The Greatness of the Word ''Free''!

As I was discussing with my good friend Kyle the other day via chat on the internet how ''Free'' is a great concept. It is especially great when you are a poor college kid spending all your money on traveling. Although free does not always mean quality sometimes it really does. Some people would argue ''The is no such thing as a free lunch.'' which may be true but at least it is a heck of a lot cheaper than the full price lunch.

So why all this talk about freeness? Well it just so happens that Berlin offers a free city walking tour and it was GREAT! The ''no free lunch part'' came at the end when we felt obligated to tip the guide because after all we did not pay for the tour (which was 3 hours and amazing). But still, it was way cheaper than similar activities so hooray there.

Our tour of Berlin was amazing and our guide (an English German, don't ask) really knew his stuff. He drug us all around the city to show us the historical and down right cool sights. According to Bryan, his history was legit. Berlin is a cool city because everything that we saw was modern history with a large part of it occurring during my lifetime. That was way more interesting to me than 1200-year-old ruins.

We saw the Berlin gate, Check-point Charlie, walked across where the death strip was, saw some of the remaining wall, stood on top of Hitler's bunker where he killed himself, saw the new Jewish Holocaust Memorial (very cool), heard escape stories to West Berlin from East Berlin, learned how the fall of the Berlin wall came about and much much more. All and all it was very good. I most definitely recommend the almost free tour of Berlin! :)

Vienna is Cool?

When I used to hear about Europe it was London this or Paris that. Italy is so rich in history and great food or the Spanish beaches are beautiful, yada, yada. But jeez, who knew that ol' Vienna was so cool?

For those history nerds who walk among us, the city is seeped in an interesting royal history that just ended less than a century ago. The buildings are beautiful and historic while also leaving room for the modern growth of the 21st century.

Everybody here speaks German (this language is becoming more handier by the moment) and appears in good spirits. We toured the royal apartments and it was the first time that I have ever been to a museum dedicated to someone from that country that did not portray them in some gleaming, all too perfect light. The information about Sisi (the Princess Diana of the late 1900's) stripped all the glory from her legend. Included on this tour was the royal silver collection (Bryan was so excited....). We also visited the Natural History Museum which I would say is what we would consider a Smithsonian.

Later at night we went to a classical concert as Vienna is known for their music and we needed to pretend like we got some culture on this trip. We also walked along side the canal that runs through the city where I took about a million pictures of graffiti. (For a school project as a I assured Bryan.)

At night we walked through the main parts of town which are wide open and watched street performers. My favorite was probably the guy making bubbles with a string tied to two giant sticks. He had a pack of 5-year-olds running beneath him, all trying to pop the bubbles first which was quite hilarious considering that most of the bubbles were bigger than them. He had to make the bubbles way above their heads so that the bubbles would last for at least a few seconds. It is amazing to see soapy water bring such enjoyment.

I wish we were staying longer because I think Vienna (or Wien pronounced Veen by the locals) has a lot more to offer but alas, we are off to Berlin.

Everyone can comment now!

So apparently you had to be a google user (aka have a gmail account) to leave a comment. Well this is true no longer! I believe that I have finally set it up so that anyone can leave a comment!

(Keep your fingers crossed though as I am not known for my computer skills...)

Spelunking in Austria

After surviving Austrian platforms and buying first-aid creams based on the picture on the front of the box because we do not speak German, we headed off to the small town of Hallstatt on the Hallstatt lake.

The town was pretty cool and we had to reach it by boat. It was a nice change from the big cities though it did rain most of the time we were there. It actually kind of reminded us of Oregon.

Since our first plan of swimming in the lake was foiled due to thunder showers, we decided to go spelunking (aka caving up in the mountains). It was not as hardcore as it sounds because the caves are open to the public and you have to go in with a guide. It was pretty fun though all the same.

We visited the giant ice cave and another cave that is over 80km long (divide by 5 and times by 3 for miles). The guide was really nice and gave the tour in German and in English for us. It was pretty funny because she started out in German first and then asked if anyone spoke English. Since it was just us, she made us come to the front (it was like Moses parting the waters or people I should say) so that should could explain everything to us in English.

The caves were freezing cold (literally) and dripping wet from the snow melt. It was pretty slick and Bryan almost slid down the path once (karma for laughing at me I think).

After that we booked it for some hot choclate which was well worth it!

I should have paid more attention in physics class!

There is some law in physics about a body in motion and what not. As it turns out, I should have paid more attention during that lecture because I learned that lesson first hand.

Here is the recap:

• We are riding on a train out to the middle of no-where Austria and the stops are not marked well.
• Suddenly we discover that we need to get off the train and scramble for our bags and the exit.
• The train starts moving again (and yes, we are still on it).
• Oh, no! We are going to have to jump! (You can probably see where this is going.)
• Kim jumps off the train and onto the platform.

