Europe Travels

Europe Travels
December 2017
 
A little about the tracks we slid on in Europe:
 
La Plagne, France
19 curves
French Alps
 
Igls, Austria
15 curves, 14 timed (One of the curves is part of the breaking stretch)
 
St. Moritz, Switzerland
These curves are named, not numbered (Sunny, Horseshoe, Telephone, etc.)
Swiss Alps
 
Telephone got its name because so many people would crash out of Horseshoe they would have to call for help. This track is built up every year with only snow. Also, this is where bobsleigh started.
 
We hit (but didn’t crash, though) so hard out of the curve called Horseshoe in Switzerland I literally saw stars. I made a really loud “ughhhh” sound and my pilot heard. We laugh about it now. I’m just excited I don’t get dizzy anymore. Thank you, Jesus. 
 
A few things about the trip:
 
Nutella is everywhere and served everywhere. Like butter in America. 
 
You don’t see pickup trucks anywhere. 
 
It snowed 90% of the time. 
 
I slid with the Australian pilot going to this year’s games and also a former World Cup German pilot (male) for practice/fun. 
 
In Austria, we had no dryer for our clothes, but our floors were heated. 
 
McDonald’s have bakery’s in them here. 
 
You need a prescription for ibuprofen. 
 
Chow means hello and goodbye. That can get confusing. 
 
Anywhere we went we got asked if we wanted still water or prickled (sparking). 
 
An interesting conversation I had:
Bob? No, sparkling. 
(When you don’t know another language, obsessed with sparkling water and in a grocery store...
I was looking at the waters, an employee saw my coat and said Bob? I thought he meant what kind of water do I want so I said, “no, sparkling” and from then on he thought I did Skeleton.) 
 
We spent Christmas at our Swiss pilot friend’s house and with our Australians in Lucerne, Switzerland. 
 
It’s interesting how all other countries know their language and pretty fluent in English too. I’m just like, well, I know what “mas o menos” means in Spanish. I really need to learn other languages. 
 
You realize how everything is so convenient in America. For example, I will not miss scrambling for Euro/Swiss Franc to use the bathroom at a gas station. 
 
I have to carry around my helmet, spikes and booty covers (aka rubber covers for my I-spikes) in my carry-on luggage. Makes for a heavy bag, me being uncomfortably hot and extra security checks. 
 
It’s crazy to think I have friends from so many different countries now; Australia, Austria, Germany, France, Romania, Switzerland. 
 
Incredibly thankful for travel. On the flight home, I was overwhelmed with just how faithful God is. I’ve prayed for years to not be done with athletics and also to travel the world, not knowing how either would ever happen. These last 8 months I’ve gotten just a taste of how much bigger God’s plans are for me than I have for myself.
 
 #DontGiveUpOnHim #HeWillNeverGiveUpOnYou 
 
From the friendly blue skies, XOXO.  
 
P.S. If anyone is curious about bobsledding or has questions, feel free to ask! I had a million when I started.