Day two- Munich to Berlin
Ashley Suapaia, Northern Lights 16-1 

Wow what a beginning!!! Last night we came home from a very exciting visit from the amazing castles. We were all so worn out from all the walking and excitement from the long day. We call came home and picked partners to room in the Olympic Rowing Center dorms. I was in shock with the dorm rooms. We had two beds, a cabinet as our closet, a table, and a sink. This was such an upgrade from what I was expecting to be our homes for that night. After we got all situated in our rooms we all felt gross so we took showers and then headed off to dinner.  

We arrived at this Italian restaurant that was very small and comfy. They had AMAZING food. This was the first restaurant I have ever been to that has had my meal come to me in the first five minutes that we arrived, it was great! This was also a great opportunity to make our bond with Front Range even stronger. After dinner we were all pooped out from not being able to sleep all day, so a few people went to bed right away. Me being a very hyper person, I of course didn’t go to sleep right away. Some of us girls went out and took a very relaxing stroll around the rowing basin. We were all filled with fascination. Then it became late and we all (Front Range and Northern Lights) went back to my room and told stories, to get to know each other better. It became late and we all took off in our own directions and fell asleep. 

Seven a.m. we all were awaken by a knock at our door. This gave us time to finish up packing our bags before heading out for a long day. After packing we went down the hall to eat breakfast together. This was a definite culture shock for all of us girls. They had MEAT and CHEESE for breakfast. CRAZY!!! We were pretty afraid of that change. They also had cereal and bread for us to eat to go along with the meat and cheese. After we were all done eating we headed out to the bus to drive to Dachau, a concentration camp. We were all so eager to see what these people had gone through. I walked with a few teammates and a couple of the Front Range girls. We started off with entering the museum and reading about all the terrible things that happened there. Then we wondered over to the place that all of us girls were most interested in, the gas chambers. This was such a sad experience, but also a great opportunity that we were able to have.  

After we visited the camp we had a little pep talk from Cory, our guide, about what our day was going to be about. We had to travel from Munich to Berlin for 6 HOURS! We were all dreading this long bus ride, but excited for all the new adventures that were about to take place in Berlin.  

We arrived that evening in Berlin at a large National training center, which used to be a former East German training center that was highly secretive. By the time we arrived we were all starving after this long six hour trip. We had some chicken with spinach inside and other various German food. As we were eating we saw the Czech team walk in and were very anxious to meet them. When we were done eating we got the chance to go up to them and visit with them, VERY COOL! 

After we were all done with dinner we headed towards our dorms. As we walked into our rooms it was such an upgrade from our last rooms, but had tons of SCARY spiders which was not very pleasing to any of us. After we got settled in we had to hurry and get dressed in 5 minutes to run and go practice. As I we were walking out of the locker room after getting ready, and walking in the gym it was such an amazing feeling. I felt like I was on the USA team preparing for a huge match! The gyms and atmosphere was much different than in anywhere in the United States. While going to get a water break the German girls were very nice and said hi to me which I thought was awesome. Then we finished off practice scrimmaging our new friends, Front Range. After practicing we went home and took a quick shower before heading off to bed for the night. It was such a great, fun-filled day!! I am very fortunate to have had this opportunity to experience this amazing country.  

I just want to say hi to my family!!! I miss you guys tons and am having a blast here!! I can’t wait to show you all the pictures I have taken. LOVE YOU!!!