That was fun...

Man, I've had a busy few days. New things to check off my list:

Went to Germany

Drove over 100 mph on the autobahn

Went to Liechtenstein

Swam in an Alpine lake that was close to freezing

I am seriously too tired to blog about it. Maybe tomorrow I'll catch up on all we did. 

And now you know...

someone who has gone to Liechtenstein. That´s right. Today was busy.. The internet sucks, so I´ll summarize. Woke up in Austria. Swam in a freezing cold lake fed from mountain stream, probably a glacier. Drove in Germany. I actually for a bit. Spent basically the entire day crusing through the Alps. I visited Schloß Neuschwanstein. Look it up. I went to Liechtenstein in the evening. That makes 3 countries in one day. Not bad at all I´d say. I´ll give more detail in the days to come.

The Hills Are Alive

So Tomas and I had been planning to go to the Baltic Sea for almost a week now. Well, I say planning. Really we´ve just been talking about it. We didn´t do any planning at all. So yesterday afternoon I told him we should change plans. So here I am in Austria, in the foothills of the Alps. Today we were probably a mile above sea level. I can´t even begin to explain to you the way it looks here. It is probably the most vastly contrasting landscape I´ve ever seen. We are staying in a town called Ebensee, which sits on a beautiful lake. Immediately behind the houses on the lake, the Alps begin their climb against the skyline. A few even reach peak through the clouds. From the deep in the mountains run streams of the clearest water I´ve ever seen. I can´t wait until I´m on a decent computer and can upload pictures. Though, I hesitate to because it just won´t do it any justice at all.

I´m tired of typing on this alternate European computer that has the "z" and "y" kezs switched. Plus, there are a host of other fun additives that I keep pressing like ü, ß, and ö, and ä. It´s quite annozing. Anzwaz, here are our plans for the next few days. Tomorrow Tom and I wake up and head to Schloß (this time I meant to use it) Neuschwanstein. It´s a castle. Look it up. Either the next day, or later on tomorrow, we are going to a secret location that only Travis and Kovach know about. I´ll let everyone else know after we´ve done it. I don´t want to Jinx anything. Ok, that´s all for now.

Ambivalence

So today I realized in the metro station that I think I could live here in Prague again. The big issue is that I need something to do. It's like the Garden of Eden thing. If you believe the story literally, God made a man and put him in paradise. Even though he was in a place of perfection, he was still given work to do: name the animals; take care of the garden. Humans, no matter how lazy we get, are instilled with a need to be productive. The book of Proverbs says that "Where there is no vision, the people perish." I think that definitely holds true for.

What I need is a project. And I need it to be challenging. I'm not talking about Prague, either. I'm talking about in my life. I need to be working toward something. I guess that's why I did so well in school. There were all of these goals and objectives to master. I was given an assignment and was told to figure out how to complete it. Life is much harder. That's obvious. But in some ways I need life to be more like school. I can't just float across the sea. I need ports of call. Hopefully the next few years of my life will provide that. 

I'd love to post some pictures of Budapest right now, but I need to go sleep. Tom and I are leaving tomorrow to go to Austria, Germany, and Liechtenstein. I have a feeling you're going to love these pictures. Oh yeah, and I'm hoping to get to drive on the Autobahn. What now!?

Pestilence

So I would love to tell you all I've had a fantastic time in Budapest, but that's not entirely accurate. You see, what many people do not know is that Budapest historically was two cities, Buda and Pest, separated by the Danube river. Well, this time, I didn't set foot in Buda. So to sum this whole thing up, I had a wonderful time in Pest.

I don't really have a whole lot to say about the day. I read for a while and ate bread with creamy swiss that I squirted from a tube. I'll post pictures of that when I get back to Prague and upload the photos from my camera. On a stranger note, I ate tacos for dinner tonight and can honestly say that it's the only food I've had in all of Europe that I would not argue with the restauranteur for labeling "Mexican food."

