12 hundred pictures deep

wow! like everyone seems to say after an amazing vacation, where did the time go? Its a beautiful irish morning just before 7:30 am and im sitting in our "school house hotel" (thank you barb and doug!!) waiting to leave for my flight. Kim left about an hour and a half ago screaming and carrying on about how amazing the trip was and that she was unsure the US would be ready for her return, oh Kim! We arrived in Ireland only two days ago, on Monday evening and quickly found out we should have arrived much earlier. We wasted no time though, after arriving at the airport, hopping on the bus and checking into, finally, a hotel we were in town finding food, music and crazy old 'Irish' men (unvoluntarily). We made it to a place where we could enjoy a traditional irish meal and headed down the street to check out a Dublin evening out (although a monday night, i dont think the drinking ends with a weekend!). We stopped at a few pubs to enjoy live music and then of course to the famous "temple bar" to have a drink. Much to our surprise crazy old pennsylvanian guys, out for a trip golfing together around Ireland, thought it would be flattering to buy us a beer. Free beer, why not? These guys were crazy, probably old enough to be our fathers, talking about their trip and extremely interested in ours. Kim was very amused that in all our 5 weeks, the only time we get drinks bought for us (besides Agneses amazing friends of course!!) is in Ireland at a famous bar by a bunch of old Americans. Needless to say, last night she was convinced to find a few "hotties" to top of her vacation hoping to avoid mentioning our first irish pub experience. Yesterday was a full day, of course, making sure we fit in what we wanted with the little time we had left. We saw a few castles, cathedrals, a jail and of course, the Guiness "storehouse". From what we had heard the Guiness tour wasnt all that great but we took a chance and thought it was great. We would do it again in a heart beat and would recommend it to anyone who goes, not that the free beer had anything to do with it ;-) Later that evening we were on a hunt to find a cheap place to eat with the small amount of money we had left. We planned it perfectly with about $12 each remaining, just enough for a small meal and an ice cold pint, sacraficing the meal of course for that last irish brew. Need I mention...as we came back to our hotel, I asked a nice little Irish woman to take our picture and as she quickly noticed we were not from the area she asked where we live and without hesitation turned to me and said (insert Irish accent here) "ooooh myyy, I thought far suare you belonged here with us with thaa red haaiir and all", oh the irish roots!!

This trip has been the best thing I have ever done and just as I thought, it flew by faster than I could have imagined. We have so many stories to tell and as you can see, many pictures to share that will last forever! Thank you all who made this trip possible and thank you Kim for traveling with my pain in the ass and making it worth every penny we spent!!! Ill start saving, and paying off this trip, for our next excursion to Greek Islands, Africa, South America...whatever you've got up your sleeve!!

I better be off now since I CANT miss my irish breakfast in the "canteen room" (HAA) then im off...back to the U.S. to begin life in Chicago :-) WOOHOO!! (check back for a final post on the trip!!)

Danielle, how do you feel about a rat nibbling at your toes?

I think it's safe to say this trip has been absolutely amazing but we're both definitely exhausted! We arrived in Madrid on Friday evening around 11 after our last train ride to check into our last hostel :-) we chose to head straight to bed after touring the uniquely designed building we would be staying in the next 3 nights. We were up bright and early to begin touring the city but took our time knowing we had 2 1/2 good days ahead. It was one of those 14 hour days of walking, observing, "ooing" and "awwing". Madrid is really beautiful with many busy shopping streets, old buildings, and a huge park which we enjoyed a nap in. Much like a lot of the cities we've seen but with its own character of course. After many hours spent in town we headed back for a quick change and left to find some late night food. Like we've experienced, it wasn't so easy and ended up on a wild goose chase for much of the night...you'd think we learned our lesson?the street performers around here have been crazy and last night they were especially enjoyed by the ever so tipsy vawter. The night ended after entertainment by the real street performers and of course the one who wishes to be one in the next life time, are we surprised? Getting back to our hostel later that night only came with great surprises. As I sat in the lobby for a few moments using the Internet, Kim went up to the room ready to hit the bed. Moments later I was graced with her presents as she came flying down the stairs to tell she was convinced we had a furry visitor? My immediate response being, what I thought to be obvious, "are you drunk?!?!". After much argument and a big sigh of doubt, I picked myself up off my comfy seat and followed the small child to our room. Within moments I started question myself, although quite certain, as I stood watching the ceiling move as the paint chipped away, was I drunk too?! After convincing Kimberly it was a good idea to let the desk man know about this strange visitor, I sat on the floor pointing a flash light on the small hole refusing to move until this mystery was solved. Come to find out it was simply pipes in the wall being tossed around by the wind outside, which honestly I think was a load of bs, but we were off to sleep in no time.
This morning came quickly and we were off to roam some more. Today it was hotter, walking much slower was key and we spent most of our day aimlesly walking with no set plan. As you can tell we are at the end of our ropes but are excited to see what Ireland has to offer. We leave tomorrow afternoon with a death sentence flying ryanair over the ocean in a cardboard box but have no worries ;-) Barb and Doug (kims parents) have so kindly booked us two nights in a really nice hotel for the remaining of our trip before jetting back to the U.S. We couldn't be more excited to take real showers and sleep in real beds without having to worry about room mates, loud noises and cheap breakfast! Don't let two days fool you, you never know what kind of trouble we can stir up with moments left across the pond ;-)

