CategoriesOff Topic

Minutia About Me

A few weeks ago a good friend and colleague of mine, Andrew Coates, took some time on his Facebook page to note that he’s not just this 6’2″ 260 lb behemoth of a human being who likes to lift heavy things.

He’s a lot of other things too.

Canadian, for example…;o)

So, I figured since I’m in a bit of a writing rut of late anyway (and that I too am not just some deadlifting Terminator) there’s really no better topic to help me break the funk than…

scapular upward rotation, extension-based back pain, Top 10 boyfriends of Carrie Bradshaw MEeeeeeee!

Copyright: artursz / 123RF Stock Photo

Me, Me, Me. It’s All About Me

– I grew up in a small village in Central NY (in the Finger Lakes region) that still doesn’t have one traffic light. Or fast food chain. Or electricity.

– Just kidding. My hometown (Groton, NY) has electricity. In fact, it has it’s own electric company. The station is named after my grandfather He-Man Frank McClear.

– I graduated high-school in 1995 and was one of the few athletes from my hometown to have the opportunity to play sports at the collegiate level.

– I played two years at Onondaga Community College (Syracuse, NY) where I was named MVP Pitcher for both the 1996 & 1997 season in addition to being named 1st Team All-Region in 1997.

– I then transferred to Mercyhurst University (Erie, PA) in 1997 where I was named a Division II Player to Watch for the 1998 season. I played there for two years and SPOILER ALERT: There weren’t many MLB teams clamoring for a right-handed pitcher who topped out at 87 MPH.

Yep, that’s me.

– I then transferred back to NY to finish my degree at SUNY Cortland where I earned a degree in Health Education with a concentration in Health/Wellness Promotion (and kicking ass).1

– I was thiiiiiis close to becoming a health teacher. However, a stint student teaching a bunch of 7th graders what nocturnal emissions are all about pretty much put an end to that dream.

– Instead I opted for a career where I could wear sweatpants everyday to work. Doesn’t suck.

– I was never a voracious reader growing up – except for The Source and Sports Illustrated magazines. It wasn’t until my then girlfriend broke up with me in 2002 (and I needed to find something to occupy my time other than crying in the fetal position in the shower & envisioning her hooking up with other dudes) that I began reading more novels and literature. My favorite author is Kurt Vonnegut. My favorite book is The Grapes of Wrath. The final pages of that book still haunt me.

– I’m a 90’s hip-hop head through and through. 1993-1995 is the best two year span of hip-hop ever. Prove me wrong.

– I never thought in a million years I’d ever be a “writer,” let alone paid to do so. I wonder if any of my high-school English teachers – Mrs. Davie, Mrs. LaVack, Mrs. Gambetta – ever refer to me as their crown achievement? I like to think that they used to include units on “the works of Gentilcore” alongside Shakespeare, Langston Hughes, and Proust.

– I also like to think that one day I’ll make out with J-Lo.

– I firmly believe there’s a middle ground to everything – whether we’re referring to politics, bar position on the back squat, or agreeing that all keto recipes taste like sheetrock.

– I will never, ever, ever, never, not in a million-years, ever, ever, ever…start a podcast.

– The only two live concerts I’ve ever attended are Alicia Keys and Norah Jones (twice).2

– I know everyone says this (and it’s entirely not a profound statement to make), but I love watching movies. I was asked recently what profession I’d want to do if I weren’t doing what I am doing now. First would be “professional beat Jason Bourne in a street fight guy.” Second, though, would be a movie reviewer. I can think of no better way to spend my day than to be a jacked Gene Siskel.

– If there’s one piece of advice I like to give everyone it’s simply this: Be nice. Most of the time. Nazis (and/or Megatron, Skeletor, Cobra Commander, pretty much any doctor/charlatan who writes a mainstream nutrition book) should be punched in the face or pancreas whenever possible.

– I think it’s silly (and bordering me not having enough eye rolls to give) when gym owners post videos of themselves vacuuming their facility.

via GIPHY

– That said, who am I to toss shade!? I once posted a video of me doing a Turkish Get-Up. You do you.

