Budapest

Bohemia at it's finest. It was nice seeing people interacting and livingmin a place I was visiting. Prague still gibes off a Disney vibe to me. I stayed on my first couch with mark. It wasn't a couch actually, it was a whole spare room. I made ommelettes each morning and he made pumpkin soup with his friend Julia the second night. Lest overs formlast night. I may need that recipe. He was very sweet, and had some good traveling stories. The first day I was in Budapest, I circumnavigated and walked throughout the entire city. It was the most I walked yet I think haha.
The sychony bathes were in order after. The second day I convoked mark to wake up for sunrise to walk up to the top of the hill where this huge monument stood, that I don't know the name of, to over look the city. It was glorious. He was so glad he did it too, as henusually doesn't wake up until eleven. He was so curious as how I thought to do that. I find a lot of good spots in my wanders. He said he may make it a requirement for every surfer from this point on. I went to lunch with him then he wen off to work, and I wandered. Bit more, as much as my legs could handle. He has an Internet company so he's kind of on his own schedule. I met him for a second night at the bathes. It was warming and relaxing there. A lot of neat stuff and some well needed quite space. He headed of tomorrow to see bout angirl in Poland. Very sweet. I left this morning and here I sit in the McDonalds in Vienna. Usingnthe Internet and hanging out because my host won't be there unil 1130. I could go ,wet her flatmates but I'm just going to read and clear my head. Miss you guys right now.
Sierra

From Prague to Budapest

Prague
      Im not up and moving as quickly as I usually am.  Got to cover a lot of ground. Going to start doing over night trains with just day trips in between, for a few days at a time.  That's the point of backpacking right?  See as much as you can, so you can be more selective later. I should have left last night to go to poland, because there is only an overnight train to Krakow.  Think I may do it from budapest still.  I'd like to see aid wits, or I guess I should say I feel like i should go.  I also heard Krakow is a really neat city.  I have a kid I had already lined up to stay with in Budapest though, who is leaving on Friday so I needed todo that first. Kind of backtracks a little,but sleeping on the train, will save me time and money anyways.  Then back down to the capital of Slovakia just so I can see it,  and from there an hour into Vienna where I have a place lined up with a young girl.  She's only nineteen, but hosts travelers at her place all the time, because that is how she travels.  Vienna to Slovakia fora night and day, shoot to Croatia from there.  Two days in the capital, Zagreb and two on the coast, probably Dubrovnik   May do the coast first, because the scenic train is renown from Slovakia along Croatia's coast.  Down the line until I eventually reach Greece.  Do the northern scenic route and stay a night in each city.   Hopefully, fly to Istanbul for an early day, a night and leave the next afternoon.  Fly back into Athens, because I have to get a flight anyways, so this way I don't back track on the train.  Athens for at least two days, with some island trips in between.  The eurorail includes free ferries to the two main islands.  I'd like to see the smaller more remote ones, but again, I'm backpacking.  I can devote that to another trip and time down the road.  Greece to Italy, but I don't have anything planned from there.  The ferry is included to Italy as well. Leaving Greece will take me up to probably the 18th of October.  Im assuming in Italy, two days in Rome, two days, or at least one and a night in Naples, two in Florence and at least two completely full days morning until night in Venice. May try to find a couch out in tuscany for a night and day as well. So about a week at least  altogether.  I was offered a place to stay in a small northern italian town, which is very unique.  It is in the alps, and they speak German, but the culture is still very similar to Italian.  From there I have a place in Switzerland outside Zurich, and I will probably go to Geneva for a day.  Get a night train out of there perhaps to northern France, or an over nighter to get to the coast to take the tunnel to London by Halloween.  If I don't make it by Halloween, however,  I will shoot for the fifth of November.  Lianne's friends family throw a huge formal party for it, and set off fireworks.  If that is the case I'll probably do the Netherlands after Switzerland for a couple days, or Paris.   Hopefully both, because that'll put me at the 8th.  Time is dwindling on my eurorail, so I have to find a way to do all of France, Amsterdam, visit Aleks in Cambridge, celebrate the fifth, see stone henge, Barcelona, and Portugal by the sixteenth. Probably cut out Geneva, random northern Italy town,  only stay for a day in Bosnia, skip over Albania, and one day in Montenegro to not cut it to close.  Two months seems like a long time, but it's really not.  May decide against Poland too. Save that for an eastern European, Russia trip, someday.  It's like an extra twelve hours on a train for only a day to visit. Well mom, you wanted my itinerary.  That is about as good as it'll get.  It has changed so much from week to week.  I'm not connected to the Internet when I write this, but if you look at the time and place I submit it, that is where I have gotten to.  I'll try to stay in touch, but the Internet is not at my disposal.  Like I said.  I have a lot of ground to cover.
