Our Whirlwind Tour of Paris
I arrived to Charles De Gaulle Airport a bit revived. I slept almost the whole flight except for when they brought out the airplane food. We got of the plane and were immediately overwhelmed by how busy the airport was. We shuffled through the crowd for what seemed like 20 minutes before we met up with out guide Nicolas. I didn't get to speak very much with Nicolas, but I could immediately tell he was a wrestler by the signature cauliflower ear. He guided us the rest of the way through the airport to the metro terminal.
We each recieved one day pass for the metro. These cost around 30 dollars American so we were told to pay extra care in not losing this stamp size tickets. We boarded the train and reaches our destination only two stops down the line. I am having a hard time remembering the actual hotel name, but I have deemed it 'Hotel Chitay.' At first glance it seemed like a very nice establishment, but after further examination the rooms were found to be quite inadequate. It may be all of the traveling making me grumpy, or it may be the fact that I have to share a full size bed with one of my former teammates that makes this place not so 5 star in my mind. No offense Gabe. This post will probably be very late getting to you due to the fact that Hotel Chitay's internet mirrors the quality of it's laundry service. Wait I just got two page loads of internet so this hotel may have gained a half star.
We only stuck around the hotel for about 15 minutes. Then we were off for a tour of the city. First stop was Quick. Quick is a French version of McDonalds. The only thing we had eaten that day was the meager airline food so a nice burger and some pommes frites was very welcome.
Once we had some food in our belly we headed straight for Notre Dame. It was a beautiful building and we made sure to grab a team photo in front of it. I didn't bring the correct lens with me so I just go a team photo in front of the doors. Hopefully I can get the photo from someone else to post at a later time. We did not have time to go in because we want to get to the Louvre as soon as possible.
Upon arrival at the Louvre we were told that it costs 10 Euros to get in. Some decided that they would walk around the nearby financial district, but I made sure that I got in line to see the art. We didn't get a lot of time to explore as the museum was closing in 40 minutes. Our eyes almost bugged out of our heads after we saw the vast expanses of the collection. We could have spent weeks inspecting all of the art, but instead picked out a few of the most popular to visit and then see everything else we could fit in on the way. The first stop was to the Mona Lisa. We only got to spend about 5 minutes in the crowded room. It was a true pleasure to be in such close proximity to this famous work. The same can be said for the Venus de Milo. We had a very short amount of time to spend viewing this as well, but I am very glad that I did.
It took a few minutes for our group to reconvene. We roamed around in the plaza in front of the Louvre and purchased random souvenirs from the street vendors. Once we were all together we descended into the metro tunnels to head for the Eiffel Tower.
I guess I had never realized quite how large the structure was. A few of the guys decided to travel to the top, but I took in the crowd at the base of the structure. I sat back a enjoyed watching the street entertainers, the soldiers with machine guns, and the many couples who strolled along arm in arm. We grabbed another quick team picture in front of the structure, and again my lens couldn't handle the angle.
By the time everyone was done exploring the Eiffel Tower we had a very short amount of time to grab a bite to eat. We ate some very delicious pizza, steaks, and pasta and a local eatery the Nicolas had picked out. We had a very strict deadline of 10:00pm for when we had to get heading back to the hotel. I guess the metro trains only run till a certain time of night so we needed to make sure we didn't miss the last one.
The rest of the night was spent cleaning up for the day in our minscule bathrooms, searching for internet signal, and preparing for our long voyage home tommorow. Okay time to wrap this one up. I could write a lot more, but my eyes are a bit to tired. Probably wont hear from me again till I am back in Kearney. Will do a recap then. Thanks for reading. Jeff.
Last night in Bulgaria
After spending the day relaxing in the hotel we ate our final meal at 7:00pm. We had all checked out of our rooms earlier. The final step was to get our passports back from the hotel. The hotel checkout policy was actually very strict, and unbeknownst to us we were required to turn in some of these random towel tickets that half of the group had yet to use. They wanted to charge us 12 leva for each missing card, but our guide George convinced them to let us slide. They only other problem was a missing key from one wrestlers room. Our wrestler assured them that the key was lost, but they insisted that we could not leave until they had the key in hand. I am not for sure how but we got the passport and got down the road. We were only about 10 minutes out when the wrestler found the missing key among his possessions.
Because of the fiasco at the airport we were only able to visit Nessebar for an hour. It is a very picturesque seaside town with an abundance of old ruins. George tells us that it is one of the oldest cities in all of Europe. I snapped off a few pictures and some video, but really didn't have enough time to take it in well. It would have been nice to visit this spot during the day.
We boarded the bus to start our overnight journey back to Istanbul. I wasn't as tired as the first time we had made the overnight trip so I got to witness some of the roads that connected Bulgaria and Turkey. I would say that they are on par with the majority of the county roads in Western Nebraska. There were a number of harrowing switchbacks and hardly a light to be found on the desolate road.
We arrived to the border at around midnight. This time getting out of Bulgaria was very smooth. It only took about 10 minutes in all. We went through the normal routine in Turkey however in order to get into the country the did a search of our bus that involved tossing out a couple of our bags. At one time on the the customs guys came through our bus while smoking a cigarette and just about gassed us out. The rest of the night was pretty restless. It is kind of hard to sleep while the bus driver is blaring European Electronic music, but I can't ever complain about this guy. If he needs Techno to get in the zone so be it.
