Earning Souvenirs

Home Sweet Home

2007-10-06T17:41:00.000-07:00

Entrance to Oktoberfest. Welcome back to the cold and rain!We love this food. What could be better than a foot long brat and a big beer?

One of the many beer halls at Oktoberfest. This one hold around 8,500 people.

Don't be fooled. Aubree is drinking Coke, not a dark beer. She didn't get THAT adventurous.

This is how we saw London. By the time we arrived it was almost dark and we were leaving the next morning. This was the only tourist bus we took on the whole trip.

One of the only pictures that turned out in London. Pictures don't work so well in the dark and when you are moving.

Aubree's parents, sisters, and one of her sister's boyfriends met us at the airport in Seattle. Heather is the creative one that made the sign.

Hazen didn't even have to wait until the next morning for his Mountain Dew. We found one in the airport.

We finally got haircuts! It sure is good to be home.

Well, the end of our trip turned out pretty well. We fly from Turkey to Munich for Oktoberfest but Hazen still wasn't feeling that great. We dropped our bags at the hostel and immediately headed for the festival. It was actually sunny the first day we got there and people were everywhere. Quite the busy place. It has to be the biggest fair we have ever seen. Huge rides for kids and adults. Hazen's favorite was the beer carousel. There was a whole row of beer halls that hold anywhere from 5,000 to 10,900 people. After one beer and brat we had to head back to our room as Hazen started feeling sick again. Needless to say, Oktoberfest wasn't as crazy for us as it could have been. We did have a great time though. We especially enjoyed getting back to the Bavarian food. We stayed three nights in Munich before flying to London.

We arrived in London and got to our hostel around 6pm. We decided to take a night bus sight-seeing tour. We wanted to see some of the major sights even though we would be leaving the next morning. London is a beautiful city at night. Everything is lit up and the bus ride was excellent. The only down side was that it was absolutely freezing cold. We had to finish up in the bottom part of the bus that isn't open-air. We were up early the next morning and headed for a long day of flights.

When we bought our flight tickets online, we didn't add up how long it was actually going to take us to get home. We left London at 10am local time and got to Seattle at 11:45pm local time (which was about 7:45am in London). If you don't want to figure all that out, it was about 22 hours and 4 different planes. We were able to sleep a couple hours on the last flight from Atlanta to Seattle as the plane was very empty and everyone had a whole row to themselves to stretch out on. When we got to the baggage claim, Aubree's parents, sisters, and one of her sister's boyfriends were there waiting for us. Sure was good to see some familiar faces.

We didn't sleep much that night as we were still on Europe time. We have been doing well with the jet lag and trying not to take too many naps throughout the day so we can get back on track. One of our big adventures since we returned was tackling the storage unit. All of our clothes were in boxes in the very back and on the bottom of the unit. We didn't really think that one through before we left. We are leaving tomorrow to make our way to Boise, Idaho to find a place to live and hand out some resumes. We will be there for about a week before flying to California to visit Hazen's brother, sister-in-law, and niece. We will then fly to Seattle and drive up to Bellingham to visit some friends before heading back to Boise for good.

We have had a great trip and appreciate everyones support and emails throughout our travels. We hope you have enjoyed reading about our trip and can't wait to see and talk to all of you. The holiday season is coming up soon and we hope you all enjoy it and stay happy and healthy. Thanks again for following us and take care.

1 More Week!

2007-09-21T06:25:00.000-07:00

In Cappadocia, we stayed in the town of Göreme and this is the cave that we slept in.

We woke up to the sounds of hot air balloons every morning. Though it would have been fun to take a ride, this was far out of our price range.Hazen with the town of Göreme in the distance.

So this is Cappadocia. Land of some very strange rock formations.

These rock formations are called fairy chimneys and many of them have homes carved into them.

We decided to go to an underground city that was full of tourists. For some reason, these small spaces didnt scare anyone away.Playing in the fairy chimneys during a day trip around Cappadocia with a moped.

Our friend Mustafa. We stumbled upon an underground city and he was our guide, though he spoke no english.

Things are definately winding down. With only 1 week until we land in Seattle there is still lots to do. Today is the first day since our last post that neither of us was "actively" getting sick. That might hint that we have been hanging low most of the time. We spent five nights in the town of Goreme. On the last day we were able to rent a moped and tour the area. It was a great day as we hit the four lane highway with our moped. Definately hit some out of the way areas that people were very surprised to see us. In the village of Mazi, Mustafa (pictured above) came running into the street waving his arms and signaling for us to park. When we headed his demands he ran to his garage and grabbed his trusty propane lantern and motioned for us to follow. Didn't really know what to expect but were surpised when he led us through a door that led to a giant underground city. Mustafa proceeded to give us a detailed tour, in Turkish of course. He even sat down at one point in the city and broke into a long and elaborate story in which he was yelling, laughing, and carrying on. Have absolutely no idea what he was talking about but we enjoyed it nonetheless. Much better than our previous underground city visit that was overflowing with tourists. On the way out we slipped him a 10 YTL and were rewarded with kisses on both cheeks. Little more Authentic Turkish than we needed but oh well. Today we spent backtracking to the town of Konya, which is where we became ill in the first place. Turns out we have the same beds and are hoping for different results. After we got into town, Hazen headed to the Hamami for his traditional Turkish bath. He wasn't disappointed. Luckily the place wasn't that busy as it is risky to go on Friday which is the religious day of the week. If he were to splash someone who was finishing up their pre-prayer wash they would have to start all over again because they had been splashed by a non-muslim. After a bath and sauna he was ready for a scrub and massage. The scrub removed all sorts of unsightly things and the Turkish soap massage was really a treat. Hazen is probably the cleanest he has been since birth. In the morning we are going to continue back to Antalya for a relaxing two nights before jumping a plane to Munich on the 24th. We are praying to Allah that our appetites will be back to their usual state for the Brats and Sauerkraut. We would like to apoligize in advance to those picking us up from the airport in Seattle. No matter how hard we try, we have had a funk following us around for about the last 2 months. Probably because we have been wearing the same group of clothes the entire trip. Might want to throw up a new pine tree on the mirror. Probably won't get another post up before we get back but will be sure to get one more up when we get home that will include some Oktoberfest and a bit of London.

To summarize the trip would be impossible. It is a safe bet to say we have seen & learned some things. We think our friend Miguel, from Alicante, said it best. After a long night of sharing local wine, passing around the sheesha filled with flavoured tobacco, and chatting as if a language barrier never existed. He leaned back in his half-broken white plastic lawn chair, folded his fingers around the back of his head, looked up to the starry sky and proclaimed "Perfecto!".

Gobble, gobble, gobble

2007-09-13T08:41:00.000-07:00

The ghost town of Kayakoy near Fethiye. Around 200 houses that were abandoned after WWI.

View of Kayakoy from the top of the hill.

Interior of one of the churches in Kayakoy. Dates from 1888.

View through the port hole in our cabin on the boat

A little sea sick? Possibly hungover?

One of the most amazing sunsets we witness on this trip.

Romantic sunset! Doesn't get much better than this.

One of the many amazing views we had during our cruise

This would be scary if they actually let Hazen drive.

One of the greatest benefits of the cruise was diving in the water whenever you felt like it.

Amazing clear, blue water. Aubree enjoying the sea and the sun.

Group photo! All 18 of us on the last night of the trip.Chimera flames near Olympos. There are gases located beneath the rocks that once they reach the air they ignite. There are several of these flames in a small area.

Merhaba again from Turkey,

Have had some unfrogettable experiences in the last week and can't wait to share them with you. When we left you last we were in the town of Fethiye until our Blue Cruise departed. From Fethiye we took a day trip to a ghost town called Kayakoy. It is a very old town that was deserted after WWI. After the war was over many Greeks were living in Turkey and vise versa. As part of the repatriation the two countries switched their populations and there were far more Greeks living in Turkey than Turks in Greece so a few cities were left uninhabited. We spent half a day walking around the eery town. Not quite like walking around the ghost towns of the old west in the US. The town is completely off limits and has been since it was deserted so everthing is eroding and falling down at its own pace.

The next morning we woke up and were so excited to be starting our 4-day gulet cruise. Had breakfast at the Hotel and a shuttle bus came to pick us up and take us to the harbor. We headed for the boat with our swimmers on and snorkeling gear at the ready. We were a little baffled when the shuttle bus went past the harbor and thought we might be picking up more people before heading out. Really confused when we arrived at the main bus station and told we had to get on a bus to Demre which was 3hrs down the coast. Hazen went a little psychotic trying to get some answers as to why we would have do take a bus. We had just talked to the owner of the boat some 10 mins ago and he said nothing about this. Really worried that we were getting ripped off. When we got on the bus some other people that were taking the cruise said they were told the boat could not start from Fethiye because of bad weather and we would be doing the cruise in reverse. It turns out that everyone on the boat was told about this except us and a group of 3 girls. A slight oversight on the part of the cruise owner. When we finally arrived at the new harbor we were shuttled to the boat by dingie. However, it was so windy that we were completely soaked including our backpacks. The boat headed for a protected cove a short distance away and that is where we spent the evening. The passengers on the boat included a group of 10 people living in London but mostly of South African decent, 3 belgiums, and 3 Australians. The first night was great as everyone was getting to know each other and having a few drinks in the process. The night swim was amazing as phosphorecent fish glowed all around. Things were finally looking up.

The next morning we woke up pretty early and headed on deck as the boat departed. The wind was in our hair and life was good. About 20 mins later we hit the open sea and the open WAVES. Hazen's hangover just multiplied exponentially. Hazen spent the next 6 hours below deck vomitting into a Nalgene bottle. The crew decided it was far to windy to continue and parked in the harbor of Kas. With the promise of solid ground Hazen emerged and comtemplated whether he could get himself back on the boat. Aubree has been quick to point out she had no problems with seasickness or hangovers. The whole group went to a disco in the harbor and had a great time. Hazen however was not drinking anything besides water at this point. He did not want a repeat of the hangover/sea sickness.

We left the harbor around 4am since that was when the waters were suppose to be more calm. Somehow we managed to still get a little sleep through it all. We ended up at Butterfly Valley. There is suppose to be a nice waterfall you can hike to and butterflies everywhere that can only be found in this area. We decided to stay on the boat and do some swimming while the others went in search of the butterflies. Turns out they only saw 3 so we really didn't miss out on much. We heard the waterfall was dried up as well. The water is an amazing shade of blue and so crystal clear that you can see the bottom in very deep water. After leaving there we headed to Oludeniz. The first thing the guys on the boat did when we got there was find the tallest rock to jump off. Only one belly flop in the group. Hazen did complain later that his shoulders and upper arms were pretty sore from the jump. 13 of the people on the boat left to do some paragliding. Hazen decided against it (pretty spendy) and Aubree wouldn't have dont it if her life depended on it. Most seemed to have a good time though and we saw some pretty cool photos from those who went. The last day on the boat we had to re-fuel and get the dingy fixed. After that was about 7 hours straight sailing back to Demre. Hazen finally got his sea legs about 1 hour before we got off the boat. We were then bussed to get some food and off to Olympos.

Olympos is a crazy place made up of bungalows and tree houses. There is only one road through town that leads to some ancient ruins. We walked through them a little and got lost so decided to stick to the main path. Headed for the beach which wasn't near as nice as any of the places we swam while on the boat but it cooled us off and that's what we were after. Mostly did a lot of relaxing, napping and trying to stop the feeling that we were still on the boat.

We sat on a bus for about 7 hours yesterday to get to Konya, the bible belt of Turkey, and it was the first day of Ramadan. We had shorts on when we arrived and got a lot of looks. We put our pant legs on immediately as we were quite uncomfortable. Trying to avoid eating and drinking in public since everyone is fasting for Ramadan. We haven't seen much and not sure that we will get to. Hazen has become pretty sick. Possibly severe dehydration. He has been trying to keep liquids down but he has been running to the bathroom every 20 minutes for about 8 hours straight. Finally got some meds from the pharmacy and he hasn't had anything come up for about 2 hours now. Hopefully that's a good sign becuase I didn't want to have to figure out the Turkish medical system. If he is feeling better by tomorrow we will be heading to the town of Nigde which is on the edge of a national forest. Plan to spend a couple days there before going north to see the fairy chimneys of Cappadocia.

We can't believe that we only have about 2 weeks left. It's really starting to hit us that we will be home soon and have to face the challenge of of normal every-day life like moving to a new city and finding new jobs. We are very ready to come home though and see everyone.

A few highlights

2007-09-06T01:40:00.000-07:00

Probably most people can relate to these but it is just interesting how many mistakes a person makes when traveling. It is really a daily occurance. If we could only count; here are a few estimates:

Number of times we have bought nasty sparkling water instead of mineral water: 25

Number of different beds we have slept in on this trip: 80 (Fold down train bed)

Number of bodies of water Aubree has peed in while swimming: 8

Number of times Hazen has stubbed his toe while walking on cobble streets and sidewalks: 1,501
Number of times train employees have been really pissed off at us: 28

Number of times we have left the umbrellas at home only to get rained on later in the day: 10

Number of times we have stupidly ordered nachos thinking they would be like Azteca nachos: 7

Number of times Aubree tried getting a bloody mary only to get tomato paste: 6

Number of countries Hazen has enjoyed their domestic beer: How many countries have we been in?

