Tim_Day 218 - 240 (Europe alone)

Day 218
Ana and I woke up and started trying to research online and figure out how we were going to get our Russian Visa and our next steps. Traveling in Europe is such a pain in the butt sometimes. You have to plan everything in advance and not really make any changes. That sucks and I really like to travel with the freedom to constantly change things without problems. But in this civilized part of the world everything had to be pre though and pre booked. Oh well. We’ll be out of it in no time and into China. Hopefully it would be better there and not such a hassle.

After quiet a few hours of hassle we decided to screw going into Russia and we were going to fly over it. The Russian embassy said we had to send our passports home to get a visa. That was ridiculous and I had heard horror stories from some other travelers that said they rejected the application because they didn’t use the same number two pencil on all parts of the application. I wasn’t about to send my passport abroad for two weeks only to get it back saying we didn’t fill our names in correctly or something stupid like that. Forget those Soviet punks.

With Russia out of the picture we decided to just go to Bern where we could get our Chinese visa. We would then just fly over Russian and into Beijing. I really wanted to do the Trans Siberian but oh well it would have to wait till another time. No vodka for me.

The day was getting a little frustrating trying to figure things out. I also was starting to feel like we were wearing out our welcome and I wanted to get moving. I’m sure it wasn’t that way with them but I was feeling that way and didn’t want to impose anymore.

In the evening we hung out and eventually went to bed.







Day 219
We woke early and headed out to Bern. Sabrina was nice enough to drive us to the Chinese Consulate there so we could apply for our visa there. I was hopping things went smooth since Sabrina was going to so much trouble to help us.

As we drove the Bern the country was really spectacular. The mountains, lakes, trees, and small Swiss communities were like postcards. It was really amazing and I think Switzerland is the most visually beautiful country I’ve ever traveled in. I’ve seen beautiful parts of countries but Switzerland seems to be perfect everywhere. Man what a country.

In Bern we made it to the Chinese Consulate without to much trouble. Applying for the visa was a bit of trouble but eventually we got our application in. The grouchy old Chinese lady at the counter only spoke Chinese and French and was telling us we couldn’t get the visa’s there. She just said “No No” with a snooty look on her face. Man I hate people like that! She was such a bad combo of arrogant French and idiotic Chinese. What could be worse?

Luckily there was a really nice guy who said we could get a visa there and fought with the lady for us. That was really nice of him and I was very thankful. After a while the old Chinese women grabbed our passports, applications and our money. I wasn’t actually sure what we applied for but as long as we got into the country that was good with me. What a pain and our passports were now locked down for a week. We were stuck in Switzerland.

With that complete we headed to the downtown part of Bern to walk around and see some of the sights. The city was immaculate and nestled into a pine valley along a river. Really picture perfect.

While we walked around the city we saw a beautiful church, some bears, and some really interesting fountains. It was a magical city just to walk around in and the day was perfect.

For lunch we ate at a local little place that served pizza and salad. The food was really good and after our bellies were filled we headed out to make the drive home. On the way home we ended up taking the scenic route because we couldn’t really understand how to work the GPS in the car. It was pretty funny but we eventually made it home.

We returned in the evening and made dinner, talked and eventually hit the sack.







Day 220
Ana and I got up early to try and plan our next few weeks. Now that we knew Russian was no longer in the picture we had to plan around it and buy the necessary tickets and make the hostel reservations. As simple as a task as that sounded it took us most of the day and was really frustrating. We were looking for the cheapest flights possible and it was tough trying to figure out which places we wanted to see in Europe. In the end we decided to spend a week in Switzerland (we had too because our passports were locked down, then we would head to Barcelona, then to Berlin, and finally to Prague where we would fly to Beijing China.

Lawrence and Sabrina were EXTREMELY nice and offered us there car to tour around Switzerland. I was hesitant to take it since I was a little nervous driving there car around and they had already done so much for us. In the end though we accepted and knew that our time touring the country was going to be great.

That evening I drove the Volkswagen Golf to go to the local mall. It was a great little car and whizzed through the small perfectly groomed streets with ease. The signs and signals were a little different but I got the hang of it. It was nice to drive again and I felt free. I missed driving and the ability to roam to anywhere you wanted with ease.

While at the mall we grabbed some food from the immaculate store and tried to find some shoes. But the shoe Gods were not in my favor and I didn’t find anything. My poor shoes were crying to be thrown away. My shoes wanted to die but I wouldn’t let them. I needed more out of them.

After the mall we went to Gabriel’s Day Care to pick him up. It was so cute to see him there and we had him for the rest of the night. I was a little worried that he might not like just being with Ana and me but he did great.

At home we showered him up, feed him, and put him to bed. It was nice spending time with the little guy and it made me miss all my nieces and nephews back home.

Later that night I did some final reservations and ‘Map Questing” to find our way around Switzerland. We were heading out that next morning and we’ll see how well we get around. I was pretty sure we were going to get lost but oh well that was part of the adventure.

By the time we had got everything in order and headed to bed we were dog tired. Falling asleep was just a matter of closing my eyes.






Day 221
In the morning we woke up early to book our final flight tickets and take care of some details. I was still pretty tired and looking forward to the first night and getting caught up on my sleep.

Eventually we got the car loaded and headed out for Zermatt. We were headed to see that famous Matterhorn Mountain. Once we hit the road it was pretty smooth sailing all the way to the town. It took only a few hours to reach our destination. During the drive the landscape was simply unbelievable. Huge sharp snow and pine tree covered mountain that fell into sleepy little Swiss towns on the edge of pristine lakes. Just looking at the countryside was really surreal. I love that country and wish my parents could have seen it. I know they would have loved it.

You know it’s funny because most Swiss I talk to about their landscape take it for granted. They usually say there country is “pretty nice” or “not bad”. I think they live to close to it to realize how amazing it is. I guess maybe they think landscapes like deserts and beaches are really amazing and exotic. I guess it all is a matter of what you know and what you’ve experienced.

We reached the town below Zermatt and parked the car. To get to the actual town of Zermatt you had to take a train. They don’t allow motorized cars up the mountain or in the town. They only allow local people to use electric carts that look like little golf carts.

The train up the hill to the town was pretty painless and when we arrived at the top we grabbed our room in the attic and dropped our bags. The town was beautiful and for all the world felt like Disneyland. It had cute little beautiful Swiss homes, perfectly manicured little bushes, beautiful blooming flowers, and little curvy walking paths leading through the town. It was really magical and surreal. I hope my parents get a chance to come here one day. This town was as amazing as my imagination had thought it would be. Not many places in the world are that way. Most of the time reality will let you down. But not here. It was a perfect little Swiss town just like out of the movies.

Unfortunately though the sky was grey and the Matterhorn was impossible to see. I was pretty pissed about that and really wanted to see the mountain. There was a tram that left from the town and would take you up closer to the mountain. I was thinking maybe we should go and try our luck on seeing the mountain. But in the end I decided we would cross our fingers and hope that the next day was going to be better. We only had a half day the next day before we left so the weather better shape up.