The drive into Instanbul was an absolute rat race. I can't believe the amount of traffic so early in the morning. In a couple of places the commuters took the liberty of converting the two lane roads in to three lanes. As we got closer to the airport it seemed to get worse. Once we got our luggage off the bus and made our way to our check in gate George parted ways with us. We will have a new guide for our afternoon in France. Time to board.
No Post Sunday
Today has been a free day with no activities scheduled. I have pretty much been a bum and didn't have much of anything for photos or new info to post so I apologize for that. We are having dinner in about 10 minutes then jumping on the bus to go to a small city called Nessebar. We will get about 2 hours of site seeing there before we hop back on the bus and drive overnight to Istanbul. Once we get there we will immediately board our flight for Paris. I will do my best to get some photos and information from our visits and Nessebar, but I have a feeling our internet connectivity will be a little sketchy until we get to Paris.
The Bait and Switch
Today was another free day for us, there weren't any competitions or training scheduled. The one thing that we had a choice of doing was to go fishing on the Black Sea. A group of around 20 wrestlers and coaches decided to go on the trip.
We got up and had a quick breakfast. We were scheduled to depart at 10:00am. The shuttle showed up right on time and we departed on a short journey to a dock that was only a 15 minute drive from our resort. It was a beautiful day here in Bulgaria. Very hot and not a cloud in the sky. Our boat has a row of tables that ran right through the middle of the deck. We took our seat and we spent 10 minutes traveling to the fishing spot. Upon arrival our fishing guide spent a few minutes teaching us what we needed to know in our to catch the big ones. We used some light colored chunks of meat for flesh. I didn't hear for sure but someone mentioned that it was squid.
Not two minutes had passed before Joe Ellenberger had caught a fish. As he was reeling it in everyone stared to see what kind of large fish he had landed. We were a bit dissapointed to realize that the fish was only about 3 inches long. It turns out this was exactly the kind of fish we were searching for. One of the crew mentioned that they were very tasty.
After the initial catch by Joe Ellenberger a small fishing competition between Ellenberger and Joey Wilson started up as they seemed to be the only ones catching fish initially. The competition was very one sided though. Joey Wilson took a very quick 4-2 fish lead, but with TJ Hepburns help Joe ran away from the competition. You see TJ helped organized a little practical joke on Joey by hooking a few of the fish we caught earlier on Ellenbergers line while Wilson wasn't looking. Joe put on quite a show and even pulled in his line with two fish on it at once. In the end Joe won the make believe fishing contest 10 fish to 4.
Besides these two the only ones to catch any fish were myself, the Starotska boys, Legino, TJ, and maybe a few others, but all in all we didn't catch enough to feed us all. The crew had us covered though. They must have had a little bit of a stock pile underneath the boat. While we were fishing they had cooked up a couple of fish for each of us and served it to us right on the boat will some dill flavored cucumbers and a couple of slices of bread. It was a wonderful tasting lunch.
After we arrived back to shore we loaded up the vans for a quick journey back to the hotel. We have been told that the rest of the day is up to us. I have spent my afternoon walking around the beach and shopping. It was extremely hot out and it did not take very long before I was out of energy. Now it is time to get some food. I think I am going to go grab a doner.
Bring on the Borba
Today we were scheduled to visit the downtown area of Varna, Bulgaria. The bus ride was only around 15 minutes. We were dropped off right in front of the Dormition of the Theotokos Cathedral. I only got pictures of the exterior. The wanted to protect the sanctity of the inside of the church so they did not allow photograpy....unless you paid six leva, then you were good to go. We only spent a few minutes inside. It was very beautiful. It was decorated with intricate paintings and contained a number of religiuos statues. There was also an area to light candles. Two sections that appeared like cabinets without any doors contained a number of pencil thin candles. One of the sections was higher than the other. I was told that these candles were lit as prayers for health issues. The lower section was for remembrance of loved ones.
After the cathedral we walked around downtown Varna. There were shops on both sides of the street for miles. Many of them sold paintings and older antiques, others sold high fashion clothing. Interspursed with the vendors were fast food establishments from the United States. There seemed to be a lot of McDonalds and Burger King restaurants. I think a couple of people tried out the American fast food paces and said that they are good and even a bit cheaper then in the US. We walked the entire length of the street and came to a large archway that marked the entrance to the park.
The park was built after the liberation of Bulgaria. It is known as Sea Garden Park. There were a number of small plaques in the middle of the walkway as well as large busts that were adorned with flowers and wreaths. At the end of the long walkway there was a large stone monument that featured two soldiers standing back to back. It is known as The Pantheon of the Perished in the Fight Against Fascism. It was a very large and impressive monument. On the way back our guide took us on a little aside and showed us something called the wishing bridge. Apparently if you walk backwards, eyes closed accross the bridge you will have any wish granted. We also were able to see a number of very beautiful sculptures on the way back.
Then it was time to have a competition. We traveled to a small Bulgarian Gymnasium. There were three rows of stands in the gym. It was pretty much jam packed with local Bulgarian fans.
Brody Mayberry - LOSS - 1-0, 6-0
1st - Brody shoots a low shot. Oppenent gets a quick go behind. First period goes to the Bulgarian 1-0.
2nd - Brody tries a throw from a front headlock. Goes down 3-0. Gets gut wrenched for one. Back to their feet. Gets pushed out for one. Another push out and thats the match.
