Things are shaping up pretty good!

When I was originally thinking about this trip I had high expectations to travel to MANY different countries in Europe. Reality has finally set in and I've realized I won't be able to travel to as many countries as I originally wanted to. I have received invitations to a few different gyms within the same country and I will have to pick and choose where I go train within each country. The countries in question are mainly the U.K., Estonia, and the Netherlands.

In terms of Western Europe, I believe I have enough places to visit. I do still need to find a gym in Italy as I plan on going there to compete in the IBJJF Rome International Open.

Planning wise, I'm attempting to fit the Western half of Europe in the first three weeks of travel and Eastern/Northern Europe in the last three weeks of travel. I may have to may some adjustments and circle back up through the middle Western/Eastern parts before hitting the far east of the area, and then head up North to finish things out.

Since the last update I have added in Germany, Switzerland, and Hungary. All places I was really hoping to make contacts in.

Iceland	Reykjavik
Ireland	Dublin
Wales	Swansea
Wales	Abertillery
England	Birmingham
England	London
Netherlands	Maastrict
Netherlands	Amsterdam
Belgium	Leuven
Germany	Berlin
Switzerland	Schlieren
Austria	Vienna
Hungary	Pecs
Latvia	Riga
Estonia	Tartu
Estonia	Tallinn
Finland	Helsinki
Sweden	Malmo
Denmark	Copenhagen

Cities and Countries highlighted in green are highly probable. Cities/Countries in yellow have a lower probability and will be subject to further planning.

As I said in a previous post, I just started training again full time due to taking off a bit of time due to illness and injuries. The biggest thing I always notice regardless of if it's a week or a month is that my cardio and timing are always off. From a self defense perspective, I don't feel that this matter much as most criminals do not normally participate in martial arts. On the other hand when grappling with someone of a similar skill level it means I'm at a bit of a disadvantage. And that disadvantage has been playing right into my fellow blue belts hands. I feel that a lot of people who take time off and come back to training get really depressed or down on themselves because people they used to beat easily may give them a difficult roll or beat them all together. Worst case scenario they may quit all together. I believe it's healthy for all of us to remember, and remind our training partners, that mat time is the great equalizer. Taking a month off of training gives your training partners an extra month of time to get better, while you are staying at the same skill level. I say do not worry about it, or them, and just: