10 tips for surviving your first sprint triathlon

Earlier in the Spring, I thought July 8 would never come (and sometimes I secretly hoped it would never come), but the weekend of the triathlon in Susz was finally here, and we were as ready as we ever were going to be.  We did a lot of training and made a lot of friends along the way, and overall it was a very fun experience.  I managed to survive, with minimal damage, so I thought I'd share some tips for you, if you ever decide to enter a triathlon. 

1. Learn how to spell triathlon
One important thing I learned during this training is how to spell triathlon.  I used to spell it "triathalon", but that's how you know if someone has done one before.  Learning to spell it is part of the training. Real triathlonesians know. Don't be fooled by the imposters.  

2. Bring friends

No triathlon (or triathalon) is complete without the support of your friends, whether it be during training or during the event itself (or the peer pressure to sign up in the first place).  In total, there were 23 of us from WITC who went to Susz, 17 who raced.  A couple of the guys did the half-Ironman (1.9 km swim, 90 km bike, 21.1 km run), but most of us did the sprint (750 m swim, 20 km bike, 5 km run). I can't say enough about how great it was to have the non-racers there to support us, hand us drinks during the race, take embarrassing pictures of us, remind us to take off our wetsuits, and yell at us to hurry up.  It made it much easier to finish with a smile on our faces.

 

WITC in Susz

 

WITC cheering on Grzegorz in the half-iron

3. Plan ahead, but be flexible (it's Poland, afterall)
A couple of the girls arranged the logistics for the trip, which made everything much easier for the rest of us.  Most of us stayed in a hotel-resort on a lake and we organized a van to take the bikes.  Of course the hotel was extremely rude and unaccommodating and the van was in an accident before we even got it so we had to find another one. The back-up van looked like a pizza or ice cream delivery truck.  Sadly it didn't come with pizza or ice cream inside. 

Our back-up bike transport

Our hotel was called Cykada, in Siemiany, about 30 minutes from the race site.  It was a nice place, on a lake with a big outdoor bar next door.  It had everything you could want from a lake-side resort, except for nice service.  The lady was really nasty and didn't do anything to accommodate our large group, which was taking up half of the hotel. I guess they don't understand the concept of customer service, especially when they're bringing in so much money.  Every time we asked for something (certain breakfast hours, a dinner reservation, etc), they groaned like we were asking them to enter a triathlon, and then complained that we were making life hard on them.  Hey lady, you're a hotel, you're supposed to do things for the customers.  That's why we gave you money!

4. Watch before you race
On Saturday morning we got up to go cheer on the half-Ironman guys in their race.  Stan, Grzegorz and Luca all finished in under 6 hours, even though Grzegroz who took a nasty fall high-fiving kids while on his bike.  That's a rock-star triathloner for you, high-fiving fans on a bike (but I guess it's the last time he does it). It was very impressive watching everyone compete...I wish I could be as strong in the race as some of these guys.  There was lots of cheering, moving around the track to catch glimpses of the guys, and a little bit of relaxing. The best part was being able to see how the transitions went (between the swim and bike, and bike and run) to know better what to expect.

 

After watching the half-ironman, we were all exhausted (yes, from watching)

The next day came pretty quickly.  I think everyone had a bit of nerves, considering it was the first time for everyone not named Ken.  Lizzy, Cristina, Kasia, Mark, Hans and Ken went in first group (for ladies and old people). It was really exciting to watch and cheer, but I got nervous sitting there and waiting! Their performances were very inspiring though, as everyone did an AMAZING job.

Watching the morning group start their swim

5. Eat, drink, and be boring
As with any big athletic event, it's important to eat well and stay hydrated.  I don't know if we really ate ideal food for a triathlon (Polish food + junk food during the car ride), but Powerade and water were pretty standard.  And surprisingly, there were only a few beers consumed during the weekend (only a few because Mark was on medication and wasn't allowed).  We didn't really do anything at night, as we were all tired and needed rest for the races. The weather on the first day was really hot and draining, so afterwards, we went back to hotel to swim, relax, and hydrate.  When we first signed up, I was worried about all-night parties the weekend of the race, but thankfully we were all really tame. 

6. Take your time on the swim (and don't get kicked in the balls)
The biggest lesson I learned was to protect your nuts during the swim.  The race started quickly and before I knew it, I found myself stuck in a pile of body parts and neoprene, just trying to take one normal swimming stroke.  We were so packed together that arms got tangled, goggles were getting knocked off, and someone kept hitting my butt with their hand (on every stroke, as if they thought they were actually putting their hand in the water, and not in my butt crack).  I was totally disoriented because of all the violence.  It was like swimming between 100 Igorses and Grzegorzes, arms and legs flying everywhere with reckless abandon.  People were grabbing my ass, hitting my face, pushing me forward (yessss) and pulling me down (noooooo).  I had to stop a couple times because mentally I wasn't ready for the craziness, and physically I couldn't breathe.  I started to hyperventilate while trying to frantically swim to open space to avoid the packs.  Then to top it all off, someone's heel firmly met my groinal area, and I physically couldn't move. I had to float on my back for a while, while my "buddies" recovered, but had to also move to avoid the swimmers coming up from behind me. I ended up finishing the swim in under 19 minutes, which was OK, but I expected to be a couple minutes faster, considering I swam 1 km in 19 minutes in a warm-up race.

 

When there are this many people swimming at the same time...

 
...it's hard not to get kicked in the balls


But here we go!

7. Bike for show, run for dough (or something like that)
The weather on the day of the race was perfect, warm enough to dry off after the swim, but not as hot as the day before, so we didn't dehydrate too much. Plus, the protective cloud layer kept us cool for most of the bike and run. 

The transition from swim to bike was fine for me, after the initial 30 seconds or so.  I was a bit disoriented, but hearing everyone yelling for me, telling me I was doing great, reminding me I had to take off the wetsuit completely, it was all helpful (I don't remember who it was, but I'm sure someone yelled at me "you have to take it all the way off!" - like I was a stripper). Most times I didn't know where the cheering was coming from, and I felt bad I didn't always acknowledge it, but I guess they understand, because, hey, I'm trying to win a race.  Ok, maybe not win, but finish.  The bike felt good, except the fact that every single person passed me, because I was on my old, super heavy mountain bike. It was a bit demoralizing to see guys with fancy new bikes zoom past me effortlessly, while I'm pushing as hard as I can go just to keep them in my vision. One guy even passed me while riding with no hands on his handlebars, giving himself a lower back massage. Really?  Is that necessary, sir?  I wanted a back massage, but I don't even know how to ride with no hands.  Overall I only passed 2 guys on my bike, but 1 of them passed me back. No wonder people make the investment in the nice road bikes for these things.

