AWF Munich-Vienna-Prague Day 7

Workout of the Day

WOD 1 – in the morning…

Stretch and Mobility

WOD 2 – in the afternoon…

Night Chipper Through Prague

Day 7 saw us up early and off to Schonbrunn to allow those who missed out the day before the opportunity to enjoy Austria’s premiere castle grounds.  As soon as we arrived, the group hiked up the hill overlooking the back gardens and found a shady spot beneath the Roman-inspired chateau at the top.  The cool stone felt amazing and the stretch was just what everybody needed after the last 4 days of hard training.

Afterwards the group split up for the next 2 hours to enjoy and explore the area.  Some went through the zoo, others the labyrinth, and some others took in one of the many gardens that Schonbrunn had to offer.  If you find yourself in Vienna, make it a point to visit this place.  You could spend an entire day just walking around and not see the same thing twice. 

We reconvened after lunch and made our way back to the city where our bus was waiting to take us to Prague.  This was going to be our longest ride of the entire trip—estimated at 5 hours and change.  Unfortunatley, European law dictates that drivers must take a 45 minute break for every 4 hours they drive.  This was something I had not planned for in our itinerary, and after a little bit of traffic my estimated 5:00 arrival time suddenly turned into 7:00.  This left the group a little cranky, tired, and very hungry.  Not the ideal scenario going into what was supposed to be our most grueling workout of the week.  But, like the warriors they are, everyone rallied at the hotel and made the quick turnaround we needed to get over to CrossFit Praha in time. 

The workout was designed for teams of 4, each team responsible for carrying 2 20kg bumper plates for the duration of the WOD.  We began at the gym, travelled through the city streets to the National Theater and began a sequence of thrusters, planks, overhead holds, and what felt like an introductory break dance move.  This took each group about 10 minutes to complete, then we were off again.  We made our way across the famed Charles Bridge and down into the Mala Strana where we did the next sequence of exercises: deck squats, inch worm pushups, planks, and overhead holds.  Finally, we finished by running the rest of the way with the bumpers to the top of Prague Castle for an incredible view of the city at night.  

Hands down one of the most memorable team workouts I’ve ever done.  The night element was surreal with all the people out and about and the lights shimmering everywhere.  It’s hard to describe what Prague is like to someone who hasn’t been there, but take my word for it when I tell you it’s unique.  Certain areas look like they are straight out of a period movie about knights and dragons.  Others are so gritty you expect to walk into a café and see nothing but starving artists.  There are sculptures on every building, character in every doorframe.  It’s a place you have to see to believe.

The only downer from the night was the hour… We didn’t get back to the gym until close to 10, and by the time we made our way to the hotel it was past 11.  This meant that no restaurants were open to serve us, relegating the now ravenous troupe of crossfitters to ordering delivery pizza and mixed salad.  Not exactly what you have in mind for your first night in Prague, but kudos to everyone for rolling with the punches. 

I could tell that the next few days were going to be special.