Tanner Sturgeon - LOSS - 7-4, 3-0
1st - Tanner's opponent looks very stout. Opponent tries a throw by but Tanner counters with a gut for two. Opponenet gets a front headlock and rolls tanner for two. Turns out that first one was two and two. The score is 4-2 Bulgarian. Bulgarians hits a front headlock to go behind but Tanner reverses him with exposure for two. 5-4 for the Bulgarian. Tanner in on a nice shot but gets thrown for three. We drop the period 7-4. Great first period.
2nd - Tanner shoots a high crotch, but opponent defends and goes behind for one. We give up a gut. Should be 3-0. Period ends. Thats the match.
Jordan White - LOSS - 6-0, 4-0
1st - We nearly get an exposure from a front headlock, but oppenent slips out for one. Jordan gives up two quick guts and a takedown to drop the first period. These guys are beating us up on top.
2nd - We try a twister and opponents slips off. Then Jordan gives up a gut. We are down 3-0. A quick Bulgarian takedown puts us down 4-0. Some good exchanges at the end, but no more points.
Raufeon Stots - WIN - 1-1, 2-1
1st - Raufeon looks like he is giving up about 10-15 lbs. Raf defends a double, ends up in a whizzer and gets pushed out for one. Raufeon works a double and pushes him out of bounds for one. We finally pick up a period.
2nd - Raf hits another double right away for one. They are stuck in over and under ties. In on another double. Switches off to one. Can't finish. Raf controls center but gives one on a go behind. There seems to be a bit of a timing controversy. The ref is keeping time as well as our coaches. The UNK coaches say that they are allowing extra time for the Bulgarians. Raf wins.
Dalton Jensen - WIN - 6-0, 7-1
1st - Dalton goes out and hits on Dresser Dump then two quick ankle laces and finishes the period in 9 seconds.
2nd - Double leg to back, ankle lace, then a gut to go up 5-0. Opponent tries an arm spin. Then gets a pushout 5-1. Another dresser dump to finish the match.
Dalton Jensen - 'I won. Without my mentor it couldn't have been possible. Whispers "That's You" to me.
TJ Hepburn - WIN - 7-0, 3-0
1st - TJ controls a front headlock. TJ is told he is choking his opponenet. Wrestling resumes. Opponent tries a throw but slips. TJ gets a one point pushout. Quick go behind for one followed by 2 guts to win the period 7-0.
2nd - A little hand fighting to start the second. Gets a quick double double and a gut to go up 3-0. No more score. TJ gets the period.
Tyler Baker - WIN - ?-?, 5-1, 2-1
1st - In on a single but can't finish, gets a go behind for a point. Looks to lock up a Hoxie cradle, but can't secure. Bulgarian controls a Russian tie in the center, but Tyler scores off a failed headlock attempt. Close step out on the edge and somehow the score table flips the score and we are down 2-1. Don't know what happened there. Don't really know who won that period. Will keep you updated. Tyler is liking this long break while we figure out the score. Turns out though we lost that period.
2nd - Tyler gets a quick pushout to start the period. Tyler puts his opponent to his back on the edge for three. Gives up a pushout. It is 4-1 Tyler. Opponent tries a drag. Tyler scores one we get the period 5-1.
3rd - Tyler hits a low single for one to start the period. Gives up a go behind. Opponent working a gut. It is 1-1. Both Wrestlers visibly exhausted. We are taking lots of shots. We get a takedown with short time left. Baker guts out a win.
Gabe Re - WIN - Pin
1st - Loper alumni Gabe Re goes out and hits a very quick Twister for the quick pins. He still has it folks.
Jeremaiah Starostska - LOSS - 7-0, 2-7, 3-3
1st - Jeremiah gets a quick takedown to go up 1-0. Hits a sort of body lock throw to go up 4-0. Quick duck under for a point 5-0. Front headlock roll to get the period.
2nd - Attempts a double but opponent defends back to the center. Gives up a throw and a gut to go down 5-0. Back to the feet. Time to get to work. Hits front headlock roll for 2. Miah tries to pull back a side headlock. There is an injury the opposing coach is concerned for his wrestler. Miah gets taken down and drops period 7-2.
3rd - Okay last period. Miah is out working his fakes. Gets a quick take down. Another point after a scramble put Miah up 2-0. Smooth high crotch. Miah tries a lift. Gets put to his back. We are still up 3-2. Opponent in on single. Miah defends, but gets taken down trying to avoid the pushout. 10 seconds left. We got to score. We are in on a shot at the last second but opponent stay posted up.
Zach Starostska - WIN - 4-0, 5-0
1st - Looks like Zach is wrestling a Greco wrestler who is trying out freestyle. We tell Zach to shoot and he is immediately in on a low single. Defends a shot attempt and goes behind for another point. Guy is looking to lock up a throw. Zach gets a pushout to go up 3-0. Another low single nets him a 4-0 lead. That is the period.
2nd - Start of the second and Zach is in on a low single right away for a point. Opponent getting low in his stance to avoid Zach's blistering offense. It doesn't work and Zach get another go behind for a 2-0 lead. Opponent searching for an overhook, but Zack drops to a double for another point. Didn't see that last shot. Zach is up 4-0. Zach is asking how much time is left. Is shocked when he learns it is 50 seconds. We get another double to take the score to 5-0. Time expires. That is the match.
Christian Flavin - WIN - 4-0, Default
1st - The crowd is excited to see Christians opponent wrestle. He is a true heavy and must have 40 lbs on Christian. Christian jacks up and underhook but steps out of bounds and gives up a point. Opponent working a front headlock for a long time. This may be a greco guy as well. He seems to be searching for overhooks. Christians trips him to tie it up at one. Opponent gets a big snap. Christian working to defend a front headlock. Opponent tries a throw but Flavin counters and puts him to his back. We take the period. Opponent will default the match.