My bike waiting for me in the transition zone

On the run I felt the strongest. I usually hate running but my legs felt strong and I was able to pass a lot of people (and the only person to pass me was speedy Andy who runs 5 k in 5 minutes or something insanely fast like that - I shoulda put scorpions in his shoes). One guy even said to me "good job man" (in English) as I passed him, which actually gave me a bit more strength in the last couple km. With about 1 km to go, I lost sight of everyone in front and I knew I wasn't going to be able to catch Andy, Alex or Igors, and noticed there was nobody behind me, so I kinda started cruising.  Then some spectators started yelling at me to get me to go faster.  Those spectators were named Grzegorz and Kasia so I had to listen to them. 

8. Have a reason
I think in order to get through the training or to get through the race, it's good to have a purpose.  Whether it be to raise money for cancer awareness, not wanting to let friends down, or just for your own personal challenge, it's great to remember why we put ourselves through the training for an event like this. Training for the sprint races aren't as difficult as the longer distances, but it still requires some discipline and motivation.    

One thing that stood out to me was when I was watching the bike/run transition area, cheering on my WITC friends in the earlier race, I saw a woman come out of the bike zone, among the leaders through the first 2 legs.  She had a huge smile on her face as she started the run, and then I saw why.  It was because of her motivation.  She stopped running as she came onto the open path, went up to a young disabled man in a wheelchair, gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek, and proceeded to push him in his wheelchair for the rest of the race. I blame the adrenaline and nerves at the time, but I almost shed a tear as the guy in the chair clapped and waved to the spectators along the path cheering excitedly for them.  Alan was next to me, and I had to hide my eyes from him (they were wet because someone was cutting onions and blowing dust in my eyes.  I mean, seriously, who cuts onions during the triathlon?).

9. Give back to the fans
I can't say how awesome it was to have so much support from everyone cheering at various spots on the course, handing us drinks and even running with us for a short distance. It's so great to hear it and it keeps you going.  Everyone was spread out in various spots so it made it a lot of fun to look for the next person.

Along the bike route there were always random families of farmers, kilometers away from the next closest house (or person), sitting on lawn chairs on the side of the road, with beers or sodas in one hand, wearing straw hats, chewing on pieces of grass, cheering for everyone passing by. I might have made up the part about straw hats and grass, but it was still cool to see them cheering for us like we were old friends.  I might have been the only Asian person in the entire race, so I like to think they cheered extra loud for the guy who looked different. I smiled and waved to them extra hard on each lap.

 

Japanese tourist says "Peace to all my fans!"

Then, during the run, coming around to the finish line, the route ends with a stretch of about 100 meters inside a set of bleachers. All the kids in the bleachers were sticking out their hands for high-fives and of course I had to please my fans. I high-fived at least a dozen kids, slowing down so I didn't miss anyone. I had to use both hands for some of the groups, because there were so many hands reaching out for mine.  I got a bit caught up in my celebrity moment and nearly forgot I still had to finish the race.  I heard someone in the stands yell "szybko!" (quickly!) and I turned to see another competitor coming up from behind.  He was an older guy, so I didn't want to lose to him!  I resisted beating my chest like Usain Bolt as I crossed the finish line a few seconds before him.  That's when Cristina took this very flattering picture of me.

I'm glad I beat that old man behind me

10. Do it again
Uhh, we'll see about that.

Once I crossed the finish line, I saw my team waiting and cheering (which means I wasn't first). Hugs were shared, everyone looking exhausted but with great smiles of achievement. "We're glad we did it, we're glad it's over." Of course the first question was "Anyone for another? Maybe Olympic distance?" A few have already signed up for another one, but I'll wait until I forget how much I hated the swim before I say yes again.

I can't say I'll definitely do another one, or that I definitely won't, but I still re-enact the race thinking how I could improve.  A part of me wants to prove to myself that I can do better, especially in the swim and bike.  Plus, there is such a nice feeling about the experience itself.  There is now some bond between all of us who raced together, and supported each other.  There was some competitiveness between everyone leading up to the race, teasing each other on how we'd sabatoge each others' bikes and feed each other laxatives before the race (or maybe that was just me), but in the end, everyone was so supportive and proud of each other.  It would be great to experience that again.

We got shiny medals, so it was worth it

Out of everyone that did the sprint, the fastest in our group was Ken (a 6 time veteran), and I was able to finish in a respectable 1:31.03 (188th out of 308 participants, or 114th out of 177 in my category). 4 or 5 other guys in WITC finished before me, so they all had very good races.  My swim ranked 89th out of 177, so not bad, but I expected to be better.  The bike of 44:09 was 154th (ouch!) because my slick tires couldn't overcome the heavy bike frame as much as I hoped, plus I was not in good biking shape.  Finally the run/hi-five time of 23:36 was 66th.  My transitions were pretty quick, considering it was my first time, but overall, everything could have been better.  Just to give you an idea, the fastest guy in our category was 59:27 and the slowest was 1:48:22.

So maybe the thought of improvement is enough to get me to do it again.  We shall see...

Tricked into a triathlon?

Who would actually WANT to do a triathlon?  I mean, who wants to train for it, who wants to feel pain through it, and who actually finds running fun?

Those were my thoughts a couple months ago, before I even felt the slightest desire to complete a triathlon.  It just didn't sound fun to me. Not even the short sprint version. 

So instead of signing up for the triathlon with my friends from the Warsaw International Triathlon Club, I just wanted to swim and run "socially" with the group. But of course, during our 8-10 km runs, Grzegorz talked to me like I was crazy for not thinking that swimming a million miles and running 2 million miles was fun.  But after a bit of convincing by a few people, I signed up for the sprint triathlon in Susz (a small town a few hours away from Warsaw).  It was probably a combination of going on weekend trips with Ken, getting sick of him starting every conversation with "When we do the triathlon in Susz..." "Ken, I'm not doing it".  "Oh, that's right, but when we do the triathlon in Susz...." and Grzegorz brain washing me into thinking that triathlons and marathons are the best thing ever.  Mostly I signed up just to get them to shut up and stop asking me (no offense guys).

 

WITC after a race

WITC was formed by Ken to get us all to be active in the 3 activities, and during the year, several members of the group sign up for various races (10ks, half-marathons, marathons, etc).  We get together a couple times per week to swim, run, or bike, in a social and very friendly way.  New people show up each week, and they realize it's more about the social aspect than being hard-core "athletes," as Ken likes to call us.  Somehow, over beers after a swim session, a few people signed up for the Susz sprint tri (750 m swim, 20 km bike, 5 km run), and from there, the participation snowballed.  Apparently it's trendy to sign up for tris.  In the end, about 17 of us entered, a dozen who were "tri-ing" for the first time.  Get it?  Tri-ing.  Like I'm tri-ing to make you laugh.  Maybe?  No?  Ok, so moving on. 

I don't know if you know this, but in order to survive any triathlon, the first step is to be able to swim without drowning.  So, in the winter we started swimming, and a bit later we hired a coach for a few months to help us improve.  Coach Tomek really transformed the way we all swim.  We're still a bunch of amateurs compared to the "masters" that swim in the lane next to us, but we could see major improvements in ourselves. Guys swam freestyle for the first time and some swam more than 50 meters for the first time. We recorded ourselves at various stages, watching the videos over beers every few weeks.  The difference was incredible, as we transformed from frogs to fish (slow fish, but still fish). 

