whatever you do: Paddleboat in Prague

So I don't think I have enough time or money (because all internet time is money) to recount what's been happening since I last posted, but I'll do my best to give you the highlights. As I said, I loved Bernlin. The personal style of each citizen of Berlin is something beautiful to see and definitely not a sight accessible where I'm from. One of our last nights in Berline was one of the best. We ended up going to Friday night Shabbat services at the Neue Synagogue, which is a famous museum/synagogue in Berlin and met there two distinctly different but amazing characters. One: Jeremy, a gay man originally from somewhere in the US whose niece actually goes to IU but who sold everything he had in America to move to Berlin and hasn't looked back since, and Pat. Okay, so its name is Hilly but if you've ever seen the movie "It's Pat" that is who we met. Pat! Google it...its hilarious and I seriously have not a clue to this person's gender. But he/she was very nice and had just moved to Berlin to start a study abroad program. After services we enjoyed another delicious meal with our hosts and then went out to a club called the BANG BANG CLUB. Every person in there was so into themselves I couldn't hold my laughter in. I love these little bars in Berlin that each have their own 'flavor.' The club was okay, but the great thing was on the way to the club we met two German girls while they were trying to get their beer open. You are allowed to just carry a beer onto the S-bahn at any point in the day...its great. So they were trying to open their second one because they didn't bring an opener so then I tried to help out by hitting it against things only to finally have it opened by a bum with his lighter. They were such fun girls and we ended up spending the rest of the evening with them and it turns out they are moving to London and we are going to meet up with them when we get there.

From Berlin we went on to Prauge and even though we had a rough start there, its great. Today we went paddleboating on the river and it was fantasic. Absolute perfection...a beer, a paddleboat, the sun, and some crappy renditions of classic American songs playing in the background. Prague castle was an adventure to say the least. The place is HUGE and although beautiful, it was an exhausting day. We went the first afternoon we were in Prague and it turned in to a joke between Karissa and I during our stay in Prague that the damn Prague castle is keeping us in and ruining our day with its intricate mazes and stairs that lead nowhere. It really is a nice place, but a bit much. Great view from the top though.

Last night we went to a local pub right by where our Servas host lives. We didn't feel like bothering with taking buses and trams into the city so we stayed close by and ended up having a BLAST. It started with two beers and a cigar and ended up with more alcohol and beers than I can count, all the locals wanting to give us the 'czech speciality drink' (which consists of crap and cinnamon I believe), and meeting a gay techno DJ who throws these big, illegal techno parties that he invited us to. We are unfortunately going to be in Vienna at the time of his next one, but just spending the night talking and drinking and laughing with him was enough. We really had a great time.

By the way, as if I need to mention it, we had another lovely host. She is actually quite interesting. Her name is Klara and she is neutral as far as I could tell on the Middle East issue, but speaks both Hebrew and Arabic and has visited both Israel and Palestine and loves both. I wish I could have talked to her more about the topic, but we didn't spend a lot of time on Middle Eastern politics...probably a good thing. But one day we'll meet again in Israel and chat about it.

I would update with pictures but I can't upload here and my time is about to run out.

I almost forgot: the FOOD...i eat mostly bread, cheese, cheese, bread, and more cheese....with bread. its cheep and delicious....i don't need more. (Until pasta in Italy...can't wait)

AND Klara told me that its Gickwee...not Dickwee...oh well.

Missing Berlin

Well, I miss Berlin already. It's my first night in Prague and so far its not as great as I've been expecting, but I'm ready to give it a better chance in the daylight. Busabout is the way I have been getting from country to country. Its way cheaper than the eurail pass and it lasts longer. Plus, you meet people your age wanting to do the same sort of things you do along the way. I have really enjoyed getting to know these people and hang out with them, besides our host families - who have been more than wonderful.

I neglected to take a picture of our first Servas host in Berlin. Her name is Isolde and she is a sweatheart. She once hitchiked her way from NYC to San Francisco. How cool is that? I wish it weren't so taboo these days to do such a thing. Our second host was a family: Muni, Claud, Melina, and Goldie the dog. They made us a delicious dinner including a cheese spread, wine, and desert (from 'splatch') every night. On top of that, they were just so delightful to be around and really made Karissa and I feel like we were part of a family, which is a great feeling to have when you're traveling so far away from home for so long.

I saw Terezin, the holding camp used by the Nazis, today. It was intense and if I had such a strong reaction to a holding camp I can't imagine what going through an actual concentration camp must be like. I'll definitely make it a point to visit one while I'm over here.

I don't have loads of time to write but I want to share SOME of the things I've learned while traveling so far:

-Australians are crazy
-always say 'hello' and 'thank you' to personell in their country's language
-learn as many european phrases as possible...don't be that dumb american that only knows english
-ask the locals for art museums you wont find on tourist maps..they're always better
-go to the touristy stuff too...you'll regret it if you dont
-dont be afraid of looking like a tourist with your map out on a street corner...if it helps you find your way do it no matter what (just maker sure your purse is close by while doing so)
-always count your change...european shopkeeps almost always try to cheat the tourists out of their change
-learn the currency before using it
-meet as many new people as you can
-stay out all night at least once in a while...youll have a blast and meet some fun people along the way
-write down your travels along the way...youll probably forget them later otherwise
-stay in touch with friends while gone...youll need them when you return to tell all your fabulous european adventures to (and bc you love them of course)

I'm sure there are so many more.
pictures when I can


p.s.
hello in prague is 'ahoy'
thank you in prague is 'dickwee'
this is fact

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.

Brussels, Beglium

Well, I dont have much time to write and even if I did I couldnt because this keyboard is all backwards and it makes typing go verryy slowwlllyy. Brussels has been great. After much ado, we finally found our Servas host. Servas is an organization that Karissa and I joined that allows you to stay with local people for free on two conditions: you have to be open minded and kind hearted. (I would have used hyphens there if I could find them.) Our first Servas hosts were a young couple named Selma and Baptiste. They were great...they showed us where to go, things to see, took us out for drinks, and most importantly, gave us a place to sleep. They truly hrlped make our stay.

Brussels is a really cool city with great architecture and a surprising amount of culture. There are Turkish, French, Flemmish, and of course Belgians all in one city block. Today Karissa and I explored the city and went to an art museum exhibiting the artistic works of several famous ,usicians. It was an interesting show including Pete Doherteys drawings made from his own blood. The castles and statues and churches are magnificent and my pictures dont do them justice but peruse away.

The Calm Before the Storm

It's my 26th hour awake and I'm admittedly nervous. I don't think what I'm about to do will really hit me until I'm there. There...seems so far away, yet it's 26 more hours until it becomes here. I've had such a hectic summer that the plans to plan this trip went out the window with my normal sleep habits, eating habits, workout habits, and pretty much anything else I've become accustomed to over the past year. Never live the same day twice.

I'm not worried about finding fun things to do or meeting new people. I'm worried about not seeing enough and not experiencing enough and not meeting enough new people and just not fitting it all in. "Worry is a waste of imagination." Karissa, my travel buddy, is great and she'll keep me grounded for sure. Actually, the more I think about it the more excited I am. I think I've just been too caught up in all of my responsibilities here to really embrace the moment.

So the first place I'm off to is Brussels, Belguim. It turns out my one-way-freedom-from-life-go-with-the-flow-youthful-reckless-abandon-ticket is no good in Europe. In order to deboard, I have to have proof that I plan on returning to my country of origin. So, I guess I'll be buying a ticket back to the states tomorrow. But the purchase of a return ticket is all they need...no one said anything about actually leaving....

Just kidding, Mom. Maybe.