TicketsComplete Bearcat Volleyball European Trip Journal
While spending the preseason playing and practicing in Austria, Croatia and Slovenia the UC volleyball team wrote daily journal entries.
Contact: Geoff Wiswell
8/11/2002
A trip to Europe does not put a hold on strength and conditioning. |
Trip Recap
by senior captains Trish Ladusaw and Bonita Wise
Spring of 2001, our sophomore year, was the first mention of the big trip to Europe. It is hard to believe that we are now in the plane headed back to Cincinnati from Paris, France, they aren?t lying when they say time flies. We couldn?t think of a better way to begin our senior year ? the best year ? waking up every morning to a hearty breakfast of bread, bread, and more bread.
But seriously we had a splendid time and we feel it was a great way to prep us for the upcoming season. We all feel prepared to do what we must do?and that is to win it all and to get to the sweet 16 or further. But enough about volleyball for now, let?s recap the trip.
Now we all know that Europeans have a different smell (if you know what I mean). Well we had to do our own laundry in the bathroom sinks while here and it has not turned out too good because some of the Europeans are even crinkling there noses as we walk by. But after a while you get used to it and, as they say, when in Rome, do as the Romans do.
Let?s move on to the night we ate at the Vineyard Place ? the food was great but the aftermath was, well let?s just say we all suffered a little ?European's Revenge.? I don?t mean to get too graphic but there are hazards to going to a foreign country and our sensitive American stomachs sometimes didn?t adapt.
Our transportation from place to place was by chartered bus and we got the feeling that busses have no rules on the road. There is no posted speed limit here so our drivers hit the turns pretty good. Now as for the taxis, well there are some potential drivers for the Indy 500 disguised as Slovenian taxi guys. Hey, at least we got a free roller coaster ride out of it.
Another part of Europe that we won?t forget was the insects. One night there was a huge hornet in our room the size of a Pteradactyl. The bees were out of control and a few people got stung. The bees had people running around like crazy; take Pat (Aka, Trish) for example. We were at the lake in Austria and a bee must have picked up Pat?s ?sweet scent" and had her on the run for a while. The bee did catch her and stung her with it?s so called ?deadly stinger? and being the hypochondriac she is, she swore she was coming down with West Nile disease. Naturally, I thought this was funny because Pat is funny when she is mad and I was laughing hysterically. Well needless to say later that night while I was in a deep slumber a vampire came and got me right in the neck. It?s OK, I?ll live, however you will only see me outside from dusk till dawn from now on.
Saturday, August 16, 2002
Julie DuPont
We played the last match of the tour this morning against club Formis from Maribor. We won all four games and everyone got a chance to play. After a quick shower we headed for the mountains in taxis. To reach the top everyone took the ski?lift gondolas ? except for Haley, Suzi, Maddie and Ashley who failed to exit the lift car and took and extra 40-minute trip back down and back.
While we waited we paired up and took turns on the Slovenian version of a go-cart. Rachel and Trish went first followed by Ashley and Bonita, myself, and Leslie, etc, etc. Bo and Ashley wiped out on the first turn and ended up sprawled out on the dirt track. They got back on and made it safely down and then returned for another spin.
This missing gondola car finally arrived and we headed to lunch. The restaurant served a picnic style spread that in included sausage, pork, potatoes, and tomatoes. We enjoyed eating outside except for the pesky flies and bees.
Horseback riding is one thing that draws people to the mountain in the summer. Darrell and a bunch of the other girls wanted to take a trail ride, little did we know that you needed a two-week reservation to go riding. So, since that was the only thing left to do everyone started down, some on the gondola, some walking and Paul on a bike. The walk was very pretty, but hard on the feet and legs.
Some of us stopped at the high ropes course to grab an ice cream and some water. A short hike later and a ski lift down the huge slope and we were back with the group. Darrell took some group shots on the lawn before the taxis came and we were on our way back to the hotel. We worked on packing for the trip home and had an 8:00pm dinner before turning in for the night to get a good nights sleep before a long day of travel.
Friday, August 16, 2002
Maddie Barron
Hi everyone! Our European vacation is most definitely coming to a close with only two days remaining. This morning and afternoon we had a luxury of free time until our match tonight at 7:30 pm. In the morning the team awoke for breakfast at 8:30 and got organized and prepared for a full day of walking around and shopping?YES! ? Twelve girls shopping together does equal trouble.
