Turkiye

During my time overseas I have found there are some consistant factors that determine whether or not I like a city or town... The food, the people, culture - development balance and the availability of free wifi internet access(but not neccasarily in that order). With tasty cheap food, incredibly friendly people, a great mozaic of modern development, trendy cafes and jaw dropping mosques as well as wifi in almost every cafe both Istanbul and Turkey in general rate highly in all four criterion.

Tonight I went for a jog with the intent of picking up some dinner afterwards. I brought with me 10 Turkish Lira which is roughly 7 Aussie dollars and challenged myself to find a protein rich meal and an ayran (turkish strangely a bit salty yoghurt drink) inside that budget. I found a place where I could get a chicken shish plate with salad and an ayran for 9 lira leaving me an extra lira for a baklava type treat on the way home. This is just one of many examples of the delicious and cheap food options available in Turkey and its safe to say I have been eating very well!

The people have been great aswell. Despite the constant....Gday mate.... which has gone close to driving me over the edge at times they are incredibly friendly and always helpful when looking for directions or advice. I was able to gain a non tourist insight on the Turkish people when I was asked by the boys at the hotel I stayed at in Cappadocia to help them move house. Now.. this was at about 10:30am and I was happy to help them out for what I thought would be a few hours of work as I had nothing else planned and they had promised to look after my meals for the day. We started work at approximately 11:30am... broke twice before lunch for a drink... broke for an hour at lunch(at which stage I was under the impression we were finish)... broke numerous other times throughout the afternoon for tea(at all these breaks I as under the impression we were done)... It then came to about 7:00pm and we stopped for yet another break.. this time at a pide shop for food and I was absolutely certain we were finished at this stage so I relaxed my mind and let it look forward to having a beer with the people in my dorm after dinner... So Max... we are going to eat pide... go back to the hotel..rest for one house.... and then do one more trip from the storage place to my house.... No worries Ramazan I said through gritted teeth as my hopes of getting that beer sunk into the lap of the stray dog that was sitting at our feet scouting for fallen food... So back on the tractor... (yes we rolled in a tractor between storage space and target house).... to the hotel where we did indeed rest for one hour before travellng back to the storage space loaded the tractor for the 7th or 8th time of the day and headed for our final trip to Ramazan's new abode. Now let me tell you.... Efes (the local turkish beer) is not the best beer in the world, but after near 10 hours of fantasizing and craving it was the goddamn best beer I ever did taste! Even if it was consumed in a smokey basement bar filled amongst 20 to 30 Turkish men. To the hard earned thirst went the big cold beer!

Istanbul itself has two main sections to visit... well two main sections that I have seen anyway. Sultanahmet in the old town where all the mosques and sightseeing is and Beyoglu in the New Town where Taksim Square and Istaklil street are which is the modern cosmopolitan hub of the city.

The first night I had booked an airport pickup from Ataturk airport and when I arrived and saw it was pouring with rain I thought the 25 euros it was going to cost a steal! Thankfully however I had not yet paid the said euros...... I exited the arrivals gate and saw my man with a sign the read Max Roberson... close enough I thought and sure enough it was me he was waiting for... Now I am not sure if the following events took place because he had been waiting for my delayed flight but after quite a bit of thought Im not sure that was the reason.. Anyway, the man is not the friendliest in the world but not rude and when I asked to use an ATM he was happy to point me in the direction of one and waited for me to get cash out. We then walked to the carpark I hopped in the van and we started our journey to the hostel... now, upon reflection I think that if he was upset about having to wait for a delayed flight he would have shown more than just being slightly unfriendly.. as we continued down the freeway away from the airport he took a phone call and as we drove through the bucketing rain the phone call almost in unison with the weather became increasingly agro... we then pulled over and with his shouting reaching a maximum level I began to plan my escape plan for the event in which his anger was redirected towards my position! He then hung up the phone and we proceeded along the highway but only seconds later he started to mumble under his breath.. the mumbling turned into a grumble and suddenly we had pulled over again with him now yelling... Taxi Taxi Taxi pointing at the road. With me still in the van he proceeded to take my bags from the back of the van (at this point I was out with him trying to ask what had happened to which he replied Taxi Taxi) and shortly after I found myself on the side of a highway in the pouring rain having only arrived in the city moments earlier. I taxi soon arrived and delivered me to my destination at which point I was redirected to a different hostel where I was to stay for the following two nights. Welcome to Istanbul.

