Spring Break Tour Continued
April 01, 2008 10:44 AM | General
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Mountaineers Win, 3-2
Posted By junior defender Nicole Mailloux and freshman Alli Kealing: March 24, 2008 (7:11 p.m. EST)
Today we had the pleasure of hearing our Czech wake-up call at 7 a.m. this morning (a.k.a. 2 a.m. WV time). We scurried our way downstairs to get in line for the toaster, for our usual four pieces of toast with jam.
The team traveled about an hour to a castle where Archduke Ferdinand once lived. It was quite the trek up a treacherous mountain. The tour began with guides who were filled with information about the castle, but struggled to speak our language fluently. We soon learned interesting facts such as Prince Rudolph killing his wife and then committing suicide because he had a sticky case of Syphilis from the numerous women he came in contact with. We then learned about one of the first women in power for the times, Maria Teresa, who was a very busy lady with 16 children. Maria’s husband Joseph was even busier; he had numerous wives/partners along with Maria. After an hour and 15 minutes to our disappointment, the tour concluded and we were on our way to ascend down the treacherous mountain.
We arrived back at our hotel for some free time. Most people chose to go back and sleep, then eat later before the game. Alli and I had different plans, however. You see, there has been a lack of electricity on the sixth floor. Therefore, TV had not been not been an option these past couple of nights for the two of us. Instead, we had to resort to creating our own motion pictures. Alli held the magnificent picture of the Praha Bridge while Nikki created a melody that was better than anything on TV. Some day, if they keep up the progress, they could be producing motion pictures that could win Golden Globe Awards. That pretty much sums up the afternoon before the game.
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| Ashtin Larkin enjoys a sundae at Hotel Avion tonight. |
We pulled in tonight to an enormous soccer stadium, where we were informed that it was used for communist festivals before being made into a soccer stadium. Like always, Nikki Izzo-Brown gave us a very motivating and inspirational pre-game speech, even though we didn’t know very much about our Czech opponents. As we arrived at the field, seeing our opponents, they looked a little different than our opponents back in the U.S. It was a frigid night for a game, but the Mountaineers were able to come out on top after falling behind 2-1 in the first half.
The Czechs played a good possession game with quick give-and-go’s, something we weren’t used to at first. Fortunately, we were able to adjust. The second half scoring started with two fabulous goals by Megan Mischler. The Czechs were very unhappy with this and decided to overemphasize their dives and take some of us out after the ball was played. Carolyn Blank was continuously tripped up in the midfield, but was able to still work her magic. To conclude the match, Kelsey Fowler received her first European yellow card and Mischler ended up with a hat-trick. The team was able to hold on to the win, but the Czechs weren’t happy and scurried off the field without receiving our American gifts.
The team was in high spirits as we all ran to the bus to warm up and regain feeling in our hands and toes. We then headed to a very classy restaurant where we had the choice of pork or chicken. Most people however, made their choice by which dessert they would get with the meal. It was a great day and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for tomorrow!
GO MOUNTAINEERS! The sixth floor roomies - Alli and Nikki
Konopiste Castle
Posted By Tim Goodenow: March 24, 2008
It was another early wake-up call at 7 a.m. because of our 45-minute bus ride to Konopiste Castle. The famed castle, discovered in the 13th century, is south of Prague in the forested region of the valley of the River Sazava. The castle was originally founded as a gothic fortress guarding the nearby town of Benesov.
The team toured the castle in groups, only covering a few hallways and four main rooms. Konopiste Castle has 131 rooms, including a beautiful chapel inside. The outside of the castle looks very modern and looks to have been restored over the years.
The castle once owned by Archduke Ferdinand of Austria. He was assassinated by a group of Serbian assassins in 1914. The murder of Ferdinand was the spark that led to the outbreak of World War I.