Throughout the spring and early summer we did a lot more training, running, biking, swimming, biking to go swimming, biking to go running, and running to go swimming to go biking (there was also some climbing and cross country skiing thrown in there because we don't like being bored).  It seemed like every day we had something going on, but even so, it was nothing like the things guys doing the full Ironman do.  They swim 2 miles, then bike 100, then run 6 straight uphill marathons, eat breakfast, then do it all over again.  I'm pretty sure those guys have mental issues.

When swim training is followed by a BBQ, we show up

Of course, our training is more social than serious.  We're often chatting and complaining about what Ken and Tomek make us do, but it's all in good fun, and is usually followed by picnics, BBQs, and/or beers.  We were especially motivated to get our workout in during Euro 2012, so we could go watch the games afterwards.  Cousin Karen and Daniel even came running with us once.  On their honeymoon. In Poland. 

Personally, I signed up for a few races to help in my preparation. We did a 10k run on 16 June (I can't believe I write dates like this now, instead of "June 16th"), where I timed at 47:38 minutes.  Even though the time was OK, old guys who looked like they were running in slow motion were passing me.  Nope, that's not discouraging at all.  No wonder I hate running. 

I'm winning!!

The next day was my first open water swim race at the Zalew Cup.  The first race, 200 km, was tough.  It was a combination of first time anxiety, adrenaline, not being able to see in the brown lake water, and having to look up for the buoys for guidance.  I was terribly gassed afterwards, and I seriously doubted I could finish the next 1000 km race. Oops, I meant 1000 m, not 1000 km, but I wanted to see if you were paying attention.  Anyway, we gave it a shot, and I finished in 19:44 min, much faster than I thought I would...probably helped by the wetsuit I bought (who would have thought I'd buy a wetsuit for something I only want to use 1 time ever!). The first place guy finished in 13 minutes.  Wow.  Maybe a different wet suit would get me to go that fast?? (And actually, coach Tomek told me I should get a different one because the one I had was for surfing and created extra drag...so I got a different one, and returned the first one to Decathlon no questions asked...but it still isn't as good as the ones everyone else wears).  At the end of the races there was a "fun" 4 x 100 m relay.  Ken, Maciej, Alex and I entered the race "for fun" against some of the very experienced teams.  Of course we got smoked.  I was the anchor, and by the time I finished, everyone was already changing clothes and the organizers were bringing the bouys in.  Not even my teammates waited for me at the finish line!  Thanks guys. 

Surviving the swim

Maybe Alex would be faster if he wasn't wearing a sweater

After feeling fairly comfortable with the swimming and running races, the next thing to practice was the bike.  I brought my mountain bike with me from the US, but it's been protecting my storage room since I got here (which is exactly what it did in California). It even had a lock stuck to it from about 5 years ago, because I forgot the combo.  Needless to say, it had been a few years since I even sat on it, and the bike needed some work.  One benefit of the WITC is that we get some discounts at some local sports shops, and the bike shop Sklep Rowerowy gave me 10-12% off everything (although they told me they would have done it for me even if I wasn't in WITC).  I got a tune-up, slick tires to help me on the roads, new tubes, and a new computer for 400 zl.  I didn't want to race with my mountain bike tires, because that would be like riding one-legged on a sandy beach compared to the high-tech road bikes most triathletes have (but even with the slicks, I found out it's still much slower because my bike weighs 2 tons).

We did a bit of bike training over the next week or so, but to be honest, that's the part I was worried about the most.  Not because I couldn't do 20 km, but because I couldn't do it at the pace I wanted to.  20 km in the tri will take me 45 minutes-ish, so being able to pedal 2 or 3 or 4 kmph faster over the course of that would shave off a few valuable minutes.  My legs and bike just weren't in shape for that yet.

WITC on wheels

Some other fun tidbits from our training:
- On the St. Patty's day training run, I lost my apartment key and that day turned into a big, painful adventure
- Coach Tomek always makes fun of me, by mimicking how I can't rotate my head very far to breathe correctly
- Riding my bike back home after getting new tires meant I had to carry my old tires home too...it wasn't easy to ride with giant mountain bike tires hanging off the handle bars hitting my knees with every pedal.
- A lot of guys playfully talked about how we'd sabotage each other during the race to try to beat each other. We all wanted to win, but the great part about it is that even though we joked about it, we were all 100% supportive and encouraging of each other when it came down to the race.  So I decided not to put nails in Ken's tires, scorpions in Andy's shoes or Icy Hot in Igors' wetsuit (not this time at least).  
- Maybe the "worst" part is not going out the night before a training day, to make sure I got the most out of it...some of the guys can go out all night and still do the training, but I'm too old for that.

A couple days before the race we met with some experienced triathletes (Ken, Coach Tomek, and a couple others) and they went through a list of things we need to remember, especially during the transitions.  They told us things like "take off your shoes before you get off the bike to save time", "stretch your legs while riding by putting one of your feet on your seat and leaning backwards", and "buy quick tie shoelaces so you don't spend time tying them".  I mean really, they are talking about things that save 5-10 seconds, which can be helpful if you are really competitive and aren't just trying to not die (like me).  I was more concerned about things like not drowning, taking the wetsuit off without having to cut it off, how to remember where I left my bike, and which direction to run.  Instead of worrying about seconds-saving tips, I was focused on just remembering to put on my pants, shoes, shirt, number, and helmet on after the swim (in that order).  Anyway, it helped to talk about it, and we felt ready.  We got into the cars on Friday night and were on our way...at this point there was no turning back!

Race day results coming soon! (spoiler alert: I didn't die during the race)

Amazin' Croatian vacation, part 2 (Hvar and Dubrovnik)

See here  for Part 1 of my trip to Croatia.

In general, I thought that the coast of Croatia would be like the California or Oregon coast as far as scenery, and it's definitely similar.  Even though we Americans might assume Croatia is nicer, just because it's more exotic and far away from California, the west coast of the US is quite impressive.  But regardless of whether or not it is more "scenic", the Croatian coast was probably more fun.  There was something about the combination of islands, boats, the bluer water, the medieval cities, and even the colors of the roofs that made this one of the most beautiful places I've seen.

Hvar Town and the neighboring islands from above

Coast of Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik through a peep hole

  
Besides Split, Bol, and Hvar, we also wanted to stop in Montenegro, Korcula, Mljet and Vis (and many other places), but we didn't have enough time.  Due to the ferry schedules, it wasn't easy to fit it all in. It actually would have been better to try to do some day trips from Dubrovnik, Split, or Hvar, rather than try to move from one to the next to the next with all our stuff.  But we didn't, so we were flexible and stayed in Hvar a couple more nights than we originally planned.  We didn't mind, because Hvar was the most fun out of them all.