Gallipoli was the first stop on my circuit of Turkey organised by a travel agent at a sister hostel to the one I ended up in on that faithful first night and the tour of the peninsula was something that exceeded my expectations. The stories of Australians fighting for an independant Australian identity and turkish soldiers leaving the safety of their trenches to carry ANZAC wounded across open ground back to the ANZAC trenches were moving and inspirational. I didnt know the details on the history of the WW1 battle and found myself not wanting the tour to end. One of my favourite stories was that of Percy Black, an Australian machine gunner who positioned himself in the thick of the action at the top of what was called shrapnel valley. From this position he was successful in defending the ANZAC lines from many Turkish attacks. At one point he was hit on the left hand which he was using to feed the bullets into his gun... but he pressed on, using his teeth to feed the bullets and his right hand to aim and fire his weapon. Then his weapon was hit and damaged beyond proper function so he trekked kilometers back to the beach with a gunshot wound to his left hand carrying the damaged machine gun in his right. When he reached the beach he asked for another gun so he could continue fighting. Unable to carry the gun back to his position he recruited a group of young soldiers who had been overcome by the task of fighting and had stayed on the beach to help carry his gun back to the top of shrapnel valley and got back in the fight. He survived Gallipoli but was later killed in action in France where despite his peers telling him to stay behind as he was too valuable to the army and with the last words... we started this together, so we will end this together... he made a charge into direct fire and certain death. This was one of many examples of honour, bravery and perserverance that came out of Gallipoli and as I said earlier was absolutely inspirational.

I then went to Pammukale where calcium has been leaking out of the mountain for thousands of years forming what appears to be snow but is in reality a hard substance covering the cliff face. This initially had a wow factor about it but half a day in this tourist hub was enough for me!

I then went on to Fethiye where I was able to relax. Have a few good workouts, a scooter ride through the picturesque mountains and a day at the Oludeniz beach where the water is blue and crystal clear. There wasnt much else to do in Fethiye as the season had ended for the famous full day boat trips but it was a good place for relaxation and reflection as well as catching up on some much needed physical exercise.

From Fethiye it was onto Goreme a little town in the area of Cappadocia which is famous for its fairy chimneys which are tall rock formations caused by volcanic eruptions together with erosion results in what literally looks like a fairy chimney! I had a free day which consisted of the above mentioned removalist training and two days of tours which shed light on a little bit of the history of Cappadocia as well as the geography of the place.

From Cappadocia it was an overnight bus to Beyoglu Istanbul where I had a night in the park hyatt istanbul, a great end to what turned out to be a pretty exhausting week shooting around Turkey.. my day in Beyoglu consisted of a walk to Taksim square and down Istaklil St, numerous coffees and some good food in what is a fantastic part of town Istanbul with its trendy laneway cafes, designer and boutque fashion stores, many kebap and kofte stalls, pubs, patisseries and various parks.

I now have a day of sightseeing in which I will see the amazing Blue Mosque and Topkali palace and then its off to Bangalore the next day for the next chapter of this epic journey!

Turkey Workouts... Storıes to come..

WOD 30/11/2010

3 Rounds
10 strıct chıns
10 dıps

untımed, just to keep thıngs tıckıng over.

