Day one started with us getting stuck behind a band from Luther College at the MSP airport. There must have been 75 to 90 students making the trip. It seemed like we waited forever just to get to the terminal. We got through security and everything with about an hour and a half to spare. Then our adventure began…
We got on a flight headed to Amsterdam, Netherlands. We got on a bigger plane that was set up 2-4-2 with passengers. Of course, I was in the stuck right in the middle with a barrier beneath my seat that wouldn’t let me spread out my legs. We each had our own tv screen and we able to choose from about 15 different movies. My first choice in movies was the ultimate guys’ movie in Hangover. Always a classic. I noticed Avatar was on the list and I figured I would watch that next and I was extremely disappointed. Yes, the technology was great but the movie just didn’t do it for me. I know I was watching on a very small screen but I wasn’t impressed at all.
We arrived in Amsterdam around 6am Dutch time. It was the first time for most of us being outside the continental US (or North America for that matter). After we arrived, a lot of guys exchanged some money and went to McDonald’s for some food. Many were surprised by the smaller serving size. I knew that was coming considering Europeans generally consider us Americans to be fat.
After a three hour wait for our flight to Athens to were almost ready to leave. We headed through Customs and got our first stamp on our passports. We thought we had everyone through but there was no Victor Easter. I thought he went with his mom and her fiancé but I was wrong. We couldn’t call him over the loud speaker until 15 minutes before the flight was to depart. We can thank the Panathinakos Football Club (I found out later, this was not their main team but their Junior team) for delaying our flight. We were finally able to track down Victor after getting called twice over the airport’s voice system. He apparently fell asleep where we were eating and just woke up five minutes before his name was called. Not exactly mine or his finest moment. He made it and we got on our flight and left with about a 25 minute delay.
We made it to the Athens airport a little late and then headed to baggage claim. I was surprised to see a smoking station as soon as we arrived at the airport. It smelled awful but hopefully not a sign to come. We waited for a long time for our luggage and then meet up with several others in our traveling party for our bus trip to Kalamata, Greece. Kalamata is in the northern part of the country and it’s beautiful. We are right on the Mediterranean Sea.
After we arrived at our “hotel,” we were able to get a little practice in. The practice was basically to get the guys legs loose so we can be a little ready for our first game tomorrow. There is an outside court on the hotel grounds. It’s a beautiful setting with a huge mountain range right behind us. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring the cords for my camera to load on the computer, so they will have to come later.
It’s approximately, 6am Greece time right now and we (Dan Andersen, Victor Easter, and I) are watching the Suns-Lakers playoff game on tv. We are rooming together in a “villa.” The villa consists of a loft, a little living area, and a bathroom. Not exactly huge, but it works for what is necessary.
Today, we are headed to the original Olympic Stadium and going to do some sight seeing. We will head back to Kalamata for our game at 6pm Greek time. We are part of a double header with a semifinal playoff game to follow us immediately after our game. We were told that the Kalamata Basketball Club that we are playing isn’t that good but it should be nice to see some other competition. Hopefully, I was will have updated after the game today and possibly have some video to upload to see some footage of the game.
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