BERLIN-->KRAKOW-->PRAGUE
November 18-27
A5 Juniors
22 people (15 players+5 coaches+1 team mom+1 tour guide)
This was the, can’t stop won’t stop tour. There is traveling for volleyball competition, there is traveling for sightseeing, and then there is traveling which combines the two.
It’s a unique experience on BIP tours. A5 Volleyball Club was in Europe for 10 days, played seven volleyball matches, had a guided tour in each city, spent hours on busses to each city, and never stopped walking.
The travel hangover after this adventure is something else. Not only are you tired from all of the travel and the non stop schedule that ensues once you hit the ground, but you’re also tired from your mind trying to process the sheer amount of new experiences you just took in, in a relatively short amount of time. History, relationships, experiences; all inclusive.
What is the best way to cure a travel hangover? Reminisce about all you experienced through pictures and stories...
BERLIN:
-Mirko and son, Till
-We will always remember fondly, Sigfrid, and her gumption to deliver a very informative 2 1/2 hour freezing, raining, walking tour ending with a beautiful, four story, WARM shopping mall
-Check Point Charlie and Barbara's Aunt, a very heartfelt story that put life in perspective for all of us
-Bob's trifecta of tough events: 1. losses hat 2. we lose him on the train 3.firecracker incident
-Traditional German meal, huge portions and traditional big Bavarian pretzels
-Vapiano's Italian Dinner, a unique delicious Italian experience...as long as they don't forget about your order or you don't lose your card..
KRAKOW Part 1:
-7 hour bus ride to Krakow
-Lunch at the magical hand carved wooden restaurant, Chata Polaka, the best pierogis ever! Restaurant complete with playground and large, outdoor, hand carved figurines. AKA fairy tale land. Can see myself drive 1,000 miles for Chata Polaka in the very near future.
-Match against KS AZS Politechniki Slaskiej Gliwice.. arguably the best team played on tour, and who were the most thankful for the A5 jerseys! (Barbara, Lara and Sarah were most thankful for the private tea party)
KRAKOW Part 2:
-Guided Krakow city tour with Ela, she brought us to the sunny spots of Krakow (slight benefit over Sigfrid's weather conditions)
-Match against AGH Krakow
-Barbara's birthday..how did we know!
AUSCHWITZ:
-An incredibly powerful day. The girl's did an excellent job on the blog summarizing their experiences: A5 Blog.
"All in all, today was a life-changing, once-in-a-lifetime experience that will never be forgotten, but forever learned from."
-We all got the honor to witness Bob purchase and wear shorts, and watch him learn what the feeling of being hot is..
-Match against Dabrowa Gornicza Juniors
-Libby's birthday, it's not a birthday abroad without cream to the face!
My thoughts as I sat on these railroad tracks, unable to enter Berkenau, so overwhelmed by the size of the camp and the reality of the situation:
Hatred may be the scariest emotion known to mankind.
Auschwitz is a place every single human being needs to go once in their life. I can't explain it. Somewhere down the line we learned a behavior that is capable of wiping out millions of people. Hatred.
Walking through the camps and the museum with the pictures and paintings of the soldiers and the accused, the hardest part for me was seeing the emotion depicted on the individual faces. The emotion of shear, dark, hatred and anger on the Nazis performing heinous crimes. And the emotion of fear, emptiness and desperation on those being attacked. I don't understand what place this emotion comes from. And it shakes me to my core. It terrifies me not only that it happened, but also of what we are capable of doing to each other. Spread kindness people. Peace and love ️
PRAGUE:
-Thanksgiving sunrise, 7 hour bus ride to Prague
-The best 4 start Shell restaurant in all the land!!
-Thanksgiving dinner schnitzel #theland
-Match against Olymp Praha
-Match against Olymp Praha Juniors
-Minor tram issues.. American loudness? Couldn't be..
-Jirka and his stories/jokes
-The mile walk uphill
-Perfect timing of the Christmas Markets opening up
-Finally, SHOPPING time!!
It's an indescribable bond that gets created with these tours. I pick up a group of 20 plus strangers and travel through foreign countries, essentially spending 90% of our days together for 10 straight days. Berlin to Krakow to Prague..what an epic tour with some extremely solid human beings. By the end of the journey, we changed each other's lives and saying goodbye was not fun. This one is for the books. Thank you A5, it was a special 10 days in Europe for me.
And a special thanks to our team personal photographer, Jing (half of the above photos belong to). He really did a great job capturing the trip.
xo
