October 21/22

Back to the volleyball. Last weekend we played another regular season game on saturday. We played at home and against one of the best teams in our league. I was pretty nervous and we had had quite the interesting week of practice (not interesting in a good way). The home crowd is crazy. There were just under a couple hundred supporters but they come out with drums and ouzo, ready to scream and shout. The crowd actually got our first warning from the referee which led to our franchise player getting a yellow card later in the match (he blocked a ball that landed about an inch from the centre line and crouched down to point to the spot, came to the team huddle, went back to the spot and signed his name...yellow!) That fired all of us up.

I got the start for this match, sat the second, and played out the rest of the game. Not a great performance by us but still pretty good. This team was extremely huge, their opposite being almost 7 feet tall and their star power hitter not far behind. There were a lot of balls of the top of our block and our libero, Rob Reaugh, managed to track down most of them. He's Rob Reaugh! We played a hard fought battle, the refs not helping either team at all, and eventually won the match 3-2. For the third straight match, I touched the match point ball but this time was a little bit different. The other team's huge left side attacked and the ball, yet again, went off the top of my fingers and out but we started celebrating and the ref called no touch, match over. The crowd went loopy and we did our customary hold-hands-and-run-across-the-court-dive-and-stand-up-to-appreciate-the-crowd thing. Admittedly, it is a bit odd and the first time it happened, in Wiesbaden, I had no idea what was going on when our 40 year old spokesperson grabbed my hand and dragged the team across the court into a head first dive. Ya get used to it. Not my best offensive performance but it was not bad. I made some key serves in after 20 point situations so I was happy about that. Plus, that was the biggest team we've faced and among the top four in the league so a big win fo us, putting us at 4-2 and in third place still, but tied for it with far less teams.

Back in uniform again...feels good. Warming up for my first home match with the team. *All photos courtesy of drunken Luke-Guy.

The Franchise, Sean Kendall, Canadian middle. He jumps kinda high.

Matty, a BC firefighter in the off-season, attacking middle during the match.

Fuzzy left side attack.

Sunday we played another match against our arch rival, Dummersheim, at a neutral location. This was not a league match but part of the POCAL series, which is a German championship that involves both the 1st and 2nd divisions. We won the match on Sunday, 3-1, despite being tired and sore and almost dissinterested. Dummersheim was not very impressive but I am assured they can and will play better. We'll find out soon enough as we play them tomorrow! If we keep winning these POCAL matches, we eventaully get to play a Division 1 team which would be a great thing for us as a team and as players. The bad thing about winning last Sunday was that it meant our weekend off in November is no longer a weekend off because that is when the next POCAL match is scheduled. We were going to fly to Portugal or Spain and go surfing with Luke-Guy (refer to previous posts if you do not recognize his name) who will be travelling there for the next month. You win some, you lose some.

That is all for now. Wish us luck tomorrow. And Sunday...I move into my new apartment! Very exciting.

Baden- Baden and Strasbourgh, France

So last week, Luke came to visit "the hostel" for a few days. Luke is Matt's buddy from summer firefighting in BC. Matt took the week off putting hoses together at work and we went sightseeing. We had a good week.

Matt and Luke-Guy o the train to Baden-Baden and the baths from heaven.

Wednesday, October 18th. We decided to visit the famous baths of Baden-Baden, which is about a 6 minute train ride from home. After arriving in Baden-Baden (new camera at the ready), we hung around the train station trying to figure out what bus to take to get to the centre of town and ate Berliners (powdered doughnuts that made us reminisce about good ol' Tim Horton's). We walked around Baden-Baden for a while before finding the tourist info centre where we inquired about the baths. We found three and chose the cheapest one (www.caracalla.de). One of the other ones was a Roman-Irish bath (www.roemisch-irisches-bad.de) that was all nude. Its brochure also included a comment by Mark Twain about the bath..."Here at Friedrichsbad you lose track of time within 10 minutes and track of the world within 20..." Maybe next time. So we spent just under three hours in several mineral baths, Aroma therapy rooms, saunas, hot lamps and hot tubs. We were loving life. One things that was a bit odd getting used to was the co-ed naked saunas. That's just how Germany rolls, even at the gym we work out at. the 3 hour session cost us 12 euros and we contemplated becoming members and making it a weekly trip.
Practice that night was great.

A large fountain and church in Baden-Baden.

Luke-Guy, Matt, 2 Heffe-Wiessens and a cappucino...who's the panzy?!

The next day the three of us took off for Strasbourgh, France. It has some history and also is home to the European Parliament. We later found out that it also has three breweries, including Heinekin. Unfrotunately, we did not make it to either of those places but did manage to find a strange bar. We chose the bar because it had full-size pretzels waiting for us at a few tables. We each had a two dollar beer and a free pretzel. Awesome. We spent the rest of the day wandering. One thing we did manage to find, of course, was the huge cathedral.

