Mozart Cup with ICE'Kateers

After a twelve hour plane ride from California to Munich and a two hour bus ride to Salzburg; the ICE’Kateers have finally arrived at the Mozart Cup! We had a successful practice Wednesday morning, followed by a long day of traveling until arriving in Austria on Thursday night. Upon our arrival we settled in and enjoyed a delicious dinner prepared by the hotel employees, then headed off to bed. We also ran into several of our fellow U.S.A. teammates from Miami University of Ohio on our way in as well; it was nice to see some familiar faces.

The next day we woke up to another great meal at the hotel and then headed off to unofficial practice at the Eisarena Salzburg; not far from where we’re staying.

We arrived at the arena, first having a quick off-ice practice outside, and then preceding inside to our locker room to put on our skates. The arena was a lot of fun to skate in for us; just looking out small windows of the rink gave us a gorgeous view of the snow-covered Austrian mountains right outside. It was truly a beautiful sight. Our practice started off a little shaky; not at our full potential, but we were soon able to get back into synch with one another and ended the session on a good note. After practice we had a quick lunch at the arena, and then headed back to our hotel for a short time before our Sound of Music tour later that day.

The Sound of Music tour was really a great experience; we got to learn about all of the different places where the movie was filmed, right in the city where we’re staying, and all the while seeing the beautiful sights of Austria! The city of Salzburg is truly such a stunning city, especially during this time of year when everything is covered in fresh snow. From the old churches to the quaint country homes, it’s all just so beautiful. The people are all very nice as well; everyone has been extremely friendly and kind to us no matter where we go.

Tomorrow morning we have official practice for short program, and then we compete later in the day. We’re hoping to skate our best and really represent the U.S. well. We’re also very excited to get the chance to cheer on and support our other team U.S.A. members, Miami University, as well.

GO U.S.A. :)

Linnea