Hey Stanford volleyball fans, Morgan and Jenna here to give you an update on our first two months in Dresden, Germany. On August 4th, after about 24 hours of travel, we were welcomed at the airport by the DSC staff. Our first stop in Germany was the hospital where we were tested for coronavirus. We then got our first glimpse of the city out of the car window as we were driven to our apartments for our mandatory quarantine. Madeleine Gates joined us for two weeks full of playing cards, body weight workouts, perusing new music, and lots of online shopping.
After 14 days and two negative COVID tests, we were finally allowed to leave our apartment and train with the team. It was exciting getting to meet and play with all of our new teammates, who are mostly from Germany with the exception of one, who is from Switzerland and another American, Naya Crittenden.
A normal day of preseason consisted of technical training and lift in the morning, followed by a 3 hour team practice in the evening that involved more live play. It took some time to adjust to the speed of the game and the different volleyball, but our amazing teammates helped make the transition a lot easier.
On our off days, we have a difficult time choosing where to explore because Dresden has so much to offer. We live right next to the Elbe River, which has beautiful wineries and castles alongside it. The river also separates the city into two parts: old and new. The older part has a beautiful City Center, which includes many historical buildings that date back to World War II. The newer part, called Neustadt, has amazing restaurants and a blend of unique cultures. We've really enjoyed learning about the city and German culture during our time here and are eager to continue!
We're looking forward to really getting into regular season games in the German league. There are some fantastic teams to compete against. We're really grateful that we have the opportunity to play volleyball matches in a time where there is much turmoil in the world with coronavirus.