We were pretty tired and after a pretty long walk through town we decided it was time to head back and eat some dinner and hit the sack. We fell asleep around 8:00 pm with a stomach full of warm instant noodles. We were exhausted.









Day 222
I woke up at 6:30 am to check to see if the weather had cleared up. Sure enough when I opened the shutters to look out I could see a small glimpse of the Matterhorn peeking out from behind the clouds. It was a really beautiful moment and I was so happy that we got at least the chance to see it once.

I woke up Ana and told her to get her Panamanian butt up and get moving. We might only have a small window in the morning to see the mountain. After getting ready we headed to the tram to go up to the top. The ride was really expensive and actually cost us $60 American dollars to get to the top. That was pretty steep. We decided we were going to walk it down the hill and save the money. The guy at our hotel said it wasn’t that bad of a walk and we could do it in a few hours.

As we took the tram up the hill the weather started to get worse and we eventually were surrounded by fog. Great we paid all that money to walk down a fog covered mountain. Oh well we were stuck now.

To my surprise as we started to get above the low lying cloud cover the air started to clear up. It was great and we had some amazing views of the fog covered valleys below. The country was breath taking and I had only seen this kind of beauty when I hiked several days into the outbacks of Sequoia. This was amazing countryside and available to anyone who could handle the weather and altitude (which wasn’t that high).

Ana and I sat glued to the windows of the tram starring out at the Matterhorn. It was a massive and BEAUTIFUL mountain. I now could understand why it had become such an icon for the country. The mountain stood tall above all the surrounding mountains and dominated the skyline. The shape was really unique and it reminded me allot of the one and Disneyland. They did a good job of replicating the experience of the mountain.

As we reached the last stop on the tram the weather was getting cold and you could tell we were getting to the edge of the permanent frost. Once we hit the top we got out and put all our gear one. We had our gloves, scarves, full North Face jackets on. One the cart right in front of us a guy got off with two massive Saint Bernard’s. I didn’t realize they could get that big and I think the large one must have weighed around a hundred pounds. He was massive.

At the top we took some photos of the mountain and a few with the cookies Ana’s Aunt Sabrina gave us. We weren’t out in the cold very long but my hands had pretty much frozen to the point they were getting hard to use. We headed into the gift shop to warm up and get out of the cold wind.

Eventually we warmed up and headed back outside for a couple last shots. The dogs were there taking pictures with different tourist. They were really cute and we ended up taking a picture with them as well. The dogs were so smart and were trained to actually look at the camera. The guy yelled the dog’s name and sure enough he stood up and looked at the camera. He was really smart and really cool. I’d love a dog like that.

Taking a few photos got us cold again so we decided to head to the local lodge and get some coffee to warm up. Inside we had a coffee and apple strudel with a spectacular view of the mountain. It was really nice.

After a while we had to start heading down the hill and decided to head out and brave the cold. On our way out we took some more photos with another set of dogs that had come up the hill on the train right behind us. It was really funny when the owner yelled the name of the dog to make him look. His name was “Bollucks”. That was an English word I had been practicing with our English friends Maya and Alesh to say. They laughed at the way I pronounced it and it became a pretty funny joke.

We began walking down the hill and pretty much stopped every five feet for me to take another photo of the Matterhorn. It was just so beautiful I couldn’t stop taking photos. What a mountain. Looking at it made the cold go away.

Eventually the environment was spoiled by a few Japanese tourist groups that came walking down the hill. Man was there anything that could possibly be more annoying? Oh well. We just let them go ahead of us or we flew by them. If we keep our distance they weren’t too bad.

After about two hours walking down the hill we stopped into a little café to rest a little and have some orange juice and some food. Of course we ate some more of the beef jerky we had been carrying since we met my brother in England along with some pretzels we had bought. Ah the diet of travelers – junk.

The trail down the mountain was really beautiful. The weather cleared up and it was a picture perfect day. I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day. The sky was clear and a spectacular blue. The mountains were draped in brilliant white snow and the countryside was a healthy green color. What a day.

It was lucky that the day was so nice because the trail started to become really hard towards the end. We were dropping so much altitude it was beating up our knees and quads. In the end I think we dropped almost 4,000 feet and the entire hike took us five hours rather than three. It was a pretty killer trip and it was nice just too finally get to the bottom. We for sure were going to be sore the next few days.

Once we reached the town it was even more beautiful with the majestic Matterhorn in the backdrop. What an amazing little town. We headed to the photo shop to get buy our shot with the dogs we had taken on the top. We then headed back to the room and showered and grabbed our gear to head out. We were about four hours behind schedule and I was getting a little worried that the drive to the next town might suck.

By the time we hit the road it was 4:00 pm. This was a bad thing to do since in Switzerland everything closes between five and six o’clock in the evening. We also realized once we started driving that the route we had Map Quested online would take us through Italy. We didn’t have out passports so we couldn’t do that. We had to take a longer route around and over a mountain. Great.

The drive to our next city Locarno turned out to be the worst yet. We hit allot of small town traffic and we got lost one time. When you are trying to save time and get somewhere that is very frustrating. But we did finally go over a spectacular mountain and descend down into the valley that would take us to Locarno.

Locarno was on the Swiss Italian side of Switzerland and I was curious to see how it differed from the French and German side of the country. It was easy to tell how it differed once we got closer to the boarder. See all you had to do was look out the window and look at the shabby old building and dirty sidewalks covered in graffiti. It was so sad to see. This part of the country looked like a dump compared to everywhere else. Leave it to the Italians. Man I really am starting to not respect that country in the way I have in the past. So much of what I thought it would be just wasn’t. It was kind of sad and I know now when people speak of Italy as a romantic place I’ll be like yeah obviously you haven’t been there. I’m sure they have there share of amazing sites and people but I guess I was under the impression the entire country was going to be like a movie and so far nothing has been anything like that.

We finally rolled into Locarno at 8:30 pm which was a terrible time to come into any town in Switzerland. The town was big, dirty, and ugly. Nothing like the other beautiful town we had seen so far. It was mass developed and looked like something you would find in a poor neighborhood in America. It was sad to see and actually I was pretty mad that we chose to go there. We should have stayed in Zermatt and enjoyed ourselves. Whatever we were there and we had to make the best of it.

Driving through the streets in Locarno was extremely tough. We didn’t have a decent map and there were tons of one way streets. People also parked both ways on the street so it was hard to even tell if you were going the right way down the street. The one thing I loved the most about the streets was half the time you couldn’t even tell if you were on the street or driving on the sidewalk. Everything was brick and there was no way of telling where you should turn. What the hell was that?

I was starting to get really stressed and pissed off and Ana and I started to get into small scuffles. I finally found a parking place and just parked the car. Ana took off with the map to try and find out hostel by foot. I stayed with the car to make sure nothing happened to it.

After quiet a while she found the place we had reservations for but no one answered the door when she rang. Great. What a swell end to a really nice day. I wanted dead tired from the five hour hike and the drive and just wanted to lie down. But I had to first find a hotel in a city that closed down in the evening. I hate that about this country.