          So as for Prague.  It is gorgeous.  Very old architecture, because the fortunately hitler had committed suicide, with troops just a day outside the city, leaving it untouched by the war.  It is overwhelming crowded though.  I couldn't even imagine visiting here in the summer.  Charles bridge is like try to get through Disney world on spring break.  There is something about the swarms of Rukeyser that makes it feel a bit superficial like Disney world as well.  In some ways it is comforting being surrounded by tourist, because you don't have to deal with local resentment as often, but in other ways it makes it feel very unauthentic.  I was satisfied seeing the castle, which is quite extraordinary actually, if you can fight you way to it, and the main sights like the astronomical clock, churches like saint Nicolas'  and so on.  Then I escaped up into the hills and to a park to admire from a distance.  A massive river cuts through the city, which lends itself to architectural brilliance such as the Charles bridge and other stunning bridges, making Prague just that much more picturesque.  Two days was plenty for me still.   The first day I did the castle and walked around.  Met up with a couple of people, who initially I was just going to have a drink with, but ended up going to the city square to try some different Czech food from the vendors that fill it.  There are open fires and slickers just out in the streets.   A beer also costs less here than a bottle of water.  Escaped the crowd to find some of the more underground local spot.  When I say underground, I laterally mean underground.  Would could be a fruit cellar by day, turns into a cave bar by night.  A bit strange, and a little unhealthy probably being that you are underground in a cave with no ventilation, but unlike any place I had been I to before.  Went to another night club, which I'm pretty sure was majority gay, but I'm beginning to notice that there is a very open gay community in a lot o places ive been in Europe. This made me feel very comfortable of course, so I ended up staying put way past my own set curfew, and got to ditch the people I went with without the awkward well don't really want to hang out with you even though you were considerate enough to insist on treating me for everything i got all evening, which is next to impossible to put lightly.  Got to bed by five.  Dragged myself out in the morning, went on a walking tour.  Czechoslovakia's history is pretty unique, but the guide was pretty terrible and did not do it any justice. 
     It wasn't it's own kingdom until almost the 1300 s if I can remember correctly.  The way in which it looks today is contributed to king Charles the fourth.  He had visited Paris a great deal.  He used it as a model for renovation of Prague.  This is why Prague is considered, along with Paris, to be the most beautiful cities in Europe.  Prague castle had existed since 880 c.e. , but the town squares were newly renovated and the stunning our lady cathedral was built in 1353 and the Charles bridge in 1356.  One of the most remarkable features of the city I thought, was the old synagogue.  That is it's name, people were not that creative with names from the ninth to sixteenth century I havdetermined.  It has existed since 1270 and is the oldest operating synagogue in all of Europe.  Miraculously it survived the nazi occupation.  Prague, had before the war, the largest Jewish settlement in Europe.  This settlement however, was a fenced in ghetto in ghetto of the worst flood lands of all of prague.until 1890.  The Jewish population managed to thrive here.  At one point a quarter of the cities population was Jewish and they were all crammed into this tiny plot.
