WEISSENSEE – full moon party
WEISSENSEE – it does suit me
There wasn’t enough space for my suit i guess. Today was de first edition of this years ‘Alternative Dutch 11-City’s Skating Tour’. We would have loved it if we could have participate. Not the full 200km, but with a bit more training we surely could have skated the 100km. Thanks to my damn injuries the ice unfortunately scared the shit out of me, but i’m pretty sure Leonie could have done it without me. May be next year.
WEISSENSEE – yes or snow
Last week we had a day with rain. I need spare-ribs. We surely had some snow. I need more air. Again we tried some cross-country skiing. I need more Schnitzel. We walked around the lake. I need new knee’s. We skated some more laps. I need a Zamboni. Leonie just went for a thirty kilometer trainings run on ice and snow. I’m off to the ice-track.
I definitely need more Obstler!
Weissensee – no points for glory
I’m pretty sure ice was softer when i was young. Yesterday i tested it myself, but just once. Absolutely not planned though. It’s not possible to avoid all the cracks in the ice, you just hope you get your skate out before you execute a poor version of Swan Lake. Well i certainly smashed it one time. Got a lot of points from the jury but it didn’t compensate my sore right knee and shoulder.
Today we got up a bit earlier to attack the ice again. The trainings schedule was 10 laps and no “dubbele rietbergers”. I have to admit that Leonie was kind of flying on her new skates, I think her motto was, as usual, no guts no glory.
Then in the third lap, just when my muscles didn’t withhold me anymore from the pain of the previous day, i crashed. No way that one had the slightest elegance in it. No points for this one. I quickly jumped up again and went on, like nothing happened.
That overconfidence almost killed me in the seventh lap. Technical smooth and like a feather i was swinging the ice when one of the thousand cracks got my right skate. My skate stopped, my ankle protested but luckely didn’t snap. At that moment my body had not yet reached the ice. A split second later i made contact, the mass of ice protested immediately with a dark rumble. My ribs also protested immediately, but no time to waist. We still had two and a half laps to go.
After we achieved this goal for the day, we stopped for a quick lunch. ‘Wienerschnitzel’ and ‘Goulashsuppe’. We had another plan for the afternoon and it’s very important to boost the energy levels with appropriate food. We went cross-country skiing on the little practice trail. My body screamed don’t do it, but I was probably very busy at that moment, didn’t hear anything.
After we discovered how to fasten the shoes to the ski’s we started carefully. Some 45 years ago we stood for the last time on this small creepy ski’s, so what could go wrong. Leonie had a slow start but passed me soon and went up that little hill. I tried to follow, but somehow my arm didn’t cooperate. My bruised ribs, sour knee, ankle and shoulder protested, screaming big idiot, try and act normal for once, please. I had to listen, so i turned around and faced the slope going downhill. You probably guess what happened. I lost control completely and smashed sideway’s in the icy snow. I remembered snow as soft, but that could have been in earlier years. And it probably also helps if you don’t land with your hip on your own ski’s. I couldn’t get up, but somehow managed to loosen my shoes and walked down the slope back to start of the trail. Leonie finished the trail a few seconds later and we decided to call it a day.
Tomorrow we plan a rest day. Leonie starts runnings early in the morning, joins me on the ice later and may be we try some cross-country skiing in the afternoon. I think there is only one problem, how do i get out of bed tomorrow morning?
WEISSENSEE – SKATING
I have figured out why this lake is named Weissensee. But I think nobody cares, so forget about it.
Today we skated on a part of this frozen lake, skated for the first time here, for the first time on our new skates and for me for the first time since the seventh century. But it all went well. Surely our lap times could be better but who knows what’s to come the next days.
to go or not to go-box
First we thought let’s just buy a ‘cheap vignette’ for the roads in Austria. I knew that wouldn’t be ok and then the guy also told us we definitely need a GO-BOX because of the weight of our 4wheelmachine. You can buy them at every gas station near the Austrian border, nothing to worry, just buy one tomorrow, he said.
But it didn’t feel good, so we went off the ‘Autobahn’ again for a quick stop and the Box. Quick stop my arse. At first i drove into the ‘little car’ parking area which was completely full with cars and friendly waving people. After that we found the entrance to the ‘big car’ area which was also completely full. There were way to many trucks and people everywhere. We decided to give it a shot the next day.
We started early, it was slightly snowing, we had coffee, what could possibly go wrong? Well nothing went wrong, just a normal day at the office. At the first petrol station the manager had a day off, at the second adres the BOX was strangely sold out, at the third stop within 45 minutes and 30 kilometers, the friendly employee told us we had to drive just 500 meter further. We stopped at the last station before the border and the controlsystems.
‘Servus’, said the lady at the desk, ‘Wo mit kann Ich dir denn helfen Bubilein?’ Assuming the ‘Schnuggelpuppe’ was talking to me at that moment, i kindly asked her if i was on the right spot to buy a GO-BOX. Standing underneath a big green sign with GO-BOX on it made me look a bit like a complete moron, but the nice lady was just smiling and started talking a lot of south-German words. I quickly responded with some euro’s and a registration certificate and prayed to Franz Beckenbauer that would be what she was asking for. It was. I could hardly believe it. I made it.
We put the f*&^%%^cking thing on the right place at the windscreen and off we went, finally. Austria, Grüss Gott.
Update: Today i managed to login to my Go-account, already after the third round of new passwords. I noticed already 55 euro’s were missing and now there’s not enough left for our way back. I’m not even thinking about the amount of money i had to pay for Toll and tunnel, i’m just wondering why I can’t upgrade my credits. It seems to be a sort of Prepaid account and the only way to put money on is at a ………. . Now i’m getting nervous already, will we find the right petrol station in time?
long story, short version
We left the south of Spain. We left the north of Spain. We left the south of France. We’re in the north of France. Tomorrow we’re leaving the north of France into the south of Belgium. Then through the north of Belgium into the South of Netherland and up to the north. That’s quite simple innit?
Time for new plans. Stay tuned 😉
the dude
Today we went up The Rock ‘Gibraltar’ with the cable car and walked back and forth and up en down to see as much as we could. I have to admit it’s cool. We had beautiful sunny weather and the views from the top were really stunning. The history, caves, tunnels and monkeys are also worth it. No doubt about that.
But for me was this moment absolutely the highlight of the day. I took a serie of pictures of this monkey and every time i pressed the shutter he started scratching his balls. The dude didn’t move a muscle in his face. My Gibraltar Hero!