Eventually I told Ana give me the map and I’ll go figure things out. I found the right hotel and the door was open. Inside were two really low life greasy Italians. They seemed a little weird and the place was really drab and sketchy. To top things off they said they didn’t have any parking only street parking. Those liars. Man I was pissed and when we called them the previous day they assured us they had parking. Bastards! I hated this town.

I walked back to the car and decided we were going to look for another place. Odds were we couldn’t find anything and I was preparing myself for a nice night sleeping in the car.

After a few rounds around the city and some ridiculously priced hotels we found one that moderate. It was one hundred more dollars a night than the other room but we took it. Screw it I wasn’t in the mood and neither was Ana.

We dropped our bags in the room and headed downtown to get something to eat. We were starving and ended up just getting something from the local Mc Donald’s. It was easy and was sure to fill our bellies. The last thing I wanted that night was a bad meal. That probably would have sent me over the edge.

After dinner we got some local ice-cream and headed back to the room. The room was private and that was nice. We were doing allot of dorms in the past and it was nice to have our own place again. The beds were actually really comfortable and it was great just to lay in a horizontal position again. Sleep came on swift wings that night.









Day 223
Ana and I woke up a little late after a good nights sleep. It was nice to slow down the pace and since the city wasn’t that interesting we didn’t have to get up that early. We ate the free breakfast the hotel offered in the morning and hit the road headed for Interlaken.

The road to Interlaken slowly started to become more beautiful as the Italian part faded away and the German side started to get closer. At one point on the road we hit some really bad traffic that was barely moving. I though the line was being caused by a huge accident but in the end it was just the queue to get into the 17k long tunnel. Cars were let in small increments to avoid accidents and trouble. That tunnel was amazing and the longest tunnel I’ve ever been in. Driving through took over ten minutes and the dark road started becoming mesmerizing. I had to keep shaking my head to not fall into a weird robotic feeling space. Very surreal.

After the tunnel we crossed a huge set of massive mountains. The views were spectacular and the roads were busy with people out for the weekend. Everyone had their motorcycles or sports cars. I think I counted about fifty different Porches. That’s the car for this area for some reason and tons of them were flying around the curves screeching their tires.

At the summit Ana and I stopped to grab a tea and enjoy the view. It was really magical and I can’t say enough about the landscape.

We arrived to Interlaken around 4:00 pm and went directly to the hostel to get our room and drop off our bags. They had great parking for the car and in general the hostel was really well set up. It was a nice change from Locarno.

We went for a walk around the city and noticed there were allot of paragliders in the air above the city. In fact they used a large grass field in the middle of the city to land. It was really nice and looked like fun. One thing that was really unusual in the city was that they had a casino, sex shop, and Hooters. It was so strange to see in this little town. Not what I expected to find in a little Swiss town.

Hooters maybe strange but I had to eat there for dinner. It was just so funny to see and we had to at least go there once. We got a hot dog and beer that ended up being pretty good. The beer was also pretty strong and we walked away a little buzzed.

We were both ready to hit the sack after dinner and headed back to the dorm. Our roommates were a little of a pain in the butt but we ended up eventually falling asleep despite them.







Day 224
We woke up early the next day to visit a little neighboring Swiss town called Gimmelwlald just below another town called Murren. Supposedly these towns were nestled in the mountain valleys above us and were really amazing. The book said it was the ideal little postcard towns you always imagined and I was excited to go visit them.

On the way up the valley we stopped to see the waterfall in the mountain. Basically a waterfall had carved its way deep into the mountain and was supposed to be pretty interesting. Since our legs were SUPER sore from hiking in Zermatt even climbing the stairs at the falls was deadly painful. It was so funny to watch us walk with what looked like a stick up our butts. I had to hold onto the rails to get up and down the stairs. My legs were seriously killing me.

Despite the pain we had to hurry up and get out once the first tour bus rolled in. About fifty tourists all with there cameras in hand charged the falls and totally changed the environment. But in the end we did get to spend allot of time there enjoying the falls by ourselves. It was a pretty cool sight and almost worth the money we paid to get in.

We jumped in the Golf and headed up to the small town of Staleberg where we could catch a cable car to Murren. The cable car ride up the mountain was really interesting. I didn’t know that things like that even existed in the world. The cable pretty much went directly up to the mountain above. It was an amazing engineering feat. The cable looked about half a mile long and climbed at least an eight hundred feet to the mountain above. We got on the cart filled with about thirty people and away we went to the top. It was actually a little scary and I was hoping the engineers did their math right when they designed it.

When we got to the top of the mountain the weather started changing and it started sprinkling. It was cloudy and we couldn’t really see any of the mountains around us or the valley below. It sucked and I was a little upset about it. I’m sure behind those clouds was a spectacular view of the mountains and valleys and we couldn’t see it.

It was rainy and the weekend so the town looked dead. I didn’t care and still wanted to walk around. We put on our rain gear and headed out to check out the cute little town.

Eventually we found a little old hotel restaurant that was open and we ordered a couple hot chocolates to warm us up. It was really nice to sit in such an old place and drink hot chocolate while it was raining and cold outside. I love that feeling you get in Europe when you’re in an old place like that. I don’t know what it is exactly but it just is but I have the experience of being somewhere back in time. I think it is a combination of the visuals and the smells that seem to set my soul drifting. I love that feeling and never experience anything like that in America. Everything is so new and there just the same feelings. I really love those experiences and there so rich in my memory.

We took our time hoping the weather would get better but it just got worse. Damn. Oh well it was still cool to be there and we were going to make the best of it. We put on our rain gear and started walking down the hill to Gimmelwald. Of course the road had a slight downhill grade to it which was murder on my painful quads and knees. What torture.

On our way down to the town of Gimmelwald the weather started changing. Mother Nature started to lift her fog skirt and give us flashes of the jagged snowy white peaks surrounding us. It was really magical and only lasted for short burst of time. We tried to take some photos and hoped the weather was going to turn better.

Sure enough as we started to arrive in the town the weather was getting better. It was spectacular and the town looked as if it was completely dead. We had the town all to ourselves. I think everyone else had given up on the town due to the weather. It was really beautiful and so peaceful.

The town was built what looked like a national park. It was so beautiful. I can’t believe that they let people live in this town. I think the only reason they were there was because they built that town a long time ago and long before a strong governmental system and the ideas of conservation.

We found a little bench on the edge of the city and sat for a while in the sun enjoying the view. By this time the weather had partially cleared up and the mountains were off and on visible. It was so peaceful and so nice just to sit and talk with Ana there.

Eventually it was time to head out and we made out way back to the cable car. Right before we got to the cable car we noticed one of the restaurants was starting to open. We decided to sit down and have lunch with the spectacular view in front of us. We ordered a couple large beers and some ham and cheese sandwiches. The beer turned out to be STRONG and we had a great time. It was a really wonderful lunch.

We took the tram back down the mountain after lunch. The fun part of the ride was going over the edge the mountain. The cart actually pitched forward and gave you a dropping feeling in your stomach. It was really like a huge theme park ride. Everyone in the cart actually gasped and laughed when we went over the edge. It was pretty funny.

