BERLIN

So I just uploaded a ton of pictures and have no time left to really write but I'll just tell you that Berlin is our favorite city so far. It has so much to do and even though we have spent the most amount of time here so far, I feel like I have accomplished the least because of the wonderful things this city has to offer. From underground music scenes, to graffiti art on almost everything, to emo clubs, Jewish museums, nice hosts, nice people and so much more, it's easy to understand why I haven't had much time to write and why we love this city so much.

I'll write soon I promise. Enjoy the pics.

Amsterdam

Brussels was really beautiful as I said before. I was surprised at how much there was to do there. I'm glad we chose to spend our time in Belgium there instead of in Bruges because while Bruges is cute, the two and a half hours we spent there were long enough. If I had my shopping shoes on I would have done some major damage so far. These places are tourist ready. Good thing I only have a mind to explore at the moment, which there is a lot of opportunity to do. Cute little cobblestone streets that lead to cuter and littler ones. With a map in hand you can turn just about anywhere and still be able to find your way back, if not with the map by the smells and music that come from the city centers.

Sundays are great days in big cities in Europe because there is always something going on. Street Bazaars and festivals seem to be the norm here. There was an Indian culture festival in Dam Square yesterday. Great music, great food and women in beautiful traditional and modernized Indian garb. Amsterdam really isn't as crazy as people make it out to be. (Sure there is the red light district where women stand in the window wearing next to nothing propositioning passerbys with that "come hither" look they've perfected over the years. I would provide pictures, but a fellow traveler told me that if they see you with your camera out they will bite your camera and throw it in the gutter. It happened to a friend of his so I didn't want to take the chance. Although it would have been pretty amusing to get in a street fight with a Dutch prostitute. ) Generally, though it is just another European city with a laid back atmosphere and lots to do. I ate lunch yesterday by canal and watched people on their boats taking a Sunday 'cruise' float by.

And then there are the coffee shops where people can buy a single joint, a bag of weed or hash, space cakes, and in some places different teas and baked goods all with one key ingredient: weed. Because it is legal, it isnt such a big deal here. most of the people you see in these shops are tourists. The locals definitely dabble but they dont make a big deal about it. Just sit on the street, smoking a joint, as the cops bicycle past. It's an interesting city I'm not done exploring. Today I'm going to the Anne Frank House and then maybe an art museum and then we'll see. I wish I had pictures to show you but this computer doesn't have a port for my camera card so next time...

I have to say that traveling with Servas is seriously turning out to be one of the greatest things about this trip. It's not just hostels and partying and college kids. On my first night in Amsterdam Karissa and i stayed up for two and half hours talking to our host after he cooked us a delicious tofu and vegetable meal. Robyn Kool is a 55 year old tango dancing, neural psychologist or something like that. He is so interesting. His life experiences and opinions about the world are fascinating. So instead of getting plastered or really really really high, I ate tofu in an attic space reminiscent of the one in the movie 'The Little Princess' (watch it and you'll know what I mean except where we are staying is about 5 times smaller than that in the movie) and talked about life. This is how it should be.

Ill post pictures as soon as I can.