June 9-Departure from the USA!

June 9, 2013

15:04

SFO

Here we go!

Our much-awaited Europe trip is here! Thirty-nine NNJ-ers (24 players, two coaches, and 13 parents) are Prague-bound! Bring It Promotions has laid out an itinerary for us more exciting than we imagined. We will spend three nights in Prague, two of which include competition against the Czech Junior National Team. From there we’ll drive through Vienna on the way to Maribor, Slovenia. We will stay in the alpine town for three nights, and will play twice. A drive through Trieste will deliver us to Pordenone, a beautiful province in Italy that we will use as a launchpad to visit Venice. After a match or two there, and plenty of sightseeing, we will head through Florence to Rome, where we will finish our tour. While we are excited about the competitive volleyball that is set up for us, we are also excited to experience some culture, history, and people that may be different from our own.

Despite a flight delay (technically we should be in the air on the way to Frankfurt right now), everyone is in high spirits with lots of good energy. Most of us met at Lufthansa check-in at noon today, while a few of us flew in to SFO from other airports. We have about two hours before we leave. We will try to get some food in our bellies and some sleep on the flight before we land in Frankfurt. We have a small layover there before the short trip to Prague. We’ll arrive around 6 p.m local time, and will attempt to stay awake as long as possible in order to minimize the jetlag. After 24 hours of travel, I’m sure that we’ll be ready for sleep!

The girls and maybe even some parents will be adding their insights to this blog. You can expect lots of photos and videos from our adventures over the next two weeks. 

Also, check out traveler Jamie Poston's blog here: http://postons.us/about/. 

Thanks for tuning in!

Clockwise from bottom left: Taryn Johnson, Julia Wenzel, Haeli Paris,
Kololia Atoa, Katelyn Oppio, Jillian Gunderson, Lysa Johnson

Alix Cirac, Mikaela DeRicco and Betty DeRicco from San Francisco to Frankfurt