– I met my wife on Match.com. We exchanged emails for two days (<– writing skills came in handy there), spoke on the phone for one day, and met for tacos the next. Five years later I proposed on our apartment balcony in sweatpants. Not kidding.

– My cat just took a massive shit in her litter box which is four feet away from me.  Perfect segue to end there.

– This was fun.

– I’m awesome…;o)

CategoriesOff Topic

Day 4: Cologne!

Due to some kind of error on my part, we are in an AirBnB with no laundry. You cannot travel to Europe for 2 weeks with carry on-luggage – and a baby – and not have laundry! Oops. So we were planning to do some laundry on Sunday, but NO Laundromats were open! I know, it’s bonkers.

Anyways, as you can imagine I had a plan to attack the laundry situation first thing Monday morning. So when Julian woke up at 6am, we seized the opportunity. With Julian in the stroller, notes-on-paper, old-school style directions (due to no cell service) we made our way to the “Waschsalon”, only to find German-only directions and a very confusing looking computer that looked like it came out of 1987!

Thank GOODNESS there was one other desperate laundry-doer at 6:30am in Bonn, because he helped us how to figure out the weirdest Laundromat computer system I have ever seen! We threw the Landry in, headed out for diapers, milk, bananas, and bread (like any family on vacation should), and then back to the Laundromat to put the wash into the dryer. During this time I watched a elderly woman, and seemingly regular patron of the Waschsalon, take off her shirt and bra, and place it into the wash. So there was that. We rolled with it, and had a little breakfast:

Anyways, laundry done, groceries gotten, 78 fresh new diapers! Let’s go… Today was our day to see Cologne.

Did you know that Cologne is a favorite city of many Germans? Apparently it has a special something about it. It is also Valentina’s favorite city – so if your guide loves the city you’re visiting, so do you!

We started with the Cathedral – because… well, have you ever seen the cathedral?

Actually, there is really no photo that could ever do it justice. The cathedral (The Dom) is insane. We walked in and around for awhile, taking photos and being tourists.

After exploring the city center, we headed across the river:

Where there’s a tall building topped with a fabulous observatory and a 360 degree view. Here are some photos:

After some looking at the Rhine and the city from the “other side”, we had lunch! More Kolsch, a bratwurst, and more potatoes – naturally.

We made our way back to Bonn, because Valentina has a business to run, after all, and we were so sorry to say goodbye! She is a fabulous person, and was an amazing host. He hope to see her again soon!

 

I was happy to be home by 5pm. It felt like the first time we got to relax! We relaxed, made some easy dinner, and packed up.

Tomorrow… Holland! See you then.

CategoriesOff Topic

Day 3: Bonn Day

Guten Morgan! Julian, Eileen, and Tony slept well.

Me, not so much, but what can you do?

Luckily, my life-long love affair with coffee sustains me in times like this, so I was awake at 4:30 and up at 5:30am dosing myself, while the family slumbered.

After a few cups of coffee and a slice of amazing German bread, I went back to sleep at 7:30, and awoken by Julian at 10:30 (thank the Universe for 12 hours of sleep for the baby!) We realized Julian was down to his last few diapers, and that I had just used the last coffee filter (!!!), so we headed out to buy some of each. Do you know that Every. Thing. Is closed on Sunday in Germany?!

I did not believe it was not possible to buy a diaper – but believe it! I did find some coffee filters in a gas station (Aha! At least the gas station is open) but no diapers. So we counted the last 4 and hoped this would not become an issue…

Due to everyone sleeping in, we got a late start, and headed into Valentina’s gym for a jet-lag rehab workout. Unique fitness is gorgeous! And the workout really helped – chin ups, bench press, deadlift, swings… and everything feels 30% better! Tony, Eileen and I all got in our workout while Julian observed (and napped more!) in his stroller.

After the workout and a quick shower we were out to sightsee in Bonn! A cute little city, one of the major tourist attractions is the birthplace of Beethoven. Tony and Eileen went inside to visit, and due to the no-stroller accessibility situation, Jules and I hung out on the street and watched the tourists come to take photos of the front door

After some walking around, Valentina recommended a restaurant on the other side of the Rhine, with amazing food! So of course, we made the trek, and by the time we arrived we were starving!

