Back in Austria...Finally!

After one of the most enduring traveling experiences of my life, I am finally in Austria.  I left Norfolk, Va. on Monday, August 27 after my plane was delayed more than three hours.  I was traveling on American Airlines, which allows only one free checked bag on international flights.  Therefore, I was allowed to check my first suitcase, which consisted of mostly clothing items, at no charge.  I had to pay $60 for my second bag, which was my hockey bag.  I was hoping my hockey sticks would be included with my hockey bag, but unfortunately I had to pay an extra $150 to check them as a third bag.  After spending a total of $210 for my hockey items, I could finally start my journey.

After my first delayed flight, I arrived at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport around 7:00 p.m. on August 27 only to discover I missed my next flight to Zurich, Switzerland.  Unfortunately, there weren't any more flights to Zurich that night so I was forced to stay the night in New York.  Since the airline (American Airlines) did not provide a hotel for any person who had missed their connecting flight, many people had to pay for a hotel room for that night.  After another $212 came out of my pocket for the hotel room, I arrived back at JFK the next day to continue my trip to Austria.

My luck did not get any better as I found out my flight from New York to Zurich was delayed 45 minutes.  This delay would cause me to miss my next flight from Zurich to Vienna, which was at 9:00 a.m.  I eventually departed New York around 7 p.m. and arrived in Zurich about eight hours later, around 9 a.m. (Central European Time), or 3 a.m. (North American Eastern Time).  Since I missed my connecting flight, which was at 9:00 a.m. to Vienna, I had to change to a different airline and catch a flight at 10:25 a.m.  After my long journey, I finally arrived in Vienna at 11:50 a.m. on August 29.  My bad luck still lingered as everything but my hockey sticks arrived at baggage claim.  My sticks were still in New York!  My sticks will get delivered to my apartment in Austria as soon as they arrive at the airport in Vienna.  The attendant at baggage services said they will arrive in three to five days hopefully.  In the meantime, one of my roommates, Chelsea Illchuk, has been so kind to let me use one of her sticks for practice.

We will have our first team practice tomorrow at 4:15 p.m. in Kapfenberg, Austria.  I am excited to get back on the ice with the Neuberg Highlanders for a second consecutive season, and I'm looking forward to playing with my new international teammates!

During my first two days in Austria, I spent most of my time with my boyfriend, Michi Schmieder, since I had not seen him for six weeks.  We went to a lake, Freizeitsee St. Lorenzen, during my first and second days in Austria.  It was a nice relaxing way to enjoy the beautiful scenery Austria has to offer, especially after traveling for three days straight.  With the sun reflecting off the water, I gazed at the tall, green mountains and enjoyed my first cup of Austrian beer.  As I took a sip of my cold beer, I felt so glad to finally be back in Austria.

My roommates arrived in Austria last night.  It definitely feels good to have other people in my apartment, since I lived in the apartment alone during the second half of the season last year.  I am excited to share my new experiences with my roommates, Chelsea Illchuk, Kate Wheeler, and Dayna Janzen.  We are embarking on our first experience tonight as we are attending Leob'ner Weinfest, a wine festival in the town of Leoben.  For the English detailed description of the event, click here.  The event gathers 25 Styrian winemakers who will promote their specialty wines for tasting and sale.  The wine festival will also feature forms of entertainment, such as music, and Austrian snacks, such as freshly-made donuts.

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Neuberg Highlanders Announce 2012-13 Schedule

The Neuberg Highlanders announced the 2012-13 game schedule for the Damen Eishockey Bundesliga (DEBL) on August 22.  We open the season with an away game against Slovenia's HK Triglav Kranj on Sept. 30 at Eishalle Triglav.  The expected start of the match is yet to be determined.

The Bundesliga consists of eight teams for the 2012-13 season, with the addition of two teams (EC "Die Adler" Kitzbühel and KHL Gric Zagreb) which were not members of the league last year.

Damen Eishockey Bundesliga (DEBL) Teams

1. Neuberg Highlanders
2. EHV Sabres Wien
3. HK Triglav Kranj
4. HDK Maribor
5. Gipsy Girls Villach
6. DEC Dragens Klagenfurt
7. EC "Die Adler" Kitzbühel
8. KHL Gric Zagreb

Every team in the league will play each team twice, one game at home and one game away.  As there are no playoffs for the league, the Bundesliga champion will be decided based on the amount of points each team earns throughout the season.  For each match, the winning team will receive three points while the losing team receives zero.  Similar to the National Hockey League (NHL), there also must be a winner for each game in the Bundesliga.  If a game is tied at the end of regulation time (three 20-minute periods), both teams will receive one point each and will play in a sudden-death overtime period.  If the score remains even, the game will continue and end in a shootout to determine an ultimate winner, who will then receive an additional point.  The team with the most points at the end of the season will be declared the Bundesligameister, or Bundesliga champion.  As the reigning Bundesliga champions, the Neuberg Highlanders look to reclaim the throne for a second consecutive year, as we finished with 31 points and an overall 10-2 record for the 2011-12 season.