Once we reached the bottom we jumped in the car and headed back to Interlaken. We were a little tired and the day was grey so we ended up taking a nap in the middle of the day. That was really nice and we felt more rested after that. After the nap we did some laundry and played a little foosball.

Eventually we hit the sack and ended a really nice day.








Day 225
We woke up pretty early in the morning and headed to a nearby outdoor museum called Ballenberg. I was thinking it was going to be really stupid but in the end turned out to be really cool. Basically the museum was a huge plot of land where they had brought in examples of homes from around the country. Different parts of Switzerland throughout history have had their own unique style and the museum was trying to capture that.

We spend a huge part of the day walking around and seeing all of the different houses. Each area had different activities you could watch like making cheese, bread, bricks, etc. They were really interesting and really gave you a great sense of what it must have been like to live in that time. They even had fires going in the fireplaces and that really helped to set the tone. You could feel the warmth inside the homes and smell the wood burning. It was really like stepping back in time. I enjoyed the experience.

For lunch we ate some peanut butter and jelly at the car and then drove back into town. We were given a free game of mini golf by the hostel we were staying at so we headed over to the course to sink a few. Ana had never been mini golfing before so that made it really fun. The course was a little beat up but we had a great time. Ana did great for her first time and I was really impressed.

After mini golf we headed to a local restaurant we were recommended to have Fondue. We had wanted to try it since it’s such a well know thing in Switzerland. The restaurant was a great little local joint and there were no tourist in site. That was nice to see. For dinner we had a three cheese Fondue with bread and potatoes. It was really good but by the end it was getting pretty heavy and I was ready to stop. The beers we ordered set a nice mood to the evening and allowed us to really relax and watch the city be taken over by the night.

It was a good night we headed back to our hostel to finish packing and get some sleep before the next day.







Day 226
We woke up and hit the road pretty early that morning. We were headed to Bern to get our passports back. Hopefully they had a Chinese visa in them? We made good time to the city and everything went smooth. I was thinking we were going to get lost but in the end we drove right to the consulate easy as can be. That was nice.

I was the second person to arrive at the consulate that morning. There was one other girl in front of me. As people came in we all started to line up and get ready for the place to open. Of course a couple Chinese people came in and went right to the front of the line. Damn Chinese. Everyone was like can you believe these people. They told them in French to get in the back of the line but they played dumb. Eventually we just butted in front when it opened. Man we weren’t even in China yet and I felt like I was there. I swear the trip begins before you even get there. Oh China was going to be wonderful.

In the end I paid $200 American dollars for our visa’s (ouch!) and headed out. We had gotten a one month double entry visa. It wasn’t really what we wanted but we would make it work. We just needed to get in the country.

After the visa we drove downtown to look a little more at the town. We walked to the bear cages again and the church. Eventually we found Einstein’s home when he lived for two years. I was really interested in seeing that. The house was the place where he first though of the E=MC2 concept. Pretty cool.

The house was a mini museum and had plenty of stuff to read on his life. The guy was a pretty regular guy but one fact that stuck out in my mind. He had married his cousin once his first wife left. That was a little weird.

After the Einstein house we headed to look for shoes for me. I was determined to find me some shoes. Finally in a little store of the main street in a dusty box on a shelf far in the back of the room I found my golden shoes. They were Hi-Tech shoes and they felt pretty good. I bought them and walked down the street happy as could be having conquered the dreaded shoe problem. My old squeaky brown Nike shoes were history! Bring on the parade.

After getting my shoes we had to do a quick Starbucks stop and we were on our way back to Geneva. I was glad to be headed back and was looking forward to dropping the car off in one piece. I loved driving the car but was terrified that something might happen to it.

We made it back to Lawrence and Sabrina’s house without a hitch. I washed the car and happily put it back in the place I found it. It was so nice to have but also nice to give back.

We hung out in the evening and eventually met with Lawrence after work to have fish and chips at a local restaurant. Dinner was great and after we headed back to their house to pack and eventually hit the hay.







Day 227
We woke up early that morning to head to the airport and catch out flight to Spain. I was excited to see Spain and have heard allot of wonderful things about it. We also were entering a country where Ana spoke the language. That was a new welcome concept and I was really looking forward to being able to communicate with people. It made traveling so much less stressful and smooth.

We said goodbye to Gabriel, Lawrence and Sabrina. We had a wonderful time with them and they were EXTEAMLY generous to us. It was sad to say goodbye and once again me and Ana were traveling alone. We had that same funny feeling that would eventually go away in a few days.

The flight to Barcelona was quick and I did my usual thing when I get on planes – sleep. The Dramamine always kicks my butt and I fall asleep. I must say it is kind of nice though to fall asleep and the next thing you know it there waking me up to raise my seat for landing.

For some reason I woke up on the wrong side of the plane that day. I was pretty much grouchy the whole rest of the day. Poor Ana had to deal with me. I was in such a bad mood and all I could see was a huge city and crowds. I was thinking to myself why we spent so much money to come to a crowded city where I really know nothing about. We could have been somewhere like Berlin or England. I knew a ton about the history and at least there was a ton to see. Barcelona felt like a plastic pre built city and I was pissed about that. I think I was pissed about everything and anything that day.

To top things off when we got to our hostel it was really crappy. The room we had was super small, the “free” computers they offered were worthless, and the communal TV was a massive ten inch screen. I could tell the owner used this place just as a cash cow and didn’t care at all about the customers. What a day I was having. The sky was falling.

We took a short nap and I was hoping that would snap me out of my funk but all it did was make me more restless. I didn’t like the city and didn’t want to be there.

We had dinner at a local Burger King and called it a night early. I was hopping the next day would be better.








Day 228
I woke up around 4:00 am sweating like a hog. Damn roommates had shut off the air conditioning because they only had thin sheets to sleep with. It was EXTREMELY hot and muggy with the six of us in that little closet sized room with one tiny window. AHHHR I can’t handle having idiot roommates anymore. I got up and turned the air back on. It was better after a little while but I was still kind of pissed. I didn’t like the roommates and the hostel just sucked.

Around 8:30 am we got up to eat our “free” breakfast. The hostel conveniently only served breakfast from 8-9 in the morning. Bastard’s! They obviously were thinking of ways to reduce the amount of food they actually had to give out. Of course the breakfast sucked and for the rest of the time we were there it wasn’t worth getting up for.

We headed out to start the day and see some sites in the city. The weather was pretty warm and made walking around easy and pleasant. We first went to the “Sangrada Familia” church. It was a pretty impressive church and definitely different. The style of architecture wasn’t a style I liked but I respected it. The style was very “Goddy” but it was innovative and I liked that about it. The church had things like unusual blocky sculptures of people, and the doors had writing that was composed of sentences that seemed to make no sense. Pretty modern and I respected what they were trying to accomplish.

We walked through the inside of the church and saw a bunch of the construction going on. They slowly build the church with the money a private family could come up with. It was a painful process and had been going on for over a hundred years to get to the point in which we saw it. I think it still had another sixty years to go.