       I visited the museum.  The museum had a lot of unique artifacts. They had to be hidden and many were destroyed and liquidated when the museum shut down under nazi occupation.  The graveyard is also very peculiar.  There are probably more bodies legally buried on this one plot of land than anywhere else in the world.  Judaism does not permit cremation, so they dug the graves extremely deep.  Sometimes up to twenty bodies stacked in the same grave-sight.  As you circumnavigate  it the earth is raised quite a bit in some places where they had to stack graves up higher.  The tomb stones have collections of names.  You also couldn't possibly wok between them.  They are only a few inches from eachother and some leaning on one another, jutting out in all different directions.  People leave stones from places they have been and from home.  I did not feel like it was appropriate to do so, but I did have a stone I picked up and had in my pocket for some reason in Dachau.  This did seem like an appropriates place to leave that.  They had added a holocaust exhibit and memorial.the memorial is a large open white room, with a balcony and some winding halls. There is nothing in it but names and dates of brith to death in black and red in small font.  The entire surface area of the room was covered from ceiling to floor with names.  They also had an extremely unique exhibit. I feel awful that I cannot remember her name, but a Jewish artist that had got restricted to the ghetto under nazi occupation felt moved to do something for the children that had been leftNd separated from the parents.  The Jews in Prague had always lived in the ghetto, but it was not until the beginning of the second world war that they began to be imprisoned, taken away in high number to Tarazine concentration camp and not allowed to carry out there day to day lives.  Those left in the ghetto were left there In upheaval and awaiting deportation.  When this woman heard these children crying all night and day, she decided that she would assist them with the only type of therapy that she knew.  Art.  She smuggled paper, crayons, pen and markers from friends outside the ghetto.  She would then go to the children's dorm, and give them lessons, and let them express there creativity.  So e of the pictures are ordinary characters, or children playing.  Many are quite disturbing though, if you consider that they are drawn by small children.  There is a drawing of an execution by hanging, and the man hanging is in a striped suit with the star of David across his chest.  There is another one where three people are on there hands and knees with there heads down and tears falling from there eyes, with a German soldier standing above them with a whip.  Some are just dark and eerie, while others are drawings of palestine, and the paradise of the holy land that they had been told about since since childhood.  You could see that for the children it was the escape in there own mind, and not just a place.  It was unsettling.  Before this woman was shipped to Aushawitz, from where she of course never returned, she managed to hide and save close to 4000 pictures which she buried just outside the ghetto in two suitcases.  She told a friend outside the ghetto where she had buried them, and that is where they were found.  The two suitcases sit inside along with the displays of pictures.
      On a lighter note the fall of communism with Czech was accomplished at the cost of no lives.  The twenty one year shadow was lifted, in large part do to relentless student demonstration.  Czechoslovakia became completely communist in 1948. In the 1960 s there was a sort of hippie revolution, influenced the the political activism going on in the U.S. It was  the first demands for political and social change that began to circulate.  This resulted in soviet occupation of czechoslovakia.  They restricted political freedoms and liberal thought, as well as monitored phone lines and had secret police swarming everywhere.  In 1989 thousands of students marched into the square to demand that they soviets withdraw there security and restrictions.  All the citizens of the city rattled there keys out there windows symbolizing that they wanted to be let out, and wanted an end to the repression.  The police severely beat a large number of the students, but where eventually ran out.  This was officially the end of communism in Czechoslovakia.  It is known as the "velvet revolution", because despite the violence, no one lost there life. I suppose I say a lot of the city.  It is very small, especially considering it is a capital city.  There a gran opera halls,ornate architecture,  saw the house Einstein lived in when he had developed his theory of relativity.  A lot of stuff.  Hot stuffy crowded.  Erase all the people and it is a gorgeous place.  The high number of tourists does make for a very lively city at night, however, as opposed to a lot of places I've been, where it is silent, other than the club or bar districts.
         I suppose I could mention a little about the train. In Germany they were pretty nice.  Set up like a table and both.  You usually share with one other person on the other side.  Leaving Berlin and going I to eastern Europe, they aren't so nice.  They are like the six chair rooms in Harry potter, except you don't meet any Ron wisely s.  All foreign strangers.  Sometimes they're nice, some times they just stare.  There are a few stops in between major cities so at times it clears out, or you get a new batch.  The toilets don't flush, or at least they don't work, and no water comes out of the sink.  It's pretty hot where I am now, so a bit stuffy.  All good though.  Gets you point A to point B.  All that matters. And it's awesome to just flash a pass whenever the ticket checker comes around and just show up to the train station and find the platform.  Not have to wait for tickets or anything.  I'm pretty sure I was walking on a curb in the highway to get to the train station in Prague.  Beautiful, but outside the center,  there isn't the best urban planning.  Public transport is spectacular though.  There is tram and underground in nearly every major city.  There is no way that you can't get somewhere pretty easily.