A time I never thought "I want my mommy" would ever be said

So we have made it to San Sebastian but let me tell you, it was a hell of a ride.

When we got to Paris we wasted no time as we only had two full days before leaving again for Spain the next evening. I've heard so much about Paris from other people, movies, and books but to see it in person is such an amazing experience. Of course I had to check out the longchamp store and after much thought and return visits I just closed my eyes as the woman slid the ol' plastic card ;-) after hours spent walking around town, visiting friends and stuffing our faces with the famous crepes we were back at our hostel to relax before another night train. We happened to meet a girl who goes to school in boston and actually works at the same restaurant I went to (the pour house) before my trip on the same day she was working...is that even possible? Moments later, the strange guy sitting next to her so kindly asked us if we wanted some acid as he dropped it in his mouth. I gave him a look as to say "my mommy told me not to take things from strangers" and got a look in return as if he thought I was already on it. That's my cue to leave...

Interesting didn't stop there... We left with an hour to get to the train station and with about 30 to spare realized we were at the wrong place. This is when "flying by the seat of your paints" gets a new meaning, after bulting down the hallway, trying to understand a street map, crossing a bridge and rolling into our train we had 5 mins to spare. But let me just say, having a huge backpack wrapped around your waist right at the belt loops of your pants, with both hands full mine were just about at my ankles by the time we arrived. Now after our first overnight train we had a small idea of what to expect. These trains are no 5 star hotel, they don't even compare to a motel 6 off a main highway in the middle of Texas, these things are gross. They are set up so you pretty much have the person in front of you sleeping in your lap as you get uncomfortably close to the person behind you and later realize, when you wake up, that you now know these people alot better than you ever wanted to. Well we were blessed with the sparkly seats, covered with crystals and accented with a spot light. Not only was my seat broken, both recline of the back and feet, but the 60's colored wool window shades last washed well, in the 60's mixed with the smell of the moth balls the guy in front of me took a bath in, there was gonna be no sleeping had. To top it all off someone, who I believe to be the man fully reclined infront of me conveniently passed out before departure, was breaking wind more often than the smell of fresh air could be enjoyed. At this point Kim and I lost it, we were running on such a small amount of sleep that we were slap happy for the entire 15mins the train was delayed cracking jokes we thought were hilarious and being a lot louder than we probably should have. Let's just say the two older spanish woman, who spoke not a hint of english, were not too pleased. Thankfully this overnight only lasted 8 hours and after getting over the awful smell and falling asleep we pulled into San Sebastian. Unfortunately it poured down rain all day but we took advantage of it by going to the aquarium, checked some famous dished for lunch and of course took a much needed nap. Although the weather was nasty today, we are in town for an extremely popular 5 day jazz festival. when we woke up from a siesta, the rain had past and we were back out to enjoy the music, met a bunch of people on a pub tour from our hostel and plan to enjoy a day of sun tomorrow. Madrid tomorrow evening!!

Blood, Sweat and Tears with one week left

I think its safe to say, we pretty much took over Paris. After an amazing time in Nice we were off on our overnight train, 11 straight hours of the most uncomfortable trip of my life. Nice was amazing, the water was unbelievable and we are proud to admit that we had the most amazing cheeseburgers at a restaurant called, "The American Bar". I know, I know...we are in EUROPE why in the hell are we eating cheesburgers at an American restaurant. Welllll it was a long day of sun, beach and sight seeing so we felt okay after eating at a really good local restaurant the night before, you cant deprive us forever! Nice was such a nice place and definitely worth going back to someday, with more money of course!