Nate Westerby - LOSS - 0-1, 0-6
1st - This opponent is a pretty big boy. Nate staying low. These guys are keeping their distance. Opponent tries arm spin and nearly breaks Nate's arm off. Nate undeterred by this. 30 seconds left. Still no score. Opponent head butts Nate. George goes out to cool things off. Opponenet looks very angry. Shakes Nates hand. I am skeptical whether or not this is a sincere apology. Hard ties. Nate has a shot attempt. We will go to a clinch. Instead of flipping the just give the clinch to the Blugarian. He pushes Nate out. Nate tries a throw they land on the table I am sitting at. Pretty awesome.
2nd - We try a throw by. Working an underhook. All tied up in the center of the mat. Nate still working his shots. Opponent hits a go behind then two guts to win the period. The crowd is estatic.
Drew Comito - WIN - ?-?, 6-0
1st - They have marched out what looks liek a 211.5 pounder against Comito. Drew double legs him into the table were I am sitting. Apparently they give the Bulgarian a point for unsportsman like conduct. Opponent gets a single leg to dump to go up 2-1. Drew drop his opponent to his back for 3 points. Of note the wrestler brought some of their new German friends from the hotel. They are visible distraught and point at the score table saying the score is wrong. Opponent thows Drew over to his back. Gives 3 to him. Not for sure what the score is but I think we one that match. Things are getting heated in here.
2nd - Drew in on a single right away and gets a push out for a point. Another push out for Drew puts him up 2-0. A go behind gets Drew another point. We are up 3-0. It looks like George has taken over timing duties to avoid further controversy. We get another pushout. Then a takedown to the opponents back to grab the second period.
Brody Mayberry - WIN - 4-2, 5-0
1st - Looks like Brody is wretling the guy that Gabe wrestled. Brody gets a pushout. They are each working ties in the middle. Brody gets another go behind and a gut to go up 3-2. Opponent apparently scored two there as well. Another go behind and we grab the period. I am looking over and our guys are doing some trading with the Bulgarian Wrestlers.
2nd - Brody working a front headlock. Opponent tries to run out and Brody drops to ankles for a takedown. Another go behind takes the score to 4-0. Go behind takes the score to 5-0. That is the match.
Joe Ellenberger - WIN - 1-1, 6-0, 7-1
1st - There is some widespread trading going on. Joe hits a double and drives him out of bounds for a pushout. This is the greco guy that Starostka wrestled earlier. Looks like Joe is willing to go upper body with him. Joe tries to get a double but steps out. Joe needs one here to get the period. We drop the period 1-1.
2nd - Joe hits a duck then three trap arm guts to grab the period 7-1.
3rd - Last period. Opponent digging a deep overhook and gets a pushout point against Joe. Joe gets the point for another pushout. Then grabs a low single, switches of to two for a 2-1 lead. Short time. Opponent digging overhooks and Joe hits a duck under. A gut wrench finish for Joe and that is the match.
Zach Legino - WIN - 6-0, 6-0
1st - This is the guy that J. White wrestled. He has a heck of a gut wrench. Legino in on a shot. Puts opponent to his back to take a 4-0 lead. Big time commerce going in the USA corner. Guys trying to trade their cloths for our leva. Zach hits another single and puts his opponent to his back to finish off the period.
2nd - Same thing all over again. Zach is up 4-0 right away. Another takedown to the back to finish the match off.
Adam Keiswetter - WIN - Pin
1st - Apparently this is the guy that Brody wrestled first. Adam gives up a single opponent intentionally pushes him onto the table for a point. Adam appears to be looking for a front headlock. We are tied up at 3. Adam doing a lot of work to get a point near the end. Dont know if we have enough time. We drop the period.
2nd - It is now like a small market in the corner with shoes being exchanged. Adam goes for a duck works up to a russian tie. Tries a foot sweep. They get in a scramble and Adam comes out on top for the point. Opponent in on a single. Gets a takedown to tie up the match 1-1. Opponent controlling both wrists. Adam hits a nasty head chauncer. Time runs out before we can secure the pin.
3rd - Adam fights off a single attempt and hits a go behind. Works a 3/4 front headlock, but apparently those are illegal in Bulgaria. Goes up 2-0. A go behind gets him a 3-0 lead. At the last second Adam hits a Twister in Bulgaria. Never saw that coming. I lie. I totally saw that coming.
Final Match Thoughts
- There wasn't a lot of love between these two teams. This resulted in some tension, but also in some exciting matches.
- We seemed to have wrestled very well. I believe the final match count was USA 12, BUL 7. I could be wrong.
- Our final team pictures contains our tour guide and the German cheerleaders we brought to the competition. I will try to make sure to get that team photo posted.
Comments from the boys on their performance:
Gabe Re - "Thinking about a full comeback. UNK Open? That will give me six months to train."
Joe Ellenberger - (Blank Stare)
Adam Keiswetter - "No Problem (In poor bulgarian like accent). The key to winning when you don't work out is strategy."
TJ Hepburn - "It wasn't about the win. Just the experience. Boom two lines."
Zach Legino - "What should I say TJ?" TJ - "Boom one line." Zach - "I am just glad I didn't get my butt kicked."
