European Race-Cation

It's been a busy last few days but we are finally settled into our rental home in Klagenfurt, Austria. And in case you didn't know - we are in Europe!

(I apologize now for any typo's or sentences that do not make sense. As you will read - I am still a little sleep deprived but slowly adjusting!)

We started planning our European Race-Cation last June after Karel and I registered for Ironman Austria. We had such an amazing experience in 2014 when we raced our first international Ironman together and seeing that we combined it with visiting Karel's family in Czech, we couldn't wait to do it all over again. 

But this time we brought my mom to share this race-cation with us! 

On Saturday afternoon we rented a mini van (although it turned out to be a passenger van - thanks Karel for driving!) for all our luggage and bikes and on Sunday morning, we headed down to Atlanta.

On Saturday evening, I had a little scare as I called Delta/KLM for the third time in the past 3 months to remind them once again that we would be traveling with our bikes and that I would need a vegetarian (lacto-ovo) meal for our flight. When the Delta agent on the phone told me that they needed 48 hours notice for our bikes and that they didn't have any record that we were flying with our bikes (according to KLM - our 2nd flight from the Amsterdam to Vienna) and we wouldn't be able to fly with our bikes. Say what??!! I nearly had a breakdown as we were driving to Atlanta at 9:30am on Sunday and I had called Delta twice letting them know about our bikes.
Finally, around 9pm on Sat evening I received a call from Delta that we were ok to fly with our bikes. My heart nearly stopped for a few hours but even with the good news that we were good to go with our bikes, I still had trouble sleeping. 

After our 2.5 hour drive and a bit of stress with all the things that we had to do before sitting on the air plane, we finally arrived at our gate around 1:30pm for our 3:10pm flight to Amsterdam. We prefer to minimize the layovers when we fly with our bikes and many times, it's cheaper to fly from ATL and to either rent a car or do off-site parking. 

We grabbed a late lunch (salad with tofu pictured below and a mozzarella and veggie sandwich - not pictured) and by 2:30pm we were boarding our plane.
The check-in with our bikes was smooth and we just love our new Scicon bike bags. Seeing that Karel is always the one to pack and assemble our bikes, he found it super easy to use and all he had to do was remove the wheels - yes, that easy! The bag came with a lot of accessories for keeping the bike secure and padded in the soft case. The case is extremely easy to move around which is nice when you have a lot of luggage. We typically go to the hourly parking when we check-in with our bikes as we can just bring in our checked bags and bikes and then go park and head straight to security. It makes for a less rushed experience. 

Karel was super excited to see his family for the firs time in 2 years. 

The flight was uneventful but relaxing. I can't remember the last time I had 8 hours to just watch movies/TV - I enjoyed every minute of it. Karel and I both prefer aisle seats but this time around there were no two aisles open for us to sit next to each other so Karel sat in front of me (to the right) and my mom and I sat in the middle row of seats.

I have to say that my lacto-ovo vegetarian meal was delicious. I had cooked kale and carrots with a black bean patty, along with a salad, fruit, a roll and cheese. It was not salty or heavy/greasy so it felt nice in my tummy. 

Seeing that we left ATL at 3:10pm, we arrive in Amsterdam around 5:45am (or 11:45pm EST). I had yet to sleep which not a good thing because by the time we headed to Vienna, I had gone over 24 hours without sleeping. We were served a light breakfast before landing in Amsterdam and once again, I enjoyed my vegetarian breakfast of orange juice, a banana and a tofu and tomato sandwich. 

We have traveled through Amsterdam twice before in route to Prague but never have we flown into Vienna, like we were this time around. 

Thankfully, I was able to take a short 1 hour nap on our 1:25 hr flight to Vienna but I knew my body was not happy being so sleep deprived. 

We had our last stressful moment as we were waiting for our bikes to arrive and thankfully, there they were! Yay!! (fellow triathletes/cyclists know this feeling)

Karel had one of his friends from Znjomo pick us up at the airport and sadly, it was rainy outside so we couldn't enjoy the ~80 min drive to Karel's hometown. 

Finally - reunited with his mom! 

Of course, as soon as we arrived, Karel's mom was ready to serve us lunch (their biggest meal of the day) and we were ready for her delicious home cooking.

We started with the traditional soup before the entree and this time I had vegetable soup with homemade noodles and Karel and my mom has the same soup but with beef broth. 

And for lunch, asparagus sauce with dill, an egg (beef for Karel and my mom), a dumpling and boiled potatoes. Oh so good! 

And of course, there's always something more in Karel's mom's kitchen - homemade apricot bars with fresh apricots from the garden. I must say, I love the treats in Czech because they are not overly sweet or salty - a big difference from the treats in America. 

