Vienna Day 1

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Hello Friends in America,

Our first day in Vienna, Austria was filled with fun. We had a scenic 3.5 hour bus ride through the countryside of the Czech Republic and when we finally got to our hotel we were pleasantly surprised with how nice and modern it was. We quickly unloaded our bags and walked around the corner to the Prater, an amusement park filled with tons of rides and games. Coach Endler thinks that the owners of the park found rides from around the world and just added them to their park. There was the Happy Sombero, Ik binder paco, a carousel with real horses, Disney tea cups, a 4 story fun house with a fake man climbing up the wall (which Coach Spirk thought was a real person), bumper cars, a log flume called Yaya, the Black Mamba, a hallo wein haunted house, and a Jurassic Park roller coaster. We found the Ejection chair ride, a two person sling shot (without a cage) that shoots you up 900 meters (okay fine more 100 meters) in the air just like they have at the Jersey Shore. Katie Marakos and Coach Sara were daring enough to take on this ride. We (Katie and Sara) hugged for good luck before getting strapped in for take off. Before we knew it we were screaming at the top of our lungs as we got shot up into the air. The view was unbelievable and the adrenaline rush was amazing.

Tonight took us into the small town of Grinzing, right on the outskirts of Vienna, for a team dinner and some folkfore music. We enjoyed a delicious buffet of ham, chicken, pork, vegetables, potatoes, sauerkraut, and topped it off with some cheesecake and ladyfingers for dessert. We were entertained all night by a two piece band consisting of the violin and the accordion. The parents and coaches (not Coach Sara) knew all the words to the folk music and started singing right along. After dinner, the man playing the violin played the chicken dance for us. We then requested the Macarena and Hilary, Katie M, Ericka, Danielle, Katie O, Laura Jordan, Laura Casey, Alyssa B, Coach Sara, and Robert, our tour manager, got up and started dancing. Even Ally and Ericka’s grandma got into the dance. Amanda and Sarah had some stagefright so they acted as our photographers. The atmosphere of the restaurant made the night all the better.

We headed back to the hotel, changed quickly, and walked back over to the Prater. Tonight we were on a mission to ride the ferris wheel, the oldest in the world. We split into two groups and entered the gondolas with great anticipation. Fifteen minutes was all it took for us to be mesmerized by the beautiful skyline of Vienna. When we got off the ride we spent time walking around the gift shop and some of us bought souvenirs for ourselves and family members. We headed back to the hotel and hung out in the lobby for a while. Right before we went up to bed, Alyssa Hann taught Coach Sara, Caitlin, and Ally how to do the Cat daddy. We had a mini dance party and then called it a night. We have a very busy day planned for tomorrow and everyone is excited to explore the wonderful city of Vienna.

I hope everyone had an awesome memorial day weekend and while you all have to go back to work we still have four days left of the amazing trip.

-Caitlin, Katie M, Laura C, and Coach Sara

Labels: Top Photo: team in front of the ferris wheel at the Prater Middle Photo: fans and coaches after dinner in Grinzig; Bottom photo: team after dinner

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