To Spain

first I just want to give a shout out to my readers in Israel. I hope this is an enjoyable sight to read, and dont worrie I take good care of Jakie.

Second I just want to comment that Noah will be the greatest Bull of all time, and that Gray was a steal in the second round. I have now become a Bobcats fan for obvious reasons, and I think NY made a good trade, so props to Seidler.

As for Switzerland, it was ok. Jake had a ton more fun than me. I got over the scenery in about two hours, and just was kind of sitting around. It was beautifull, but unless you want tyo shell out like $100 to do some of the extreem sports Interlocken isnt the greatest. I do think Jake loved it, so I was happy that he went. Its an outdoorsmans dream, but there was little culture there.

We did however eat a ton of cheese and chocolate, and we evensaw traditional yoddeling. THat was really cool. We also met some nice people from Martanville, so needless to say we didnt tell them we were Jewish, and even talked about going to church. The girl from Martanvill developed a little crush on me, and made it obvious atone point that she wanted to find a secluded place. I obviously did not do anything, I thought what if I did and she accedenlly got pregnant, there would be one more biggut in the world.

Were in Spain now after 30hrs on a train. It actutually wasnt too bad of a trip. WE were a little slap happy the last few hours, but it was ok. The train from Madrid to Saville we had to ride first class, because they were sold out of second class. Part of first class is going to the lounge, wherer they gave free drinks, so we got smashed. It was so rediculious, Jake should never be allowed to make the decision on what to do. We got on the train just tanked, and must have been rediculious, as the served us our first class meal, we laughed and must have been really obnioushious. Anyway, I then stopped drinking for frea of vommiting as Jake pressed on having a few complementary beers on the train its self. All in all it was fun, but sort of silly non the less.

Spain is cool, it very sceanic, but also too hot. Were in Seville now, and in a few daysa we go to Madrid, then to Barcelona, and finally to Pamplona for the main event.

All is well,

Florence was awsome!

So we leave tonight, and I just thought I would catch people up with the Italian pictures, So........

This is us in Venice

Us at the collesium

Me in Pizza

Us in Florence at sun down

Finally we took a bike tour of a vinard in rural Tuskany. It was so cool. The hills and everything were unreal. I have tons of pictures of it that I wont post, so if you want just ask me when Im home, and Ill show you the increadible landscape

Well, all is well, and Im looking forward to moving on from Italy.

Things never go as you plan them

We went to Pizza, and there wasnt too much there. It was a university topwn, and the tower is cool, but only lasts around a half an hour. We took a ton of funny pictures. We then just cooked dinner and went to bed around 9 (we needed it)

So... the idea was to go to chinqua terra for a day, and walk the prittey scenery. So... there was a train station worklers strike, and we didnt get to our hostel until 4ish (we left Pizza at 8). It was such a hassel. So we couldnt do the hike and we ended up doing an abreviated hike at sundown with these two girls from Iowa. It was fine, and was very pritty, but not what we had planned.

Then we arived in Florence. I have been excited for a few months about this insane sport that peole dye durring. Its supposed to be the most violent sport ever! anyway, aparently about a month ago the city voted and decided to not have the game this year (its been going for around a thousand years) apparently its too violent, and cant be done anymore.

Florence is still cool we saw the David, and it was spectacular. tonight were going to a music festival, and tommorow there is still a parade and fireworks, so things will still be fun.

then on Monday off to Switzerland

End of Rome

Tonight is our last night in Rome, and it has been spectacular. I think Rome has been fore sure in my top two cities Ive visited so far (Krakow is #1). The Vatican was spectacular, everything about it was so beautiful. It was so nice. And just being in the city has been great. There are these fountains everywhere, which are so pretty, but are also drinkable, which makes this the best place to travel to in the summer. I think everything is just nicer looking in Rome. The streets are so decorative, little allies look like they were planned with such precision its remarkable. We head for Pizza tommorow, and then this small town called Cinqua Terra the next day, the day after that its off to Florence for a few nights and then we head to Switzerland. Everything is going well, and I look forward to the second half of my journey.