Number of countries we have had to go to the pharmacy for cough drops: 6

Number of times Aubree has complained about her rat tail: 75

Number of times we have taken a cold shower: 30

Number of times we have laughed or made fun of tourists with Canadian flags on their packs: 300

Number of times we have been hassled for being American: 0 times
This has become a big issue for Hazen as he is sick of Americans thinking they live in the center of the world. Nobody really cares if you are American. A tourist is a tourist no matter where you are from. One hope that we have is that our travels will get more people excited about traveling and apart from all the joking about mistakes it is really fun and accessible.

Thanks to everyone for all your kind words of support and encouragement. It really meant a lot to us and we can't wait to see you all in a couple weeks.

BITTER SWEET TRAVELS!

2007-09-06T01:02:00.001-07:00

The Blue Mosque at night. Finally bought a tripod. Stupid to wait this long as it is very handy for night photos.

Two of the brothers from Yoti Bar in Istanbul. Had a great time visiting them. The middle brother is playing an "old Turkish joke" on Hazen.

The Galata Bridge over the Bosphorus was packed with fisherman catching tiny little fish. Many were sent down the street to street vendors where they fried them up for the rush hour crowd. Sea to mouth in about 30 minutes.

Pieces of Byzantine aquaducts and a Minaret in the background. In the foreground many old Turkish men (only men) are playing backgammon and Turkish dominoes. This seems like it is an all day activity for many men.

The citadel above Selcuk. This is the view we had from our hotel terrace. The picture is of the new prime minister.

Ephesus ruins

The great theatre at Ephesus. Capacity 25,000

Again the Great Theatre shown as it was built into the hillside 1,700 years ago.

70 miles to the gallon on this hog!

We are a little lost but found some great valleys with tiny "towns". In one valley we arrived when the call to prayer was being played from the Mosque. It was amazing listening to it as it bounced around the valley. We continue to be mesmerized every time we hear it.

Views of the rugged coastline from our Moped trip.

Another Roman theatre being excavated in Fethiye. This one has no entrance fees, no tourists, and not even a fence. We climbed up and sat in the shade as it overlooks the bay.
Hazen decided to teach a few Turkish kids how to play soccer. A lot of fun as they toyed with him. They were playing on the theatre floor of the 3rd century roman theatre. Hazen stubbed his toe on some ancient stones.

Merhaba Friends and Family,

A lot has changed since our last post. Mainly our dream of finishing our trip in Egypt will not be realized. We are very sad but we were not able to find a reasonable means of traveling there from Turkey. I know that seems hard to believe as it is just a hop over the Med but we are stumped. Have pulled out all the travel tricks we know and still the best we can do is a $550/person flight from southern turkey to Egypt. At this point in our trip that is a bit steep. So...we will be staying in Turkey until the 24th (sweet part of "bitter sweet"). We were able to change our Cairo to Munich flight to Antalya to Munich with minimal penalty. It has taken a few days for the sting to wear off but now that it has we are back to business and having a great time in Turkey. Here is what we have been up to:

From Izmir we had a short journey to a small town called Selçuk. This is the homebase for exploring Ephesus. Ephesus was a remarkable place that has history dating back to 6000 BC. The ruins that remain are Roman and date to the 3rd century AD. It was another example of architectural perfection. Basically the entire city still remains and at one point it had 200,000 occupiers. The great theatre was incredible as it seated 25000 people and had unbeatable acoustics. We headed straight for the top row and were able to clearly hear converstations from anywhere in the theatre. Really a marvel. Spent a while longer in Selçuk and befriended a restaurant owner. He was from eastern Turkey and loved teaching us about why the eastern food is so much better than the western Turkey food.

On to Marmaris. A small resorty type town on the aegean coast. Were in need of a good beach because the weather has been very warm. About 108 F one day. Rented a moped a couple days ago and explored the peninsula just outside of town. It was illegal for us to rent it as we lied and said Hazen's license was motorcycle endorsed. Oh well, we were quite the sight as we were the only people in the town riding a moped that actually wore their helmets. Quickly got out of town and found some great beaches that we had all to ourselves. On one beach when we stopped swimming the small fish would swarm around your feet and bite your ankles. Our thinking was that where there are little fish that want to bite you, there are probably bigger fish nearby that also have the same idea. We headed to a new beach.

Just got to a new town called Fethiye. Just a little bit further down the coast. After three days here we will be boarding a 15 person sailboat to travel for 4 days along the southern coast. We will be stopping in all of the secluded coves and such. Aubree is really excited and Hazen just hopes he doesn't get seasick. After the boat trip we will try to visit Cyprus which is a small island just off the southern coast that is half Turkey and half Greece. From there we will hopefully have enough time to visit Cappadochia before flying to Munich. Even though we now have an entire month here it feels like we don't have nearly enough time. So many great things to explore in this country.

Chuck Norris and Aubreel writing you from Turkey!

2007-08-31T11:47:00.000-07:00

Aub searching for the loggerhead turtles as we rented a paddleboat. Didn't see any but had a great time.

Smoke blocking the sun in Olympia.

If you look closely you can see large sprinklers spraying the forest above the ruins in Olympia. While in Athens we saw that this hill had burnt the night we left Olympia. Luckily, it sounds like the ruins were saved with only one piece being burnt.

More smoke in Olympia.

The Parthenon. What a place. Unfortunately it has been covered in scaffolding since 1984 but guess it is a neccessary evil.

The city of Athens sprawling in all directions around the acropolis.

Erecthion cathedral in the Acropolis. Doesn't look like much in the picture but take our word it is very amazing.

First modern day Olympic stadium from 1896. I think you get the idea.

Temple of Zeus. Absolutely massive columns are all that are left.

View of the Acropolis from our private rooftop terrace.

Hazen enjoying a water pipe while taking in a whirling dervish performance and trying Turkish pancakes.

Aformentioned whirling dervish. Only knew a little bit of what was going on and would be interested to find out more.
The blue mosque. The open area is the prayer area. Hard to see the millions of beautiful blue tiles that give the mosque its nickname.

Aubree taking it all in on the floor of the Blue Mosque.
View from outside the Blue Mosque
Next door is the Aya Sofia which preceeds the Blue mosque by 1000 years. (600's ad)
Interior of Aya Sofia. Try to imagine the size using the people in the bottom as reference.

Hope all is well with everyone. I guess we start this post in Greece. We left the island of Zakynthos after three wonderful days of laying on the beach and trying all kinds of Greek goodies. We celebrated St. Dionysios day with lots of crazy Greeks and were a little overwhelmed. On our way off the island many people were crowded around the TV on the ferry. There were very bad fires burning in the area we were headed. We were trying to go to Olympia to see the original Olympic ruins. After a lot of turmoil (Hazen had a bad day) we were able to get to Olympia. The ashes were falling down on us and we were right in the middle of many bad fires. Didn't realize what we were getting ourselves into. Still headed down to the ruins but were turned away by the military as the fires were too close to the area. We walked around for a while, headed back to the hotel and watched the local news. Because there were so many fires going on at one time many people were left to fend for themselves. We watched as people fought massive fires with branches, garden hoses, and five gallon buckets. Consequently, we also watched the death toll rise. We lost our power late in the night and woke up to a lot of smoke in town. Decided it was best to catch the first bus out of Olympia to Pyrgos. On the way we saw many fires very close to the road. There were a lot of people standing in the road watching it approach. The look of shock and worry was on every face as they waited. One house had all the trees in the back yard on fire and the house was soon to go. Everyone was just watching from the street. Very hard and sad to see. Once we got to Pyrgos we had to fight tooth and nail to get a bus to Athens as it seems everyone wanted out of town. Somehow being the only non-greek speaking person in the bunch we were able to get two seats.

When we arrived in Athens we headed straight for the most important sight in the western world! The Acropolis. It was well deserving of its reputation. Perched so high above the city it seems to scream power and fame. The parthenon was obviously the highlight with its towering columns and ornate designs. It was interesting to learn of the very complex architecture that was used to make it appear perfect. We spent the rest of the evening admiring the sight from the roof of our hotel. The next day in Athens we spent wandering around town. We zigged this way and that to see the parliament, hadrians arch, the temple of Zeus, and the first modern day Olympic stadium. Half the day was spent trying to figure out how to get to Istanbul as we received a different answer from all of the "experts" we asked.

Finally settled in on a night train. It was the best night train we have taken as we had a private two bed compartment. However, we had a few interuptions. At 2am we were awoke by the Greeks wanting to take our passports. Then at 4.30am they came back with our passports as we were leaving Greece. Then at 5am we were awoke by the Turks to get off the train and go to the police station to purchase our visa. All this really entails is giving some guy 15 euro each and he replies "passport on train". This was probably good as we were not really in the mood to chat. However, a simple welcome to Turkey my American friends and allies would have been nice. Just kidding. As we boarded the train again we heard the first call to prayer. It was a weird sensation because it was still dark out and we hadn't slept much. We had two more greetings before we could finally get a couple minutes of sleep before Istanbul.

Welcome to Istanbul! oh man. We are in Turkey. Doing some travel now! Made it to our hotel and were greeted by our friend Iyat. He was not a shy person and when he wasn't calling Hazen "Neil Armstrong" he was making karate noises because he thought Hazen looked like Chuck Norris. After four days in Turkey it is apparent that these people know how to have a good time. Great sense of humor and incredibly helpful. Our sense is that the people of Europe always talk about how laid back and relaxed they are but they really aren't. They seem very uptight and quick to show their temper. While the Turks also say they are relaxed and friendly they are exactly right. We have had more people in Turkey help us find our way or chat just to practice English than the rest of our trip combined. Our first stop was the Blue Mosque which was only 1.5 blocks from our hotel. This place was breathtaking. We covered ourselves, took off our shoes and headed in. The first thing we noticed was the elaborate tile mosaics lining the multiple domes. We had a seat on the carpet (the softest ever) and watched the afternoon prayer. Needless to say this was far different from any other religious experience we have ever had. Next we took a look at an older version of Mosque called Aya Sofia. It was built in the 5th century AD and is now a museum. It was completely massive and undescribable. No pictures will ever do it justice. The rest of the time in Istanbul was spent in the Grand Bazaar and wandering the streets. We took a ferry across the Bosphorus to get to a less touristed area for dinner last night. We got more than we bargained for as absolutely no one spoke english and had a hard time ordering. It all worked out though and it was a great experience. Travis (Hazen's brother) got his wish as the restaurant owner gave us each a Turkish coffee to thank us. Lets just say the Turks get right to the point when drinking coffee. It is small but action packed. We each choked it down with smiles on our faces as we are by no means coffee drinkers.

Headed to another part of town to try the Turkish liquour. It is called Raki and it packs a punch. We were approached by a young man to enter his bar and took him up on his offer. The next 3.5 hrs were spent in him and his three brothers bar enjoying great conversation. Not only did we try Raki we also shared a Nargile (water-pipe) and a couple other drinks. The raki has to be mixed with water and when you do it turns white. The water is suppose to help with the hangover but not sure if it really worked. Had a very unusual flavor that Aubree says tastes like grey Necco Wafers. Man, she is weird. Being the only patrons we got tons of attention. The oldest brother is going to start a bar in another town in Turkey and says he plans to call it "Hazen". Basically it was a perfect last night in an amazing town. In Hazen's opinion it is the first big city we have visited that a person could spend weeks in and be amazed every day.

Today we took a torturous 10hr bus ride to Izmir. This should be our last long day of travel for a while. We plan on visiting Ephesus tomorrow with many more coastal towns to follow.

Still trying to figure out how to get to Egypt as this is proving the hardest obstacle of our trip. The land route was blocked as we were not able to get visas from the Syrian embassy in Istanbul. Now we try ferries and if that doesn't work we will be stuck with an expensive plane ride. Well, wish us luck because we really need it. Travel here is a big challenge. Now we understand why most people travel to Turkey in tour groups. However, we despise tour groups and would rather suffer on a mildly air conditioned public bus for ten hours. Hope to hear from you all soon. Only 27 days to go!

Tour de Adriatic

2007-08-23T10:35:00.001-07:00

Prague was definitely a beautiful place. Lots of walking and plenty of views.

Ah, the biggest palace on earth (by some measures). This is the cathedral in the center of the Prague Castle. Some much history revolves around this place you can almost smell it!

Cesky Krumlov was a fun little town with some great medieval sights. Wanted to float the river but the weather didn't cooperate. Probably good though as we watched more than one boat flip while navigating the falls.

Hapsburg winter palace in Vienna. This is about 25% of the palace. We were glad they put in a park because it made for a great nap.

Lots of warriors went down in flames fighting for the Hapsburg cause (not just in WWI). FYI - if you see a statue of a guy on a horse, the horse can tell you something about the rider. If the horse has two legs off the ground the dude died in battle. One leg off the ground then he was a military ruler but did not die in battle. All legs on the ground then he wasn't a military leader and didn't die in battle.

All right! Made it to the Danube. This is Budapest. Say hello to 9.9 million people. What a busy place.

The Parliament in Budapest. Makes the White house look like a tent.

The Killers (a band) playing at the Sziget festival. A huge festival that lasted a week on an island in the middle of Budapest. Lots of crazies and glad we only went for one day.

