Back in Turkey!

Killing time - at the wrong airport.

As to be expected, we encountered a few hiccups along the road, but made it into Erzurum with all our gear last night.  No matter how you do it it's a long journey to get here.  We flew to Munich on Thursday/ Thursday night and spent the day in Munich.  (Actually in the Munich airport hotel, the Moevenpick).  The highlights of Friday included the epic breakfast buffet at the hotel, and continuing the traditional of always seeming to get lost when we're in Munich while going for a run from the Moevenpick. 

Yesterday we flew to Istanbul and then to Erzurum.  We had almost 5 hours between flights, but needed most of it when we realized that our second flight was out of a different airport!  Apparently there aren't any direct flights from the main Istanbul airport to Erzurum, which our coach didn't realize that when he booked our tickets.  Anyways, it worked out just fine. The airlines arranged for a van and a driver for us to pile into, and we got a bit of a tour of the city on the hour long drive to other airport.  However, it would have been nice if we had known this ahead of time.  The Swedish Ski Team was on the same flights as us, and after getting their bags, took a bus from the airport,  rode on a ferry to an island for lunch, drove around the city a bit more, and then arrived at the next airport.  Someone on their team is organized.

Our itinerary. They say you should read the fine print...

It was a bright sunny day in Erzurum today.  They have a lot more snow since we were here at the beginning of the year, so the cross course is awesome.  We're staying at a different hotel than last time, but I'd say it's even nicer.  About half the teams are staying here - which is a lot of people between Jumping, Combined and Cross Country.  It's fun to be able to hang out with the cross country team and see some of the other athletes from around the world.  Tomorrow things get going with official training in the morning and opening ceremonies at night.