Venice and Rome

So, we left Munich, and made our way to Venice. On the train we met two girls, and decided to pend the day together. We went to breakfast, and walked around a bit. We watched them shop for bags which was the most fun ever. After all of this Jake had said that his friend went to Venice and found a pizza place that we had to go to, So, we started looking for it. Well, needless to say we don't know the city too well, and we took about an hour to get there. The girls were cranky and tiered and when Jake went in to buy a pizza they just tor him apart, and complained. He came back, and the pizza was very mediocre, which added insult to injury. We walked them back to the train station, and parted ways with them. When it was all said and done Venice was beautiful, and amazing. The views of the city are fantastic, and the weather was perfect. I think that anything more that 8 hours or so would have been overkill, but for the few hours we were there it was really nice.

We then got on a train to Rome, where we met another girl. Only this one was crazy. She was from Rural Washington, and loved Jesus. She made several references to the Lord, and the fact that he was her savior. She also explained how "The Lord" talks to her periodically and tells her what to do. It was so creepy. She was studying to be an opera singer, and loved musicals. So, naturally I asked her what some of her favorite movies were. She made mention of several, none made post 1980. I then asked her if she liked Chicago, and she made a face saying how it was far too racy, and that this kind of "smut" shouldn't be allowed to be in public. She was nice enough, but shes the exact reason that all of the Europeans we meet make fun of how ridiculous Americans are, and how we let the bible belt make too many decisions. After the train ride we parted. The Lord told her to leave the heathen Jews.

We arrived inn Rome, and saw the ancient city yesterday. It was fantastic. During the course of this trip I have seen so many historic monuments, and giant churches that I have grown accustom to them. I am no longer impressed with the average giant church and clock combo. Its sad, but I have gotten used to seeing big statues, and am not impressed anymore. The Coliseum is different. I was in awe. It was spectacular. It was so huge and intricate, it really showcased the power of the Roman Empire. We also saw the Roman Forum, the Pantheon, the arc di Constantine, the Arc di Titus, the Fountain di Trevi, and a million other cool ruins. It was all very impressive.

One thing I have noticed is that in Rome there are no traffic signals or crosswalks. They have a lot of those circle turns, and people just seem to venture into the streets and play Frogger trying not to get hit. It is the scariest thing ever. Its a fight for your life every time you want to cross the street. Its even stranger in other parts of the city where there are no sidewalks, so people just walk in the rode, and cars just maneuver around them. It is so crazy.

Anyway, we ended last night with this ridiculous meal. Jake and I had been talking about good Italian food for a few weeks now, so we found a reasonably priced place, and went in. We explained to the waiter (Alejandro) that we wanted to eat like Italians would eat. He understood and took our menus from us. He first came with a liter of red wine. He then came back with two huge plats of pasta for us. It was so good, Ive never had sauce like that before, it was unbelievable. As soon as we had finished the pasta, our man Alejandro came to us with steaks. It was ridiculous, so we got to work on the steaks. Needless to say the steaks were stupendous. About half way through our steaks our man came back with a huge bowl of potatoes, and another huge bowl of spinach. All of it was incredible. We just kept eating this fantastic meal. We finished all of that, and Alejandro let us sit for a while. About ten minuets later he came with a small bowl of fruit for us to nibble on. It was probably the best meal Ive ever had. It was a little expensive($25 each), but well worth every penny of it. We are discussing going back tonight, but aren't sure if the budget could handle it.

Anyway, were off to Vatican City today, which should be awesome........Ill post again soon

The last week or so

So, I know it has been a while since my last post, and I apologise to all of my loyal reader.

Poland ended well, I loved being there, and getting a feel for my heritage.

When Jake and I arrived in Prague Drew wasn't here, which was sad, but my friends Danny and Craig were. Sop, we toured with them a little, and since Danny had been living there for the past 5 months or so he knew exactly where to take us.