J. White - "(Asks Legino how much he weighs) Guy had a gut, and I don't mean a belly."
Drew C. - "We went in and wrestled some Bulgarians. We decided to turn their entrails into extrails. (talks a lot after that)"
Baker - "Good thing we are back at sea level. Helped my conditioning. After intense training yesterday I was confident to go three periods."
Christian - "Guy was big. Happy to get a win."
Raufeon - "I wrestled a guy 20lbs bigger than me and I gave hime the front yard action (spells out front yard action letter by letter for me)"
Joey Wilson - "I wrestled their national champion and teched and pinned him (Joey did not wrestle a match today)"
Nate Westerby - "He behave poorly. I do not like him. (This is not what Nate said, but a PG version I made up)"
Jeremiah Starotska - "I was scared for my life because I thought Rocky's trainer was going to kill me."
Tanner Sturgeon - "I could have prepared better. He was strong, but after the match he seemed like a good guy."
Zach Starotska - "I think I did better against him than Joe."
Ross Brunkhardt - "I didn't wrestle. They were scared of me."
Radi (One of Our Guides) - "It was awesome and interesting. The time went by very quickly. Hours seemed like a few minutes. The boys were great. I couldn't cheer (Radi acted as the scorekeeper), but I really wanted to."
By the way: Borba is Bulgarian for Wrestling.
Varna Rocks
This has been a pretty laid back day. Our guys had been a little burned out after the many training sessions and the competition the night before. We decided that in order to maximize our time in Bulgaria we would have an overnight bus trip from Turkey rather than waking up early and killing a day. The trip wasn't perfectly smooth. We had to stand in line at the Turkish border for around 45 minutes to get our exit stamp. Then at the Bulgarian border we spent another 30 minutes waiting for our entry stamp. During this we spent our time chatting outside of the bus and doing our best to entertain the stray dogs that congregate around the border. I must give credit again to our wonderful bus driver. He truely has a command of the road that I have never seen. The roads between Turkey and Bulgaria a very harrowing and throughout the journey he never flinched.
We arrived in Varna, Bulgaria at 6:30am. It was a little to early to get into our hotel room so we spent a little bit of time early on visting the beach area of our resort.
The hotel allowed us to check in early at around 7:00am. We had a bit of an incident in the lobby with some drunken German visitors who mentioned that Nebraska has nothing in it. After getting over the shock that these Germans knew about Nebraska we still walked away a little upset by the rude remarks they had made. Later in the day we had met up over some friendly competition and mended the rift between our two cultures. When all was said and done we realized it was simply a misunderstanding between cultures.
The rest of the day was pretty much left up to our own plans. Some of us slept in due to exhaustion and some of us went out and took in the town to delay the inevitable crash.
Tomorrow we will resume our training and I will make sure to keep everyone up to date.
The Burning Turkish After Shave
We woke up early this morning to get a little bit of shopping done before we were off to see the sites. We have developed a little routine of stopping by a small shop around the corner from our hotel to buy soda and candy. I think the shop owner is starting to recognize us as his newest loyal customers. Gabe, Ty and I headed to the large indoor market that we have frequented a couple times, but because of time constraints, we have been unable to spend any significant. It was a nice change of pace to leasurely stroll along rather than be rushed. Once we arrived to the market we decided to treat ourselves to some of the tasty apple tea that we had first sampled on the boat ride the day before. There was a small open area with a few seats nearby. We decided to have our tea there. While walking there we passed by a small barber shop.
I have been growing a beard for well over a month now and as soon as I saw the shop I knew that this was an opportunity that I could not pass up. I have never had a straight razor shave. To have one in a covered market in Istnbul Turkey was great experience. We finished our tea and waked straight into the two seat barber shop. I walked in first and the barber immediately seated me. I decided I would keep the mustache. It took a while to communicate to the barber what I wanted. After a minute or so the barber pointed to his chin and said 'zero' and pointed to my mustache and said 'very nice.' We seemed to have come to an understanding. It took a minute to shave off the beard and then about 10 or so to straight razor the whiskers. At the end of the shave he reached for a sort of lemon scented aftershave that burned like fire on my skin. When all was said and done I ended up with the best shave I have ever had in my life and a number of photos and video clips that I will remember forever.
The site we had decided to vist today was the Blue Mosque. Because we had went early to visit the market we decided to meet the rest of the group there around 10:00am. We found ourselves with about 15 minutes to get from the market to the area that contained the mosque. The only problem was that in the winding catacombes of the covered market we had exited in an area the was completly foreign to us. A few of the locals provided us with some simple directions and it was not long before we spotted the distinctive 6 minarets that tower above the Blue Mosques surroundings. We did a little research before we went there and found out that it is required the men wear trousers rather than shorts. Women were required to cover there heads and and any exposed skin on the shoulders and neck. The interior of the mosque is very impressive. An extremely ornate chandelier provides the artificial light. Every square inch of the walls and ceiling is adorned with intricate paintings and text. We did not spend a large amount of time inside the mosque. There was an extremely large crowd inside and it was difficult to move about.
When we emerged from the mosque we realized that we had a short time to get back to the hotel. We had learned earlier in the day that we would actually be leaving Turkey this evening. Check out time was scheduled for 12:00 and we were still a 20 minute walk away. It was 11:30am at the time so by the time we got back we only had about 10 minutes to get everything packed up. The made interrupted us at 11:55 and gave a stearn look and told us "Finished!" We did get out of the room on time but still apologized on our way out. Adam mentioned he gave the maid who walked into his room a five Turkish Lira tip. He said she gave him a hug after that.