The morning was somewhat gloomy and rainy so we decided to go to the Americanized Mall ? Euro Park. We shopped all morning, ate lunch, and returned to the hotel around 1:00 pm. The plan was to go to a water park for a swim but the sky had not cleared so can you guess what we decided to do? Oh yes, more shopping.
The team piled into cabs and headed downtown to the city where we experienced the town, little shops and scenery. We put in a full day, walked back to the hotel where we rested up for our match against Team Benedict of Slovenia.
The team and everyone are doing extremely well. We?re becoming closer and closer as the days pass by. The trip has been a great experience in all aspects but everyone is indeed ready to return home. We miss you all and hope everyone is doing well. Take care and see you soon.
Love Maddie
Thursday, August 15, 2002
by Haley King
Howdy y'all. We woke up at 7:45 and headed down to breakfast, which consisted of more yummy bread and jelly (the bread here is softer) along with typical European ham and cheese. And for all the meat lovers we were served up what looked like raw bacon. No takers on that.
Next we headed to our last practice over here. We walked to the gym, which was brand new. The practice was about two hours and then we took advantage of their weight room to do our isometric exercises and lift a bit. We returned to the hotel and showered, we all smell pretty funky since we can?t wash our clothes.
Next we walked to the city for some lunch. At first we couldn?t find a restaurant because today is a holiday and almost everything is closed. However we met Lilian, or Leo, Leon, maybe Leroy, we couldn?t really understand him. Leroy led us to a nice Italian restaurant while singing Greek songs to us. Luckily the owner of the restaurant kicked him out and we could finally eat. The menu was in English so we actually knew what we ordered. The food was great and really cheap too.
After lunch we headed to our hotel for our afternoon nap and around 4:30 we departed for our match.
We played Maribor Elite, they are one of the better teams in this area. We played four games and we won all of them playing very tough every game. Afterward we returned to the hotel and dressed nice for the first time this week and went to a eat at a restaurant where the waiter wore a black bow tie. The food was great.
Wednesday, August 14, 2002
by Leslie Newell
Having been here in Europe for a week I have had a chance to observe a few differences between here and the good old U.S. of A. I am going to share them with you.
Ice: It is very difficult to find ice here. They rarely serve it in drinks and there are no ice machines in the hotels or stores. Our trainer has to get a bag filled at the restaurants we eat in to use for the team.
Drinks/water: It appears that people don?t drink many beverages over here, except for beer that is. At restaurants you have to ask for water and they bring it in tiny glasses?with no ice, did I mention that?
Phones: In Austria phones were very hard to come by. The first place we stayed in had none and the second had only one. Slovenia is a bit different as we do have phones in our rooms and it is real easy to call home and not that expensive, considering. It is around .50 cents a minute.
Deodorant: They don?t use it here. Enough said.
Men?s clothing & swim wear: It is very fitted. (Speedos) Let?s leave it at that.
Electric outlets: Few, and those that are need a special adapter and converter or it will blow out your hair dryer right now. We are all air-drying our hair everday, which is a perpetual bad hair day, however, we do have deodorant.
Conservation: Europeans conserve energy in every possible way, lights are on timers and and motion detectors. If you walk in a hall or public restroom the lights just come on, when you leave, they go off.
Cars: Almost all are European made, BMWs and Mercedes, even the buses and they are as small as possible.
Smoking: People smoke everywhere and I mean everywhere.
All in all, we have learned a lot about the countries and the people over here and while the differences are no major deal it does give one a greater appreciation for the U.S.A. and we realize how much we take for granted.
Tuesday, August 13, 2002
by Ashley Grooms
At 8: 45 a.m. we went down to a breakfast of assorted meats and bread?they don?t do Egg McMuffins over here. It was then that it was decided that we would practice as it was raining again. Around 9:30 a.m. we headed for the gym where we had a very intense practice (rehab for me).
Afterward we went to a nearby town to eat and to do a little shopping and relaxing. At five after three we departed to go back to the hotel. All the shopping and relaxing must have made us tired because half of us went to bed and the other half sat around the pool.
At 7:30 that evening we played the team from Klaunkenfurt and we were ready to play?it appears that shopping and relaxation agrees with us. We won in five but we won the first two relatively easy and used the next three games to work in some younger players.
After the game we went into the town of Velden to eat and hang out for a bit. We had a lot of fun talking and laughing and getting to know each other more and more. At 11:00 p.m. we left for the hotel and after that it was bedtime.