We finally arrived in Paris yesterday morning at about 8am, checked into our hostel to drop our bags and were off wasting no time at all. We were out until about midnight seeing people, places and lots of really good food. We walked and walked until we couldnt feel our feet, took a nap at a part infront of the Champs elysees and ate my first french crepe and a macoron!! We were lucky enough to meet up with a friend, Sidney, later that evening for some drinks, dinner and ice cream...it was really good to see her after about 9 or 10 years (thanks for dinner)! At about 11pm we decided to climb the Eiffel Tower, and by climb I really mean climbing up the stairs for what seemed like foreverrr. It was neat to see it "sparkle" and even cooler if they offered a bungee through the middle ;-) Today we "slept in" till about 930 and were off again to see more of Paris and figured out that it just seems to go on forever cause we kept discovering more and more really cool areas.

I have a lot more to say, like I have had for every place, but there is just no time. As you can tell the posts have been getting shorter and shorter but time has become precious with less than one week left. We are waiting for our next (and FINAL) overnight train to San Sebastian, Spain and I must get organized. See you in Spain, BONJOURNE!!

Adventures of the "Hamaca"

I'm currently sitting on the waters edge of the French Riviera in Nice. As soon as I saw the views in Switzerland I didn't think it could get much better, but this is a different kind of amazing!! The waters color goes from turcouise to navy blue and the beach is full of small pebbles and of course, boobies.

Speaking of amazing, we came to Nice after spending 6 days with Agnese. It was so nice to get the chance to spend time with her and the family and see all her friends. Let's just say "kicco" keeps things interesting, never a dull moment!! We arrived in bologna to meet her and spent the night out with her college friends. We had this really amazing drink called a spritz (sp?) which is very popular and I can definitely see why. The next morning we headed off to falconara, her home town 2 hours south, where we would spend the next 5 days at her home. Making sure to waste no time, we were off to the beach as soon as we got there. It felt good to be back at Cafe Caracas where I had spent my summer 3 years ago and to see all her friends again. I think Kim was a bit shocked at what she just so conveniently pointed out right away scattered along the beach. We'll keep the vocabulary alive and just say their "banana hammocks" weren't impressing the vawter. although she wanted to appear disgusted, I believe she loved it and wanted her very own banana hammock to take home ;-) We spent the following 4 days at the beach, Friday being a beach 30mins away at a place called numana which was beautiful. We spent a few nights at the cafe on the beach, one night at a sangria party a few mins away and our final night to a big dinner and party in town. Every night, besides the last, we ate with her parents who are excellent cooks and the food will be missed for sure. Our last night was spent with about 12 people at a nice restaurant and then we went down to a huge beach party in Ancona with Michele and Matteo and it was a blast. Of course we had to stop at the pastry shop on our way home at 4am although some people had trouble keeping their food in their mouth.. Needless to say, since it was already 4 by the time we got home and our train was at 6 aside from Kim, Agnese and I stayed awake and talked. It wad good to catch up since it had been so chaotic the past few days. Thank you Agnese, family and friends for such an amazing week, we will never forget "this beautiful time" and I will be waiting for you all in Chicago :-) besos

8 hours and a few train transfers later we made it to france. We stopped in Monte Carlo to see all the things we can't afford and the famous casino where we would have no luck. Then finally to Nice where we would spend the next day and a half before heading to Paris!! Bonjour **

