Taking a bath

I spent the day soaking and relaxing at a Turkish bath in Budapest. Ive been hanging out with 3 brits (one of sri lanken descent) and an american since i got here. Last night we had shisha and went out clubbing...there are plenty of large outdoor clubs here. Anyway, back at the bath we had a contest...who could stay longest in the 8C (46F) tub. The sri lanken guy dipped his foot in and decided against going in the tub at all...first man out was the american...and one by one the brits left. Gold medal goes to Polanada.


Hungarian parliament

Hardcore

Last night i talked to an Irish girl from Belfast who is by far the most hardcore traveler ive ever met. She started her trip one month ago in Warsaw and traveled south over the tatra mountains into Slovakia...on her bike covering 100km a day. I saw the bike...it's not any high tech machine either...its a standard bicycle...the kind you can pick up second hand for 80 bucks. She has a sleeping bag with her but no tent, not necessary if you dont mind getting wet once in a while. To top this off...she travels with a saxophone strapped to her back...which she uses to make some money when stopping in cities.

It's interesting how many misconceptions western media feeds us about places around the world. Coming to Bratislava i had really low expectations. Maybe it was a clip from Top Green's Eurotrip or something...but i was expecting a very bland, lifeless place. Not the case, there's a nice old town filled with cafes serving amazing food (and cafe lattes like in vienna but for one fifth of the price). There's a castle, plenty of museums, no visible mcdonalds and very few tourists. On the other side of the coin, you have dung-holes like Casablanca which attract western tourists simply because of a hollywood movie.


Frozen in time. One of the many random, but cool pieces of art in the streets of bratislava.

Classical Music

I set off on a grand tour of downtown Vienna. I didn't get very far...while walking through the Imperial Palace I came to a romanesque building shaped like a dome. Inside, i estimate the ceiling was 80m. Nothing particularly interesting inside since a street road and pedestrian sidewalk going right though the building...although the architecture on the walls and cieling is stunning. A chelo player sat against the wall playing beautiful classical music. I sat down, closed my eyes and didn't leave that spot for 2 hours. The acoustics of such a building make the music experience so much more enjoyable. I think this is the first time in my life where ive sat through a couple hours of classical music and not have been bored. While listening there were always other ambient sounds: the clapping of sandals against a person's heals as they walked by, the ticking sound a bike makes when you stop pedaling, the clicking of a dog's chain, the trotting of a horse and of course the odd car. But there was on moment, it couldn't have lasted more than 10 seconds when all distractions when silent. It felt like a staged scene...everything acting in unison. People exited on both sides of the building, no dogs, no horses, no cars. Even the man who was standing next to me received a phone call and left. And there i was, in Vienna, sitting in the Imperial Palace listening to my very own, private, classical music concert.

After this, i needed some more...so i went to see a real concert at a place called Sound of Vienna. The orchestra played mostly Strauss and Mozart pieces; there was ballet/waltz dances and singing. Since this was a spur of the moment thing...i showed up in my hiking cloths...somehow they let me in. I felt a little uncomfortable at first...but i had the last laugh. It's warm in vienna and with a sold out show...the room got hot real quick. I could see the irritated looks on people's faces...foreheads red from the heat...just trying to make it though. But they did look good in suits. I on the other hand, with my REI synthetic clothing, had no problem dispersing the head. Every now and then, i would reach down to my Sigg water bottle and take a sip of my cold water while others watched in jealousy. Fun time.

Those crazy kids...

Yesterday was my last day in the Czech Republic in a small town called Cesky Krumlov. It was listed as a ´newly discovered gem´ in lonely planet so i gave it go. It´s a relaxing place...has a nice castle, unfortunately the castle has a section where they hold 3 bears in captivity. Felt bad for them. There´s also a nice river that flows through the town...what´s strange is how many people are rafting it..there are no rapids...just a lazy river. Almost forgot to write about the crazy kids. Here´s a new way to do a tequila shot (a class of 15/16 year old czech girls where doing this at the bar):
A) Snort a line of salt
B) Shoot the tequila
C) Squeeze lemon in your eye
*** Repeat until Anosmia, Inebriation and Blindness occur.


Cesky Krumlov

Bones

No time to type...people are waiting for the internet. Another day trip today, this time to Kunta Hora. Saw a chapel that is decorated with the bones of 40,000 people and a few other churches.