Marcus and I were supposed to go to this unbelievable cafe in town called Choco Bar Noir. It's like nothing I've ever seen. The place is at least. If you recall, a few years ago Starbucks began offering a drink called "Chantico." It was like a hot chocolate pudding almost and you were supposed to dip some sort of biscotti in it. Anyway, it was a small amount and it cost around $4. The problem was that no one understood it. It flopped, and Starbucks pulled it from the menu. Here it's pretty normal. It how many Eastern Europeans make hot chocolate- like a hot chocolate pudding. Except at Choco Bar Noir, it's not just normal chocolate. They offer fruit flavored hot chocolates and even a hot pepper chocolate (supposedly it's a really nice flavor pairing). Anyway, it's an unbelievable place, and I think it would be super successful in a metropolitan area. You would just have to make sure it was the primary offering and not one strange side offering. The waitstaff would have to do a good job of educating the customers, too. If I had a few $100k lying around somewhere, that's one thing I would do with it.

Finally Marcus and I ended up on this island in the Danube right between Buda and Pest. It has trendy bars, great landscaping and treelines, and a nice running track I wish I had known about. It was a great way to end the evening. Speaking of which, I have to wake up at 5:15 to catch the 7:00 bus out of (Buda)pest. So this is it for now. I hope you are enjoying reading this... whoever you are.

Blue Note

In some ways we change without realizing it. I arrived in Budapest today by bus, not really knowing where it would take me. When it finally dropped me off, I took a look around and thought, "You're kidding, right?" It didn't take us to a bus station; rather it dropped us off on the corner of some random street. It looked like a pretty run-down area where the bus company just happened to have bought a room for an office. I sent Marcus a text, hoping he was not too far. And then I tried to figure things out. I wasn't super worried. I was a bit anxious, but I knew it would work out. There was a time when the thought of being dropped off on a random street in Hungary would have freaked me out. But things have changed. I have changed. I've grown up.

A little.

When I quit my job at the Caledonian School and decided to travel, Budapest was the first place I went. And I went with Marcus. Three years later I'm here again with Marcus. We're walking the same streets. I have to say, it feels good.

When I started traveling then, I decided that I would keep a diary and a blog. I wanted to keep everyone up-to-date with my travels, but there were some things I wanted to keep to myself. I do recall, however, writing in that diary about how much more I liked Budapest than Prague. Being here one day has shown me that I think I still feel that way. Don't get me wrong. I loved Prague, but it had to grow on me. Budapest just feels different. Prague has a much heavier feel to it, if that makes any sense at all. This place is so much more open. It's in the architecture, the city streets, the atmosphere, everything.

Tonight Marcus and I sat for a while in a bar listening to a jazz duo. It was a bassist and a pianist. I could float away to that stuff. A common theme in my postings through the year has been the notion of a soundtrack to my life. It's quite ironic because I rarely listen to much music. I play sometimes, but it doesn't seem on the surface to be very important to my life. For some reason, though, I've always been fascinated by how much a relate my moods to music. It really was perfect. I just wish we had more venues like that in Murfreesboro. Sometimes I feel the States is so culturally bankrupt. The difference in pace and lifestyle is baffling. If I could import one thing to share with you all. It would be that.

There aren't any more pictures tonight. Here's one that I took on Marcus' iPhone wille drinking some vanilla cream "oops I thought it was coffee based" frozen drink. Stay tuned. Turkish baths and massage tomorrow.

Photo Moto

So today was a little better walking around Prague. There were some times when it was definitely good and reminded me of the old days. But after a few hours, it got kind of boring. I really feel like I've been whining the whole time I've been over here. I'm sorry for that.

The thing is I'm not really sure what I am over here. I'm not a tourist, I've lived here too long. I don't really live here either. I've kind of just been taking up space in the city. I did manage to meet up with a few old students of mine for lunch. It was great to see them. It seems, though, like everyone else who still lives around here is on holiday, though. Petr Samek, my private student who owns a music shop wasn't there when I visited, but he'll be back next week. Another student, Eva Fučikova (no joke, pronounced Foo-cheek'-ova) was also unavailable due to holiday plans. It wouldn't be so bad if Tom wasn't at work all day and I had something to do. I'm not one to walk around all day by myself. I need company. 

I did manage to go to this tea house I went to a few times when I lived here. I couldn't help but order the White Monkey Fujian Tea. I mean, with a name like that, how could I not. It reminded of me of the time I went skiing in the Czech Republic and ordered the Giant Mountain Spirit Anger for dinner. I'm not kidding... that's what it was called.

Anyway, I've decided to head for Budapest tomorrow to reconnect with my old friend Marcus and to meet some young people. It turns out I'll be meeting most of his friends at church tomorrow night. Seriously, I will have been to 3 months worth of church in the same number of weeks here in Europe. 

