Tickets// DAY 11: THURSDAY, JUNE 21
BY MARIA MALLON
// DAY 10: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20
BY CHRYSANTHI STAMATIOU
// DAY 9: TUESDAY, JUNE 19
BY MAYA ELLER
// DAY 8: MONDAY, JUNE 18
BY CARLY NOLAN
// DAY 7: SUNDAY, JUNE 17
BY ERICA KOSTELAC
Today we traveled from Prague to Vienna to Maribor. To start the day we woke up very early for our last breakfast at Hotel Roma in Prague before our 4-hour bus ride to Vienna, Austria. I think that every single person was asleep except for the driver.
Our time in Vienna consisted mainly of free time to do as we pleased. Some of the options included visiting the cathedrals, museums, shops, and cafés. It is an absolutely beautiful city. I stopped into St. Stephen's Cathedral. Fun fact, the Church's distinguishing feature is its huge mosaic-ed roof, which comprises of 230,000 tiles. The church is absolutely amazing. It's hard to believe that people actually live in these cities!
Once our time came to an end in Austria, we drove another 3 hours to Maribor. There are a ton of beautiful mountains here. Maribor is the location the Ski World Cup is held every year where USA athletes such as Lindsey Vonn compete. We checked in and walked to dinner at our practice/game location. The gymnasium is across the street from our hotel. Some people went to grab a scoop of gelato after dinner. I'm very excited for the rest of our time in Slovenia!
// DAY 6: SATURDAY, JUNE 16
BY JADE TINGELHOFF
10am:
Our second day in Prague started with a short hike up to the Prague Castle. On our way there we stopped at a tower that had a beautiful 365 view of the city. Today we were extra thankful for our strength coach Kelly for making us run stadiums during our off season training, because we had to climb 23 flights of stairs to see this view, but it was well worth it!
12pm:
We got some free time to explore this amazing castle and the shops and city around it before grabbing a quick lunch at a cafe nearby before we headed back to our hotel to grab our bags before our match!
5pm:
Today's game was against a local Czech Republic club team named Hala Olymp Praha. They are a mixture of ages between 18 and 23 years old. We won our match in 4 sets! Play of the game: Emily Azzara took a bomb to the face to keep the play alive and we won the point. Good job Em.
// DAY 5: FRIDAY, JUNE 15
BY SABRINA WOLF
10 am: We had the whole day to explore this wonderful European city! We started out having breakfast and getting some ice coffee on our way into town to shop. Some people went paddle boating while others went and explored the town.
12 pm: Thanks to Emily Azzara we stumbled across a flea market called Havelsky Trh and found so many Prague gems there! We then went to more stores from there.
After getting some gelato at Cafe Cerna, we explored the famous John Lennon wall which was right on our way to the hotel.
5 pm: Match time!! We won our first 3 sets and played the fourth for a little additional experience (also resulting in a win) wahoo!!
8 pm: We ended our night with some team dinner schnitzel and a yummy banana split. THANKS COACH!
// DAY 4: THURSDAY, JUNE 14
BY JASMINE JONES
It's our third day in Europe and our time in Amsterdam has been amazing so far! But it was time for us leave and head to our next country this morning. Our next destination was Prague, Czech Republic!! After a long night of playing (and winning), we woke up early, packed our bags and caught a quick flight to Prague. I was sad to leave Amsterdam because the city was so cool and we had so much fun, but it was time to move on and continue our journey through Europe.
I've never been to Prague before so I didn't know what to expect coming here. But once we got the chance to explore the city it was such an awesome experience. From the food, the people, culture, music, and the beautiful buildings, it was a lot to take in. We got some free time to explore the old town square and enjoy what the city had to offer. After our time of exploring, we all went to dinner together and had lots of pizza and pasta. Overall, it was such a good day! We have a couple more days here and I can't wait to enjoy them. Prague is such a beautiful place, I'm so thankful we get to be here as a team and experience this together!
// DAY 3: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13
BY ABBY WILLIAMS
Today was our second day in Amsterdam which began with a bike ride to the NEMO Museum. At the top of the museum was an awesome coffee shop and even better views. From there we took a ferry to NDSM which used to be the largest ship yard in Europe. We did some exploring and headed back to free time where I did some shopping, had lunch alongside the canal, and visited so many sites around the city! Then it was time for our first European match against US Amsterdam. We got our new fancy white gear on and did our first official European warm up. It was a close game but the Bearcats took the match in 5! With the first victory under our belts we're ready to move on to Prague.
