Friday August 12, 2005
Maribor, Slovenia
by Andrew “Drew” Braley
What a fun, busy, adventurous day I had today. I got up around 8 and got ready for the day. I spoke to the receptionist at the Hotel Arena and we decided that a train to Koper on the coast of Slovenia was where I wanted to go in order to get to Venice for the day. It would take a little over 4 hours, and then a little more to Venice. So after making these tentative plans, I headed out into the rain to explore Maribor. I asked where I could buy an umbrella and the receptionist (Stanka) was so nice, she just let me borrow hers (or the hotel’s maybe)! I was stunned; I don’t think that you’d find something like that in the U.S. You’d be charged at least 5 bucks an hour.
So I was off on my way… not real sure where, but off. My first stop was the Post Office to get a phone card. I got a 300-minute card for 15 EUR or so I thought… over the day I called my family (10 mins or so), Renee (15 or so) and TK (10 or so) and guess what… yep, no more minutes! Stupid international rates! Oh well.
Then I walked some more and decided I was pretty hungry so I stopped at Café Promenada and had a bite to eat. OJ and a salami sandwich (sorta) for 700 SIT or 3 EUR. As I sat there in that quaint place, I found myself thinking about all the people in there, and the lives they’re leading in this little country. Very interesting.
Then after food, I walked a bit more and decided to catch the bus into the city. Wasn’t real sure where to get off, but I just watched for when a large group of the people got off and went from there. I didn’t have any real purpose other than to wander, take pictures and look like a tourist – I think I did a good job. One thing I did want to find was an internet café so I could check emails and update my xanga site to inform my friends of my adventures. After I attempted directions from two different people, I found that one they referred me to. However, it was apparently closed until September 1 st… what luck! But I persisted and eventually got pointed to another place, which was great. Only cost me 200 SIT for a half-hour which is equal to almost $1… not bad at all.
From there, I wandered a bit and ended up catching the bus back to the hotel to get ready for my Venice trip. First though I called TK to see if he was around, get updated and get info/advice on Venice. He proceeded to say it might not be the best idea to go there because it’s a long trip there and back and not real cheap. Also, we’re training for an hour tomorrow and apparently playing a match… sweet!
After my phone call I went inside and checked to see if anyone was here yet. Stanka said one, so I went up and met Danny Newman, a MB from USC. We hung out for the next few hours, talking and exploring the hotel and ski/sport center. We went on a couple gondolas up the mountain and got great views of the city. We also rode the PohorJET, which is a plastic seat attached to a metal tube. You control stop and go and make your way down the hill on a winding and steep path… it was a blast!
When we got done exploring, we checked to see if anyone else was here and found out Josh Day was… a MB from USC two years ago. He knew Danny, and I also sorta knew him because he’s from Hawaii and I had met him once a few years back at a tourney, so we all hung out and talked for a while. Josh got into Ljubljana last night but his luggage didn’t make it. He ended up at a hotel there until today and finally got to Maribor. The first of several luggage stories to come.
While we were chillin’, Pete Sidler, OPP from Ontario stopped in the room to join the crew. He’d been in Europe for a few days… but without any extra clothes. Somehow his luggage got left at one of the airports… but he found out it will be here tomorrow at noon.
The four of us headed to dinner and were talking when another guy came over. Ricky Ziegler, setter from Juniata, sat down and joined us. Luckily he didn’t have any luggage issues. After talking for a while, he told us he’s been signed in Denmark already, but TK wants him to stay because we’re low on setters. Ricky’s got a job playing, an apartment, a cell phone and a small job delivering papers to a law firm! Not too bad a deal really.
After dinner we went upstairs and hung out watching TV in Josh’s room. Shortly after, Derran Cannon and David Hamilton came in. Derran is from Salt Lake City and has played several different places including BYU, and David is from North Ireland. Derran is an outside and David is also a middle… that makes four now for those keeping track. Derran also had luggage problems. He flew into London and was supposed to go on British Airways to Slovenia. Apparently the BA employees went on strike! So he ended up going online, booking a last minute plane ticket, catching the last train to Maribor and then the last bus to the hotel… lucky guy!
As we’re all talking, in walks Tony Ching. Ha, no one even knew he was coming. Most of the guys didn’t know who he was, but Josh and I did, cause he’s also a fellow Hawaii guy. Apparently he’s got a tryout in Holland at the end of the tour, so he just jumped on board. Derran is also trying out in Holland at the end of the tour if he’s not placed anywhere.
