Europe Journal
Day 1, Thursday: Departed Pittsburgh International Airport
Day 2, Friday: Arrived at London’s Heathrow Airport. Visited Wembley stadium, England’s national stadium and received a tour of Arsenal FC’s Emirates Stadium.
Day 3, Saturday: Travelled to Birmingham to watch English Premier League game, West Bromwich Albion defeated Everton 1-0. Also watched the FA Cup final in a local restaurant
Day 4, Sunday: Played first game vs. Hadley FC, Matt Bopp scored for the Redhawks in a losing effort. Toured London sights including Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Parliament and the Tower of London and visited the London Eye.
Day 5, Monday: Visited Cambridge, hometown of Coach Day. Toured Cambridge United FC and Cambridge University grounds. Flew to Germany, checked into our hotel in Valkenburg, Netherlands.
Day 6, Tuesday: Training coached by Dutch national staff clinician. Adventure day in Valkenburg mines. The mines included teambuilding challenges and a 7 mile underground mountain biking trip.
Day 7, Wednesday: Training with Dutch coach. Visited Margraten American WWII Cemetery and city of Maastricht, Netherlands. Played second game vs. RKSV Lindenheuvel
Day 8, Thursday: Training with Dutch coach. Visited German city of Aachen and Vaals, the location where Germany, Netherlands and Belgium meet.
Day 9, Friday: Visited German city of Cologne. Enjoyed a river boat cruise down the Rhine River. Tour of Mayschoss winery.
Day 10, Saturday: Visited castle ruins in Valkenburg and played our final game, losing against VV Spaubeek in Geleen, Netherlands
Day 11, Sunday: Travelled to Brussels, Belgium for flight home to USA.
The trip was an amazing adventure for all the players. The team represented La Roche College very well, displaying great respect to all of our wonderful hosts.
Many of the team mentioned highlights of the trip as watching the English professional match, the tour of Cambridge and the adventure days in Valkenburg’s limestone mines.