2012-13 Game Schedule

 

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Round 2: Back to Austria

I will be returning to Austria for a second consecutive season with the Neuberg Highlanders.  I plan on leaving from Norfolk International Airport in Norfolk, Va. at 2:30 pm on August 27.  I arrive at John F. Kennedy International Airport at 3:55 pm.  I leave JFK at 6:10 pm for my longest flight (7 hrs. 45 min.) of my trip, crossing over the Atlantic Ocean.  I arrive in Zurich, Switzerland at 7:55 am (Central European Time) on August 28.  I depart from Zurich International Airport for the last flight of my trip at 9:00 am, arriving at my final destination, Vienna, Austria, at 10:15 am.


View Flight to Austria in a larger map
I am looking forward to spending a second year in Austria, joined by former collegiate teammates, Kaitlyn Wheeler and Chelsea Illchuk.

Wheeler (third from bottom left), Davies (fourth from bottom right), Illchuck (third from bottom right)

Wheeler and Illchuck played on the Quinnipiac women's ice hockey team with me for three consecutive seasons.  The two forwards graduated Quinnipiac University in May 2012.  Also joining us is defenseman Dayna Janzen, a native of Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada.

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Last Kleine Zeitung Article

Next Year Neuberg Has Three "Grandmas"

16. März 2012

"My parents came to visit me for the past three weeks.  I think they really enjoyed their time here in Austria, although it did not snow once while they were here.  It was probably the warmest winter weather this year and their hopes of seeing snow fall were shattered.  Despite the lack of snow, I still took my parents on a joyous ride down the mountain at Semmering.  My brother warned them of his previous, dangerous ride of sledding, but they attempted to sled regardless.  As my parents and I went down the mountain on sleds, I looked behind me and realized there was no way they could get hurt.  They were going so slow that they were almost going backwards!

In addition to sledding, I also took them Austrian bowling, or kegeln.  They enjoyed that a lot, especially after drinking some Austrian beer.  As well as drinking Austrian beer, my parents tried several other Austrian delicacies, such as Glühwein, pretzels, schnitzel, and my mother’s new favorite dish, kaspressknödelsuppe.  While my parents were here, we traveled to Vienna for sightseeing, Salzburg to see Mozart’s home, and Burgenland for wine tasting.  After spending some time in Austria, my parents and I traveled to Paris.  We spent five days in Paris and it definitely was one of my best adventures in Europe this year.  Once we returned to Austria, my parents were able to see two more games before they left for America.  We played a Canadian collegiate team last Monday and Tuesday.  My parents were able to see an exciting shoot-out to decide the winner of Tuesday’s game.  They saw four games while they were here, but unfortunately they left last Thursday so they could not see my final game of the year.

The season came to a closure on Saturday, as we lost to Salzburg 2-0.  Although we didn’t win the bronze medal for the Austrian tournament, we were awarded our gold medals for the Bundesliga after the game.  This marked the final time I would be on the ice this season, but it would not be the last time I stepped foot on Austrian ice.

I hope to return to the Neuberg Highlanders next season with two of my former teammates from Quinnipiac University, Kate Wheeler and Chelsea Illchuk.  All three of us played together for three years in college, so we plan to bring our chemistry to the Highlanders next year.  I look forward to sharing my experiences with Kate and Chelsea next year.  They are nearly as old as me, so maybe next year we will have three grandmas on the team rather than one!  Bis zum nächsten Jahr!"

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Family Fun

My family came to visit me in Austria for the second half of the year.  My brother visited in January for two weeks while my mother and father came in February for three weeks.

While my brother was here, I took him to several of my boyfriend's ice hockey games.  My brother brought his hockey equipment from America, so he practiced with my boyfriend's team as well.  Unfortunately, I did not have my car so we were unable to do many things that we had planned.  However, I think he enjoyed drinking a lot of Austrian beer and going sledding with my friends.  Since we had no car, we spent a lot of our time walking around my town of Mürzzuschlag and going down the trails behind my apartment.

Before he left to go back home to America, I was able to borrow my boyfriend's car and take my brother to see Vienna.  In Vienna, we just toured Stephansplatz (Stephen's place), where Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral) is located.  It's a main avenue with a lot of shops.  He loved Vienna so much that he wanted to go back the next day, but I didn't feel up to making the trip two days in a row since it was a one-hour drive there and back.

One or two weeks after my brother left for America, my parents came to visit.  During the first week, I took my parents sledding in Semmering, which is located about 10 or 15 minutes from my town.  I also introduced them to Austrian bowling, or Kegeln, which they loved!  I was fortunate enough to have my car back for my parents visit, so I took them to Burgenland for some wine tasting at Weingut Juliana Wieder.  The winery offered mostly red wine, so my dad enjoyed it a lot!  We took a tour of the small winery after we tasted about 10 different bottles of wine.