WOD 1/11/2010 - A Trıplet of Couplets

Warm Up
1 mıle run

Metcon
AMRAP 7
7 HSPU
21 Box Jump
Result: 4 Rounds

(2 mıns rest)

AMRAP 7
10 Tree chıns
10 Burpees
Result: 4 Rounds

(2 mıns rest)

AMRAP 7
10 Squats
10 Sıtups
Result: 10 rounds + 4 reps

Mobılıty
2mıns each hıp prone torso external rotatıon
2mıns lower back flexıon
2 mıns vertıcle shoulder extensıon

WOD 2/11/2010 - Pushup Practıce

Muscular Endurance
100 hands release push ups for tıme
Tıme: 4:49 (Improved from prevıous best of 5:10)

WOD 3/11/2010 - Pullup Practice

Warm Up
1km Jog
Metcon
50 Strict Commando Pullups
Every time I dropped off the bar ran a hard 400m followed by a precise 1 minute rest.
Result: 15:23
Pullups: 14,9,7,7,7,6

WOD 7/11/2010 - Pushing/Mobility

3 Rounds Untimed
Max reps HSPU - 15(PR),(disappointing),5(even more so)
1 min prone external hip rotation
then
3 Rounds Unbroken = rest so as that all sets are unbroken
30 Pushups
20 Squats
then
100 Core Variations
20 x wrist to knee, 20 x 4 count flutterkick, 20 x alternate wrist to knee, 20 x 2 count bicycle, 20 x knees out crossfit situps.
then
Mobility
2 mins each leg sitting external hip rotation in sauna

WOD 8/11/2010

3km Jog
then
21-15-9 reps for time of:
Walking Lunge
Box Jump
Squat
Result: 4:45
then
1 mile jog

Morocco, where everything is posseeble! UPDATED

My Moroccan adventure started with a ferry trip across the straight of gibraltar with an Austrian (Age: 28 Sex: Female Name: Christiana) and an American (Age: 37 Sex: Male Name: Christian). So I was travelling Morocco h the feminin and masculine versions of Chris. Easy to remember on my part but a little too coincidental for my liking (if Im honest). Ill just add at this stage that I am, at the present, enjoying a fine glass of red courtesy of Hyatt Regency Casablanca after chowing down on my fill of canapes. This is the life! Anyway the ferry took us to the port of Tangier the northern most point of Morocco. As soon as the ferry pulled up we were men and women on a mission and that mission was to get to Meknes ASAP. Out of the ferry, straight to the bank to change our euros to dhirams and into a cab to the train station we went. "Three for Meknes please" said Christiana in some seriously impressive french..."Oui, the train leaves...now" said the ticket lady..... and with a 100m sprint that would not even come close to Usain Bolt but would absolutely dominate an 86 yr old woman on a walking frame, we jumped on board the train to Meknes and our Moroccan journey had begun..

At Meknes, our mission was to shoot up to a small to a small mountain village called Moulay Idriss which was in very close proximity to a series of Roman ruins called the Volubilis. With the America in charge of negotiating for a cab we cleary got ripped off but in the scheme of things took a 30 click taxi for the equivalent of 13 euro. Not too bad. Moulay Idriss was a lovely little town... the food was cheap, less than 50 aussie cents for an egg and potato sandwhich and little over two dollars for the spiced mince meat version, the people where nice... dressed in what was our first exposure to the star wars-esque "Jelabas"... and the roman ruins were a pretty magic place to be at sunset. Let me just add that the red wine is going down a treat. On the morning of our second day in Moulay Idriss an event took place that is a story in its own right....

Chris the american and I thought it a great idea to take part in an authentic moroccan experience and pay a visit to the local public Hammam (public bath). Faysall from the hotel took us down a series of small alley ways, through an old wooden door, down a couple of flights of stairs and into the changing room of `the oldest Hammam in Moulay Idriss. In the cold, worn down, white painted room sat an ancient, near anorexic Moroccan man wearing nothing but some very loose clothe wrapped around his loin and sporting not more than 5 teeth. We were ordered to strip down to our underwear, led through a series of gloomy, dungeon like rooms, each one slightly more humid than the last and told to lie face down on the concrete floor. The man then left the room and we found ourselves, two men, in our underwear, lying next to each other in a sticky dungeon like room in the middle of nowhere somewhere outside Meknes, Morocco. At this stage my sphincter had shrunk to the size of a bees nostril and immediate regret dolinated my thoughts. Just as I began to distract myself with alternate thoughts I big hairy Moroccan bloke took to my agressively with a highly abrasive exfoliating glove! He scrubbed every last square mm of dead skin from my body venturing dangerously close to the family jewels. The next ten minutes consisted off scrubbing, rinsing and body twisted accompanied by very strange and slightly disconcerting kissing noises but the end result was squeaky clean skin and a nicely limbered musculature. The hammam scene when we were propped up was something that still seems surreal. I sat up to find that we were no longer alone... approximately 20 males had joined us in that room.. all in there jocks, scrubbing, rinsing, stretching and massaging each other in a way that raises a series of questions as to what young Moroccan men get up to when they are not aloud private time with women until after marriage. Chris and I both agreed we wouldnt discuss this experience again but on reflection I think it has to be documented.