The huge cathedral in Starsbourgh

Crooked buildings in Strasbourgh

Walking around Strasbourgh

2 dollar beer and pretzel bar

Odd Mini parking space in Strasbourgh

Old French town in Strasbourgh that looked oddly like Austria or Bavaria

Pole climber statue in Strasbourgh

We arrived home, ate dinner and went to our usual Thursday night destination, Kwetch, for a pint or two of the delicious Hefe-Wiessen (German wheat beer). That's when things got interesting. Korwin, our number 2 setter, found a university party/fundraiser in Karlsruhe (about a 40 minute train and where we usually go to hang out on day's off) that night. Last minute decision and we were in...caught the 11:30pm train because it was the last one out. We went, had some drinks after we figured out the ticket/drink system, danced, got shoved a lot and cauught the 4:30am train home. Good times!

Sean and Matt in the party basement

More basement party

Me, Matt, half of Sean, Luke and Matt's new BFF!

Warming up inside a bank waiting for our early morning train

Wiesbaden

Alright. I have put this off long enough so here is one of the updates for the past two and a half weeks.

The weekend of the 14th and 15th we had a match in Wiesbaden. For those of you that think that name sounds familiar, that's because it is the first German team I tried out for. I was pumped for this match for 2 reasons: 1-My friend Aleks is their setter and 2-I wanted to show them that they should have kept me around, even if they already had an opposite.

Aleks and I have been talking trash for weeks before this game and it continued before, during and after the match. The game started and I was, again, on the bench. We ended up winning the first game, I saw no action. The second set was jut plain ugly for us. We were losing badly and I was subbed in. We lost, score now tied up at 1-1. I started the 3rd and 4th set and felt great. Both teams were all over each other through the net, it was great. We ended up winning the last two matches and for the second straight match, I scored match point with the score 24-23. I ended up hitting 28% with 8 kills, 2 blocks and 3 aces. Great win. That put our record at 3-2and tied for third place.

After the match myself, Matt (Canadian middle), his firefighter buddy, Lucas, who was visiting from BC, and Rob (Libero from San Fran) decided to stay and party with Aleks for the night. We ended up going to a bar called "American Bar" that had NFL football playing on all possible screens. We had a great time and met a few "friends" of Aleks'. I learned about a new drink called the Gladiator. Tasty. We crashed on an air mattress, a sleeping bag on the floor and a chair in Aleks' apartment...chairs are no fun to sleep in, by the way.

Myself, Rob and Matt (Luke-guy is hiding behind me..sorry Luke!) eating at a roadside stop on our walk back to Aleks' apartment...our invitation to eat with Wiesbaden's team was retracted after the match...I wonder why, hmmmmmm?

We caught trains back to Buhl the next day for practice and I am still letting Aleks hear about it. We play them again next year.

On our very tired, dehydrated and overcrowded train rides home to Buehl, Rob thought he found a seat...he didn't see the glass making the ledge UNavailable! This pic was part 1 of 2...part 2 never happened due to camera malfunction. I now own a new camera.

This picture I took upon my first visit to Wiesbaden in a department store because I couldn't believe it! Imagine seeing that in North America. wow.

France (continued) & Germany

...It's now 5:30am the next morning and we're (Cait, Sladj and I) at the train station. My train to Rome leaves at 6:30 but the luggage lock doesn't open until 6:15. Decision made. I cancel my ticket to Rome and buy one for Frankfurt at 6:35. Sometimes luggage locker areas have a way of sending a message. I arrive in frankfurt and Diego, Wiesbaden's coach, picks me up. He bought me lunch and dropped me off at Aleks' apartment. It is nice to see Aleks again, he is a great guy. He lives in Orlando and set for Rutgers in Jersey. For those of you that don't know, Rutgers is a D1 volleyball school and during Aleks' first 2 years, they lost in the NCAA semi-finals. Basically, he's got skills...best setter I have ever played with and I have played with some great setters. So I practice twice with the team and Diego says to me, "I can't believe this is your best volleyball." I explain that I am a right side (opposite) and he says that he noticed that and thinks I can have great success in this league at opposite. Unfortunately, they do not need an opposite. He says he will make some calls. The next day I am off to Buehl to tryout with the team there, as they need an opposite and only have 11 players. The coach likes me right away and they want to keep me around...the president, Giorgis (a short, very happy Greek man who loves anything Greek, especially Ouzo), says he likes to try to make the coach happy as much as possible...so after much debating, I signed with TV BUHL. Then I went about canceling all of my other travel arrangements and took a rather large hit on that RTW flight but you can't put a price tag on this opportunity.

