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Day 8, Saturday, January 15, 2005
By Kamber Kelly and Jess Hayden
At 9:00 am, we all boarded our less than roomy bus and headed to Innsbruck, Austria. On the way we made a stop before the border to spend the last of our Slovenian Tolars.
Most people bought chocolate, snacks, juice, water, and even some souvenirs. Down the road we stopped for a rather gourmet meal at McDonalds (which made it our third time on this trip). At this particular one there was a miscommunication about the duties of dispersing the ketchup that was bought, so needless to say the next tour will not have the problem of buying any ketchup because there is a big bag full of it.
Then we continued our trip to finish the 7-hour bus ride and finally arrived in Innsbruck. We stayed at a true sports hostel (the Volkshaus, thanks Herr. Singer!) where several rooms had up to six girls with bunk beds, and of course communal bathrooms.
Once we all got our stuff into our rooms we went to watch two Austrian teams play: Linz and VC Tirol. These teams were currently #3 and #6 in the Austrian Top League, and it was good for us to see an actual game of this level. Tim and Cory explained to us that many Americans of our level end up signing in Austria, or comparable level leagues, so it was nice to see what we would be in for if we were to sign here. Linz beat the home team 3-1, but it was a good match and it got us fired up to play and train the following day. Thanks to Therese Achammer for letting us all into the game for free.
While at the game, some of the girls bought beer to enjoy and get an early start on the night out. We then went to Schnooli’s and had an authentic Austrian dinner of Goulash and Knodel, and of course a few drinks. A few of the VC Tirol players and their coach were also there which gave us a good opportunity to continue learning what volley-life in Europe is like. After dinner some of the girls choose to go home and some stayed for the after-dinner festivities.
We brought our own CD’s to dance to and made friends with some Austrian boys who showed us some great moves. Some people got rather wild while some sat reserved and just chatted with their new friends. There was even a table-breaking incident due to some rather enthusiastic dancing, but don’t worry, nobody got hurt. A few night owls even went Polka dancing with some newfound friends. Needless to say, we all had a great night and everybody made it home safely.
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