Scenes of the team traveling from the United States through Ireland and finally to Munich, Germany.

Aug. 10, 2006

The Notre Dame men's tennis team begins its European Tour with a stop in Munich.

The team reunited on campus after summer break on Monday. Here sophomore Brett Helgeson and senior team captain Stephen Bass pose as they pack the bus on Tuesday to begin the European tour. Six members of the Irish - (clockwise from bottom left) Stephen Bass, Ryan Keckley, Eric Langenkamp, Sheeva Parbhu, Brandon Pierpont, and Brett Helgeson - boarded the bus outside the Eck Tennis Pavilion on Tuesday. Three other Notre Dame players would join the travel party in Europe. At O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, the team takes the opportunity to consume one final American meal - fittingly at McDonald's - before heading overseas.

After a seven-hour overnight flight into Dublin International Airport, the team was reunited with senior Barry King (center) - a native of Dublin. The group then took advantage of an eight-hour layover to buy bus tickets (shown) and head into the city center of the capital of Ireland, gaining a sneak peak at the Emerald Isle, where the Irish will spend the final days of their trip. Upon arriving in Ireland, 2006 graduate Eric Langenkamp - and the rest of the travel party - turned in their dollars for Euros, unfortunately at the cost of about $1.40 per Euro. The trip to Europe saw the Irish board a flight at 7 p.m. Central Time in Chicago and land seven hours later in Dublin at 7 a.m. local time, meaning it was time to start another day. The schedule took a toll on the travelers, who caught naps waiting for the flight to Munich.

The Dublin airport offered the ability to jump online - at the cost of 1 Euro for 10 minutes - and Stephen Bass shows here that no matter where you are in the world, you can always stay in touch with your friends via Facebook. On Wednesday, the team awoke refreshed in the southern German city of Munich and took to the streets to take in the culture. The group headed downtown to Marienplatz to see the most famous glockenspiel in the world, the Rathaus-Glockenspiel atop city hall, which appeared at 11 a.m. local time (5 a.m. Eastern). Consisting of 32 bells and 43 life-sized figures, the glockenspiel reenacts two stories from 16th-century German history.

Junior Brandon Pierpont captures the magic of the Rathaus-Glockenspiel on his video camera. The team spent Wednesday afternoon taking in what downtown Munich had to offer. Sophomore Santiago Montoya - who joined the group there after he had been vacationing in southern France - tries on a hat sporting the logo of FC Bayern Munich, the two-time defending champions of Germany's top soccer league, the Bundesliga. Brandon Pierpont shows his approval.

All photos by Bo Rottenborn.