We had a competition scheduled for 4:00pm today. It was decided that we would visit a mall that Joe Ellenberger had heard about from some of the world team members that they had trained with the previous night. The mall was called the Forum Istanbul. We were alloted some money to find lunch in the malls food court. I had a turkish sandwich called a doner. We had had one of these an evening ago, and as expected, the doner from the small street restaurant was a great deal tastier than the fast food version. We spent the next hour and a half exploring the many different shops in the mall. It was a massive complex so we only had enough time to visit a few places. One of the more interesting places was a Walmart like store called Real. They offered many of the types of products you would find in a large store in America, but everything was just a little bit differnet. It was interesting to experience this.
Once we were done shopping at the mall we headed to the sports complex that we had first visited when we arrived in Turkey. They have set up an informal exhibition dual with some of the club wrestlers. I tried to follow the matches pretty closely. Here are the notes that I made:
Rafeon Stots - WIN - 1-0, 0-2, 1-0
Stots came out and got in on a bunch of nice shots. These guys are very good with defense. Rafeon ends up getting a point on a go behind in the last few seconds to win.
Joey Wilson - WIN - 4-1, 1-2, 3-1
1st - Wilson scores a bunch of takedowns in the first period to win easily. 2nd - Gets turned in a front headlock to go down two in the second. Get a takedown back but can't quite get the period. 3rd - Scores off a a single for a point. Gets two pushouts before giving up one to win the period and the match.
Jeramiah Staroska - LOSS - 3-0, 1-1, 1-2
1st - Quick single leg takedown right out of the gates. A lot of pummeling before Staroska throws him by for one. Picks up another from a go behind. Wins the period 3-0.
2nd - Second period starts with some hand fighting. Jeramiah shoots a quick high crotch for a point. Jeramiah defends a single leg shot attempt, they start back up in the center. Gets pushed out with 9 seconds left. Loses the period 1-1.
3rd - After some hand fighting Jeramiah gets taken down for a point. Jeramiah gets snapped down and gives up a point. Down 2 with 20 seconds. Loses period 2-1. Must have missed a point somewhere in there.
Zach Staroska - LOSS - 0-6, 0-3
1st - Missed a flurry at the beginning, but Zach is down 4-0. Shoots a nice low single but the Turk defends. Shoots a high crotch but gets turned for 2. Loses period 6-0.
2nd - Things are getting a little more aggressive. Zach steps in with a body lock, but the Turk defends with the whizzer. Back to the feet. Turk scores from front headlock to go behind, gets Zach with a quick gut to win the period 3-0.
Brody Mayberry - LOSS - 0-5, 3-4
1st - Brody gets hit in a high crotch with a lift for 5 to drop the period with short time.
2nd - Brody gets a quick push out at the beginning of the period for a point. Gets hit in a short carry to go down 3-1. Brody hits a twister for two points. One more takedown for the other guy and we drop the period 4-3.
Jordan White - LOSS - 1-1, 1-2
1st - Gets a quick takedown right off the bat. Gives up a 1 point High Crotch. Get a trap arm gut slapped on him but J. White defends. Drops the period.
2nd - J. White hits a sweep single right off the bat for one point. Opponent hits a nice throw by to tie it up. J. White is in on a straight single. Gives up a push out with 14 left. Great match.
Nate Westerby - LOSS- 1-0, 0-1, 4-1
1st - Wrestling a stocky opponent who tries to arm spin Nate. After some pummeling nate hits a bear hug for a point. More upper body. Oppenent throws a headlock and slips off for no points. Nate wins first period.
2nd - Hand fighting in the middle. Tries to throw a front headlock and gives up a point. Drops the period.
3rd - Slow start to the period. Not much action. 20 seconds left. We go to the clinch for the first time today. A little confusion on who gets to choose. Turk gets the flip. He gets the push out and is very jolly and excited.
Christian Flavin - WIN - 5-0, 6-0
1st - No action in the first. Goes to clinch. Flavin gets the flip. Flavin skys him for five to take the period.
2nd - Flavin gets a quick go behind followed by 3 guts to take the period 6-0.
Tyler Baker - LOSS - 6-3, 6-3
1st - Baker finishes a step in single for three points. Gets tossed in double overs for 3. Gets thrown out of bounds for another 3 to drop the period.
2nd - This guy has pretty good upper body stuff. Baker in on a single and scrambles to go up 3-1. Baker fights off some gut attempts. Baker giving up an over hook. Gets thrown in double overs to his back. Drops the second period 6-3.
Drew Etherton - LOSS - 0-1, 2-0, 1-3
1st - No action. 30 seconds left. Drew gets hit in a throw by with short time left to drop the period.
2nd - Drew hits a low single and locks up an ankle lace but cannot turn his opponent. Hits a quick sweep single for a point. Wins the period 2-0
3rd - In on a single. Turk working a chest lock. No score. Gets hit in a quick front headlock tilt for two. Working upper body with 35 seconds left. Gets a one point go behind but is too little.
Joe Ellenberger - LOSS - 6-0, 6-0
1st - Joe seems to be wrestling the home town hero. Gets hit in a short carry for three plus one exposure. Gives up hand to hand gut for one. Tries a dive through. Drops period.
2nd - I think I know why they gave Joes oppenent an ovation when they introduced him. Joes goes for a throw, but gives up 2 and a gut to go down 4 points. Gives up another 2. This guy is pretty darn good.
Update - Baker suggests that his performance was due to the high Turkish altitude.