After resting at Karel's mom's, we then walked over to Karel's dad's flat so that Karel could catch up with his dad. Neither of Karel's parents speak Czech so Karel is our translator. I often feel bad for Karel because it is a lot of work to translate and sometimes his brain forgets to switch (he will speak to his parents in English and to us in Czech).

Of course, no visit is complete without some treats. 

After visiting with Karel's family, we took my mom to her hotel/penzion where she would stay for the night (I joined her) - super cute. I absolutely love Karel's hometown as there is so much charm, history and beauty. Although this is my third time here in the past 4 years, I still get excited when I walk through his historic downtown. 

We had a light dinner (which we picked up some of it at the grocery and then Karel's mom made a meat and cheese platter) of couscous, asparagus, fresh bread and cheese. 

And one of Karel's favorites - rice and apricot cake (it's not sweet like cake so think non-sweet rice pudding). 

And she keeps on baking!
Homemade oatmeal, raisins and dried fruit cookies and gingerbread cookies (once again - the cookies are not sweet - just perfect. Honestly, it's hard not to feel great when you eat them - especially since they are prepared with lots of love). 

It was an eventful night on Monday as our hotel was filled with kids who were being super noisy all throughout the night. I was so exhausted and tired and tossed and turned in bed for hours until finally, around 3:30am I kinda fell asleep for a few hours. Needless to say, my mom and I didn't sleep as well as Karel (at his mom's flat) who slept 12 hours! Oh the fun of traveling internationally.



Karel and I had plans to run in the morning (Tuesday) to wake-up the legs but with him sleeping until almost 10am and me not sleeping, a workout was not in the picture.

So we ate instead :)
Fresh bread from the grocery and the most amazingly tasteful scrambled eggs (seriously, the eggs in Czech are amazing!)

After packing up our rental van, we made a stop at the local grocery in Znojmo (the food is much less expensive in Znojmo, Czech Republic compared to Klagenfurt, Austria) and around 3pm, we finally hit the road for our 4.5 hour drive to Klagenfurt.
Did you see our passenger van that we took to the ATL airport? Well, this one is even bigger...and a stick shift. Thankfully, Karel can navigate that big fan through the tiny streets of Europe :) 

The last time Karel and I drove to Klagenfurt, it was cloudy and rainy. This time, it was beautiful and sunny so we watched the mountains grow until they finally turned into the Alps. 

Now you may be wondering why I am so excited to be at McDonald's. Well, when was the last time your McDonald's looked like this??? (see below)

Fresh pastries? 

Fresh muffins? 

Fresh croissants? 

Fresh smoothies?

Yep - this is McCafe - not your normal fast food stop on the road!

If you didn't know, you have to pay to use the restroom at many places but here, we got a voucher to buy more coffee at McCafe. 

Fancy bathroom! 

Yum! 

This will be the ONLY time you will see Karel smiling over McDonald's coffee.
Mr. Czech here is very picky with his coffee!

Here are some of our pics in route to Klagenfurt. 

We finally made it to our airbnb in downtown Klagenfurt (right near the town center and only 2 miles from EuropaPark - race venue) around 7:45pm to check-in to our 2 bedroom flat.

After a late dinner and some unpacking, we finally went to bed around 10:30pm. Although I am still adjusting to the time zone, I think I fell asleep around 11:30pm and had a good 6 hours of sleep (the days are long here - the sun goes down after 10pm and then rises around before 5am) - slowly, I am finally getting on a sleep schedule and hopefully will feel more rested by race day on Sunday. 

I'll do my best to keep you updated with our travels via my blog when I have WiFi in our flat but for quicker updates, you can visit the Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition Facebook Page (and Instagram - @trimarni where I am sharing our daily pics of our adventures.

Race ready for Ironman Austria!

After another good night of sleep, I woke up around 5:45am and had a good pre workout snack of WASA + PB + Banana slices and granola/raisins and water and coffee and then we got our bikes ready for our last warm-up ride. 

We drove to the race venue and parked before things got busy for there were two athlete meetings that morning (9 and 10am) as well as the Iron Girl race at 11am (run). 

We rode about 50 minutes total on the back part of the course (headed out first backward on the course) so that we could see the last 5 or so miles of the course. After the bike we did a short 10 min run to wake up the legs and then walked to the athlete briefing (in English). 

I always encourage athletes to go to the athlete meeting before a race for you never know what information you will need to hear that is important for your race. I always want to be prepared and many times, attending the race meeting can ease many pre race nerves (always good to control the controllables). 

After we came home around 10:30 (after a quick stop at the grocery), we had a good morning meal and then officially packed up our race bags. Since we can access our bags on race morning, we can put our race nutrition in our bags (and on bike) on race day morning. 

