Wolves in Switzerland: Nathan Judah and Tim Spiers' Day two diary
Seven o'clock and it was time to enjoy my first official morning in the beautiful town of Gruyere.
The birds were singing, the river was flowing and a strange snoring sound from the room below me was hurtling through the floorboards at a rate of knots.
TS: I don't snore.
Being on the top floor has its advantages, nice double bed and a partial private living room, but I'd forgotten basic chemistry, heat rises!
I was surprised that my room was not being frequented by five large Germans in nothing but a small towel to be quite honest.
Time to get some fresh air and explore my surroundings further - a lovely four-mile jog did just the trick.
My route through the rolling hills reminded me of a run I recently completed through Whitmore Reans.
TS: You'd have to run if you were ever spotted around there.
Quick bit of brekkie and it was on our way to Wolves' training base on the outskirts of Geneva.
The Austria set up was decent, but this is a different level!
The pitch is in great shape, the facilities around the complex are first class and the scenery is just terrible.
Nuno greeted Tim and I with a smile and a handshake as each player walked past us one-by-one.
Their individual reaction of seeing the Express and Star's version of Sesame Street's Bert and Ernie is maybe one we'll leave for the podcast!
Don't forget, these players have been taking part in double sessions almost every day since they reported back to Compton two weeks ago.
The training took place in searing heat, but the the boys look in fantastic shape and are stronger than ever.
Each player has had an individual training programme over the summer and it looks to have already paid dividends.
TS: They were each given special watches which tracked their progress.
Good job they didn't bother with you, it would just have tracked an arm being raised every five minutes when you clicked your fingers at Jeeves.
A training game finished the morning session with the key requirement being protecting the ball.
There was one moment of individual brilliance from Mr Ruben Neves who curled a beautiful ball into the bottom corner giving Will Norris absolutely no chance.
And for those wondering, yes, it was from outside the box.
Warm down, ice baths and back to the hotel for a quick feed and sleep before the afternoon session.
Eat, sleep, conquer, repeat is the motto this season!
TS: I cannot believe you've just given a report of the session without mentioning the highlight, i.e. when an unnamed Wolves staff member, blissfully unaware who you are (lucky him), asked (no, demanded) you take some bottles of water out onto the pitch.
You mumbled something akin to 'yes' before the man returned 20 seconds later apologising for mistaking you for someone else.
Don't these guys know you were once the face of a premier American children's television station?!
Our first vid of the season followed training, although it nearly didn't happen when 'someone' forgot to bring the tripod in the car
But the delightful Wolves media team came to the rescue and allowed us to use their precious equipment in return for a £150 non-refundable deposit.
A quick stop on the way home for another food shop.
We couldn't look more like foreigners, walking aimlessly down the aisles with no sense of real purpose or reason, not quite knowing what we are supposed to purchase.
Still, Spiers managed to find some amusing products to pass the time while racking up another huge shopping bill.
Upon our return to Chez Spudah, it was a late lunch and a debrief before we got the laptops back out.
For those of you who don't know, I write a shorter version of this diary entry for the paper and like all good journalists do, they get their copy checked before they file.
I made the grave mistake of giving Spiers my laptop open up on Twitter....what then ensued will be remembered for a very long time and I shall have my revenge.
Make sure you keep one eye open tonight Timmy!
Dinner was served, pasta for one guy, salmon for the other - you can guess who's who.
A glass of Malbec and the documentary Icarus finished off the night superbly.
Now it's time for a good old sleep as we've been going for 34 of the last 40 hours (small violins please)!
Basel later today in the Uhrencup - looking forward to meet the Wolves peeps!
Laterz
