Three-Part Blog Post Part 1: Ruhpolding

Sorry for not posting in a while. I just returned from Minsk, Belarus where there was very terrible internet. I have a lot of catching up to do and a lot of things to talk about here so I will be launching “Past, Present and Future: Brian’s trip to Europe and the upcoming months”. Basically it will be a three part epic blog post that will be posted in three consecutive days. Today is obviously part one.

Past

Our first day in Ruhpolding, Germany was actually an off day (and actually in Inzell, Germany). So we decided to go do something touristy. Every trip to Europe is usually wrapped a race so there is usually never enough time to explore some of the cool features Europe has to offer. But with this free day and nowhere to travel we decided to visit Salzberg, Austria. Salzberg was a really neat city. It had the classic European winding roads and small alleyways. But what made Salzberg unique was the huge castle on the cliff overlooking the city. We got as close as possible but didn’t want to pay to get in.

Weird sculpture in Salzberg

Street in Salzberg with shops and resturaunts

A cool church. And one of 200 Mozart cutouts  we saw.

A selfie with the castle

The view from the base of the castle

Mozart's birth place

Inside of a huge Church. It really makes you feel small and powerless. 

Maddie Phaneuf checking out one of the shrines.

Found all the people.

There was A LOT of snow in Ruhoplding so it made for some really nice skiing. The range is protected from the wind by some huge mountains surrounding the venue. It was a drastic change from the windy range in Otepaa. We spent a week in Ruhpolding last year in preparation for Euro Champs and the course is just as tough as I remember. Lots of long steep up hills that are good for spectators but hard on the legs.

A cool thing we got to do in Ruhpolding I had never done before was shoot in an indoor shooting range. The targets were electronic so you had a monitor right next to you telling you where your shots went. We did a 30/30 test (30 prone and 30 standing. Scored. Best possible score is 600.) And despite having a very shaky standing portion I was able to get a decent score of 433. A few days later we decided to go back and do another test (because the first one was just so darn fun!) My goal for this test was to really focus on the standing stage for that is what makes or breaks the score. My prone was consistent with last test but my standing was 20 points better resulting in a 450. A new personal record! My goal for the past season has been 500 so I am slowly but surely making my way there.

My electronic target after my shooting test. cool to see the trends of my shooting.

The indoor shooting range.

a mountain overlooking the venue in Ruhpolding.

Biathlon advertising at the venue

Clare Egan making her World Cup debut got the attention of Euro Sport.
  

Germany was cool and all but it was time to get down to business. Junior worlds in Minsk, Belarus was right around the corner. My first impression of Minsk was the place looked really tired. At the venue Siena Ellingson and I were interviewed by a local news station and they asked what we thought of place. I told them I heard the venue was new, I am excited to check it out and race there but in reality I am not too impressed. When we first showed up we realized our visas had the wrong date written on it (which was our fault) but thankfully they were able to clear that up. Then there was a long process of checking rifle paperwork, and finding lost luggage. The bus ride to the venue was probably on the same bus my coach Art Stegen rode when he was there in the 70s, the buss creeked, rattled and shook the whole way. Once there, we had to check in our rifles because due to national laws all rifles must be kept in a locked vault. The city of Minsk is really grey and depressing. It probably doesn’t help that there is a layer of fog over the city but everything sort of seems stale and tired. There is a lot of construction being done but it also seems like there are a lot of buildings that could use some fixing up.

The Arena that is home to Dynamo Minsk! the Minsk hockey team in the KHL (Russian hockey league)

lots of grey and lots of construction. 

The breathtaking view out my hotel window!

There was a little bit of sickness going around the team in Germany but I was able to fend it off for the most part. The first day in Minsk however I woke up with a bit of congestion. I was not worried because I knew I had some time until my first race.

Tune in tomorrow to read about Jr. Worlds and the rest of the trip to Belarus. Plus much more pictures. 

Siena Ellingson being interviewed by a local TV station.