I know I am over a month late in posting this, but better late than never! Our trip went as follows: we flew in to Amsterdam, spent a few days there recovering from jet lag, and then headed over to Geel, Belgium. Then I raced, got sick in the race, was disappointed for a bit (until I reminded myself it was only my fifth duathlon and first big international attempt!), and then we spent the last day hanging out in Germany, in the beautiful little town of Monschau. Starting clockwise from top left:
1. An entrance to the fascinating Red Light District in Amsterdam. 2. A typical "coffee shop" in Amsterdam. 3. If the red velvet curtains are closed, it means the room in use. It was very eye-opening to walk around and see this, but I feel like it was a great learning experience of a different culture and legal structure. 4. Walking over a bridge along the many canals in Amsterdam. 5. More Amsterdam. What a great city to explore! 6. Our hotel in the countryside of Kasterlee, Belgium. 7. The road from our hotel, which we ran and biked on...beautiful and peaceful. 8. Chad and I in front of the race hotel in Geel, as the Team USA mechanic tried to fix my bike. 9. The only true bummer of the trip: my bottle cage was ripped off during my flight, and the bolts tore through my carbon frame, cracking it. United Airlines was not very sympathetic about it, which was really frustrating. 10. Waiting for the race to start. 11. In my rhythm on the first run, at my goal of 6:45 pace for nearly 12 miles. A lot of girls ran faster, but I thought this was a great goal for me, after only beginning running again this year, after nearly 7 years off! 12. Suffering after the race in our hotel, still feeling sick. 13. Driving towards Germany in the beautiful countryside near Liege. 14. Chad enjoying a German brew. He loved Belgium Witte beers the best, though. I don't even drink beer, and I even loved the taste of the Belgian Wittes! 15. The beautiful river winding through the town of Monschau, Germany. 16. Looking down on Monschau from the hillside we hiked up. I was hobbling, since it was the day after the race! Walking back down in to the village was painful.
Chad and I had a lot of fun on our trip. Even though the race did not go as I had hoped, it was a great experience. And we created a lot of fun memories while exploring more of Europe.