For my bike bag:
110% Flat out compression socks
Giro attack helmet
Commit sunglasses (Oakley Women)
Bontrager cycling shoes
Race bib (required on back) w/ belt (and safety pins attached)
Hand towel

For my run bag:
Brooks pure flow run shoes
My dad's favorite Corvette hat (Karel will be wearing my dad's other favorite hat)

We were told no ribbons on bags so even though I brought them I was unable to tie them on my bags to easily locate my bags.
There were designated times for checking in our bikes so I checked in my first, followed by Karel. 

Karel and I are both All World Athletes (award given to us and many others from Ironman) which allowed us to check in our bikes at 12:30-1pm with the pros but we decided to wait to check in our bikes when we could see a crowded transition area to help us visualize for race day. 

The volunteers checked our bike to make sure it had all necessary parts and was race ready with numbers attached. 

We then walked through a tent (men's changing tent) and a volunteer took a picture of our bike.
Next we racked our bike and run bags in the designated areas according to our numbers. There was no order to racking the bags, just in the range of bib numbers. 

After racking my bags, I located my bike rack near the end of the transition area (what a huge transition area for 3000 athletes!!) and found a spot in the middle of the rack. 

After I racked my bike and covered her up with the bike bags that were given to us (in case it rains), I waited for Karel. 

As I waited, I mentally walked through the swim to bike, bike to run transition over and over, including getting my bag, going into the changing tent, etc. 

Even though this is Karel's 2nd Ironman, let me tell you that even with 7 Ironman's behind me, it is still a bit overwhelming to put everything together for 140.6 miles of racing in just two bags, the day before the race. But it always feels good when you walk out of transition area with just yourself and all you have to do on race day morning is arrive with your swim gear and anything extra for the bike/run. 

I was totally jealous of Karel's end of the rack bike spot but when we walked over to my bike to let out some tire pressure due to the heat today/tonight, I noticed there was a free spot that just opened up on my rack!

YIPPE!

We can not thank you all enough for your continued support with our international IM journey. I still can't believe that the day is finally here for it feels like so long ago that we registered for this dream race. 

So much has affected us in positive and negative ways over the past year and we could not be more grateful for the ongoing kind words and enthusiasm as we continue to love life and to make great memories together. 

It was only 32 days ago that I said good bye to my dad. 

There is not a day that goes by that I do not think about my dad and wish he was still here with me, enjoying life and making the most of every day.  He was always so proud of me and my "real athlete" husband (Karel earned that title from my dad after he finished his first IM.) :) 

I know that if he was still here, he would be loving all my amazing pictures in beautiful Austria and we expect daily Facetime calls with him and my mom for they always got super excited when it came to my triathlons, especially the Ironman.

Back in 2011 I was able to share my Ironman World Championship experience with my parents and this was the last Ironman that my parents were able to physically be at with me. 

However, even with IM Lake Placid and the IM World Championship last summer, it was still great knowing that I was able to speak to my parents before and after the race and know that regardless of how I did, they were super excited to track me and to celebrate another amazing accomplishment with my healthy body. 

The Ironman journey is different for everyone for we all have our own reasons for committing to the journey of training for a 140.6 mile race. I know that for some people, it is to do the impossible but for a large number of people, it is for a greater reason than just earning the "Ironman finisher" title. 

There is always a mix of emotions on the day before an Ironman and many times, it is a mix of nerves, excitement, uncertainties, fears, worries, relief, happiness, joy and positive energy. 

One thing I have learned throughout the past 7 years of Ironman racing (starting at the age of 24) is that there are no certainties on race day and a lot of things out of your control. There are guarantees as to how the day will turn out for the IM day is all about constant motion and overcoming obstacles. 

My dad never wasted a day of his life and even when he was diagnosed with an incurable case of cancer and battled this horrible cancer for the last 10 months of his life, my dad continued to celebrate life with me. 

Despite uncontrollables in his life, my dad never ever gave up. He continued to fight when others would have probably given up. 

I know tomorrow is going to be a special day for many reasons and I look forward to racing with Karel and celebrating my dad's amazing 67 years of life. I have only lived for 32 years and have already created mountains of memories.
I look forward to everything that tomorrow will bring to me, knowing that my dad will give me strength when I need it and he will have the best seat in the house for 140.6 miles. 

Swim 2.4 miles
Bike 112 miles
Run 26.2 miles

Thank you body. 

Marni bib #857
Karel bib #1598

Live Stream TV: CLICK HERE

Ironman Austria website (Athlete tracking, photos, live coverage, finish line video, etc.)