// DAY 2: TUESDAY, JUNE 12
BY JORDAN THOMPSON
Today was our first day in the beautiful city of Amsterdam! We wasted no time once we got here. Shortly after dropping our bags off at our hotel we headed to lunch at a small cafe nearby. Then we took a quick walk over to the place where we got our rental bikes that we'll use for the duration of our time here in Amsterdam. After a few test runs around the block we headed to practice in a single file line trying our hardest to play follow the leader. It seems like almost everyone in this city rides their bike everywhere they go, so it's easy to get caught up with other bikers and lose track of where the 'leader' is.
We had the opportunity to go to the I Am Amsterdam sign and take a few pictures there before we headed to dinner. Dinner was my favorite meal of the day by far! We ate at a delicious Mediterranean restaurant. After dinner there was no question in our minds what had to come next... Gelato. So we hopped on our bikes once again and found a small gelato shop where we enjoyed the various flavors, my favorite being the almond cookie! It's safe to say that this was a great first day of our trip. Now it's time to get to bed and get ready for a great day of sightseeing and a match tomorrow evening!
// DAY 1: MONDAY, JUNE 11
BY EMILY AZZARA
4:07pm
Our day started in the Cincinnati Airport as all travel days do, except this trip is very different than all those in the past. We're headed to Detroit where we will begin our International Adventure! You can feel the excitement within our group. This is even one of our Freshman's first time on an airplane!
Funny story about her experience: She wasn't aware of the rules and packed full bottles of shampoo & conditioner and had a full Gatorade water bottle! She had her bag searched and ended up having to go through security again. Lots of life lessons learned today.
We have worked so hard for this experience and can not wait to see what the next 11 days hold.
7:26pm
Just landed in the Detroit Airport! We are all anxiously waiting to board the flight to Amsterdam. After waiting months for this trip, it is unreal how we are only eight hours away from being in our first country. This is the opportunity of a lifetime.
BY MARIA MALLON
// DAY 10: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20
BY CHRYSANTHI STAMATIOU
// DAY 9: TUESDAY, JUNE 19
BY MAYA ELLER
// DAY 8: MONDAY, JUNE 18
BY CARLY NOLAN
// DAY 7: SUNDAY, JUNE 17
BY ERICA KOSTELAC
Today we traveled from Prague to Vienna to Maribor. To start the day we woke up very early for our last breakfast at Hotel Roma in Prague before our 4-hour bus ride to Vienna, Austria. I think that every single person was asleep except for the driver.
Our time in Vienna consisted mainly of free time to do as we pleased. Some of the options included visiting the cathedrals, museums, shops, and cafés. It is an absolutely beautiful city. I stopped into St. Stephen's Cathedral. Fun fact, the Church's distinguishing feature is its huge mosaic-ed roof, which comprises of 230,000 tiles. The church is absolutely amazing. It's hard to believe that people actually live in these cities!
Once our time came to an end in Austria, we drove another 3 hours to Maribor. There are a ton of beautiful mountains here. Maribor is the location the Ski World Cup is held every year where USA athletes such as Lindsey Vonn compete. We checked in and walked to dinner at our practice/game location. The gymnasium is across the street from our hotel. Some people went to grab a scoop of gelato after dinner. I'm very excited for the rest of our time in Slovenia!
// DAY 6: SATURDAY, JUNE 16
BY JADE TINGELHOFF
10am:
Our second day in Prague started with a short hike up to the Prague Castle. On our way there we stopped at a tower that had a beautiful 365 view of the city. Today we were extra thankful for our strength coach Kelly for making us run stadiums during our off season training, because we had to climb 23 flights of stairs to see this view, but it was well worth it!
12pm:
We got some free time to explore this amazing castle and the shops and city around it before grabbing a quick lunch at a cafe nearby before we headed back to our hotel to grab our bags before our match!
5pm:
Today's game was against a local Czech Republic club team named Hala Olymp Praha. They are a mixture of ages between 18 and 23 years old. We won our match in 4 sets! Play of the game: Emily Azzara took a bomb to the face to keep the play alive and we won the point. Good job Em.