So far, everyone’s really cool, sociable and easy to get along with. Seems like a great group and there still 5 or 6 more to meet… in addition to the girls tour. It’s after midnight… off to bed!
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Had a great morning and early afternoon. The eight of us had breakfast and headed into the city. Today was a gorgeous day outside… much better than the rainy day yesterday. We walked around for a while, checking out the scenery etc. Then went in search of shoes suitable for playing for Derran since who knows when his bags will be here. We eventually found a place after a bit of walking and searching. We got lost within a hospital campus, hopped a wall/fence, crossed traffic and got to the EuroPark… a mall essentially.
Along the way, we stopped at an internet café and had the BEST time! We were there for about a half-hour, entertained but a guy calling himself “The Magnificent” and “The Dominator” after his favorite hockey player, Patrick Roy (which he said as ROY, not WAH the right way). This guy was a human jukebox, singing all the words to American music like the Beach Boys, Elvis, “Danger Zone”, “Tambourine Man” and many others… all with an Eastern Europe accent. Don’t think he was quite all there, but he was definitely cracking us all up.
Eventually we got on the bus back to the hotel and when we got on, two LBSU guys and a girl were on there. The guys were Rob Kijewski, setter and Clint Coe, outside. Jillian, setter, was one of only a couple girls who didn’t do the pre-tour through Prague, so she’s just arriving as well. We all got back and dug in on a buffet lunch. Then most of us came up to rest up before the first practice and match. I heard another guy had come in early in the morning, so I knocked on his door. Jake Cabott, a 5 th middle, from Canada got in at 5am… yikes! So I informed him about what was going on later in the day and now am in my room relaxing for a bit and excited about seeing what the afternoon/evening holds. Will write more later.
(Later) I’m back at the hotel now after a nice, warm shower. Tonight we warmed up/trained for about 45 minutes and then played against Maribor’s team. We played four games winning the first, and losing the next three. We played all right and really mixed up lineups to get looks at everyone. Most of the guys are solid players and I think we can do well when we play a few more times. Tomorrow we train from 10-12 and have a match in the evening. (Ok interrupted here to talk with other people, then end up going out… it’s now 2am) We play the 3 rd place Russian team tomorrow… probably will get killed, but will be a great experience. After tonight’s match, walked to dinner at a restaurant nearby, had pasta, salad, pizza and beer… YUM! Then home for a shower and bed… or so I thought. End up being convinced to go out and have a few with Derran, Rob, Sonny, Rashinda and Kelli. We had a great time out at the bar, meeting a few random Slovenian girls… I know Derran had a good time. Time for bed now, g’night.
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Waking up was a little tough this morning, but I did manage it. Ate some breakfast and then headed for the gym. We got out of the bus a stop too early and started walking and passed a school. Guess who was there… the Dominator! So then after talking and suggestions, we got him to bust out some Elvis with Heartbreak Hotel. I mean he unbuttoned his shirt a little, popped his collar up and did the whole routine. Then TK happened to drive by and picked us up take us to the gym. It turns out that TK knows this guy too, and calls him “The Wanderer”. He’s apparently everywhere, and always manages to find the groups of Americans when a tour comes through Maribor. Supposedly this guy has a condition in which he needs to walk 30 miles a day or he’ll balloon to 300+ pounds. He also has apparently been banned from the city bus system… hmm, I wonder why?!
Had a solid two-hour practice and everyone’s seeming to get a little more comfortable out on the court with each other. Then we took the vans back to the hotel and got some lunch and a swim at the neighboring hotel. The pools there (indoor and an outdoor) were huge. All of them had islands in the middle that had seating, and jets going like a jacuzzi.
Now I just got off the phone with my awesome girl. So good to hear her voice… it had been a few days. Gonna relax for a bit, then off to a new gym at the top of a mountain to play the Russians!
(Later) Ok, so I fell asleep and missed the vans to the Russia match. I hadn’t even lain down to sleep, I just leaned over to “rest” for a minute and it turned into 30 apparently. I woke up about 15 minutes after the guys had left and went downstairs to see if I could catch a cab there or something, but it was gonna cost 60-70 EUR, so I decided against it. I was able to talk to Cory (the girls’ coach) and he told me it wasn’t worth it and not to even sweat it. I couldn’t help but feel sick for a little bit, but I was all right shortly after. I relaxed in the room for a bit and then walked around outside to take some pictures again and just get some air.
Later I ended up running into a couple of the girls’ team and we went outside and drank a bottle of white wine and just chatted for about an hour. Then it was time to head to dinner… so lucky me got to go to dinner with Cory (a guy) and all 9 or 10 of the girls on the team. We ate at a Cuban restaurant and had these great wraps that were recommended by Cory. We also then had a great drink that he recommended which they call a “mishmash”. It’s red wine mixed with Fanta. Love it.