Race start: 7am local time (1am EST)

Ironman Austria race course (pics)

Some of the most memorable parts of traveling are enjoying new sight, smells and tastes. Because I am super camera happy, I just love capturing memories of beautiful sights when I travel. I really try my best to soak up every moment when I travel but for me, pictures help me tell a story. Not always do the pictures flow like sentences in a paragraph but more often than not, they help the reader want to turn the page for more. That’s how I see life when I travel. I just love sensory overload in a new place!

After my first two Ironman’s (IMFL and Kona in 2006 and 2007 respectively) and 3 consecutive half IM’s in Orlando Florida (Disney half ironman at the time, now Ironman Florida 70.3),  I welcomed my first Ironman race after Kona in my home state of Kentucky. I really enjoyed the journey of training for the Ironman but the added excitement of traveling for a race really made my Ironman experience extra special.

Since 2009, I have continued to follow two passions of mine – traveling and racing. And lucky for me, I have not been alone in my traveling adventures.

Although Karel just recently turned “Ironman” triathlete last July after nearly two decades of bike racing, it was a no brainer that we would search for a beautiful and challenging course for our first Ironman experience together. Ironman Lake Placid was our decision and the nature did not let us down!

After an amazing experience traveling to Czech in May last year (about 10 weeks or so before IM Placid), Karel and I tossed around the idea of combining our love of traveling and racing with our first international race. With Ironman Austria just 4 hours (without delays) from Karel’s hometown of Znojmo Czech Republic, we decided to save our money, make some plans and sign up and train for our first international Ironman.

With any vacation (or racecation for us), you don’t really know what to expect when you go somewhere new, until you arrive to your final destination.

I could not be more excited about the opportunity to race 140.6 miles on Sunday and to be cheered on by 100,000 spectators along the race course. And, how cool that Karel and I get to race with 3000 other athletes from over 61 nations! I am also proud to be one of the 99 USA athletes and one of the 12.5% of females racing on race day!

Because the right words are hard to describe this beautiful course, here are some of my best pictures of our day of training on the course yesterday.

The weather looks good for race day! The sun starts to rise just before 5am and the mix of clouds and sun makes for a very fun experience while racing. 

The temperatures are just perfect for racing and the water temperature feels around 70-72 degrees so it should be wetsuit legal on race day. The water feels great - not too warm, not too cold. Plus, the duckies are always happy in the water so that brings me comfort that we will be happy too. Most of the swim is in the lake, a very easy to navigate rectangle where we swim out, turn left and head back to shore. Although, the last 1000 K is in a cannal which will be lined with spectators. 

The road quality on the bike course is great. Well, anything is better than St. Croix 70.3 which we raced in May. 

There are a few rough patches here and there but nothing that would be too concerning, especially on a descend. 

There are a few climbs on each loop (two loops) of the bike course and the course is very well marked. We rode about 2.5 hours yesterday (with one wrong turn so we didn't get to see some of the end of the course) and enjoyed every mile (or kilometer) of it! The course  is not technical and the climbs are followed with long smooth descents. The course has views of water, the alps, valleys and runs from town to town. There is always something to look at so this may make "racing" this course hard for me and Karel!

The run, unlike the bike, is fairly flat so this will be a first for me to do my 8th Ironman on a hilly bike course with a flat run. This should be interesting for my legs for they do like to climb in a triathlon. 

The run features views in downtown as well as lot of spectators on the course. After two loops of the run, we will finish with a stadium-like feel of screaming spectators and cheerleaders down the finish line chute until we reach our 140.6 mile finish line!

Road Trip! Traveling from Czech to Austria

It was around 8pm when Karel came home from his dad's after working on my bike.....

Yay! Thanks Jirka for letting me borrow your race wheels!!! They are super duper fast!

Karel and I were not that sleepy so we took a walk in downtown Znojmo around 9pm. 

The town was so quite and bright so late at night!

There is so much history in this beautiful town and of course, I have a great tour guide to share all the little details about Znojmo. 

Karel enjoyed telling me about his bike rides in the town, especially this one (pic above) on his steel bike, racing his buddies to the top. 

I really love learning about another culture/town but knowing that this is where Karel grew up is very special. 

After our 45 minute stroll around town, we were finally ready for bed around 10:15pm and had a good night of sleep until 6:30am. It only took about 2 days but we finally woke up feeling almost normal. 

After a small pre workout snack around 6:45am and coffee, we headed out on our bikes for a 1:10 bike with beautiful sights and smells. 

With our bikes 100% race ready, it was nice to just spin the legs and warm-up our bodies before our trip to Austria. 

I couldn't believe this field of flowers. And not just any flowers...Poppyseed flowers!!

There are so many pastries made with poppyseeds and they are so delicious!

Once again, the wind was blowing us around in the open fields so after we climbed out of one town, we turned around in the next town and weeeeee'd all the back to Znojmo. 

Just beautiful!

I love the wide-open roads!

