Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Water Polo European Tour Update #2
6/28/2007 8:00:00 AM | Men's Water Polo
June 28, 2007
Entry by Todd Newcomb, Bucknell Associate AD
For other entries, please click here.
The Bison took to the pool at the end of Day 1 to face the Hungarian club team from BVSC. Although the team members for BVSC were mostly 17, they gave the Bison all they could handle and introduced the Orange and Blue to polo Hungarian style. In a controlled scrimmage, the teams played to an 11-11 draw and Bucknell was able to take away much from the experience.
Still suffering the remains of jet-lag, the Bison started slowly. BVSC jumped out to an early 4-1 lead and their pressure forced Bucknell into some sloppy play. As the periods progressed, the Bison adjusted, and in the final quarter scored several transition goals to forge the tie. Jason Rechel led all Bucknell scorers with six goals, while Peter O'Keefe, Lee Anderson, Mark Masterson, Josh Sunday and Alex Lovell each tallied a marker. Luke Belenky and Nick Donahue split time in goal, registering six and seven saves, respectively.
Following the scrimmage, the coach from the BVSC Club team shared some of his knowledge with the Bison players, coaching them up on some new techniques for pressuring the ball. All and all, it was a great introduction to some competition here in Hungary.
The long day finally came to an end, and the team enjoyed its first night of sleep at Hotel Romantik.
JUNE 28
The team awoke and sat down for its first breakfast in Hungary at 9:15 a.m. To some it was a bit of a culture shock. Hungarian breakfasts are a bit different than the bacon and eggs one might be accustomed to in the U.S. Our breakfast here consisted of toast, jams and cold lunch meat. After about 15 baskets of toast were brought out by our hosts here at the Romantik, the team had finally had its share and was ready to go.
We boarded our "Hungarian Smolley's Express" bus and headed off for a full morning of sightseeing.
Before I recount the beautiful things we were able to see, I need to take a moment and introduce you to our two guides. The first I mentioned in yesterday's post, and is the gentleman who coaches the club team in Eger (our next stop during the tour), Emir Toth. The second is Miklos Gerendas (Mike to us!), a native of Hungary who attended and played water polo at Cal in the United States. Both have been great. Mike in particular is a very fascinating individual who has a wealth of knowledge about his homeland. We passed the street he was born on today, saw the church he was baptized in, and even heard stories about his participation in the revolution in the mid-50s when he removed a gun off a dead German soldier to continue the fight! We owe both Emir and Mike a huge thank you for all they have done thus far.
Back to the sightseeing - we went to Heroes' Square first on the Pest side of the River Danube (which, by the way, is also the side that our hotel is on). A gorgeous square contains statues of all the past kings of Hungary, beginning with the first one - Saint Stephen who was responsible for the introduction of Christianity to Hungary. The square also included Hungary's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
We then re-boarded the bus and took off down Andrassy Boulevard towards the Parliament building. On the way we passed Hungary's Opera House, the city's biggest church -- St. Stephen's Basilica, and the Four Seasons Hotel (which is the #1 rated hotel in their chain). We walked around the Parliament building, admiring its detailed architecture, and then posed for a group photo in front of the River Danube. On the way back, Coach Abdou posed for a photo next to a statue of the St. Matthias Church, and gave them an hour to walk around and take in some sites on Castle Hill.
The coaches and I stayed with our capable guides and walked past the president's house and to the palace. Yes - I did say walked right past the president's house! The president is merely a figure head here in this country - he shakes many hands and poses for photos but does not have power. That explained the lack of security present, and the ability for us to literally walk up to his front door. Mike also informed us that the Buda side of the river is, and always has been, largely residential, while the Pest side has been more industrial.
We returned to the hotel, passing over the Chain Bridge (first bridge to connect the Buda and Pest sides of the River Danube) in time for a great lunch and some rest before returning to the pool for a 5 p.m. practice and scrimmage session with the BVSC club team.
