The Global Adventurer

The Rheinturm of Dusseldorf, Germany

The German city Düsseldorf has an Aldstadt or Old Town that is known as the longest bar in the world because of the sheer number of bars (over 300!) located in a small section. The area is perfect for people into pub crawling. If this is not your cup of tea – er – beer, you can saunter over to the adjacent  Königsallee to lose yourself and your money in over a kilometer long of high-end shops.

These were not the reasons why we were in town for, though. I signed up for the Metro Marathon Düsseldorf 2017, just my fourth major German marathon after Berlin, Munich and Hamburg. Düsseldorf is only less than three hours away by car from our house in Belgium. We drove during a beautiful spring Saturday morning of April 29, 2017.

We parked the car at the Q-Park in Friedrichstraβe to avoid being caught inside the race route and walked the few meters to Leonardo Royal Hotel in Königsallee. It was too early to check in; we dropped off our bags and walked 10 minutes to the Stadtsparkasse Düsseldorf to pick up my bib.

Registration cost varies from 54 to 84 euros depending on the day you signed up. You can also sign up at the expo for 95 euros.

We walked back to the hotel to deposit our luggage in the room.

We got all chores done early! We hopped on the U-Bahn to go to the Heinrich-Heine-Allee stop to check out the scene at Alstadt and play tourist at the Rheinuferpromenade.

We even got our photo taken with the Rheinturm in the background. The Dusseldorf communications tower is featured prominently in the marathon publicity and race medals.

Thai was our choice for dinner in Alstadt before calling it a night.

Breakfast at the hotel was luxurious, with champagne served as you please.

Properly nourished, we took the U-Bahn to the Tonhalle stop for the race start at 9:00 AM.

The race had a time limit of six hours.

There were many animation points or entertainment spots.

The aid stations had the usual, plus SiS gels. The race had a special Diabetic Point along the course to monitor runners with medical conditions.

I made a new friend who was dressed as Super Michel.

The course took us all over the city.

We finished the course at the same promenade we visited the previous night.

After cleaning up back at the hotel, we took off for Belgium. Only then did we notice an exit for an interesting name for a German town. Oh.

The scene along parts of the course.

After a few marathons all over Europe recently, I felt I needed to run one close to home again. The Alpro Leiemarathon 2017 was very conveniently located in Wevelgem, Belgium. I could not resist running this race on Sunday, September 24, 2017.

The race was sponsored by Alpro, the giant Belgian company specializing in plant-based food alternative to dairy. All their products are made from the Flemish soya bean. I must say they are good! I could not even tell the difference when I tried the the different yogurt flavors and yogurt drinks that were included in the finisher’s loot bag.

The race start was at 11:30 AM with a time limit of five hours and 30 minutes. The start area in Porseleinhallen was only an hour away from our house. Registration is from 25 – 35 euros, depending on the day you register. Race day was also possible for 45 euros. I picked up my pre-registered race bib just a few minutes before the race start.

Full and half marathoners started at the same time.

We had to do two flat loops along the Leie river. We passed the Alpro plant twice. It was a small race with just 328 marathoners and 618 marathoners. The aid stations had the usual water, sports drink, banana, and oranges. They also provided Isogel Extreme which I didn’t know had 100 milligrams of caffeine in it per packet! I had two before I realized each packet was more than my usual 35mg caffeine of GU Roctane Gel. I was worried with heart palpitations from too much caffeine but thankfully I was okay. Word of advice to you runners: check the caffeine content of the gels they provide at the aid stations!

The day started cool but heated up quickly. Aid stations also had sponge areas, and the local fire department had its hose running for help people cool down.

The finisher’s kit included a backpack, three soya drinks, three yogurts, and two Isogel Extremes that I took from the aid stations but did not use. The finisher’s medal was a colored metal cut-out highlighting the Leie river and the Alpro brand. It was a productive Sunday overall!

The Royal Palace of Oslo

The next stop on our 2017 marathon itinerary was Oslo in the land of the Vikings. A third of Norway’s land is in the Arctic Circle, giving the country the nickname The Land of the Midnight Sun. Norway itself translates to “path to the North”.

I had the BMW Oslo Marathon on my sights ever since we arrived in Europe in 2014 but it was only this year when I finally decided to go ahead and run it.

The Brussels Airlines afternoon flight on Friday, September 15, 2017 landed at Oslo Airport Gardermoen after two and a half hours. Flytoget Airport Express Train goes direct to our stop, the National Theater station. The pleasant 26-minute train ride costs for 180 Norwegian kroner (NOK) per person. Exchange rate for the day was 8 NOK for 1 USD or 9.38 NOK for 1 Euro.

The station exit provided an easy way to Radhuskeie in Radhusplassen where I picked up my bib. We took the opportunity to have our photo taken in front of the Nobel Peace Center along the way to the race expo. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded at the Oslo City Hall while the other Nobel prizes are given in Stockholm, Sweden. A couple of girls were giving out detergent samples to the walking public; I got two!

The sports expo was a beehive of activity with major brand exhibitors and marathon promoters.

Online pre-registration for the race was 885 NOK, including the race shirt. Since BMW was the major sponsor, it was only fitting that they had the latest BMW i8 sports car on display.