Hvar
In Hvar's Villa Marija we had a 3 bed "apartment" (3 beds, not 3 bedrooms). We had our own kitchen and bathroom, with a balcony that overlooked the main terrace of the hostel. In this hostel it was pretty easy to meet other travelers.  The boss's son, Ivan, made an effort to get everyone to socialize, and Marija brought us all drinks, snacks and encouraged everyone to go out to the bars together (I guess to get the noisy, drunk people away from the hostel).  Ivan's friend was a bartender at Nautica bar, so we got free shots and cheap drinks every time we went there.  Which was all 4 nights.  At the legendary Carpe Diem club, drinks were $10, but at Nautica it was about $4 for the same thing. So clearly I preferred Nautica.  One night Mike and Patty slept early so I went out with the others from the hostel I met that evening. I'm not gonna lie, it was little like Spring Break.

The next morning we decided to rent a small motor boat and explore some of the neighboring islands and beaches. Someone at the hostel told us about how great it was so we thought we'd give it a try.  As he was telling us about this, we noticed that he had sea urchin spines sticking out of his foot, and he was too drunk to do anything about it.  After considering whether or not it would be a good idea to trust a drunk guy with sea urchin spines sticking out of his foot, we decided we still had faith in his judgement of boat rides around Croatian islands.  I mean, it's hard to go wrong there.  The next day, as we walked down to the harbor to find a boat, a guy laying on a bench under a tree called out to us casually "hey wanna rent a boat?"  Normally, we'd run away and ignore this type of offer, but because all salesmen are so un-pushy and un-sketchy, we decided to at least hear him out.  The guy was like "sure, rent from me if you want, the boat is right there, but if you don't want to, no big deal, enjoy your day!"  So strange (but awesome).  The price was the same as other guys at the hostel told us they paid, so we decided not to waste any time and took it.  There must be some standard gentleman's agreement on the pricing on these islands for this type of stuff, because nobody tries to under cut other people's prices.  As we were getting into the boat, we saw the 3 Canadian girls we met on the catamaran the prior day, who we convinced to also stay at the hostel, so we invited them to join us.  Laura, Elaine and Mary were a funny and chatty group of girls, and it was strange to think we only met them the day before because we got along so well. We spent the whole day driving the boat around, laying on various beaches and enjoying some nice Croatian beverages. It was perfect weather and a perfect day. It was definitely my favorite day so far, and the boat was only about $50 for the whole day, in total.

I'm on a boat!

One of the bars had little tree houses to relax in

Since we didn't have a set plan when we arrived in Hvar, we only booked the hostel for 2 nights.  After we decided to stay in Hvar for longer, we found out we couldn't stay at Marija's anymore, because of a big group of high school kids were coming in (which, contrary to what you might believe, meant we wanted to get away anyway).  A lot of others were also trying to extend their stays, so Marija and Ivan helped everyone find hostels nearby.  We ended up at a hostel down the street, Luka's Lodge. We had thought about staying there in the first place, so it was nice to check it out.  However, we felt a bit like outsiders at Luka's, since we had already met so many people at Marija's, so we weren't as social.  It was like moving to a new school in the middle of the year, and having to make new friends all over again.  I don't think we were in the mood for it.  Luka's was a nice place (and he was a very nice guy), but Marija's felt more comfortable.

On the next day, we hiked up to a fortress that overlooks Hvar Town.  We relaxed a lot, went to Hula Hula bar on the far side of the beach for lunch, sitting on a dock in the perfect weather. We tried to go to the Blue Caves, but couldn't due to bad tides. I guess it's nice to have that to do next time (I'm collecting reasons to go back!).  We spent the evening watching old rap videos on Youtube and drinking in our room, just like we were college kids living in a dorm with not a care or responsibility in the world.  The high school kids were probably doing that over at Marija's too. 

From above Hvar

For dinner we went to Dalmatino's, where I had a truffle steak, which my friend May recommended.  It was really good...I didn't even know if I liked truffles (I still don't know what exactly the truffle flavor was), but it was worth the price.  The spaghetti was also really good. Besides the seafood in Croatia, it seems like the most common dishes are Italian (I guess because Italy is just across the sea).  And you know I could eat Italian Italian food every day of my life.

With no real plan the next day, we rented boats again with a few others from Marija's; twins from Montreal (Charlotte and Marie) and a girl from Eugene, Oregon (Molly). Mike and Patty liked Molly because she was a Duck fan (I was outnumbered!).  The water was a bit more rough that day, so we went on a different route, but it was a lot of fun again. We found a bar with a water trampoline and of course took jumping pictures.  We also had little adventure when I got the anchor stuck in a concrete slab under the water and spent 15 minutes maneuvering the boat around while everyone watched. Then Mike dove in and tried to dislodge it from under water, which was like watching a Navy Seal rescue us from disaster.  We relaxed, got more sun, and ate our packed lunch. The girls were all in college still, so it made me feel young again (or maybe it made me feel old, I can't decide).  During our jumping pictures Patty's foot brushed a sea urchin, and it left her some nice take-home souvenirs.  She couldn't get all the spines out, so we read that she should soak her foot every day, and the spines would eventually push themselves out, or dissolve completely over time.  Hopefully they're out by now, because that would be gross if they were still there!

Our private little floating trampoline

Mike and Patty had a date-night on the last night in Hvar (I suppose after 10 days together, they should get at least one night without me).  The next morning we woke up to take the catamaran to Split (1 hour), where we caught the bus to Dubrovnik (4.5 hours).  Molly, the girl from Eugene, was also going to Dubrovnik, so we traveled together. It's funny how you can quickly become "friends" with strangers when traveling and you look after each other, even though you don't really know if the other person is an axe murderer or a crazy person. For the record, I don't think Molly is either of those things. I know this because we are friends on Facebook. 

There are only certain days that you can take a ferry straight from Hvar to Dubrovnik and that day wasn't one of them, so we had to do this ferry/bus combo.  It's OK because we stopped in Bosnia on the way, so now I've been in 7 countries with Mike and Patty (Croatia, Bosnia, US, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, England).

Dubrovnik
I was really looking forward to Dubrovnik.  We had a nice apartment (Villa Katarina) with a view of a bay, but a bit far from Old Town. It seems that there aren't too many places to stay actually in the Old Town, so we had to take a bus there (the bus was always filled with tourists).  There were nice walking areas and a beach by our apartment, with several hotels and resorts nearby.  The apartment wasn't "cheap", but it was a nice place. The taxi from the bus station was $12 and to Old Town was about $10.

To plan our always important culinary experience, Patty found some restaurants on Trip Advisor.  Spaghetteria Toni was our first stop, because we saw people eating pasta and got a craving for it.  This was a really nice dinner for us...and it was one of the cheaper meals of the trip as well.