     Alright of to Budapest.  I've heard good things.  Cheaper, far less people,  friendlier residents, most of whom speak English,  and still very pretty.I'm disappointed that I hadn't planned ahead for Poland, but I had to get out of Prague,and  there's still a chance.  Like I said, I'm going to be on the move, but I will at least email.  Probably no time to chat this week, if I even get the internet in the places I'm staying.  Im excited to be staying with some young locals places, to get out of the crowd and have some more beyond tourist experiences.  I think thats important, and the whole point of traveling alone. Couch surfing is like being part of the wider global community haha. Alright.  Love you and talk to you soon.  Farewell.
     In Budapest.  Pretty excited for a little city and some more out door adventure.  I can't handle the crowds.  I managed to get through Slovakia with my Eurorail pass, the lady never came back to charge me for that part.  Think I'll take the around the border route to go back to Vienna though.  I honestly don't know how I managed.  
Sierra Rae

From Prague to Budapest

Prague
      Im not up and moving as quickly as I usually am.  Got to cover a lot of ground. Going to start doing over night trains with just day trips in between, for a few days at a time.  That's the point of backpacking right?  See as much as you can, so you can be more selective later. I should have left last night to go to poland, because there is only an overnight train to Krakow.  Think I may do it from budapest still.  I'd like to see aid wits, or I guess I should say I feel like i should go.  I also heard Krakow is a really neat city.  I have a kid I had already lined up to stay with in Budapest though, who is leaving on Friday so I needed todo that first. Kind of backtracks a little,but sleeping on the train, will save me time and money anyways.  Then back down to the capital of Slovakia just so I can see it,  and from there an hour into Vienna where I have a place lined up with a young girl.  She's only nineteen, but hosts travelers at her place all the time, because that is how she travels.  Vienna to Slovakia fora night and day, shoot to Croatia from there.  Two days in the capital, Zagreb and two on the coast, probably Dubrovnik   May do the coast first, because the scenic train is renown from Slovakia along Croatia's coast.  Down the line until I eventually reach Greece.  Do the northern scenic route and stay a night in each city.   Hopefully, fly to Istanbul for an early day, a night and leave the next afternoon.  Fly back into Athens, because I have to get a flight anyways, so this way I don't back track on the train.  Athens for at least two days, with some island trips in between.  The eurorail includes free ferries to the two main islands.  I'd like to see the smaller more remote ones, but again, I'm backpacking.  I can devote that to another trip and time down the road.  Greece to Italy, but I don't have anything planned from there.  The ferry is included to Italy as well. Leaving Greece will take me up to probably the 18th of October.  Im assuming in Italy, two days in Rome, two days, or at least one and a night in Naples, two in Florence and at least two completely full days morning until night in Venice. May try to find a couch out in tuscany for a night and day as well. So about a week at least  altogether.  I was offered a place to stay in a small northern italian town, which is very unique.  It is in the alps, and they speak German, but the culture is still very similar to Italian.  From there I have a place in Switzerland outside Zurich, and I will probably go to Geneva for a day.  Get a night train out of there perhaps to northern France, or an over nighter to get to the coast to take the tunnel to London by Halloween.  If I don't make it by Halloween, however,  I will shoot for the fifth of November.  Lianne's friends family throw a huge formal party for it, and set off fireworks.  If that is the case I'll probably do the Netherlands after Switzerland for a couple days, or Paris.   Hopefully both, because that'll put me at the 8th.  Time is dwindling on my eurorail, so I have to find a way to do all of France, Amsterdam, visit Aleks in Cambridge, celebrate the fifth, see stone henge, Barcelona, and Portugal by the sixteenth. Probably cut out Geneva, random northern Italy town,  only stay for a day in Bosnia, skip over Albania, and one day in Montenegro to not cut it to close.  Two months seems like a long time, but it's really not.  May decide against Poland too. Save that for an eastern European, Russia trip, someday.  It's like an extra twelve hours on a train for only a day to visit. Well mom, you wanted my itinerary.  That is about as good as it'll get.  It has changed so much from week to week.  I'm not connected to the Internet when I write this, but if you look at the time and place I submit it, that is where I have gotten to.  I'll try to stay in touch, but the Internet is not at my disposal.  Like I said.  I have a lot of ground to cover.