Another magical evening. The Citadel on the hill is right next to where we stayed in Budapest. Doesn't make for a fun walk. Unfortunately our map didn't have topography lines or we wouldn't have booked that place!

With every crappy accomodation you find a great place to balance it out. This is the view of Dubrovnik from our room. Tough digs uh. This place is so beautiful. Hard to imagine a war going on right here only twelve years ago. Really hard to get here but as it usually goes the harder places usually much more rewarding and "untouched".

Check this place out! Wow aren't those some really nice resorts on that nice beach in Croatia. The answer is no! Those are bombed out shells of what were once great hotels serving the elite of the area. Now all they serve are reminders of the recent fighting. Pretty eery hanging out on the beach with such a backdrop. It is still advised to stay on marked paths due to the danger of buried land mines. Don't think it is that big of a problem but overcautious tourist departments. However, we didn't venture off any paths to find out.

Here is another example of crap accomodation. It is the night ferry to Bari, Italy. If this was scratch and sniff you would smell terrible exhaust fumes. Cozy!
Second night ferry in as many days. This one at least had a great sunset.
Finally the beach in Greece. On the island of Zakynthos and the beach name is Kalamaki. If this photo could immit heat it would be about 105 degrees. "HOT! sand is on fire, HOT! Ah, the water is nice." (that is a reinactment of how what our day was like)

Hello from Greece,

Quite the workout to get here but we made it and the rest is just another fun travel story. Hard to have that philosophy sometimes when you are crammed in a "line" getting pushed from all angles and getting yelled at by a passport checker. But hell, guess we needed a lesson in patience.

Our last couple days in croatia were out of a dream. Absolutely perfect days of doing nothing but basking in some amazing settings. The landscapes are breathtaking and the beaches aren't so bad either. Picked up some water goggles and spent a lot of time with our backs to the sun spotting some fun fish (hard on the backs). Our last two nights we spent in the middle of nowhere. It was really nice to get away from the masses in Dubrovnik and have some quiet, clean beaches. From Dubrovnik we took a night ferry to Bari, Italy. 9 hr ferry that couldn't have been worse. Slept on the floor with hundreds of others and it got pretty cold and windy. First thing we did when we finally landed was find a cozy park and take a nap. The next thing we did was board another night ferry. I know what you are thinking, why do that to yourself. Well we did it and that is that. We were literally the first two people on the next ferry and snagged one of the comfy leather couches. We were so relieved to see this ferry had posh (compared to last ferry) accommodations. Spent the next 17.5 hrs motoring toward mainland greece. Arrived in Greece to a scorcher! 104 degrees, so we decided, why not hit an island and jump on yet another ferry. So by 7pm we were on the island of Zakynthos in the Ionian sea. This island is much quieter than the popular group off the southern edge of Greece. But sometimes less popular is better and in our case it is way better. We snagged a really cheap room from some crazy greeks. Just kidding they are really nice but wow, don't think they get out much. Today we jumped a bus first thing and spent the ENTIRE day conducting very important beach activities. Mostly laying, swimming, some drinking (water, and not water...). We got some decent sunburns despite our sunscreen attempts as it definitely cleared triple digits again. Probably will do the same thing again tomorrow. Will try to rent a boat to go out and see some of the loggerhead turtles that hang out just off shore. We spent most of the day laying right next to a nest of unhatched eggs. During the night the turtles are coming on shore and doing what you always see on the Discovery channel. After a couple more nights here we are back to the mainland and will sprint to Olympia and then on to Athens. Just checked the bank account and for the first time on the trip we have more money than budgeted! Looks like we might have to push back those flights. Just kidding we sure can't wait to see some friendly faces. In fact if anyone needs some sun you can meet us in Athens in a couple days and hit Turkey and Egypt with us.

Eastern Europe in a whirlwind!

2007-08-17T12:10:00.000-07:00

Seems like we have been traveling like crazy lately. Since our last post we have been to Cesky Krumlov, Vienna, Budapest, Split, and now Dubrovnik. Haven't had much time to post as every minute seems precious. The trip is coming to an end and we still have much to see so we don't feel like we have much time to waste. So here goes....
Cesky Krumlov was a fun little town that unfortunately didn't have very good weather. We had planned on rafting the river but it looked a bit chilly for our likes. Good to get out of the city, though.
Vienna is a very sleepy big city. It doesn't seem like they have woken from the slumber they began just after WWI. The history on the Hapsburg empire was very exciting and they left a ton of excellent architecture for visitors to marvel at. We had planned on seeing an opera or something of the sorts but it was all shut down this time of year. While we were sitting on a bench enjoying a drink as the sun went down, Hazen noticed a travel agency that specializes in the Middle East. He popped in to see if they could give any insight into getting from Turkey to Egypt. He not only gave us tons of travel information but had us in for tea and boclava from Damascus. We chatted for about an hour and a half. It seems if you happen to meet a rude person while traveling you are always sure to meet at least three extremely helpful people to even it out.
Budapest was a riot. A town with nearly 10 million people that was a hive of activity while we were there. For those who live in small towns and can't comprehend 10 million people, like we had trouble doing, it is a lot of people and slightly overwhelming. We did manage to figure out the public transportation and we were off like a rocket. Hit an enormous music festival called Sziget. It was on an island in the middle of town. Most people had been camping for over a week as we only attended the final day. Big splurge for us but Hazen has always had a dream of attending a huge European festival. Tons of crazyness and again; overwhelming. Some of the highlights include Eagles of Death Metal (not Death Metal), Juliet and the Licks, and The Killers. Decided to relax a bit the next morning by taking in a Turkish bath. There are quite a few baths left over from when the Turks occupied the town and they are very popular. We spent about three hours jumping from lots of different baths throughout the ornately decorated complex. Hungary is an amazing place that deserves some more exploring but not enough time on this trip. On to Croatia (to da beach!)
Our anniversary was spent almost entirely on a train. The good news was that we were serenaded by some insanely intoxicated Portuguese travelers. Arrived just in time to catch the sun setting over the Adriatic to create the most beautiful sunset we have seen on the trip. This morning we headed straight down to Dubrovnik. We have been looking forward to this town for years. The place is definitely worth the hype. We have three nights here and it should be seven. While traveling through the country we witnessed the most beautiful countryside we have seen. I think we are in love. The Dalmatian coast makes our second favorite coastal spot, Cinque Terre, look like the beaches of Washington State! We have a private room on the hill above the old town and damn. Not many views like that in the world. No exaggeration. Spent the afternoon swimming and had a great candlelit dinner on the waterfront. The dinner was about 25% of what it would have cost back home in the same setting. Just picked a bottle of the local vine juice and headed to the room to watch the old town light up against the Adriatic. After three nights we are going to jump a big boat to Greece! Keeping the beach theme going. Sure was great to hear from people lately. Hope that continues. Love hearing what is going on back home especially as the trip goes on.

Czech out this post!

2007-08-08T06:21:00.000-07:00

The "Wailing Wall" in the Remuh Jewish Cemetery. Made up of the broken tombstones found here after WWII. They were used to build the wall as a memorial to Holocaust victims. Yes, Hazen is wearing a Yamaca. It was required for men to wear when visiting the Synagogue and cemetery.

Aubree enjoying the sunshine in the courtyard of Wawel Castle in Krakow. When the sun is out she can usually be found doing cartwheels down the sidewalk. Definately need to live in a sunny climate when we return. The firing wall at Auschwitz I. Many, many sentences were carried out here.

Main entrance of the camp. "Work will set you free" Same quote as at the entrance to Dachau.

In retreat, Nazi soldiers tried to hide ashes in this pond on the edge of camp. It still bears the grey color.

Main entrance to Auschwitz II-Birkenau

View of Wroclaw from the spire at St. John the Baptist cathedral. Great town!

The old town square in Wroclaw. Tons of great architecture and magical at night.Sunset above Wroclaw. View from the top floor of our hostel

Taking a paddle boat ride on the Vltava River in Downtown Prague. Castle and cathedral are in the background.

Oh yes! This is why people come to Prague. We were blown away by the Castle and adjoing Cathedral as they slowly became illuminated. The Charles bridge is in the foreground.

St. Wenceslaus square. This is where political gatherings have taken place for centuries. Most recently in 1989 300,000 Czechs gathered here to break free from Communism.

As you already may have figured out by our cheesy title, we are now in the Czech Republic. Before we got here, we traveled through a couple other cities in Poland. First we hit Krakow, which is suppose to be the cultural capital of Poland. Of the three cities we visited we would rank them in the following order: Wroclaw, Warsaw, Krakow. All had their charms but we definitely didn't agree with other travelers who said Krakow would be the best. A few things we did in Krakow include visiting the Jewish quarter, the old town, the Wawel Castle, and a day trip to two of the Auschwitz camps. In the Jewish quarter we visited the synagogue and attached cemetery with graves from the plague (1551). The cemetery was closed in 1870 and was saved during WWII by being covered with sand to hide it. The old town square was a lot of fun with tons of people entertaining. They ranged from Polka music to breakdancing. We sat on a bench and watched a group of talented breakdancers do their thing. Really entertaining.
The visit to two of the Auschwitz camps was obviously a long day. Only two are open to the public. There was a network of over 50 camps in the area. We decided to book a tour guide to help us learn about the camps. As many of you have heard there are some moving monuments including stacks of thousands of pairs of shoes, a pile of 2 tons of women's hair (7 tons were found), and endless stacks of other personal belongings. Our guide was quick to point out exactly which Nazi personel were ever charged with a crime (not many). At the end of the camp there was a small gallow which was used only once. Rudolph Hess, the camp commander, was hanged here and that was the last public execution in Polish history. Next we were shuttled to the Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp. This is the camp that everyone thinks about when they hear "Auschwitz". It was the camp that was filmed in Schindler's list. This camp was absolutely massive. It held 90,000 people. Think about that number the next time you are at a Mariner's game where the maximum attendance is 46,000. Spent a lot of time walking around this camp. We walked around the perimeter very hard for about 1hr and covered only half of the camps borders. It was especially moving to see that the camp has not been disturbed since being liberated in 1945. The barracks (the ones left standing) are exactly the same as when prisoners were "living" in them.
Took a long bus ride to Wroclaw which is closer to the German border. Had a great time relaxing in this town as it seemed to lack the tourist luster that the last few towns had displayed. Didn't do much but walk around and explore the town. A few well placed naps on park benches here and there and we were feeling refreshed.
After a few nights we moved on to Prague. When we arrived in Prague it quickly became apparent that we were firmly back into tourist land! Backpacks definitely outnumber locals in this town. It is really hot here and we are loving it. Can't wait to get back to the beach. This place is magical, as advertised. Sure wish we could have been here 15 years ago when the first western travelers started coming here. Oh well, guess we will have to share. Hazen never was any good at sharing. Last night was spent hanging out on the Charles bridge while trying to keep our jaws from dropping. We were in a trance as we stared at the biggest castle in Europe illuminated against a beautiful sunset sky. Did a Rick Steves walk this morning and learned a great deal on the very long periods of occupation the Czech Republic has gone through. Makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up as you think about 300,000 Czechs in the main square trying to tell the Communist government "It is time to go!" They did a good job but the sacrifices were great. Man, we are enjoying the history even if it does sometimes include troubled times. We will continue to enjoy Prague for the next couple days before taking a bus to Cesky Krumlov in the south of the Czech Republic. Small town that is suppose to have a great river float. Looking forward to spending a day floating on a tube past a great medeival town. After that, on to Vienna and Budapest.

Pics and Poland

2007-08-02T07:50:00.001-07:00

Dzien dobre from Poland!

Well, we finally arrived in Warsaw. We were excited to leave Lithuania. I know that sounds bad but just wasn't our kind of place. We had an excruciating 15hr train ride from central Lithuania to Warsaw. As previously stated, the trains are not the most efficient in this part of Europe. However, the only bus alternative would have been much worse. Today is absolutely perfect. A traveler's dream. Slept in a little bit and woke up to sunshine (Not snoring, bags zipping, or people talking on cell phones). We visited the Warsaw uprising museum this morning. It was very powerful as the entire museum was set up like you were participating in the resistance. The prices of everything are remarkably low. Had peirogies last night and this afternoon. Might be hooked for life. Plus an order of the little buggers only runs about $1.10. Just our kind of budget. Tomorrow we head for Krakow and will probably visit Auschwitz while there. From there we will spend a couple days in Wroclaw before heading to much anticipated PRAGUE! We are way overdue on some pics so will get right to it. Nostrovya!

Hanging out in the Sauna; because in Finland everyone has a Sauna in their home. Luckily (sarcasm) it was only 87 degrees celcius. For the math wizards that = really frickin hot!

This is as close as we came to aub's relatives near Halsua. This statue is in Kokkola but haven't had time to research who the gentleman is.

Aubree is having a great time in Stockholm. I think the horse might be having a good time too!

Aubree only did this because we made a bet. She lost and now you get to view the photo. Ah, it is so much fun winning bets.

Hazen has played with cannons in nearly every country we have visited. This one is on an island in the harbor of Helsinki. This is by far the biggest one we have seen. Thought about crawling in but probably nothing good could have come from that.