Squeeze the orange

Anything I say after this wont do Switzerland justice, nor do the amazing pictures we took. AMAZING. Absolutely, totally breathtaking to the point where you never ever thought something like this place could exist. We arrived in Lucern on the 9th after a 6 hour train ride from Munich. The train ride alone was enough to stay awake for the whole trip, the train weaved in and out of the valley of mountains, around turcoise colored lakes and past multiple waterfalls next to cliff sides. A few times the train would go up the side of the mountain to where it felt like we were almost completely vertical. When we finally made it to Lucern our plan was to only stay a few hours since we were unable to find a decent hostel and needed to catch another train to Interlaken later that day. The little town was beautiful, the second we exited the train station there was a huge lake and mountain sides waiting. Since Kim had been here just a few years ago she was able to show me the areas she had been and the best places to get even better views (if that was possible). We walked along the lake and into the town center and after a few hours of enjoying the area we were off to Interlaken.
It was a short hour and a half until we arrived in Interlaken later that evening and again, the train ride was amazing. Interlaken is a small town surrounded by a lake on either side and endless mountain sides, both green and white. When we eventually made it to our hostel there was a lady waiting for us at a desk next to the bar to book any excursions during our stay. After checking in to our room and dropping our bags we were back to drop a couple hundred francs on a few trips. We were easily convinced on a 6 hour canyoning trip the next morning and as we continued to talk I couldnt help myself but to ask about bungy jumping. She quickly responded with the most amazing jump that I would only be able to do the next evening from a gondola 450ft high. I believe my jaw hit the floor and after moments past I was all for it. Not sure what mommy would have to say about this one but we didnt have to exactly mention it to her until it was over with! After realizing what I have just signed up for and spent money on, it was time for a beer. Well you see, this small down, like many small towns, shuts down after 6:00 and at this point it was nearing 10:30. We pretty much had to jump over obstacles to find a decent meal and hopefully a 16oz cold one. Eventually we found what we were looking for and by no time were passed out cold in order to be bright eyed and bushy tailed for our big day.
8 a.m. came fast but there were no complaints cause we were off to spend the day in the mountains. We were picked up by one of our nice guides that morning and quickly fitted for wet suits, bootys, a helmet, and life jacket. After piling all of it into a van, as well as 9 other people, we were off on an hour drive to the canyons. We arrived at this field, a field full of cow poop and flies which we later found out is where we were going to eat lunch, were asked to get out and put our gear on. Then climbed back into the van and drove the remaining 5 minutes. The beginning of this adventure just so happened to be a 165ft repel from the side of a cliff into the ice cold river below...pretty sweet! I guess I had to get used to it since my jump later that day would be about 3 times the height. 11 newbies and 3 guides later we were on our way down the river through slides and high jumps. One guy was the camera man and the other two assisted in getting us down the river. The point of having names on each of the helmets was so they could easily get our attention since learning 11 names in a short time was pretty impossible in such intense circumstances, the key was to remember who you were! About 2 hours later we came out of the canyon right next to where we pulled over in the poop filled changing field. Much to our surprise there was ice cold beer waiting for us, and of course some swiss cheese. I never thought canyoning would be so awesome but it was, we wish we had done the 8 hour cause those two hours in the canyon were way too short! A couple hours after arriving back at our hostel we were off again to the bungy jumping...or so I thought. Kim decided bungy jumping in California was enough for her but came along to watch what was supposed to be something ridiculous. Just my luck it began to storm the second we arrived at the gondola and unfortunately lightening was involved so by law they were unable to fufill my request. Looks like I will HAVE TO go back...damn ;-) After much excitement followed by extreme disappointment I had exhausted myself and what was supposed to be a small nap turned into sleep until the next morning (11 hours total).
Bright eyed and bushy tailed is an understatement for how I felt the next morning and we were off on a hike by 9am. A hike which was more like a mountain climb turned into a crawl! This hike, which was recommended by the excursion lady who happens to be from mass., was steeper than a black diamond ski slope and had Kim and I drentched in our own sweat within the first 100 feet. Like most ridiculous things this vacation, it was well worth it!! I cant explain what it was like at the top, you will just have to wait and see the pictures. We were able to point out from across the valley, the 'top of europe' station which is burried amongst many feet of snow. The total hike was about 6 hours and we were back in time to head out on a white water rafting adventure. Since bungy jumping was a fail we chose to take advantage of another activity later that day. What we didnt know was that we would be grouped with a high school trip filled with sophomore and junior boys who had yet to see a voice change. We were lucky enough to be in the only boat with just enough people who werent on this high school extravaganza. The water was ice cold so thankfully we had on wet suits again and by the last 20mins of our trip down stream it began to storm again and we were off faster than you could imagine. When we got back to the hostel it was of course sunday night and the world cup final was on so the entire town gathered around a flat screen tv in the back area of the building. Many of us didnt have a preference for winners but after these two guys couldnt stop sucking on their whisles you could quickly tell who wanted the opposing team just to spite them (kim and i included, thank god spain won!!). Our hostel was definitely the place to be, since it is such a small town everyone came to the bar to wind down from the day. The bar is in the basement since by 10 the neighbors cant stand the loud noise from the partiers so after the game we were all rounded up like cattle and sent downstairs. Within no time Kim and I were out of money since it is soo expensive and the only good thing we could think of, since we no longer had any francs, was to turn in our room key for the $10 deposit and make really good friends with our new bunk mates. Worked like a charm! Unfortunately we had to be up at 530 the next morning to catch the 3 different trains that would land us right in the lap of AGNESE in Bologna!!!
We made it to Bologna on Monday afternoon to meet up with Agnese, my Italian 'sister' who my family hosted when I was in high school. We spent the evening with her and her college friends and left the next morning to drive to her home town in falconara (ancona). So far it has been amazing to relax (& bake) by the beach and eat her mothers delicious italian food..I could get used to this!! We will be here until Sunday morning when we head off to the french riviera so until then..CIAO CIAO!!