I'm going to upload quite a few pictures now. I won't caption them all; I don't have time. I need to sleep because I have to be out of here at 6:20 in the morning. If you want to call me to make sure I'm awake, go for it.

These four are the view I had from the place where I had a cold coffee drink today. It's the terrace atop a hotel call U Prince.

The next two are shots showing a real Czech classic snack. They basically take a common bread roll (called a rolik), carve out the center, and shove a hotdog in it. It's like the gyro's hotdog cousin.

I'll post more as time goes by. I really need sleep now. Cheers!

Kinder Eggs

I posted about this the last time I was in Prague, but then some of you didn't know me. So I've decided to post tonight about something cool from the European novelty culture. I submit to you... Kinder Eggs. Here's how they work. You buy the chocolate egg sealed in tin foil. You unwrap the egg, eat the chocolate, and remove the plastic pill from inside the egg. You open the plastic container in the egg to reveal a hidden toy. Now, the one I'm going to show you on this blog is pretty basic, but I've had some in the past that were extremely intricate and took quite a while to assemble. Whether difficult or not, they all come with basic instructions. You put the pieces together as illustrated and–voila!–you've got your Kinder Surprise. I've documented the entire process below.

Specters

Prague has become a ghost town to me. Anywhere I go that is slightly familiar to me causes me a bit of pain. I constantly expect to see my friends come around the corner. I find myself longing to catch a tram back to Podoli for a nap in my flat, to say hey to Rob and Ben and cook a packet of powdered soup. I wonder whether I will run into Petr Pelikan on my way into the house at Vapencova 9. In short, I'm looking for my past. 

It really is a lot harder here than I thought. Coming back has made me realize that, though Prague is an amazing and fantastic place, it was the people I met here that made it special. I'm very fortunate to still have Tom here. He was my best friend that year, and I am so quickly reminded why. But he will return to work on Tuesday, and I will be left virtually alone. I would say completely alone, but the specters are there. 

I'm not really sure how I'm going to make it here two weeks without completely losing it at some point. I think I'm going to have to spend a little extra money and do some traveling. There are times when it's almost painful. I keep hoping I'm going to step on the metro and this time it will be a time machine to take me back to the guys' place on Na Kozacce. But that's not going to happen, and I'm having a rough time dealing with it.

In a way this is good. Part of the reason I came to Prague was to see what it would feel like under different circumstances. My friend Will moved back here, but he didn't make it very long. I don't blame him. This is pretty hard. Much harder than I thought. I know that at some point I want to move back overseas for a while. I don't know whether it will ever be Prague again, but I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't want to do it again by myself. It's one thing when you're young. When you're in your early 20's, you've automatically got something in common with the others you meet–youth and boldness (maybe it's more stupidity than boldness). It's easy to strike conversations and make new friends. It's hard now. I'm almost 3o, and the age gap grows exponentially.

Hopefully what this means is that when I get bored at home, I'll remember that it really wouldn't be any better over here. I should really learn to enjoy my surroundings until I'm positive I'm ready to change them for a while. That time is coming. I'm just not sure when. Still, in the meantime, I'm going to try to relax a little. At least that's the plan.

Yankee Doodle Dandy

I know it's grainy. Please forgive me. I took this picture two days before I left the States to move to Europe back in '05. That next Fourth of July I spent in Greece on a beach in the town of Bali. I was very aware of the Fourth that night. Maybe it was because I was getting ready to come home that I had already begun to sink back in to that American mindset. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I was waving a sparkler around. Yesterday, though, came and went with barely any recognition on my part that it was the Fourth of July. I barely even realized it was Saturday. When you've not been working for a month, the days of the week tend to blend together. As I read everyone's status updates on Facebook last night, though, I quickly realized how important that holiday is to us as American's even if we mostly don't realize it.

