- Entry by Steph Sharp

            Today we got to sleep in a little which was much appreciated after a long night of getting to know both the men’s and women’s Slovenian Junior National Teams.  Most of them speak English very well and those who were a little more shy about it opened up after we reminded them that we speak no Slovenian so any English they know was impressive to us.  We found that most of the female players are very similar to us, love America, and want to play in the States some day but most importantly a few even knew the Superman dance!! This morning we were served a typical Slovenian breakfast consisting of bread, lunch meat, cheese, a chocolate topping similar to Nutella, and Corn Flakes for the less adventurous.  After breakfast we bundled up as much as possible and took a 40 minute drive through the mountains to the city of Bled.  According to Corey, Bled is the most scenic place in the world and now most of the team would agree with this statement. 

            After winding through the mountains spotted with small towns and vineyards, we arrived in Bled and the weather was perfect (despite the cold).  Bled is a slightly larger town than Kranjska Gora and the first non-ski town we’ve visited in Slovenia.  The town is located in a valley between towering cliffs and is centered around a beautiful lake.  Once we parked the vans, we all piled onto a little row boat paddled by a native Slovenian who was undoubtedly the strongest 70 year old man I have ever seen.  He rowed us with ease to the small island in the center of the lake covered completely with a large church, while telling us some history of the town.  We fulfilled our tourist role by taking a multitude of pictures from every angle on the island although we collectively decided pictures cannot do justice to this place.  We all climbed the 98 steps from the dock to the church…our conditioning for the morning… at the top some of the group members paid a few euros and went into the church to ring the wishing bell.  Others circled the base were we made friends with a swan who decided to attack Leah’s shoe as she walked by, don’t worry we have pictures and swans are definitely more vicious than we thought.

            We spent about 30 minutes on the island before we took the row boat back to the shore and drove into the center of town.  The group split and a few members decided to hike to the top of one of the cliffs and tour a castle overlooking the lake while others of us stayed in town and walked around the shops taking in the view from the lake side.  We found great enjoyment in the grocery store, comparing the odd foods and picking out a variety of Slovenian candies and Milka chocolate bars to try.  After about 2 hours in town we headed back to the training center where we were met with yet another hardy meal of meat, sausage, bread, potatoes, and gravy…there is no such thing as a light lunch in this place.  We had about an hour of down time, just long enough to get in a much needed nap before we were on the court to play.  Our team usually handles food well but we are still trying to figure out how they play after meals of sausage and sauerkraut.  We played well today, constantly changing the line up and making necessary adjustments from yesterday.  We lost but the games were close with a lot of long rallies which is an improvement from the past few days.  After the game we took a few group pictures with the girls where we taught them our signature pose… flexing.  We just finished dinner, meat and potatoes again, and will have some time to relax, shower and hangout in the rooms tonight before we head to our next destination in the morning!

- Entry by Hannah Stuart

Today started off the same as the last few, with a wonderful breakfast of croissants and Nutella from Paollo. Then we piled into the vans for about a two hour ride to Planica, Slovenia, and Cory gave us a brief history of Slovenia (since he is a resident of the country). The truncated version is that Slovenia became a country in the 1990s after breaking off of Yugoslavia. Also, because Slovenia is in the European Union, we did not need our passports stamped at the border – we just drove straight across. Although stamps are fun, we should appreciate and enjoy the significance of this traveler’s freedom.

The scenery was absolutely beautiful starting with a long drive through flat residential areas and then farm lands and large vineyards. We approached the majestic Alps and finally ended up right in the middle of them. The towering mountains make the Rockies seem insignificant! Oh, and on the way, we took a wrong turn and ended up in Austria – a thrilling detour of about five minutes! Right before we made it to the Slovenian Olympic Training Center, we stopped at the largest ski jump in the world!!! This is where the record for ski jumping was broken in 2005 with a jump of about 240 meters. We finally made it to our destination and ate a delicious and nutritious lunch of mashed potatoes, chicken, and vegetables (absolutely wonderful!) in the cafeteria and then headed out for the small ski town of Kranjska Gora.

