Thursday, December 31, 2009
New Year's Eve Day
Today's player bloggers are Maddy and Sarah:
To start off our day we had a buffet breakfast in our new hotel. Coral had some problems finding a hard boiled egg. Every one she chose was a soft boiled. After that a few people went to Flamingo waterpark in a bus. Flamingo waterpark has three slides. It has a hottub and a water-polo section. We jumped off of high diving boards that were suppose to look like cliffs.
The people that didn't go to the waterpark went to Porvoo. Porvoo is the second oldest town in Finland. There was a guide who gave us a tour on Porvoo. She told us old legends about what happened in the town. We went into a coffee shop and had cake and chocolate.
After those fun events we went out in the city to do some shopping. Later on, some of the team went to the Ice Bar. It was really small, but it was still fun. At around 7:30 it was time for dinner. Dinner was in a fancy hall. It was a buffet dinner. For dessert there was cheese cake. It was good. There was lots of pictures taken during dinner and after dinner. When dinner ended the people that didn't go to the icebar went there instead of going back to the hotel . We couldn't go into the ice bar because it was to late and they didn't allow kids under the age of 18 to go in the ice bar past 9 p.m. So we came back to the hotel. At the hotel Coral did peoples hair in knots and bows tied together. Some people decided to get revenge on Coral by doing her hair in knots and bows, too. While we were waiting for the New Year to arrive we created many memories and bonded as a team. We waited and watched the clock strike 12 for the New Year to occur with many new resolutions, we now are very excited for our first game tomorrow in the 2010 Finland Lions Cup!!!
To start off our day we had a buffet breakfast in our new hotel. Coral had some problems finding a hard boiled egg. Every one she chose was a soft boiled. After that a few people went to Flamingo waterpark in a bus. Flamingo waterpark has three slides. It has a hottub and a water-polo section. We jumped off of high diving boards that were suppose to look like cliffs.
The people that didn't go to the waterpark went to Porvoo. Porvoo is the second oldest town in Finland. There was a guide who gave us a tour on Porvoo. She told us old legends about what happened in the town. We went into a coffee shop and had cake and chocolate.
After those fun events we went out in the city to do some shopping. Later on, some of the team went to the Ice Bar. It was really small, but it was still fun. At around 7:30 it was time for dinner. Dinner was in a fancy hall. It was a buffet dinner. For dessert there was cheese cake. It was good. There was lots of pictures taken during dinner and after dinner. When dinner ended the people that didn't go to the icebar went there instead of going back to the hotel . We couldn't go into the ice bar because it was to late and they didn't allow kids under the age of 18 to go in the ice bar past 9 p.m. So we came back to the hotel. At the hotel Coral did peoples hair in knots and bows tied together. Some people decided to get revenge on Coral by doing her hair in knots and bows, too. While we were waiting for the New Year to arrive we created many memories and bonded as a team. We waited and watched the clock strike 12 for the New Year to occur with many new resolutions, we now are very excited for our first game tomorrow in the 2010 Finland Lions Cup!!!
A day to relax and explore Helsinki
A great day today to sleep in a bit (especially for those who had trouble sleeping on the boat) and then see some sights. Some went downtown, some went to the historic village of Porvoo and some went to the waterpark near Vantaa.
Tonight we're going out for dinner, then bundling up for the New Years Eve events in the square. It's -13C right now!
The news is reporting an incident of violence in Espoo, the community near Helsinki where we played yesterday. No one from our team was in Espoo today. Sadly, senseless violence happens everywhere in the world. From what we've seen, Finland is a beautiful country filled with delightful and friendly people.
Tonight we're going out for dinner, then bundling up for the New Years Eve events in the square. It's -13C right now!
The news is reporting an incident of violence in Espoo, the community near Helsinki where we played yesterday. No one from our team was in Espoo today. Sadly, senseless violence happens everywhere in the world. From what we've seen, Finland is a beautiful country filled with delightful and friendly people.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
EKS 6 - Heat 4 in a fun match
This afternoon we travelled to Espoo and the Laaksolahti Arena to play Espoon Keikkoseura C. EKS scored a goal in the first minute, but then we played for 18 minutes with no more scoring. EKS scored 3 in 5 minutes to make it 4-0, but then we narrowed the gap to 4-2. Eventually we got to 5-4 before EKS scored again and it ended 6-4. Originally, we were told it would be 4x15 minute periods, but it ended after 3. We wanted to keep going, as we thought we could catch them!
Our girls played with skill and enthusiasm. We had only 9 skaters and played 45 minutes against a team of 16 skaters, most of whom were 14 or 15 years old. The Finnish ref commented twice on the skill and sportsmanship our players demonstrated. Darcy counted 3 goals and an assist, and Taylor got an assist and a pretty goal.