          So as for Prague.  It is gorgeous.  Very old architecture, because the fortunately hitler had committed suicide, with troops just a day outside the city, leaving it untouched by the war.  It is overwhelming crowded though.  I couldn't even imagine visiting here in the summer.  Charles bridge is like try to get through Disney world on spring break.  There is something about the swarms of Rukeyser that makes it feel a bit superficial like Disney world as well.  In some ways it is comforting being surrounded by tourist, because you don't have to deal with local resentment as often, but in other ways it makes it feel very unauthentic.  I was satisfied seeing the castle, which is quite extraordinary actually, if you can fight you way to it, and the main sights like the astronomical clock, churches like saint Nicolas'  and so on.  Then I escaped up into the hills and to a park to admire from a distance.  A massive river cuts through the city, which lends itself to architectural brilliance such as the Charles bridge and other stunning bridges, making Prague just that much more picturesque.  Two days was plenty for me still.   The first day I did the castle and walked around.  Met up with a couple of people, who initially I was just going to have a drink with, but ended up going to the city square to try some different Czech food from the vendors that fill it.  There are open fires and slickers just out in the streets.   A beer also costs less here than a bottle of water.  Escaped the crowd to find some of the more underground local spot.  When I say underground, I laterally mean underground.  Would could be a fruit cellar by day, turns into a cave bar by night.  A bit strange, and a little unhealthy probably being that you are underground in a cave with no ventilation, but unlike any place I had been I to before.  Went to another night club, which I'm pretty sure was majority gay, but I'm beginning to notice that there is a very open gay community in a lot o places ive been in Europe. This made me feel very comfortable of course, so I ended up staying put way past my own set curfew, and got to ditch the people I went with without the awkward well don't really want to hang out with you even though you were considerate enough to insist on treating me for everything i got all evening, which is next to impossible to put lightly.  Got to bed by five.  Dragged myself out in the morning, went on a walking tour.  Czechoslovakia's history is pretty unique, but the guide was pretty terrible and did not do it any justice. 
     It wasn't it's own kingdom until almost the 1300 s if I can remember correctly.  The way in which it looks today is contributed to king Charles the fourth.  He had visited Paris a great deal.  He used it as a model for renovation of Prague.  This is why Prague is considered, along with Paris, to be the most beautiful cities in Europe.  Prague castle had existed since 880 c.e. , but the town squares were newly renovated and the stunning our lady cathedral was built in 1353 and the Charles bridge in 1356.  One of the most remarkable features of the city I thought, was the old synagogue.  That is it's name, people were not that creative with names from the ninth to sixteenth century I havdetermined.  It has existed since 1270 and is the oldest operating synagogue in all of Europe.  Miraculously it survived the nazi occupation.  Prague, had before the war, the largest Jewish settlement in Europe.  This settlement however, was a fenced in ghetto in ghetto of the worst flood lands of all of prague.until 1890.  The Jewish population managed to thrive here.  At one point a quarter of the cities population was Jewish and they were all crammed into this tiny plot.