While there we met up with these crazy kids from England. They were so drunk. Not as drunk as the Irish Men, but rediculious nun the less. One kept asking random girls on the street how much for sexual favors, and another was so drunk he took off his shirt, and would justz mumbble. He was too drun to talk. I don't know why I think it's so funny to see these people, I guess it's just such a culture shock from what I'm used to in America.

All in all Prague was pritty fun untill we left.

When we were going to leave Prague we missed our train, and couldn't get another untill the mourning we had to kil around 11 hours in Prague. Since we had no place to stay and nothng to do, we were screwed. So we first put our bags in a locker, and romed the city for a while. We ended up at a Mcdonalds where we nused a value meal for two hours. We then went to a bar and watched the NBA finals from like 2AM to 4Am. At this point we were exausted, so we went to the train station where Jake fell a sleep on the floor. I stayed up for two hours while he slept watching creepy people walk around the train station wondering what smelled so terrible. Around 6Am a police man came over and explained that we couldn#t sleep there. Apparently the train station is where drug dealers and users go at night. All of thoes people I saw were going into the corner to shoot up. The police officer explained that they go around trying to get them out, but its impossibe. He also went on to explain that much of the floors Jake had slept on were coated in urin. He went on to tll us that no self respecting human should ever lay down on these floors and that he wouldn't even touch them with his hands. So, we wondered the city for another hour and a half. As we were walking around a group of prostitutes started harassing us, and when I told them I wasn't interested one hit me. I know that this blog has become riddeled with stories of prostituts, I think there just very prevalant in Europe, it's strange. In the end it was one of the worst nights of my life, but makes for an excellent story.

We arived in Munich, and took a short nap. After that we went to the world famous Hofbra House where we saw crazy men in the traditional German gear. We ended up meeting some nice men from swiserland. One of them was a celebraty, he was a weatherman in Zurich, and was recognised often as a man on TV.

Then today we went around the castel and fufilled Jakes dream of this beer garden. It was ok, but Jake loved it. The english garden in Munich is a must see, and you have to get a beer there, but it was kind of over rated.

Any way, tonight we go to Venice, so I'm looking forward to that. Overall everything is going well, Life is good, and things are fun.

Shit has hit the fan

There have been a few developments in the past 24hrs, first I'll tell you about my night last night....

As most of you know I don't drink, that not to say I drink a little, or only on occasion, but I've gone years without consuming alcohol. Well, this trip I've had a beer in almost every country as a way of tasting local things. So, last night Jake and I went to a pub in Krakow. (for those of you wondering where Drew is, he didn't want to go to Poland, he went straight to Prague. Ill get back to that later). So, I was drinking this polish made beer at the bar when Jake strikes up a conversation with a man from New Zealand. The next thing I know he invited us to have a shot with him and his friends. I declined, and Jake took a shot with them. We soon discovered that all of these men where in Krakow for a bachelors party. I know what some of you are thinking, how it's too large of a coincidence that I ended up at a bachelors party at the Kentucky Derby, well it is strange but true. It was this guy Owen from Ireland, with 10 of his best friends growing up in Krakow celebrating his eventual marriage. Then there was James the man we met and two other Kiwis joining the party. They were very welcoming, and tried to incorporate us into the group. They bought drink after drink, while Jake got plastered, I was sipping on a beer or two trying to keep everything in order.

Anyway, they got very roughly they were playing rugby, and smashing everything in the room. They destroyed a bar. They took out every lamp in the place as well as a chandelier. It was fucking nuts. Soon the bar maid threw them out, and demanded for them to pay for the damages. They of course did and proceeded into the streets.

As we exited the bar the Irish men proceeded to pick fights with everyone in the streets. They even tried to fight Polish police officers. eventually we made it into a second bar. At the other bar they ordered shot after shot after shot for us, then they kept ordering us beers. It was nuts. By this time I was trashed. Jake was ridiculously gone, and the Irish men wanted more. They proceeded to challenge us to arm wrestling fights, we of course destroyed all of these weak Irish men.

