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Showing posts from 2011

Opening Night

Firsts. They all mean something special. First steps. First words. First kisses. First cars. To every individual, the meaning of firsts is different. For the players in the NHL, the first game could mean anything. The first game overseas. First game back in a homeland in so many years. First shot to make an impression in the NHL. Tonight, the Detroit Red Wings will embark on their 2011-2012 journey. It will be the first of 82 games. There are quite a few firsts for this team, despite its very veteran status. The first game behind the Hockeytown benches for both Jeff Blashill and Bill Peters. First game in red and white for new Wings Fabian Brunnstrom and Ian White. The first game of the (possibly) last season for one of the best defensemen of all-time. First year no members of the Grind Line will suit up. First year without the Wizard of Os(good). As stupid as it is, the first game with numbers on the front of the helmets. The first game after a disappointing end to l

EuroTrip Adventure Recap - Picture Post

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Ok, so apparently I didn't take any pictures in Cologne, Brussels, Munich, or the Alpine Center. But here's what I've got from the various cities: Paris Versailles Amsterdam/Edam/Volderdam Heidelberg For reference, that's a person at the bottom (sorry it's a bit blurry) Lucerne

EuroTrip Adventure Recap - Continued

Day 12 - Lucerne After waiting for Mad Mike for about 15 minutes because he overslept, we headed to Heidelberg Castle. Inside, there is the largest wine barrel in the world. It took a couple flights of stairs to get on top of it. Very cool. We then headed to the Black Forest and the Rheinfalls. On the way, though, we hit a traffic jam. We ended up sitting at a dead stop for over 2 hours. We later found out a truck had gotten in a major accident. So we ended up missing both the Rheinfalls and the Black Forest. After arriving in Lucerne, Shannon and I got dinner at a riverside pub. Lucerne was simply beautiful. Everywhere you looked was like a postcard. We ended the night with the Roadhouse bar, around the corner from the hotel. Kathi made a rare late-night appearance, which made it even better. Day 13 - Mt. Pilatus and Swiss Dinner We finally got to sleep in for a change. After waking, we went into town and Shannon bought a Swiss Army Knife. We met the rest of

EuroTrip Adventure Recap - Continued

OK, so from here on out, I'm going to just do written descriptions, and then will make one entire post dedicated to pictures. Sorry for the shift in philosophy. Day 7- Paris City Tour After waking up early, we bussed into Paris and went to a perfume museum. In addition to smelling of a smorgasbord of different perfumes, it wasn't really that cool, but we did see a random female tennis player shooting a commercial or something for her new scent. We bussed around the city with a guide, first stopping briefly at the Eiffel Tower for pictures. We continued on and saw a lot of the major sights. We ended at Notre Dame and had plenty of time to roam around. After lunch at a roadside café, we visited a small, cool bookstore that sold mainly books in English. We then walked back to Notre Dame and toured the inside, even stopping to sign the guest book. After Notre Dame was the Louvre. We didn't go inside but took pictures outside and explored the gardens. At the end

EuroTrip Update

Wow. Really disappointed I've been so slow in posting again. If anyone's actually reading this, I promise I'll have some stuff up in the next couple days. Been busy with a couple things, so doing this has been the last thing on the list. Also, I'd like to send a big shout-out to the boys over at Winging It In Motown . I've recently been added to their "blog-roll", and with that kind of honor comes great responsibility. Once Red Wings training camp begins, I will be making a concerted effort to get 2-3 Wings-centered posts up each week. I'll still keep this an open-forum blog, covering everything from my travels to all of the Detroit sports teams, but the Wings obviously hold a very special place in my heart. Very much looking forward to becoming a part of the Red Wings blogosphere. Cheers, and see you in a couple days.

EuroTrip Adventure Recap - Days 5 and 6

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Welcome back! Day 5 - Free Day in London With this being a free day, we decided to go see some things that weren't on the planned agenda. We woke up and had breakfast, and then joined Kristy, Michael, and John P for a trip to Windsor Castle. First thing we did was get to Paddington Train Station. Anyone remember Paddington Bear from when we were kids? This is where he's from. We took a train to Slough, where we changed trains to Windsor. The whole process was easy and efficient. The change at Slough was kind of cool because, as we waited for the train to Windsor, a high-speed train back to Paddington came through at about 100mph. Very cool stuff. Brief sidenote before I begin. Apparently, the Queen had been staying in the castle the night before we visited and had left to head to Dublin just about an hour before we arrived. So close. Now, Windsor is a very quaint, almost stereotypical "Old English" town. Narrow streets, old construction, cobblestone streets.

EuroTrip Adventure Recap - Day 4

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Welcome back! We woke on day 4 preparing for a London city tour. Breakfast was, again, typical European fare - bread, bread, meat, and more bread. No beer this time, or for the rest of the trip, unfortunately. After breakfast, we had a brief walk to Hyde Park where we met our tourguide, Simon. Simon first walked us through Hyde Park, which was massive. While walking through, we saw Kensington Palace, one of the royal residences. Even from afar, it was massive. As we walked further, we encountered a Princess Diana memorial park and some of the royal guards on horseback, which we would see more of later. Exiting the park, we walked through Hyde Park Corner, one of the busiest roundabouts in the UK. Pretty cool, but nothing you couldn't see elsewhere. Following the park, we took a short walk to Buckingham Palace. One of the reasons we had gone to Buckingham that day was to see the Changing of the Guard. Well, luck was not with us on this day. The Queen was making her first

EuroTrip Adventure Recap - Days 1, 2, and 3

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Welcome back to the Datsyuk and Friends blog! After an extremely lengthy absence, I am returning to broadcast the escapades of my monthlong European journey. A little background about the trip before I begin. The trip was presented to me by my parents as a graduation gift. The trip was led by college alumni travel organization AESU. I have to say this trip was really fantastic simply due to its organized nature. Everything was planned down to the second, which was really nice given the length and breadth of the trip. I traveled with about 40 other graduates from Michigan State, the University of North Carolina, and Georgia Tech University, as well as my parents and my girlfriend, Shannon. I met so many great people on this trip and will have lifelong friends as a result. I couldn't have spent a month in a better way. Without further ado, here is the recap of my month in Europe! Day 1 - Travel to London Quick note: My family and I left for London a day early. This was for r