For my 30th birthday this year, Kelly planned a surprise party for me. I thought her and I were going to our local pub for quiet night of pizza and watching rugby. Turned out she had contacted a student of mine who organised a group from my school and had rallied all of our Irish friends for a party. I was super surprised to see everyone and we had a great night.
For a gift she organised a suprise trip to Poland on the Bank Holiday weekend (Oct 26-30). What a gift!!! Here's how it went:
When we arrived in Poland we realized that our English wasn't going to get us very far. Thankfully Kelly had arranged a car to be dropped off at the airport for us. While we waited we brushed up on our Polish thanks to a translation page and a friendly man in the airport.


Then off to Zakopane on the Slovakian border for food to take to the hut Kelly had arranged. Grocery stores were interesting as nothing was labelled in English and we couldn't communicate with staff. We got quite used to this scene as horses and wagons are still commonly used in rural Poland.
Kelly loved this man, his dog, and his homemade broom. He laughed hysterically when Kelly pet his dog. We couldn't understand word he said to us so maybe his dog had an infectious disease.

A common mountain home.

You had the option of taking a horse drawn wagon the 8km into the hut. We were both quite happy for a walk in the mountains!

Kelly was really excited for the walk. She had this grin on the whole way.

See?

Morskie Oko

This place was great. It had a staffed kitchen where you could order hot food and beer! A plate of food and a pint of beer was 3-4euro, same price as a tea bag in an Irish restaurant.

Morskie Oko from across the lake.

We made an attempt to climb Rysy (2499m), the highest mountain in Poland, but were turned away by waist deep snow. After deciding to turn around our most logical decent was by...

the butt slide!!

The hut had the most intricate woodwork I've ever seen. Every beam, handrail, wall, etc. was decorated with ornate designs.

Leaving the High Tatra Mountains we had amazing weather and views.

Once out of the mountains we saw the remnants of Soviet rule. It was quite common to see Soviet block housing in rural areas.

Then off to the small town of Oswiecim, more famous for it's German name Auschwitz.

The main gate's cynical message, "Arbiet macht frei" (Work brings freedom), under which workers and new entrants must pass.

After visiting Auschwitz we took a short bus ride to Birkenau. Birkenau was designed by the Nazis and built by prisoner slaves because Auschwitz couldn't murder fast enough. Auschwitz had one gas chamber with crematorium, Birkenau had four.

Bunks where prisoners slept

Looking down the railway unloading area to "Death Gate". This was where families last saw each other, unaware of their impeding fate.

Seeing these camps put into perspective the number of people murdered by the Nazis. Both Kelly and I had grandfathers who fought in the Second World War, it was really meaningful to see why they risked their lives.

Our final stop was Krakow

14th-century St. Mary's Church

The city was beautiful! It is one of the only cities in Eastern Europe not destroyed by war. There are many castles, cathedrals, synagogues, and monuments still standing with many little quaint neighborhoods surrounding the city centre. We stayed in Kasimierz, the old Jewish quarter, where Schindler's List was filmed. It was gone through a significant revival and now houses many cafes, restaurants, shops, and hostels.

Cloth Hall in the middle of Rynek Glowny, the largest medival town square in Europe.

We were so excited to see maple trees!

This fall I raced in the Gaelforce event up in Westport. The event consisted of, in various order:

• 16km beach/trail run
• 1.6km kayak
• 45km road/trail cycle
• 4.5km mountain scramble

Kelly and I camped the night before on the starting line beach.

This made me quite angry. The starting line pointed in one direction with flagging and fencing to follow. When the start gun went the entire pack behind me cut a huge corner and I was stuck following a pack (who I would would eventually pass 90% of) down a tight road and trail. Grrrrr, who cuts corners during a race? I mean come on!

I paired up with the gentleman lacking hair for the paddle section. His aerodynamics helped us pass some people on the kayak.

Coming to the finish line. Kelly couldn't join up with me for the cycle or scramble. The road cycle was painful but I had a gas on the downhill trail section. Most people chose road bikes and had to walk over the rocky downhill terrain. Jake the Snake (my cyclocross bike) rocked this section and was very happy to pass all the people who destroyed him on the road.

I finished 36th out of about 400, really happy with the result. Overall a great event. I encourage others to join for the 2008 event. Come on! Team Faster Than A Speeding Beaver needs more membership!!

Oh yeah. We have a blog to update!! Really sorry about this. So much to catch up on, wow... Well, summer back in Canada was great! We got to see our families and spent a lot of time in the outdoors. When we got back to Ireland the Rugby World Cup was about to begin. France was the host nation but a few games were played in Cardiff, Wales and Edinburgh, Scotland. As pround Canadian citizens we thought it best to head over to Wales to cheer on the Canucks against Fiji.
As Wales was playing Australia the night before our match Cardiff accomodation was booked solid. Good news for us because we realized that Bath, England is just a short train ride from Cardiff. Who could refuse a bath in Bath?


The city still has some architecture left by the Romans when they vacationed here.

The Royal Cresent, one of the greatest examples of Georgian architecture in the UK.

The Bath Abbey.

And finally...

When in Bath, do as the...Bathers?

The Bath Spa was pretty sweet: multiple baths on many floors with various scented steamrooms. The nicest was definitely the rooftop hotpool with views over the city and surrounding hills. Lucky for us we landed a pretty nice evening!

The next day we met up with our Canadian friends in Cardiff.

And we met more friends. I was amazed at the amount of Canadians attending the match.

Singing O Canada!!! Not a full house but the atmosphere was great once everyone moved down to the lower bowl.

After the match we walked around looking for a place to happen. As we were about to pass this pub we heard a familiar sound. We walked in as the entire pub was exploding into O Canada. Found our afterparty! We met people from all over Canada, some living in Europe and some just over for the World Cup.

That was in september, more to come...

6 exams done...2 to go. I had a visitor over the weekend. My friend Brandy has been touring Europe for the past few months and stopped for a visit. The weather has been very hot for the past few weeks and Galway is really coming alive...

Sunny day at the beach (this is a minute walk from our new house)

Our 'local'- Monroe's is a great pub just across the street from us. We went there Friday night for some live music.

and Brandy's first pint of Guiness. (I swear, that was my first of the night.... hours of sleep doesn't make a person look pretty and that's the only photo I have of the two of us)



Some dancing lessons

A rainy day in the mountains. The weather wasn't so great on Saturday but we still had a nice day seeing the countryside.

Unfortunately, the day ended in a car accident. We were rearended on the highway coming into the city (I was stopped waiting for the car in front of me to turn). It was a 4 car chain reaction started by a Land Cruiser pulling a loaded horse trailer. Needless to say, it was a pretty big bang. Blue Thunder and I both sustained some damage but will be okay (in case anyone else was wondering, the horses were okay).

Less than a week to go and I'll be home....

Sunny Days at Sunshine Village

Things back in Canada have been great. Lots of mountain biking, running and ruling the FROLF league.

Had a fabulous day on the slopes today with the Leaches, Leigh and Bill. The ladies couldn't keep their eyes off my hot action.

Almost too good looking.

Some minor adjustments. Then...

HOT DOG!!