Monday, August 12, 2002
by Rachel Torblaa
Another day has come and gone and it still raining. Many of us woke up to the sounds of sirens from fire trucks trying to control the flooding. Not to worry, we have packed up and are headed for high ground in the mountains to the south of Austria. But first, we have an AM practice, our last one in Salzburg.
After a great practice we boarded the bus for a town called Klaukenberg. On the trip we saw many houses and towns that were flooded and every river we passed was spilling over it's banks. It's a pretty bad situation but as I said
before, we are safe in the mountains. Once we got to a higher elevation the scenery was beautiful. The roads run through mountains and some of the tunnels are 3-4 miles long.
We arrived at our new hotel, checked in and headed to practice. It is go, go, go but we are all up to it and the experience is well worth the effort. Tomorrow we have FREE TIME and shopping...and a short practice of course.
Sunday, August 11, 2002
by Lindsey Garrison
We start out our morning at 8:15, get dressed, shove our practice gear in our bags, and head downstairs for some tasty ?Fr?hstuck mit Brot, K?se, Fleisch, und Orangensaft.? (That?s breakfast with bread, cheese, meat and orange juice for those non-German speaking people out there).
After eating, we hop on the bus and travel to the practice facility. We begin with ?Running The River,? followed by some ?pumping up? in the weight room, and finishing up with a whole lot of sweating during our two-hour practice. After our workout, let?s just say we didn?t smell like roses anymore, so we went straight to the locker room, where we could relax in the Jacuzzis and sauna, and finally take a nice refreshing shower.
Once we all cleaned up a bit, we got back on the bus and headed to downtown Salzburg, where we ate some American food for a change at McDonalds. Our shopping was cut short due to the lovely rainy weather. A note to remember: rain + slick marble = slips and falls! We had two people wipe out while we were walking around the town!
After two hours, we all returned to the bus with souvenirs and wet clothes. Then we went back to the hotel for some nice rest and relaxation to get us ready for the match against the Austrians.
Our match was a tough one. Although the Austrians had a strong team and kept the lead in the beginning, our UC team soon picked up the pace and dominated in the end. Overall it was a good experience and added more memories onto our trip to Europe. Tsch?ss! (Goodbye!)
Saturday, August 10, 2002
by Laura Lauder
This morning we awoke to a knock on the door and a friendly 'breakfast is in ten minutes.' We dressed quickly and headed down stairs to the hotel restaurant. Breakfast consisted of tea, bread and an assortment of meat and cheese.
After breakfast we loaded the bus for practice, but then the schedule changed and we headed for Schloss Hellbrunn, a place that was built in the 1600s. We followed the tour guide around the grounds and through some really interesting buildings. Considering that the castle is older than our country it was still in pretty good shape.
Around 1 pm we headed to practice and it was good to get back in the gym after traveling for the last two days. The practice was intense even though we were all a little rusty.
After practice we did some more sightseeing (have a feeling we will be doing a lot of that) and had lunch at a really nice downtown restaurant. Good food -- pasta and pizza.
We bussed back to the hotel to prepare for our match against the Salzburg pro team at 8 pm -- busy day!!!
The match was a good opening experience for us, we won the first game 25-23 and played well in the second and were able to get everyone in. The returning players looked sharp for this early and when the freshmen came in the team did not miss a beat. It's going to take all of us playing together to win conference again this year so it's good that everyone was able to contribute.
The experience of playing against international players is one that we will all remember for a long time. Tomorrow we will play the same team again so stay tuned for the results.
Thursday-Friday, August 8-9, 2002
by Suzi Terrell & Shannon Parker
Today was our official starting date for preseason practice. We went to some meetings and were issued equipment early in the day and after we took care of all the first day necessities we were off to Europe.
The trip to the airport was uneventful, that is after we loaded a ton of equipment in addition to our personal stuff. The trip overseas is the first for all of us and we are very excited. I (Shannon) sat next to a woman that was going to Poland...wow.
The trip was nice, except for the food, and if you have ever had airplane food you know where we are coming from. We had beef and salmon for dinner and for breakfast we had a croissant and a banana.
We arrived in Vienna after a stop over in Paris and are bussing to Salzburg -- a three-hour tour. We are seeing many mountains along the way and the land looks like Indiana with more hills and trees.
We are very excited to travel through Europe and have a chance to compete against some of the best competition over here.