AHHH, Medeival Tallin. Great preserved old town. Bit touristy (Scandinavians & Germans) but had a great time otherwise.

Aubree, Warrior Princess!

Kinda looks like Orlando Bloom, I think!

Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, Poland. Most Polish people do not like this building at all. As the Soviets were leaving, they gave the people of Poland the option of a building or a metro system. They chose the building and now they are stuck with a Leninesque building in the heart of the city. Not what they had in mind I think.

Why not see a Dolphin show while in Lithuania. Pretty fun and basically the only thing to do in town.

Photo op of the Opera house in Riga, Latvia.

Parnu, Estonia history. This is a statue of Lenin that the town has not figured out what to do with yet. Can't blow it up (which is what they planned) because Russia would be pissed. Don't want it in their town so they just tossed a tarp over it and hung a sign on it stating "banned history". This is some serious history. Stuff you can feel in the air.

This is the place in Parnu that we "scored". Our room is the four windows on the left. Luckily none of our windows were broken. Somehow we managed to get some sleep here. Quite the interesting place. We will just say it had character.

Back to Warsaw where Aub is chilling in front of the Royal Palace. It is situated in the entrance to the "old town". Not very old because it was completely rebuilt after being destroyed during WWII.

Devil Computers

2007-07-29T09:36:00.000-07:00

Well last night we watched our first movie in a theatre on the trip. Watched "1408" which was a scary movie about a haunted hotel room. We are begining to think that every computer in Latvia is also possessed. Having a hard time with pictures so we won't post any.

Other than stupid computers, life is good. We had a great time exploring Estonia while visiting Tallin and Parnu. Really can't wait to show off pics of the hostel we stayed at while in Parnu. Might be the scariest hostel in all of Europe. We have spent the last three days in the capital of Latvia. We have been trying to think of how to discribe Estonia and Latvia and it is really hard. The best we can come up with is really old and really new. All three of the balkan countries were occupied from 1939-1991. One German occupation sandwiched in between two Soviet occupations. When the Germans invaded Latvia and kicked out the Soviets who where just finishing up what is refered to as the "Year of Terror", Latvians viewed them as liberators and celebrated their arrival. Little did they know that the next few years of German occupation would not be much better. After WWII ended here came the soviets again. What a terrible time it must have been while the rest of the world was celebrating the end of WWII, many countries in the east were simply trading one terrible occupation for another. It is mind boggling that this continued until 1991. Today we learned of many "settlement camps" as the soviets called them. This is the Soviet version of a concentration camp only not so discriminating. Most were located in Siberia where winter temps were commonly dipping below -40 celsius. I think you get the idea. These countries have gone through some terrible times but they are doing much better now. Democracy and capitalism are flourishing. Giant shopping malls dot the edges of "old" town and are constantly bustling. Two days ago in Riga we visited the largest market in Europe. Very crowded place where little old ladies will run you down if you get between them and the bakery booth. Hazen had another attempted pickpocket on his day pack. Still haven't got anything from us. Probably just a matter of time.

Aubree has had a relapse on her cough and we were able to get some cough syrup today. After we finally found a pharmacy and bought the bottle we couldn't figure out how to get the remarkably simple looking cap off the gd bottle. Back to the pharmacy; some old lady was able to get it off with the help of Hazen's pocketknife. Aubree cried like a little two year old when she had to chug the "30 weight motor oil". Quite entertaning for Hazen though. The real kicker is now we have a full bottle of syrup and the cap won't go back on. The little moments of travel are sometimes the hardest.

A couple nights ago Hazen made an attempt at partying like a European. The night started by watching a group of four of the craziest british guys ever. In their very hard British accent they yelled and competed by trying to find out who could punch the other in the shoulder the hardest. Obviously they were way too drunk for 6pm but quite entertaining. Spent dinner time chatting with two Germans, a turkish woman, and a guy from India (haven't seen an American for quite a while). Quite the good mix. Hazen accompanied the Turkish woman and the now three germans to a pub with live music. If you can picture a basement with live music in Latvia this is where Hazen was at. The first band was from Latvia and put on quite a show. Bands from luxemburg and france also played. Hazen hit the street around 2:30 to cool off a bit as it was about 80 celsius in the basement. Met some latvians and sat down for a cup of tea, chatting on until 4:00. Took a couple days to recover from attempting to party like a European but he is glad he got it out of his system.

Well we are heading to Klaipeda, Lithuania tomorrow by bus (trains aren't good). Very excited to continue heading south toward some serious sunshine.

Sadly, goodbye Finland

2007-07-25T05:10:00.000-07:00

One more time we would like to say how much a of a great time we had visiting family in Sweden and Finland. Everyone was so kind and very welcoming. We ate like a king and queen the whole time. After leaving northern Finland we stayed in Kokkola in hopes of visiting the nearby town of Halsua. Aubree's family is linked to this area. When we arrived in Kokkola we had a hard time finding a place to stay but finally tracked down a small cabin out on the beach. We headed back into town for dinner. Not much going on in town so we headed to bed early and were up early to try to find a bus to Halsua. Unfortunately no buses were running there as it was Sunday. We decided to jump a train to Helsinki and arrived midday. Helsinki is another nice Scandinavian capital but Stockholm definately was our favorite. We visited a fortress out in the harbor. It connects a large group of islands. Really looked like a deterent to invasion by sea. The rest of our time was spent kicking around town taking it all in. Tried to take a nap in the grass and subsequently got eaten alive by strange grass bugs. Not fun.
Yesterday we took a gigantic ferry from Helsinki to Tallin, Estonia. We got two stamps in our passport that day. Unfortunately, those are the first since we began our trip back in May. Tallin is a great untouched old town. Really feels like you are in medeival times. As an example of how untouched the place is: we visited the oldest pub in Estonia. It opened its doors in 1993!! Everything is either really old or brand new. This place seems to be benefiting from the fall of the Iron Curtain. We tried out our archery skills and it turns out that boy/girl scouts have failed us or we have failed them.
Took a bus to the town of Pärnu as it was suppose to be an amazing resort town. Well, it is raining pretty good. We spent about an hour walking around town trying to find a room but it seemed the whole town was booked solid. We did find a room but we haven't seen it yet as it is getting cleaned as a Lithuanian football team is currently occupying it. They are charging us about $16 (200 EEK) for two beds and the manager said the room is in REALLY bad shape. Should be interesting to find out what we are getting ourselves into. Hopefully the sun will come out tomorrow so we can hit the beach. If not, will have to try a mud bath. Suppose to have good ones here. I think we will head to Riga, Latvia after this. Probably three days there before heading to Lithuania. Sure is nice to be on the down hill slide of the trip. Have been missing our family a lot lately and we can't figure out the damn phones to give them a call. Will try photos next time. This is a very old computer and doesn't understand USB drives. Hope everything is going well back home and can't wait to hear from you. Take Care.

So this is Finland

2007-07-20T02:30:00.000-07:00

No running of the bulls this year but this is what probably would have happened.

Stockholm was exhausting

Parliament building in Stockholm. Very fascinating tour.
Beautiful Stockholm

Getting together for tea and coffee with Niina, Anna-Karin, Helena, Maria and Anna-Kaisa

Mountain view of Finland with Arto and Anna-Kaisa

Stradling the Arctic Circle. It was a bit chilly up there.

Saw our first wild reindeer. This one is very big for this area.

We finally made it to the homeland. Finland is absolutely beautiful. Lars brought us from Sweden to Finland yesterday and showed us several sights along the way. We got to Arto and Anna-Kaisa's house just after noon. We talked for a bit, more about the family lines, then headed to the Arctic Circle. It isn't very far from where they live in Ylitornio, maybe 10-15 minutes. We had another wonderful home-cooked meal when we got back. We are definitely getting spoiled. Anna-Kaisa's other sister, Helena, and 3 of her 4 daughters came over later in the evening for tea and to visit. Very nice family. There is even more light in the evenings here than we experienced in Sweden. It did not even think about getting dark last night. Was a little hard to get tired with daylight. Finally went to bed around 1:00 and was very weird. Had to pretend we were taking a nap to fall asleep. Today we went to the cemetery to see where Anna-Kaisa's parents are buried. We then drove up to a nearby mountain to get a 360 view of the area. There is forest everywhere with small towns scattered here and there. We will go to Helena's (just on the other side of the border in Sweden) later today for tea and then back here for dinner with one of Arto and Anna-Kaisa's three sons. We are having an excellent time meeting everyone and seeing Finland. We hope that all the family will be able to see it someday. From here we head south through Finland with possible stops in Halsua or Veteli to find out more history on the family, then on to Helsinki. We hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the nice weather we are hearing about at home. Take care.

The comforts of a home!

2007-07-18T10:29:00.000-07:00

Hello from Pitea, Sweden. We arrived to meet Aubree's relatives this afternoon, Maija and Lars Ruisniemi. They were kind enough to pick us up from the train station. We were driven around the town of Pitea and had an excellent dinner. Sure was great to have a home cooked meal. Hazen also got to try caviar for the first time. We have been doing a lot of talking about the family history and will drive to Finland tomorrow to visit Anna Kaisa who is also Aubree's, Grandmother's cousin. She is located right on the arctic circle line. I think we were able to locate the original Kalliokoski family homestead as there is a small village bearing its name. On our way back to Helsinki in a couple days we will try to get there. Will have to take a train, bus, and probably quite a bit of walking. It should be interesting walking the neighborhood banging on doors trying to find where the Kallioskoski farm was located.

We spent three days in Stockholm and had a great time. The weather was amazing in the mid-20's every day. We took a tour of the parliament building. It was fascinating to see how their government worked. Any country that has a 82% voter turnout is probably doing something right. Hazen thought Stockholm was the most beautiful city we have visited so far. It spans fourteen islands with 50+ bridges. Unfortunately the prices are quite high so we have been roughing it a bit. Spent the last couple nights sleeping in a grade school classroom with 14 other bunkmates. Last night we spent on a 14 hr night train with probably the rudest people in all of Europe. We survived and are now enoying the beauty of Northern Sweden.

Hello from Scandinavia!

2007-07-15T10:16:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. Hope all is well. Happy Birthday Mom (Lynn Hannum)!! Congratulations to Casey and Adrian (sorry if misspelled) on their wedding yesterday. Sorry we couldn't be there.

Just got into Stockholm a couple hours ago but there is much more to share before we get to that.

Well, today marks about half-way on the trip. An even 2.5 months. We have been to eleven countries and don't regret a single day.

From Amsterdam, we traveled to northern Germany. We stayed in a small town called Puttgarden. It is where the ferry leaves from that goes to Denmark. Found a great deal on the only Pension in town. Had a good dinner at the only restaurant in town. I think you get the idea. Very good nights sleep with another lovely German breakfast. This time our hard boiled egg was soft boiled. If you get a chance to have one of those, pass on that. Aub lost hers back onto her plate. Not a pretty sight. However, the toast was good. Man, what we wouldn't do for some biscuits and gravy right now. Jumped a gigantic ferry to Denmark. The train actually drives onto the ferry. How cool is that. Went straight to Copenhagen and found a cheap hostel. Dropped the bags and hit the town. It is a very beautiful town that was enhanced by the jazz festival that was going on. All around town there were concerts in parks, bars, and everywhere else you can think of. Made for a lot of cheap entertainment.

Most of our full day was spent with DIY tours. We have become pros at giving ourselves introductory tours of any given city. At midday we went to a organ concert that was held in the main church. It was a powerful performance that we both really enjoyed. The church itself was built just after the reformation so it had a completely different style as they were trying to separate themselves from Catholicism. It looked more like a Greek palace than a church. Pretty refreshing to see a different type of architecture. In the afternoon we visited Christiania. This is a piece of land on the outskirts of Copenhagen that was abandoned by the government in 1971. Shortly thereafter, people moved in and claimed sqautter's rights. They have been there ever since. This place makes haight-ashbury look like McDonalds Playplace. They only have nine rules including no cars or hard drugs. There was weed being freely smoked everywhere you looked. Many "houses" were built from scraps or alternative house building methods. If you want a case study in alternative lifestyles look this place up. It was interesting to see but we were definately a bit uncomfortable.

Headed back to town for some more Jazz. We were sitting on the canal listening to a band and people watching when out of nowhere, the skies opened up and here came the rains. This was the heaviest, most severe rain we have ever witnessed. It lasted about five minutes and it made the thousands watching the band scream and run for cover. We tried to make a tent out of our two umbrellas but that didn't work out too well. Had to head back to the hostel for dry underwear. Spent the rest of the evening watching street performers and relaxing as the locals do. Explanation: Drinks are so expensive at the bars or restaurants that everyone just goes to a convenience store and drinks in the squares. Makes for great people watching.

On our way out of town this morning, we walked by a club and heard the unmistakable thumping sound reverberating from the building. The damn place was still open at 9am. Hazen had to look in; People were still dancing and carrying on like crazies. These europeans are something else.

Probably should get going as we only have three days to enjoy stockholm before making our way to the land of 24 hr sun (or rain).

Germany, Belgium and Netherlands

2007-07-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Rhine Valley. Famous Lorely cliffs on the left.

Exploring the Rheinfels Castle. It was perched just above our zimmer in St. Goar.Actual cannon balls....In an actual castle!!!! Cool!!!
Great ride down the Rhine.

