June 8, 2005
Monday brought an early wakeup call and a three-hour bus ride to Vienna. We
wandered the downtown area, parked near the State Opera and the art gallery and
went through Saint Stephen´s Cathedral -- built in the 14th century and with a
steeple 137 meters high. Vienna was beautiful, and the countryside was
well-manicured as we came over the border into the rollíng hills of Austria.
We then bussed an hour north back over the Czech border to the small town of
Valtice in the Moravia area. We stayed at the Hotel Hubertus, connected to the
Valtice Chateau, a magnificent structure once owned by the Lichtenstein family
since the 1400s. We had dinner in an authentic wine cellar and heard a lecture
about wine-growing in the area, with the only wine-growing school in the
country located right above the cellar.
On Tuesday morning we took a tour of the chateau. We all wore slippers over our
shoes because the hardwood floors throughout the castle need to be preserved.
It was a fascinating hour, with room after room of artwork and ornate decore.
We then bussed seven miles north to Lednice and stopped for a half-hour to see
the Lednice chateau and park, with beatiful grounds.
After the two-hour trip back to Prague, we headed to the region of Radotin where
we were invited to play a box lacrosse exhibition against the Lacrosse Club
Custodes, including many of the same players from Sunday´s game. The game was
played essentially on a hockey rink with an artificial surface and high fences
behind the goals. The game is much quicker, with a shorter field, a smaller
goal, five players plus a goalie -- and all substitutions on the fly. The Irish
played only with their underclassmen, plus assistant coach Dave Cornell and
volunteer assistant Hannon Wright who played in goal. The Irish fell behind
early 5-0 as they became accustomed to the strategy, then eventually cut the
lead twice to a single goal, as Cornell, Pat Walsh and Matt Karweck each scored
twice before Notre Dame fell 7-6 in a game that featured three periods of
running time. After the contest, the Radotin club team hosted a dinner for the
Irish players and coaches.
The agenda Wednesday features an afternon trip to Terezin, a former
concentration camp about an hour away from Prague.