Tanner Sturgeon - LOSS - 0-5, 0-7
1st - Opponent gets a push out. Tanner in on a low single, no score. Gives up another push out. Gives up another point off a single and a gut to go down 5-0 and that is the period.
2nd - Gives up a single leg takedown and 3 guts in about 10 seconds. This guy was pretty good too.
Ross Brunkhardt - WIN - Default
1st - Front headlock to go behind to pick up the first point. Quick drag followed by a gut to go up 4-0. Opponent defaults out after injury.
Dalton Jensen - WIN - Fall
1st - Ref immediately tells Dalton to take off knee pads for some reason. Ref points out that they are volleyball kneepads. Match starts despite kneepad controversy. Dalton scrambles and ends up on top. Hits two guts for a 6-0 first period win.
2nd - Some pummeling to start the second. I think Daltons oppenent has skinnier legs than him. Dalton hits a dresser dump and gains a fall against his opponent.
Drew Comito - LOSS - 3-0, 1-3, 1-2
1st - Comito hits a double for to start the period goes up 2-0. Also had a pushout. Hits another double to go up 3-0.
2nd - Gives up a pushout to go down 1. Gives up another to go down 2-0. Step in single and finishes for one point. Gives up a pushout to go down 3-1.
3rd - Hand fighting in the center to start off the third. Gets pushed out hard against the wall. No ill will for now. Gets pushed out and to go down 2. Gets a push out at the buzzer but loses the last period 2-1.
Looks like we are either done with matches or TJs opponent has left the building. I don't blame them. Check that TJ is going up against the guy Joe wrestled. Turns out this guy was a junior world runner up.
TJ Hepburn - LOSS - 0-5, 0-6.
1st - TJ tries front headlock. Goes down 3-0. Gets pushed out for one after a tough scramble. Gets pushed out for another. Down 5-0. Thats how the first period ends.
2nd - TJ works for a double leg to push out, but ends up getting pushed out to go down 1-0. This guy is pretty relentless with a great russion and tough defense. Opponent gets a russion to go behind and a gut to go up 4-0. TJ in on a single, but Turk goes behind for a point. One final takedown and we are done with the dual.
Random Match Thoughts:
- The Europeans wrestle a completly defensive style. I think I could have counted their shots on one hand. They sit back and wait for us to shoot and capitalize on the mistakes that we make. Being out of shape and unfamiliar with the freestyle wrestling didn't help too much either.
- A number of the Turks wore their singlets inside out. I thought it was a fluke and that the first one who did it had made a mistake, but in all I probably counted seven of them who had worn their singlet inside out.
- It was nice after the dual that our guys got to get together and take some photos with the Turkish Wrestlers. They even got the opportunity to trade some gear and t-shirts.
Final Thoughts
I am posting this off of bootleg internet at a gast station. I will try to get photos up but if they don't make it that is why. Thanks for reading.
I’m on a boat
Today has been a very exciting day in Turkey. After doing a two-a-day yesterday in training we had the morning off to go see the Bosphorus. The Bosphorus is a strait that runs between Europe and Asia. We traveled their via bus and purchased tickets for a boat ride that lasted roughly 45 minutes. We were treated to some wonderful views. It was very nice to be in the nice cool air as opposed to the crowded city. While on the boat many of us tried a some hot cider that comes in small intricate glasses. I have seen many of the street vendors drinking from these same glasses and have been curious as to what they were consuming. The cider was similar to hot apple cider, but maybe just a bit more sweet and sugary. They also brought out some wafer like snacks that tasted very similar to vanilla wafers.
After we were done with the boat trip we had around an hour of free time to explore the surrounding area. There were a lot fisherman on the bridge across the strait who didn't particularly like getting there picture taken. They had a number of hooks on there line at once. It appeared that they were bringing 6-7 fish in at the same time. Someone suggested that they were herring. There was also a tunnel that ran beneath the street that connected the pier with a sort of square/market. The tunnel was jam packed with people and merchants who were selling every sort of trinket you can imagine. I spent lot of time in the market. They were selling many different kinds of food including lamb, coffee, nuts, fruits, cheese, and fish. There were very open with giving us free samples of everything. It was a much more relaxed environment than the markets near our hotel which practically force the fake cologne/jeans/sunglasses/shirts into your bags. Don't get me wrong they were still active in trying to sell us their fair but they did so in a much more charming method. We were also on our own for lunch. Off the pier they were selling some fish sandwichs. They came with onions and lettuce and we had a bottle of lime juice and salt at our mini table to garnish them with.
We had a bit of a long ride on the bus back to our hotel. It was a bit more intense in the traffic, but we have complete faith in our bus driver. He got us back safely through some very sketchy traffic. There was only a short amount of down time before the guys had to go back an train with the Turkish National Team. I elected to skip out on this training and instead Gabe Re and I head to a site called the Basilica Cistern. It was about a mile hike both ways but was completely worth the trip. We walked down a couple flights of stairs and were treated to a wonderful views of the ancient site. There were small fish swimming around in the shallow water.
On our trip back from the Cistern we strolled through a flea market. Everyone just layed down a rug/newspaper with all sorts of trinkets, knives, necklaces, shoes, and pretty much anything else you can imagine. Gabe saw a camera that caught his eye, but after some negiotiating that involved exchanging prices back and forth on an iphone display, they could not come to an agreement on the price.
After the flea market we headed back to the hotel and have now met up with the rest of the team. I am not for sure what is on tap for tonight, but I will make sure to take some pictures and keep you up to date with the blog posts.