Tour De France - Look closely at the spectators on signs, rooftops and climbing up our backs.

Notice the racer with the yellow jersey (current leader) holding his ribs. Many racers came by us in this condition. Nasty wreck just before they got to us. Lots of bloody knees and elbows.

Hazen warming up for the race.

The entrace to the hiding place in the Ten Boom House. Haarlem, Netherlands

Ten Boom House - Haarlem, Netherlands

Welcome to Amsterdam "Where even the dogs get some action"

Well, seems like it has been a while and we are very excited to share our latest and greatest with you.

After our last post we arrived in St. Goar, Germany. It is a tiny town located on the Rhine River. We arrived at our accomodation to find it was just an old German lady's home. She didn't speak much english but was very excited to have us. She reminded us of a grandmother in all that she did. When we checked in she asked if we wanted tea or coffee with our breakfast and we replied that we did not want either as we don't prefer them. As a true grandmother would, she said but the tea has peppermint leaves from my garden. So, she guilted us into drinking tea for three days in a row. Breakfast was toast (12 pieces, literaly), egg (1 hardboil), cheese, bologne, and homemade jelly. Every day we ate the same thing. Seemed a little bit weird but we didn't complain because she was so nice and we were looking out over the Rhine river and some of the most amazing castles. The next day was spent taking a nostalgic paddle boat up and down the Rhine. It was so nostalgic that it was 30 minutes late to pick us up. However, as we paddled by castle after midevil castle it was easy to imagine a time when the castles would pull a chain across the river to stop passing boats in order to enforce their toll. Very beautiful place.

The next day was spent touring the castle in St. Goar. It was a massive castle that was the only one in the region to withstand the seige of Louis XIV. However, that nasty old Napolean came through a few hundred years later and was successful where his previous countrymen were not. This castle was amazing because it was the real deal. Actual cannonballs, holes in the walls specifically designed for pouring hot tar on invaders, and secret underground tunnels. Ton of fun to explore especially because we had the hole thing to ourselves. We entered just after it opened and beat the masses by a couple hours.

Very long travel day to Brussels. We finally made it and were greeted at our hostel by a very friendly group of fellow travelers. Had a great evening walking around town causing trouble. We were in search of Belgian waffles but did not find anywhere that night.

The next morning we got up way to early, relative to how late we went to bed, and took a train to Gant, Belgium (15 mins). Walked around town a bit as we waited for the Tour de France festivities to get started. People started lining up on the barriers around noon so we followed suit. Stood in the EXACT same spot for five hours straight. Not a whole lot of fun, especially when the monsoon decided to attack the city. We survived the floods and a new problem became evident. Space was becoming hard to come by. And people got very creative. There were cops everywhere but they could not stop people from climbing on street signs, street lights, roof tops and every tree available. Amazing; by far the biggest crowd we have ever seen. The day was filled with parades until the bikers got close. The racers were quite the spectacle as they sprinted to the finish line. The two racers from Belgium came in first and second and the crowd went balistic. Many racers came by use with nasty road rash and some even holding ribs while their teamates pushed them across the finish line. Apparently there was a nasty wreck just before they got to us. Can't imagine getting up the 20 days in a row to do the same thing over again. Aubree particularly enjoyed Gant because she splurged on "her" belgian chocolates. So far she has only eaten one of the 15 as she is savoring the flavor.

Jumped a train to Amsterdam. Arrived in town midday and headed directly to the laundry. Things were definately past due. After we got that under control we met up with a friend we had met in Brussels and hit the town. We spent about six hours walking around town going to various restaurants and bars to taste the tastes. Had a great time. This town is absolute madness. Multiply the stories you have heard by about 100 million.

Today we took a quick train ride to nearby Haarlem. Quick side story: Hazen borrowed a book from a hostel in Switzerland for something to read on our hikes. It was an excellent book called the "Hiding Place" written by Corrie Ten Boom. The Ten Boom family was a Christian family in Haarlem that helped countless people escape Nazi persicution. Corrie was the head of the Dutch underground and promoted passive tactics. They were eventually betrayed and sent to concentration camps where her father and sister were murdered. Side story Over. When we found out we would be in Amsterdam we decided to visit her house. We were able to enter and it is much like it was during Nazi Occupation. It is now run by a non-profit devout Christian organization. All in all it was an inspirational visit.

We just got done with a walking tour of Amsterdam. Unfortunately it was not as good as the Berlin tour but it was still very interesting. We think we saw some participants from the Amazing Race running through town with a cameraman and sound guy following close behind. Tomorrow we are on our way to the lovely, Denmark. We will probably stay in Puttgarden, Germany at the ferry port to Denmark. Will then head to Copenhagen for a couple nights before heading to Sweden. We are really excited about the Scadinavian part of our trip as we will be meeting with multiple parts of Aubree's family. Guess that is it for now. We sure hope all is going well back home. Have to admit that we have been jealous of the weather temps we have been hearing about. Might be a bit of karma from all of the bragging we did at the beginning of our trip about the sunny beaches and such. Well, take care and hope to hear from you all soon.

Berlin and catching up on pics

2007-07-04T04:41:00.000-07:00

Eiffel at night - Very beautiful (and romantic)

Omaha Beach

American Cemetery - Normandy

Any country that measures their beer in liters is OK with us.

Aubree Heaven

Entrance to the Dachau Concentration camp - "Work will set you free"

Neuschwanstein Castle - From "The Bridge"

Neuschwanstein Castle - Disney took inspiration from its beauty. Check out the bridge to the left. The above picture is taken from that bridge. Probably the scariest bridge we have ever been on. Bouncing up and down. Hence, Aubree has every muscle in her body flexed.

Aub rocking the luge - Continuing to amaze

Small chunk of the Berlin Wall - Gestapo had secret underground buildings here.

Brandenburg gate - so much history has been witnessed by these hunks of rock.Reichstag Building - we climbed to the top of the glass dome. From the top you can see into the parlimentary chambers. This is to ensure that Berliners will forever be able to see what their government is up to. Also politicians can always see the public looking down on them. Very powerful message that should be shared a bit more around this world.

This is also the building that a fire was started in that allowed Hitler to take "emergency" power over the government and its army.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!

Finally we found a good computer with a USB port. Hope you enjoy the pics. Currently we both feel like crap. Both have nasty colds. Neither of us can hear much as our heads are plugged so we continue to walk down the street yelling at each other. Snot is usually dripping from one of our nose's so we are a pretty fun couple to hang out with.

We were blown away by Berlin. The history was uncomprehendable. Luckily we found a great walking tour that was able to give us an amazing 4hr overview. By the end we were completely exhausted mentally and physically. This city has been through so much and all we really knew about was the stories surrounding WWII. What a fascinating place; There is very thoughtful and though provoking art around every corner. The city has very carefully been rebuilt with the public's say at every step of the process. Original buildings are easy to spot as they are covered with patched over bullet holes and soot. We want to relay every amazing story we heard while on the tour but unfortunately we would go broke paying for internet fees. Definatly a must visit on any europe tour.

Right now we are in Frankfurt, Germany. Our hotel is smack dab in the middle of the Red light district here. Interesting to watch from our third story balcony. The pros definately frequent the area. A couple days of relaxing (watching BBC) before moving to the Rhine River Valley for more castles and sightseeing. Suppose to be a beautiful part of Germany and Hazen is very excited to take a Rhine cruise. About three nights there and then Brussels to see the Tour de France and get Aubree her Belgian chocolates.

That's it for now. Hope everyone is doing ok and has a safe and fun Fourth. I think we will be just watching the blinking lights of the strip clubs and pretending they are fireworks.

Normandy Beaches to Berlin

2007-06-30T11:38:00.000-07:00

Wow, Europe is great it seems like a month has gone by in the last week or so. Before we jump into what we have been up to we would like to share some of the great advances we have made in our planning for the rest of our trip.

1. We were able to secure accomodations and transportation to see the first mainland european leg of the tour de france. We will be watching the finish of the leg in Gent, Belgium. We are very excited to get the chance to see such a great international event.

2. Aubree was able to make contact with her grandmother's cousin in Finland. It appears that we will be visiting them towards the end of July. It sounds like there is alot of extended family in the area. It will be a trek to get there though as they live near where finland and sweden connect at the top of the Gulf of Bothnia. Should be crazy being in the arctic circle.

3. We purchased tickets to fly from Cairo to Munich on September 22nd. This means we are pretty confident we will have enough time to cover most of Eastern Europe, Greece, Turkey and Egypt in August and September. We are pumped as we were not sure if our budget would hold out until then and it still might not be we are committed now! As of right now we are planning on flying to London after Oktoberfest (Sep. 27) and hanging out there for a couple days before we head home (Oct. 1st?)

So with the rest of our trip coming together here is what we have been up to lately.

On the 26th we took an early train from Paris to Caen, France in the Normandy region with the hopes of visiting the American Cemetery. We were promptly told by the bus company it was "not possible", luckily we have been traveling enough to know that when the French say "not possible" there are probably many ways to get there. We headed off to the tourist information office to find out where to rent a moped, bicycle, unicycle?? anything to accomplish what we had set out. They promptly told us "why don't you just take a bus" and they gave us a pamphlet with the information detailing how to get there. Hazen asked for two pamphlets to politely give one to the person at the bus company for her FILES. All the stress and walking was worth it as the place was breathtaking. The Cemetery grounds were immaculate and captured a beautiful view of Omaha beach. The Visitor's center was very well done and we left feeling very good about the respect the fallen were given. However, we were quite disappointed with the lack of information and ease of use for those wanting to reach the beaches without a car. I would hope in the future a efficient route will be installed to make this sight available to all those who need to see it.

We spent that night being all romantic at the eiffel tower. Hiked the stairs to the second level (669 stairs). What an amazing view! Plenty of pics, don't worry. Speaking of pics this internet cafe doesn't have a USB port so no pics this time.

The next day was spent traveling to Munich. We had another morning of dealing with stress travel situations and the French. Not going to get into it as we are trying to keep Hazen's blood pressure down.

Arrival in Munich was brilliant. Everywhere you go the smell of beer and brats wafts by and smacks you in the face. Pretty much the best smack in the face we have ever had. We were WAY overdue for some hearty meals. Aubree particularly enjoyed the giant pretzels. Spent some time with a crazy Swiss couple on holiday. They had been taking english lessons for five years and we were the first native english speaking people they ran into. Needless to say our voices were fairly hoarse from carrying out such a conversation in the middle of a huge beer hall. Also able to meet up with our friend, Katrina from Bellingham. So great to see a familiar face.

The next morning we headed to the Dachau concentration camp and you can imagine our feelings. It was a somber four hours touring the prisoners section of the camp. This was the first concentration camp of its kind opening in 1933 and operating for TWELVE years until its liberation. What an unbelievable time in history.

The next day was filled with a little more of a lighthearted affair. We took a train to Fussen which is in southern bavaria on the border of Austria. The most notorious king of Bavaria, "Mad" King Ludwig built an amazing castle here. This is the castel Walt Disney got his inspiration for the Disney castel. We actually chose to tour the nearby castle, Hohenschwangau, which is where Ludwig was raised. It was used as a summer retreat and hunting lodge. These guys had some cash back in the day. Fun visit. Somehow we snuck away from the tourist crowds and found a luge course sleeping at the bottom of some great mountains. We shared six rides and damn that was fun. Aub was quite the rebel whipping down the course at break-neck speeds. Lots of fun to watch. Took a long train ride back into Munich and had a last beer (of course before we come back in September)

This morning we were awakened by two of our "adult" hostel mates arguing over the bathroom. Would have been more entertaining if it wasn't six in the morning. Jumped a train to Berlin and arrived about 16:00. Great another metro to figure out. This one has been pretty confusing and expensive but a must as the city is not walkable. We are in a dodgy part of East Berlin (Yep, they still call it that). However we are just happy to have our own room for the first time in a week. Unfortunately Aub has come down with a nasty cold. By the time we got into town all the apothekes (pharmacy) were closed so no medicine tonight. Bummer. Had a good Sushi dinner to celebrate Hazen's birthday. We are just planning on stumbling around the town for the next couple days doing some of the usual and unusual sights. After we leave Berlin, we will have another 5 nights to scatter around Germany but not quite sure where yet. We will post some pics when we find a decent computer. Take care

Quickie

2007-06-29T11:46:00.000-07:00

Guten tag,

We have been very busy and only have a couple minutes for this post. When we get to Berlin we will put up a decent one.

A couple days ago we visited the Normandy beaches. What a beautiful place. It was a great honor to pay our respects to some of the bravest people in American history.

Long train to Munich. This place is like heaven for us. The beer flows like the salmon of capistrano!!!!! We have been to a lot of beer halls and eaten our fare share of brats. Can't wait to get back here for Oktoberfest.

We took day trips to the Dachau Concentration camp and "Mad" king ludwigs castels in bavaria. Two amazing days. We are traveling to Berlin tomorrow. Talk to you all soon.

Catching Up

2007-06-25T12:41:00.000-07:00

Castle in Toledo as the sun was setting. You may not be able to tell from this photo, but that is Mick Jagger in black, waving at the crowd. Closest we will ever be to the Stones.