**hole, bull** and some spoons

Munich was awsome! We arrived two days ago after a 6 hour train ride from Prague. I spent the whole ride balling my eyes out reading the last pages of a Nicholas sparks book, surprised? By the time we arrived in Munich it was late afternoon and we had to make sure to make reservations for our remaining train rides. You'd think after spending over $500 on this ticket there would be no additional charges...always a bad assumption. After about an hour of working with this guy we were off to "the tent"! Kim had seen it online but I had no clue what was ahead. Basically it was like going back to summer camp, think about a giant white carnival tent, in addition to two small ones, filled with enough bunk beds to sleep 100 ppl. They also had an area where u could camp with your own tent, bathrooms, laundry, and a hang out area with a kitchen/bar. The staff was really nice and they served breakfast in the morning and cooked dinner at night. At check in they offered us wool blankets for night time, 3 each...did they not realize it was mid summer as I stood there dripping sweat without even moving. I tried convincing him that there was no way I would need them and if so i would use it as a pillow, he insisted on just taking them all and 'i would understand'. I definitely thought we were in southern Germany but who knows if Kim had something up her sleeve.
After getting settled we were off to watch the football game with the rest of the country. It was an hour and a half before the game and not a single seat open in any restaurant. After what seemed like forever, we managed to squeeze ourselves into a bench next a few older ladies. They seemed like they were more prepared for martinis and slow dancing than beer and soccer but they were fun and took watching this game to a new level. We managed to rack up a bill costing more than 2 nights at the tent for the both of us but well worth the experience of hardcore fans, crazy tourists and of course, the cougar ladies beside us. Needless to say there would be no more restaurants to be visited, just markets and small snacks. Considering the loss by the Germans, the town seemed to die down so we headed home since we planned to be up early to make the most of our only full day. When we reached the tent, they had a fire going and some ppl were playing guitar and as you may have guessed...it was FREEZING!! We hung by the fire for awhile, met a girl from the states and were off to a cacoon made of wool blankets.
The next morning was one of those mornings in the winter time when you are so warm and cozy in your bed, the last thing you wanna do is roll out into the cold. Too bad, by 9 we were up and headed to olympiapark where we saw where the summer Olympics of '72 took place. Then we stummbled across the BMW welt, went inside to find some really interesting information about the process of designing, developing and research involved in making these cars. It ended up being a lot more interesting than i expected, not to mention also finding my future car ;-)
Now what's a European country without some nakedness, there's no escaping it from what we've experienced. But nothing can prepare you for the English garden in munich, I'm talking a 70 year old man doing his morning aerobics in the middle of the public green stark naked--just about lost my breakfast, lunch and dinner from the night before but one else seemed to be phased. I think I've had my fair share of open nudety for awhile. Things got a little more crazy as we continued on our way through the garden of naked people, but crazy in a more pg-13 kind of way. As we continued down the trail, we came around this corner to what seemed like, looked like and just so happened to be guys surfing on this tiny river, yes--surfing! Right after this bridge hugging the edge of a main road right outside the garden the extremely fast current from the river, and I'm sure other factors, creates a constant wave big enough for these guys to one at a time hop on their boards, it was unbelievable to watch some of them! I could have watched them all day but as we were leaving one guy has a unfortunate fall. He got caught at a bad angle right at the edge of the river where it meets a wall and smacked the left side if his face right into it. From what we could see, he sliced open his cheek and chin and possibly lost a tooth, I can only imagine the other injuries that have occurred but didn't stop anyone for a second. As we began to walk we actually came across an exhibit by a graphic designer and photographer, the designer was actually the one who did designs for the '72 olympics in Munich. The rest of the day we walked around the squares, ate at the local market (which was amazing--esp since I got one single nectarine and it cost 1.60€) and climbed the tower at a church to see a panaramic view.
By dinner time we were both exhausted and went back to the tent to rest, read, eat and possibly meet some new people. The dinner they cooked was delicious and the beer was large and thirst quenching ;-) after a nap and shower we started up a few card games with two guys from Cali and brothers from New Zealand...I was all for spoons but got quickly vetoed for some bull** and **hole, later making me victims of both. We had a blast and got to hear a lot of stories from other peoples travels [but who will ever know if it was just a bunch of bull**, right Casey?! or is that even your real name-haha]. later that night we joined other people by the fire until my eyelids became heavier than I could hold. We were back up at 6 this morning to head off to Switzerland, perfect timing to get a short rest from city life and experience some lakes surrounded by mountains and waterfalls. I write this as I sit next to the window of the smooth traveling train looking out over the Swiss alps, we seem to approach more and more breathtaking views-there's no way to explain it, you just have to be here! We will spend a couple hours in lucern before hopping back on the train for a 2 hour trip to interlaken. Our plan is to do a canyoning trip tomorrow (which, according to a guy we met last night from Vermont, was amazing and well worth it) and then possibly some hiking and/or kayaking on the lake on sunday as long as the rain holds off. Who knows, maybe someone will offer a bungee :-) :-)