I gave Karel's mom a break in the kitchen and I was itching to cook for us.
The eggs are superb here, so I made an egg, tomato and pepper scramble with fresh bread topped with farmers cheese and black and red currents. 

I still can't get over the field of poppyseed flowers!

This is Jitka's dog Visty. Jitka works at one of the bike shops and races as well. I met her last year and I fell in love with her. It was a long year but I was so excited to see her again!

After running a few errands to exchange some our US dollars to Czech crowns to Euro's and for Karel to get a T-mobile SIM card for his i-phone so that he could use it if needed while we traveled to Austria. In Czech, Karel's father in law lets him borrow his cell phone for local calls. 

What's nice about the SIM card is that Karel can upload a map on google maps or mapquest on his phone and then turn off the data service but he can still get directions on his phone. However, it does not help with any detours as we quickly learned. 

After a quick trip to the grocery for a few last minute items to our already filled cooler, we hit the road for our 4 hour and 10 min drive to Austria. I was really looking forward to this drive and to see some new sights. 

Well, not only did it rain almost the entire drive, but we encountered a detour on one of the side roads in Austria as we were leaving Czech and little did we know that we missed a turn without us even knowing it. The map Karel was following was still navigating but it took us almost 90 minutes out of the way and we didn't even know it!
Ugh, our 4:10 drive ended up being almost 6 hours!

Karel was having a blast (despite the rain) driving his stick-shift Volvo on the Austrian highway (A2) for it was like Formula One racing for Karel (or I guess for better reference, a crit bike race). 

We did manage to see a few beautiful sights and it was fun going through lots of tunnels. 

We made two stops on the way to Klagenfurt. First, we needed to use the restroom so we stopped at a gas station. Little did we know you have to pay about 50 cents to use the restroom. 

We also stopped at a public restroom on the side of the interstate which is not like the normal rest stops in the states. This was just a side road with an out-house type building. Oh well, a good time to stretch our legs. 

We jammed away to a mix of American and German music on the radio and enjoyed a few treats from Karel's mom. 

Rice cake - Karel has talked about this cake for some time and he yummed his way through many bites which brought him back to his childhood. It was super delicious!

I love these ginger cookies! She always makes the cutest designs (all by hand).

Yum!

We started to get a bit ancy as we were nearing 6pm, especially since we should have arrived by then but this is why we always allow extra time when we travel. We also prefer to arrive to IM races on Wed (if possible) for we never know about delays and traveling to a destination race (no matter how far) can be a little exhausted at times. 

6 hours of rain. 

Except for in the tunnels. 

Yay - we made it!! We rented a flat from someone online who rents out her place for IM weekend. It was a great price and only about 3-4 miles from the race venue. Plus, with a kitchen and king size bed, we couldn't turn it down. 

With all grocery's unpacked, we had a late dinner (a light one).

I know what you are thinking...where's the beer Karel? I guess he is saving it for post race. Here are a few pics of our flat on the east side of downtown Klagenfurt.

Full kitchen. 

Living area with twin bed. 

Full bathroom and washer. 

Bedroom with TV (German stations).

After I Facetimed with my mom, we were out by 10:15pm and had a great night of sleep...until the morning sun woke us up around 4:50am. However, we stayed in bed until around 6am and then started the morning which brought non-rainy sky's! 

Stay tuned for our first day in Austria as we got into Ironman race mode with a gorgeous 1 mile lake swim at the race start, 2:30 bike on most of the IM bike course and 10 min run. 

Czech Trip Day 3: Pics

 

 

 

CzechTrip Day 3: Austria, pastries, coffee and cycling

 

 

You know that feeling in a workout when you think to yourself “It can’t get any better than that”, well, I am finding myself “wowing” my way through this trip. I hesitate using the word “vacation” because Karel and I aren’t use to vacationing Sitting around on the beach or being catered to at a resort is not our style....honestly, we'd be bored after a few hours
When we travel, it is typically for an event or race and we don't do well sitting around. Thus, every time we pack our bags for something, it is for a purpose and often includes some type of movement (or is related to our jobs which involve activity/fitness). This trip has many purposes but I am enjoying my time here in Czech making memories but also learning about a new culture that allows me to bring home new ways to live life as well as an appreciation of what I have back at home. With my blog posts and pictures, I only hope that I can inspire others to get comfortable being uncomfortable by trying new things and being open to new opportunities. I realize that traveling abroad is not for everyone and may not be practical for everyone (costs, timing, logistics, etc.) but I feel that many people take for granted the many opportunities they have in their own current life but just feel “stuck” either in a bubble of familiarity and fear change or are scared to make any changes and the “what if’s” keep you bored, stressed and overwhelmed in your current life.