Crowded beach in San Sebastian. This is what happens when the sun comes out after several days of clouds/rain.

Hazen's first attempt at surfing. He looks happy because he hasn't gotten in the water yet. Later he was disappointed that the topless girl in the background had her arms up.

Unfortunately we saw our first non-woman nudies. For some reason Aub picked a spot right next to them.

Cathedral in San Sebastian at night.

Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. We didn't go in, not into modern art.

Versailles Palace just outside of Paris. It was too big to fit all in one picture.

Notre Dame Cathedral. We didn't see the hunchback.

Found the hunchback, or maybe the gargoyle.

The Louvre. What a beautiful place.

Hazen's impersonation of the Eiffel Tower.
Getting artsy with the pictures. Had to try out the black/white.

We have been pretty busy lately. Since our last post we have been to Toledo, San Sebastian, and Bilbao in Spain and Paris, France.

Toledo was a nice little town close to Madrid. We went to a museum that housed several El Greco paintings. He is a great religious artist, painting in bright colors and elongating heavenly figures. We visited a couple different churches, one that had the tomb of the Count of Orgaz. El Greco was brought in to do a painting on the church wall to capture the events of the Count's death. It was a masterpiece that made this small church worth seeing.

Our next destination was San Sebastion, a small coastal town in norther Spain. We were especially excited for this stop on our trip since it was one of Hazen's dad's favorite spots when he visited Spain several years ago. Arriving in the area it was clear to see why. There was so much green! It was not like any other part of Spain we have seen. It was almost like being home. There were several beautiful beaches that we did get to enjoy for a short period of time while the sun was out. The beaches on one side of the river were for swimming and the beach on the other side was for surfing. Of course Hazen had to try it out. He "learned" to surf from watching the travel channel. Turns out he could have used a few more lessons. He decided to stay close to the beach since the guy at the rental shop said that the rip tide was bad and would take him out to sea in a hurry. That might have been his mistake since he was right at the place where all the waves were crashing. He took wave after wave in the face about every 10 seconds. He was completely exhausted and his head was throbbing after an hour and he rented the board for 2 hours. Took the rest of the day pretty easy. It was only a couple days later when the sun was out again that he thought he needed to try it again. He must have learned from his mistakes because it went much better and was even able to ride a couple waves.

We did a day trip from San Sebastian to Bilbao. We weren't there very long but did a nice walk around town. Tried to use a bathroom next to the Guggenheim but I think the bathroom used us. Hazen walked in to a blast of water in the face as the bathroom was cleaning itself off. Stupid high-tech toilets.

We took another night train that was from San Sebastian to Paris. This one turned out to be much better than the last, and we didn't even have to pay the higher price for first class. The seats actually leaned back and there was a foot rest that raised up. We got much better sleep than on the previous train. We could tell this by how tired we were the next day. We didn't feel the need for the 3 hour nap when we arrived as we did the last time.

Paris has been wonderful. What a beautiful city. We had been told by other travelers that it was very dirty and they didn't enjoy it much. Our expectations weren't very high which may be why they have been exceeded. The Eiffel Tower is HUGE! You can see it in the distance anywhere you go. Until you have to walk to it, you don't realize how far away it is. It takes forever to get there when it looks like it's right in front of you. The Notre Dame Cathedral had a very intersting exterior. The spire on the cathedral we learned was added much later and didn't seem to fit with the rest. Versailles was everything we imagined, plus way too many tourists. We originally planned to go inside the Louvre but decided we weren't big enough fans of art to appreciate it.

We had a very hard time trying to find a place to stay in Paris. We finally found a hostel that looked like it was further out of town but still accessed by the metro. We were sold. When we arrived we found out we had to first figure out the metro system (google the Paris Metro and see what we mean) and then try to find our hostel without a map. We were able to find a bus stop with a map and were on our way. When we arrived we realized there was definately something different. It turns out we are staying at a Korean hostel. Last night there was a Korean from Virginia Tech who spoke english but he is gone now. Basically we are the only ones who speak English. Luckily we are able to still communicate a little as a few people know some English words. Breakfast and dinner is included here and it is ALL Korean. We are not really use to eating so much rice; even for breakfast. Hazen has spent most of the evening with a group of guys his age trying to learn Korean and Japanese drinking customs. Very elaborate and they are quick to correct him. The drink of the evening is Soju a traditional rice liqueor in Korea. Definately a unique experience that we were not expecting.

We will be up early tomorrow to head to the beaches of Normandy. There will be a small train ride to the town of Bayeux, followed by a bus out to the beaches. The following day will be a long train ride to Munich, Germany. We can't wait for the beer(mostly Hazen) and brats. Hazen's quote was "Germany without beer is like ". Our friend Katrina from Bellingham will be in Munich at the same time and we will hopefully be meeting up with her. We can't wait to see a familiar face. So on that note, we still have plenty of trip ahead of us if you have decided you can't stay away from us and want to meet us over here somewhere. We would love it.

Little Fuzzy

2007-06-18T13:48:00.000-07:00

Lagos at sunset just after we arrived. It was all downhill after that.

Braved a dark underground tunnel and came out at the bottom of this well. Spiraled to the top and this is the view at where we came from. If you visit this place, bring a headlamp. Spoooooky.

The palace in Sintra. A few pictures down aub is on the roof terrace on the upper left of the palace.

Hazen navigating the stones in the pond at the palace grounds. He had to turn back because the cave he wanted to explore was far too dark.

On top of the palace in Sintra. Note the two other castles up on the ridge.

Castle overlooking Lisbon.

Aub enjoying her first ever juice box wine. Quite tasty.

Wind isn´t cooperating with aubs hair as we explore the castel above Lisbon.

Players addressing the crowd from the balcony. Quick history on the building they are in:

Originally built in 1790 as a post office

Franco used it as a police headquarters and many prisoners jumped to their death trying to escape.

The war on Napolean began in front of this building.

And now it is a government building that hosts special events.

Kinda Crazy.

Celebration for Real Madrid in the main square.

Giant Cathedral in Madrid. The Real Madrid players are inside being blessed.

We are a bit delerious from taking a night train last night so bear with us. Here is what we have been up to. On our last post we mentioned that the weather was cloudy but not raining. However, from the moment we left the internet station after that post until yesterday it rained on us; a lot! No big deal we got out our umbrellas and pretended it was fall in Seattle.

Left Lagos for the equally not sunny Lisbon. We enjoyed Lisbon quite a bit even though we had some bad experiences. On a trip to see the local castel we jumped a tram and were immediately greeted by a couple pickpockets. We gave them some nasty looks and that was all it took. They left us alone after fondeling our goods. They moved to the back of the tram and all we could hear was people yelling out ¨pickpockets¨ from people trying to warn others.

The highlight of Lisbon was a suburb called Belem. They have a huge Monestary and a famous pastry shop. The best pastries of our trip so far. Vasco de Gama was buried in the Monestary. Forgot to mention we saw the tomb of Columbus as well. So we are on quite the explorer kick lately.

Spent a day trip to Sintra. A small town outside of Lisbon. It has six castels scattered around the town. This area was a hotbed of royal activity back in the day. We were not disappointed and spent two hours exploring the grounds of a magnificant palace. It was like Disneyland for adults. Except without the crowds. Our imaginations ran wild as we explored very dark underground passageways and hidden rooms of the palace. Definately a must see in Portugal.

Decided to take the night train from Lisbon to Madrid to save time. If you get the chance to take that train pass on that. We bought tickets one day in advance but all second class was full so we got stuck in first class. When Hazen asked if first class meant free drinks the ticket agent replied that there is no difference between first and second class except price. That bastard is lucky he was behind plexiglass.

When the ten hour train ride screeched to a halt, we stumbled out to ironically make reservations for another night train (san sebastian to Paris) that we GET to take in about a week. Then we had to try to find a place to sleep tonight. Both equally stressful events. To top it off we had to try to figure out how to use the metro system in city of 4 MILLION people. Definately the most confusing we have seen yet. Figured it out and made it to our room just in time to take a 3 hour nap.

When we awoke from our hibernation, we headed to the main square. The place was a mess. Real Madrid (soccer team) had won the league championship last night and they we setting up for the medal ceremony. At the time we had no idea what was going on but grabbed a spot on the barriers to wait and see. About an hour later and thousands of fans behind us the real madrid team arrived in their team bus. They headed into the government building with ¨we are the champions¨ blaring through the loud speakers. Quite a bit of fun listening to the chanting, singing and all out celebration. Saw a couple young kids get taken away as it looked like they had heat exhaustion. Really neat event and probably as close as we will get to a major soccer match. Tickets for last nights event were going for 600 us dollars each. Planning on walking around and relaxing the rest of the evening before heading to Toledo tomorrow. After a night there we will head north to San Sebastian. We are hoping to lay on the beach for three days or so but we will see if the weather will cooperate.

"chillin" on the beach (aub came up with that)

2007-06-14T04:33:00.000-07:00

Hola,

Definately enjoyed our last night in Sevilla. Two gals from South Africa, staying in Sevilla for an extended visit, cooked dinner at the hostel. They cooked up a great thai dinner with serious flavor and spice. Sure was good to eat something that packed a punch. We spent the time chatting with a diverse crowd. Hazen looked at Aub one second and she just sat down with dinner and he looked over again and everything on her plate was gone. Including beans, peas, and broccoli. If you know Aub you know why hazen was so amazed. What a great evening hanging out with friends. Hazen continued his arguements/conversations with his friend from the UK, Peter (PEE-a)

We arrived in Portugal a couple days ago. Went all the way to the small town of Lagos. Very charming place with amazing beaches. Unfortunately, as the title implies the clouds rolled in with our autobus. No rain but cloudy, Bummer. Did get some beach time yesterday but not as much as we would have hoped. Have spent the last couple days relaxing in our posh digs. We found Francisco in his office and he took us to our flat. Dandy place filled with antique furniture, kitchen, and a two person tub all overlooking the garden. Wow we got lucky. By far the best place we have stayed. Tomorrow we head for a few days in Lisbon. We are confident we will get back to the sunshine.

Outtakes

2007-06-11T08:54:00.000-07:00

This is our second post today. You all probably figured this out already but if you click on the photos, a larger version is shown. Thought we would throw a couple photos up of our moments of borderline insanity.

Hazen´s first MD of the trip. Yes he shaved. Marathon adventure to chop it down with a razor. Now a funny tan line on his face.

Didn´t have to fold in the mirrors but it was close.

Aubsters having a great hair day. Might be a bit greasy(no shower for three days)

Greasy too. I think we might have been bored. We had a greasy hair competition. You choose the winner.

Julliet - yep, you are suppose to cop a feel for good luck in your love life. Decided to take a pic of someone else as the place was annoyingly packed.

Our first two bottle night. Notice the price tag is covered. We´re cheap bastards.

Oragami night at the hostel in Lugano. Aub (pink) Hazen (Blue) Who wins?

Our old friend mooey from Gimmelwald. Gave a good moo each time we saw him. He loved his head scratched.

Hazen trying to sneek a pic of aubree while she was sleeping. He got caught.

Trying to take a nap on the streets of Barcelona. Our feet were throbbing from dodging scary mobs of annoying tourist groups that think they own the entire sidewalk.

Hazen is so giddy over his first steak he can´t contain himself.

Where to Begin....

2007-06-11T03:49:00.000-07:00

Town of Alicante just down the coast from Valencia. Great castle overlooking the city.

Evening at the hotel. All of the guests and owner are pictured (except aub). Old guy on the right is Miguel the owner. He calls himself padre/Don Corleon/El Capitan. Very fun evening.

View from atop the castle in Alicante

Small town in Cabo De Gata Natural Park. We slept in the car just above town.

Definately off the beaten path. Endless pristine beaches. Our Toyota Aygo (aka Home Sweet Home). Sporty little bugger!

Another beach we stumbled upon. Warm water and soft sand.

Huge fields of Sunflowers everywhere. We think they use them for Biodiesel.

Aub finally got her Paella. Very tasty. Decent setting, lounging on the beach.

The highlight of the three day drive. Town of Olvera. Picture taken through the window of the castle looking at the Moorish Cathedral.

Same view of Olvera with town in background.

Olvera - City view from below.

Inside the cathedral in Sevilla. Very decorated cathedral.

Small portion of the exterior of Cathedral in Sevilla (3rd largest in the world)

Hope everyone is doing well. Sure are missing people alot right now. Seems like we have been doing a lot lately and are very excited to share.

We picked up the car in Alicante about midday. Somehow we successfully made it out of the city basically pure luck. Unfortunately they gave us a really nice car with only a tiny sratch on the back bumper. Minimal insurance on the car and 3 days of navigating some crazy places. Only hit a couple curbs and never got honked at!

Headed down the beach with freedom on our minds. It was a great feeling to stop at any beach or go where we pleased. Spent the first night in the car overlooking the sea in Cabo de Gata Natural Park. Hung out in the park most of the next day and then slept on the beach in a town called Calahonda. Up early (not a very comfortable beach) to roar into Granada. Thought we would take a driving tour of the city (mistake). Aub was the navigator and did an excellent job. Only a little lost which was a miracle. Somehow we escaped without causing a wreck. The final full day was spent heading toward Sevilla. During the drive we came over a ridge and Aub spotted an amazing town in the distance. The town was Olvera with an awesome castle and Cathedral. Walked up to the castle payed a guy 4 euro and he unlocked the front door and said enjoy. We had the castle all to ourselves to explore. By far the best castle we have seen; very well preserved. The town was almost completely deserted. We think this was our first undiscovered find. Slept in the car again in Utrera and headed for Sevilla the next morning. Aub was on the ball and got us through the town and to the drop off location without a problem. While the drive was fun it was surprisingly nice to be on foot again.