// DAY 5: FRIDAY, JUNE 15
BY SABRINA WOLF
10 am: We had the whole day to explore this wonderful European city! We started out having breakfast and getting some ice coffee on our way into town to shop. Some people went paddle boating while others went and explored the town.
12 pm: Thanks to Emily Azzara we stumbled across a flea market called Havelsky Trh and found so many Prague gems there! We then went to more stores from there.
After getting some gelato at Cafe Cerna, we explored the famous John Lennon wall which was right on our way to the hotel.
5 pm: Match time!! We won our first 3 sets and played the fourth for a little additional experience (also resulting in a win) wahoo!!
8 pm: We ended our night with some team dinner schnitzel and a yummy banana split. THANKS COACH!
// DAY 4: THURSDAY, JUNE 14
BY JASMINE JONES
It's our third day in Europe and our time in Amsterdam has been amazing so far! But it was time for us leave and head to our next country this morning. Our next destination was Prague, Czech Republic!! After a long night of playing (and winning), we woke up early, packed our bags and caught a quick flight to Prague. I was sad to leave Amsterdam because the city was so cool and we had so much fun, but it was time to move on and continue our journey through Europe.
I've never been to Prague before so I didn't know what to expect coming here. But once we got the chance to explore the city it was such an awesome experience. From the food, the people, culture, music, and the beautiful buildings, it was a lot to take in. We got some free time to explore the old town square and enjoy what the city had to offer. After our time of exploring, we all went to dinner together and had lots of pizza and pasta. Overall, it was such a good day! We have a couple more days here and I can't wait to enjoy them. Prague is such a beautiful place, I'm so thankful we get to be here as a team and experience this together!
// DAY 3: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13
BY ABBY WILLIAMS
Today was our second day in Amsterdam which began with a bike ride to the NEMO Museum. At the top of the museum was an awesome coffee shop and even better views. From there we took a ferry to NDSM which used to be the largest ship yard in Europe. We did some exploring and headed back to free time where I did some shopping, had lunch alongside the canal, and visited so many sites around the city! Then it was time for our first European match against US Amsterdam. We got our new fancy white gear on and did our first official European warm up. It was a close game but the Bearcats took the match in 5! With the first victory under our belts we're ready to move on to Prague.
// DAY 2: TUESDAY, JUNE 12
BY JORDAN THOMPSON
Today was our first day in the beautiful city of Amsterdam! We wasted no time once we got here. Shortly after dropping our bags off at our hotel we headed to lunch at a small cafe nearby. Then we took a quick walk over to the place where we got our rental bikes that we'll use for the duration of our time here in Amsterdam. After a few test runs around the block we headed to practice in a single file line trying our hardest to play follow the leader. It seems like almost everyone in this city rides their bike everywhere they go, so it's easy to get caught up with other bikers and lose track of where the 'leader' is.
We had the opportunity to go to the I Am Amsterdam sign and take a few pictures there before we headed to dinner. Dinner was my favorite meal of the day by far! We ate at a delicious Mediterranean restaurant. After dinner there was no question in our minds what had to come next... Gelato. So we hopped on our bikes once again and found a small gelato shop where we enjoyed the various flavors, my favorite being the almond cookie! It's safe to say that this was a great first day of our trip. Now it's time to get to bed and get ready for a great day of sightseeing and a match tomorrow evening!
// DAY 1: MONDAY, JUNE 11
BY EMILY AZZARA
4:07pm
Our day started in the Cincinnati Airport as all travel days do, except this trip is very different than all those in the past. We're headed to Detroit where we will begin our International Adventure! You can feel the excitement within our group. This is even one of our Freshman's first time on an airplane!
Funny story about her experience: She wasn't aware of the rules and packed full bottles of shampoo & conditioner and had a full Gatorade water bottle! She had her bag searched and ended up having to go through security again. Lots of life lessons learned today.
We have worked so hard for this experience and can not wait to see what the next 11 days hold.
7:26pm
Just landed in the Detroit Airport! We are all anxiously waiting to board the flight to Amsterdam. After waiting months for this trip, it is unreal how we are only eight hours away from being in our first country. This is the opportunity of a lifetime.