"I woke up from my nap and burped, it tasted like sausage"

I have been awake since about 2 off and on after going to sleep around one. Probably slept a max of 3 hours but can't for the life of me go back to sleep. We have to be awake in less than an hour to catch our train to Munich and I pray for once I can sleep on the rock solid non-reclinable chair...doubtful. Last night was a blast, we went out right as the 'football' game started at a bar in town. We were drinking this beer that cost only 30 kc (1.50), definitely paid for what we got cause it tasted like water squeezed from an old mans dirty sock...should have taken the bar crawl offer. After we couldn't handle that much longer we left for the main square where they had the game on a huge outdoor screen, last 5 minutes of the game and then everyone went crazy!!! Kim went crazy in a different way, you see we took out about $60 each (1200kc) and since everything is so cheap, by 11 we still had a bunch of Czech money. The smart thing to do would be to exchange it but when it's coins, they won't accept..so we haaaaad to spend it ;-) Now what would Kim do with 300kc in the matter of 15 minutes? She would try every single food stand at the square...crepes, donut rounds, sausages and of course, ice cream! I stuck with a slice of pizza but it was almost like archade money at this point, you gotta spend all your tokens or they go to waste...can't stick with that motto forever!!! Kim, once again, impressed a local who kept repeating as he followed like a lost puppy with flyers about who knows what, "ciao baby ciao". He insisted on a hug after a hug after a hug until we dogged him through the crazy crowd of holland fans and slowly the CIAO BABY CIAO began to fade...crazy!!! I'm sure things will only get more ridiculous as we head to Germany today and they play later tonight. We will be staying in, what will be an experience I can only imagine, a large tent they put up in the summer which sleeps 100 people...ohhh mommy! And I told myself I would stop letting kim book these places, gotta keep things interesting i guess...all I gotta say is there better be s'mores!!!

Wait, you're from where? Hi I'm Thomas

Today has been our first rainy day since we started 2 weeks ago...wow time flies!! We arrived in Prague yesterday morning and pulled a london by walking around all day till about midnight. It is just so gorgeous it's hard to leave a good beer garden with such nice views ;-) first of all, the currency here is just crazy!! It felt pretty strange to take out 1200 "dollars" from the ATM, which only means 60 usd. I mean you go to the restaurants and your bill ends up being 400 for 2, I just about hit the floor before I realized. Let's just say those grade school math skills have really come in handy, guess the American school system is good for something. After exploring a new and strange meal, dumplings, pork and saurkraut, we were off to see the very well known architecture. We decided to live on the wild side and test out a paddle boat...I think the owner had his fingers crossed the entire time we were out on the canal. It was very relaxing especially since it wad such a hot day. Later we trucked it all the way up the hill to the Prague castle and on our way back down we had to treat ourselves to some beer and wine. This place has had the most American tourists by far, we were approached again by a bar crawl later that evening by an American guy who opened a bar here in town. I wonder what people think we are, drunken american college students..eh. last night we chose to go to this beer garden we had heard so much about, the one piece of information that was left out was the fact that we had to climb mount everest to get there. It was all worth it when we saw the view at the top, despite the fact that I needed a respirator by the time we got there. It's okay cause we had icecream twice when we made it back into town :-)
Today we got a late start, guess that hiking did some damage! It was ok cause it poured until about 2. When we finally got back out walking we headed back over to the other side of town to explore what we hadn't seen, had lunch/dinner and are back to get ready for the night. I can't wait to tell you what kind of place were staying at in Munich... Cheers!!