But the walk was totally worth it.

Owned by a husband and wife team, this was “The” place to get Schnitzel, if you want good Schnitzel… So of course, I had to get Schnitzel! I opted, of course, for the “Classic Schnitzel” which is veal, with bits of bacon on top, because why not? This was accompanied with potatoes, naturally.

One thing I love about the area is the beer – Kolsch.

If you are a local, you drink a small glass of Kolsch, which is light, and because it’s in a small glass, it’s always cold and bubbly. So you have a little beer, then another, and then maybe if you want, another.

So you’re never drinking “too much” beer, and your never drinking warm or flat beer – brilliant!

Apparently other kinds of Germans make fun of drinking light, easy-drinking beer out of small glasses, but I loved it!

Anyways, after dinner I was SOOOO full I was ready to sleep right there! But we left and made the journey back home to our Airbnb.

Goodnight, and fingers crossed for some sleep!

CategoriesOff Topic

Day 2 – Strong Body, Strong Mind, (and Jet Lag) in Bonn, Germany!

So… it happened! Strong Body, Strong Mind, Bonn.

 

 

After a quick breakfast, Tony and I popped back downstairs to meet Valentina, leaving Julian and Eileen behind to fend for themselves. We returned to Unique Fitness, where we met an amazing collection of trainers from various parts of Germany and Prague! It was a fabulous group, and a great day.

I take on the morning during our workshops, covering general topics within the psychology of coaching and training clients: understanding and enhancing motivation, professional self-care and boundaries, and working with tricky clients, among other things.

The group was fantastic and I learned a great deal from them over the course of the morning. We broke for lunch, and then Tony took over the afternoon, covering other psychological topics, like framing and priming, and then moving on to some shoulder assessment, and finally squat assessment to round out the day. Here are some of our new friends!

During Tony’s talk, my jetlag really set in.

After the seminar I felt like a zombie, but, I had to push through, because a Biergarten!

We headed over to a local restaurant in old town, where Tony and I enjoyed a “typical local dish” called Sauerbraten. Beef, potatoes, purple cabbage – what’s not to love? There should be a photo here, but because Tony and I inhaled our dinners (and because Julian was melting down – again) you’ll just have to see a stock image of Sauerbraten (which does not do it justice).

Another quick trip to the grocery store, another tram ride, and we were home again, home again. For reasons unexplainable, we all hit a second wind, and were sitting on the porch, enjoying a snack, when we realized it was approaching 10pm! That’s what is so cray-cray about jet lag. All of the tiredness, with none of the sleeping.

Julian hates the German bathtub, so after forcing him to take a bath, and getting in the shower myself, I was pooped. I got into bed, and Tony got Julian to bed… fingers crossed for some sleep tonight!

CategoriesOff Topic

Let the European Adventure Commence!

Hello Friends and Family! Once again, the Gentilewis’ greet you from Europe, only this time with the addition of Julian-the-baby, and Eileen-the-nanny! After much planning, we set off for Bonn, Germany at 3pm on Thursday afternoon – here we are, in good spirits:

We took an overnight flight to Dublin, and even under the best of circumstances, trans-continental flights are tiring. Julian’s first hop over the pond could have gone worse, but truth be told, it could have gone much better. Although Tony and I did not sleep one wink, Julian slept for a few hours, draped over one of us, and we arrived in Dublin at 5am local time, 11pm Boston time.

Everyone felt gross, and weird, but that’s part of the adventure. We had a snack, and Julian snuck into the bar across the terminal for a quick pop-up-Julian!

#popupjulian hits up Dublin Airport and grabs a pint at 6 AM. Off to Germany.

A post shared by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore) on

After a few hours we were on our way again, this time to Frankfurt. The flight was 2 hours, and fortunately I slept most of the way! So did Eileen and Jules, so it was only poor, poor Tony who endured another sleepless flight.