Thats it for now, the red wine is going down too well and there are business people waiting for a crack at the computer.. More of Morocco to come.

Thıs saw the start of what was named the Faysall 6 day adventure, named after the man of the house at the guesthouse ın Moulay Idrıss who doubled as a travel consultant.

We embarked on our adventure from Meknes where an overnıght bus took us to Rıssanı whıch ıs the closest busable town to the desert. After gettıng off the bus we were confronted by dudes tryıng to get us to go wıth them to theır hotel from where we could base our desert trek. We fınally gave ın to a guy who seemed to be runnıng a mını monopoly on our bus load and we were of vıa 4 wheel drıve to merzouga where the camels and berbers (natıve desert folk) were waıtıng. Now rıdıng a camel ınto the desert, spendıng a nıght ın a nomad hut, eatıng tajıne and rıdıng back ın the mornıng sounds very exotıc and excıtıng. Dont get me wrong, ıt was a fantastıc experıence and I really dıd enjoy ıt but the essence of the experıence really ıs.... rıdıng a camel.. eatıng very sımple food... sleepıng ın a small hut ın the sand...rıdıng back ın the mornıng, only thıs tıme wıth a sore crotch from the prevıous day. Stıll, ıt had to be done and the mıdnıght clımb to one of the bıggest sand dunes ın the area was a lot of fun...

Our next destınatıon was Ourzazate, a 6 and a half hour drıve from Erfoud, a town neıghbourıng Merzouga. And how do three travellers travel 6 and a half hours across desert and through mountaıns ın Morocco... taxı of course. We hıred a cab for 1000 Dhıram or 130 AUD for those playıng at home. Dıvıde that by 3 and ıts under 45 dollars... Id pay that back home to get from the cıty to Brıghton East.

Ourzazate ıs supposed to be the hollywood of Morocco but to be honest... I could take ıt or leave ıt. Sure some great fılms such as gladıator and ındıana jones were fılmed eıther ın the studıos or the surroundıng desert but the sets are old and delapıdated wıth whats left not exactly ımpressıve.

From Ourzazate Chrıstıana and I saıd goodbye to Chrıstıan as we set off to Imlıle where we would base our trek ınto the hıgh atlas mountaıns to summıt Mt Toubkal. After more "help" from hotel owners at the taxı termınal ın Imlıle.. assurıng us that "everythıng ıs poseeble" we had a hotel, I had a jacket that looked to be to some degree waterproof and the next day we embarked on our journey to the top of the 4000m plus mountaın.

After the fırst hour or so I felt that I was comfortable wıth ıncreasıng the pace and treatıng the clımb to the 3200m refuge as a traınıng sessıon, so wıth my crossfıt traınıng behınd me and a lıttle bravado I charged off up the mountaın leavıng (the sensıble) Chrıstıana behınd. Now, the Max Chrıstıana found pale faced, sıttıng ın the corner of the refuge lounge chewıng on a twıx bar was a very dıfferent Max to the one she last saw chargıng off up the Toubkal track! It was about 40 mıns from the refuge when I felt myself runnıng out of energy fast and as I looked up at the surroundıng mountaıns.... much to my suprıse they had a certaın sway to them... so I sat down untıll the damn thıngs stopped swayıng and marched on once more... looked up... swayıng agaın.. oh dont worry about ıt Max I saıd to myself and contınued on to the refuge.... hence.. curled up ın corner, pale faced, eatıng saıd Twıx.