So here I am in Buhl, and I have been training and traveling with the team for the past week or so. I was cleared to play this past saturday at our home match. I did not start but made it into the 1st set after we were down 7 or 8 points. We ended up losing that set. I was then subbed into the 2nd set early and we won that one. We then went on to take the next 2 sets and the match, 3-1. I was a bit nervous going into the game but I warmed up and did OK in the end. I ended up with 7 kills (but made 3 errors, 2 of them on the first 2 sets I was given!), 1 block, and 6 digs. So, we are now 2-2. After the game, we do this weird hold-hands-and-run-across-the-court-and-slide-on-our-stomachs thing, stand up and give the fans a hand. We must aknowledge them or they are offended. Then a case of beer is delivered to us on the court, where we sit and enjoy for an hour or so after the match. The bar at the gym gave us free drinks and food as well. Good times! Next weekend we are off to Wiesbaden to play the team that sent me to Buhl! I'm fired up to play against Aleks and the Wiesbaden team. Hopefully my shoulder stops throbbing and I am ready to play.

My life now involves practice every night of the week but Thursday and Sunday, cooking, eating, sleeping, reading, watching movies, downloading current Grey's Anatomy episodes, working out at the "fitness" (that's what they call the gym here) and updating my blog! I live in a hotel room (for the next 4 weeks until they find me an apartment) but I spend most of my time at the apartment of the other players (2 Canadians, 1 American and 1 German). Right now I am preparing a Thanksgiving meal...pasta with fresh sauce, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, bread, salad and a roasted goose! Turkey is apparently hard to come by so we had to settle on goose. This will be my first time roasting a bird so wish us luck!

Aleks, his girlfriend and me in Wiesbaden

The team in action. I had to sit out this match because I was not yet cleared to play. They lost but it was a great match. The other team was in the 1st Division last year and dropped down to 2nd. They are hoping to get back to D1 after this season. The dude hitting is from Morocco...he played for their national team, I'm not sure if he still does or not, but he saw 70% of the sets.

Hannas (German, setter), Ada (Russian, left side) and Matty (Canadian, middle) at the team dinner after the match. The club and fansbought us dinner and drinks.

France

After 13 hours on an overnight train I arrived in Paris, my favourite city, for the first time this year and stayed for only an hour...in the train station waiting for my train to Amiens. Once in Amiens, I was picked up at the train station and brought to a dorm-type residence where I was told I would live for a while. I practiced with the team in Amiens (Amiens Metropole) and the coach said he liked what he saw. They talked about an apartment and living arrangements and French lessons over the course of the next 2 weeks. I was pumped. I even spent 260 Euros taking a train to Cassino, Italy to pick up my suitcase and laptop from my cousin's house.

Downtown Amiens

My dorm room...and Shaggy.

Salim not on his phone...it was usually glued to his ear!

Next thing you know, this Czech guy (I began to call him Shaggy because he wore the same brown pants and green T-shirt for a week) shows up for a "tryout." He says his dad is a national hero in volleyball (ex-Olpympian, good friends with Karch Kiraly, Olympic medals) and his brother plays on the Czech National Team. At this point, I think I need to kick his ass in practice or they will sign him instead. Well, there was no need...he kicked his own ass. He was all talk and not much play. They sent him away immediately and then the team informed me that they would not be keeping me around due to money issues. I was stunned and very angry. After spending 2 weeks in Amiens, I had missed many other opportunities to play elsewhere in Europe. I also made a good friend, Salim, who is the setter for Amiens. He is an Algerian studying Law in France who speaks 5 languages and a great person. I stayed in Amiens for another 2 weeks trying to figure out what to do next, hoping my agent would call with other tryouts. He kept telling me that the "market was dry." So I took things on myself and sent emails to all the guys on tour that had already signed, asking them to keep their ears and eyes open.

So after many emails and phone calls, I cut my losses and booked an RTW flight that would take me to Cairo, Brisbane, and finally New Zealand. I was starting to get very excited about this journey. I said more goodbyes and left Amiens for Paris. There I stayed with relatives for four days. I spent my days wandering around the big city seeing all that I could. I also spoke with my setter friend, Aleks, who landed a contract in Germany. He said his coach wanted me to go for a tryout on left side. I told him I was already set to travel, but thanks anyways. I think I walked at least a marathon each of the 4 days I was there. I left Paris and went to Lyon to visit Caitlin. We had a great time, me, Cait and her Slovenian roommate, Sladjena. I even got to watch their first match of the season, which they won. The night before I was to leave Lyon for Rome, I checked my email. Of course there was an email from Jon, my agent, saying that HE found a tryout for me with Aleks' team in Wiesbaden, Germany. I thought maybe I should go and see what it is about. I decided to sleep on it and make my choice the next morning at the train station...

Below are some pics from Paris and Lyon.

