This tour really pushed the boundaries of what where we could skate. Starting off with a few events a meetups across Europe, and then battling the extreme cold and epicness of Russia. With a great ending across Japan leading us in a once in a lifetime adventure right before the world locked down.
Starting our huge tour with a quick visit to Budapest. Only 1 day here as we head to the same meetup from last year.
Back to this amazing meetup from last year. This year was bigger and the pond was in great condition. A really great meetup to hype us up for the tour ahead.
A quick visit back to this amazing city. Unfortunately we were to early for Winer Eistraum but it gave us a chance to try other rinks around the city.
My first time in Slovakia and the beautiful Bratislava. We searched for rinks with only finding a few, but we found 1 small rink on the river that really made for some special memories (River Park).
We took a little break in the alps at my friends (Patrick - Alpine Ice Freestyle). \we happened to find a frozen lake right in the mountains for an epic skate.
A very quick stop in Munich for 1 evening. Had a quick skate and saw some good friends.
First time in Czechia, in the capital Prague. We had a hard time finding skaters but enjoyed the beautiful city and skated some good outdoor rinks. Great time experiencing the culture here.
A huge event hosted in Poland. Amazing event and the first time I won a battle competition. What an amazing experience and the best hospitality from the Polish. Great community and I even got to judge another event for the first time. Really enjoyed this event and have many great memories from it.
The locals were so great to take us to a special session at the national stadium in Krakow. One super fun session and a great time coming back to this city.
There are soooo many ice rinks here. We spent our time running from rink to rink and so many great times. Even skating the national stadium in Warsaw as well. Really great community and loved our time in Poland.
The start of part 2 of our travel. This took us lots of time to get visas and everything sorted but we were all so excited to explore Russia. Starting in the western city of St. Petersburg, we really didn't know what to expect. It amazed us, so epic with such amazing rinks and even the bay (Nava Bay) froze and we got to skate the Baltic bay. Met some great skaters and really was a great memory.
We were already so amazed by St. Petersburg but Moscow... it was on another level. The architecture, culture, people and rinks were amazing. We have never seen rinks as large as here. Each rink being very unique and just done on another level. We met Freestylers from here that were so welcoming and amazing. Really can't explain how amazing this place was, so epic.
What can I say, this is heaven on earth for a skater. We landed in Irkutsk, drove 6hrs just to get to the lake in a tiny village in Bugul'deika. Really experiencing the rawness of Siberia, and the lake is so unique. We had a challenge and adventure of a lifetime going from here to the island (Olkhon Island). This experience changed our life and live with us forever. The most epic lake of my life and an incredible time with the best people. Truly a once in a lifetime opportunity.
How do we follow up after such an epic time in Russia? Well with an adventure in a completely different culture and just as epic place in its own way. Japan is always a very special experience with many amazing locations and skaters. We had many meetups with such great people. Absolutely loved our time here.
We had a great time in this epic town right at the base of Mt. Fuji. We actually had to come back here as the ice rink we came for in Fuji-Q amusement park had closed due to Covid restrictions. When we came back we managed to have an epic meetup with skaters from all over Japan, even though it was 20deg C. We got soaked but had such a great time on this unique ice rink.
When in Japan you have to visit Kyoto. No skating here but the sights are amazing, such an epic place with so much culture.
Ending this amazing tour with our last skates in Osaka, for a long time... The rinks all closed as Covid started spreading around the world. We skated for a last time and we all split to go back to our homes. We were very lucky to just make it through this tour and make this the most epic skating tour.
What an epic tour with so much that happened. So many incredible times and a tour that seriously changed us all, a real life changing experience that lives with us forever. I can't describe how incredible this was. Thank you all who joined throughout the tour and made it so special. Loved the whole thing from start to end.
Thank you for reading and see you on the next tour!