Dubrovnik's Old Town is probably the most popular tourist spot in all of Croatia.  There is a huge city wall that surrounds the city, which you can walk on top of for some gorgeous views of the city and sea.  It was one of the greatest fortifications in history, never being breached during the Middle Ages (although some was destroyed in the war in 1991).  There are several bars and restaurants located in the narrow, and sometimes steep streets all around the city, inside the huge walls.  It's easy to get lost in this little peninsula on the Adriatic sea, but it's small enough where you can find yourself after just a short time.  The beaches in Dubrovnik were nothing special, and in general, I would say that the beaches and food are better in Hawaii than in Croatia.  But mixing in the medieval history and the many islands all around (and the fact that you don't find sand in your crotch after you leave the beaches in Croatia because it's mostly rocks and pebbles), it might be more interesting overall in Croatia.  It would be nice to spend a little more time in Dubrovnik, to have the opportunity for other day trips to Montenegro, Mljet or Korcula.

We did the city wall tour at 10 am and it was HOT. It cost 70 kuna to enter the wall (with no guide) and we paid 50 more outside for an audio guide. It was nice to learn a bit about the wall and history, but the main attraction is the beauty of the city, the walls, the sea, the hills, the rocks, etc. It was hot so about halfway we stopped listening to the guide and just hid in the shade in between taking pictures. It was getting a bit crowded too, so I'd recommend going as early as you can close to opening (i.e. 8am).

City wall by night

The city wall tour

Playing with color accent

We stopped for lunch at a nice place with the perfect combination of seafood - mussels, shrimp, calamari, and a whole sea bass. The quality wasn't as good as some other places, but I love combo meals and had to get the most out of my remaining meals. Give me a combo meal any day of the week.  The last night we tried to buy some fish to cook at home, but couldn't find any markets in the Old Town.  After we finally found one, it was closed. We almost gave up, until we saw a guy walking around with a plastic bag full of fish and mussels. Patty chased him down to ask where he got them. The market was a few bus stops down the road, so we hopped aboard a bus, found the market and brought home some fish and calamari to cook for dinner. We don't know what kind of fish it was, because Google couldn't translate it, but it was very inexpensive in the shop.  Patty cooked a nice meal for 10 people, even though there were only 3 of us, of fish, squid, pasta and vegetables.  In the end we couldn't eat all the seafood because one of the squid creeped us out.  It came to us with a shrimp still in his mouth! The shrimp head was sticking out, like the alien heads that come out of the human bodies in the movie Aliens.  When we saw it, Mike and I were completely disgusted and couldn't stopped squealing like little pigs (Ok, I squealed, Mike just closed his eyes and shook his head.  I assume he did this because of the squid, not because of my squeeling).  After that I couldn't even look at the squid.  I still get chills down my spine thinking about it, so I refuse to look at the picture.

The prawn riding on the back of the sea bass = delicious

The prawn sticking out of my mouth = not really that gross

The prawn sticking out of the squid's mouth = DISGUSTING!!!

Eventually, our amazing trip to Croatia came to an end, and was followed by a few more days in Poland with Mike and Patty.  It was such a great trip, one of my favorites ever, and the timing was perfect.  I was actually happy to be going home. We ended up spending 14 nights together, and we never actually got sick of each other...at least I didn't get sick of them.  But who knows, maybe they're writing a blog right now about how much they couldn't wait to get rid of me!

I guess they have a few weeks to get over it, because I'll be staying with them in London again for the Olympics in August.  Just please no calamari!

Sunset over an amazing trip...can't wait til next time

Amazin' Croatian vacation, part 1 (Zadar, Plitvice, Split, and Bol)

Ok, I just have to warn you.  My trip to Croatia with Mike and Patty was my longest vacation in years.  We did a lot of stuff and had such a great time, that I can't fit everything into just one blog entry.  I might get lazy and skip some stuff, but you won't notice because you weren't there (too bad for you!).  So, here we go...

Zadar and Plitvice
After my 20 hours in Copenhagen, I met Mike and Patty in Split.  That's the name of a city in Croatia, not slang for "let's get outta here". They had already picked up the rental car after a night where they slept for an hour before their flight from London, and off we went to Zadar.  We stayed in Zadar as a "layover" to Plitvice Lakes the next day.  Our first meal was at a nice outdoor restaurant in the Old Town of fresh seafood (you will hear the same exact description for basically every meal on the entire trip).  I don't think I've ever eaten so much fish and squid as I did in these 12 days. I had squid for 4 out of the first 5 days without realizing it.  Every time we sat down, I'd scan the menu, find myself torn between pasta and squid, and order the squid because I hadn't eaten it in a while (i.e. since the night before).  Only after the 4th time did I realize I was doing it every day (good thing I always take pictures of my food, as it helped me verify this).  Finally, on the last night of the trip, when Patty cooked for us, I finally got tired of it (but that had nothing to do with Patty's great cooking, it was because the squid came with a shrimp head sticking out of it's mouth and it gave me the CREEPS! - you'll see a picture later).

In Zadar we stayed in a big 2 bedroom apartment, very modern with a huge patio space, free wi-fi for me to play games on my iPad, and immediately I thought "I could get used to Croatian apartments!". Then I found out how much we paid for it, and I realized why it was so nice.  I slept on a hammock for the first time ever (just for a nap, not overnight), and got a bit of sun burn (a nice base layer for the trip). Since the guys were so tired, I stuck to my triathlon training schedule and went for a short run while they napped.  The Old City of Zadar was pretty nice.  Not a place where you feel you need to go, but as a layover city, it's "quite nice" (I never used to say "quite nice" but the British-ized Mike and Patty say it, and I started making fun of them...and now I say it "quite" often without realizing it).  Zadar has a funny Sea Organ and a Sun Salutation designed by a Croatian architect, right on the water.  The Organ makes musical sounds as the waves come in, sounding something like singing manatees (if you can imagine that).  It's pretty neat, after you realize what it is.  Otherwise it drives you crazy because you don't know where the sound is coming from.  The sun was setting beautifully on the horizon so we ended the night with some jumping pictures over the sun. Mike was pretty terrible at taking the pictures, so I got a good workout doing them (like 1,000 jumps).  When we finally managed (i.e. Patty took the picture instead of Mike), the people around us started clapping for me (or maybe for Patty).

A lot of work went into the making of this jumping picture

The next morning we left for Plitvice Lakes National Park, one of the many must-sees in Croatia.  The drive from Zadar was about 2 hours, so we arrived some time before lunch.  We did the full park hike in about 5 hours, riding buses and boats around, and stopping to eat our packed lunch on a dock on one of the lakes. There were many nice trails to walk around, from which you can enjoy the millions of different beautiful views.  On each day of the trip I took a "picture of the day" to post on Facebook, but at Plitvice, it was really hard to pick just one picture.  The air smelled clean and wonderful, the water was crystal clear, the birds were chirping happily, waterfalls were flowing everywhere...it was exactly like being in the movie Avatar (because I know exactly what it's like to be in the movie Avatar).  The only difference is that we weren't blue, and that there was no swimming allowed.  I guess that's probably how the water stays so clean.  It's definitely worth a trip if you're in Croatia because of the scenic waterfalls and eerily clear water.  You can see so deep into the water that it made me think of one of the Harry Potter scenes, when he looks into the lake and sees dead bodies, and then faints and falls in (but don't worry, he didn't die...I think Ron saved him).