The next mornıng we woke sometıme between 0530 and 0600 but I was ın no shape to notıce. Sınuses took a beatıng overnıght resultıng ın no sleep for me nor anyone else who shared the cabın. Apologıes. But after a good 10 mınutes coughıng up copıus amounts of shıte, a hot chocolate and Chrıstıana forcıng me to eat a substantıal amount of the sugar domınant supplıed breakfast (the same stuff I dıdnt eat much of the prevıous day, addıng to my post hıke state at the refuge) I was ready to tackle the summıt. Wıth Chrıstıana ın front as a pace car I comfortably made ıt to the summıt through at tımes 2 foot of snow near the top and some of the best vıews I have ever seen. At the summıt I enjoyed a Twıx as a momento of the contrast between my state of mınd at the end of day 1 and when I had reached the top. The way back down to the refuge ınvolved me slıdıng down 20 percent of the snow cap on my arse, stackıng numerous tımes where the ıce met rock and generally havıng the sort of tıme one would descrıbe as not even remotely close to fun.

The walk back down to Imlıle was less than 3 hours and all down hıll but the combınatıon of clımbın up and down the summıt wıth that last sub 3 hour sector made for tıred legs at the end of the day.

We cabbed ıt back to Marrakech vıa another small town and booked straıght ınto hotel Alı. After a feed and a shower we were both out lıke a lıght. The next day we checked out of Hotel Alı and ınto equıty poınt hostel whıch, although hard to fınd has to be near the best hostel I have stayed at so far on the trıp. Nearly resort lıke ın ıts layout the place was decked out wıth a pool: rooftop terrace... many tradıtıonal Moroccan lounges and a great mıx of modern and classıcal Moroccan archıtechture and furnıture. Marrakech ıtself was a bıt of a dısappoıntment wıth the food ın the nıght market (whıch was the sıngle experıence that fırst lured me to Morocco) quıte dısappoıtıng causıng both Chrıstıana and I to pay extended vısıts to porcelaın throne later that nıght.

After Marrakech I found myself on a traın to casablanca where I touched down ınto Hyatt Regency Casablanca. Thıs hotel has to be the best of the hyatts I have stayed at wıth Grand Hyatt Bangkok and Park Hyatt Melbourne all around the same level. After a nıght of luxury ıt was back to the real world wıth a delayed flıght, mıd hıghway abandonment and varıous other travellıng trıbulatıons ın Turkey!

WOD - 27/10/2010

Warm Up
1000m Row - Medium pace - 3:37

Strength
5x5 Strict Press
50,54,54,54,54.

Metcon
3 Rounds for time:
7 Push Jerk @ 50kg
14 Pullups
21 Burpees
Time: 9:56

WOD 28/10/2010

Metcon
21-15-9

Hang power clean, 50kg
Knees to elbows
Hıp Extensıons

Tıme: 10:25

Barthelona

Every mate, mates of mates and various other young travellers I have spoken to have loved Barcelona so talking about how awesome it was would be pretty cliche. I booked for 3 nights with the intention of shooting up to San Seb for a couple of nights before making the journey south to Tarifabut found myself booking a fourth and fifth night in BCN. I think everyone has heard of the Spanish siesta and it was definitely something I was looking forward to experiencing however I didnt notice the siesta much at all... This was probably because after a night out in Barcelona the siesta naturally develops itself into your daily routine and is as much a ritual as brushing your teeth.

Going out in BCN is fantastic. Short and sharp. Meeting at 12, leaving a bar at 1 and arriving at a club around 0115 or 0130 is the norm with the clubs....in low season during the week.... closing down around 0500. This was the framework of my stay in Barcelona within which I made the attempt to fit in a few little sights of interest. A Gaudi walking tour, the Picasso museum and Park Guell were all I managd to see and I was not at all disppointed. Also within that framework were some great meals.... tapas where we gave the main man 10 euros each an told him to give us a great feed... that he did and managed to squeeze a few brews in the budget too. We took part in a paella experience where our mate Fernando taught us how to enjoy tapas the traditional way, how to make Sangria and finally how to make an excellent paella. We eat tapas, paella and drank plenty of Sangria until it was time for another fix of Barcelona nightlife... I stumbled into bed at 0730 the following morning.