Kranjska Gora is a cute little town nestled at the base of a towering mountain about fifteen minutes from Planica. There was snow and dedicated skiers on the slopes, however, since it is the off season and a week day, there was almost nobody but us. It was nice to see a non-tourist area of Europe. First we went to the ski lift and tried to persuade the supervisor to let us ride up and down on it, but he was quick to say “no.” So, some of us enjoyed a snowball fight and sledding – two sleds for a few euros. We spent our leisurely time talking and laughing at skiers wiping out on the slopes. Another group worked their way farther into the small town toward a church down one main road of souvenir and snow gear shops. We then savored cups of hot chocolate and ice cream at a local restaurant.

After about an hour and a half, we went back to the training center to get ready for our next match! We could not start until the men’s Junior Olympic Team finished practicing and some of the girls enjoyed watching them. Before our match, our opponents exchanged t-shirts with us. We struggled in the first game, but picked it up for the next four. We won the second and forth, but lost the match in a close fifth game. The Slovenians had very strong serving and aggressive attaching, but our blocking and serving countered their strengths to make it a very competitive and fun match!

We went straight to dinner in the cafeteria after the match to eat wonderful meat patties and a spinach dish. Now we are exploring the center and enjoying a good night’s sleep before facing another full day of travel and play. According to Cory, we are going to the most beautiful place in the world tomorrow!

Adijo (Slovenic for goodbye)!!!

- Entry by Katherine Marie Elizabeth Zulandt

Venice was so stupendous that it was impossible for us to cover the entire city in just one day. Therefore, we came to a group consensus to return for another day. Personally, I do not think we could have made a better decision. While yesterday it was rainy and cloudy all afternoon, today there was nothing but sun shine. We split up into groups, one group embarked on the epic journey to find Accademia, getting lost a few times along the way. But getting lost in Venice is anything less than an inconvenience; every back ally, canal and balcony is just as breathtaking as the next. We did eventually locate the hidden Accademia, and its contents proved worth the search. The other group had an equally as amazing time, enjoying a gondola ride through the beautiful canals. And as always, we took advantage of the incredible shopping…. and food! I think I at gelato a total of four times while I was in Venice… and I wasn’t the only one (….cough Chelsea Cramer cough….) Its just so hard to resist! Every shop was packed full with gorgeous glass jewelry and masks. I am pretty sure that every GW volleyballer left Venice with a mask.

After leaving Venice it was off to our first game in Italy! Our opponent: Volley Codogne, a B1 professional Italian team of the 3rd Division. We struggled the first two games; it took us a while to get comfortable. The other teams’ serving was phenomenal and they were really in control the entire time. They basically schooled us you could say. We really pulled it together the last three games, by improving our defense and being more aggressive hitters. I think we all just became more and more confident as the games progressed, and that made all the difference. We lost all five of the games but we definitely took a lot away from them. After the game, we exchanged tee shirts with the …..and took a group picture by the net.

We went to dinner directly after the game with the coaches from another team that we will be playing, one of which was from Argentina which gave Abby and Chelsea a chance to demonstrate their Spanish skills. For dinner we had what seemed like endless mounds of out-of-this-world pasta. I think that the waitresses were a little surprised at the amount of food we consumed. Tomorrow we check out of our quaint little Italian hotel and head to Slovenia!

PS: the Italians don’t celebrate St. Patrick’s day ....bummer. x10.

PSS: Our hotel manager’s name is Paollo… and he never sleeps.

PSSS: AJ hasn’t been late for a single thing yet!!

Ciao!

Yesterday morning started off just like any other, Katie Zulandt and I woke up and went downstairs to eat breakfast. We came back upstairs to get ready and I went to use my converter to plug in my straightener. Apparently, European outlets and I don’t get along because I wiped out all the power for the first floor. So curly-haired and all, I walked with everyone to the train station where we were to depart for Venice.

We arrived in Venice about an hour later and I went with Katie Butz, Steph, Liz, Maggie, and Abby to shop around. This town literally looked exactly like what we expected. Because it was a Sunday, the town wasn’t very crowded and some of my other teammates went to see the sights. Our group chose to shop around along the side streets and some of us found great deals on Murano glass and Carnivale masks (both of which Venice is famous for). Abby and I found ourselves reverting to talking in Spanish to the Italians which made them understand us but not vice versa.

