the pre-marathons Pasta Party in the Brucknerhaus.
Thats all for today - will hopefully have some nice pictures from tomorrows run - and - from Roberts birthday party in the afternoon.
Cheers
The Beergarden Season is Opened!
I just came back from my first beer in the Klosterhof Beergarden. It was fantastic - especially after my run in the late afternoon - I can tell you - I was much better in drinking the beer than running :-)
Whats coming up? Tomorrow night I will at the Beer festival in Freistadt. Saturday will be a relax-day. Will go to the Pasta-Party that is hosted for the Marathon on sunday - and well - sunday - its marathon day.
Thats all. Time to go to bed - greetings
Bowling with my former Team
I still call them "My Team" - although I am no longer working with them - however - "My Team" invited me to a Bowling night tonight. Thanks for all the beers and the food - thanks for giving me the feeling as if I would have never left.
Its too late now to spend more words - therefore I just post some pictures. Cheers
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| Me and "My Balls" :-) | Lexx struggling with the Pizza |
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| Guenti and me | Yes Jani - the glass IS EMPTY |
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| More balls | On my way home with my bike outfit |
More Salsa - this time in Dancing School Jakob
I am even more exhausted than this morning - well - no wonder - after 6 hours in a Salsa Workshop :-)
Although it was a workshop for beginners there was lots of stuff to learn. Seems that besides my usual monday night I now have another option - tuesday night. Dancing School Jakob offers a free Latin night every tuesday - sounds good to me :-)
Well - thats it for today - I am currently watchting the last 10 minutes of LASK vs. Rapid - 1:2 is the current score. Now I am just looking forward to a relaxing evening.
Cheers
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| The girls following the instructions | The best way to start the day is to start it with an isotonic drink :-) |
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| The guys checking if the girls do the moves correctly | Our dance instructors |
Salsa Ball
I am exhausted - but I am happy :-)
We danced from 9:30 till 4AM - I used 4 shirts and 3 towels :-)
Now its 9 AM - my body aches a bit but that wont keep me from attending the salsa workshop at 10 AM - fortunatelly its for beginners so I except it to be very very relaxing.
As I am short in time I end this entry now - but of course - with some pictures from yesterday night.
Cheers
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| Alois, Brita and I - Warm Up in my appartment | Here comes the quiz-question: What is that? |
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| Tanja and Alois | Brita and Birgit |
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| Two hot young guys | The master on the dancefloor: Nicolas |
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| Did I mention the sweating :-) | Alex - the men behind the bar |
Weekend is here
Its been a good week - now I am looking forward to the upcoming salsa events this weekend - the Salsa Ball - and a workshop on sunday.
Besides Salsa there is a second thing that I am constantely thinking about: The Half-Marathon next sunday. I had another good run tonight on the treadmill - 13k in 1 hour. Just checked my results of last year - I had an average speed of 13.26k/h - so I am getting closer to my goal of running a similar time as last year.
Thats it - have a great weekend.
Update on the SAMOS Countdown: 27 days!!
Champions League - Quarter Finals
Didi and I met tonight to discuss our current JVP situation with the guys from our political district. We agreed that we are going to end our 8 or so years by the end of march - we are just getting too old for that stuff :-)
After that meeting we went to the Irish Pub - watching the two Champions League Quarter Final Matches. Its amazing watching english clubs playing football - they run 90 minutes as if they would been chased by somebody :-). In the end Arsenal and Liverpool played 1:1 and Istambul won against Chelsea - looking forward to the next games.
Whats coming up? The annual Salsa Ball on saturday (yeah!!) - and - a Salsa Workshop on sunday. I won a ticket for a local salsa workshop (including lunch) this sunday. The event starts at 10 am already - I hope I will be up by then after the ball on saturday.
Looking further into the future I see the Half-Marathon coming closer - 10 days to go. Today I made my first "steps" on the treadmill after my rip injury - looks like most of my problems are gone - but I need a lot of excercise for the upcoming event.
Well - thats it - Cheers
April fool's day
No jokes today - even tough we (austria, the western world, ...) "celebrates" April Fool's Day. Thats all from my side to say about this special day that I loved to celebrate when I was a kid (fooling my parents, friends, ...)
Changing topics:
There are things in life that change - and - there are things in life that stay the same. Salsa Monday for instance stays the same. My job however changed. Today I had my first "official" day at dynaTrace Software. It was a very interesting experience to "be tought" (I am in a one week training right now) - compared to give advice/make decisions/... I enjoy the change a lot - its interesting to learn new stuff - interact with new people - facing new challenging problems.
I know I made the right decision and I am sure I will succeed - I also know that those that I left behind, facing the challenges that I used to face, will also succeed (greetings to the SilkTest team :-) ).
As I am usually very short with words that are related to work I hereby announce that I wont spend too many words from now on that topic - I will rather talk about the other "really intersting" stories in my life, e.g.: sailing trip meeting.
Juergen, Resl, Sandro and I just met to discuss our upcoming sailing trip to SAMOS. 30 days from now we will board a plane to Samos where we rent a boat for a 7 day sailing trip. Today we agreed on nutrition: its mainly beer, wine, ouzo and some food :-)
This is the end of todays entry (with some pictures from yesterday night)
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| This young man is Rene | Antonio de Cuba - our DJ |
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| Two of the Salse Queens | Brita - always good for a funny look |
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| Close-Up of Ronny | "Imported" Swiss Salsa Dancer |
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| The Swiss with Brita | The "Sweaty Guy" and Brita |