We then ended up walking to the other restaurant that we were at last night and met up with the guys. After a lot of teasing and laughing, I got to hear about the night’s match. Apparently we actually played fairly well for a couple of games. We lost 24-26, and then won game 2, and lost 3, 4 and 5. At dinner, Corey collected money and went out to get beer for everyone before they stop selling.
Back at the hotel everyone cleaned up and got ready to go and partied it up a bit. We eventually called cabs and most of us headed to a bar in town. We got there and it was sadly kind of low-key, but we still managed to have a good time, with several of the guys buying rounds of one thing or another for everyone. After a while there, we talked to some locals to find out the place to go. We hailed more cabs and got on our way to the supposed happening place… only to be dropped off at a place with no lights on or anyone around! So we walked a bit more and then hailed another cab… and it was the SAME guy who dropped us off! We finally made it back to the hotel and hit the beds hard. Great night!
Monday, August 15, 2005
Today we just had practice, which is good for a lot of the guys who went wild last night. I had a great time, but not overly great so that I felt awful today. I actually had a pretty good practice today… blocking well, attacking well, etc. I suppose part of it was that I had fresher legs than most of the guys since I had that unintentional day of rest yesterday.
This afternoon I’ve just relaxed around the room. I copied over pics from my camera to have as a backup and also in the case that I start running out of room on my card, I’ll be able to delete some. We’re going to have lunch in an hour or so up at the top of the gondola ride. It’s supposed to be great food, so I’ll be sure to eat as much as possible, because I’m starving.
(Later) We made our way up to the mountain again and all headed to an area of picnic tables and great smelling food. Our meal was salad, pork, cheesy potatoes, all topped off with a dessert of apple strudel… SO good!
Tonight was pretty low key, hanging out watching Dodgeball in the 2 nd floor lobby with some of the girls and guys. Not a whole lot going on Monday nights in Maribor. G’night
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Today’s events included a tour of an underground wine cellar as well as a volleyball match. The underground cellar was really cool and definitely a unique experience. A few of us took a tour of it for about a half-hour and looked at the various storage barrels. There were two types, romantic (wood) and industrial (metal). The capacity of the largest one was about 400,000+ liters (over 100,000 gallons)… quite amazing. After the tour, we participated in a wine tasting and tried three different wines. I ended up purchasing a semi-dry, which consists of five different wines: good flavor to it. We also had the standard bread and cheese to clean the palette… and NO F*&$ing Merlot!
Then this evening we played a match in Kamnik, Slovenia against their city’s team and did well. We lost the first two and then ended up winning the next three. I played in the first two sets, and even thought we lost, I felt like I played decent. A couple of our guys played with the other team for a few sets, so the coach could see how they played and interacted with the team.
Tomorrow Tony leaves for a tryout in the Czech Republic, Gray Garrett (outside, UCLA) and Brennan Prahler (outside, UCLA) are headed to Almeria, Spain for a tryout as well. In the next few days a few other guys should be sent off too. It’s exciting and unbelievable to just be told, ok tomorrow you’re going here, or take a train there… awesome.
The rest of us are headed to a match in Klagenfurt, Austria tomorrow… should be interesting and beautiful.
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Today we crashed until late. We left around 1pm and were on our way to Austria. On the way, we stopped at a gas station and there was a great view of a castle on top of a small mountain in the distance.
Then we left and drove for a while and eventually crossed into Austria. Once in Austria, we pulled off on a side road and walked along a river and then over to a huge, gorgeous lake to swim for a little while to kill some time. Most of us hopped in the water, which was pretty cold and swam out to a little dock, doing flips and attempting “gainers”… Cannon’s favorite trick.
After swimming, we headed to a little pizza place for a pre-game meal until the Klagenfurt team came to meet us and show us the way to the gym. We played four games winning three of the four. I played in two of them and did fairly well, so I was content with that. Then after the match we went to a Chinese restaurant and ate a lot of food. On the drive home we broke into beer and wine purchased earlier in the trip. Here it’s apparently legal to have an open container which is a great law. Now we’re back here at the hotel and most of the guys are trying to pack their stuff up tonight, so they don’t have to do it tomorrow morning… good plan.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Today was a very long day. It included lots of driving, some crazy events, and a little volleyball (2 full matches in one day). We left the Hotel Arena this morning headed to Bled, Slovenia. Along the way we stopped at Lake Bled for an hour or two and a lot of the guys swam around a bit. There was an elevated lookout house with a ladder up to it and you could climb up it and jump of the roof. A bunch of the guys did it and had a great time.
