Last day of September, Amazing Race over.
Sis travels on to Salzburg. ‘Sound of Music’ tour. Julie Andrews spinning in the Austrian meadows. Edelweiss, edelweiss… For me – head scarfs & pierogi. Journey home begins.
Ukraine Air bargain: $310 Vienna-Kiev-New York.
Exit row seats. Double the Eastern Bloc meal plan. [Misunderstood UIA’s website & purchased a ‘bonus’ dinner every flight. Pierogi, rice pudding & knish. Double portions please. LOL>]
Long transatlantic flight with four English-language movies.
Long 5-hour layover at JFK, NYC’s mothership (Delta Air to Denver).
22 hours later… Touchdown Colorado. Reunited with Pup 🐾
OCTOBER. First day of a new month. New tales, new adventure.
Home, sweet Colorado HOME ❤️
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- $310 bargain
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- Welcome to Kyiv 🇺🇦
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- pierogi ‘bonus box’
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- FOREVER memory ❤️
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- Sis’ Filimin colour – she’s BACK!
Vienna – Kiev – NYC
Hillside vineyards, alpine meadows & die river Danube. Race DAY!
10k, Half & 42k distance. Sis & I would wait an hour to board a marathon bus to Emmersdorf. Rest of the trip family, an 8am start. WhatsApp pics started flooding our phones by mile 12. Family showered & beautiful by the Wonder Twins’ afternoon finish.
High sun, skies warming. Edelweiss AND fish-on-a-stick. Pre-race FISH? PipiBox – check. Kleider bus ‘bag drop’ – check, check. Last to-do’s to-done. Run ready.
Fünf, vier, drei, zwei, eins. Go, go, go!
Keep the heart rate down. Gonna get warm today. Steady even pace.
5k bike-path loop ’round Emmersdorf before darting on Austria’s B 3 river-road (Donau Bundesstraße). Easy flat course – not a Boston qualifier, but a PR for many. Road-run exposed/open to traffic. Comfortable temps early, didn’t overheat ‘til 2 hours in.
Mile 10. PipiBox queue. Managed a legit washroom for Sis at the Fire House (3 semesters of college German/I can talk toilet). Sie ist mein Schwester. LOL> Short, quick stop — oompah oompah accordion music — & on our way. Danke, viel danke.
Where are you from? Colorado, always. Folks know the Rockies. Generally takes politics outta the conversation. One officer wanted to Trump-jabber. No sprechen sie. Danke 😊
Town tour of Spitz. Waved to boats on the Donau. Whatta experience!
Mile 20. Head demons, got quiet, went dark. Notta warm weather runner. Sis tried but even Pollyanna couldn’t quell the Kraken. Was throwing water cups by 23. Took a walk break. Helped turn the frown upside down. Easy walk/jog pace last 2k into Krems.
Could hear German now, half-mile to Finish. push, PUSH, push. SEVEN on holiday, SEVEN wore medals. Well done, us! Check & done. AUSTRIA! Two kids from Possum Holler – look at us now, Ma! ❤️
Train transfer back, my Amazing Race ended. Airport hotel, flight home 5am early.
First Stop: Ukraine. Fingers crossed. Europe on a Budget.
22. Int. WACHAUmarathon 2019
Ergebnisliste Marathon – 42.195m
2019-09-29
8835 Haga Keenan USA Colorado 2:21:53 4:53:57
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- marathon START
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- FISH on a STICK
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- Aggstein Castle
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- Danube cruise
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- Wehrkirche St. Michael
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- Weißenkirchen
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- Fire House relief
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- Pipi Box 💩
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- Wachau Valley wine
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- die Wonder Twins
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- last 2k into Krems
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- push, PUSH, push
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- alpine FINISH
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- SEVEN medals 🥇
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- thanks Sis ❤️
Wachau Marathon
Nächster Halt: St. Pölten Hbf
Fast jog on the platform, down steps/up steps, across tracks, next train awaiting.
Day start in Vienna. Van to Hauptbahnhof, train travel west to Krems (via St. Pölten Station).
Run-weather arrived day early. Cooler temps, misty rain. Taxi UP UP to Steigenberger Spa, our pre-race digs. Mountainside resort. Hot tub, pool, fancy robes & slippers – Sis did us right.
Retracked down to Town Centre. Pasta lunch, my second Wachau EXPO this trip (Vienna 3 days prior), then a scenic walk-about UP UP UP past cathedrals, vacation villas & hillside vineyards. Weingut (the local word). And a lot of ‘em. Packet pick-up included 2 BOTTLES of white.
SPA DAY. Indoor swim, sauna, outdoor tub. R-E-L-A-X 😊
Watched an over-achiever trail-run up the vineyard mountainside. Accompanied by a cyclist, far far in the distant. Much more entertaining watchin’/kickin’ back in a tub of warm alpine bubbles. LOL>
Dinner, sleeps, morning marathon. Emmersdorf to Krems, race route an-der-Donau. Flat trek along Europe’s iconic flume. Every day (3 countries, 4 cities) same constant, die river Danube. Perfect!
Tomorrow: 42k in Austria’s Wachau Valley. YODEL on!
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- next stop: St. Pölten
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- apricot crêpe – YUM!
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- post-EXPO LUNCH
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- Dreifaltigkeitssäule
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- Piarist Church
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- 11th-century Melk Abbey
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- Justizanstalt Stein (prisoner names, weird but true)
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- race FINISH
…meanwhile in Colorado
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- Fall HIKE 🍂
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- autumn COLOUR
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- Grandpup Marty
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- mountain LOVE ❤️
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- pup with ROVER family
Wachau EXPO (Krems)
