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AMSTERDAM- The Western Michigan men's basketball team landed safely in the Netherlands the morning of Monday, Aug. 21, arriving in Amsterdam for the first stop on their 10-day European tour.

The Broncos departed from Detroit Airport Sunday evening and endured an eight-hour flight, landing just before noon local time Monday. A six-hour difference from Kalamazoo, there was a bit of adjusting to the time change, but the team did well making the most of their first day in the city.

After meeting up with their tour guide from Basketball Travelers and checking into the hotel, the Broncos began to explore the city, first taking a short walking tour. The team had their first experience "shopping" as they visited a market for lunch. While exploring the city, everyone quickly became very aware of the unique traffic in Amsterdam. The capital of the Netherlands is filled with heavy bicycle and motor-bike traffic, as well as a tram system that runs alongside pedestrian walk ways, so one must be at full attention when navigating the city.

The Broncos stopped and took a team photo at the iconic "Iamsterdam" monument and then ventured on a tour of the city by canal boat. The end of the afternoon/early evening allowed the student-athletes to do some adventuring in small groups and take in the local cuisine.

"The trip so far has been a great experience," said junior point guard Thomas Wilder. "I like to see the different cultures and how they go about their daily lives. You definitely have to watch out for the bicycles, or you might get run over," Wilder said with a laugh.

The Broncos will start Tuesday off with a tour of the Anne Frank house and then will prepare for their first of four games while in Europe, playing the Meppel Giants later that evening.

"I am excited to play our first game, it will be fun to be able to play all together as a team," Wilder said. "For our practices leading up to the trip we played against each other so it will be great to get to play as a team."

On Thursday, Aug. 25, Western Michigan will bus from Amsterdam into Belgium, arriving in the city of Ghent. Their second game of the trip is that day against Duva Gistel and the Broncos will return to the floor the following night against Waregem on Friday.

On Saturday, Aug. 27, Western Michigan makes the trek into France by bus, first settling in the Normandy region, Aug. 27-28, before heading to Paris to close out the trip, Aug. 29-30. While in Paris, WMU plays its final game on Aug. 29 against Sceaux. The Broncos begin their return to the United States on Aug. 31.