After the church we headed over to the Olympic Park area and found there was nothing really to see. It seemed a little ghostly and dysfunctional. It looked like it was built for the Olympics but when everyone left the area just sat there with no one to fill it up. There was kind of a ghostly feeling to the area.

I was wearing my new shoes and they were starting to pinch my feet and get really uncomfortable. Man just what I needed and lucky for me I had kept my old shoes. When we got back to the hostel I was going to put my old squeaky shoes on and send the new ones home. The shoe Gods were after me and didn’t want me to find new shoes.

For dinner we ate at Subway and headed back to the hostel. By the time we had reached the hostel we had put about six thousand miles on that day and my feet were killing me.

That night we looked around for another hotel to stay at. I was done with out hostel and wanted a new place. I didn’t care how much we had to pay. We needed a decent place and some privacy.

The streets were flooded to the brim with people and it made walking around pretty frustrating. At the end of the night I needed a drink so we headed to one of the local restaurants with seating outside along the main street and got some Sangria’s. Sangria’s are basically wine mixed with a fruit juice. It sounds really nasty but it’s actually really good and by the end of the night we were pretty light up. Being a little drunk was starting to relax me and put me in a better mood.

Later that night I took the Sangria back to my bed and we fell asleep together. I slept like a baby that night.








Day 229
We slept in past the really bad breakfast and eventually rolled out of bed sometime around 10:00 am. We headed over to the near by Picasso museum but the line was way to long to deal with. I wasn’t that excited to see the museum.

We headed to the beach to walk along the shore and see the scene. The scene turned out to be a bit PG rated with the girl bathing without there tops. It’s nice to see people so not caught up on sex. People seem so mature about the whole thing. In America not having your top is like committing a crime. Here though people were really relaxed and free. I really liked that.

We spent a while just walking down the beach and just around the city. We were putting on some miles in this town and eventually found a nice little local place to eat some dinner. We had some “Paella” which is basically Spanish tasting rice with different things on top, and of course a pitcher of Sangria. Man that Sangria was the strongest we had and left us pretty giggly by the time we finished.

We walked back to our hostel and played some cards for a little bit before heading out again to see a little more of the city and some more Sangria. The main street was really packed and the performers were all out. I must say the street performers here are some of best I’ve ever seen. They had really clever and unique costumes. I really liked this couple that dressed all in white 70s cloths and had a disco ball above their heads. When someone would drop money they would dance without music. They were really funny. There were also two guys on bikes wearing these elaborate skeleton costumes. They looked like they were right out of a movie and when someone gave them money they would start cycling. There were also soccer look alike’s, weird guys on piles of metal trash, and even the typical spray paint painters and things like that. It was a fun street and everyday it seemed like they had new costumes.

Eventually after another pitcher of Sangria we headed back to the room to grab some sleep.









Day 230
We woke up this morning and headed to the new hotel room we had reserved. I was really excited and glad to get out of that damn room and that damn hostel. I hated that place. It was by far the worst experience in any hostel in Europe.

The new hotel room was wonderful and the privacy was heavenly. We didn’t do much the rest of that day but relax and watch Spanish TV in our room. We did walk around a little bit but nothing that special.

In the evening we headed to a local bar to have a couple drinks and watch a Flamenco show. The show was short but pretty entertaining. The girl danced with the most fire and passion I’ve ever seen anyone dance with. I swear she must have been part man. She stomped the floor with attitude and power. It was really cool and I enjoyed it.

After the show we headed back to our street and had another pitcher of Sangria. All the drinking we were doing was starting to make the place more fun. When I was buzzed I was more relaxed in the overwhelming crowds and started to enjoy the vibe of the city. That’s sounds like the rational of an alcoholic. Oh well.

Eventually we headed back to our own wonderfully private hotel room and crashed for the night. It was so nice to just set the AC on and not worry about someone messing with it in the night.








Day 231
We woke up late and watched TV for most of the morning. It was great just to chill and not do anything. We didn’t actually leave the room till about 4:30 that night when we decided to walk over the site of the 1992 Olympics.

The walk to the stadium was a long one and eventually we made it. We past some of the rougher parts on the outskirts and it felt like we were seeing more of the authentic people and not so much of the tourist areas. We were both getting pretty tired but what was another few miles on the old feet. Man we’ve done some serious miles in Europe.

The stadium was pretty dead and had the same feel as the Olympic village did – big and ghostly. It was cool to see the stadium and to remember when I was younger and thought this place was so far away. We ate a snack for lunch at the stadium snack bar and headed back to the hotel after that.

By the time we got back to the hotel we were starting to get hungry again and wanted to eat a good meal. We tried to eat at the same place we had eaten the previous day but it was closed when we got there. We settled for the buffet that was right next store. It turned out to be ok and about fifty percent of the food was good and the rest was pretty bad.

After dinner we had a final pitcher of Sangria at one of the local restaurants and called it a night. I was happy we were leaving the city the next day. I wasn’t that impressed with Barcelona overall. I’m not a big city guy and Barcelona just seemed like a cool city. I’ve seen enough of those in my life.

When we got back to the hotel we finished packing and hit the cama.







Day 232
Ana with her endless ability to wake up early got up and did the laundry before I even got out of bed. That was really nice of her and allowed me to just chill for the morning. Around 11:00 am we took a bus to the airport to catch our flight to Berlin. I was happy to be leaving and really interested in being in Berlin. That city was drowning in history and culture.

The flight was short and painless and next thing you knew it we were in Berlin. Taking the train to our hostel was a bit of a pain in the butt but in the end we figured it out. The city from the train looked very modern and really interesting. It wasn’t what I expected and it was a nice surprise.

The hostel was a little bit out of town but we eventually found it and dropped our bags off. The people in our room seemed pretty cool and were mostly from Australia and New Zealand. I guess we had accidentally booked in a dorm know for having tons of people from that region. That was fine since most of them are very similar to American’s and are really cool.

We were pretty hungry and headed to a local place that was supposed to have good burgers. That sounded great and we ordered two for me and Ana. We should have only ordered one for the both of us. They were MASSIVE burgers. I think they must have been around one pound of meat. I’m not kidding. It was heavy to even pick up. I’m pretty sure that was the biggest burger I’ve ever eaten. We were starting to find out that the portions in Europe are like in America – HUGE.

After Ana and I crammed an entire cow down our throats we headed out to take a little walk and see the town. The walk was also an attempt at settling our stomachs that were now starting to realize what we had done to them.

We didn’t get very far but from what we saw the town looked pretty cool. We were looking forward to exploring it the next day.

Our beds in the hostel were amazing and probably the best we’ve had on the trip. They were massive in size and I actually fit in them without having to hang my feet over. They also had huge fluffy pillow and the sheet were soft and warm. I think the comforter was actually a feather one. Either way it was like heaven and I new I was going to sleep like a champ.








Day 233
Sleep really well that night and the bed was sensational. In morning we took the train to town and on our way there purchased our ticket to Prague. We wanted to lock that down before we did anything. We had to make our flight to Beijing from Prague.