Ive heard people talk about the people in BCN ..choosing life.. I saw it a little differently... They choose to live life with everything they have... they put all the passion, all the love and all the energy they have into every waking moment and after a morning of doing this they deserve a rest in the afternoon only to throw themselves into the night with the same energy as they attacked the day.

Nothing to report workout wise in Barthelona...

Greek Islands e Italia!

This will be brief due to this French keyboard randomly swapping only the most frequently used letters around.. So I survived the Greek islands.. just... The alter ego Woodrow whom some have met on one faithful night in North Fitzroy was out about and in fine form. I think I was left behind at dinner most nights as the wood man took control and tore the Greek Islands up! He left my liver and I in a devastated state on the ferry back to Athens but also left me with some great...slightly blurred memories.

Athens to Munich. Munich to Venice. Bag left behind in Munich as I sprinted through the airport to make my connecting flight. One night in Venice. Off to Rome with my bag still trailing me. Shopping spree at Zara to be reimbursed by Covermore and on the bus again for a rendezvous with my bag in Florence.

Back to Rome. First impressions wern't the best but how could they be after living in the same clothes and out of a day pack for 4 days. The sites in Rome however..... are breathtaking. The Colosseum. The Vatican. The Pantheon. Structures made in times of inferior technology that are said to be impossible to construct today. Tad our guide from Roming Tours made Roman history hilarious. Definitely the most entertaining and informative walking tour of the trip so far....

To be continued... This keyboard is doing my head in....

Akropolypto

Going back to the first night in Athens where the detox post Ocktoberfest was temporarily delayed.. The night ended with a 1 am mission to find gyros. The only problem is the person taking us to find the gyros shop wanted us to go to a bar. We had no interest in going to a bar and she had no interest in finding food so at the end of the night both parties found themselves unsatisfied. We were lead through some of the more edgy areas of Athens and due to an equipment malfunction earlier in the evening together with the assumption gyros would be be within a 100m radius, I found myself walking barefoot through streets where broken glass would have been the preferred object to penetrate my foot. I managed to make it back to the hostel unscathed and very ready for a good nights sleep.

The next day was an admin day for me as I went out to replace broken thongs, lost sunglasses and to set up my phone for my stint in Greece. With all accomplished and various types of gyros devoured I treated myself to an afternoon siesta.

That evening I shot down to the acropolis which was absolutely beautiful light up after dark. I climbed up a rocky peak adjacent to the site where I had a panoramic view of the city of Athens and a great view of the site itself. After spending a little time trying to take night time landscape photos and soaking it all up I went for a stroll through the Plaka district to find some more gyros and possibly some Greek desserts.

Gyros I found, only after yet again stumbling through a more edgier neighborhood where I was surprisingly quickly desensitized to seeing groups of junkies shoot up within meters of where I was walking. After two gyros and a beer (all for 6,50 euros) I headed back to the station but not before hunting down one of my favorite Greek desserts, the custard wrapped in filo pastry. The portion the little white haired Greek man attempted to give me could have fed 5 and only after a heated argument did the little fella give in to giving me a smaller slice. It was at that moment that I decided Athens was yet another city that I love. A bit of edge mixed with wonderful, generous people and amazing sites, it's a must see even if the islands are the main focus.

Today I got a all access pass for 6 euros using my Deakin student card and climbed the acropolis, saw the Ancient Agora, the Roman Agora and The Temple of the Olympian Zeus. The Parthenon in the acropolis was the best, a magnificent grand, ancient structure with surrounding views of the city of Athens as far as one's eye can see.