When we arrived in Frankfurt we all felt even weirder, and even grosser. It was 10:15 local time, and 3:15am Boston time. Eww. Frankfurt is a massive airport! So after all kinds of taxi-ing, de-planing, and walking, we arrived in the airport lobby, in search of caffeine.

Julian had already lost most of his mind at this point, and the rest of us were doing the best we could. With the help of a coffee and some free wifi, we found the train terminal and walked over to purchase our tickets from Frankfurt to Bonn. Unfortunately the next available train was not until 2pm! So we hung out in the train terminal for a good part of the day. Julian was not a fan, but we all did our best. Here we are, in semi-good-yet-weary spirits:

At long last, we got on the train! Julian chose this occasion to have a meltdown, which our fellow passengers did not appreciate, but who can blame them? And who can blame Julian either, really? Here he is, delirious and seemingly drunk:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZQuQndRA2o

 

The train was crazy fast. We arrived in Bonn within 45 minutes and met our amazing host and guide for the weekend, Valentina! Owner of Unique Fitness, Valentina invited us to come and speak at her gym and helped us coordinate our European Adventure! Upon our arrival Valentina then took us on the Tram, where we made our way to her gym, Unique Fitness, then to the grocery store, and then to our AirBnB (local time, 5pm, Boston time, 11am).

Needless to say, we were weary!

But our apartment was lovely, with a room for Tony and I, a room for Eileen, and even a room for Julian! We made a quick dinner, took a quick shower, and tried not to fall over. Julian was all the way outside of his mind by this time. We all passed out early, and had an up-and-down night of jet-lagged sleep, interrupted by a crying baby, every few hours or so. Tony and I took turns sleeping with Julian, and by the time 6:15 rolled around, I was awake and looking for the coffee pot!

CategoriesOff Topic

Movie Review: Sully

Director Clint Eastwood’s (American Sniper, Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby) latest movie Sully is, ironically, not centered around a random guy with the last name Sullivan or some obscure neighborhood bar located in the outskirts of Boston.

It centers around the real-life event surrounding USA Airways Flight 1549 piloted by Chelsey Sullenberger (Tom Hanks) and Jeff Skiles (Aaron Eckhart), which left New York’s LaGuardia Airport en route to Charlotte, NC on the morning of January 15, 2009 and 208 seconds later performed an emergency and unprecedented landing (more like an aviation”bellyflop”) into the Hudson River.

(Not really) a Spoiler Alert: all 155 passengers on board miraculously survived.

Very well known for his thrifty movie-making approaches I was half-expecting Eastwood to show a dramatization of the entire crash sequence – which he did, twice, in very much a sphincter clenching way – and after all was said and done, pan the camera towards Hanks (Sully), have him say something like “yeah, that’s right, I landed that shit,” and then fad to black, roll credits.

Basically the ultimate mic drop.

 

And this is why I have never won an Academy Award or have never been paid money to make a movie.1

There are no real surprises to the events themselves, and I can understand why some may think to themselves “why did this movie need to be made in the first place? We all know what happens.” I can respect that.

Could the argument be made that it’s a predictable plot? Sure. This is standard procedure with any movie made about an historical event. I think it’s a stupid argument to make. We all know the Titanic sinks and yet that didn’t stop James Cameron from 1) making a metric shit-ton of money and 2) making me ball my eyes out.

So, yeah, the plot is predictable, but it doesn’t make what happened any less fascinating.  However, the meat and potatoes of the plot isn’t so much about the event itself…but rather how it affects “Sully” and the rest of the people involved.

Not surprisingly, after an event like that, there’s going to be a degree of “WTF just happened?” and wonderment about whether or not the right call was made?

Could he have made it back to LaGuardia?

Did he have to land the plane in the river?

Could the higher-ups involved with reviewing the whole scenario be any more dickish than they were?

The movie, while depicting a miraculous event, had more to do with the aftermath and how Sully dealt with the inquisition on his actions, and also, too, his transition from a guy “doing his job” to instant celebrity and hero and guy I want to pilot every flight I’m on from here on out.

