First official day in Germany! Yesterday was a long travel day...my flight left at 21:00 from Denver and went directly to Heathrow, London. I landed the next day at 12:35 but I was able to sleep most of the flight so it wasn't too terrible. After a short layover I flew into Hamburg, Germany where the coach and team manger met me at the airport. My apartment is only a 30 minute drive but we took the scenic route so I was able to see a little bit more of Germany. It was pretty late when we arrived and I was exhausted from traveling all day but I managed to unpack before going to sleep. So far today I have only gone grocery shopping but somehow that was even exhausting. It was a good thing I had someone with me to help translate or else I'd probably still be there :) Even though I probably should have stocked up, I only got the basics to hold me over for the next couple days. Honestly, I'm already a slow grocery shopper as it is (I like to read food labels and get the best deal) but I didn't want to put my manager through that kind of torture. I'm pretty sure he was already over having to translate everything for me so I just picked out the first one I saw of the things that I needed. I did make sure to get the eggs from "happy chickens" though. We have to bag our own groceries here and even though most people bring their own, they do have them for sale. Unfortunately, they're kind of expensive (0,20) so I will definitely be bringing my own next time. When I got back to the apartment I got my internet set up and thought I would share some photos of where I'll be living. I'm in a one bedroom apartment in Harburg which is a Stadtteil (or district according to wikipedia) in southern Hamburg. It is a decent size place for one person. All except for the bathroom...there are separate rooms for the toilet and shower with each room being JUST big enough for both of those things. It was difficult to take pictures but I'm sure you get the gist. Well I'm off to explore the town of Harburg and catch up on some sleep before our first practice tomorrow. Auf Wiedersehen!
1 Comment
In 9 days I will be in Hamburg, Germany! http://www.vt-aurubis-hamburg.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1099&Itemid=120 I included the translation below...(unfortunately google doesn't translate everything perfectly)
Alyssa Valentine as a fluke for VT Aurubis Hamburg Hamburg, 16 July 2013: VT Aurubis Hamburg committed the 23-year old Alyssa Valentine as a setter. The American is 180 cm tall and is in future to pull the strings in the center of Hamburg, although it has come by chance, thanks to the team Außenangreiferin Sarah Ammerman. What Sarah Ammerman has to do with the commitment by Alyssa Valentine? During her stay in the USA Sarah has kept to the holiday training program and attended in Denver / Colorado gym. There Alyssa worked as a trainer. The two young women started talking and discovered that they both love volleyball and play. As Alyssa told Sarah that she was looking for a new club, presented the Außenangreiferin of VT Aurubis immediate access to Hamburg ago and made sure that head coach Helmut got Soosten of video footage from the American. In its analysis found that a setter before that could control the fate of VT Aurubis Hamburg in the coming season, and invited them to trial. From 2005 to 2008 Alyssa played for the TCA Volleyball Club. In the years 2008 and 2009, she went to the George Washington University to the grid. In the years 2010 - 2011 it was the University Colorado Boulder, whose color was Alyssa. Then she has devoted primarily to studying this summer. But now is the volleyball Alyssa Valentine at the center. Horst Lueders, president of VT Aurubis Hamburg and Managing Director of TV Fischbek Sport Marketing GmbH, presented to the conclusion that "is Alyssa's way to us already from the special kind But that unconventional actions of Sarah and Alyssa give me courage that we have a welcome more open-minded, sympathetic player in our team. I am convinced that Alyssa can be a crowd puller due to performance and commitment as well as their appearance. " Helmut von Soosten, manager of VT Aurubis Hamburg says about his new player: "Alyssa has confirmed to the good impressions on video in this trial in early July. She is very dedicated and has even tried to speak German. In addition to the strength training volleyball is her hobby, which is good for their health, but also good for us because this setting, we can always make good use of a team. It also fits well with us humanly and will, together with Sarah Wolnizki a good setting duo. " |
|