Czech this out

Last night i had a shot of Absenth. The best way to describe it is: 3 parts green mouth wash, 7 parts pure alcohol and add a twist of black licorice. Makes you feel all warm and tingly inside.

I visited the Museum of Communism today...learned a lot about a subject i should probably know a lot about. I wonder if there is a similar museum anywhere in poland?

Breakin to the Beatles

Ive been to many churches over the last couple of months and after seeing churches in spain, france and italy (previous trip) i thought ive seen it all...nope. St.Nick´s church in Prague is a baroque masterpiece...the inside is what´s so impressive. The walls are painted in bright colors and gold statues everywhere.

Last night at the disco, i witnessed people break dancing to a beatles song (i think it was A Hard Days Night, unmixed)...only in europe.



Inside St. Nicholas Church

Family Jewels

Took a day trip outside of prague to a small town called Karlstejn. The only point of interest is a castle which was once a treasury for roman empire. The czech girl, giving the tour in broken english, didn't understand my humor when i asked her about The Family Jewels (with a big smile on my face of course). ´No, i cannot show you the family jewels...they´re now stored in prague.´

Czech-mate

Finally in eastern europe...although sometimes Prague doesn't feel that way with all the porsches and ferraris ive seen. Im eating out now, it´s cheap enough that ive stopped consuming my usual canned tuna dinners. Ive been making a big effort to meet non-english speakers and it seems quite a bit easier here. Last night i partied the night away with some mexicans and germans at ´central europes largest night club´. Tonight, i hope to find my way to a less touristy night spot to meet some locals. It turns out that my polish is very understandable to the czech ear (not so much from my end though).

Beer! Beer! Beer!

You guessed it...im in Munich. Huge beer halls, one liter beers, excellent food, bavarian music, beautiful women...and generally a jolly time. Also, bought myself a pair of Birkenstock sandals yesterday (yup, it´s a german company).


Drinking at the Hofbrauhaus

Last day in Switzerland

Like mick jagger says at the end of a show: `Its been sweet`. I really enjoyed my couple weeks in Switzerland, they will definitely be on the top highlights of my European adventure. Today I spent the day walking around Zürich and also hiked a small hill next to the city. The swiss meal tonight is Raclette. Booya.

Swiss Carbonara

Keeping in touch with people you meet during your travels is very important...today i met up with a swiss gal i met a year ago while hiking in the canadian rockies. Later in the day we were joined by another of her friends (which i also met in canada) and we cooked spaghetti carbonara...swiss style!! Luzern is behind me...im now in Windisch.

Swans

Im spending a few days in Luzern. It´s one of switzerland´s nicests cities...old town, clean lake (filled with swans) and mountains in the backdrop. In the meantime, i learned a few interesting facts about this country. For instance, although the swiss are known for their neutrality...they´re really prepared for war. Every male has manditory military service, just about every household has a gun and a bomb shelter, and with the touch of a button all the tunnels, bridges, highways used to enter the country can be blown up. One other intersting fact...the swiss decriminalized marajana use a few years ago after a survey by the government showed that over 30% of swiss are users. Lots of guns and lots of drugs...but still one of the safest countries in the world...interesting.

The European Tribe

Took the day off today...layed in the sun reading The European Tribe by Caryl Phillips at the hostel. I recommend this one as well. While chillin, i got to hear lots of `interesting` conversations. For instance, one gal from the mid-west who is on a EU study abroad program (the 3 week program takes students to various EU countries where they learn about EU politics, economics, etc) corrected her friend claiming that the EU is based out of Luxembourg (her friend thought it was somewhere in Austria). :P

Free fall

Interlaken is famous for its adventure sports...but have you ever heard of bunk jumping? Last night at one in the morning...the guy sleeping above me in the bunk bed rolled off the bed and slammed into to the ground. He hit so hard he put a dent into my metal water bottle. Ha.

Today another fine day of hiking in the swiss alps...i met a fox (who i think was sick ).


Foxy

Blown away

More parting, more hiking, yadda, yadda, yadda. I hiked with a group of 4 people, one guy was from florida...it was his first time seeing snow (or a mountain for that matter). When i reached the top, i swiss military helicopter had landed and was idling with its propellers spinning. At this point i should tell you that at the summit it was about 5C. Being an eager photographer...i ran over to the chopper, dropped my napsack on the ground and started taking some pics. A few moments later, the important people who where being escorted around jump on the chopper. The pilot then stuck his hand out the window and started gesturing something to me which i couldn't decipher at first. Then i realized he wanted me to grab my napsack...without much though i listened to the man in uniform and ran over to my bag and stepped on it. He then gave me the thumbs up...and proceeded to speed up the propellers. Ive never been around a helicopter before so i was taken by surprise when the wind hit me. I was about 15m from the helicopter and it almost blew me over...and man was it cold! Quite an experience.


