Euro trip report

We recently went back to Europe for round number 2. We got lots of really good clips, went to a lot of different places and met some amazing people! Hit the read more link for some pictures and a little sum up of the trip!
The trip started off by leaving Ottawa, Matt and myself, and making our way over to Vienna! When we landed we were greeted by the one and only Tobias Holzner, who welcomed us into his home for the next week. We unpacked our stuff, built up the bikes and went for a cruise right away. For the next two days we rode the Hutteldorf skatepark and some street spots around Tobi’s place. Thursday night Walter came down from Salzburg to meet up with us and really get this trip started!



On Friday we headed over to the Vienna Air King to go cheer on Matt and see all the other riders. Unfortunately the course was rained out so it got put off to Saturday. We were amazed by how big the jumps are as none of us had really been to this type of contest before, but that did not stop Matt from killing it. His runs included a tailwhip down the step down, double truck drivers, 3 whips, superman and many others which landed him in 7th place for the qualifiers. For some reason the after party was the night before the finals, so we everyone headed to U4 for some crazy techno/ drum and bass party and went HAM! On Sunday Matt went down to the course earlier then the rest of us to get in some practice but unfortunately, he over rated a 360 one hand table and landed a little flat. The crash destroyed his rear wheel and left his family jewels a nice dark blue color. So Matt was unable to compete in the finals.





Following the contest, it was time to leave Toby and head to Salzburg. The weather for the next week wasn’t too good so we rode the indoor skate hall in Linz. Once the weather cleared up we rode a few outdoor parks and some of the local street spots with all the local shredders. Mid way threw our stay in Salzburg Sebastian Nitsche, a.k.a. Slim Shady, joined the crew.



Both Matt and myself were really excited to be back in Salzburg, not only because of the riding, but simply because the partying was so much fun the previous time we were there. And this year definitely did not disappoint! We had the best party animals, Klausi and Flipper, showing us around pretty much every day and with these two guys there is no way you aren’t having a good time! Every night was filled with everything from stage diving in tiny pubs, lots of 39 cent beers and of course high kick contests!!



For the next part of the trip Matt headed over to Switzerland to attend the Rocket Air Slopestyle in Rivella. Once again he made it into the finals but crashed in practice which left him with a bruised heel. While Matt was in Switzerland, Walter, Sebastian and myself took the train down to Innsbruck to meet up with Fabe dawg and ride his local indoor park. We ended up waiting till the park closed and had a private session till about 2 in the morning.




Fabian drove us down to Milan for one weekend but unfortunately it was raining the whole time we were there so we did a lot of sight seeing and that’s really about it. We were really hoping to do a little bit of riding but the weather had other plans for us. After the weekend we said our goodbyes to Fabian, who was heading back home to Innsbruck, and we, Walter, Sebastian and myself, hopped back on the train to Busseto, a small town near Parma, to visit my grandparents and to ride some of the spots that we had rode two years ago.




It felt really great to visit my family and spend some time in the town were my dad’s side of the family grew up in but once again the weather was not cooperating with us so we were unable to really ride. Finally on the last day the sun decided to come out and Walter and I went to Planet X, a old abandoned night club with pools behind it. We were really surprised when we arrived because all the ghetto ramps we had built two years ago were in the same place we had left them. It was really like we had been there the day before. We got a few clips in the back on this stage type thing but the best part was going exploring in the old abandoned club. Every single window, cups, really anything you could find was broken. There is even a little hotel and everything was trashed but for some reason there was still some shoes properly placed beside this one bed which scared the shit out of Walter and I so we had to get out of there! The next day we had to get up early to catch a train back to Milan so we could catch our flight to Barcelona!





As soon as we landed in BCN we were reminded about just how crazy this city truly is. Everywhere you look there is a spot. And with the nice weather they were calling for we knew that the next 10 days were going to be a blast.



It was kind of weird being away from Matt for a whole week so we were really glad to see him when we arrived at our hostel. The hostel we were staying in was absolutely terrible! We walked in to a room the size of a normal bedroom but with 6 beds in it. The bed frames were all broken, the pillows were falling apart and all stained, the wifi barely worked, we had to wait 40 minutes for a shower and to top it all off we had to figure out a way to get our bikes in there every night without upsetting our two other roommates. I guess at first it was bad but then we realized that we would only be there to for a few hours to sleep, as we would be out riding all day and partying at night. Basically we made the best we could out of it, and for 11 Euros a night, we couldn’t really complain!





This year we were very fortunate to have Charlie and Alejandro, two of the radest dudes I have ever met, showing us around. Basically we would find spots in videos or just spots that we remembered from our last trip and we would tell them; thats where we wanted to go and they would bring us! Alejandro is also a bartender at a bar called Lupara, which is right of the Rambla. And I can’t even begin to explain to you how much he hooked it up for us. We were able to go to the bar before they would close and we would just chill there listening to sick music, watching videos on the big projector screen and even do some barspins with the room full of fog and crazy lasers! If you are ever in BCN definitely go check this place out!


Everyday we got to ride the craziest spots. We filmed quite a bit and met some really nice locals and even these German guys who were visiting BCN at the same time as us. Really there isn’t too much to say about it, Barcelona was dope and probably the best part of the trip and if you want to see the clips we got make sure to keep your eyes peeled for the trip video which should be out soon.








After Barcelona we headed back to Salzburg for four more days. We were all beat up from the whole trip so we decided to just relax for the remainder of the trip. The weather was absolutely gorgeous so we chilled by the river with all the homies. On the last day we had the sickest bbq ever at Klausi’s parents place. Great food on the beautiful country side and to top it all off we had a little trampoline session.



Overall the trip was a great success! Great times were had by all, we got to visit some beautiful places and met some great people. I really want to take this time to thank Walter’s parents for being so nice, Jeremy’s family in Italy, Alejandro and Charlie for being the two sickest dudes and everyone else who we met or helped us out. The trip would have not been the same without you guys. Its been 2 weeks since I’ve been home and I can’t wait for next winter so I can do it all over again. Here are some more pictures and make sure to keep checking for the trip video!