Bulgaria Trip

i would like to call this a hostel, but it was really just someones house with a couple of spare rooms turned into guest rooms. really nice and clean, not to mention only 8 euros per night.
spring has arrived not only in bulgaria but in greece as well, although we don't have as many flowers in thessaloniki.
i always miss mom's daffodils this time of year.
this is the valley that you drive through coming into the little village, pretty impressive.
this is a photo taken down from the climbing area, there is quite a bit more behind me. the sectors are small, but there are a lot of them. the area boasts hard medium and beginner sport, single pitch traditional, and some multipitch adventures. we'll definitely go back
village from the climbing sector.
the place was beautiful.

crazy upside-down flowers.


Not a bad picnic area, eh?

So a couple of weekends ago we (eleftheria and i) went with a couple of friends to bulgaria for a climbing trip. it was a fantastic trip and the climbing was amazing. we went to a little village about 3 km from vratsa, which is a small town about an 1 1/2 hours north of sofia. seated down in a valley in the foothills of the bulkans, it was really beautiful. hope to go back soon and check out the cave.

hope the next post comes sooner than later.

Random Pics of Three Weekends of Climbing

friends and climbers

sent and sit

the best part of the morning

home sweet home

nestos river valley

sitting in the evenings

pasta

mouzaki river valley

solitaire before bidi bah

these pictures are from the last three weekends. i have been climbing at least one day each weekend. these pics are from koukouvagias cave, mouzaki, and nestos valley.

have a good day, miss you all

Beyond Daily Life

work, eat, work, train, sleep, work, eat, work, train, sleep, work, eat, work, train, sleep, work, eat, work, train, sleep,work, eat, work, train, sleep, work, eat, work, train, sleep, work, eat, work, train, sleep, work, eat, work, train, sleep,work, eat, work, train, sleep, work, eat, work, train, sleep,work, eat, work, train, sleep, work, eat, work, train, sleep,work, eat, work, train, sleep

whoa! sweet, a party. eleftheria's sister had her birthday a couple of weekends ago, also the end of carnival, allowing us to take a weekend off and hang out with a bunch of friends.

batman and robin.,
observing batman and robin.
this is me in the midst of doing the 'lawn-mower'. i taught this move to gioria (the birth day girl) a while back for a dance-off she was taking part in (yes i am serious), but i think she lost; should have gone with the 'sprinkler'.

the crew.

Some Music to Hear, Watch and Enjoy

so, i have been on a serious search for new music for the past few months. to be honest i have not found much, but i have found a few pretty inspiring performances by some of my favorites and a couple of new bands. and a special thanks goes to sarah for her help. also check out the site at the end of the post; see if it works for you.


















www.gnoosic.com

Couple of Artistic Shots

ceiling in the castle
these huge beach balls were sitting outside the window at the hotel
this wind farm sits out to sea. denmark sits between the north sea and the baltic sea and is one of the greener of the european countries.

Adam's Video

a while back, adam sent me a bunch of videos. i am not sure why he did not post this one; it was my favorite of the bunch.

so, thank you adam.

Notes from Denmark

The view from the window seat over austria.
copenhagen train station.
there are bicycles everywhere here. cars cost 4x the price they are in the states, and the people are taxed nearly 45% of their incomes! Perfect health care, great education system, wonderful infrastructure, and awesome public transportation.
Lines over trains
i don't know what this represents but it was very nice.
kromborg castle. kings and queens of the danes. amazing. definitely worth the while.
cannons are still in use. they used to have a sea tax. if someone wouldn't pay they would fire a warning shot out front. now they use it for celebrations; 40 shots for the princesses twins.
the largest ballroom in northern europe. huge.

cool stair.
covered bridge into the city of nyborg (pronounced 'nouborg').

traditional housing. the yellow one at the end is a traditional wood beam house.

power plant in the mist.
this is a student of mine and i walking down the beach outside the hotel.
this is us stripping to our shorts.
this is us running into the water. 1.7 degrees celcius; not too bad.
oh, yeah it is. this is me doing my best to get out of the water fast.
jumping jacks, warm the core.

we are having a great time. the conference is going well. i have more pictures and i'll post again later.