Hallo from Switzerland

The next day we wanted to escape the city life and head to the beach.  So besides reservations in some town that really no one in Istanbul had really heard of, we headed to the one of the largest bus stations in the world.  Thankfully our taxi driver was able to set us up with a bus company that would get us to the small town of Karasu, Turkey.  So after a 2-hour bus ride in a pretty nice coach liner, we were forced into a mini bus that fit around 12 people comfortably but rather around 16 people were squeezed into it. Eventually we made it to the “city” and to our hotel. Good news was it was literally 100 feet from the ocean; bad news was that it was 1 mile around from the closest form of food or pretty much civilization.  But that’s not what we came for… I came to enjoy the sun and work on my tan. Two things I had been missing in Switzerland.  And that is exactly what I got, maybe a little too much sun. I definitely left with a sunburn, but thanks to my Native American ancestry (along with my mother’s claims of about 10 other ethnicities), I’m hoping the sunburn will fade in a couple of days to nice tan. And to be honest, as I headed back to Istanbul to the airport, I was very excited to head back to Switzerland. My own little home around from home, and rumor has it the sun was gonna be shinning for a majority of my time back in Switzerland!

After the tournament was finished, we headed back to Istanbul with the team. However the majority of the team went back to Switzerland. I stayed in Istanbul with a couple of teammates to take a little vacation. We stayed in Istanbul for two nights. One of which was my 22^nd birthday! We toured the city, saw some really amazing sites, shopped at awesome bazaars and had some AMAZING food. For my birthday, we went to this seafood restaurant that overlooked the Bosphorus. I had the opportunity to talk to my parents on the phone and the girls got my baklava with a candle. After dinner we went to a hookah bar for some hookah and drinks. I mean how else can you bring in a new year in Turkey? It was a great night!

The European Cup was an amazing experience. The tourney took place in Edirne, Turkey: a small town two hours outside of Istanbul. And when I say small… I mean small. Our hotel was an ancient castle from the Ottoman Empire. The rooms were insanely small but the overall experience was pretty cool. All the rooms overlooked a center courtyard and the hallways were gorgeous with the unique architecture. For the majority of the week, I only really consumed kebabs… They had at least 20 kebab stands within a 20 feet radius of our hotel. As for the tournament, there were six teams playing: Bulgaria, Turkey, Sweden, Austria, France and Switzerland.  The tournament was a round robin followed by a play off by the top four teams. Opening ceremonies were on Monday and games followed from Tuesday-Saturday. We played France and Sweden on Tuesday with two wins. Then a loss against Austria on Wednesday and then two more wins against Turkey and Bulgaria on the following two days. After the round robin, we tied for first with Austria, but since we lost to them, we came in second. Our first playoff game was against them in which we won 5-1. We would play them again on Saturday in the finals in which we lost… the score was not important. It was so amazing though being able to play in this international tournament. I mean hearing the other teams play in other languages was such a surreal experience. It was fun and a second place finish was pretty cool too.

I have been wanting to go to Prague for about 4 years now… I’ve constantly heard about how beautiful it is and how amazingly cheap everything is. So the last few times I’ve been in Europe, I’ve tried to get over there, but unsuccessful every time. So finally a teammate of mine suggested that we finally go. So we booked it and went! AND let’s just say, the buildup was worth it. Prague was amazing. It was so beautiful and rich with history. I mean the state was under communist rule up until 1989.  The architecture was stunning as well.  I think my two favorite things were the communist museum and the John Lennon wall, a tribute to John Lennon when he passed that was meant with resistance of the Communist Government… People continue to add to it to this day.  Another bonus to the city was that it was INSANELY cheap. The Czech Crown was like 20 to 1 dollar.  The food and beer were also delicious. Honestly if you can get to Prague, go! IT’S AMAZING. I miss it already.

So while in the states we have this little thing called the Fourth of July, the Swiss like to celebrate their foundation of Switzerland on the 1^st of August. Pretty much the same idea as in the states: Beers, Fireworks and Barbeques. Syble invited me over to her house for a BBQ. It was a great time, despite the flash thunderstorm that forced the BBQ to covered ground. The food was amazing and all of the people were so welcoming. I had a great time and it was a great for my 1^st 1^st of August!

The Young Boys are the professional soccer team of Bern and it just so happens I have the biggest Young Boys’ fan on my softball team, Sibylle. I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend a game with her. And after my world cup fever, I was very excited to watch some more soccer. The game she invited me to was a game down in the Italian part of Switzerland, in Bellinzona. I assumed we would just be taking a train to the game, a train similar to the trains I took everyday. However with the large fan base that the Young Boys have, the city of Bern rents out an older train to take the fans down to the game. The reason why the bus is older is because all things go on this train. Normal rules, don’t apply. Smoking on the train, totally okay. Also everyone was drinking, chanting Young Boys cheers… basically a huge tailgate on the train. The game was pretty disappointing though, the Young Boys were beaten, however this did not stop the fans from having a fun ride home. Many of the younger men turned one of the cars into a party bus and were chanting their cheers while taking off their shirts.  It was a great time and I am so happy I had the chance to go watch the Bern Young Boys!

So some girls and I took a trip to the Swiss Alps the other day.. however, of course the Swiss weather had different plans for us. We had a day pass which allowed us to travel anywhere in Switzerland for 1 price.. So the rain didn’t stop us. We ended up going to Lucerne. Despite the rain, it was a beautiful city. We also went to the museum of transportation. It had all of the history of transportation in Switzerland.. it was also really fun! It had a flight simulator, scooters that you could ride around, planes that you could board.. I was a kid again. And the day was complete with the most AMAZING chicken curry pizza, with a desporado beer of course! I miss you all!

So I have little over a month left here in Bern… and I’m sad to say this place is starting to feel like home.