Hello and welcome to my blog. My name is Marlies and I currently live in Vienna, Austria. I have been a rower for 14 years and a vegan for over two years. After taking a break from competitive rowing for 9 years, I recently started racing again and am hoping to take part in the World Rowing Masters Regatta 2017 in Bled, Slovenia in Masters A double sculls .

Our wish to compete in Bled was a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. It all started about a year ago when my friend Tina and I volunteered to race in the women’s double sculls at the Viennese Championships because nobody else wanted to represent our club. After only training together a few times, we did fairly well and one of our club’s coaches was so excited that he told us “why don’t you take part in Bled?” We were promised a more suitable boat (I’m sure I’ll write about our “Chinese bathtub” once or twice) if we decided to compete so we said we would, but weren’t really serious about it at first. It was always in the back of our minds though and after a few successful races this year, we finally took the decision to start training seriously. On this blog, I would like to document our progress and write about how my vegan diet helps me perform in the boat, as well as in daily life.

In my life outside of rowing, I am a doctoral student, wife and mother to two adorable cats, Hattori and Hanzō. I enjoy traveling, reading, crafting, cooking and gardening. Before moving back home to Vienna two years ago, I lived in Canada for three years and in the UK for one year. I also studied abroad in Switzerland and Ireland when I was “younger.” I truly consider myself a citizen of the world, but for the next few years, “home is where my boat is.” I hope you enjoy my blog.