After this was when things went in a weird direction. They got into cabs, and we of course followed. WE soon pulled into a whore house. It may have been the seediest place I've ever been in. One of the Irish went in with a girl, while the others drunkenly yelled at the girls for being ugly. I think me and Jake were so nervous and uncomfortable we almost cried. Soon after they expressed their displeasure with the girls we went back to their hotel for a night cap. Jake puked all over their bathroom, and we excused ourselves and walked home.

It was the most insane night of my life.

Now back to Drew. I woke up this mourning to a series of three Emails. Drew has been kind of depressed for a while, and has been expressing extreme fatigue and displeasure with the trip. The second of the three emails said that had his wallet stolen, and he was being thrown out of his hostel. The third informed us that he was flying home. In his words he wasn't mentally prepared for this trip, and needed to get his act together.

It'll be weird pressing on without him, but there was nothing we could do to persuade him otherwise. I can't help but feel partly responsible for his departure, but there was nothing I could do about it.

I guess I'll just press on word without him

End of Germany Start of Poland

So, we have separated from Drew, and me and Jake went to Berlin yesterday. Drew decided that going to Poland was too expensive with the added travel costs so he just went to Prague, and we"ll meet him there in 4 days. So, Jake and I pressed to Poland. Berlin was ok, we only had 9 hours there, and we saw very little. First we went to the Holocaust memorial, then to checkpoint Charlie, and finally the German Jewish Museum. All three were very nice, but we were very rushed the whole time.

Then we went on a train to Poland. We took the overnight train, and it was crowded. It was six beds in a space not fit for one. When it was all said and done it wasn't too uncomfortable, and we got a decent night sleep.

This mourning we arrived in Poland, and it"s been pretty nice. Apparently it"s a Catholic holiday today, so everything is closed. Who knew? We saw the palace, and a lot of old Judaicafrom before the war. I think tomorrow we'll go to Auschwitz, and then Saturday to my grandfather's shtettle, Sunday we just want to see more of the city, and we have a train Sunday night at 10 pm to join Drew in Prague.


All is well, and I look forward to the next few days

I found a computer with a USB port

So aparently the computer in my hostel is free and has a USB port. So......


This is us on our ATVs

This is us durring a Sunset. I'm pritty sure this will end up as my background for at least a year or so. The whole Island was very very pretty

This is me in Dresden. The old city was spectacular. The opera house and the palace was nice as well.


This picture is for Mitzman. I have a new hero!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

End of Greece, and the Begining of Germany

We ended Greece on a little island named Santoini. It was spectacular. Every time I tuned around it was the most beautiful sight I've ever saw. I was so impressed. If some one were to ask me where the most beautifull place on earth was, I would first tell them in the rafters of the United Center, and a close second would be the Greek Cyclades.

The second day on the island we rented ATVs and drove all over. It was funny because there was only one rode on the island, so when we asked for directions we were told to "take the rode". I don't know it was funny to us. If anyone has the chance to fool around in ATVs I suggest it, we had a blast.

Anyway, I'm in Germany now. We decided to go to Dresden. We were given advice by numerious people that this was a better taste of Germany than Berlin, so we chose Dresden. With that said we plan on going to Berlin and spending eight hours or so there on Wendsday on our way to Krakow.

Thus far Dresden has been really cool we saw castles, and a huge opera house, alond with some of the most spectacular other buildings. I, like allways, have pictures, but can't use the USB port at this internet cafe.

My lasting impression of Germany(Dresden) is a negitive one. There is grafeetie everywhere, and everyone is dressed in all black. The "goth" look is very in here. I've also noticed a ton of facial piercings, and no one has a natural hair color, it's all red or pink or purpple. It's very odd. Even the adults look like punk rockers.

Well, I've got to run, I'll try to post pictures from Greece, and Dresden sometime soon.


Seth