Swiss military chopper

Balmer`s

Interlaken has been interesting to say the least. Im staying at a huge hostel called Balmer`s...rated the funnest hostel in europe. So when you read `funnest` that translates into american frat party. Id be lying if i said i had a bad time at the disco last night, but it`s not the swiss experience i was hoping for. I did meet a few interesting people, including Clinton from austin texas who i hiked with today. During the hike we stopped in a small village called Gimmelwald...i could not image a more perfectly set town. At an elevation of 1400m, nestled between snowcapped mountains, with green valleys filled with wildflowers of every color...quite spectacular. We stopped at a small B&B run by a lady named Ester who makes organic food products...ate some sausage, fresh bread and yogurt (made from milk she milked from the cows in the morning)...now that was the swiss experience ive been after.

Oh, for the last week, ive been consuming a chocolate bar everyday...im hooked.


Feel like a star

Just Passing By

Another good travel book recommendation for ya-all. It`s a collection of short stories written by a guy who traveled through third world countries for 2 years. Just Passing By by Jon Carnegie.

Is that right eh?

Just to set the scene...im in the middle of the Swiss alps, one of the most beautiful areas in the world. While strolling through the small town of Interlaken I passed by a travel tourism store and the display in the window caught my attention. The entire display was dedicated to one country...posters of beautiful mountains, rolling country sides, cutouts of friendly people, calendars of city skylines. Where could such a wonderful place exist? Oh, Kanada.


Home sweet home

What a deal

Internet is quite expensive here...5ChF for 20 minutes at an internet cafe. That works out to about 10 euros per hour. Ah, but ive been lucky to find a cool bar in town that has free internet if you order a drink. So for 5ChF i get 1/2 liter of beer, free internet for as long as i want and great bar ambiance. Score.

Today was yet another full day of hiking...everything is sore: muscles, bones, feet...you name it...but so worth it. I hiked up to the Findelgletscher. That reminds me...they have some pretty funny names here...one glacier is called Furgggletscher (not a typo...three g`s). The corresponding mountain is the Furgggrat.

Im about to finish my beer...cheers.

Matterhorn

Today i hiked to the base of the Matterhorn with a couple fellow travelers from cali. I also bought some swiss cheese...quite a disappointment when compared to French cheese. And finally i purchased a Sigg water bottle...these are the swiss equivalents of Nalgene water bottles...but made out of metal and a little cooler (IMHO).


Mr.M & I

Random observations

Zermatt is an really cool town...settled in green valley between the mountains. Only electric cars are allowed here, but most people either walk or ride their bike. The town has one main church with a cemetery outside dedicated to people who have lost their lives in the mountains. One swiss tradition that i like is that people put their family name on their home (in huge letters); i feel it makes a town more open and friendly. Another thing that i noticed that the swiss do differently is in the way they draw a 'do not do XXX' sign. It's a red circle....but no red line going through it. Kind of strange looking at it at first. Today was another extraordinary day of hiking...blah blah blah.


You must light something right away


Can`t get enough of this mountain

Netscape 4

I hate netscape 4.

Today got off to an interesting start. The french train workers are on strike so i had to hitch a ride to the swiss border and take a train from there. The ride through the mountains was breathtaking. I met a 73 year old dude on the train who worked his whole life as a ski instructor and guide here...not bad eh? I managed a short hike at the end of the day and got really nice views of the most famous mountain in the alps...the Matterhorn (btw, the old dude summited it over 100 times).


Matterhorn

Pizza & Cafe Latte in Italy

Today i took a 'once in a lifetime' trip on the world's highest gondola to an elevation of 3613m. I can't begin to describe the spectacular views from up there...but it only got better. Then i continued taking another lift over a couple gigantic glaciers and finished at a peak called Helbronner (3462m) which is in the Italian alps. There was a little cafeteria in the lodge run by some italians...i couldn't resist buying some pizza and a cafe latte...lied in the sun a bit and then returned to Chamonix. Total cost of the trip 55€ (ouch), but definitely well worth it.


Glacier on the way to italy


Not the typical tourist photo