This is my third trip abroad and although my last two trips were a while back in 2004 and 1995 to Philippines and Japan, respectively, I find myself constantly enjoying learning from others...particularly, the lifestyle.

Aside from the 7th day Adventists  and the Mediterranean style diet (which research consistently shows, long term, that both show high rates of quality of life and low risk for disease and improved health status by following a vegetarian or plant based diet), I've learned from those who live a high paced, wealthy lifestyle and from those who take bucket showers and have no electricity and seeing that each country may have staple foods and/or certain thoughts on exercise/fitness/sports, every village, town and city differs in terms of quality of life. Thus, to assume that there is one right way to live is absolutely wrong as it isn't about a right way of being healthy but rather, making sure your lifestyle makes you happy.

So, here is the blog post that was very hard to summarize for there were way too many wow’s and not enough brain power to put it all into words. Again, thank goodness for iPhones and photos to keep memories current and fresh.

Once again, the sun was shining early and I found myself awake at 5:20am thinking it was 9am. I was able to lay back down for a little but then around 6am I woke up to the smell of fresh European coffee.

Karel and I started our morning with a cup of coffee and headed out for a quick 2 mile run on new roads (for me) in Czech. For both Karel and myself, we love to stay active and exercise is a very important to both of us for both physical and mental benefits. But as I have repeated many times in my blog and in articles, you don’t have to be a triathlete or marathon runner to be “healthy”. I am a firm believer that you should get your heart rate up, don’t be afraid to sweat and don’t feel as if you have to conquer x-minutes, x-workouts, x-days a week. Just move whenever you can for however long feels “right.” I absolutely love our morning runs because 20-30 minutes of sight-seeing is the perfect way to start the day as it is only the beginning of a jam-packed day.

Throughout our morning run and breakfast (which was a simple meal of local yogurt, fresh fruit, egg and bread/pastries and water) Karel continued with stories of when he was growing up in Znojmo. I guess you could say that Karel is taking a lot of “runs” down memory lane.

After breakfast Karel and his dad had to run some personal errands so I joined along for the “experience” of living a day-to-day life in Czech.  Since we were in town for the errands, we stayed busy on our feet walking everywhere (which is typical for people in Znojmo as parking is tight, gas is pricey and streets are narrow and it is much easier to just walk/bike everywhere. Plus, since everyone buys local and fresh foods are so popular, most grocery stores are within walking distance so people just shop daily for small items as not many would buy packaged bread here or expect  fresh food to last a week). We visited a beautiful church as well as two of Karel’s old bike shops. It is so great to see people remember Karel as soon as they see him and although I can’t understand anything, I know they ‘re catching up and sharing great stories.

After the bike shop, it was time for a mid morning treat. Seeing that we have not snacked between meals since we have arrived in Czech, I was super excited for this opportunity to have a real espresso in Europe with a real pastry. Because I have relied on Karel to order everything for me (much easier than having him translate everything for me), he ordered me a delicious walnut pastry as well as 3 other pastries for us to share. I laughed at Karel when he told me that he would always pass a bakery on his way home from school when he was young and he would always get pastries before he came home. Now I know why my hubby has such a big sweet tooth! Although it may look like we are “treating” ourselves a lot, we have yet to feel gross or guilty after eating anything and although no scale and we aren’t very concerned with weight gain, neither one of us feel as if we have gained any weight. We do not ever use words like "I'm being bad, I shouldn't be doing this or I feel fat" as I don't believe those are beneficial words in a balanced lifestyle. Of course, we can not bring home this lifestyle to the US because it just wouldn’t work in our sedentary, fast paced society. As hard as I try to help others live a more balanced active and healthy lifestyle (and feel more confident doing so, thanks to this trip), I realize that what works in one country may not be ideal in another. In addition to the food here being prepared with fresh ingredients and not loaded with salt, high fructose corn syrup (Karel says they don't use it in processed food here that he knows of) and sugar, we are extremely active here just moving all the time. Whereas in America, for many of us, we seem to spend most of our day sitting and only get up to go and eat (often eating quickly or continuing our day while eating).

Here in Czeh, it is nice to sit down to eat with family/friends after walking around all day. Also, there is something to be said about the quality of food here. I have yet to put a preservative, food dye or artificial ingredient in my body since arriving to Europe (although I have food with me, I have not had any protein powder, KIND and Hammer bars or other “emergency” food from home for I have not felt like I needed it), food tastes so good that you don’t have to eat a lot of it to be satisfied…much different than in America where you think food tastes good and you can’t stop eating. Here in Europe, it’s hard to overeat for the food is just more delicious and meal time is a slow time. I have yet to see anyone eat in their car or behind a computer screen (although I am sure people do, but unlike America, it is not the norm). It’s really hard to explain the living and eating style here, especially because many people in America have such an unhealthy relationship with food and the body. I have a blog to write in the near future as I talked with Karel's niece about "diets" here in Czech as well as some other questions that I had in terms of the "lifestyle" here and relationship with food and the body and I found it all very interesting. To sum up one of her statements after I asked her what she thought about American culture (relating to food/bodies) after her recent trip to Miami and then a cruise, she said that yes, there are big Americans but also, way too many "skinny" Americans. When I asked her to describe "skinny" she basically described the body that I feel many athletic individuals are trying to achieve - toned, lean and not curvy. To her, it looked unhealthy.

