Volleyball Visits Vienna and Prague as Eurotrip 2016 Continues

Welcome back to the University of Louisville volleyball blog that finds our plucky Cardinals barnstorming through Europe on a 10-day trip.

Our last entry was a cliffhanger and I am sure our fans are wondering what happened against the Slovakian National Team. Mind you, this was a team of superior athletes in mid-season form and by far the best team we have played. That said, we played our best match of the trip against the Slovaks in a very nice venue. After the match, the coach came up to congratulate Coach Anne Kordes on a great match. After the handshake, he commenced serious negotiations to acquire the services of Molly Sauer. The ACC Freshman of the Year put on a clinic of pinpoint passing and great defense. Truly all of the Cardinals upped their game against some daunting competition. By the way, Molly will not be seeking Slovakian citizenship and will be back to wreak havoc in the ACC.

Our own Ron Kordes kept score on an old-fashioned flip scoreboard. The official asked, "This man, he knows this volleyball?" Answer: "Yes, very much this volleyball."

We returned to the hotel for a late supper and then packed up for an early departure to Vienna. We bussed three and a half hours to Vienna. Along the way, we made a pit stop and our volunteer coach Tyler Wills left his wallet at the truck stop. Our ever-resourceful guide, Federica called the truck stop and made arrangements for our bus driver to pick it up on his return to Maribor. The tour company would then send it to Tyler's home. Another one of Feda's miracles was finding Lyndsay Palmer's computer that she left in Milan and got it shipped home for us. Then Jasmine Bennett lost one shoe in Milan and one in Venice, Feda found both of them and had them shipped home as well. She's a marvel, our Feda!

We visited Vienna, Austria for three hours and sadly, we didn't really scratch the surface of that beautiful city. But we did see enough to know it is on the bucket list to return. Back on the bus for another five hours until we reached Prague in the Czech Republic. We checked into the Hotel Roma, right on the river and then took a street tram to dinner.

MAGGIE DeJONG ON THE BLOG
"Hello from Vienna, Austria! Today marks the 9^th day of our amazing European experience. To add to the fun, it is Molly Sauer's 19^th birthday. We started the morning out right in Slovenia with a yummy cheesecake birthday cake. Afterwards, we hopped on the bus to Vienna and we visited their town square to shop and eat. The weather was amazing. After spending all of our Euros on clothes, food, and souvenirs, since Czech Republic have krone, we got back on the bus for another long ride. After our arrival, we settled into our new hotel."

After getting to sleep in a bit, we met at 10:30 with our guides Jirik and Ondrej, who took us into Old City of Prague that includes the St. Vitus Cathedral and Prague Castle, which is the largest ancient castle in the world. The castle also serves as the residence of the Czech president (Milos Zeman), although the last four presidents have used it for ceremonial purposes and lived with their families elsewhere. That part of the city is all cobblestone, with long staircases connecting the streets on the hilly land near the river. It would definitely count as a leg day at the gym. We got to see the changing of the guard, the astronomical clock (the Orloj) do the "Walk of the Apostles" where various apostles appear (think cuckoo clock on steroids) while the skeletal figure of Death chimes the hour.

Jirik and Ondruj let the girls loose to explore after a quick tutorial on where everything was and which bridge to return on. After getting back to the hotel, the Cards met for dinner at 7:30.

MOLLY SAUER ON THE BLOG
"Hey y'all! Today was day 10 over here across the pond. We woke up this morning and enjoyed a nice breakfast at the hotel. Then we followed our guides into the city's center and got to watch the changing of the guard. Then we walked to the other side of the city. We all sat down at lunch together and boy was it an experience. Apparently 12 girls having really figured out that you can't split checks over here. We shopped around and took naps before going to dinner. Those beef tenderloins were fingerlicking good."

Tomorrow is more exploring of Prague and it is game day and the final full day on our whirlwind tour. We leave Monday morning at 4:45 a.m. (yes, a.m.) for the airport, where we will fly to Paris with a two hour layover, then from Paris to Atlanta, with another two-hour layover and from Atlanta to the Ville!

University of Louisville Athletics

Volleyball Visits Vienna and Prague as Eurotrip 2016 Continues

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