As I said in the previous post, Erek and I took the train to Sundsvall--2 hr N. for the Mosquito cup (youth team). Let me begin by saying the mosquitos are crazy out here!!! I guess they aren't even bad yet either--love being next to water, but it has its downfalls--I'm going to love bug spray this summer. The daylight is still mind boggling--you could practice until 10:00pm on the field if you wanted too! They say in the winter it gets dark at about 3:00pm though---that's one dark winter. Back to the train--The main youth mentor/coach, Olle, e-mailed us our tickets. The ticket prices vary all of the time, and for this trip, it costed about 145 SEK (about $18). Once we asked around played the lost American card to find our way onto the correct loading area, we found our seats. It was very comfortable--large windows, plenty of leg room--like a jumbo luxury plane. Neither of us had ever ridden on a train before, so again, we were probably too excited for such an ordinary experience in Sweden. We never had to check-in with our tickets and nobody approached us--so technically we didn't even need to pay for our ride--We later found out that they announce that we are supposed to present our tickets to the stuardists as soon as we board, but it was in Swedish, so we had no clue haha. The train ride was awesome--so relaxing--they go roughly 200 or so Km/Hr--125 Mi./Hr. It was quite smooth--felt like we were floating--no noise--almost too quiet most of the time. The scenery was breathtaking--a foggy, woodland appeal.
We arrived in Sundsvall 2 hrs. later at the station to be picked up by Olle and a couple youth players, Mersad and Tim. We proceeded to head to the school that the league arranges for every team to stay. Instead of getting expensive hotels, the league makes a deal with the local high school to allow players and coaches to sleep over night in the classrooms for no money. We all had some air mattresses and blankets and pillows--felt like I was back in camp or at a friends house having a "sleepover" like when I was 8 years old. I entered a room of chaos--13-14 year olds locked in a room for a night--can't believe I even slept! After numerous pillow fights, flatulent releases in peoples faces, candy, obnoxious jokes etc... Erek and I finally fell asleep. It is so laid back here, that even a girl on the team stayed in the same room with us. It is not odd, but if this were a team trip in America, most parents or "persons in charge" would not allow co-ed bunking. It didn't help that the curtains were not very strong and the sunlight shined in the whole night. Overall, it was a good time--we woke up the next morning and set for the field. The first game went fairly well--our team is getting much better at holding runners on and picking off players. The only thing we need to continue to improve is our hitting--still not getting through the ball enough. This game was a big improvement from the last tournament. We again fell to Leksand, but in reality, they only had one or two really good innings and we held them off for a few more pretty evenly. Though the players lost, it is important to let them know that we could have won if it weren't for a few things here and there. We have a good team--we're just not experienced enough like other teams. They still had fun though--dancing on bases, chanting out songs (MERCY MERCY MERSAAAAAD)--this team will never fail to enjoy their time. After the first game, we went to a local kitchen or restaurant in town and had lunch. Again, the league arranges breakfast and lunch for players and coaches--awesome! I soon found my love for filmmjolk (or sour milk). It sounds disgusting, but Swedes love it and though I was first skeptical, I quickly became addicted. It is basically plain yogurt, but with a slightly more sour taste---mix it with fruit spread and some cereal and it is heavenly. I bought some as soon as I returned home. I am really going to miss breakfast food from Sweden when I head back to the U.S. The second game was much better. We were expected to beat Rattvik, but after a lot of late walks and mistakes, they pulled away and the time limit expired. Although time limits are frustrating, this tournament's was much longer at an hour and a half. Again, our team is moving forward and I can't wait until we get a few more practices in before the next tournament--we are sure to win. I also found it crazy that Sundsvall has the only baseball shop in Sweden and the products they sold weren't even authentic! The Rawlings batting gloves were generically made or fake. I guess it would be just like floorball in America. Everywhere there are floorball sticks in athletic stores just like there are wiffle bats in America. Pretty much take everything that is baseball in America and switch it to hockey or floorball and that is Sweden.
After heading home, it was another week of camps. This was our last full week of summer camps for individual schools around the area since school is now finished. As usual it was more fun than actual work. On Thursday, one of our teammates, Cargis, who works in Stockholm decided to offer us a ride into town on Thursday since we did not have a camp during that day. We left early (about 6:00am), and I was surprised I was able to move after drinking much red wine the previous night over a dinner date (thanks--you know who you are!). I was able to get some extra sleep in the hr and half drive, but was unable to stay that way for long because of so much to see in Stockholm.
I gotta get to bed---ending early!!--TO BE CONTINUED...
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