In a time where we’re surrounded by a social and political environment fueled by hate, bigotry, ignorance, and a lot of dark and sinister adjectives…it was refreshing to head to the theater for 90 minutes and be reminded that human beings can be pretty darn calm, cool, and collected. It was nice to see and be reminded that something good can happen.

Final Grade: B+

 

CategoriesOff Topic

The Secret to Getting Good At Anything

I’m not a good writer.

In fact, I don’t consider myself a “writer” in the first place. I’m a strength coach who happens to have the ability to write sentences that don’t suck. Sometimes back to back; and sometimes including the proper usage of the semicolon.

Full Disclosure: I don’t even know if I used the semicolon correctly in that last sentence. If I did, sweet. I win the internet today. If I didn’t, whatevertheflyingfuck. I don’t care.

Kurt Vonnegut hated semicolons:

Here is a lesson in creative writing. First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you’ve been to college.”

My buddy, John Romaniello, a talented writer in his own right (and someone who, too, lifts a metric shit-ton of weight), by contrast, loves the semicolon:

I think it’s a splendid little piece of punctuation.

While I don’t think it’s really necessary in any respect, I do notice that people who use the semi appropriately tend to be solid writers; or, at least, have a firmer grasp of structure than most. (An observation of cognitive bias, perhaps.)

….to me, the semicolon implies, “there’s always more to say.”

So, yeah, I’m not a good writer.

But I don’t think anyone who writes thinks he or she is good at it. Only a select few can be Kurt Vonnegut, Ernest Hemingway, David Eggers, Anne Lamott, Stephen King, or He-Man.1

Most people who write – at least in my experience – will describe their prose as “bat-shit awful” on average days to an “indiscernible, incoherent attempt at passable English” on the good days.

I 100% fall into this camp.

I’ll admit that writing doesn’t come easy to me. I am not one of those people who can sit in front of their laptop, swiftly tap away on their keyboard, and conjure up some masturbatory masterpiece that’ll live in literary lore.

Fact: that last paragraph alone took me five minutes to write. But hot damn, alliterations are awesome aren’t they?

Writing can, and often is, a marathon of agony for me.

However, what can I say: I love it. As a self-described introvert…nothing recharges me or satiates my inner “leave me the fuck alone” troll than writing.

I can sequester myself in some corner at a cafe, or, preferably, in my office with my cat, Dagny, and be as content as content can be.

Oh my god, I can’t stand it how cute my cat is. Writing programs for clients and she snuggles right up to my laptop.

A photo posted by Tony Gentilcore (@tonygentilcore) on

As agonizing as writing can be now, it used to be way, way, way worse.

However, as with anything, you get better at doing it by, you know, doing it.2

I’m approaching 1,800 blog posts on this website. That’s a lot of writing. And that number doesn’t include all the articles I’ve written for other publications and websites.

I started, and I got better.

I often receive emails from other fitness professionals asking me how they can get their names out there and how they can become better at writing.

I’m honored they’d ask me in the first place, and feel obliged to be honest:

“First of all, thank you for the kind words. You obviously have impeccable tastes in the strength coaches you follow. I bet you’re super good looking too. To answer your question: Just start. Shut up, and start. Stop emailing me (and everyone else you’re asking the same question to) and start.”

Okay, maybe I’m not such an awful “writer” after all.

I’m leaps and bounds better today than I was when I first started a little over ten years ago. I can see growth in my writing. I have a style. There’s better sentence structure, transitions, flow, and I finally know the difference between there/their/they’re.

But all this happened because I started.

And haven’t stopped.

Still working on that semicolon, though.

CategoriesOff Topic

Day 15: The Best Copenhagen Day Ever!

pic of us at the palace

Day 15: The Best Copenhagen Day Ever!

I didn’t really sleep.

There were a number of young and drunk people yelling and chanting early 2000’s hip hop outside of our hotel window.

Tony didn’t hear it because:

  1. He is the best sleeper on earth
  2. He wears earplugs, which worked out to be smart in this situation.

Anywho, once we were up Tony thought we should just go for it and get the breakfast in the hotel. It was cold cuts and yogurt and toast and the worst coffee in America… oops… sorry… the worst coffee in Denmark.

