Hypo Tirol Volleyball swept their finals series against AICH/DOB and ended the (league) season undefeated at 26-0. While being undefeated is not a super duper major accomplishment in most of the regular season, not dropping a match and only dropping a single set in four matches to a worthy opponent most definitely is.
It's been awhile since I've graced this little corner of the inter webs with my inner most musings. So much has happened in the last few weeks and even more will happen in the coming ones. I'm hoping "get warm and stay sunny" is Mother Nature's to-do list as we head into our last month in Innsbruck. Within hours of the above photo being taken, we were hit with dark skies and snow flakes. I can't keep up with this valley weather...
Until very recently - as in, the last 5 days recently - Hypo volleyball hasn't been the most thrilling. The team easily swept the Quarterfinals in 3 of 5 matches, and had another long break until the start of the Semis.
My mommy came over to visit for a few days short of two weeks. After an evening arrival into Munich and a quick snooze at a nearby hotel, we hopped in the car and headed for Prague.
When we were younger and on vacation in Mexico, my sister and I would often stumble across poorly-dubbed Lumberjack competitions on the local version of ESPN (The Ocho, perhaps). We would sit, mesmerized by the burly, plaid clad men, as they dangerously swung their axes and chainsaws at unassuming logs and trees.
This weekend marked Hypo's final pre-season contest as Berlin, Milano, and Lugano traveled to Innsbruck for a tournament on our home turf - or court... whatever. It was great to welcome fellow American friends from Berlin, especially Erik, and enjoy some non-broken-English-conversation throughout the weekend.
Ultimately, Hypo fought their way to number one and took home the tournament trophy. Regular season officially kicks off next Saturday - and so it begins…
Hypo played a tournament in Bühl this past weekend, which happens to been wonderfully close to the town of Baden-Baden. A fellow teammate's girlfriend and I decided to make the trek. Expecting it to take about 5 hours by car, we planned to leave with MORE than enough time to arrive for the final match...
We will return to America with a Championship medal and a little extra pocket change. Congrats Hypo, it was an awesome finals series and you absolutely deserved to take back the title!
So it's been a minute since I've mused the blogosphere on a Monday. A series of visitors, playoffs, and the like have held me up but prepare yourselves… I'm back.
1. The weather here is confusing. Last week I was bronzing on the sun deck at the gym. Today it's half rain, half sunshine. And rainbows per the above. How wonderful? Oh, and it's supposed to snow tomorrow.
2. Whilst grocery shopping this afternoon, Amy Grant's "Baby, Baby" was playing as I meandered through the aisles. It was probably the best throwback I've had in awhile. Enjoy this…
3. The Hypo guys dropped a devastating match (it was almost 3 hours long and one of the sets went 39-37) on Saturday meaning Aich/Dob tied the series at 1-1. We're back home Wednesday night and hoping for a better result. If there's a sketchy FromSport of FirstRowSports link to share, I'll be sure to do so.
4. The "home countdown" is at 25 days. That's just silly. Considering we have a final visitor, an entire apartment to pack up, and some travel left to do, it just doesn't feel like nearly enough time. I could really use Hermione's "Time-Turner" right now…
5. Our little Bucket's birthday is coming up so soon - how can she be almost three already?! Knowing we wanted to order something for the upcoming celebration, imagine my delight when I saw a coupon code for Naptime Diaries' spring sale. There are so many wonderful prints and gifts to be seen on their site - check it out!
For those of you who didn't understand exactly what was happening in the most recent installment of "Wordless Wednesday", look a little closer and notice the tiny puppy nose peeking out the top of the suitcase. Said suitcase belongs my dad and said puppy was none other than Harry Winston breaking into their hotel upon their arrival to Innsbruck.
1. We tend to church hop during our summers in Orange County. Though we've most recently found an incredible community and home at Viewpoint, we're thankful that other mega-churches broadcast their weekly sermons. We might not have a church family here in Europe, but having the ability to connect with friends and family via recent messages is the biggest blessing. Lately, we've been loving Mariners' "Beautiful Mess" series, specifically the series-within-the-series "What Kids Really Need From Caring Parents." Doug Fields is a genius and while we're not parents to a human yet, it's also meant for grandparents, godparents, coaches, mentors, teachers, etc.
2. In two months, from right now, we will be home. Athletes Abroad recently asked what our first meal(s) on American soil will be: lunch at Tacubaya, dinner Wasabi + Ginger followed by dessert at Loving Cup.
3. The boys travel to Verona, Italy this week for a friendly match. Forza Hypo!
4. The forecast for the week is all sunshine and temps in the 60s. We have a sun deck on the roof of our gym and I'm contemplating spending a whole heck of a lot of time up there. I wonder if the same "no clothes allowed" rules apply…
5. Andy and I have been working hard on a fitness plan for our last few months here. As I head into a summer of triathlon training, I think we've settled on the following: lift, interval/HIIT, recovery cardio, repeat, with a day of rest as needed (likely Sundays, especially after a home match Saturday night). What are your favorite treadmill workouts? How are you preparing for summer time?
Today we took a team field trip to Sölden, Austria. We spent the day sitting at 3000 meters with blue skies and the warmest sunshine. Gorgeous is an understatement. The guys were sure to charge their batteries in preparation for this weekend's start of the semi-finals.