       I visited the museum.  The museum had a lot of unique artifacts. They had to be hidden and many were destroyed and liquidated when the museum shut down under nazi occupation.  The graveyard is also very peculiar.  There are probably more bodies legally buried on this one plot of land than anywhere else in the world.  Judaism does not permit cremation, so they dug the graves extremely deep.  Sometimes up to twenty bodies stacked in the same grave-sight.  As you circumnavigate  it the earth is raised quite a bit in some places where they had to stack graves up higher.  The tomb stones have collections of names.  You also couldn't possibly wok between them.  They are only a few inches from eachother and some leaning on one another, jutting out in all different directions.  People leave stones from places they have been and from home.  I did not feel like it was appropriate to do so, but I did have a stone I picked up and had in my pocket for some reason in Dachau.  This did seem like an appropriates place to leave that.  They had added a holocaust exhibit and memorial.the memorial is a large open white room, with a balcony and some winding halls. There is nothing in it but names and dates of brith to death in black and red in small font.  The entire surface area of the room was covered from ceiling to floor with names.  They also had an extremely unique exhibit. I feel awful that I cannot remember her name, but a Jewish artist that had got restricted to the ghetto under nazi occupation felt moved to do something for the children that had been leftNd separated from the parents.  The Jews in Prague had always lived in the ghetto, but it was not until the beginning of the second world war that they began to be imprisoned, taken away in high number to Tarazine concentration camp and not allowed to carry out there day to day lives.  Those left in the ghetto were left there In upheaval and awaiting deportation.  When this woman heard these children crying all night and day, she decided that she would assist them with the only type of therapy that she knew.  Art.  She smuggled paper, crayons, pen and markers from friends outside the ghetto.  She would then go to the children's dorm, and give them lessons, and let them express there creativity.  So e of the pictures are ordinary characters, or children playing.  Many are quite disturbing though, if you consider that they are drawn by small children.  There is a drawing of an execution by hanging, and the man hanging is in a striped suit with the star of David across his chest.  There is another one where three people are on there hands and knees with there heads down and tears falling from there eyes, with a German soldier standing above them with a whip.  Some are just dark and eerie, while others are drawings of palestine, and the paradise of the holy land that they had been told about since since childhood.  You could see that for the children it was the escape in there own mind, and not just a place.  It was unsettling.  Before this woman was shipped to Aushawitz, from where she of course never returned, she managed to hide and save close to 4000 pictures which she buried just outside the ghetto in two suitcases.  She told a friend outside the ghetto where she had buried them, and that is where they were found.  The two suitcases sit inside along with the displays of pictures.
      On a lighter note the fall of communism with Czech was accomplished at the cost of no lives.  The twenty one year shadow was lifted, in large part do to relentless student demonstration.  Czechoslovakia became completely communist in 1948. In the 1960 s there was a sort of hippie revolution, influenced the the political activism going on in the U.S. It was  the first demands for political and social change that began to circulate.  This resulted in soviet occupation of czechoslovakia.  They restricted political freedoms and liberal thought, as well as monitored phone lines and had secret police swarming everywhere.  In 1989 thousands of students marched into the square to demand that they soviets withdraw there security and restrictions.  All the citizens of the city rattled there keys out there windows symbolizing that they wanted to be let out, and wanted an end to the repression.  The police severely beat a large number of the students, but where eventually ran out.  This was officially the end of communism in Czechoslovakia.  It is known as the "velvet revolution", because despite the violence, no one lost there life. I suppose I say a lot of the city.  It is very small, especially considering it is a capital city.  There a gran opera halls,ornate architecture,  saw the house Einstein lived in when he had developed his theory of relativity.  A lot of stuff.  Hot stuffy crowded.  Erase all the people and it is a gorgeous place.  The high number of tourists does make for a very lively city at night, however, as opposed to a lot of places I've been, where it is silent, other than the club or bar districts.
         I suppose I could mention a little about the train. In Germany they were pretty nice.  Set up like a table and both.  You usually share with one other person on the other side.  Leaving Berlin and going I to eastern Europe, they aren't so nice.  They are like the six chair rooms in Harry potter, except you don't meet any Ron wisely s.  All foreign strangers.  Sometimes they're nice, some times they just stare.  There are a few stops in between major cities so at times it clears out, or you get a new batch.  The toilets don't flush, or at least they don't work, and no water comes out of the sink.  It's pretty hot where I am now, so a bit stuffy.  All good though.  Gets you point A to point B.  All that matters. And it's awesome to just flash a pass whenever the ticket checker comes around and just show up to the train station and find the platform.  Not have to wait for tickets or anything.  I'm pretty sure I was walking on a curb in the highway to get to the train station in Prague.  Beautiful, but outside the center,  there isn't the best urban planning.  Public transport is spectacular though.  There is tram and underground in nearly every major city.  There is no way that you can't get somewhere pretty easily.