 I know for a lot of us it has lost its real meaning. I don't think it's unfair to say, however, that how it makes us feel is a part of its meaning. The intangible quality of ketchup and tomato seeds running down your hand from a soggy hamburger bun has sunk deep into our soul. The tang of onions mixed with yellow mustard on a hotdog that was cooked just a little too long;the smell of the air just after the explosion of a string of Black Cats; that nervous feeling you get waiting to see which one of the volleys is actually the grand finale, wanting to see the big one but deep down knowing you hope it never comes to steal the last of the excitement; even the small disappointments of bottlerockets that fizz out against the fading light, of reaching into the bag only to find you are holding the last of this year's ordinance; these things–all of these things–have become an indelible part of Americana. To relish in that is patriotism, or at least a part. These days there are a lot of people my age who sometimes find it hard to be proud of America, but these are things to be proud of. I think that in a lot of ways, the Fourth of July is like Christmas. It appeals to us in the States as a sacred holiday. And I don't really think it's because of the soldiers and the revolutionary war. I think it's because in so many ways, the Fourth of July makes us feel like a kid again. And that's something we don't usually see anymore. And yesterday I missed it.

Homecoming

So this one really is going to be short. I'm back in Prague, safely, and it's as if Tom and I haven't missed a beat. It's so great to be back here. We went for dinner then hung out for a while. We were both pretty tired, but it's been awesome getting to relax and catch up. I'll hold off on tomorrow's plans in case we actually don't do anything cool. Who knows, though? We're up for it.

Here's a freebie.

I may leave this one up only for 24 hours to reward those who actually read this blog.

Poor Richard's Almanac

As the saying popularized by Benjamin Franklin goes, “Fish and visitors stink after three days.” I’ve been here eleven. So I’m outright reeking. Unfortunately I don’t mean that literally. It would be better if I did. Rather I can’t help but feel that my welcome is definitely wearing on Tony. Granted, his leg is aching a great deal from his fall the other day, and this no doubt has lessened his patience somewhat. Still, I believe he, and to some extent Elle, will be glad to have me out of their hair. I know they are probably the most hospitable couple I know. But there comes a time when visitors need to check out. My time probably came a few days ago. I think I can tell it, too. I’d say that could explain why I’ve been so irritable and whiny. Then again, we would still all know it’s because I’m spoiled and selfish.

 

I’ve really been thinking a lot about it today. I’m really ashamed of the way I’ve felt about all of this. No matter how I feel like I’ve been treated, the truth of the matter is that for the last two weeks I’ve simply been treated. I’ve been treated to countless meals for free. Some have been at fairly expensive restaurants. Even the ones at home have been fairly elaborate. And the few that have been comprised of leftovers still taste terrific.

 

I’m pretty tired, so this is going to be a short blog entry even though I was gone for two days. Evea was decent. The first two pictures I’ve posted are actually of the view we had from our hotel room we stayed in last night. If anyone is interested, I’ve recently discovered that you can rent the room for the entire month of June for 700 euro. That’s 30 nights for about $1000. Did I mention it is on a Greek Island? My parents were looking at a place for 5 people in Panama City Beach for one week that was going to cost $1500. It sort of puts things into perspective. Like I was saying before. I’m seriously considering it for next year. Anyone want to split the cost?

 

I know this place looks like the seat of luxury, but we were only there long enough to enjoy the bed, a/c, and toilet. I’d say we had about ten minutes this morning to really enjoy the room and the view. Lunch was right on the sea, though, so that was of course gorgeous.

Perhaps the best thing that happened today, though, occurred on the trip home. We were riding the ferry from Evea to the mainland when we saw a school of dolphins (is it school?) playing a little ways off in the sea. I wasn’t even aware that there were any dolphins at all in the Mediterranean. I must have watched them for about fifteen minutes. There were three of four groups of them. Every now and again one of them would jump completely out of the water and turn a flip. A few of them even got within six feet of the boat. You could see their entire bodies and watch them as they flirted with the vast boat before they plunged away deeper into the sea, passing from a sleek, muscular mammal to a dark silhouette, and then ultimately returning back to the imagination where they spend most of their lives. It was a blessing and a privilege to watch such magnificent creatures so close and for such a long time. I only wish that I had had my camera with me. It truly is a shame.

 

Well, it’s time for sleep. We wake up at 7:30 in the morning. Then Tony will drop us off at the beach where we’ll stay until about noon. He’ll then come pick us up and bring us back here where I’ll shower, stuff my swim stuff in my luggage, and then make it to the airport by 2:00 p.m. to catch my 4:30 flight to Prague. I’ll have better internet access there, so I’ll be able to keep you all up-to-date more frequently and with better pictures. Hopefully, I’ll be able to upload some video footage. If you’re very lucky, I won’t do nearly as much whining on here. Until then, ciao!