So I had muesli with hot water and shitty coffee, but we did what we needed to do and got up out of there to enjoy the day!

We rented some bikes (with a handy GPS attached!)

Bike Rental

And made our way over to one of the castles.

Rosenborg Slot

Afterward, we were wandering around and stumbled upon a fabulous market!

Called Torvehallerne, this public space was filled with beautiful produce, funky and fabulous food and drinks, skincare, and all kinds of fun! Here’s a pic:

Torv Market (before lunch)

And HERE’s the website (in case of you randomly being in Copenhagen).

We decided to come back at lunchtime.

But first, to the Round Tower! Built in the 17th century to be used as an astronomical observatory, our tour also included the attached chapel and library hall.

Here’s the beautiful chapel:

Round Tower Chapel

And here’s the super cool winding hall up to the top of the tower! (Please notice Tony being silly/creepy over there in the corner).

Round Tower hall with creepy tony

Atop the tower was the observatory, with a great view of the city:

Us on top of tower

Then it was time for lunch! Tony hit up an “egg wrap”, which is basically super thin yet large omelet that functions as a wrap for veggies and other goodness. I had a salad from this place called “Paleo”. Check it!

Pic of lunch

Tony wanted a bit of dessert afterward, and he stumbled upon the bakery Nazi – AKA Café Rosa.

Rosa was not playing any games, and made it clear that we were interrupting her baking by asking for Tony’s carrot cake – but it was worth it!

pic of tony's lunch dessert 1

Once we were all finished with the market, we hopped back on some bikes, and cycled our way over to the Royal Palace. I risked my life while riding to show you how awesome and bike friendly Copenhagen really is! There’s Tony up ahead:

pic of tony riding

And here we are once we arrived at the Palace:

pic of us at the palace

By this point, we were both feeling Copenhagen.

Staff at the front desk of our hotel told us that more than 50% of the city’s population rides a bike, but that seemed like an underestimate to us. There were HUGE bike lanes everywhere, special traffic signals, specifically for bikes, and very patient easy-going drivers, who seemed used to bikers being everywhere.

Bikers in mini skirts.

Bikers drinking a coffee (or beer) while riding with one hand.

Bikers chatting, listening to music, and so on and so forth. It was very fantastic!

For example, here is one of many bike parking lots, sitting just outside a little café where I grabbed a coffee:

bikes from coffee shop window

We returned our bikes (there are little stations to return the bikes all over the city) and wandered around in the city for a bit. When we came upon Nyhavn:

Pic of Nyhavn

It was high time for another dessert, and Tony wanted a repeat of the amazing Belgian waffle a la mode that Travis’ wife Amanda introduced him to the day before! Here it is:

Tony with waffle

Then, upon another of Travis and Amanda’s recommendations, we jumped on a boat tour of Copenhagen. It was fabulous! Here are some highlights:

Pic 4 of boat tour

pic 5 of boat tour

We even got to see the famed Little Mermaid statue:

pic 3 of boat tour

It was a fabulous way to see the city and hear little facts about different buildings and neighborhoods:

Once off the boat, we decided to walk around to the “other” side of Copenhagen, and check out “Christiania” – the hippie town with a reputation for an amazing street food extravaganza:

pic of papiroen

It was a long walk, but completely gorgeous. Walking from one side of the city to the other from 5:00pm to about 6:30pm meant that we were accompanied by hundreds of city-dwellers afoot and on bikes, leaving work and heading over for some amazing street food (and drinks).

Let me just tell you, the walk was worth it!

Inside street food 1

inside street food 2

After we did a lap and made a thorough assessment of our options, I grabbed a local beer from a microbrewery, and Tony grabbed some pizza:

tony eating pizza

For our second course, we hit up a Brazilian place and got the “mixed grill”, which involves our favorite: meat and veggies:

Lisa and Street Food Copenhagen

food from brazilian place

To wrap it all up, we decided to have an open-faced little sandwich with tenderloin, onions, and a bit of pickle:

pic of sandwich

That was our favorite, and came from this little gem, called Handmade:

Handmade

We were full, and weary, after an amazing day! We decided to bike home, since we needed to get clear across the city. Here’s Tony heading over to our bikes for the Trek home:

Tony walking to bikes

It was a beautiful, and an epic way to end the perfect day. Awesome sunset, easy biking, and happy people everywhere, getting their weekend started:

bike ride home

We were so sad the day was over!