After spending some time in Austria, my parents and I flew to Paris for five days.  I think we all fell in love with Paris after our vacation.  My mom bought us tickets for a double-decker tour bus for two consecutive days.  It seemed well-worth the money to purchase these tickets since the bus took you to the nine most popular tourist sites in Paris while also informing you along the way about each site.  We visited the Arc de Triomphe almost every day because our hotel was located about a block from the Arc.  We walked down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées since it was right near the Arc.  We also saw Cathédrale Notre-Dame, and actually climbed to the top of the tower to see all of Paris.  My mom felt sick after walking up the spiral staircase so she went down as soon as she could.  However, my dad and I continued to climb to the rooftop of the tower and overlooked the city.  We visited two museums while we were in Paris as well, Musée du Louvre and Musée d'Orsay.  We were able to see the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, but I enjoyed the Orsay Museum much better for it had many paintings from several artists I studied in school, such as Camille Pissarro, Alfred Sisley, Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, and Vincent van Gogh.  We also traveled to Moulin Rouge and Montmartre where Basilique du Sacré-Coeur (Sacred Heart Basilica) is located.  Of course, we saw the Tour Eiffel (Eiffel Tower) several times during the day and at night to see the lights flicker on the tower.



After a wonderful family vacation in Paris, my parents and I returned to Austria.  I had a game in Salzburg so my boyfriend drove my parents and me to tour the city before my game.  We saw Mozart's house and walked around the town.  Unfortunately, I lost my game, 2-1, but I enjoyed having my parents watch me play.  After the game, we drove to Klagenfurt to visit my boyfriend's parents.  Although his parents cannot speak English as well as him, my parents were able to have some conversations with them as my dad attempted to speak German but failed for the most part.  It seemed as if the entire room filled with laughter when my dad tried to say something in German.

We returned home to Mürzzuschlag the next day.  Driving to Vienna International Airport would have been the final journey for my parents, but I took them to Vienna one day prior to their departure so they could see the city.  We visited Schloss Schönbrunn and the nearby zoo, Tiergarten Schönbrunn.  The Schönbrunn Zoo is the world's oldest zoo and certainly considered one of the most modern zoos because it serves more as an educational center rather than an entertainment park.  Since it was cold outside, some of the animals were not as active as we would have hoped.  Most of the animals just stayed in their pins and did not come out to greet people outside.  After the zoo, I took my parents to their last sightseeing attraction, Stephensdom.  We stayed in a hotel in Vienna for the night as my parents flew back to America the next morning.

I definitely enjoyed having my parents and brother come visit me in Austria, and I can't wait for them to visit me next year as I plan on returning to the Neuberg Highlanders for one more season.

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Vote for your favorite Austrian hockey team!

Hockey-News.info asked its audience to vote for their favorite Austrian hockey team about a week ago.  Please help the Neuberg Highlanders take the top seed in the standings.  You can vote on Facebook, via this link: http://www.facebook.com/questions/10150623286908621/.

As of right now, the Highlanders are in second place with 572 votes while EC KAC is in first place with 846 votes.  Help my team and place your vote for EHV Neuberg Highlanders today!  Thank you!

Photo Courtesy of neuberg-highlanders.at

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Bundesligameister (Bundesliga Champions)

With a record of 10-1 in the Damen Eishockey Bundesliga, the Neuberg Highlanders remain the defending champions of the league.  Since there are no playoffs in the league, the champion is decided by the number of points each team has.  With one game remaining in league play, the Highlanders have already been declared champions as we have 31 points for the season.  EHV Sabres Wien II are in second place with 23 points and are unable to catch the Highlanders in the standings. 

The Highlanders play the Sabres on Saturday in their final game of league play.  The Highlanders have been indomitable in the month of February as we beat HK Triglav Kranj, 4-1, on Feb. 4, and we recently defeated DEC Dragons Klagenfurt on Feb. 19, 9-2.

We traveled to Slovenia on Feb. 4 for a league battle against Triglav.  Both teams remained scoreless after the first period.  In the second period, Jennifer Pesendorfer scored the first goal for the Highlanders, but Triglav managed to score, tying the game 1-1 after the second period.  In the third period, the Highlanders scored three consecutive goals.  Pesendorfer contributed one goal, as I contributed the other two goals.  The oldest player (me - 23 years old) and the youngest player (Pesendorfer - 13 years old) scored two goals each in the match.

Photo Courtesy of neuberg-highlanders.at

On Sunday, the Highlanders proved to be the defending champions as we beat Klagenfurt on our home ice in Kapfenburg.  After the first period, the Highlanders finished with a 2-1 lead.  In the 13th minute, Klagenfurt scored to take a 1-0 lead, but the Highlanders responded scoring two straight goals before the end of the period.  Evelyn Hochegger and Sabrina Schlauer were credited with the goals.  In the second period, the Highlanders advanced their lead by three as Hochegger scored her second goal of the game, I scored the next goal, and Clara Willenshofer scored her first goal of the season to end the period.  With a 5-1 lead, the Highlanders continued to score four more goals in the third period and allowed only one goal for Klagenfurt.  Anna Johann, Jennifer Pesendorfer, and Julia Willenshofer each scored one goal in the third period, while I added my second goal of the game.

The Highlanders play in final match of the Bundesliga on Saturday against the Sabres in Kapfenburg at 4:15 p.m.

DEBL_Statistikinformation_20_19_02_2012

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