Bryan's Point of View:

• Kim jumped off the train and now I have to too, crap! I saw her hit the ground then she disappeared. I only have about a three foot window to look through though. At least I know that sh is on the platform.

Kim's Point of View:

• I was looking at the platform when I jumped and then I was looking at the platform from a different angle. I am laying on the ground and I am sure that I look like a turtle that has been tipped on its back. My first thought, jeez I hope that Bryan jumped off too. Then I looked up and see him standing on the platform. Second thought, WHAT THE HECK?! Why is he standing? Slight hope, Maybe he fell and hopped up really quickly.

The Reality:

• Kim has massive scabs on her elbow and shin on her left side.
• Bryan is laughing hysterically at the situation.

Lessons Learned:

• When jumping off a train... KEEP RUNNING! Bryan did because he remember that they did that in a movie once. As it turns out, it works!
• Do not jump off a train while wearing a huge backpack. As it turns out, it screws up your momentum and will throw you to the ground. Bryan did not have enough time to put his on and jumped off with his backpack in his hand. (Lucky)
• Crashing into pavement is like a cheese grater to the skin, ow.
• They make it look easier on TV (big surprise).
• Carry more band-aids if planning to do crazy stunts.
• Pay more attention in physics class from now on!

The Rest of Munich

Thank the Lord for clouds. Munich was much more our style when it came to the temperature. Despite having fun, Bryan wanted to go on an educational jaunt so we headed out to the Dachau Memorial.

Quick Facts:

Dachau (or Dakau to the english speakers) was the first Nazi concentration camp in Germany. Officially, it was for political prisoners and those in protective custody. It served as a model for the many camps to come after it across eastern Europe. As we all know, there was a little bit more to it than the basic description. Although people were not sent to the gas camber there (they did have one), they were worked to death, expirmented on, and starved. The grounds where the camp once stood now serve as a memorial. Visitors are ushered in, shown photographs, videos, and read horrific stories. The words ''Never Again'' are on the outside of the main building in several different languages.

My Question is this:

Are people inherently good? bad? weak? or is in just survival or the fittest?

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On a lighter note....

SNEAK PEAKS ROCK!!

We found this awesome theater that shows films in their original language. Every Friday night they have something called a sneak peak. They show a new movie that could come out next week or maybe in three months. The catch is that no one knows what it is until it starts so it is a surprise for everyone. People get very excited and it was a lot of fun. We ended up seeing GI Joes (think of a cheesy blend between x-man and star wars) which was a big deal because I guess that it is not coming out for a while. I wish Corvallis had theaters that did a surprise sneak peak. Maybe I will start one...

Sledding in Trees

That was not a misprint my friends. Not through or around but in....

We are a little museumed out (hey, it happens to the best of us) so we decided to take a little adventure in Munich, aka high ropes course!

For those of you who do not know what this is, I will try to give you a little background info. Ropes courses are suppose to be challenging and fun. There are different courses, usually between trees, called elements. An element can consist of many different things but usually involves wire cables, balancing, and getting from point a to point b. The place that we went to had elements 20 to 40 feet up in the air so we were also harnessed into a cable that was conneted at all times.

It was so much fun and all of the elements were very different. They had ziplines, skies hanging that you had to walk across, a tarzan style swing, hanging milk crates to walk accross, a tunnel, and much much more.

My personal favorite was the sled. They had this sled hooked up on wire cables that ran between two trees for about 30 feet. It was old school and I had to hunch over and everything. Bryan like the tarzan swing the best and was excited to go ziplining for the first time.

It was really funny watching the people who worked there trying to explain the directions to us (it is a self belay system) beacuse they did not speak very much english. I kept filling in vocab words for them like harness and cable until eventually they said just watch and demonstrated instead. All and all is was great fun (even for Bryan who is not so keen on heights...)

The Itailian Coast

Quick Thoughts:

• YEAH for no more baking in Rome!
• Boo for the wallet situation... and sketch to boot.
• YEAH for spending Bryan`s money now!! :)
• Hooray for the beach of the Cinque Terre!
• Ahhh... We are staying at a campground, with tents and all.
• The sunsets are beautiful (We wake up too late to see the sunrise).

After sizzling in Rome, we made a break for the coast. I mean if you are going to burn, you might as well burn by the sea right?

Bryan was in charge of finding us a place to stay and he chose a campground. Strangely (for those of us USers) the tent came with cots and bedding. Thankfully we had flashlights. Our time spent here was very stressful. We laid on the beach, climb some rocks, and did some hardcore shopping in the five little villages of the Cinque Terre which is a National Park.

Here is the english explanation of it from wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinque_terre

I could get use to the slow life I think.

The US Embassy jacked my wallet!

This is a sad yet hilarious and very true saga of my lost wallet.

This is a tragic epic tale in the sense that jeez this sucks but it was probably bound to happen eventually so suck it up and deal with it kind of way.