     Alright of to Budapest.  I've heard good things.  Cheaper, far less people,  friendlier residents, most of whom speak English,  and still very pretty.I'm disappointed that I hadn't planned ahead for Poland, but I had to get out of Prague,and  there's still a chance.  Like I said, I'm going to be on the move, but I will at least email.  Probably no time to chat this week, if I even get the internet in the places I'm staying.  Im excited to be staying with some young locals places, to get out of the crowd and have some more beyond tourist experiences.  I think thats important, and the whole point of traveling alone. Couch surfing is like being part of the wider global community haha. Alright.  Love you and talk to you soon.  Farewell.
     In Budapest.  Pretty excited for a little city and some more out door adventure.  I can't handle the crowds.  I managed to get through Slovakia with my Eurorail pass, the lady never came back to charge me for that part.  Think I'll take the around the border route to go back to Vienna though.  I honestly don't know how I managed.  
Sierra Rae

Berlin by day and Prague by night

So I'm on the train to Prague,or Praha as the Czechs call it.  Berlin was very cool, but definitely not aswarm and welcoming as most of the places I've been.  I suppse I knew that from the begining.  Even getting on the underground after the train, it was like everyone had dark gloomy expressions.  The minute you made eye contact they immediately look away, or if you hold it for a second and give a smile they stare harder haha.  Tourism isn't warmly welcomed to the city.  Once you are in the tourist center everything is comfortable, and all of those making there money off you are pleasant.  Fruezberg, the tour I did the first day however, you try to refrain from talki g out the camera.   When in Berlin do as the Berliners.  Just walk, don't smile, act rude and impatient, and you'll fit right in, as long as you don't open your mouth.  
    Thursdayi did the typical tourist thing.  Saw the main sights, like das museum, where Berlin s bowl is, and where hitler used to stand, and other politicians to give there speeches.  The Greek and roman pillar architecture was very cleverly added to a lot of the architecture of that time.  Placing themselves in the setting that those of the roman and Greek emperors of great empires would of.  While also, still resorting the the barbaric nature of those from which the Germans descend.  The book burning that accured at Hum bolt university, after firing all liberal, communist, and especially jewish staff, like Albert Einstein.  Books that were seen unsuitable to the Nazi party, that had by this point dominated Berlin, like those written by Karl Marx, who himself had studied there,  Einstein, because he was Jewish, and so many other,  were burned in the open squares of the campus ground.  The memorial to this is a large hole where a bomb had landed in the square.  They put empty book shelfs inside and covered it with plexiglas glass.  The presence of absence......uuwww.  The schools way of redeeming themselves from this is allowing any book vendor to set up free along the front sidewalk.  We off course got an elaborate explanation, which the hilarious little history dork tour guide explained to us.  She drew it all out in the sand.  I'll spare you.  Of course saw a remaining part of the Berlin wall.  Saw the gates of Berlin,  can't remember the name exactly.  Pretty picturesque buildings, many of which really hadn't served a purpose at the time they we're built.  Just germanys obsession with what other cities of Europe had.  Museum after museum, to finally fill these building haha.  The pope was in town.  Interesting protest rallies, with quite provocative and creative signs and statements.  We couldn't actually walk around the way that we would usually end the tour around this part of town because the street was lined with police and the gate from which the pope was to enter Berlin.  We saw the German memorial commemorating the murdered Jews of the Holocaust.  There were little plaquerts on the ground along the streets along the whole walk as well, that have the names of the Jewish people who had stood at these residence before being taken away to the death camps. Berlin had a population of over 160,000 Jewish people before the war and by the end I think it was something like only 6,000 had escaped with there lives.  The golden bricks with there date of birth and death and names on them, stick up a little higher than the other bricks.  This was an intentional design, so that you trip on them and look.  There is a lot of controversy about memorials and things that like within Germany and other parts of eastern Europe.  It is important to remember, but the concern is how this past will effect the up coming generation.  How much do you need to be reminded to not forget, but still get to move on?  A matter of atrician I suppose.  When the older generations of both perpetrators and victims are gone, and the decendents of them  are all that is  left to grapple with this dark past, the question may be answered a bit clearer.  Also, millions of Jewish people were killed in the holocaust, but countless other minority groups, reaching in the hundred thousands, were all prosecuted, and there seems to be a lack in acknowledgement for them.  There is however, a memorial for homosexuals persecuted in the holocaust, and the Roma people, or gypsys, but I did not see or hear about one for the black people taken to concentration camps and murdered by the nazis.
