Volleyball Checks In From Slovenia
6/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
June 20, 2009
FORT WORTH, Texas - The TCU volleyball team wrapped an exciting three days in Slovenia and are now off to Vienna. Along with some fun adventures, the team won 9-of-10 matches against a local club team.
Day 4 Blog: Nirelle Hampton
This trip has been the experience of a lifetime! And to think we aren't even half way through!
We left Budapest around 10am yesterday and took a 4 hour bus ride through beautiful landscapes of mountains and farmlands to get to Maribor, Slovenia. Most of us caught up on some sleep during the ride, including me, but for the few moments I was awake I got to see some amazing scenes. We are staying in a brand new hotel right on the side of a mountain!
Once we arrived at the hotel, we dragged our luggage inside, grabbed some lunch and than got ready to go do some wine tasting! Slovenia is well known for their white wines and we got to go tour where they make it.
After the wine tasting, we headed back to the hotel to get ready to go up the mountain in a tram to have dinner. It started raining outside, so we all were a little nervous about riding up the side of the mountain, but once they assured us we were safe, we had a blast.
Dinner was delicious. We ate in a small cabin up on the side of the mountain. After we finished dinner, the tram that was supposed to take us back down the mountain shut down due to the weather (at this point it started lightening). So we sat inside and entertained ourselves for a while and waited for the taxi drivers to drive up the side of the mountain to get us. I think we all can say we were a little nervous on our drive down because the road was winding and curvy, it was raining, and the taxi drivers weren't exactly going slow. But we all made it safely to the bottom and headed to bed to get ready for a busy day.
Day 5:
We woke up and had breakfast and were excited to see that the weather was perfect!! Now if we could only get a drink at one of our meals that was COLD!! We have all quickly learned that the "European way" is to have your drinks slightly cold...no ice...don't even think of asking for a cup of ice... this includes milk:)
So back to the beautiful weather... we set out after breakfast on an "adventure." Our fist stop was at the bottom of the mountain where we would catch a ski lift up to the top. As we went up behind us the town emerged nestled into the valley...a scene right out of a movie...very Sound of Music-like. Once at the top we walked about 100 yards only to be met with quite the sight. A series of poles, ropes, walls and generally intimidating equipment. We didn't think we had signed up for a boot camp on this tour... so we all waited anxiously for Cory to explain EXACTLY what he had in mind for us. Turns out that all of the equipment was in fact a ropes course designed to challenge us and create opportunities for teamwork. Because we were only going to be up there for a little bit we only had time to do two of the activities on the ropes course.
The group divided in half and we all were put in harnesses to prepare for both activities. While Group one went over to a telephone pole Group two went over to a platform with a series of ropes and pulleys. Neither activity looked very inviting. Turns out that each person had to climb the telephone pole that rose about 30 feet in the air. Once at the top, each person had to push themselves up and stand at the top, then rotate themselves around and step off!! Of course this is all done while harnessed in and relying on teammates to do their part in pulling the ropes and harnesses so each person could accomplish the goal.
Irene was the first one to step up and take the challenge on. While her teammates cheered her on, she yelled "I Can DO IT!!" as she bravely stepped onto the top of the pole and turned around. Each player and even the coaching staff took part in it, and I have to say that it was tougher than they made it look! But all of us conquered that telephone pole with the support of our team!
The other activity, while looking way more daunting actually turned out to be the most fun!! All those ropes and pulleys came together to form a huge swing!! Each person took their turn in getting hooked in and with the help of teammates they would be hoisted up about 30 feet in the air with a rip cord in their hand that you have to release on your own. Once you pulled the rip cord you would go soaring through the air and out over a meadow overlooking the mountain town. Needless to say a lot of screaming took place and if you were really daring, you flipped yourself upside down and swung back and forth!
After every single player and staff person completed each challenge, we were all starving! So we had lunch a quaint restaurant where they cooked outdoors for us right there at the top. Watermelon, fresh salad and sausage hit the spot. On the way down, we got to "sled" down the side of the mountain!! There was a track that went all the way down to the bottom and attached to that track were individual sleds that we could each ride down.
Once we were all down at the bottom, we all decided that so far this had been the best day of the trip so far. We went back to the hotel to prepare for our 5 pm match with the confidence that each one of us were able to accomplish anything with the support of our teammates. At 5 pm we played a club team from Maribor. We played five sets and won all five. A great ending to a perfect day!!
Day 6: Katelyn Blackwood
Yesterday was different than any other we have spent over the pond; it was a free day! That's right... all day to do what our hearts desired! Surprise, surprise the girls and I decided to go into town to shop and people watch.
So we took the #6 bus into town, walked across the bridge, and our day was in full swing. We were pleased to find that the prices in this town were a lot lower than that of tourist laden Budapest. Paying in Euros (comparable to the dollar - 1 Euro is about $1.20), we each found some souvenirs to take back to the States.
After a few hours of shopping, walking, eating, picture taking etc. we met at our meeting place and after much difficulty (that including chasing a bus down the street) we finally got back on the #6 and headed back to the hotel stop.
Once back, some girls decided to take another thrill down the mountain slide while the rest (including myself) opted for the coveted mid-afternoon nap!
After waking up it was time to put our game faces on and once again square off with the Slovenian girls. With a few new additions, the team looked as if they might provide some steep competition, but alas, no competitor can handle the mean purple Horned Frogs when we fire on all cylinders.
After winning the first game, Prentice sent Lauren Otto over to the other team to add some dynamic to the Slovenian team by helping on the outside playing all the way around. Although she gave great effort, your beloved Frogs came out on top in the next two sets.
Just as Otto rejoined our team, Prentice decided to send me over for the last two matches. A lot of the girls spoke English fairly well and made me feel right at home (Black-vood they called me). One of the setters told me, "don't be intimidated by everyone speaking a different language, just be yourself!" And that's exactly what I did. I even helped them win the last set! (I realize to everyone besides my own parents that sounds like a bad thing but keep in mind I still bled purple from across the net!)
We are off to Vienna next!