After the game, we exchanged gifts and had a group photo taken.
Our girls played with skill and enthusiasm. We had only 9 skaters and played 45 minutes against a team of 16 skaters, most of whom were 14 or 15 years old. The Finnish ref commented twice on the skill and sportsmanship our players demonstrated. Darcy counted 3 goals and an assist, and Taylor got an assist and a pretty goal.
After the game, we exchanged gifts and had a group photo taken.
First Day in Finland
Today's player post by Halli and Taylor will update you for yesterday and today, since we couldn't post easily while we were on the boat:
Yesterday, we checked out of the hotel, went shopping for a few hours and then went to the ferry. On the ferry, we had dinner and went to the Teen Club. We slept on the boat and arrived in Helsinki this morning.
Today was our first full day in Finland. It's been snowing all day, and there is snow everywhere. It started off with a horrible breakfast on the boat. Halli won 7 Euros on her first try in the slot machine .We arrived in Finland at 9:55 am Helsinki time. The bus we were on in Sweden went on the cruise with us and we got on it and went sightseeing. On the sightseeing tour we stopped at a church that was made out of rock, then we went to a musical memorial site and had a snow ball fight. We also saw the 1952 Olympic Stadium. At lunch, Halli and Katie ate at the market. Everybody else went to a restaurant arcross the street from the hotel. Katie was eating a banana outside and got attacked by a seagull the size of a small dog. So she chucked the banana at the seagull. After the attack, we had an exhibition game against a Finnish junior A team. We had 3 periods of 15 minutes each but it was supposed to have 4 periods. We lost 6-4 but thats ok considering they were older than us. The Canadian fans were given ginger cookies and gloggy. After the game we came back to the hotel to have dinner.
Yesterday, we checked out of the hotel, went shopping for a few hours and then went to the ferry. On the ferry, we had dinner and went to the Teen Club. We slept on the boat and arrived in Helsinki this morning.
Today was our first full day in Finland. It's been snowing all day, and there is snow everywhere. It started off with a horrible breakfast on the boat. Halli won 7 Euros on her first try in the slot machine .We arrived in Finland at 9:55 am Helsinki time. The bus we were on in Sweden went on the cruise with us and we got on it and went sightseeing. On the sightseeing tour we stopped at a church that was made out of rock, then we went to a musical memorial site and had a snow ball fight. We also saw the 1952 Olympic Stadium. At lunch, Halli and Katie ate at the market. Everybody else went to a restaurant arcross the street from the hotel. Katie was eating a banana outside and got attacked by a seagull the size of a small dog. So she chucked the banana at the seagull. After the attack, we had an exhibition game against a Finnish junior A team. We had 3 periods of 15 minutes each but it was supposed to have 4 periods. We lost 6-4 but thats ok considering they were older than us. The Canadian fans were given ginger cookies and gloggy. After the game we came back to the hotel to have dinner.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
On board M/S Silja Serenade
After a day of more sightseeing in Stockholm, we've boarded the ship and we are now in the middle of the Baltic en route to Helsinki. More adventures and an ex-game vs a Finnish squad await us tomorrow.
Our Day in Stockholm
Each day of our tour, 2 players will blog on the day's events. This post about our day in Stockholm was written by Darcy and Katie:
Today was our first full day in Sweden, and it is absolutely magnificent.
To start off our day, we had breakfast and went on a driving tour of the city. Near the end of our tour we went to the VASA museum, which is a museum about the VASA ship that sank in 20 minutes in 1628. After the Vasa museum, we went down to Old Stockholm and our tour guide, Kirsti, showed us around and then took us to the city centre. We saw the royal palace and while we were driving away we saw the prince driving home. Then, we had 3 and a half hours to ourselves to shop, eat and see the city. For lunch, I had Swedish meatballs, which was amazing. I had trouble reading the menus so when we got our lunches it wasn't what we thought we ordered, but it was good anyways. Some of us went to Old Stockholm and shopped. We saw lots of hand-made Swedish sweaters, hats and Tomtems, which are mythical characters. Others went to downtown and it had most of the stores at home, but it was like a giant outdoor mall. We went back to the bus and loaded up to go back to the hotel for some free time before our game.
Some of us slept, while some of us made grab bags for the teams that we would be playing against in the tournament and our exhibition games. We loaded up the buses and headed out to the arena, which was quite strange by our standards. The floors everywhere were either tile or cement, and the benches were 2 levels. We had lots of fun playing against the Swedish team, and we won 11-0. We went back to the hotel to have dinner and we were quite surprised when we had Swedish ringette players (the ones played against) visit us for dinner. They taught us Swedish and we exchanged MSN and Facebook. All in all, it was a very amazing day, and we will miss Sweden when we have to leave tomorrow for Finland.