"Please dont put this in your blog"

Yup, Germany definitely won!! Yesterday we got up bright and early to take a three hour train up to Warnemunde, Germany located on the beautiful Baltic Sea. The weather called for an extremely hot 95 or above so being out of the city was a definite must. It was also a Saturday so the train was packed, thankfully we were able to find 3 seats to avoid joining the people who had to stand the entire way. Once we arrived we began heading over to the beach and ran into a man who ever so nicely told us we were walking in the wrong direction...not sure how we pulled that off. As he brought us to the area we wanted to go we got talking to him and he was able to give us a bunch of good tips on the area. He was from South Africa, visiting Germany to see his brother for only 3 months but had information for days. We passed a busy area of town on our way to the less busy, and apparently less clothed, area of the beach. There was a lighthouse right in the center which, according to this guy, is the same lighthouse they used on the dvd cover of Shutter Island..check it out!! After parting with our new friend we found a sweet area on the beach where Kim and Staci decided to rent a "basket". As we toured the area on foot and traveled down part of the beach we realized what kind of beach this reaaaallly was! Needless to say I was a little shocked, lost for words and honestly a little terrified. I mean lets be serious, we've all seen naked people but holy moly this was like a 'half-way beach' for women who didnt mind having those things flappin' all over the place but not yet ready to let it allll hang out. We're talkin big small, old young, this was not a place to watch out for bikers but more of a caution for getting eyes poked out. The nakedness was a little overwhelming but once I got over that we enjoyed many hours laying (amongst our basket) catching the amazing sun rays and relaxing. At around 4p.m. the "football" game started and even if you didnt know about it, you knew then or at least after the first goal was scored! It was amazing to see the people go crazy over this game and while walking back towards the train all you saw were tvs lining the street sides and people crowded around. The train ride was definitely interesting, this was a day for many cultural experiences--naked and not so naked. Apparently, while riding the train if there happens to be a seat open across from you its EXTREMELY rude to put your feet on it with shoes, okay without, but with them its a huge no no. Well, lets take a guess at who had their feet on the seat and just so happened to be in the eye shot of a older man walking past. This 100% German man, understanding only German, was not happy at Kim and all she could do was take it. There was no backfiring a German man who couldnt understand anything you had to say nor did he even take the time to stop having a fit to see if she was even speaking German ...entertaining for sure!! After that lovely experience we were greeted by about 10 men probably in their 30's on their version on a 'bachelor party'. In Germany when a guy is getting married, and I guess a girl too, he must sell a basket of various items costing under 2 euro. Lets remember that this was post football game after a long hot day of drinking and celebrating the end of this guys life, supposedly. These guys were hilarious and loved the fact that Kim and I were "aaaaamerriiicaa", they tried to get us to buy anything from this soon to be married man but if that didnt work out, we could purchase them too...oooh the cultural experiences. After freshening up at home we left to go out for some drinks and saw a few more bachelor/bachelorette groups selling things from bar to bar, must have been the time to get married.
Today was our last day in Germany with Staci, we head off to Prague too early in the morning for two nights. We didnt do much today cause Staci had to work and we still had some planning to do for the next couple days but we made up for hours of planning and laundry by having a few drinks out by the canal. You see in Europe it is actually legal to have open containers, such as a beer, in public so the atmosphere is a little more laid back and it is a lot of fun to grab a 6 pack and hang out by the water. The area we went to was on a bridge just over the canal where many people sat and hung out and a few people played guitars. Because this is a popular place to hang out at night the area between the cobblestones is wedged with bottle caps as if it was supposed to be there all along and ones that have probably been there for years. Berlin was amazing and Staci was the perfect host, we're off in the morning to Prague and only a few short days until I see my Agnese :-) Happy 4th of July America!!!