Here are the juicy details:

The Back Story: I am dying of heat here in Rome, seriously. I know that the valley back home is bad too but I would much rather be cold than hot. It is so hot that you cannot go to bed until midnight or one just to sleep and then you wake up soaking wet, ewww. Being a poor student I am staying in hostels where as most people would probably have a nice air conditioned rooms so I don't think my situation would be similar to everybody else but roll with it.

The Heat Solution: So to fix this, we head for a frozen yogurt stand at dark. We get some of the frozen greatness and go and sit on some steps in front of a cafe to enjoy it. I pay because I owed Bryan money from earlier that day. Then we walk around for awhile, enjoying a ancient Rome at night and head back.

Next morning: Kim no longer has a wallet.

Possible Reasons: Some one stole it from the hostel, I left it somewhere, It is lost in my stuff.

Conclusion: We tracked it down to sitting in front of the cafe and deduced that no one ever had the chance to steal it from the hostel and that it is not lost in my backpack somewhere.

The epic adventure begins: We book it back to the cafe asap. I march up there like I own the place and tell a little white lie I told them that I was eating there last night and that I left my wallet. I kind of had to act it out though because their english was limited to anything about the cafe or food. Finally they all started yelling (italians love to yell I have decided) and they said that some found a wallet last night and left a number. Could this really be possible? I hope so!

What the People Say: This is HUGE because everyone keeps telling me that I should kiss the wallet goodbye. It had 2 school IDs in it (OSU and an International one), a debit card, a credit card, and 150 euro. They said that anyone who finds it will take the money and ditch the cards. ugh. Let`s cross our fingers and hope for the best.

Tabs on Paper: So after the cafe people dig in a tab bag for like five minutes they finally find the number. How people live without a computer I am not sure. I ask to use their phone and for them to dial because I suck at dialing international numbers. So the guy was pretty chill and calls on his phone but there is no answer. We try again and the same thing happens. No problem he says though and has us sit down and says that we can try again in 10 minutes.

10 Minutes Later: Same deal. He says to wait though and we will try again. He brings out some bottled water and bread. I don't want to eat it because then I will have to pay for it but I am depressed so I don't really care at that moment. I am guessing that he did not want tourists looking unhappy with no food in the cafe. Could be bad for business right? Finally we get a hold of the guy and he says in clearly second language quality english that they left it at the American Embassy. I know that he had it for sure because he called me Kimberly and I told him that my name was Kim. I thank him for several minutes and get off the phone.

Phase 2: I have the cafe people point out the embassy to me on a map and we are off. They did not make us pay for anything which I took as a positive sign from God. YES!

The Downside: Ahhh.... The Embassy is closed on Saturday and Sunday (it is Sat). I poke my head through the bars and try to wave a guard out of his little hut. Finally he comes out and starts jabbering away in Italian (bad sign number one). I yell back (There is about 50 feet between us) that I am an American citizen and that I lost my documents (I thought that this sounded more legit) and that they had been turned in. He yelled something back and I repeated my self with hand motions this time. He yelled back 'I don't speak English'. I would like to point out that this is the American Embassy we are talking about and that was english. What the heck?! So I yell back 'Habla usted espanol?' to which he replies 'No'. The he motions down around the corner.

Desperation Setting In: I go down around the corner and see a call box. The choices are as follows: Marine Security Forces, Security Forces, Local Security. I ask Bryan which one I should hit and he says 'Not local, they cannot speak English remember'. As if I will ever forget that. So I hit Security Forces because the Marine one sounded intense. Nothing happened. So I hit it again, same story. Pretty soon I have hit all of the buttons several times when I noticed an unlabeled button at the top and I stab it will my finger. Someone starts talking to me in English, THANK GOD! I explain my situation and he tells me that I will have to come back on Monday. WHAT?! I cannot I tell him because I am leaving Sunday morning. I need to get my wallet now! Too bad so sad though. Monday or nothing. I want to tell him that Bryan killed someone and we are seeking the safety of the Embassy but that seemed a little messy so I decided not too.

Second Chance: I decided to call the Embassy next (another epic story on finding a phone but for another day) and I talk to someone official sounding. He takes down my information and promises to look into it. He even calls me back to report that the guards have not received anything yet and to call they guy again to see when they dropped it off. He even tries to call him but cannot get through. I thank him for his time and effort.

My Mother: I call my mother to have her help me cancel the cards. She believes that my wallet is there at the Embassy because she works with embassies all the time and says that they do not communicate well. She too urges me to call the wallet finder again and double check the information. Yeah for moms, they always know how to make you feel better when you are down.