When we reached downtown the weather was being really sporadic. It was on and off raining and we couldn’t tell if it was going to get better or worse. We had wanted to go on a free tour that was offered but since the weather was so bad we decided against it and went to the museum. But we didn’t go to the museum before stopping off at the local Starbucks. That place is like Kryptonite to us.

There are a ton of museums to go too in Berlin but we chose to head to Pompesi on Museum Island. Walking to the museum was really interesting and it was nice to be in Berlin. I felt like I was walking through time. This was the city Hitler was going to make the capital of his new world. This was also the city he was killed it. This city was also 90 percent destroyed in WWII and that wasn’t that long ago. There had been massive reconstruction efforts and they said this city was second only to Shanghai in development. It was a beautiful city just to wander down. A bit grim but still amazing.

One thing that was refreshing and flew in the face of what I believed was that the people in Germany were really nice and friendly? I expected them to be a little more reserved and direct and to the point when you asked them questions. But so far all the people we had met were really nice and more than willing to help us. That was really nice to see and my opinion of the country and the people was beginning to change.

Once we got to the museum I was pleasantly surprised by the collection of artifacts they had. They had a ton of Greek, Roman, and Babylonian art at this particular museum. The pieces were laid out really well and they even created entire rooms dedicated to recreating the experience of a building or monument. The Babylonian doors to the city were really amazing to see. They were set up to give you the impression of what it would be like to enter the doors of the city. Really cool.

The museum was great and we spend a few hours wandering around it with our headphones. When we were done we headed out to find something to eat. What we found was a little Tex-Mex place. I was dying for some Mexican food and Ana wanted a Margarita. We ordered up and the food turned out to be pretty good. It was definitely German/Mexican food and came in huge portions as usual.

After eating we headed back to the hostel to be in time for the “Pub Crawl”. It ended up that our whole room was going to it and we decided what the heck we’ll go. I was a little worried about the free shots they offered all night. That could be a great thing or a really bad things. We’ll find out.

The night started with all you can drink beer for an hour. There was about fifty people there and it was really fun. They let us drink on the street and I found that really surprising. They seemed really relax about the whole things and it kind of had the vibe of Amsterdam. People didn’t get all worked up when you had a beer on the street or were a little drunk. I really liked that and was starting to like Germany more by the minute.

Ana and I also found out that night that we were on the prostitution street. We didn’t really realize it till we saw two really attractive girls standing out in the street in front of us waving at guys in their high heeled boots. I asked about it and the local guy and he told me that there was a legal brothel near by and the girls had to pay taxes and everything? I couldn’t believe it and I thought Amsterdam was the only place that had publicly viewable prostitution. Man Germany wasn’t anything like I had imagined.

After we had quickly consumed as many beers as possible in an hour we proceeded to four different bars and one club. The group slowly got drunker and more wasted as we went. It was really cool to all be going through the streets drunk and noisy and no one caring. Germany was really cool that way and it felt very free and fun. To get to the last club we were all wasted and actually got on a public train. Imagine fifty wasted kids getting on a public train in LA. They just wouldn’t let it happen.

The last club was pretty fun and we danced for a bit before heading out. We had been drinking all night and were pretty messed up. We were though able to walk back to the hostel. I was really surprised at how good I was able to guide us home even though I couldn’t really see the map. Half skill and half luck. But sure enough there we were in front of our place. Man that was nice and we headed in and crashed in a our soft and big wonderful beds. We had a blast hanging out with the other roommates.








Day 234
All of our room was hurting the next morning including me and Ana. We both wanted a big breakfast to help settle the upset stomach. We cooked up some massive omelets in the kitchen with toast. Man that was great and a perfect meal for our hung over state. When we finished eating breakfast we realized that we were still a little hurt and decided to go back to the room where everyone was still sleeping and catch another nap.

We got up in time to head downtown for the 4:00 pm free city tour. I was really interested in going on it and allot of people had spoke highly of it. Basically these local kids would drag you around the city and show you the highlights of the place and tell you some of the history. That was a really cool idea and I wish they did that in other parts of the world.

The tour started at the Starbucks right next to the famous Brandenburg Gate. We were standng in the “kill zone” which only sixteen years ago we would have been killed just for being there. I love being in places like that. History just seemed so alive in those places.

The tour started by talking about it’s importance of the Brandenburg Gate. We got to see the hotel where Michael Jackson hung his baby out of the window as well. Now that was history in the making.

As we continued through the streets we were told about how Hitler seized power and began controlling the country. The process was slow and really started to make sense of how a level headed society slowly transformed into something that was unstoppable. In the end I was really surprised how much more sympathy I had for the German people and could see them more for what they were and not what a terrible dictator had done to them. That was really cool to experience and I was so happy to be there in Germany and to create my own opinions of history and the people. What were spoon fed in America is that there terrors and lifeless beings. Reality isn’t anywhere near that.

People are people no matter where you are in the world. The majority of people just want to live a good life and prosper. It’s the small top and bottom percentage of each society that commits the crimes. I’m really starting to grasp that concept on this trip and it gives me more faith in humanity.

While on the tour we passed a huge Jewish Memorial that was really fascinating and build of a ton of huge stones that looked like huge grave stones. As you walked through the paths were all set at different depths. It was a really beautiful memorial.

The tour then proceeded to the site where Hitler was killed which was basically a weed patch in front of some old buildings. Hitler’s famous bunker was once located deep in the earth below our feet. Apparently when the Russians were close to taking over the city Hitler bit down on a cyanide pill and put a bullet in his head. The body was dragged up to the very spot we were standing and burned. We were standing on the site where Hitler faced the world and realized his plans had failed. Wow.

The site where Hitler died wasn’t preserved and that was common for war type subjects and sites in Germany. They were still a country of people trying to deal with their past. They were at the source of two world wars and had tons of blood on their hands. There people were broken and trying to figure out a way to survive in a world that blamed and judged them for so much. I had sympathy for the people but I must say I do also have fear. They were a country that had potential to cause what happened in the past again. That was scary.

The tour continued to Check Point Charlie and to some of the last remaining Iron Curtin. They had a mock of what the wall looked like and it was really interesting to see. It was a really effective wall and I don’t know how people actually made it through. It was also sad to think of all the people that had died trying.

The tour ended at the Pub Crawl and we had a few free beers. We then headed to a local Turkish stand and had a great pizza wrap. After filling our bellies with some great food we headed to the train and made our way back to the hostel to hit the sack.









Day 235
We woke up pretty early and cooked up another great omelet for “brecky”. We then headed downtown to take another tour. This time the tour was going to be about the Russian and American spy games that were going on after WWII in the area.

The tour guide we got was a little dry but the tour ended up being pretty interesting. We got some insight into the history and what it was like when the wall was still up. Man that time sounded like a country filled with paranoid people. There were tons of people dedicated to just getting information on people. At one point the ratio of Russian spies gathering intel on the people inside of the wall was six to one. Can you imagine that! At the height of the German power Hitler had a ratio of two thousand to one. Wow.