Ferdinand, one of the richest men in all of Europe, bought the castle in 1887. In 1896 he had electricity and installed an elevator a year later. The castle displayed many paintings, furniture, statues and a variety of weaponry – helmets, armor, swords, rifles, crossbows and pistols (known as Trombony’s in Czech). His collection of weaponry was so large, including many items purchased from Italy and Germany, that only one-fifth of his collection was there in the castle.
Ferdinand was a big hunter, as only the rich people could do during that time period. The castle had several rooms dedicated to his hunting and he is believed to have killed more than 300,000 animals during his time.
Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos inside the castle. After the tour, several of the girls on the team hit the shops in search of some souvenirs. The team has a four-hour window of free time before our first game tonight. We’ll check in after the game.
Another Day In Prague
Posted By sophomore midfielder Carolyn Blank: March 23, 2008
Hello from Prague. Missing home but I was happy to spend my birthday in a different country with great people. Today we were able to sleep in which was great news. Luckily Burge (Stephanie Burgess) was our 9:30 a.m. wake-up call. I walked downstairs to breakfast and Natalie Cocchi reminded me it was my birthday. Yeah for the birthday girl! I had some yogurt and granola for breakfast, along with this amazing combination I came up with on my own. I took bread, smeared some cheese on it, then took some ketchup and smeared that on, and then added eggs to make a little sandwich. And, believe it or not it was perfect.
After breakfast, most of us attended Easter Sunday Mass. I did not know what to expect, never being in a church in a different country. The Church was BEAUTIFUL! It was filled gold statues everywhere, so much more elaborate than American churches. I expected everything to be in Czech, or perhaps Latin today, but was surprised when the priest started the mass in English. We were told this church is a hot spot for tourists, and it was great. We sang “Amazing Grace” and it was very moving!
Following mass was some free time to walk around the city. I stopped in a whole bunch of different souvenir shops but did not buy anything. Everything seems to intimidate me because the price is listed as 200 crowns. In reality, that’s like 12 U.S. dollars but it just seems like so much. I had a slice of pizza which was different because it had zero sauce and was very doughy. Good tasting tough.
I also got yelled at by a mean Czech lady in one shop because all of the signs said DO NOT TOUCH. I found this one spot where I was able to touch things but apparently there was a sign and I just missed it. Anyway, the women shouted at me to stop. She asked me if I spoke English and if I was able to read. It got me upset because I honestly did not see the sign. My teammate Morgan Betscher had my back though, telling them we will take our business elsewhere. HAHA, she was silly!
We then stopped at a restaurant in Old Town and I wanted to find something that looked familiar. I figured the potato dumplings sounded good. I thought they would be similar to perogies, since my dad told me they would probably have those over here and they are my favorite. (Mrs. T’s from home are delicious.) Anyway, they looked and tasted nothing like perogies. Needless to say I was not a fan. They looked a bit like thick pancakes and were very spongy.
After the food mishap, our group quickly jetted across the Charles Bridge to get ready for our little boat ride. As the boat was leaving the dock, I received a gift basket from my teammate’s containing some great birthday gifts: A sanitary napkin from Heather Saffel, some flowers from Sydney Metheny and Michelle Molinari, some random pieces of candy, receipts, batteries and other amazingly useless objects. My favorite was a 10% off coupon to Habachi, a Japanese steakhouse in Morgantown from Deanna Everrett, and a cute little ring from Minnie (Cassandra Deitrick). It was the best birthday presents a lady in Prague could have asked for.
After the boat ride we drove to training where it was chilly and flurrying a bit. We did some 4v4 to goals with Tim (our sports information director) and Liz (our athletic trainer) in goal. Let’s just say it was a high- scoring affair. We played for about an hour then went to dinner right down the hill form where we were training.
Our appetizer was what I thought to be ham wrapped in sour cream. It was amazing. I was dipping everything from my bread to my salad in it. I later found out that it was GOAT CHEESE… terrible experience for me. But hey, I learned that I like goat cheese. The main course was the Czechs’ version of pork chops, along with French fries. We were told they do like potatoes but since we are Americans, the keep serving us French fries. Desert was sort of a cheese cake, but was much more dry. It was made with ricotta cheese…different, but good.
