Category: Europe

This is another marathon blog penned by Geoffrey.  It’s for the runners who will understand it.  This was our second visit to Berlin in 4 years and although the main purpose this time was the marathon event we still had plenty of time exploring the sights of this fascinating city.  Feel free to contact me if you are interested in knowing more about visiting this destination.

Over to Geoffrey …

Half way during my final training run before the marathon I tripped on one of Copenhagen’s famous cobblestone walkways.  As I was going down I thought, “bugger, this may not end well !”.  Ten months of hard training could go out the door with a broken hand or arm.  A few weeks earlier I had a similar clumsy moment which resulted in a bad cut above my right eye and which required 6 stitches and the loss of my $200 eye glasses.  Now, as I was about to hit the ground again, I thought I’d happily settle for that …

There was an air of expectancy leading up to the running of the 45^th Berlin Marathon.  There was a lot of talk of the favourite Eliud Kipchoge aiming for a new world record.  Of course, for us mere mortals concerned with just finishing,  all this talk would in no way have any effect on our own runs – or would it ??

The morning of the run was perfect – cool, fine and windless.  Each wave started off with the Iceland Viking Clap which helped the adrenaline flows and greatly eased the nerves before the gun.  The Start is really is an amazing sight – 40,000 runners lined up along the Straße des 17 !

By the time I crossed the start line I was on a high and had long forgotten about the grazes on my right arm that I had sustained from my fall in Copenhagen !

My primary goal was to complete the whole course without having to walk at some point.  I’d only achieved this in less than half of my previous marathons.   This meant being conservative for the first half and trying to finish strong – possibly with a negative split.  The second goal was to run a personal best (“PB”), and finally, if pigs could fly – to run a sub 4 hour time.  I knew that if I ever achieved that I would die with a smile on my face !

I felt pretty good for the first 20kms.  The course takes you along the main sights of Berlin such as the Reichstag, the Siegessäule, Berliner Dom, Brandenburg and Potsdamer Platz in a big loop through the entire city.   I passed the half way mark at 2 hrs 2min and so was on for a new PB (yay!).  However  I would inevitably soon start to tire and so a sub 4 was now likely out of the question.

At 30km I noticed one of the thousands of spectators holding out a sign – New World Record 2:01:39 !!   This was an unbelievable time – Eliud Kipchoge had smashed the old mark by 1 minute 18 seconds.  If he could run an incredible time then so could I !  This news was so inspirational for a tiring runner.  I decided then and there to throw caution to the wind and just go for it for the last 12km.  Breaking with my pre-race strategy it was likely to all blow-up in my face.  At best I’d end up limping pathetically through the famous Brandenburg Gate toward the finish.  At worst I’d have a DNF next to my name.  But I realised that this was the Berlin Marathon and it was now or never to give it your best shot.

Miraculously my legs didn’t fall off and my training held true and I crossed the finish in 3 hours 58 minutes.

The smile is still on my face…

We checked into our hotel in Marriott Copenhagen some 30 hours after departing Auckland.  The Marriott is located close to the heart of the city overlooking the picturesque waterfront.  However we weren’t jetlagged but invigorated – keen to get put and explore this beautiful city.  After dropping our bags I headed out and joined my cousin and ventured out into the markets and Geoffrey stuck on his running shoes to jog around the promenades surrounding the canals.

Copenhagen is best explored by foot or even better by bicycle.  It seems that the city is built for cycling – there is an extraordinary 350 km of cycle paths and lanes in the city and has been the best cycle city in the world.  You can rent a bike from the hotel but there are plenty of bike rental shops scattered around the city.

In any major list of top liveable cities in the world you will find Copenhagen in the Top 10. The major reasons why it consistently ranks so high is safety, air quality, urban infrastructure.  The World Bank uses Copenhagen as an example case study for urban planning excellence.