Then Danny went up and as he looked over the edge, he slipped and fell the 40+ feet down into the water, missing the cement dock we were all standing on, by about 12”. After we realized he was safe, we all broke out laughing… probably the funniest thing on the tour.
Then we tried to rent a boat or two to pick up the guys from the island that a bunch of them swam out to. We had to be sneaky though and drop them off away from the rental station because supposedly only two people can be in a boat at a time. So just as the guys are about to be dropped off, the rental lady pops out of the bushes and starts snapping pictures and going off on us in Slovenian. We just laughed at her and kept walking while she yelled some more… the 2 nd funniest thing on the tour.
We then drove to a gym in Bled and played a match. We didn’t do so hot. They’re the best Slovenian team but they were missing four starters. Oh well. I did get to play some opposite in that match, which was going ok until I got panicked on the backline by a serve and basically tried to pass a serve that was clearly WAY out. After that match we ate at a nearby restaurant to fuel up for our night match. This time we played against Novo Mesto. We were able to handle these guys a little better and I actually got to play a little bit more opposite which was new for me, but fun. It was here that we stayed on the gym floor to sleep…well we had gymnastics mats under us, but still not the best sleeping conditions… oh well, one night isn’t bad at all.
Friday, August 19, 2005
This morning we were rudely awakened by the janitorial staff taking down the volleyball equipment from the match and preparing the gym for basketball practice. So we quickly packed up our things and headed for McDonalds where we got breakfast and also picked up Rob and Clint. They tried out/practiced with Kamnik but didn’t think they wanted to stay there.
(Editor’s Note: Kamnik would eventually sign with Robert Kijewski and also Nathan Hagstrom (Long Beach State, missed the tour after a random accident involving a broken window and a cut arm) after the tour.)
Then we started our drive to Croatia. We drove for several hours and eventually found the two different apartments we’re staying in. Unloaded things and headed down to the water to stroll and get some sun. Here we were exposed to European beach style and apparel… or lack thereof. Quite an interesting concept.
Then we walked to a restaurant on the harbor and had fish (whole, skin and all), pasta and meat… delicious! Then we went to our match in Sibenik and played their team. The level was a little low, so TK said in the final game if we held them under 14 he’d buy the first two rounds of drinks at the gas station. Consequently, we beat them 25-12… amazing what a little extra motivation will do.
Then we came back, showered up and hit the city. We had a bunch of drinks and some food in town, then walked WAY too far to Club Hacienda, which was an all night dance club that was indoor/outdoor. We were out ‘til 4am and had a blast. Caught a cab home and crashed quite hard... apparently Bemus had an intimate meeting with some of the boats in the harbor.
Saturday, August 20, 2005
Another tough morning to get up. Most of us got up and went to the VB match in Split, Croatia, but there were a few guys who just needed to take that day off. We left at 10am and played at noon… not the easiest task when you’re all hungover. On top of that, the match took place in the smallest gym I’ve ever seen. It was so small that the next was actually attached to the walls… there were no poles and probably only 5 or 6 feet of approach area outside the lines. We fought through four games and split 2-2, deciding a fifth game was not necessary. No need to get into it.
Then we headed back to Vodice and got a bag lunch and hopped on a boat. We headed out on the Adriatic Sea for several hours, being given a tour of some surrounding islands. A couple of the guys bought speedos and/or boy shorts since that’s what all males where in Europe… not a pretty sight let me tell ya. We stopped at a couple islands that are self-sufficient and their own little society. Took some great pictures of the islands and then scenery. What a crazy concept to say that I was boating out on the Adriatic Sea… still seems surreal.
The evening was similar to the night before. We hung out at a bar/restaurant for a while and then went to a different bar where we met a couple Croatian girls. They were really nice and easy to talk to… unlike most of the other girls we met at Hacienda… all the “player” type guys were striking out unusually hard… tough on their egos… haha. We all then headed to Club Exit and danced and hung out ‘til about 3am or so. Most of us then stumbled home and crashed hard.
Sunday, August 21, 2005
We got to sleep in today! Eventually got up around noon, and headed to the beach to walk for a bit and were in search of jet skis. The cost was quite a bit though, so only Danny went later in the day for about 10 minutes and paid the equivalent of nearly $25. Spent the afternoon just hanging out and soaking up all we could. Then we packed up all our bags and wend to Zadar, Croatia for our last match in this country.
