Day 6: New Year’s Day

By: Gracie—Boca Raton, FL and Kendall—Coral Springs, FL

After a long night of climbing up a steep mountain in the miserable cold and celebrating the new year, our tired bodies went up for bed. As soon as our heads hit the pillow we were out cold. Wake up knocks at 8 am came all too quickly. Warm croissants and thick chocolate Nutella were the perfect combination to bring smiles back upon our faces. The much needed naps after breakfast lasted till 12:30 and helped immensely with  our exhaustion. Lunch at 1 contained fried shark skillets, spaghetti and meat sauce and orange mashed potatoes. We then journeyed down to The Dras Center where the college team played the Israeli junior national team in a tough 5 game match, leaving the college team victorious with scores of 25-16, 19-25, 25-22, 24-26, 16-14.  Since we had lost to them yesterday, we were out for revenge.  The high school team played a local Maribor club team called Nova KBM and got defeated, HORRIBLELY! We would say the scores, but it’s not necessary ;).   After a long day in the gym we headed back to take showers and then left for the gondolas were we ate dinner on top of a mountain with the Israelis. The wieners were awesome, pasta not so much, but the apples strudel made it all worthwhile.  After dinner we adventured outside where a live performance was held, greeting the Americans with open arms.   They dedicated songs to us and we danced the night away.  The night continues with most of the girls venturing into the spa where the world pool will get peed in 100 times.  See ya at the spa!

Editor’s Note:  Today, many were recovering from the hike up the mountain and the New Year celebrations, so after breakfast we returned to our rooms for naps, waking only to eat yet another meal.  From there, we headed to the Dras Center for a rematch against the Israeli Junior National Team, who had beaten our college team the previous evening.  After making a few lineup changes, the college team now included: Meghan, Megan, Emily, Kady, Kaye, Brooke K, Carly, Savannah, Taelor, Laurel, and Lindsey.  We came out strong in the first game winning 25-16, lost game two 19-25, won game three 25-22, lost a tight game four 24-26, and won the deciding game 16-14.  Emily and Megan coached the high school team, which now consisted of: Endea, Carly, Brooke K, Savannah, Taylor, Kendall, Lindsey, and Gracie.  Unfortunately, they did not fare so well against their local opponents, Nova KBM, losing in three games, 22-25, 13-25, and 18-25.  We all returned to Hotel Arena for showers before meeting in the lobby for dinner.  The girls were all taken to the top of the mountain to enjoy the local cuisine, once again eating side-by-side with the Israelis.  Tonight, some chose to spend time in the spa, while others headed to their rooms to pack.  Tomorrow, we will leave the hotel at 8:50 for a day trip to Vienna, Austria; we heard it is going to be 33 degrees, but feel like 22, with a chance of snow... Then off to our final destination for the tour: Budapest, Hungary!