It may have been our best.

We quickly washed up and passed out! Tomorrow, we start the long journey home… talk to you then!

Love Lisa (and Tony).

CategoriesOff Topic

Day #14: Stockholm to Copenhagen

Note From Lisa: Sorry this is a day late! Tony and I had such an amazing last day in Copenhagen that once we got back to our hotel it was time for bed. More to come soon.

Day 14: Stockholm to Copenhagen

God Morgon!

Tony and I were up, packed, and ready to head to the train bright an early. We made our way back to Central Station, and looked around for some breakfast.

Usually I try to be a sport, but I could not bring myself to eat another creamy sandwich. I probably drove Tony crazy, walking into and back out of a dozen little cafes – but each time I tried to accept the present moment and just grab a sandwich, I couldn’t do it!

I left Tony with his turkey sandwich, protein bars, and sugar-free monster on the platform, and went in search of a “real” breakfast (sorry if that sounds obnoxious and American!).

I found a grocery store with non-dairy milk! I literally almost jumped up and down. Grabbing the coconut milk, I made my way back to a café where I got myself a coffee.

Once on board, our train left promptly at 8:20 am, and I enjoyed my coffee while Tony had his Monster. Afterward, I used my cup as a bowl, grabbed a spoon from the “bistro” on the train, and fished the oats and awesome Czech granola out of our luggage!!! Here’s my do-it-yourself American breakfast:

Breakfast on train

The train was much more crowded today – and much faster. In retrospect, I see that Oslo is a quieter, smaller, slower city than Stockholm. The Swedish capital is more metropolitan… cosmopolitan.

So the passengers reflected that. And the views were beautiful:

View from train to Copenhagen

Today is an exciting day; not just because we’re going to Copenhagen, but because we’re meeting up with one of Tony’s oldest friends!

Travis and Tony became friends after their senior year in high school, and played on a summer baseball team together. Travis now lives with his wife Amanda in Sweden, a bit outside of Copenhagen, and they made the trip into the city to hang out with us! Here’s the reunion:

Travis at Copenhagen

Another pic of Travis and Tony

We made the trek from the station to our hotel, which is… interesting.

Called the Cabinn Scandanavia, the rooms are like Cabins… on a cruise ship. So our room looked like a 3-level cruise ship Cabin, and I hated it. Take a look:

Cabinn Scandanavia 1

Cabinn Scandanavia 2

The toilet is in the shower. There are three levels of beds. So we dropped our shit off, and got up out of there!

Travis, Amanda, Tony and I ran around in Copenhagen for the afternoon. We stopped for a drink in the harbor (Nyhavn) and watched the characters enjoy their ice cream and beers and whatever else they wanted:

Drink in the Harbor

Amanda also introduced us to a Belgian waffle with ice cream on top. Tony’s favorite so far! Check it:

Waffle 1

Waffle 2

Did you know that you can drink anywhere you want in Copenhagen?

Plenty of cafes have “To-Go” beers and cocktails. Travis surprised us with some fruity cider from 7 Eleven, to enjoy while we roamed… here’s Tony (who is this guy?!) enjoying his blueberry cider while taking in the sites:

Street Drinking

After lots of walking and shopping, we went to Sushi n’ Sticks for dinner! Here we are at the bar:

pic of all at dinner

And here’s our awesome food:

pic of dinner

After dinner we walked Travis and Amanda halfway back to the train station. Then, realizing we didn’t have a map or GPS capability, we hugged goodbye and walked back to our cruise ship Cabin.

Nothing exciting is happening there!1

Walk to you soon, after a sleep and getting up out of the hotel room!