Today was our first full day in Sweden, and it is absolutely magnificent.
To start off our day, we had breakfast and went on a driving tour of the city. Near the end of our tour we went to the VASA museum, which is a museum about the VASA ship that sank in 20 minutes in 1628. After the Vasa museum, we went down to Old Stockholm and our tour guide, Kirsti, showed us around and then took us to the city centre. We saw the royal palace and while we were driving away we saw the prince driving home. Then, we had 3 and a half hours to ourselves to shop, eat and see the city. For lunch, I had Swedish meatballs, which was amazing. I had trouble reading the menus so when we got our lunches it wasn't what we thought we ordered, but it was good anyways. Some of us went to Old Stockholm and shopped. We saw lots of hand-made Swedish sweaters, hats and Tomtems, which are mythical characters. Others went to downtown and it had most of the stores at home, but it was like a giant outdoor mall. We went back to the bus and loaded up to go back to the hotel for some free time before our game.
Some of us slept, while some of us made grab bags for the teams that we would be playing against in the tournament and our exhibition games. We loaded up the buses and headed out to the arena, which was quite strange by our standards. The floors everywhere were either tile or cement, and the benches were 2 levels. We had lots of fun playing against the Swedish team, and we won 11-0. We went back to the hotel to have dinner and we were quite surprised when we had Swedish ringette players (the ones played against) visit us for dinner. They taught us Swedish and we exchanged MSN and Facebook. All in all, it was a very amazing day, and we will miss Sweden when we have to leave tomorrow for Finland.
A good start
The Hamilton Heat U14 team began the on ice part of our tour in good fashion with an 11-0 win over a combined Jarna/Ulriksdal team at Solna Ice Hall tonight. Halli and Sarah shared the shut out, while Steffany led the scoring with 3 goals and was named the Heat player of the game by the organizers. We played 2 20 minute halfs, but managed to keep our legs moving until the end.
The parents in the stands were waving small Canadian flags, and many of these flags were given away to enthusiastic young Swedish ringette players who were there to watch the game. In return, they gave us impromptu lessons in Swedish! Christine Ritchie can name all the animals in a Swedish zoo.
After the game, the Heat players presented gift bags to the host players, and we gathered for a group photo. To our delight, many of the players and their coaches came back to the hotel to join us for dinner, and many e-mail addresses and Facebook names were exchanged.
Different language, different customs, but we all share a love of ringette. A great day in a beautiful country full of wonderful people.
Now, off to bed.
The parents in the stands were waving small Canadian flags, and many of these flags were given away to enthusiastic young Swedish ringette players who were there to watch the game. In return, they gave us impromptu lessons in Swedish! Christine Ritchie can name all the animals in a Swedish zoo.
After the game, the Heat players presented gift bags to the host players, and we gathered for a group photo. To our delight, many of the players and their coaches came back to the hotel to join us for dinner, and many e-mail addresses and Facebook names were exchanged.
Different language, different customs, but we all share a love of ringette. A great day in a beautiful country full of wonderful people.
Now, off to bed.
Monday, December 28, 2009
On the town
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Here's the team this morning as we headed out to see Stockholm. Tonight, our first game!
Sunday, December 27, 2009
The HEAT is in Sweden
A group of tired travellers has arrived in Stockholm. Time to crash for a couple of hours before we get together for dinner and a meeting to plan our next few days. More to report later.
Almost there
Cashing in those points was worthwhile. Erica and I are comfortable in the Swiss Air business class lounge in Zurich, awaiting our connection to Stockholm. It's 3:20 am our time but 9:20 am here. The Swiss coffee will keep us going (me anyway).
The view of the sun rising over the Alps as we approached Zurich was stunning.
Some members of the Richmond Hill team were seated behind us on our flight.
Next stop, Stockholm.
The view of the sun rising over the Alps as we approached Zurich was stunning.
Some members of the Richmond Hill team were seated behind us on our flight.
Next stop, Stockholm.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Here We Go
From Guelph and Cambridge. From Jordan, Newmarket, Hamilton, Mississauga. Via London or Zurich. En route to Stockholm. Here we go.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Countdown
The usual pre-Christmas rush is made busier this year as we all scramble to get ready for our trip to Sweden and Finland. In addition to presents and wrapping paper, we're buying euros and items to trade with the teams we'll meet. One week today and we'll be in Stockholm.
Through this blog, we'll try to share our experiences and provide updates for friends and family at home.
In later posts, I'll provide an overview of the team and our thoughts as we prepare for our big adventure!
Through this blog, we'll try to share our experiences and provide updates for friends and family at home.
In later posts, I'll provide an overview of the team and our thoughts as we prepare for our big adventure!
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