There were strict rules inside the wall like there couldn’t be more than four people in a group talking. If you were caught in groups like that they would break you up and ask you questions about what you were talking about. If they didn’t like your answers away you all went. They also had things like if your kid drew a funny picture in school they would bring the entire family in for questioning. Crazy and really disturbing.

All the cliché spy movies we see and gadgets we have are modeled after this time. Things like double agents, spy cameras, etc. You name it they had it and were actually real. They even went as far as to put a cloth under people’s arms for twenty minutes. After you removed it they put it in a jar and said that they now had recorded your smell. If they wanted to find you they would give the smell to dogs that would track you down. Crazy and in the end they collected so much intel that they created the largest paper pill ever recorded.

The tour was interesting and just left me with a weird sense of paranoia. Man it must have sucked to live during that time. I think if you farted funny they think would think you were trying to pass information or something and question you. So “why was your fart at exactly 5:03 pm - does that mean something” or “we noticed you lifted your left check instead of your right – does that mean something”. Man what a weird time.

After the tour we pretty much walked around the city and got lost. Eventually we found the TV tower and went up to the top. It was nice to see the city from up there and funny to think they built it as a way to show the world they were powerful and they also used it as a spy platform.

After the tower we headed to Museum Island where all the museums were free for the night. We saw some Egyptian collections that seemed really small compared to the collection in Egypt. I guess there is no comparison.

Eventually we trained back to the hostel to catch some zzz’s.








Day 236
We woke up early again to go on another tour. The tours were really interesting and a great way to get our heads around some of the history in the area. This day we were headed out of town to the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. It was a grime tour but I was still interested in standing on the grounds where such atrocities happened.

I really love to see, smell, and touch things rather than read about them no matter how hard the subject manor is. I don’t like to pretend or ignore what human beings are capable. People ruthlessly kill each other and always have. We were headed to an area that was logically and systematically killing people. It was going to be emotionally hard but at the same time reality would be burned into my experience of life. Something I would never forget and a viewpoint I could then before understand life and human beings.

The train ride to the camp took about one hour during which we were told about the history of the camp and how it turned from a political prison to a secret slaughter house killing over 50,000 people. The tour wasn’t very fun and exciting. It was more of the kind of tour that put a hole in your stomach and your heart. There was something really real about standing on the ground where it all happened and it was very emotional. People died horrible deaths and there was something grey and dead about the air there. It was almost like the pain was left in the air even though the people were gone.

We got to see some of the only surviving bunk houses. They were horribly crowded and dirty. The one thing that was really tough was the urinals. They said many time people were grabbed and beat to death in their by the guards. One of the survivors of the camp spoke to the guide there a few months ago. The guide said the survivor remembered the first time he saw a dead body in the bathroom. He said it really startled him. But he said by the end of his time there he didn’t think much of it and would just use the bathroom next to the body. Wow.

There was an area of the camp that was used over the course of four weeks to kill four thousand prisoners. They would line them up in the pit then bring in the guards above them to gun them down. It was horrible and the paperwork they found later said it was an ineffective method of disposal of the people since it put the guards shooting them under too much stress. The guards were given vacation after they finished to make things better. Can you imagine that? The guards in the towers above the prison were also giving a weeks vacation if they shot someone. That was an incentive measure to keep them trigger happy.

This camp was being used as a model camp for all the other camps so they were constantly trying to find better ways of disposing of people. After the gun shot range idea they came up with a better way to kill people. They would tell them they needed a physical. There was a doctor that was in a room and he would ask them to open their mouths and look inside. If he saw gold teeth he would mark them. They then would wait in a room with a loud speaker playing music. They then would be let into a room where they had to stand against the wall to check there height. In the wall was a small hole right at neck level. There were two guards that took turns shooting the people in the back of the neck when they were standing there. They then would wipe any blood up and remove the body and invite the next person in. The bodies were brought out and cremated. It was really hard to imagine that this had happened on the ground we were standing.

I guess the neck shot didn’t work that well and they then moved onto the gassing of people. Gassing was a human way of exterminating people and in the end was the most widely accepted way of exterminating people.

We visited the laboratory where testing on people was done. They did things like cut people’s limbs open and pack them full of dirt so they would become gangrene. They then could test there medicine they had created. If that didn’t work they had three other limbs to test on. It was horrible to imagine and more horrible to be standing in the room where these things actually happened. It was clean, cold, and deadly being in that room.

Eventually the tour finished and we caught the train back to the city. Because of the tours we had taken and the history we had seen I felt like I was starting to understand how something like the camps could actually happen. Hitler was the man behind it all. He pushed the people to do his vision. He found a group of crazy military guys that had no problem killing and he made them his right arm. He then could command them to carry out what happened. The people committing the crimes were a small group of a few thousand people and it wasn’t everyone. I could see the same group being assembled in America should the times become hard enough and the wrong guy came to power. It all happened slowly until it was too late.

We got back to our hostel pretty late and just decided to relax the rest of the evening and run a few errands. We ate a Turkish Pizza Wrap for dinner and then tried to find me some shoes in a local mall. No luck though and I’m starting to give up. Germans were huge people but I guess they have tiny feet. I did find some funky looking shoes that fit me but I just couldn’t buy them. They were just too nerdy.

Eventually we packed up and hit the hay.







Day 237
We woke up early to catch our train to Prague. I was sad to leave Berlin and felt like we hadn’t seen everything. There was so much to see I think we could have filled up a couple weeks in that place. I really enjoyed being in Germany and the people and it is definitely one of the places I want to go back too.

The train ride to Prague took almost five hours and we slept a good majority of the time. As we came into the outskirts of the city you could see that Prague was much poorer than Germany. They building were dirty and the people seemed a little rougher. They also looked more skinny, lighter in color, and “Russianesk” in their features.

The city metro was simple to navigate and in no time we were at our hostel and dropping off our bags. The hostel was pretty rough and the staff was interesting to say the least. We were definitely headed toward less rich countries and tougher conditions. It kind of stunk but I knew in a few days we would get used to things being dirtier and less nice.

We headed out of the hostel to go check out the town. On our way to town we met a guy we had met on the tram sitting outside a local hostel having a beer. The hostel looked really nice and we thought about changing but in the end our hostel was cheaper and we had our own room so we stayed.

We sat down with the guy we met and had a beer. We ended up meeting a couple other guys from California and decided to go to lunch with them and two other local girls. The food turned out to be pretty good and I had a chicken cordon blue. The food reminded me allot of the food in Bolivia because it was very natural and seemed wholesome.

After lunch we headed to the downtown to city. It was a charming little city and I was glad that we only decided to spend two days there since it looked pretty small. This town was like a nice little candy treat in Europe.

The rest of the evening we pretty much just got lost on the streets and enjoyed the city. We had a beer along the river which was nice. The tourist in this little city outnumbered the locals which kind of sucked but it was still fun.

Eventually we walked back home and crashed in our own room. That was a nice change.