The next morning: I get a hold of the wallet finder and they assured me that they dropped it off Saturday morning at 11 at the Embassy. I thank them again and call the Embassy. I get a hold of the same guy and he assures me that it is not there (I have stayed an extra day in Rome at this point) and that the people may be lying to me. But why would they lie? Just take the wallet and run and nobody would be the wiser, right? He says that he trust the guards more than them to which Bryan says that he would trust American guards who spoke English more (I secretly agree which probably makes me a bad person). He suggests that I file a Police report. I ask what that will do and he says 'Well, at least there will be a report.' I bypass this...

Sunday Night: I am spending another night in this oven of a city and hitting the Embassy at 8:30am hoping that they are disorganized like my mother says. Life sucks but I am not dying or mortally wounded. I am traveling Europe after all so I am just going to have to suck it up and deal with it. It just sucks because if anybody would have lost something I would have bet on Bryan. Sad day and probably a hint of karma in there somewhere. Oh well, my fingers are crossed for tomorrow.

Monday Morning: We wake up early and book it to the Embassy. The guards let me in but not Bryan (I guess that he looks suspicious or something). I am one of the first people there and talk to a lady in the American Citizen Immediate Help Office. She takes down my information and tells me to take a seat while she checks the lost and found. Sounds good right? Don`t get your hopes up.

Lady Number Two: A different lady calls me over after a few minutes to tell me that the guards are not allowed to receive stuff from people on the streets. She has an American accent and is rather brass. Hmmm... I tell her. That is odd because the people said that they dropped it off here on Saturday morning at 11:00am. She said that they are lying and that this is not possible. She tells me to use the phone in the room to call them and check again. I have already called these people like 10 times. I convince her to call them though because I am sure that Italian is their first language and the Embassy will have a better time understanding them than me.

Different Stories: 30 mins later they call me back over to say that they talked to the people and that they dropped it off at the main gate at 11:00am on Saturday morning. The details that they gave were right on. Ahhhh.... I am confused I told them. You just told me that guards cannot take stuff from random people. The shift supervisor overruled it they said. Bad sign... The Embassy`s story has holes in it already.

Waiting FOREVER: I keep checking in with them but they say that they are looking. How long does it take to check a guard station? It is the biggest one they tell me. So what? Seriously, how long can this take? Finally they say that they are calling the supervisor from that day. Many people work here, blah, blah, blah. No offense but third graders are more organized and could probably provide better protection than them.

Conclusion: "This is very unusual." That is what they keep telling me. What part? The part where the Embassy had my wallet and it magically disappeared!! Jeez. Finally I have to leave to catch the last train to the Cinque Terre. I was there for over 5 hours (Bryan was outside though.... The said that they will email me if it turns up but I am not holding my breath. So that is right, the US Embassy in Rome jacked my wallet. We laugh and say that they threw a party with the 150 euro. Ugh and double ugh!

Lesson Learned: It is sad to think that the people who are suppose to help me and others like me can be crooked too. The wallet went missing at the guard station so most likely one of them took it. Lesson in all of this: Be thankful for what you have and know that sometimes who walk alone in this world. It is a bummer but it is just a road bump in an otherwise pretty awesome adventure.

Toga Party in Roma

Okay, more like baking in an oven in Rome (Roma to Italians) but all the same... Rome was on fire. No wonder people wore togas, jeez! Our plan in Rome was simple, try not to die from heat. We saw some of the famous sites including the Collosuem.

The Vactican City was also cool but very very small. Angles and Demons (new movie in theaters) actually makes it seem bigger than it is. Saint Peter's Square and Basilica are huge and quite possibly the most amazing church that I have ever been in. It was hilarious to watch the guards not let people in who had their shoulders or skin above their knees showing. The best was when men got stopped for haveing too short of shorts, haha.

The most interesting part of Rome though was the ancient ruins everywhere. It was like they were not a big deal to people. ''Oh look, another ancient civilization probably lived there, no biggie.'' This attitude kind of shocked me. Being from the west coast, we freak out if we find something even 100 years old. It was like modern times where popping up in between ancient ones. Ruins and newer building shared the same walls. I guess that they are so used to it that they do not even notice anymore. But this building technique and attitude gives Rome the impression to me of a decaying city. Nothing is truely new nor is anything really preserved. It is just cumbling under a baking sun that shows no mercy. There are very few hints that they are living in the 21st century but maybe that is the way that they want it who knows.

On a cheerier note, gelato is delicious. You always have to get two flavors to mixed them though. It is the local custom.

Future Tips for Rome: Air conditioning is a must, 2 or 3 days is all that most people can handle, frozen waterbottles are heavenly, and dressing like a fluzey will get you banned from St. Peter's!

Florence for Another Day

Poor Florence...

We had originally planned to spend three nights there and two full days but the Swiss Alps made us stay longer. Hence, we basically spent the night here. It was a beautiful city at dusk. Not super hot (Thank the Lord!) and looking golden in the setting sun. Basically all we had time to do was walk around, eat some gelato and then hop a train to Rome.

We will be back... someday.

I ran down an Alp today and flew off the edge....

No joke but more on that later.