Lunch was a greek salad, with tzatziki and bread followed by a souvlaki and a glass of red. After the sightseeing I settled into a nice little cafe in the Plaka district for a coffee to unwind and reflect on a day where a covered quite a few kilometers exploring ancient structures and soaking up as much of the atmosphere of this buzzing place as I possibly could.

Early night tonight before a 4:45 wake up tomorrow and a ferry off to the islands. Happy days!

Just had a little 10 minute workout. The feeling post workout after having not trained in 3-4 days was comparable to the feeling expressed on the faces of those seen injecting heroine the night before. Two addictions, one detrimental to health, the other the complete opposite.

Hostel Aphrodite Roof WOD

3 Rounds with 1 min rest:

Max HSPU - 14, 9, 7.
20 Squats.

3 Rounds with 1 min rest:

Max Pushups 30, 20, 20.
20 Squats.

Post WOD nutrition.

2 x Lamb Gyros and a bottle of water. All for under 4 euros.

Vienna, Ocktoberfest and a night in Athens.

Back onto a PC and able to reflect on the past week. Last start with Vienna...

Vienna is a very cool little place. Everyone walks with a purpose, they have somewhere to go and someone to meet. There is no dawdling and if you stay out of the main touristy areas not a hell of a lot of tourists taking pictures of of their wife and son in front of an ice cream store. In order to keep up their energy and focus the Viennese love to drink coffee. They do it well too. The second biggest coffee drinking country in the world and they know how to make a good brew. Not nearly as good as the Brother Buba's, St Ali's and Proud Mary's back home but not nearly as horrific as the coffee in the other parts of Europe Ive visited thus far.

There are amazing sights with palaces, cathedrals and museums. Most of the Palaces are now in fact more museums). But by that stage in my trip I had seen enough beautiful architecture and just felt like settling in. Drinking coffee, eating schnitzel and relaxing in a city where I felt the more at home than any other place in Europe so far.

Even got a training session in:

4 Rounds

10 Dh Pull up
15 Bar dips
10 Burpee Bench Jump
400 Meter Run
2 minute rest

18:something

Felt good but very tough.

Along came Ocktoberfest. I'm not going to even try to tell you what the city of Munich is like because I honestly saw very little of it. I can however tell you that Ocktoberfest is completely out of control and absolutely awesome. You have fantastic beer which has been brewed especially for the festival by each brewery, you have amazing roasted meats and you have these lederhausen dresses that seem to accentuate a females "appearance" in a way that I've never seen before. For a male this is the perfect combination for an unbelievable time.

The first beer was poured on the 200th annual Ocktoberfest at 12 o clock on the Saturday. I was there and shortly after a woman with a terrifyingly strong grip slammed 8 1 L steins of the freshest goddamn beer you've ever had on our table. 6 in one hand and 2 in the other. What a machine. After the first sip we knew we were in trouble. This beer was floating down way too easily and after an hour I think we were well into our third stein. By 5 o clock I was close to being passed out on the table even after slowing it down a bit and by 7 o clock I WAS passed out in my hotel room.

The first beer of the second day was rough. I also noticed that I had developed a deep bruise on both hands where the handle of the stein had been pressing down every time I took a swig of the sweat brew. A later start, a slower pace and a properly lined stomach helped me last the distance on day two and in the end it was Mick, Bargs and I left in the tent. What to do? What to do? Buying three cigars, lighting them up and smoking them on a 6 loop roller coaster was an option, an option that may or may not have been chosen.. There also might have been a take a hanger on an Italian competition but the details are a little blurred. The night ended in Burger king and it was a night that had its highs, lows, loops and everything the three of us had hoped for out of Ocktoberfest.

The next day we all met at the same burger king to say adios and my journey continued on to Athens for the Grecian leg of my trip. After a couple of nights at Ocktoberfest I was keen for detox. The boys at the hostel bar had other ideas and the drinking continued for another night. A few strawpedos later and my detox period before the greek islands had been cut down to two.

So two more nights in Athens to rest and recuperate before what could prove to be an even more devastating 8 nights for the temple than Ocktoberfest.