Definitely go to Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia

We couldn't stop saying "the water is SOOOO CLEAR!" because it really is SOOOO CLEAR!

Waterfalls everywhere

After the park we drove back a few hours to Split.  It was a lot of driving for Chen (I conveniently forgot to bring my driver's license), and Patty and I happily "offered" the front seat to each other, so we could take the back seat and (ahem) rest our eye lids.  It turned out that it didn't matter who was sitting in the back, because we both fell asleep anyway.  I blame my parents for putting me in the car to get me to fall asleep when I was little.  I really can't stay awake as a passenger in a car (or plane, train, ferry, hovercraft, space ship, back of a dragon, etc).

Even though it was only the second day, we already noticed some trends in Croatia.  Most people were very friendly and spoke very good English; all the waiters, toll booth operators, shop assistants, etc.  But even those that didn't speak, tried really hard, rather than speak to us in Croatian, which I'm sure they'd be more comfortable with.  They acted very friendly and made an effort to communicate with a smile on their faces, even if the words didn't come out right.  One lady pulled up along side our car as we were parking and gave us her parking pass that she didn't need anymore.  I guess when you live in a country that relies so heavily on tourism, they make the extra effort to make you feel welcome.  I'm not saying anything bad about Poland, because it's not bad at all, but it would be really nice to have this kind of friendly (almost "American") interaction with people on a daily basis.  Poland doesn't quite have that.

Split and the islands
We only spent one night in Split, but it was a really cool town.  It's right on the water with Diocletian's palace smack in the middle.  It's a maze of narrow streets with a big cathedral, filled with bars and restaurants, with a harbor and several piers filled with boats.  It's a great little hub to hang out in on your way to the islands.  We stayed in a nice place in the middle of the square, steps from the water, in one of the "luxury" places Patty booked for us. When I booked places, I booked cheap hostels.  That night I ordered my first ever whole fish for dinner...and all I got was a whole fish on a plate.  Uhh, can I get some rice or something with that?  Anyway, it was a sea bass, and it was amazing.

Finally we headed to the places we were looking forward to the most: the islands.  We tried to be spontaneous in our route, not planning anything until a day or so in advance.  Patty' personality really wanted to plan things out, and she made a "kinda plan", but we wanted to play it all by ear, to maintain our flexibility.  We headed off to Brac island to a town called Bol.  This is the "sporty" island, as there are lots of different water sports here.  We took a ferry from Split to Supetar (on Brac island), then shared a taxi van with strangers to get to Bol (we thought it was sketchy at first when the taxi drivers suggested we do it, but in the end, like everything else we experienced, it wasn't sketchy at all).  It cost about 50 kuna each ($8.50), which was about the same price as it was to take the public bus anyway.  Our driver was really cool, and not someone who seemed like he was trying to rip us off, as we half-expected to see at these ferry docks.  He also came to Poland for one of the Croatia Euro matches, so we talked about that for a while (he didn't stay with me though).  I really think he drove the taxi to Poland.

A lot of people kite surf off the tip of the Golden Horn

We definitely learned that when traveling between the islands, while it's great to be flexible and spontaneous, you still need to check the ferry schedules ahead of time.  May is a great time to visit Croatia, but because there are fewer crowds, it means the ferries don't run as often.  Sometimes they were every other day, or twice a week, so you have to check when it will be possible to go where you want to go.

We had been spending a lot of money so far (dinners were usually around $30 each, and hotels were around 50 Euros per person).  So luckily we found a 2 bedroom apartment for about 17 Euros per person per night in Bol.  It was "Apartment Mila," named for the woman who lives downstairs (presumably also known as "the owner").  She was super friendly, but didn't speak any English.  She always smiled and waved at us, and we managed to communicate somehow.  Her daughter was often around to speak to us in English when necessary as well.  It was just a short walk down to the center and beach, so the location was good.  For the price, I'd definitely stay there again.  We also noticed lots of signs all over the city showing that people's private apartments were for rent.  I guess you can just walk up to a place with an apartment sign and ask if they have vacancy.  We also saw a few people sitting on the streets or at the ferry and bus stations with signs offering their apartments for rent.  If you're brave and not picky, that's one way to do it.

Bol was definitely the quietest place we visited, in a good way.  There weren't many people on the beaches, and at night, the bars were pretty empty.  I don't even think the streets had street names, it was so small.  We wanted to "go out" one night and found a bar, but the waiter for some reason stopped serving us after a couple drinks (and a couple friendly chats), completely ignoring us, so we lost interest.  Brac is known for its white stone.  Parts of the White House in DC are made with stone from Brac.  Besides the stone, the main industry on Brac is tourism.   The main beach was about 1.5 km down the road, called the Golden Horn.  It's a beach on a peninsula, very pebbly, quiet, and relaxing.  There were tons of boats on the docks, several of which were Polish.  Patty wanted me to use my Polish skills to make friends who could take us on their boats to the next islands.  Basically, that didn't happen.

Enjoying probably the best fries I've ever eaten (really)

At one of the restaurants (Vagabundo), the waiter was super friendly with us. On the day after we ate there, as we were walking by, he called down to us from the balcony to say hi and chat with us.  I was very impressed that he remembered us from the previous night, but also that he cared to even say hello.  The seafood at this place was so fresh, that they only have a certain number of things each day (probably caught by some fisherman down the beach).  We were the first customers that night, and they told us they only had 1 lobster and 2 kg of shrimp in the whole restaurant for the night.  This was the complete opposite of our dining experience in Lviv where the food available was always a surprise!

Squid, polenta and vegetables at Vagabundo

A lot of Italian restaurants in Croatia

One of my main goals while in Croatia was to swim and run at least a little.  I tried to swim in Bol, but after about 25 meters I got too cold and came out of the water.  I guess I can still say I swam "at least a little", but it wasn't too good.  This early in the Croatia season, even though it's great without so many tourists, and the outside air temperature is great, the water temperature is still a bit low.  Well, some guys were swimming, but I guess I didn't want to swim that badly.  Maybe September would be the best for both air and water temperature and a lower number of tourists.

At least I made a couple morning runs in Bol

After 2 weekdays of no work emails, I felt like I was missing out on the world.  However, somehow I managed the entire first week without checking work emails on my Blackberry (I guess that's how vacation is supposed to work, not the way we do it in the US where we're always on call and always checking emails).  Then I ended up checking my emails on the weekend, so that pretty much defeated the purpose of staying away from the work emails during the week.