Lisa (and Tony)

CategoriesOff Topic

Day 13: Mayo, Salmon, Lebanese!

The Palace

Day 13: Mayo, Salmon, Lebanese!

With one full day in Stockholm only, we had a full itinerary!

Tony wanted to get a lift in, so we found the nearest SATS gym, and had a good bench day together.

NOTE from Tony: kudos to the staff at SATS Odenplan for their professionalism and general level of awesomeness.

I observed many of the trainers working doing some lovely things with their clients. Frankly, it was a breath of fresh air to see the bulk of them utilizing the free weights area and having their clients deadlift, perform KB swings, and perform a plethora of movement/mobility drills.

A hearty slow clap to you:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAryFIuRxmQ

 

Afterward, we were in search of breakfast.

Did you know that Swedes eat sandwiches for breakfast? Did you also know that Swedes are obsessed with mayonnaise, and other creamy condiments? We didn’t know! So after popping into and back out of 12 different cafes, we decided we had to just do as the Swedes to, and have a sandwich for breakfast.

Tony found a “chicken Caesar” sandwich, which is essentially the American salad classic, between bread. I wanted to try something Swedish, so I got a Skagen. An open-faced sandwich with lots of little shrimp. Here’s our breakfasts:

Sandwiches for Breakfast

I was not aware of the Swedish love for mayo! There was a freaky amount of mayo underneath those shrimp. I spent about five minutes taking globs off the bread.

For me, it was a little on the gross side. I couldn’t help but laugh, thinking of my best friend Susie, who is horrified by mayonnaise… I think she would have had to sit at a different table!

We popped back to the hotel for a shower. It was much cooler and overcast today, so once we had on some layers, we were ready for our day!

We decided to hop on the Hop On Hop Off Boat, which scoots all around Stockholm:

Hop on hop off boat

We made our way over to the Vasa museum.

The Vasa was a MONSTER ship that was built early in the 17th century. The ship made it a little over a mile before capsizing and sinking in the Stockholm Harbor, and sat in the bottom of the harbor for 333 years (until 1961) before being rescued, restored, and placed into it’s very own museum.

Both gorgeous and fascinating, the Vasa is still actively being restored and preserved. Here are a few pictures:

vasa 1

vasa 2

vasa 3

We hopped back on the boat and enjoyed the scenery as we made our way over to Gamla Stan:

Hop on hop off view

Once in Gamla Stan, we made our way to the central square, and then found a little place for lunch.

Gamla Stan lunch 1

Tony had some Swedish meatballs, and I had the BIGGEST and most delicious piece

of Salmon ever! Check it out:

Gamla Stan lunch 2

Lunch was amazing.

We explored Gamla Stan a bit more, and then spent the afternoon in the Royal Palace. First, we walked around in the Royal Apartments, checking out the gorgeous surroundings:

The Palace

The large collection of Clocks:

Royal apartments clocks

And then finally some of the grand bedrooms and meeting rooms in the royal apartments:

Royal apartments

Then we took a tour of the old, medieval part of the palace. We were the only two who booked the tour! So we had a private tour with a lovely Swedish woman, who spent almost an hour with us, describing the history of wars and the difficult ways of life, and the legit Game of Thrones that used to go on.

It was fascinating.

The lighting was very low, but Tony took a few pictures… take a look:

Royale Palace - Sweden

We then took at look at the museum of Antiquities, which housed a collection of Roman art that one of the princes of Sweden put together and then made public:

Lisa with Antiquities

After some more walking around, we made our way back to the hotel.

Tony had enough of Swedish cuisine for one day, and had a hankering for some Mediterranean food.

After some Google map and TripAdvisor searching, we found a Lebanese (my favorite) place up the block.

It was AMAZING!

The restaurant was called Underbar and I highly recommend to anyone. Here’s my dinner, complete with grilled meat, salad, and plenty of meze:

Lebanese Dinner

After dinner Tony went down to the lobby to use the Wifi and get some work done, while I packed up and got ready for tomorrow’s travels.

We’re off to Copenhagen!

Can’t wait… talk to you then!

Lisa (and Tony)