The Swiss Alps are AMAZING! It is so beautiful here and I have never seen such steep mountains in my life. We had to take a gondola to get to the village that we are staying in, how cool is that?

We decided to go on a little hike (6 hours the locals said). I bet you can guess how that turned out. Here they estimate everything in time. But hey! Time is relative don`t you know. And I swear that they always underestimate. The hike was actually 11 miles up an Alp and back down which we learned everywhere. The view was amazing but it was steep. There were these oldies blasting past us with their boots and dorky looking walking poles. I wanted some of those poles as I was slipping and sliding in my sub-standard tennis shoes. PS It took us 8 hours.

The next day was chill as well. We hiked up to the next village (50 mins legit uphill) and took a gondola to the top of a peak. Apparently they shot the 1968 James Bond movie up there and they are very proud of that. How anybody skies and boards up there I have no idea. I would die for sure, Bryan wants to try it though.

It is so nice here that we stayed an extra couple of days. Oops. Oh darn, I have to wake up the the beautiful mountains each morning. The people here are so friendly and star watching at night is great. The sky is the same no matter where you are. We have met a lot of travelers which has been fun. Some of them even talked us into... Paragliding off an Alp!

It was awesome. We were each hooked into this guy. Then we ran down the mountain and boom! We were in the air, going off a cliff and soaring between the mountains. IT WAS SO COOL (even though now I cannot afford to eat for a week now). Hiking the Alps was good, flying over them was so much better though!

Back in Time to Medieval Germany

That is Rothenburg for you.

My version in a nut shell:

• Why do they sell daggers? Who actually needs one? Oh wait, Bryan does.
• We are walled in, what if there was a fire? I am not sure that I could scale those walls.
• Medieval bike seats freaking hurt my tush.
• Turns out it can rain like no other here too, especially when one is 7+ miles outside or town.
• Guys with long curly mustaches make great tea.
• We are always destined to have a room on the top floor and no, elevators do not exist in Medieval Germany.
• The sunsets are killer.
• Biking downhill = Good, Uphill = Walking
• Yeah for the country side and 9 trains to get there!

The Lights are Red... sketch!

That is right, we made our way to Amsterdam. Intial thoughts: Bike-mania. These bikes are EVERYWHERE! Here, there, there is even a multi story parking garage by the train station. They even have there own bike lane. Now we have to worried about getting hit by trams, cars, and bikes. It is almost too much to handle... just kidding but seriously, I am pretty sure that a biker would run us over if they got the chance, they look hardcore. There is a rumor that there are more bikes than people which I totally believe.

Another interesting fact: Amsterdam actually has more canals than Venice.

Also this is a very confusing place. First of all we, as Americans, know the country as the Netherlands but they refer to it as Holland and to top it off, they speak DUTCH. Ahhhh.... Actually most signs are in Dutch, German, French, and English and most people appear to be fluent in at least three of the four.

Weed is legal here which is odd but smells vaguely like dorm life at college. I swear some of these people think that they are in Jamacia on the beach. Apparently you can by some of the magical plant for 10 euro or 15 US. Huh.

The Red Light District is super sketch (even before dark) and I feel like I need to take a shower and go to church afterwards. The girls (some of them look like teens and others are old women with a lot of make-up) stand in these little red booths and try to attract customers who look nasty in comparison. Ugh. Apparently this is not an equal opportunity town though because I did not see any men in booths. There were lots of tourist though walking around too and gawking though because it was before dark. Seems like a hard way to make a living but I am told that they are entreprenuers and have a union and everything. To each their own I guess.

We spent the majority of our time checking out depressing WWII stuff which Bryan thought was awesome. We went to this cool museum about the Nazi envasion of Holland (sounds like they were a little slow on the up-take to me) and the Anne Frank House.

All and all not to shabby. It was a mix between the educational junk and the sketchiness of life all rolled into a day and a half. The city had a lot more to offer though so another visit is a must in the future.

Last but not least, avoid red lights at night!

I <3 Nothing... I am Parisian

Haha. So apparently those parisians are known for being snobby, deep in the pockets, and slightly cranky. We didn't really have any problems though. I guess some girl was wearing a shirt though that said "I <3 Nothing... I am Parisian" and everybody thought that that it was hilarious. (I cannot actually make the real heart symbol on this key board so use your imagination.)

Paris was great though and the crepes were AMAZING! I personally recommend the ones with nutella. They were delicious!

Other Paris observations include everybody's extreme need for a scarf around their neck even in the middle of the day. People also seem perfectly okay not eating refrigerated meats, cheeses, or eggs (I have not made it that far yet though). Finally, Paris has the most well-off bums I have ever seen. Some had carpet and microwaves which is practically more than I have back at school!

Brugge (That's in Belgium)

Awww... Brugge. A nice little, historical corner of Belgium. There were hardly any cars and some people traveled by horses. It was a nice break after the big cities. The town had that old time feel with cobbled streets and small buildings.