We drove back to the hotel to end a LONG day of touring. I miss and love my family and hope they had a great Easter. It was a great birthday and I am looking forward to tomorrow to kick some Czech butt!
Prague Is Amazing
Posted By junior defender Robin Rushton: March 22, 2008
And so it begins…The story of Burgeman (Stephanie Burgess), Lisa DuCote and myself. It’s been three days…no food…no water…no contact with the outside world…no sleep and worst of all, our hair appliances do not work. HAHA. We are completely kidding. Except for the hair appliances we’ve blown them up. But seriously, we saw wolves on the Charles Bridge today.
Let’s go back in time a couple of days, starting with Thursday. We left Mo-town at 4 p.m. and with Arnie’s (our regular bus driver during the season) outrageous driving abilities, we made it to Dulles quickly. And let’s just say that British Airways is the sweetest airline. There were televisions on the back of the seats: there were several views to pick from: Maps, Movies, Games and the Radio (but they lied about the games. What dirty, dirty liars those Brits! Just kidding...but really). Tim Goodenow didn’t fit well in his seat and watched every single movie on the list including Beowulf which was incredibly graphic. British Airways also gave us care packages!! Our packages contained a toothbrush and tooth paste, a mask for sleeping and socks (slipper socks really).
Once off the plane in London, there was a rush to the “washroom” because of the long flight. Nicole Mailloux decided she did not want to wait in line, so she snuck into the disability “washroom.” Since we were in London, she thought the rope above the toilet was to flush it. However, it was the alarm for help incase people fall into the toilet. There was a mad rush to the scene of the crime with security personal saying, “Really? Did someone pull the cord again?” figures we’d cause chaos. HAHA
We had a four-hour layover at Heathrow which consisted of people exchanging money, people sleeping, people shopping, people eating pizza that cost $75, people speaking fake-English accents (really just Robin) and all of us watching a screen display, “Prague – Gate? – Please wait!” for 20 minutes. Oh, and a plane landed on the departure runway, so we taxied for an hour before leaving for Prague.
Finally, after a short flight in the air, we arrived Prague. Upon arrival, we had a brief bus-tour of the city and went to dinner. As the soothing sounds of “Gangster’s Paradise” sung over the airways at our candlelit dinner, we took in our surroundings. The city was breathtaking. So needless to say we couldn’t wait to tour the Old Praha District and the Castle the next day…
Then came Saturday. A 7:15 a.m. wake-up call there was. Welcome to time change. The funny this is Coach (Nikki Izzo-Brown) called it last night before we went to bed. She said, “don’t start complaining when you wake up and you have hot dogs for breakfast!” And sure enough, we had hot dogs for breakfast. But they had Tang to drink! (HAHA Mom. You wouldn’t let me have it as a kid! But what are you going to do now? – Love Lisa).
We had practice at 9 a.m. at a secluded turf pitch on the outskirts of Prague. As the girls practiced we (Robin & Burge on the injured list) did exercises with Liz, our lovely trainer. We danced to “Thriller” while doing sumo squats.
After a quick shower, the site seeing began with 8 of the 22 Praha Districts (pronounced PRA-HA). Prague Castle was beautiful with the Changing of the Guard and the Neo-Gothic architecture of the Cathedrals. It took many years during the 14th Century to build the Church…true story. We listened to Marry Poppins, a.k.a. our Tour Guide with a multi-color umbrella (pronounced OOM-BRELLA – similar to “spare omm” – an allusion to “Narnia”)
After walking down the monstrosity of a hill, we held up traffic traversing across the Charles Bridge. The bridge is the oldest Prague. And did you know that Prague was the site of Mission Impossible, parts of Casino Royale, and Amadeus (the third most popular film in Prague)? Artisans were set up on either side selling jewelry and paintings all along the massive bridge.