Yesterday we were so glad to get to the hostel and get a shower. Felt a little disgusting after only one shower on the beach in three days. If you ever hear spaniards complain that Americans stink it is our fault. We had our own herd of flies that followed everywhere we went. Not pretty.

The hostel is very nice. Took in the cathedral while mass was going on. Couldn´t understand much of what was happening. There was a massive organ and we were lucky enough to hear it being played. Last night the hostel had a free tapas (appetizers) tour. We hit two places before they dropped us off with a crappy map that had an ¨X¨marked where we were so we could find our way back. Probably wouldn´t have had the last few drinks if we knew we had to get ourselves home. They left us at a bar that was having a Flamenco show. Very exhuberant dance with great guitar and singing. Great experience. Spent a couple more hours chatting (yelling) with an old guy from the UK. He was a wild man. We collapsed into bed in exhaustion. Feeling so happy to actually have a bed.

We were both really tired when we arrived in Sevilla and we both were contemplating how much longer we could travel. After a great day in Sevilla we got our answer, as long as it takes. It seems that when we have gotten bogged down the travel gods have always thrown us a great day. Now we´re well rested and heading to Portugal tomorrow for the Algarve Coast. Small town of Lagos. Suppose to be some of the most beautiful beaches in Europe. We will let you know if this is true.

Gonna try the car thing

2007-06-06T06:07:00.000-07:00

Sorry no pics this time. We tried to download them but couldn´t figure out how on this computer.

The day we headed out of Barcelona we decided to hit the Picasso Museum. Our reason for doing it that day was because it was free for the first Sunday of the month. Since money definitely has gone much quicker than expected, we can´t pass up free. It was a very interesting museum though and glad we went. There was a temporary exhibit set up from a photographer that had taken many photos of Picasso in his older years. It´s weird having a picture of someone in your head and then seeing what the guy actually looked like. We didn´t realize that he was a more recent artist, continuing to paint until his death in the 70´s. His artwork throughout the museum started from age 12 and was much different than his later work. It was cool to see how his artwork progressed through his learning.

Headed for the train station and just missed the train to our next destination, Valencia. We had to wait 2 1/2 hours for the next one. Got in around 6pm and saw flyers in the hostel for a cooking class on paella (local rice dish). It was suppose to be a very cheap dinner but much to our dismay, the stove was broke and we couldn´t do it. Decided to try the metro and head to the beach. There was a large America´s Cup park set up but not much action. Turns out the America´s cup doesn´t actually start until the end of June. The Louis Vittoun Cup finals are going on to find a challenger for last years winner from Switzerland. The race for that day had already finished and there wasn´t one scheduled for the next day. While sitting on the beach we did get to see a couple boats practicing though. They are very massive sailboats and can move quickly. A first for us in Valencia was the cockroaches. What a nasty "little" bug. Hazen was having nightmares about them and couldn´t sleep without his feet covered. Overall, Valencia was a very beautiful city and we enjoyed staying.

Right now we are in Alicante. Another coastal town with a huge castle towering above it. One of the first things we decided to do when we got here was relax on the beach. We finally decided to break down and buy a beach mat. Laying on sand isn´t much fun. We walked in to the only place we could find that had beach parafanalia. They had a couple roll-up mats for $2.50 that we were going to get but we were upsold to a mat that could fold up smaller and fit into our bags easier. The lady raked in an extra $10. Made our way down to lay on our new purchases but the wind was so severe that they were flying around everywhere. Aub was determined to soak in the sun and we got our skin sand blasted off. Needless to say, we are still cleaning sand out of places sand shouldn´t be. We hiked to the top of the castle this morning. A little disappointing that it wasn´t all the guide book cracked it up to be, but it had some great views of the town.

We are staying in a run down pension in the middle of the old town. Cooked up dinner and ate in the courtyard with the five other people staying in the place. We had a great time chatting with other travelers and sharing war stories. Hazen befriended the owner by sharing a strawberry flavored tobacco smoke on his hooka. The owner didn´t speak english and Hazen doesn´t speak spanish but they chatted for a good portion of the night. He is very similar to Hazen´s grandfather. For example when two girls left the table he put a fake spider by their food so when they returned they gave out quite a squeal. He laughed at himself most of the night.

We will be renting a car for the first time tomorrow. We will have it for about 3 days as we make our way to Sevilla. Definitely going to try to find some private beaches. Also will be good for a change of pace. Will probably be in Sevilla for our next post.

Barcelona is ALIVE!

2007-06-02T09:38:00.000-07:00

Tossa De Mar Beach lit up at night. Great views from the top of the hill.

Our first bottle of under 1euro wine. 88cents!
Another huge meal at our apartment in Tossa. Notice the little red boombox we picked up at the market. Its no mp3 player but it has been handy to listen to while sitting on the beach.

Sagrada Familia in Barcelona - Has been under construction since 1881.

Awesome festival we stumbled onto in Barcelona - They are celebrating the second easter?

Yep, still have no idea what is going on. But if there is a festival you can count us in.

Aub sporting her new day bag. Market in Tossa in the background.

First steak of the trip. Mighty fine. Ate most of it before the pic was taken.

Took a very windy bus ride from Tossa to Barcelona. Sweet views of the coast. Got into Barcelona about noon and trecked to our hostel. Dropped the bags and hit the town. Walked all over town until our feet were numb. Aub refuses to rent a bike because she doesn't want to get run over or run someone over. Therefore we take lots of breaks. We are definately professional bench-sitters. Have been able to occupy the same bench for hours at a time without hardly even changing position.

If anyone wants to stay in a hostel where everyone sleeps during the day and leaves the hostel to hit the clubs around 2am and gets back around 5am then we found the place for you. Aub and I barely made it until 1am when the crew was just finishing getting ready to hit the town. They sure made us feel old. Also we have been dealing with an unidentified stench lurking in the bathroom wing of the hostel. This isn't your everyday bathroom smell; It ain't right. It is kinda fun waiting to find out what the quirk will be when you arrive at a new place. Luckily we haven't had to endure anything that can't be laughed about, hopefully that streak will continue.

We were up early (Relative to our roomates) and ready to hit the town. Jumped the metro and got some lunch on the Rambla. The Rambla (crazy pedestrian only strip that is the heart of Barcelona) is definately all it is cracked up to be. There is more free entertainment on this one street than anywhere we have seen. Right when we hit the street we spotted a gambling scam. We had read about in a guidebook. A guy set up a game on the ground and people all around were betting on it. It was obvious all of the people betting were in on the scam and they were trying to sucker a person into betting too. A guy finally threw down some money and they talked him into throwing down more because it was a sure bet. Well, he lost. And apparently when this guy loses he gets mad. The whole group got into a big scrum of pushing, shoving, and people trying to rip money out of other peoples hands. After looking back the whole show, even the fight, was probably staged to distract tourists so the rest of the "workers" could go around and pickpocket. Luckily we were pretty savvy and had a death grip on our valuables the whole time we were watching this. What a show. The Rambla is the top spot in all of Europe for pickpockets. We haven't used our money belts on this trip yet and if we get through Barcelona unscathed then I think our system is probably ok. We decided to head for the beach as we needed a break from all the commotion. However, on the way we ran into a monsterous festival in a small neighborhood called Barceloneta. Within the neighborhood each sector had a small group of people dressed up going crazy with dancing and drinking. Every group had its own band and they kept rotating street positions every couple songs. We probably watched six different groups and WOW, they were loving life. We found someone who spoke english and he said it was to celebrate a second easter. Basically, we had no idea what was going on but it sure was fun to watch. Finally made it to the beach and rented a lounge chair. Hung out there for a couple hours and then headed back to the Rambla to find dinner as there is a huge market just off the street. Hazen went back for his second steak in as many nights. Just pick the giant hunk of meat you want your steak cut from and tell the butcher how thick. What a beautiful system. We grilled up onions and potatoes to go along with and had the whole hostel envious of our grub.

Barcelona sure is an amazing place that seems to march to its own beat. Definately a lot of passion and gusto. It is also a very friendly place to visit. Lots of wide sidewalks and friendly people. Pretty cool town.

Headed to the Picasso museum tomorrow morning as it is the free day and then we catch a train to Valencia to watch the America's cup. New Zealand is winning the final with a couple days left to go. Should be a good time to be in the city.

We have met some really cool people and so far we have an open invitation to visit a friend in Melbourne where he will teach us how to surf and another invite to Lima, peru to do some hiking in the Andes. Gonna have to hang onto those email addresses.

Sorry about the long post but free internet is not a thing to waste around here.

Sunburnt and loving it!

2007-05-31T01:30:00.000-07:00

Let us clarify, Hazen is the one with a wicked sunburn on his forehead. It´s all good though cause we are in Spain. Small, sleepy town of Tossa de Mar. We knew the town would be cool when we found out we would have to take 4 trains and a bus for a long day of travel. Even the lady at the France train ticket booth said it wasn´t possible so we took matters into our own hands. Got online and found a way to get to the neighboring town just in time to catch the only bus that goes to Tossa. We have a great studio apartment with kitchenette and balcony for 40 euro per night. The balcony looks over the town and the town looks over the ocean so by simple laws of deduction, we have a sweet view of the med. As you could have guessed the cheap price comes with a few minor quirks. Three showers have been taken and the forth came with tribulations. Aub jumped in right after me and all of the sudden the shower wouldn´t work but the bath would. No switches in sight to change from bath to shower. The kitchenette is nice and has a two burner stove. One minor problem, if you turn both on at the same time the breaker flips. Would like to meet the genius who wired this place. Yesterday we layed on the pebble beach most of the day and did a bit of swimming. The toplessness has reached a new level. Topos are everywhere. Awesome castle on the hill next to the beach and at night it is illuminated. Took a walk up there last night and felt like we had the place all to our selves. Not many tourists around; we think this might be where the locals go when they need a vacation. This morning we hit a huge market that spans across half the town. Lots of good stuff and fun people watching. Plan to try out the snorkling gear we got yesterday. Suppose to be a good place to do it. Will stay one more night before taking a bus ride to Barcelona.

Catching up on photos & southern france

2007-05-28T04:15:00.000-07:00

Can't leave the alps without drinking out of a boot (or 6)

View of Lyon - Long day of walking with packs

Aub is turning into quite the wildlife photographer

Van Gogh's Starry Night

Same view but we call ours Cloudy Day

Packed Roman Bullfighting Arena - Opening Ceremonies

The first bull

The bulls are not the only losers - horses gets the nasty end of the horns a lot

Hey from southern France,

Starting to get the hang of this keyboard; just in time to head to spain and probably a new keyboard to learn.

Southern France has been brief but great. Yesterday we arrived in Arles and dropped our bags at our hotel (first private room in weeks). Headed to the nearby town of Nimes for a festival. Not sure what the festival was for or what was going on but it was a lot of fun. There were streetperformers everywhere and tons of good grub. We endulged just a bit. Aub had a double hotdog with fries and mayo stacked on top. Probably wasn't the best time for greasy fair food as our stomaches were still uneasy about the bullfight we witnessed. We watched the fights in a huge, well preserved Roman arena with about 8K other local fanatics. By the way, this was no tourist bus type of festival. We are sure we were the only people around that spoke english. Back to the bullfight, we did not know what we were getting ourselves into. According to our guidebook the goal to local bullfights was to snag a ribbon tied between the bulls horns & nothing dies. The fights we witnessed were the real deal. Six bulls went down between all types of hoopla and fan fare. The lady in front of us cried through most of it. The crowd was ferousciously intense. Much like a playoff game in the states. It seemed they had a say in how the bullfight progressed. Very interesting to witness but will probably not attend again.

A note on Roman arenas: 2000 year old sport arenas are scattered all across europe. These guys really knew how to build a place. I think Seattle fans would be much more likely to fund a new arena if they knew it would still be generating revenue 2k years down the road.

Today was spent wandering around arles. Very historical town beginning with arles being a major roman town. Vincent Van Gogh moved in to town and painted his masterpieces including starry night. Unfortunately this is also where he cut off his ear and moved to an insane asylum. Arles is also very scarred from significant allied bombing during WWII. Tomorrow we are headed to Tossa de Mar just north of Barcelona. Found out about this place from Travis & Sarah's friend in Chamberlain basin. Plan on staying at least three nights for relaxing/sunning/swimming before heading to bustling Barcelona.

waiting out a rainstorm

2007-05-26T05:52:00.000-07:00

Excuse any errors and the shortness of the post as we are experiencing difficulty with the French keyboard. All of the countries have had slight differences but this is ridiculous.

