Travel journal

Young athletes from Hungary kept a journal during their stay in Moscow.

Thursday, August 4th, 2011
We are finally here, in Foresta Toricana Hotel for the International Winners' Games. This morning we went to Moscow on a tour. It took us almost an hour and a half to get to Moscow because of traffic. As we were told, any hour is a rush hour in Moscow, day or night. When we got to Red Square, there was a guide already waiting for us. We got to see the world famous church with the nine onion domes (St. Basil's Cathedral), the main gates of the Kremlin, Lenin's Mausoleum, the State Historical Museum, the world famous department store GUM and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Then we went to the biggest cathedral in Russia – Cathedral of Christ the Savior. We admired the great view of the Kremlin from the bridge leading to the Cathedral. Then we went to the Arbat district, and to Novodevichy Convent (in the old days noble girls and young women were brought there to become nuns). We had lunch in the park in front of the Convent and afterwards we were taken to Vorobyovy Gory. You can see the whole Moscow from there – the sky-risers, the Luzhniki Stadium, the building of the Russian Academy of Science, the skyscrapers of the new financial district that is currently under construction, and the building of Lomonosov Moscow State University.

After sightseeing we went back to the hotel, had dinner and went to the introduction get-together. We were all split into teams so that there would be kids from all the different countries in each team. We had several funny competitions: we drew, danced and jumped around. It was so much fun! In the end, there was a disco dance for everyone. Oh, and we also got our T-shirts and sweatshirts.
When we went to bed, we couldn't wait for the next morning; we were supposed to get our very own schedules. There would be time for each of our own competitions. We can't wait to see how our team does tomorrow.

Friday, August 5, 2011
9:00 am – we had breakfast, 10:30 am – there was a warm-up before the competition. After the warm-up we had some free time. Some went to jump on trampolines, which had grown on the lawns by the hotel like castles made of air. Some went to different crafts workshops, decorated T-shirts or had their faces painted.

At 12:00 pm the Opening Ceremony began. Each team marched onto the field in identical T-shirts. Ours were light green. After the opening there was a dance show, some tumbling and gymnastics show, and then Russian pop-stars took stage. And then finally the competitions began. Today we had running or supported walking, shooting and table tennis. Our team did very well, especially in shooting – we won 5 gold medals! After the competitions there was an award ceremony. All in all, our team got 8 gold medals, 2 silver medals and 2 bronze medals. In the evening we had a football master-class. Four players from Torpedo, a Russian football team, came over and they helped us get ready for the next day's football games. Then there was a dance. AND, there was bowling too!

Saturday, August 6, 2011
At 11:00 am competitions began. Today we had football, chess and swimming. Our chess players played 6 games against their opponents. Football teams were made up of players from different countries. As for swimming, boys and girls competed separately, in three age groups. Again, our team did very well today. We got 5 gold, 3 silver, and 1 bronze medal. Five of our football players got a gold medal on top of that, and we also got a silver medal and six bronze medals in football.

After the award ceremony we took pictures, and at 7:00 pm teams went out to the field for a Closing Ceremony. Then there was a concert and a tumbling show. And we got presents! We also gave presents to our team leaders and translators. When it became dark outside, there were fireworks. And there was some time left to dance.

Sunday, August 7, 2011
In the morning, after breakfast, we all gathered in front of the hotel, loaded our suitcases into a bus and it took us to downtown Moscow, to the Kremlin. We went to see the Tsar Pushka (the biggest cannon in the world) and the Tsar Bell (the biggest bell in the world, its mass is over 200 tons, and it's over 6 meters tall!), we saw the Kremlin court and Cathedral of Annunciation (Blagoveshensky Sobor). After seeing all the sights, we went souvenir shopping and then we were taken to the airport. At Sheremetyevo Airport we said goodbye to our awesome team leaders. Our flight was an hour late, so we spent that time wandering around the shops. At Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport we finally saw our parents waiting for us. After a long goodbye, we all went home, treasuring our memories of the Games and new friends.

All in all, the Hungarian team brought home 21 medals: 13 gold, 5 silver and 3 bronze medals. Team competitions brought Hungarian athletes 12 medals: 5 gold, 1 silver and 6 bronze medals. All in all, they brought home 33 medals!

Hungarian team would like to extend their gratitude to their sponsors: Carrier Company, the Szabadics family, insurance companies Aegon, Uniqa Biztosító and Groupama Garancia BiztosítóUniqa, Inner Well Company and Düh Law Firm, Kopperdák Stúdió, Sorpon Bank Burgenland, MagNet Bank and Walter Autó Sopron Company.