Once we got into Old Town, the historic significance of Prague was quite impressive. The Astronomical Clock, the link can explain it better than I can, was very neat. We had an hour lunch break, where many of us ate “Street Meat” and searched for amber jewelry (which Prague is famous for).
We were able to get tickets for AC Sparta Praha vs. FK Jablonee 97 professional soccer match. As the home team won, they cried “THIS IS SPARTA!” Or something loud.
We ate dinner, some miscellaneous steak (Tim’s doesn’t think it was steak) and drank some sweet orange juice-type-liquid.
Luckily, we came back just in time to see the WVU Men’s Basketball team upset Duke on Theo’s laptop in the hotel lobby. After reviewing the last couple of days, it’s hard to believe we are actually here. It’s been a wonderful experience and we’re so grateful for this opportunity. Can’t wait for tomorrow! So, don’t worry parents, we may not call, we may not email, but we’re fine and having a good time. LOVE YOU ALL – Burgeman, Robin, and Lisa.
And a happy early birthday to Carolyn Blank for tomorrow.
Arrived Safe and Sound
Posted By Tim Goodenow: March 21, 2008
It wasn’t easy but we arrived. Finally! Both flights were full and left the gates later than anticipated. Surprisingly, all the luggage arrived as well. All 26 players and additional travel party members were accounted for.
After picking up our luggage in baggage claim, we were introduced to our host for the next five days. A Prague native and college student named Barbara quickly put us on the bus to head for dinner.
The restaurant was beneath street level in a nice brick setting at a place in downtown Prague called Musketyr. The late dinner consisted of wheat bread, salad, chicken cordon bleu, potato wedges and a desert called honeycake.
We just checked in to our hotel which is very nice. I was anticipating dorm room size lodging but it was actually good size.
Here are some brief observations from our dinner conversation with Barbara and our 10 minute bus ride to our hotel.
Prague time is listed as Middle Europe Time (MET) and is five hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time in the U.S.
-The average temperature in Prague during the month of March is 8 degrees Celsius…40 degrees Fahrenheit. Good thing I only brought that spring coat with me.
- The Czech currency is crowns. They eventually plan to adopt the euro but no date has been set. Both euros and crowns are accepted here in the city.
- I still felt at home when we passed several American staples – McDonalds and KFC seemed to be on every other street corner here. We also passed a Shell gas station where you pay by the liter here. Gas was priced at 32 crowns per liter. And with four liters in a gallon, gas here is about $8.00 a gallon if you paid with the U.S. dollar.
- Mass transit is very popular in and around the city from what we were told. You can purchase a pass to use the subway, street cars and buses for 26 crowns, roughly $1.50. The Pass is good for 75 minutes worth of transportation. On the weekends and holidays, the 26 crowns will get you 90 minutes of use. Taxis are around but can be very expensive.
Time to catch up on the missed sleep form our loooooong travel day. See you tomorrow.
Heading Out
Posted By Tim Goodenow: March 20, 2008
In less than an hour the WVU women’s soccer team will depart form the Shell Building for an easy three and a half hour bus ride to Washington Dulles. From Washington, the team will take a six-hour British Airways flight to London’s Heathrow International Airport. After a layover in London, we’ll jump back on the plane for a two-hour flight to Prague Ruzyne International Airport. By the time we land in the Czech Republic, it will be around 5:45 p.m. MET.
We’ll spend Friday through Tuesday in Prague, visiting some of the most famous sites in the world. Some of the sites include Prague Castle, St. Vitus Cathedral, Lesser Town, Charles Bridge and Old Town Square. Wednesday and Thursday we’ll take in the sites of Rome – Vatican City, the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Square and more. Friday and Saturday will be spent in Sardinia, and island 120 miles west of the Italian peninsula.
Oh, and there’s soccer on the itinerary, too. WVU will play four games in five days, the first coming on Monday, March 24, against Sparta Prague. The schedule also includes a European professional game Saturday, March 22, between AC Sparta Praha and FK Jablonec 97, two tradition-filled Czech Republic team. See you in Prague!