Lets get our Gures on
I was told that there were some loud construction noises as well as the regular singing coming from the nearby mosques this morning. This did not disturb me in the least even though I was sleeping directly adjacent to an open window. I guess I was a bit tired.
We had some breakfast in our hotel restaurant. It mainly consisted of breads, eggs, fruits and a little meat and cheese. There was also a nice variety of jams and jellies available to us. After breakfast we headed down to a large market about 6 blocks away. Again we were met with the intense sales techniques from the Turkish Vendors. I must admit that I am a pretty good negotiater. I talked down a vendor on a bottle of cologne from 50 lira to 5 lira all without saying a word or expressing any intent whatsoever to buy a product. There is an extremely large network of indoor shops that sells a crazy amount of materials. I could have spent a much longer time shopping, but we had to get going as our bus was leaving for wrestling practice at 9:00am.
We headed out to a very nice sports complex. It had six international style mats set up. Plenty of room to spread out and get a workout in. I walked around the complex and visited the other sports venues. They had buildings for Judo, Volleyball, Tae Kwon Doe, Volleyball, Ping Pong, Basketball and Swimming. After working out for about an hour we had a simple dinner in the sports complex cafeteria. The main course reminded me of salisbury steak. It was served along with some tasty soup and the obligatory tomatoes and cucumbers.
After lunch we drove back to the hotel. We all stayed up really late the night before so everyone was dozing off on the drive home. Once we got to the hotel we were allowed 2 hours before we had to get back on the bus for the next practice. I elected to take a nap as I felt very exhausted. By the time I woke up it was 10 minutes before we had to leave. We had a quick walk to the bus. It was rush hour so traffic was a bit of a nightmare. Luckily our skillful bus driver cut through traffic very easily. There are some pretty close calls though. I rememeber one of our wrestlers saying 'I can't believe they drive this close to each other. I wouldn't even park that close to a car.'
Our competition in the evening was much tougher than earlier in the day. Our guide mentioned that it was the Turkish National team. We are unsure as to what age groupd but from my own eyes I wouldn't be surprised if it was a senior level group. This difficulty was compounded by the fact that the coach who was running the practice would rattle off a number of commands in the Turkish language and then immediatley start the drill. Most of our wrestlers were left clueless as to what was actually going on.
After our last practice we headed back to the hotel to have dinner. The hotel was serving us a dish similar to the chicken and rice that we had the night before. Gabe Re, Ty Swarm, Coach Bauer and myself elected to head out to the streets and find some greasy food as an alternative. We settled on a dish called doner. It reminded me of a sort of steak burrito crossed with a gyro. Very delicious. After our very tasty dinner we took a trip to a confectionary shop just down the street. I purchased a sampler of Baklava. It was some of the very best I have had in my life. I have a little left over, but I do not think that it will last for long.
Oh by the way Tyler Baker got his bag. He smells much better.
I have heard talk that we are going for some sort of boat ride tomorrow. I will make sure to keep you posted as to what we are up to. Till then.
PS Gures is wrestling in Turkish. Title quote provided by Dalton Jenson.
Paris and Istanbul First Day
The long flight over from Chicago to Paris was pleasant. Air France provides wonderful service. A good selection of movies to make the flight go by quickly. I a huge fan of airline food so I was happy when they served a wonderfully compartmentalized dinner consisting of chicken, tapioca pudding, cheese, rolls, and rice. After getting a bit of sleep we awoke to a nice light breakfast (again served in compartments) before we finally arrived at Charles De Gaulle Airport. We have been bumming around the airport for the last few hours cringing at how expensive everything is. I think I just consumed the most expensive Diet Coke of my life. I have enjoyed watching all of our wrestlers speak all of the French they know in any sort of accent they can muster. I even heard one ponder the idea that if they curse in France would they say 'Pardon my English' rather than 'Pardon my French.' I am not sure about that one. We were treated to a free 15 minute trial internet session. Everyone used the time to quickly check email, but most importantly to get on facebook and throw up a quick status update and to check in at the airport. I am guilty of this. How often do you get to update your status from Paris, France? I will not get this posted before my 15 minute session runs out so it will have to do till we find some connectivity in Istanbul. UPDATE - We arrived to Istanbul in the late afternoon. Getting through customs is always a bit of a hassle when you have thirty people to account for. Tyler Baker had some unfortunate luck in losing his baggage, but Air France assured us that it will be delivered to our hotel tomorrow. We got to see a true master at work seeing our Bulgarian Bus Driver navigate the extremely narrow Turkish streets. This guy was like a surgeon. He brought us to the Kecik Hotel. This hotel seems like it was really classy when it was first built, but then they decided to not do any maintenence on it for 25 years. We had a short time to get some much needed showers, that felt really nice as many (by many I mean all) of us hadn't showered showered for around 60 hours. The hotel has free wifi so we all had to have a quick internet check to get our first posts on facebook from Turkey. We immediately headed down to dinner in the hotel restaurant. The dinner consisted mostly of vegetables. Cabbage, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, and a brothy soup that had a mint like after taste. The only meat that we hade was a chicken dish that was delivered to table and some beef looking items that I am pretty sure was liver. We also had some of the darkest hottest tea that I have ever seen in my life. We thought it was coffee at first. After dinner we did a bit of walking in the nearby shopping district. We quickly learned that the Turkish Vendors are very aggresive. We have some workouts planned for tomorrow and a competition planned for the day after. I will keep you up to date on the results. Until then....