One of the most mysterious things to me about the Croatian tourism business is that even though they are so highly dependant on it, the sales people are the most un-pushy sales people I've ever seen.  It's like they don't have to push you, because they know if you want it, you'll get it, whether it be a souvenir, a boat rental, or a meal in their restaurant.  It seems that all the sales guys had a pact that they wouldn't undercut anyone else's price...the prices we noticed were consistent across sales people, and the guys couldn't be bothered if you didn't want what they were selling.  In fact some guys would even tell us about cheaper options.  One guy said "my private boat would be 250 Euros, but if you're not in a hurry, you can just take a ferry and bus for much cheaper...like 20 Euros".  What kind of salesmen do that?  It was awesome.  Taxis were super friendly and un-sketchy, we never felt ripped off anywhere, and even when we said "no thanks" to someone, they just smiled, thanked us and wished us a nice day (except one guy who grunted loudly, like an grumpy troll).  One theory is that it was still early in the season so they are all friendly and patient...but by the end of the Summer, they'll all be grumpy trolls.

Relaxing in the Bol harbor

On our last day in Bol, I got a call from the hostel we booked for our next destination, Hvar.  At first I was worried that they were going to give us bad news.  But in fact, the news couldn't have been better.  We planned to take the ferry from Bol to Jelsa (on Hvar island, which was only about $3.50...so cheap!), then to take the bus from Jelsa to Hvar Town, where the hostel was.  Apparently the hostel emailed me to tell me that the bus was not operating yet, because it was still May (everything picks up on June 1), but since I wasn't checking email, I didn't see it.  They decided to call me to tell me they would just pick us up at the Jelsa ferry, 40 kilometers away from the hostel!  And they'd do it for free!  We would have had to take an $80 cab ride, so they saved us from that, without us even asking.  They wouldn't even accept a tip. From this moment, we knew this was an amazing hostel (well, not immediately...moreso after we got over the "is this too good to be true?" phase).  Ivan, the son of Marija (of Villa Marija hostel) , came out to pick us up, drove us back, got us settled, and even gave us some beers, because "it was May and the bar wasn't open til June 1".  I have to say, if you ever stay in Hvar Town, Marija's is the place to be.  We even convinced some Canadian girls on the catamaran to stay at this hostel too, because we loved it so much (before we even got there!).

It's safe to say that the first half of the trip was a great success.  Stay tuned for more about Hvar and Dubrovnik!

Excited to make our way to Hvar!

4 Days in Moscow

I went on a trip to Russia, and nothing bad happened.  That's all I have to say about that.  

Euro 2012

One of the first things I discovered when I decided to move to Poland was that in June 2012, Poland would co-host Euro 2012 (along with Ukraine).  For those of you who don't know, Euro 2012 is the soccer tournament held every 4 years for the European Championship.  This is almost as big as the World Cup, but maybe even more-so for some people, because it brings bragging rights for some European country over each of their rivals. Poland's team normally isn't among the top in Europe, but because they were hosting, they automatically qualified as one of the 16 teams.  Spoiler alert: If you didn't notice, with Spain's victory again this year, they have now won the last 2 Euro championships and the last World Cup.  And they did it this time without my favorite player, David Villa, who was out with an injury.  I guess it's time to give another country a chance next time guys. 

Euro 2012

Fans gathered in the shadow of the Palace of Culture

The tickets to the matches went on sale via a lottery in March 2011 (15 months in advance), and during the first round of ticket sales, nobody that I know won any tickets.  Mike and Patty, Geoff, Brimmer, and a few others all had the idea of visiting me during this time.  In the end only Mike and Patty could come (combined nicely with our trip to Croatia), as well as cousin Karen and her new husband Daniel (as part of their honeymoon...yes a honeymoon that included a stop in Poland).  Geoff decided to go to school, and Brimmer went and had a baby, so they ruined everything and stayed home.

As the event got closer, more tickets went on-sale on the website.  Luckily I found some tickets to the opening match and jumped on them.  Mike was basically willing to pay anything for them, for the experience, as long as I didn't tell Patty how much they were.  The tickets were pretty expensive, and I haven't even paid that much for an American football game in my life (or any other sport for that matter...until the upcoming Olympics in August).  Funny to think that we would spend that much for tickets to a match for a sport we never watch live, to support a country that isn't our own. But I don't regret it one bit. Partly because Chen ended up paying for my ticket, which is ridiculous and I need to pay him back somehow. I ended up getting 4 tickets, as I was sure we could find someone else to join.  And sure enough, another friend in Warsaw, Andy, was happy to pick up the 4th.

Poland's bracket included Greece (opening match), Czech, and coincidentally (or not), their life-long arch rival Russia.  Leading up to the matches you could feel a level of excitement and buzz around the city that I hadn't felt before here.  Places were open later, new bars and restaurants popped up, everything was getting cleaned up, with more English language available.  Infrastructure improved (a little), and the city made a nice transformation because of it.  And of course, the National Stadium in Warsaw was built.

Before, during and after the tournament, there were many more tourists than usual.  Scores of Russians and Greeks and Spaniards and English gathered all over the city showing their national pride through their favorite players' jerseys and draping flags over their shoulders.  It was really great to see so many countries represented.  It was all very cordial and friendly...Russians would pose for pictures with Poles, Greeks with Italians, and the English with French (ok, maybe not English with French).

Mermaids around the city paid tribute to all participating countries (the refs don't call hand-ball on mermaids)

But even more impressive was the pride from the Polish people.  Everyone was in jerseys, with Polish scarves around their necks, even on hot Summer days.  Flags, signs, scarves and jerseys hung in windows, from cars, and bikes. Faces were painted with red and white, and everyone seemed so happy and excited.  This was especially attractive on the female fans, if I'm allowed to say so.  I'm a sucker for female sports fans (fans who are females, not necessarily fans of female sports...but not that I have anything against female sports, of course).  People chanted Polska songs as they walked down the street (this could be annoying when I was trying to sleep).  Even when Poland wasn't playing, people would dress like this.  And even after Poland was eliminated, people would dress like this.  The Polish pride was very inspiring.  Except when they got really drunk, then it became annoying.

On the day of the opening match, we went down to the fan zone to check out the atmosphere before the game.  Well, first we ate pho, because after 2 weeks of seafood in Croatia, we wanted a little variety (and Mike and Patty need their Asian food fix).  The fan zone included several giant TVs, a small section of bleacher seats, booths to buy Euro 2012 memorabilia, some interactive games, kielbasa stands, beer booths, and of course McDonald's.  The McDonald's was built in the middle of the fan zone just for Euro.  The fan zone was fairly empty when we first arrived, with a scorching sun that had us looking for a spot in the shade.  Then, almost instantly, it started pouring rain.  There was no shelter, so we just accepted our fate of wet socks and underwear for the rest of the day. After about 30 minutes of misery, the rain stopped and suddenly the place was packed. Supposedly the fan zone can fit close to 100,000 people, and we could barely move.  So we headed over to the stadium to make sure we caught the opening ceremonies.

We're crazy fans!

Not so crazy fans after the storm

In front of the new National Stadium, the sun came back out

It took almost an hour to finally get to our seat, even though it should only take 30+ minutes to walk there.  At the stadium there was only 1 entrance, on the opposite side of the stadium from the main street.  This was completely puzzling to me.  There were stairs and gates all over the stadium, which made it seem possible to walk in from any side.  But for some reason they only let us in through one of them.  Many people were getting upset with this ridiculous plan (including me), but in the end we got in just in time for the opening.

