The World By Road

Well folks, I am back in the States and as usual, I can say that I am not too thrilled to be back. Every time I go overseas I somehow seem to find myself in the company of the coolest people on earth in the coolest place on earth. My recent three week trip to Germany and the Czech Republic was no exception to this rule. The original purpose of the trip was to go and race the epic Iron-distance triathlon, the Quelle Challenge which is based in Roth, Germany. Roth is a medium sized town situated in the Bavarian region of Germany just south of Nuremberg and about an hour north of Munich. The German countryside here is quite beautiful – rolling hils, small villages, delicately planted fields and this time of year, everything is really green. After leaving the States on June 24th and a brief stopover in Frankfurt, my chaperones/travel buddies (Mom and Dad) and I hopped on the train and headed for Nuremberg. The DB rail network in Germany is incredible and one can get pretty much anywhere they need to go in the entire country by rail. There is no other model of German efficiency quite like the German rail network. The train schedules are mapped out for the month, down to the minute for both arrivals and departures, and when they say the train to Berlin leaves at 12:04 you had better not show up at 12:03 because they have already started to close the doors without exception.

After a quick train ride to Nuremberg (The ICE trains (Inter-City Express) can reach speeds of over 270 km/hr), we were met at the Hauptbanhoff – the main train station – by my friends Greg and Christine. Greg and Christine have been organizing trips for American triathletes to come and race in Roth for several years and they really know what they are doing, with the exception of backing up large vehicles in cramped parking lots. The race itself is in Roth, but we were staying in a smaller town just to the south – Hilpoltstein. The town of Hilpoltstein  itself is pretty much out of a fairy tale. Large historic church in the town center surrounded by homes and shops built in the traditional Bavarian architecture and all interconnected with delicately cobbled streets. Everything is clean (not one piece of trash anywhere to be seen) and the flowers seemed to have just bloomed. The Inn/Guesthouse that we called home for the next week or so was the Schwartzen Ross. This place was great. The charming decor and style of the rooms and the guesthouse itself really made you feel right at home. This feeling was compounded by the fact that the Frau who ran the Inn was a master hostess and did everything she could to make your stay as comfortable as possible and the language barrier was not a factor. Last but certainly not least, the Inn was home to probably the best restaurant in town as well as a  great beer garden, all within stumbling distance of my room. Staying here for the week leading up to the race was going to be a real test of my willpower. Trying to avoid Wiener Schnitzel, real Bratwurst and great Bavarian Wies’n beer was going to take every ounce of strength that I had and it would not be enough.

To view more pics from my trip visit the following link.