Dartmouth Hockey Spends Day Traveling, Ends up in Denmark

Day One Photos

COPENHAGEN, Denmark ? On a rather warm, rainy day in December the Dartmouth men's hockey team began its trip of a lifetime in the parking lot of Thompson Arena.

After several trips up and down the hill with equipment bags and personal luggage that needed to be weighed, the Big Green loaded up in its silver Premier Coach for the two hour trip to Boston's Logan Airport.

An uneventful ride down interstates 89 and 93 gave the group time to nap and prepare for the long day ahead. Once at Logan, unloading took no time at all but to get everyone checked in was almost an hour. Thanks to Coach Gaudet's nervous energy the three-hours before departure was ample time.

The six-hour flight was actually very smooth and thanks to the in-flight entertainment seemed to go quickly. Peter Boldt was the big winner in the on-board trivia contest that pitted seatmate against seatmate. Connor Goggin was able to answer some of the most random questions but Boldt proved to be the trivia master.

After touching down and taxing for almost a half an hour the Big Green arrived at Amsterdam's Schipol Airport. The first thing we noticed is that everything is in English, no real language barrier here. The second thing that was noticed was that the connecting flight to Copehagen had been canceled.

A quick scramble at the check-in counter found everyone reconnected to a flight that was going to leave two hours later than planned. Food was the next thing on the list and thanks to a $5.00 euro voucher everyone was able to grab either McDonald's or Sbarro, ironically enough.

Once at the gate, naps were taken all around before the hour long flight to Copenhagen. Jim Gaudet was the best sleeper in the group as he was able to grab a nap where ever he landed. Once in Denmark we connected with Pars (pronounced Pear), our tour guide for the entire trip.

The airports in the part of the world were determined to be the coolest around, according to James Mello. Both in Amsterdam and Copenhagen, it was like walking through the fanciest mall back home. Shops are everywhere, music streaming out every storefront with lights and fancy windows. The main part of the Copenhagen airport is covered in the most beautiful wood flooring that we found out is native to Denmark and Southern Sweden.

We were then led out to the biggest, fanciest bus most of the group had ever seen. With blue, lights strung throughout the interior it was quickly dubbed the party bus. With the delay in flights the original bus tour of the city was put off until the morning so we were given an abbreviated tour of the capital of Denmark.

A drive-by of Tivoli Gardens, the oldest amusement park in the world, and the main town square peeked interest but it was the Olympic-sized rink we came too next that sparked the most interest. Mainly because most of the guys weren't sure how their legs would respond.

An abbreviated but arduous 40-minute practice ensued as numerous neighborhood kids came in to watch as part of a birthday party. Several members of the Gentofte Stars also came in to watch but there wasn't much to see as Coach Gaudet used the opportunity to just get the guys moving.

A drive back through town to the Radisson before a tremendous dinner was the final stop of the day. Tomorrow will be the drive around the city with a Copenhagen tour guide, a walk through Tivoli Gardens and the main Town Square before a 7:30 game against the Stars back at their home rink.

The trip has been funded through team fundraising activities and private donations during the past four years. The NCAA allows each varsity team to travel internationally once every four years and Ivy League rules prohibit the use of institutional budget funds for this purpose.

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