Geneva was a nice place; definately a very international flare. It was also very interesting to see how french switzerland differed from italian swiss and german swiss. A lot of culture in one small country. Got into Lyon yesterday and had a bit of trouble locating our hostel. Finally found it but we were definately cooked. Today has been a lot of fun. Watched a massive bocce tournament. They do not play bham rules; weird. Hit a couple of markets and got some great fresh grub for a picnic. Found a huge city park/zoo. all kinds of exotic animals. Laid down in the grass to take a nap and at the same time it started raining like mad. Huddled under a tree until the bulk passed and then headed to the internet cafe. Tomorrow we head to Arles for the rest of the weekend. Suppose to be a good festival with flamenco dancing and bullfighting. Probably to Tossa Del Mar in northern Spain to lay on the beach as we are feeling a bit tired. This traveling thing is hard. The french seem much more accepting of tourists at this point. Have to wait and see what a big city is like though. More to come including pics of the boot (you will understand) so stay tuned.

Sad Day

2007-05-23T06:43:00.000-07:00

Walking underneath a waterfall - very cold and wet

Swiss Alps hostel hot tub - yeah, it's wood fired

Just another day on the trail

Another decent lunch spot - note Hazen lower right

Sadly, this is our last night in the Alps. I think we might cry a little on the way out, but our legs will be screaming for joy. We have done some pretty serious hiking the last 3 days and our legs just didn't want to go this morning. They loosened up though and we got in a pretty good hike.

We are off toward Southern France tomorrow. We will be stopping in Geneva, Switzerland but we haven't decided if we will stay the night or keep going to Lyon, France. Followed by the French Riviera by the weekend (more sun tanning). Thanks for all the comments and encouragement. We really appreciate hearing from you.

More Alps

2007-05-22T05:43:00.000-07:00

Hazen found the best rope swing in the middle of nowhere.

Mountain woman of the Alps.

One of the many avalanches we saw on a day hike.

Tough view for lunch - looking from left to right - Eiger(behind clouds), Monch, Jungfrau

Irresistable Alp photo - same 3 mountains as above

Spent the last two days completing some amazing hikes. Yesterday we put in a long day and made it up to the snow line. We stopped there for lunch. On the way down we spotted about 15 shimlus (mountain goats) skylined on the ridge. We watched them run around for a bit, but were too far away to see details.

Today was an amazing day. We watched avalanches. How cool is that. It all started by walking a couple doors up from our hostel to get some of esther's homeade yogurt for breakfast. Then a few more doors down we stopped at a barn and picked up some cheese and sausage from the farmer. Made for a perfect lunch. Easy cheese ain't got nothing on this stuff. Not even Cheddar Bacon flavor easy cheese. Took an easier walk today and headed up to the beginning of the valley. Saw our first avalanche when we were still quite aways from the mountains. We finally got to the base of the mountains and took a perch. Every time a new avalanche started the ground shook beneath us. The rumble echoed all through the valley. What a sight, What a day, What a place.

The hills are alive with the sound of music!

2007-05-20T12:18:00.000-07:00

Still Hanging out in San Marco Square. In between Museum Visits.

Hiked to a castel to get a better view of Verona. Very nice town.

Lugano, Switzerland perched on the side of Lake Lugano. Notice the sailboats on the lake.

More perfect weather days.

On the northern edge of the Alps. Headed to Gimmelwald.

Getting closer to Gimmelwald. Unbelievable mountains.

Not there yet, I think we might like this Switzerland thing.

Guten tag,

Have traveled a lot of miles since we talked last. In fact we are even (butchering) speaking another language. We went through Verona and had a good time walking around town checking out the place. Met some fun people from the Netherlands at the hostel and had some interesting discussions.

Headed out of Italy to Lugano. Very beautiful place. Seems a lot like Riffe lake but with steeper valleys as it is in the foothills of the alps. The hostel was quite posh with a swimming pool and everything. Needless to say, we endulged. After a few nights there we jumped another train (many trains) to Gimmelwald.

Here is how our current day went. On the train in Lugano at 855am changed trains in Luzern at 1138. Took new train to Interlaken and arrived at 1345. Jumped a new train to Lauterbrunnen and arrived at 1440. Took a tram to the ridge line at 1450. Fell onto another train down the ridgeline and arrived in Murren at 1520. Walked 30 minutes into Gimmelwald. Yah, we're tired. But it was all worth it. Neither of us have seen a place this beautiful before. The town of Gimmelwald is at 4500 feet and perched on the top of a cliff. The view is of three of the most amazing peaks in all of the alps. Our hostel also has the same view. The town has 100 permanent residents and very few tourists. A dream come true. The next many days (not sure how long) will be spent hiking in the many trails through out the area. Have to go for now as internet is free here and we have people breathing down our neck to get at the computer.

Arrivederci Italia!

2007-05-16T10:34:00.000-07:00

Aubree doin' her part

Duomo in St. Mark's Square - Venice

Pigeons are out of control

Perfect sunset in Florence

Perfect Sunset in Cinque Terre.
Monterosso is in the distance.

The beach life isn't too good to the hair

Our last few days in Cinque Terre were perfect. We toured all five towns, took a small hike, and of course more sunning. Aubree is as tan as she has ever been. Quite the beach bunny. Although she isn't as comfortable as some of the locals. We have never seen so much toplessness. Hazen is still getting use to it all. He will keep trying though. No good pictures yet. Also, he will keep trying (just kidding).

We had a absolutely flawless day of travel from Cinque terre to Venice. It turned out to be about a 6hr train ride. Venice has been fun as the weather continues to be perfect. We had a museum day today, touring the Correr Museum and Doge's Palace. They were both very interesting and some of the best museums we have seen yet. Aubree particularly enjoyed walking across the Bridge of Sighs in Doge's Palace. This is where prisoners walked and viewed their last glimpse of venice before they began their sentence. The prison looked quite harsh. Alcatraz looked like Disneyland compared to this place.

Tonight is our last night in Venice and we are getting ready to take a 45 min night lit Vaporetto ride down the Grand Canal. It should be fun and a much better alternative to the Gondolas or continuing to walk in circles through the city. What a maze of old town italy. It definately appears that Venice has been dying a slow death for quite some time with Tourists barely keeping its heart beating. Will be interesting to see what happens with this place over our lifetime.

Early train ride to Verona to smooze with the Capulets tomorrow. Then up to Lugano just across the Swiss border. Probably central Switzerland by this weekend. Hello Alps!

Desires are begging to present themselves. This is an unanticipated problem that we have not been able to deal with yet. Hazen is dying for some caffiene (even choked down a cafe latte), steak, hamburger, or even a good bratwurst. Aubree is hanging with the good old Chocolate. I think we might be able to fulfill a couple of these soon but this Italian cuisine is beginning to wear on us.

Our giant "buffet" breakfast this morning was something we were both looking forward to instead of the normal crappy roll and cappucino. We even set our alarm so we could be there bright and early. Arrived to see lots of cornflakes, yogurt, tang, and hard bread. To top things off Hazen dished up his first bowl of cereal in two weeks and the milk was warm! I think he died a little inside. We saved our rolls just in case we were mugged later in the day so we could bludgeon the perp.

Too Busy Lately! Too Much Sunning and Swimming

2007-05-13T04:55:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day!

Had a rough day of travel a few days back. We left Perugia thinking we would head toward Florence and have a quick day trip in Sienna. We spent most of the day traveling and only got to spend a couple hours in Sienna. The highlight was an amazing bus ride from Chiusi to Sienna through the heart of Tuscany. Sienna was beautiful; we hung out in the Piazza for quite a while. Think they were having some type of gay pride parade. Took the wrong bus to get back to the train station and ended up with a very long bus tour of Sienna and the surrounding area. Took a late train to Florence just in time for an amazing sunset. In Florence we mostly walked around and ate. Very busy city.

Found the best eating deal in Italy that we have seen so far. We ate gourmet grub two nights in a row. Hazen had rabbit for the first time. Very good. Hostel was very noisy as it felt like I-5 was right out our window. That's what we get for reserving in advance. Aub was also not fond of the very ripe sewer smell at the doorstep. The sunsets over the arno river were absolutely perfect. Couple of great evenings.

Saw the leaning tower of Pisa. Yep, it's still leaning. Headed up to Cinque terre for a much needed break. Had a rough time finding a room but managed to snag a beauty with a good view and private bath. This is our third day here and all we have done is sun bathe on the rocks, swim in the Ligurian, nap, eat Foccocia, and drink grapes. This place is heaven. We will be here two more nights to complete the tanning process. Don't want to look like aliens when we get to spain. Venice is next on the agenda. Probably three nights there and then headed to Switzerland. Internet is quite expensive here so will probably try to throw up some pics when we get to Venice. Hope all is well back home. Cheers

A few pics

2007-05-08T12:10:00.000-07:00

First Dinner of the Trip. Grocery store grub on the rooftop of our hostel. How Romantic!St. Peter's Basillica - Un-photographable
Foro Romano - Yeah, we walked where Julius Ceasar walked

The River Nile - about 10' long

Facade on the Duomo in Orvieto @ Sunset. Que Bella!

Quick Cat Nap before the next train ride

Aubree enjoying exploring the castle in Assisi

Unbelievable town of Civita - Only access via Donkey Path Bridge

Stay Tuned.....More to Come!

Fun Facts

2007-05-08T01:28:00.000-07:00

While skeleton keys look fun and simple, it turns out they are ridiculously hard to use. Especially after a caraffe of Orvieto Classico (Yummy vino) while standing in the dark.

Aubree is quite the savvy traveler. She has won many of the "where the hell are we" arguements. Rest assured she will not leave any stone unturned on the entire continent. Also, Aub is turning into quite the wine drinker; I am quite impressed.

Hazen nearly suffocated a man with his own pillow because of the man's snoring problem. Things worked out ok for the man as Hazen's anger was transferred to the man's girlfriend while she vomitted in the bathroom and talked to herself all night.

Turns out that washing clothes by hand is much harder than having a washing machine. Also drying clothes takes a long time if you don't have a dryer. Also if sed clothes do not dry in time they emit a retchid odor that might piss off bunkmates. Good thing they don't speak english or I might be in trouble.

Just as aub's toe began to heal, she took a nasty spill walking down the road. "Apparently" there was a hole in the road that Aub fell into scuffed up her knee and hand. The good news is she didn't get run over by the bus that she was trying to avoid.

When ordering something at a restuarant; if the waiter says something you are not sure of whatever you do, do not say yes. Things can turn out badly in a number of ways.

Will try pics tonight, Hazen forgot the camera. Cheers

2007-05-06T03:56:00.000-07:00

Hey all,

We are finally feeling refreshed and a little less stressed. Rome was amazing and loud and stressful and busy. Like I said in our last posting the Colosseum was amazing. Trevi Fountain and the Spanish steps were both packed with people during our evening/gelato walk. OOOHHH, We love their gelato. We had a little bit of rain (Monsoon) the second day! Still managed to get out and see the Pantheon, the Piazza del popollo, and a few other fun places. Took a nice evening stroll in the Villa Bourghese (Central Park) it was good to get away from the noise for a while. It was good we took the metro on the third day because our leg muscles are definately very sore. Stood in line for about two hours to get into the Vatican museum. Once we got in it was very cool. Hazen might have become impatient a time or two with "crazy" tourists. It was really fun showing Aub some of the things that I really enjoyed last time and seeing new things as well.
We were very lucky to find a good grocery store so we have been eating very well. Headed up to Orvieto last night and got into town just in time to watch the sun go down behind the facade of the duomo. What a beautiful sight. The last batch of tourists were headed out of town as we were headed in. Attempted to use the phone but think we wound up calling someone in Russia. Will try again tonight. Sorry Lynn. Staying at a nice bed and breakfast where there is absolutely no english spoken. Aub is quite upset about a lip in the floor that has her big toe plastered all over it. (Heather stubbed toes are NOT funny) Went to the restaurant below our room for dinner and had the best brueschetta (that we didn't know we ordered) and amazing margahrita proschuito pizza. They had a band playing that our waiter deemed the "fake cranberries". They were quite good. We continued to listen to them after we went to bed. Spending today relaxing, sleeping, and doing laundry. Will try to make our way toward Civita tomorrow before heading north. All in all we are doing well and Hazen did not get jacked by the gypsies in Rome this time. Yeah!

We Made It!

2007-05-03T05:48:00.000-07:00

We made the marathon trip over here and have landed on our feet. Definately suffering from some serious jet lag. Nothing a few ciestas can't cure. Aub and I walked over to the Colosseum and Forum Romano to do the Ceasar Shuffle this morning. We plan to hit the spanish steps and Trevi Fountain this evening. Probably will hang out in Rome for two more days before heading north. Will send more information next time as we are running out of minutes.

2007 Rough Itinerary

2007-04-16T17:45:00.000-07:00

Italy – May 1
Switzerland – Late May
Southern France – Early June
Spain – June
Morocco – Mid June
Portugal – Late June
France – Mid July
Belgium – July
Netherlands – July
Northern Germany – Late July
Denmark – Early August
Norway – August
Sweden – August
Finland – Late August
Estonia/Latvia/Lithuania – Early September
Poland – September
Germany – Late September
Czech Republic – Early October
Austria – October
Slovakia – October
Hungary – Late October
Slovenia – Early November
Croatia – Early November
Serbia & Montenegro – November
Greece – November
Possibly: Turkey & Egypt – December