Race bib in hand, we made our way to First Hotel Grims Grenka, our home for the weekend. The hotel was in the city center and near the start and finish lines.

After dropping off our luggage, we decided to walk around and find a good place for dinner. We finally settled on pasta at Proseccheria Restaurant and Vinbar just around the corner. The restaurant was in front of the Christiania Torv, a big hand sculpture in the middle of a small plaza.

The race started at 9:15 AM on Saturday, September 16, 2017, with a six hour time limit. I found a group of Filipino expat runners based in the UK.

The weather at the start was cold, at least for me. I wore a vest that I took off midway as the day heated up. The marathon was a two-loop course starting and finishing at Radhuset. The aid stations provided water, sports drink, Cola, oranges, and bananas. Coffee was also provided at one sponsored aid station.

Entertainment dotted the course along the way.

The views were beautiful!

Richard took photos of the various boats docked nearby. People with extra time to spend in Oslo can visit the Viking ship museum where thousand-year-old preserved Viking ships are on display.

My finisher swag included the race medal, bread, Ritz chocolate crackers, banana, yogurt, and water. Sweet!

Food from the room service menu was our dinner that night. I was hoping to see the Northern Lights at night but it was too early in the season. Anyway, we woke up early to have a big breakfast.

We meandered around the city center to take photos and have ours taken in front of various important buildings: The Parliament Hall, Oslo Cathedral, the Royal Palace, Universitetsplassen. They were all close to each other along the main street, Karl Johans gate.

Oslo is a beautiful city but expensive! Nationwide, taxes are high but people are well paid and knew the benefits of their taxes. Education is completely free from elementary to college, for one thing. The high quality of life makes the country a great place to live in.

Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the airport. We took the same Flytoget Airport Express Train at Oslo Central Station, and flew back to Belgium on the same carrier at 5:45 PM, September 17, 2017.

This was our first visit to Lithuania, one of three Baltic states that were formerly under the Soviet rule. It was not that long ago that the country became the first member of the Soviet Union to break away in 1990. In 2004, Lithuania joined the European Union and NATO.

We took the two-hour Brussels Airlines flight to Vilnius on September 8, 2017. Vilnius International Airport is small but very modern. The taxi ride to the Cathedral Square was 18 euros and took a few minutes longer due to the rush hour traffic. The sport expo was at the center of the Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage protected area.

The sport expo which was open until 8:00 PM did not have many exhibitors but the goody bag was packed full of excellent giveaways. Online pre-registration for the marathon was 45 euros.

The goody bag had the Danske Bank Vilnius Marathon 2017 T-Shirt from NIKE; “Saulės grūdas” corn crackers; “Būk sveikas” bread from “Vilniaus duona”; Protein WPC 80 protein shake from GYMON; Energovit C purple bar with fruit, nuts and vitamin C; Special offer from NIKE; Special offer from Sportland; GARMIN 15% discount for running watches and activity trackers; Compeed plaster; Three samples of ETNO tea, “Naturalis” crisps; Montis Magia offer for camp; Free visit to IMPULS, and;AUGA ecological marinated beets.

The Cathedral Square was only two blocks away from our hotel Congress Avenue Hotel.

We could see the historical buildings from our hotel room. The building across our hotel was a high-end mall.

Dinner was also across the street at the trendy Carte Bar and Lounge.

Saturday was a leisure day. A languid breakfast at 8:30 AM fueled us for a walking tour of the former Soviet city.

I went for a short four-mile run by the river before we set off to see some of Vilnius’ tourist sights. The Three Muses is a sculpture atop a theater building near our hotel. We paused for a photo at the Cathedral Square which was the epicenter of the marathon.

Continuing our walking tour, we trekked up to the Hill of Three Crosses. We were rewarded for enduring the steep steps with a commanding view of the Old Town. We could see Gediminas’ Tower from our vantage point.

We walked back to the hotel to stop at St. Anne’s Church and take a photo of the Orthodox Cathedral.

The free pasta party started at 2:00 PM at the Cathedral Square.

We came back to the road in front of our hotel blocked for a commercial shoot.

We loved what we ate last night at Carte so we were back for more! Creme brulee for dessert was our choice this time. Eating out in Vilnius is definitely cheaper than where we live.

Race day was on Sunday, September 10, 2017. The start and finish line was at the Cathedral Square. The marathon and half marathon runners started at the same time at 9:00 AM. Marathoners had to do two loops within the time limit of five hours and 30 minutes.

The course led us to streets with interesting, possibly Soviet era buildings.

What I love about this marathon is that they scheduled several running events throughout the day. I crossed the finish line when the elite runners of the 10K race were also coming through. The finish line was jam-packed with family and friends waiting for their runners. Later that afternoon, a giant mass of runners took off for the family fun run.

I also appreciated the fact that the organizers thoughtfully provided a shower truck for all runners to use. The Hans Grohe truck was spacious and luxurious with hot and cold water. Richard was already checked out of the hotel so I showered and changed in the shower truck before going back to the hotel to wait for our airport shuttle pick-up. The cost to go back to the airport was cheaper at 15 euros.

We took the Brussels Airlines flight back home that evening at 6:15 PM, arriving in Brussels at 7:40 PM.