Day 238
We were both really tired and finally got out of bed sometime around 11:30 am. We finally headed to downtown and walked up the grueling, crooked and confusing little hill to see the castle on top. There was a nice church and we checked it out first. I’m getting “churched out” and pretty much walked in and walked back out. I think we spent about a couple hours checking out the gardens and the place.

After seeing the castle we headed down the hill to see the city. We grabbed a hot dog at the bottom of the hill for lunch. The hot dog bun was kind of cool and only had one hole. The guy would squirt ketchup and mustard down the hole then put the hot dog in. Pretty cool idea and it was really good.

We headed to the Jewish district where the only surviving Jew cemetery existed. Hitler had spared the destruction of this one and had planned on making the place a memorial to an extinct race. We didn’t actually go inside the cemetery since it was way overpriced but we did peak into the gates. Basically it was a huge graveyard with headstone all over the place. They were everywhere on top of each other and falling over. Pretty interesting.

After the cemetery we headed into town to just get lost and find whatever we stumbled upon. We found a small fair that was going on and Ana had to get one of the cinnamon role things they were selling. They turned out to be pretty good and we had to order a second one.

Eventually it started raining and I didn’t have an umbrella just a rain jacket. I got really pissed at Ana for not bringing my umbrella. She just brought her own and not mine. I’m not sure why that made me so mad but I was pretty pissed for about an hour after. I think I might have eaten an evil spirit when I had that cinnamon roll thing. Poor Ana had to deal with me.

Eventually after walking through a bunch of rain I found an Irish Pub and grabbed a tall beer to try and get ride of the evil spirit that had overtaken me. Sure enough in no time the demon had been exercised from my body and I was back to normal just a little drunker.

Eventually we had to leave the bar to meet up with our friend Carina who had been luckily in the town the same time we were on vacation. It was great to see her and always wonderful to see family when were traveling.

Dinner was great and Carina helped us to order a more local and typical meal. I had some Pork, Sourkrought, and dumplings. It was really good and we had a great dinner catching up.

Eventually we said good-bye and thanked Carina for a great time. On our way back to the hostel we had to stop into the local hostel and have a couple beers with the guys. There was a pretty good group of people from all over that we had met there and the night was really fun talking with them and having a few beers.

Eventually we headed home sometime around 1:00 am after the guys were getting crazy and drunk off flaming drinks. Sleeping came easy with the amount of beer I had drank.








Day 239
We woke up and chilled in the room for a little bit. We were a little tired and were just enjoying having a slower morning. Around 1:00 pm or so we headed downtown to see the Mucha Museum. I loved his work and it was wonderful to see their collection. The body of work he had created in his lifetime was really impressive.

After the museum we just wandered around and by chance had bumped into a shoe store. I popped in to check out the selection and sure enough I found a nice shoe that they had in my size. VICTORY. It had been over a month and I had finally found some new shoes. I was so happy to get ride of my old brown squeaky Nike’s. It was also kind of sad to leave those shoes since they had been really good to me. But that didn’t last long and away I walked in my brand spanking new “New Balance” shoes.

Dinner consisted of a number 4 at Mc Donald’s and afterwards we headed back to the hostel. Of course we met our friends at the near by hostel and had to stop in for a drink. The night started with one drink and somehow ended with four large beers and two flaming Absence. I’m not sure how that happened but it sure did and I was messed up.

At one point our American friend Greg tried to light the alcohol in his mouth then drink it. That wasn’t a good idea. In fact the whole idea of a table full of drunks lighting things on fire and drinking them wasn’t a good idea. I’m not even sure why the bartender actually gave us those drinks.

But in the end Greg had to light his mouthful of absence and then drink it. Of course he chocked after the fire was light and spit the alcohol everywhere. There were flames all over the place and unfortunately he got the worst of it. See when he coughed a large amount of the fire and alcohol ran down his chin. He tried putting it out but by the time he had fallen to the floor and put the fire out it was too late. He had given himself a slight burn. You couldn’t see the burn but you could see he was bleeding a little in some areas. He spent most of the rest of the night with ice on his chin and neck. It was pretty funny. Crazy Americans.

Around 1:00 am everyone wanted to hit a local bar and I was game to go tear it up. The absence flaming drinks were REALLY strong and I was messed up. In fact I’ve never had a drink that’s got me that drunk that quickly. It was lethal stuff. Luckily Ana hadn’t drank too much and told me we better not go to the bar and head back to the room. We had to leave for the airport in three hours. That made sense and I trusted her judgment at that moment even though going to the local bar sounded really good.

In order to get out of the group I told them I was totally game to go and I would meet them outside. We then took off without telling anyone. I’m sure if they knew they would have dragged me in the taxi with them.

Walking down the cold street toward a market to buy me some food and drinks was pretty interesting and I really started realizing how drunk I was. Wow those shots were strong. Once at the store I bought a bag of chips, a soda, and a huge old sandwich. I think the sandwich had been sitting there for a few weeks but I didn’t care. It looked great to me.

Back at the hostel I consumed the food like a ravenous dog and tried to lie down to sleep. Falling asleep took a while since the room kept moving all over the place on me. But at some point I lost consciousness and fell asleep.








Day 240
Ana woke me up a few hours after I fell asleep and I was pretty much just as drunk as when I when to sleep. But it was time to catch our flight to Beijing and we had to get up. Actually it was kind of nice to still be drunk since my stomach wasn’t hurting that much yet.

We grabbed our backpacks and set out walking to the local hostel to catch a taxi. Once we got there we noticed that Greg was on the internet still looking really drunk. He had just come back from the bar and was checking his flight time that day. When we got there he had just realized that his flight was in a couple hours and he was starting to panic. I told him grab his shit and he can come to the airport with us right then.

Greg ran upstairs and in no time was back with his bag. He was smart and had packed the night before luckily. We jumped in the car and headed to the airport. He was still really drunk and kept repeating himself. He kept telling us how lucky he was to meet us and that he would have been so mad if he missed his flight.

At the airport we pointed drunken Greg in the right direction and wished him the best. We got our tickets and checked in. I was starting to feel like shit and couldn’t wait to get on the plane. Eventually I got my wish and was safely tucked into my seat. I didn’t bother reclining the seat because I didn’t want the sturdiest to wake me up when we descended into Brussels only an hour away.

We had to change planes in Brussels and of course we had a few hours to burn before we caught the next flight to China. We were both hurting from the short nights sleep and I had all I could do to stay upright and awake in the airport seats. We tried to go get a coffee at the local shop to wake up but all I could do was lay my head down on the table and try not to fall into a deep sleep. I needed to sleep and we finally found some benches in the back of the airport to fall asleep on. After a couple hours of sleeping I felt much more human.

Eventually we checked in at the right gate and got ready to board our plane. There were tons of Chinese at the gate and our trip had already begun. They were so loud and funny looking. I swear Chinese are like walking cartoon characters. They were just so funny and I was half way looking forward to traveling in their country. What I wasn’t looking forward to was the crowds and their manors.

Eventually we boarded the plane and I was back asleep. We flew pretty much the rest of that day and into the night and I’m not sure exactly when I fell asleep since it was more like several cat naps in a row.