Everything in the US from body image (too big to too small) and diets (from good food to bad/off-limit food) is so extreme and for some reason, we have this perception of what is “healthy” in terms of body image and diet (although the diet component changes daily, it seems) and thus, I feel our society is so far removed from a balanced lifestyle. People want to be healthy but they aren’t happy and their idea of "healthy" is not always a true defnition of health. Although I have been very adventurous in trying new things and being extremely “free” here, I don’t feel as if I am living a different life from what I try to do at home in Florida. I am so happy that I came to Czech with a strong relationship with food and a good one with my body that I am only continuing my balanced lifestyle rather than being shocked at any one thing here. It is a great feeling knowing that I can travel outside of my comfort zone in the US and still maintain my definition of a healthy and active lifestyle.

The only thing that is different here is that it IS the “norm” here to live a life of happiness, love and good, real food. Food is slow cooked, not fast. It is real, not processed. I do miss a few of my staple foods that I feel are healthy in my diet like nuts, seeds, tofu, lentils, peanut butter, beans and whole grains but I am functioning just fine here in Czech while maintaining my meat-free lifestyle (and Karel is enjoying his meat options here and enjoying the lifestyle just as much as me. Well, maybe a bit more since it has been many years for him to have enjoyed his mom's cooking). Sure, Karel and I are athletes and our bodies take care of themselves  because we “train” more than we “exercise” but if I have learned anything in the 3 short days that we have been here, it is that American’s waste so much energy on wanting to change the outcomes of unhealthy lifestyle choices when instead, it is not one food (or food group)  that needs to be eliminated but instead the overall lifestyle is what needs to be addressed. If you don't make time to cook real foods, you are only going to find yourself blaming carbs for weight gain for the rest of your life. It's not carbs, dairy or bread...it's the lifestyle and I can attest for that as I have eaten a diet here that tastes great and much of it is not my typical diet....but, I feel great, have not seen any negative change in body composition, both Karel and I have repeatedly said we feel very "clean" inside and we feel energized and satisfied. Let's not forget that a balanced lifestyle includes good sleep, stress management, slowing down to enjoy life, spending time with friends/family (and wanting to take care of others) and of course, real food…not too much, just enough to enjoy it, feel fueled and nourished and feel satisfied. It's not gluten-free, paleo or these others diets that Karel's niece had never heard of, but instead, it's the lifestyle of moving your body and feeling good about the food you put into your body (and not worrying about what others are doing or not doing).

 Sorry - I digress.

After our morning adventure, Karel and I went to his mom’s to change quickly for we were about to take a bike ride to Austria!!!

Karel’s old cycling buddy, Jirka, invited us for a ride on his “lunch break” since many of the business shut down for lunch. Another one of Jirka’s friends joined us and I was thrilled that he could speak a little English.

So excited for a bike ride of a lifetime, we rode ~10K and crossed the Austria border! It was around 12:30pm when we started but I’ve completely lost track of time here in Czech as Karel is keeping me incredibly busy and on my toes (love it!). And I thought Czech was beautiful, the scenery in Austria was gorgeous! I just couldn’t believe my eyes and I couldn’t stop taking pictures while riding. I am happy that my bike handling skills have improved over the years for this ride offered many new experiences for me such as riding through small towns with small roads and cars zipping buy (although they don’t seem to mind cyclists), signs which I couldn’t understand and thus had no idea where we were going, riding on cobblestones and riding on a few rollers (Very smooth roads outside of the towns).

When we arrived to Retz, Austria we took a few pics and then, why not…let’s have a cappuccino! Coffee drinking is much different than in America..it’s not coffee, it’s the culture of drinking coffee. Seeing that I normally have 1-2 cups a day (before and after my morning workout or in the morning), I don’t ever do “energy” drinks or afternoon coffee pick-me-ups. But here, there are no paper cups or weak coffee beans that require loads of sugar and sweeteners to provide flavor. It’s 2-3 ounces of strong coffee that must be consumed slowly and it is hard to not enjoy it. Of course, I am use to this because I have lived with a European in America for the past 6.5 years so it is something that I welcomed but had not yet appreciated until I came to Europe.