The opening ceremonies were quite fun, then all of a sudden the game started.  I haven't been to many professional soccer games in my life, so it's always a surprise when they start.  There is ceremonial first pitch, raising of the 12th man flag, mascots running around the field getting the crowd fired up, or any other dilly dallying like in baseball or football. They just start, the clock starts ticking, and after 90 minutes (and a halftime), it's over.  There are no commercial breaks (i.e. chances to go pee), and you can't take your eyes off the field or you might miss the only goal of the game (or someone doing a dramatic flop).

It took a bit of time, but we finally learned some of the chants.  Mostly people just did "Polska! (clap clap clap), Polska! (clap clap clap)" which we could manage, but there were some other cheers I didn't fully understand (although after a month of hearing chants in the street, I have them all memorized).

You have to hold your scarf like this, if you want to be cool

Poland dominated at first (they started all 3 of their games very strong).  I started thinking that it would be an easy game for them to win.  Poland's first goal was incredibly exciting.  The stadium erupted like nothing I've ever heard before.  We all bought scarves and we were jumping around waving them furiously.  There was a massive celebration, but then it all ended before we had a chance to soak it in.  Because of the lack of a commercial break, an extra point, fireworks show, cheerleaders, etc., there wasn't much time to celebrate, and the game started again right away.  I wanted to celebrate more!  Then Greece came back and controlled most of the second half.  They ended up tying 1-1, but only thanks to the Polish back-up goalie making a beautiful save on a penalty kick, after the starting goalie was given a red card for taking out a Greek player in the box.  The tie was satisfying, but we (Poland, duh) had our chances to win.  We just didn't have any cold-blooded goal scorers that countries like Germany, Spain, Portugal and England have.

The crowd crossing the bridge back to the city from the stadium

Karen and Daniel were in town for the second game, against Russia.  The media turned it into some political affair, saying Poland needed to win this battle to remember the fight of 1920 and to make up for all the "losses" to Russia in the past.  Thousands of Russians peacefully marched on the street to the stadium earlier in the day and some Poles took exception to that (mostly because of the media build up). There were a few fights, injuries and arrests.  We didn't see anything bad happen, but I'm sure it got very heated out there in some parts, but I also heard that most of the fighting was actually Pole on Pole.  I was getting word from the US and UK that they heard of riots in the streets, asking me to be careful, but I'm sure this was an example of the media blowing it way out of proportion.

The Russia match was on a Tuesday, so we had a WITC training run that night.  Karen and Daniel came with us to the hill run (I'm sure they loved running up and down hills with strangers on their honeymoon), and afterwards we went to large outdoor bar called Lolek. The bar was super packed (but peaceful), some people sat on the ground, while we stood and ate and drank.  At half time a family of Vietnamese people were getting ready to leave their table.  Some people looked ready to lurk and grab the table from them, but Karen used her Asian-ness so people thought she was part of the family sitting there.  She sneakily sat down with the family, so when they left, the table was ours!  Poland played very well in this game, but in the end, it was another 1-1 tie.  We walked back through the Center, and it was so chaotic...people everywhere, broken bottles everywhere, glass in the bus stops smashed, trash cans knocked over, drunk people stumbling around, it looked like a scene from an apocalyptic zombie movie.  As we got onto Nowy Swiat, there were more people walking around on a Tuesday night at midnight than there usually are on busy Saturday afternoons.  Cops were packed together on each block ready to spring to action, looking like gladiators in their full body armor and shields.  Apparently there were 7,000 cops deployed on the streets that night.  Luckily they weren't really needed.

We look so Polish!

For Poland's third game, against Czech, Juan and I watched in a party on top of the Palace of Culture.  We got invited to the party by Mark, and it was something different to do rather than watch in some normal bar.  The fun part about it is that we were sitting directly above the fan zone, avoiding the crowd.  Poland lost this game, and we didn't feel like staying at the party, but it was a nice variety to watching games. It was pretty crowded by the time we got there, so we sat on some steps to watch on one of the many flatscreen TVs.  Apparently even steps have reservations because I got yelled at by a Polish girl who said she was there earlier and I had to move for her.  I choose not to fight it, but I really wish she would at least be more polite about how she yelled at me.  At least her friend was nice.

Those little ants are actually the 100,000 fans in the fan zone

Poland was knocked out of the tournament, but even so, the rest of Euro 2012 was a lot of fun.  Friends would gather each night to watch the games...in bars, at people's homes, in the fan zone, etc.  It was very tiring because I never got a good night's rest!  But it only happens once every 4 years, and it's not too often that it happens in your back yard.  Even when the games were in the other 3 Polish host cities (Gdansk, Poznan, or Wroclaw) or the 4 Ukrainian ones, there was still a huge energy in Warsaw.  The streets and bars were packed constantly and everyone was in good spirits (especially when Italy beat Germany in the semi-finals).  If you were a bar and wanted any business on a game night, you better have outdoor seating with flat screen TVs, because that's what everyone wanted, no matter who was playing.  It was fun while it lasted, but to be honest, I was looking forward to the streets quieting down to "normal" levels once again.

With all this soccer action, it got me thinking...  How did soccer become so popular around the world, but not in the US? Is it because we don't have the attention span for it? Or we need more stimulation like cheerleaders, advertisements, music, PA announcements, and more scoring?  Or just because we're bad at it?  So what's the most exciting live team sporting event to watch (consistently, for the entire game)?

Baseball? - There's lots of down time and not much 'action', but that makes it a very social game for spectators
Football? - Intense action but only for a few seconds at a time. There's a lot of scoring so its more exciting, but it takes 3 hours for 1 hour of game time (and only 15 minutes of actual action).  Oh, and there's cheerleaders.
Hockey - Like soccer, it has constant action but lack of scoring can be frustrating.  And who need 2 half-times?
Basketball - Constant action and scoring during play, but also lots of stoppage and breaks, and players don't really try until the 4th quarter.
Volleyball? Tennis? Golf? Boxing? Bowling?  What else is more consistently exciting?

Even though I played soccer for more years than any other sport, I wouldn't say it's the best sport to watch.  But after 3 weeks of Euro, I definitely came to appreciate it more.  And I definitely came to appreciate Poland's preparedness for the historic event.  All in all I think everyone had a great time and the country will benefit greatly from the how well they handled it.

Now for a few unanswered questions:
- Why does Italy wear blue, when their flag has no blue in it (I was able to answer this about Netherlands and Orange, but not about Italy...)?
- Could I pull off the Balotelli haircut?
- Who noticed Wayne Rooney's new hair transplant?
- How do they track how many kilometers each player runs during the game?
- Why do Polish people call the fan zone the "fun zone"?
- When will they start using some more advanced goal-line technology to tell if a ball crosses the goal line?
- Will players ever stop flopping and rolling around in pain like their leg has been cut off, when they are tapped softly from behind?
- Last but not least, who's coming to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil with me???