Brugge can be summed up as lace, waffles, beer, chocolate, and old bricks. We paid to climb stairs again (OMG) but the view was pretty cool. There is handmade lace everywhere and considering what it takes to make lace it seems pretty cheap. The waffles are SO DELICIOUS! We asked some guy why this is and he said that there is a ton of sugar in them. Darn! Good thing we are only here for a few days... Belgium is known for its beer the Belgium Zot and of course for their chocolates (some of which were in very disturbing and hilarious molds). And finally, those old bricks that can be found in every old town.

Showering under the Tower!

So we did go to the Eiffel Tower and that will be a night that we will never forget.

We wanted to go at night to see the city. They say that from the top, you can see up to 40 miles in every direction. Getting there was a chore as usual as the Paris metro does not have that many stops for a city of its size. After avoiding the sellers (one actually chased Bryan after Bryan asked him a question, it was hilarious) we got in a line.

They light up the tower at 10:00pm and it shimmers for 5 minutes on the hour for the next several hours. In line it started to sprinkle and we could see lightning off in the distance. Most people might be worried about going up in a metal tower during a lightning storm but not us. We are.... um.... brave. Sadly, we got in the line to take the stairs up to the second platform (ugh).

Suddenly, the skies openned up and it rained like no other. The world was coming to an end!

People ran in every which way trying to seek cover. It would have been funnier had we not been some of those people. The freak flash rain storm lasted about 10 minutes. It was so powerful that it knocked over the metal gates. While huddling for cover with 20 other toursits, a seller (damn they are persistent) came around with umbrellas for €20. Too late I yelled at him over the storm, I am already wet. He considered this and then offered me one for €5.

As the storm died down a bit we saw our chance to move to the front of an elevator line and ran for it across the bottom of the tower. We jumped over the little gates to the front of the line and got our tickets. I personally think this was God's way of saying that we should not take the stairs, haha.

Because of the storm though thet closed the top so we could only get to the second platform. It was still pretty cool though and we continued to whatch the lightning from there.

After freezing for 30 minutes we headed back to the hotel. We only had to jump one metro gate (they all went off-line in the storm and refused to open) and some how managed to catch the last train on every line that we needed back.

We will always remember this night as the night that we ALMOST got to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

I guess we will just have to go back, oh darn.

Harry Potter 6

We are dorks.

If wewere in the States, we would have bought tickets days in advace for the midnight showing, stood in line for over 8 hours, clapped when the movie started and then headed to Sharie's at three in the morning afterwards to talk about it over milkshakes.

That being said though, we were in France. The strange thing about the French is that they still think that French is the international language off the world. (The Spaniards explained this to us when we were there with many eye rolls.) So they dubbed all of their films and TV shows which made life very difficult for us.

We did it though. We found the english version of Harry Potter and saw it on its openning day. We still had to wait in line (only for like 20 minutes) and people did clap (which made me feel a little better on the inside). And let me tell you WOW.

I won't ruin it for anyone but it strays from the book quite a bit and I think that it would be hard to follow unless you had read the sixith book. All the same though... We loved it. The special effects were amazing. Truth be told, we will probably go and see it again before summer is up.

Foiled by French Key Boards! Seriously, who rearranges the keys on the key board?!

Our taste of France was brief but flavorful none the least. We were going to spend time in both Lyon and Paris but we decided spend all of our time just in Paris. We LOVED Paris (probably because it was like 20 degrees cooler than Spain) but let me tell you... Paris is not cheap. The poor traveling students like oursevles had to be careful in ol' Paris as we spent two days budget on just a train ticket (oww).

We did not skimp too bad though. Paris has a supreme lack of hostels so we were forced to stay at a cheap hotel (oh darn, we have to have our own bathroom). Bryan is like Christmas because everytime he moves it snows dead skin (ugh). Those Valencia sunburns are starting to peel.

While in France we saw the Louvre (we recommend the audio guides BIG TIME), Napoleon's final resting place (they dug him up after he had been dead for awhile and then placed him in six coffins in the middle of a huge room), the most high tech museum I have ever been too for the French leader during WWII, a giant arch whose name I cannot recall, Norte Dame, several other famous cathedrals, and of course Versailles (we were actually there during the French 4th of Julyish celebration which had to do with their revelution).

We had many great battles though too. The metro gates were fickle and brutle. We had to hop a couple because they would not take our tickets. Transportation is expensive so we took a nice little hour hike one day through the city. The weather was crazy (more on that later though). We climed SO MANY stairs. We had to use sketchy bathrooms in moments of extreme need (carry hand sanitizer everywhere and don't touch anything!). And of course we had to avoid the hoards of people selling illegal goods (and they were everywhere and very pushy).

All and all though, not too bad I would saw. It was a great city.