Upon arriving, we walk into a nice gym, the team had uniforms (which no team had so far on the tour), and there were more people in attendance than any other matches. So at the start we were expecting a decent match… Hmmm! Once we started it was apparent they were a young team… but on top of this… the up and down refs were both completely drunk! We won game 1 by 8 or 10 points, then squeezed out a 26-24 win in game 2 even after their multiple attempts to cheat and subtract points, and game 3 was about a 10 point win as well.
Then we headed out on our 4-hour road trip to Ljubljana, en route to Salzburg, Austria. This trip took place in the hardest torrential rain I think I have ever ridden in. At one point, we had to swerve because of flashing lights up ahead, and then as we drove past it, we saw a car on the side of the road up to it’s windows in water!
The only upside to this driving was that we told riddles for several hours and tried to get everyone stumped and involved. I think that the hardest one for our entire van was, “A man’s found dead in a room with 53 bicycles… how’d he die?” I knew the answer, but man did it stump just about everyone else… those riddles are ones that I’ll always remember… good times.
Eventually, after fighting the elements, as well as a troublesome van, we arrived at the hostel in Ljubljana after 3am.
Monday, August 22, 2005
Woke up at 830 this morning and guess what… yep, still raining. We ate some quasi-breakfast and wait about an hour to checkout… this place was SO inefficient! The girls now joined us again and we ended up leaving Rob, Clint and Derran behind for them to go to Klagenfurt for a tryout. Then out on the road we went again, driving three or four more hours to Salzburg… some great, beautiful scenery along the way. We actually saw the Eagle’s Nest castle (where Hitler died) when we were driving.
Stopped at the complex we were going to play at later, and had some beef and potatoes for lunch. Then checked into the hostel and rested for a bit.
Had our last tour match this evening and did well. We won 3-0 but they wanted one more game, which we ended up losing. It was a fun match in a really cool venue. The playing surface wasn’t wood or sport court, it was rubbery and sticky for shoes, but great for diving or sliding. The walls were wood paneling and the ceiling was huge timbers typical in Austrian construction/architecture.
Then grabbed McDonald’s for dinner and went back to clean up, meet with TK and go out. The meetings weren’t bad and a lot of guys are headed places over the next few days. A few to Spain, a few to different parts of Germany and others will wait to hear from TK. I have decided that I do not really want to continue playing volleyball and will be headed to Florida to visit a couple friends as well as interview at four different Landscape Architecture firms.
Eventually the meetings were over and we ventured out into the rain in search of one last bar experience. Most of us went out and man did we have a good time! We stayed for several hours and got to know the bartenders pretty well. It was an Irish bar called the Dubliner and Ken was our crazy bartender. The other one did some cool bottle tossing, flame blowing tricks for us. The coolest was when Pete asked to keep one of the pint glasses for his girlfriend. Ken said that if he were able to throw the glass on the ground and not have it shatter, Pete could buy it for 5 EUR. Well Ken’s first try shattered the glass, so Pete got it for free. His second try he bounced it off the ground and caught it… quite impressive!
Eventually we walked back to the hostel at about 2:30, packed the last couple things and headed to the Munich Airport… I slept the whole way.
Editor’s Note: Many thanks to Andrew for writing the whole journal. While every guy’s experience is different on the tour, I think that Drew did a great job summing up the trip.
As of September 1, 2005, here is an update of where everyone is:
Robert Kijewski, Signed in OK Kamnik, Slovenia
Brad Kniewel, Travelling in Spain waiting for a shot
Peter Sidler, Travelling in Spain waiting for a shot
Clint Coe, Signed in TV Rottenburg, Germany
Darren Cannon, Training with Lycrungus, Holland
Andrew Braley, Home entering the “Real World”
David Hamilton, Playing with his home club in Northern Ireland
Ricky Zigler, Signed in Aarhus, Denmark
Spencer Bemus, Travelling in Spain waiting for a shot
Jake Cabbot, Training with Tierp, Sweden
Brennan Prahler, Training with Almeria, Spain
Gray Garrett, Training with Almeria, Spain
Danny Newman, Training with Bielefeld, Germany (About to sign)
Josh Day, Travelling in Spain waiting for a shot
Tony Ching, Signed with Danzas Ostrava, Czech
Doug Soviero, Training with Bielefeld, Germany (About to sign)
In the coming weeks I will further update the journal with an update account of everyone’s whereabout and I will also post some “videos” from the jumps at Bled, the gainers in Croatia, and hopefully a cut version of the match vs. Iskra (Russia) when we have time to cut and post it.
|