Later on, we met the group again in Piazza San Marco. There were pigeons everywhere and Leah has the pictures to prove that one actually landed in her hand. I ventured off with Katie Zulandt, Leah, and Maddy to shop some more. We got separated quickly as Maddy and I decided to use a McDonald’s bathroom. The “McBurger,” looked delicious but we opted to get gelato at a street vendor instead. Maddy picked out some gifts and we got more gelato.

We met everyone again at the train station to go to Conigliano to watch an A2 volleyball match, which is the second level of professional volleyball in Europe. On the train, we learned about the great bartering Hannah had done with some of the other girls and she was able to talk a purse down to half price! We got to the match and were astounded at the sight. The Italian people really seemed to love watching their volleyball as they were cheering the entire time in this small gym. One thing I noticed was that there were advertisements EVERYWHERE, on the spandex and jerseys, and all over the walls. Florens beat the home team and it was phenomenal to watch. The libero on the visiting team had a fierce attitude and seemed to be in control the entire time. I thought that she was the best player but maybe I’m biased.

We walked down the mountain that the match was on back to the train that we took to Pordenone. We went to dinner and ate some different kinds of pizza. We were very hungry by this point and most of us ate more than a full pizza. Surprised when we took a sip, we noticed that our water was fizzy, as that is the norm in Italy. At the end of the night, we walked back to our hotel to rest for another long day in this beautiful place.

- Entry by Leah Hill

And so it’s begun! We finally made it to Italia!! After 8 hours of tossing and turning on the airplane, Europe welcomed us with open arms at dawn, where a fire red sunrise and the Swiss Alps gave us a sneak peak at the marvels that would behold us. Unfortunately (for Miss Cramer, and the rest of the Toblerone lovers out there, we were NOT able to see the chocolate factory that feeds our fat-kid appetites.) Once we landed in Milano, we got off without a hitch, getting through customs (and for some of us, our very first visa stamp!), and continued onward with a two-hour drive through the spectacular Italian countryside headed towards Verona.

After two hours of fighting off fatigue (which some of us couldn’t help but succumb to), we got to the city of love!! Verona, home to the famed lovers from the Capulet and Montague families (a.k.a, Romeo and Juliet), is a spectacle in itself. It houses the Arena, which is one of the six largest coliseums from the height of the Roman Empire, and it was our first massive introduction to Italy. We continued on, exploring the streets of this city where fresh markets, high fashion, cafés and shops intermix with the authentic lifestyle of the Italians. The streets were endless, and wherever you turned there was something for everyone! For the lover in you, you need only find the balcony of Juliet, where a statue and a wall graffitied with lovers’ names stand to pay homage to the star-crossed lover. For the shopping fanatic, you need only to open your eyes to the billions of shops—both globally recognized and Italian exclusive—to find exactly what you’re looking for. And for the food lovers, (which includes 100% of us!) take your pick of delis, cafés or gelato stops where you can eat authentic Italian goodness to your little hearts desire! The Arena offers an astounding glimpse to the past, where operas, plays, and gladiators dominated Italian entertainment, and where you can stand atop its walls and witness the sheer magnificence of it all. To say the least, Verona did not disappoint!

Having spent 2 hours touring Verona, we sought out a change of scenery for the streets of Pordenone, where we will stay for the next two days. This little city, smaller and less touristy than that of Verona, holds a charm unique to its trendy, historical streets. It’s here that we settled in to our little Hotel Damodoro, and strolled along the café-lined streets, where, once again, shops and food ruled the scene. Since it’s customary to eat later in Italy and other European countries, we decided to have a midday snack before our dinner after practice at 9. Our time here was mostly composed of exploring and taking in the culture of this little city. We’ve found that people watching in Italia is way more interesting than in the states! And that history is around every corner in this piece of the world. After a couple more hours of meandering and eating, we headed back to our temporary abode and got ready to hit the courts at 8. And after a short practice and a fantastic buffet, we ended our day fat, happy and completely ready to beat that wicked jet lag!