Barcelona sin espanol

You heard right. Those tricky barcelonians are not into Spanish at all. They speak Catalan which was best described to me as a language between languages. It may sound a bit like spanish but trust me, it is not.

We only spent a few days here but it was a great city. As usual, one must be careful of crazy drivers but the streets are wide and spacious or close and cramped. Shopping is a hard core sport right up there with "Futbol" aka Soccer and Rugby. We checked out the La Ramba for most of the day. It is a long street where you can get a true taste of Barcelona life.

We saw street performers up to whazoo and they sell everything there. A baby duck costs 6 euros. I almost bought one but I thought that I might have a hard time getting it on a plane. They also sold squirrles!!

Later on we check out some more art at the Picasso Museum. He was actually normal at some point. Who knew?

We stayed at some dorms that were being rented out over the summer and let me tell you they were WAY better than OSU. Only in our neighborhod though could you see hookers working the conners and getting picked up as well as a birgade of 14 years olds asking everybody in sight for cigarettes. I assume that they will have no problem though because the 15 year old French girls we met in Valencia chain smoked like no other and they managed to gfet those cigarettes from someswhere.

Best news of all... We didn't get pickpocketed on the metro like everyone said we would (we must have looked too poor, haha).

Valencia Lobsters

BEWARE:
30spf does not hold up against the Spanish sun. Valencia was AMAZING though. We stayed right on the beach (literally) and spent all day soaking up the rays. We stayed at another B&B (because they are cheap) and had a killer dinner of Paella (tradition Spanish dish) and Sangria (a sweet wine drink). It was delicious and we chatted it up with some other students for the Netherlands for several hours since the Spanish like their dinners at 10:00pm.

The beach was awesome and the water was super warm (YEAH for the Mediterranean). We bought some food from the market and had a picnic on the beach. The only downside... we are looking rather lobsterish today... Carrying the backpacks hurt!

Madrid - Round 2

So, we found ourselves in Madrid again and let me tell you... it looks just like Eastern Oregon or Bend for that matter (and we all know how I feel about that). So our stay was shortened to a day were we visited the Prado (a very famous art museum) and walked around the city a bit. Bryan actually bought something - I was in shock (even though it was just a t-shirt).

We then jetted off to the coast to spend our sunny days at the beach where the heat could be appreciated to its fullest. Yeah for Valencia!

Lisbon or San Fran...?

That was the question that we were asking ourselves when we got there. We arrived super early thanks to a night train (comfort cost extra just fyi so we toughed it out) and then spent the next couple of hours very lost thanks to a misprint on the address on our directions.

No worries though, 4 hours, 3 metro rides, 2 taxis, and a payphone call later we made it. We stayed at this very cool B&B on the fourth floor of one of the thousands of high-rise apartments. (A fire would kill everybody!) We stayed with this nice lady named Gracia who told where to go in Lisbon during the next couple of days. She also made us breakfast which was a major plus and the shower was AMAZING!!

Bryan and I agree that Lisbon is very... HOT so if you visit come prepared. The first day (after being lost all morning with heavy backpacks) we decided ¨What the Heck?!¨and got another mode of transportation. We rented a car and drove around the city and up to a castle. Luckily, the Portugese drive on the same side of the road that we do but they are CRAZY drivers (like our mother, haha). Since it was Sunday though it was not too bad.

We talked to the car guy for awhile because he was close to our age and spoke 6 languages. He told us that the Portugese do not like it when you speak spanish in Portugal because the Spanish expect them to speak spanish in Spain so when in Portugal people should speak Portugese. Sounds like some bad blood to us so we just stuck with english.

We saw some of the sights in the city with included HUGE churches, monuments, statues, shopping and of course public transportation. They even have the San Fran Bridge although they claim that theirs was built first (we will have to wikipedia that one because we also noticed that they have the HUGE Brazil Jesus monument).

All and all a cool (very hot) city. Mom - You would not do well, sorry.

The Fourth of July

I am just not sure how much this holiday is recognized outside of the US... which is to be expected of course.

We greeted the day early with a flight to Madrid (why there was so many people at the airport a 5:00am, I have no idea). We caught a sketch ride in a taxi to the airport which ended up being a good thing because security took forever, ugh.

Madrid was really hot. We mostly chilled at the train station because we had to catch a night train to Lisbon. If it counts though, we did see the Ben Franklin house a couple of days earlier in London... So we acknowleged this great day by eating a cheeseburger at Burger King! Yeah for Independence and Franchises!

YEAH for Ireland!

Let be be the first to tell you that Ireland Rocks!! We only spent a short time there but it was great none the less.

We stayed at a hostel called the Abigail right on Temple Bar. For those of you who do not know, Temple Bar is an artsy district with... well... lots of bars. Lets just say when we had to wake up at 4 in the morning to catch a plane to Madrid (It was the only flight that day), we could still hear people outside singing away.