Champs d'Elysees

L'Arc de Triumph

Me and Focal Point at the Eiffel Tower

For all the DaVinci Code fans...

View from the 2nd level

Catacombs in Paris

More Catacombs

The Tunnels in the Catacombs

Bike Tour in Paris...so cool! I am a geek, I realize.

The Louvre...I actually did not get inside although I did try...odd closing hours. But I have been inside before, no big deal!

Eiffel! I climbed to the 2nd level...they wouldn't let me climb all the way to the top for some reason!!

National Modern Art Museum in Paris...I wandered around in there for a few hours, very interesting. It felt like university again!

Cait and I in Lyon-St. Fons

Sladjena and I in Lyon-St.Fons

I tried to get into a Lyon vs. Lille soccer match. Apparently, tickets are gold and not to be scalped because if you have one, you use it! I did my best but all I got was a warning to "Get out of this area!!!!" Apparently, it was obvious that I was not a supporter of Lille and that area was designated as "Lille Fans Only." The riot police were ready, I was not. I got outta there!

From the start (almost 2 months ago) to the end of the Tour.

After preparing for almost 3 months I was finally ready to try my hand at Euro Volleyball or get on with my adventure to New Zealand. I was dropped off at the airport in Toronto by my Dad, aunt and some Italian relatives...yet another goodbye and what I thought would be the last of many, but was I ever wrong about that! It was not a easy thing, to look at the people closest to you and realize that you will not see them for many many months. Off I went. Once I landed in Rome I hopped a train to Cassino towing all of my earthly possessions behind me. I spent almost a week there with relatives. It was very relaxing and comfortable. We stayed at their summer home in the mountains and I ran every day (well, almost) and ate very well thanks to Zia Loretta and Croc, the truffle hunting dog.

My uncle and I in a Chestnut grove in Belmonte.

After my week in the Italian mountains, I took off to Venezia where I was supposed to meet a fellow BringIt tour member. Me, now only carrying one large backpack of my earthly possessions, sat in Piazza San Marco 2 hours longer than I was supposed to. He never showed so I wandered back through the tiny streets of Venice to the train station...I actually ended up at the bus station. I saw two canucks and asked them where a good hostel was. They directed me to this sweet hostel just outside of Venice that had huge pool, 2 hot tubs, 2 bars and was also a camping site. It was awesome and there was a free shuttle bus. I was in! There I met and hung out with 2 Californians (Lake Tahoe area...very cool people) and the next morning we took the bus and water bus into Venice together. The night before I received a phone call from my absentee tour friend...apparently he fell asleep and did not wake for our meeting. So we were to meet today.

I said goodbye and good luck to the Californians (one a fellow teacher, the other a student at UC something) and went to meet up with absentee tour guy. We met, left for the train station and hopped a train to Slovenia. We finally arrived in Maribor the night before we were required to be there so we hailed a cab and he took us to the hostel that I booked from Venice. Next day we woke late and journeyed to the Tour hotel that would be home to us for the next 5 days. That night, all the players arrived (16 of us) but the tour director was nowhere to be found. We made out own welcome dinner in the hotel restaurant. While we were eating, Micah arrived after a 28 hour flight from Australia...tired and swearing lots.

The next 5 days were spent at this beautiful ski resort. During the day we either practiced twice or practiced once and played a match. We played matches in Maribor, and others in Austria and other Slovenian cities. All the guys on tour were great and the level of play was very high, higher than any practice I have been a part of. We certainly got ourselves back in volleyball shape during those 5 days. I was really nervous about being overmatched and making a fool of myself but that was not the case. I was the only opposite (RS) on tour and I did just fine! Two days into the tour I heard I was going to leave the tour at the halfway point, in Vienna, and depart for Amiens, France for a tryout. At this point, I was a very excited little kid. I was really not expecting to land a job. Very exciting.

5 days into the tour and 8 players are sent out for tryouts. We met up with the girls tour in Vienna and switched buses...there I got to chat with Caitlin for about 5 minutes while everyone sorted out their gear (some of these ladies REALLY overpacked!!!) Half the tour is now gone and on their way to Prague. I was off to France, Aleks to Germany, 3 more to Holland and 3 others to Austria. Thus was the end of my tour. More goodbyes were said and I was suprised how friends are made so quickly. I really wanted to see Prague (and still do!) but I was going to France to play volleyball...very cool.

Tour hotel in Maribor

The view from our room at the hotel

Our practice, hangar-style gym

The view from the top of the hill...it doesn't look very big until you get up there!

This crazy open cart, lever-controlled track ride on the hill. You get a seatbelt and pulling back on the handle will cause the cart to brake...the goal was to never use the brake!

The view from inside the cart. I had to go twice of course!

Ricky (left) and Adam Simac (he played for Queen's)

Last night in Maribor started off with beer pong!