The best thing is that most of Copenhagen’s most popular attractions and sights are within walking distance, running distance (if you’re a runner like Geoffrey) and definitely within cycling range.  A great place to start is the famous Nyhavn district – lined by brightly colored 17th and early 18th century townhouses, bars, cafes and restaurants.

What struck me was the friendliness of the people and it was so easy to interact with them as English is so widely spoken.

It was extraordinary how much of the city we were able to see in just the 3 days we were there.  Of course you would require much longer to more explore all that piqued your interest – but getting around was such a breeze on the bikes.

I’m not going to list every sight we saw as that is for every individual visitor to choose.  But for something out of left-field, perhaps consider spending an hour in Freetown Christiania – a commune of around 1,000 residents.  Look it up here – it’s just something that one wouldn’t normally expect in a place like Copenhagen.

Definitely one of the most interesting cities I have been to – not too big, not too small, just right!

If you would like more information about this destination please do not hesitate to contact me.

One of my favourite James Bond opening sequences is the chase scene in Quantum Of Solace in the town of Siena.   Fans of the movie will especially remember the horse race taking place around the Piazza del Campo

Siena is an easy day trip from Florence which can also include visits to the area’s wine-growing regions and other historic towns like San Gimignano.  Siena though will be the obvious highlight of the trip being declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site.   It is one of the Italy’s most visited tourist attractions.   If you are visiting Florence, Siena is a must see.  If this around July / August you could try and coincide the visit with the Palio di Siena – the traditional medieval horse race run around the Piazza del Campo (although it will be insanely crowded).   However we were there on a relatively quiet, beautiful sunny day in December.  You can’t beat a beautiful day in autumn.

The other major attraction is the Gothic Siena Cathedral completed in 1380.  Geoffrey and I are the first to admit that we have little appreciation of the countless European Cathedrals we have obligatory entered.  However in the relatively small town of Siena, this Cathedral is an obvious standout and we actually spent some time inside – especially admiring the marble mosaic floors.

For the most part though we just enjoyed the sunny day and getting lost wandering the narrow streets and alley ways.   It’s a great way to relax – just exploring on your own, being your own guide getting a basic feel of the town in the short time you have available.  You turn a corner and come across all sorts of surprises.

Simply delightful …

If you would like more information about this destination please contact me.

“Prague or Budapest?   We can’t fit in both.”  I asked Geoffrey as I was thinking about the itinerary for our 2016 end of year trip to Europe.  Life can be so hard.   In the end it was Prague – and it was a good choice – a really fascinating interesting city to spend a few days.  To be fair, Budapest is possibly / will probably be just as interesting but we’ll save it for another time.

End of year trips to Europe has its definite pluses.  Generally it’s the best time of year for me to get away work-wise.  Secondly, the cities and countryside can be stunningly beautiful – especially with the absence of huge crowds that frequent the most popular areas in the summer.   You can normally get a lot more done as the queues are so much shorter.  We also love this time of year in Europe where the renowned Christmas markets are everywhere and which add so much life and colour to the city.

The downside, of course is that the days are shorter and it can at times get quite cold.  Our apartment was central and well heated (and this is important in winter this time of year!)  We had cooking facilities and a couple of supermarkets across the road so this was perfect.   All the Old Town attractions were in walking distance and we also used the public bus service which was easy to use and a chance for us to get up close to the locals!

Lots and lots to see in this historic city – you could easily spend a lot of time in Prague.  Geoffrey especially wanted to see the famous Astronomical Clock and I wanted to walk the Charles Bridge.  We generally don’t visit the Galleries and Museums as the popular ones are typically busy, enormous and it’s impossible to do them justice with the time available.

Pork knuckles are a popular dish in Prague – and in winter you can understand why.  Absolutely delicious and absolutely enormous!  Can easily share one between 4 people.  I ended up taking it away and managed a further 3 meals with it back at the apartment!

We also did a day tour to the town of Český Krumlov which is a Unesco World Heritage Site.  We had a stunning perfect winter’s day.  Well worth visiting if you have an extra full day in Prague.

If you would like more information about this destination please contact me.