While we were there, we saw the Dublin Castle (it is now underground so that tour was pretty cool), St. Patrick´s Cathedral, the Stiletto in the ghetto (a huge nettle looking tower thingy in the middle of O´Connor St) and perfected our beer pour skills by pour a Guinness from tap (Kim made a clover design in her foam).

The next day was super cool though because we took a tour bus into the Wicklow Mountains. It was really nice to get of the city for a change. The guide was really cool and we learned a lot of Irish History. We saw the beach, the bog lands, hidden lakes, and a 16th century church. It was the only tour that I have ever been on where we stopped on top of a mountain to take a break and take shots... must be a Irish thing.

We also met some kids from Virginia and Germany who were staying in our room. They were pretty cool and we had dinner with them one night. They are doing the same thing that we are this summer, basically being bums.

Ireland is for you if you like or can handle the following...
Beer
Golf
Rain
Late Night Singing
Cool Accents
And more Beer!

London Observations... O.o

Having only experienced London through films and books, I wasn't really sure what to expect but here is the basic low-down on what I observed.

• I think that they are speaking English but I can't tell for sure because I have no idea what they are saying.
• Some people may say that America is the melting pot of the world but I think London is.
• Only on the tube (underground subway thingy) can you hear 5 different languages being spoken at once in one car.
• People are running everywhere... and usually with backpacks. (I don't get it either)
• Bryan's slang foils all of the locals; it is hilarious!
• IPods are a must for locals but they hide the earphones inside their shirts, hmmm....
• Chips are not chips, they are fries. French fries do not exist because they are French and what self respecting English person would want a French fry?
• Old buildings and new buildings are side by side. You can see the history of a nation in one glance.
• English tourists are the best because they are just as confused as all the other tourists! (I guess this would be the same for me in LA though.)
• The English do not feel the need to refrigerate food like eggs or meats... this worries me greatly.
• Good news, Starbucks has a successful franchise because it tastes the same over here!
• A check is a bill, a bathroom is a toilet or a loo, ''Is it close?'' is ''Is it ready?'', take-out is take away.
• The drivers here are crazier than my mom (for those of you know her, this is a big deal).
• Platform 9 3/4 exists but apparently, we are not wizard material.
• They act like this heat wave is the end of the world (it is actually just in the 80s).
• The dark liquid in the morning is tea... not coffee :(
• I am not sure that the ''London Pass'' exists.
• It practically costs money to breathe in London so come prepared and watch out for those crazy people running with backpacks!
  

Over and Out! -Kim

In a Laundry Mat - By Bryan

Currently we are spending time in a laundry mat/internet cafe to catch up on laundry and lost internet time.

London:
London was the first stop on our great adventure through Europe with nothing but a backpack. In london we spent the first three days like the rest of the American tourist going from one atraction to another. On these first days in london we covered the London Tower, the Tower Bridge, the Tate modern, a play in the Shakespeare Globe (we were late and had to run Amazing Race style), Westminster, Big Ben (which isn't as big as protrayed in some movies), Windsor Castle, Wellington Arch, Buckingham Palace, the Royal Mews, and the Queen's Gallery. After these three action packed days, one would figure that we would spend a day relaxing. But we are Pendergrass/Gritzwalds and we kept trekking on. Kim spent the last two days dragging me all around London in 90 degree weather to see look at graffiti by an artist called Bansky. Our Hostel was okay but it was more focused toward the bar on the ground floor. While at the bar we met several drunken old men who we couldn't understand at all. We flew out last wednesday to Dublin. Yeah for cooler weather!

Leaving On a Jet Plane

Well we are down to the wire. We leave in less than 24 hours and there is still a lot to do. I have to pack and Bryan is printing off tickets like crazy. I spent the last couple of days in Seattle saying good-bye to the family and Bryan was down at college registering for classes. I feel like we need another week to get situated. Who knew that traveling was such hard work, haha.


Our travels first take us to London and then to Dublin. Since neither of us has been to Europe before we are not quite sure what to expect but we are really exited and will let you know how it goes. Some of the things that we plan of doing in London are looking at graffiti (yeah art department), the London Tower, Big Ben, local pubs, trying out public transportation and practicing our British accents. If you have any suggestions let us know!! Until then... Peace out!


-Kim (So much to do... so little time.)

The Great Count Down

Hello Everyone!

This is Kim. I am posting a test blog to see if I can actually do this whole blog thing or if I need to convince one of my computer literate friends to help me... I seem to be doing okay so far.

On another note, the time of departure is fast approaching. We leave on the 24th of June! Bryan graduates in a week and I am out of school in two weeks! It is a bitter sweet ending to the school year. Sweet for Bryan because he is done, bitter for me because I still have six essays and finals.

If you are around Tigard this next weekend, feel free to stop by for Bryan's open house graduation party. It is Saturday 5:00pm to 8:00pm. Ask if you need directions.

Over and Out -Kim