After coffee, we headed up a climb on cobblestones (nervous at first but I did just fine thanks to Karel giving me pointers as to not ride slow as I needed to keep my momentum riding up the climb) and then up a windy, smooth road to see a beautiful windmill on the top of a hill which overlooked the city. Talk about a priceless opportunity in life while doing what Karel and I love to do….and how we met, on our bikes!

After a few more pics, we climbed a bit more and then had  a fast, fun descend on a smooth open two lane road back to Retz and then we made our way back to Znojmo. Although the total ride was around 25 miles and the way there was rather casual, the guys picked it up on the way back and with the wind blowing strong in the open fields, I had a nice workout on the way home by drafting with the guys pulling away.

After the ride, it was nearing 2:45pm and we had yet to eat lunch so to no surprise, Karel’s mom had lunch ready for us (from earlier since we missed it)…fried cheese and homemade mashed potatoes! Karel had been telling me about the Smažak for a while and it reminded me of mozzarella sticks…but of course, so much better as it was prepared by Karel’s mom and served in the perfect portion as I could have eaten so much more but Karel and I always eat until we are satisfied (in other words, we could eat a few more bites but we stop before). And here in Czech, Karel keeps reminding me you don’t want to eat until you are full because you never know when someone will have more food for you J What a great thought as many people eat until they have eaten one too many bites and thus, feel uncomfortable and regret that last bite (or 5).

We rested for about an hour and then Karel’s niece (from his sister who passed away in 2001) and her husband came over to take us to a trip to Vienna!!

All new news to me, I was so super excited when she told me where we were going in the car. It was ~80K to Vienna from Karel’s home and when we pulled off the interstate to downtown Vienna, I “wow’d” once again. Oh wow – so beautiful!! You could just feel the history between the buildings and on the streets. Oh and those streets were super bike/runner friendly (and in-line skating). We had coffee at one of the most famous café’s in Vienna called Landtmann along with a pre dinner dessert. The atmosphere was amazing with people just socializing after work, drinking coffee, enjoying a small dessert, reading newspapers and just enjoying talking to one another (minimal cell phone use). After a once in a lifetime experience in Vienna, we drove around the city before heading to another small city about 80K away for dinner. Karel’s niece is a vegetarian as well and she was excited to take me to my first restaurant meal in Czech….well, not exactly a Czech meal.

The restaurant Schickh was in Austria so the menu was in German and the waitress also spoke German (and a little English). Nothing new, I relied on others to choose for me as Karel’s niece Jitka read the German menu, translated Czech to Karel (she also speaks English but it was much easier for Karel to find something for me as he knows what I like to eat and also he knows what I may like to try for something new) who then told me what I would be eating. Talk about a new experience on a whole new level!!

For starters, the beautiful bread basket came and seeing that it was around 8:15pm, we welcomed the variety of fresh bread along with the fresh veggies and chive dip that also came with the bread. We also got a bottle of white wine to share. For appetizers, I had a salad w/ fried goat cheese and Karel had a steak Tatar plate. For our entrée, the chef prepared a vegetarian item just for me which included boiled potatoes w/ parsley (no salt added by the chef, I didn’t even have to worry about salty potatoes as he didn’t even feel the need to salt them) along with a full plate of a variety of roasted veggies tossed in olive oil. Karel said that I never have to feel the need to finish my plate and you don’t ask for a “doggy bag” and it is OK to not finish your meal. I wasn’t able to finish my meal so I ate until I was satisfied and I felt really great after I finished (albeit, very tired from a long, busy day). Karel, no surprise, had Schnitzel with potatoes and he loved every bit of it.

As I mentioned before, it was a wow-type of day. All new to me and lots of memories made in Czech (and Austria). I am learning so much about the culture and I am so grateful that I have Karel as my tour guide and that we are staying with Karel’s family. I feel my life has already been changed from this trip and I can’t wait to get back to “work” (Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition) and to change more lifestyles when I return home from Europe. Although I have never been one to read “diet, fitness and health” books written by guru’s and professionals but instead get my knowledge from research and textbooks, I can honestly say that a lot can be said from the experiences you get by living a lifestyle in another country, learning from the locals and addressing the pros and cons in another country in relation to your own. Sometimes you have to be willing to make a change to feel a change and often, those changes can’t be read in a book but instead, through life experiences.

 

Stay tuned for pics from Day 3 as well as a recap of Day 4: traveling to Karel's brother's house in Příbor, CZ , checking out Stramberk and eating LOTS of awesome, delicious, fresh food!

 

Thanks for reading and enjoying the pics on Facebook. I'm happy we can share this journey with everyone in hopes that you can be inspired to live a more balanced healthy and active lifestyle.