  The Jewish memorial was very abstract.  They weren't going for aesthetically pleasing I suppose, because I could that possibly represent something so horrible.  It is made up of random, almost coffin shaped cement blocks.  From the outside They are low and different Hieghts, some even missing.  As you move towards the center they get higher and higher and are all in rows luring over you.  To me it seemed like it represented the situation that occurred for the Jewish citizens of Europe.  From the outside things could still be seen, but there were abstractions from time to time in you way and as you move toward the middle you start to feel closed in, and filed.  The ground was all uneven, and there was no weaving.  Just around one block or down the row back to the outside.  It was designed to be left for personal interpretation.  After meeting back up with the group,  this was something you would not want to walk through with others,  the girl we were with explained what some of the things the architect himself thought about going into it's design, again leaving much for interpretation.   First the symmetry.  Everything is in straight rows, so you cannot get lost.  This is unlike the maze and trap the victims of the holocaust were in within the concentration camp.  Also from each point you stand in it you can see down a row, an evaluate the time it would take you to get out.  This was important to the design of what it represented,  because the Jews during the war could not determine how long they would be in the concentration camps.  They couldn't predict when the torture would be over, or if it ever would.  This was an important feature to the designer for those who came to walk around it, that they could know they could get out.  The interpretation I suppose depends on the person visiting and there experiences.  
      On a lighter note,  I got of the train in the middle of that.  Today it only took me two hours to find my hostel that was about a ten minute subway ride, on probably the simplest  subway line ever created.  Was completely clueless as to where I wS getting out though.  The streets again aren't labeled, and when you arrive in a new city you do not want to lose you last known point on the directions.  After you do finally venture of and orientate yourself you feel like a complete fool.  Notice how I did not refer to myself in the first person there.  Had to take 1000 Czech crowns out.  Didn't know what that meant at the ATM, but it sounded like a good number.  It was the second one down.  Things are suppose to be very inexpensive her, but it is next to impossible to tell when under a bottle of water it says 22 or a meal is 189 .  I'm pretty sure where I got take out though, I could determine it was a rip off, first because it sucked, and secondly, because I got my whole weekends worth of groceries for only 20 less.  Yea, ok then.  Convert to euro, then round to imaginarily money symbol of so e sort,  add 1000 and that's the price.  I'm just going to not buy anything here I've decided. 
       My hostel is very central, literally right on the water.  I have no I dea why it was the cheapest one I found.  It's quite, clean and a kitchen.  A neat old building.  All the buildings here are neat, and there is remarkably impressive architecture, a lot dating back to the golden medieval era.  The key is like the old skull keys for the door.  The hostel I walked into first because I couldn't find the place wS like a hostel gone night club, and absolutely packed.  I'm not feeling that in the least right now.  A lot of the younger groups of people I've come across so far, and I hate to sound this way, come off very obnoxious, and ignorant.  I had to go to another hostel, where they call a guy to come walk you to the one on the river, check you in, get paid, then they leave you to your own demise.  Alright, gorgeous old building,  right on the river,  six person room to myself, all the other rooms are full, so he says,  definitely haunted.  It's cool, if it is it's not dark creepy haunted. 
People drink beer in public everywhere here too. On the subway in Berlin people were just slugging away, and people here just post up in the part, or anywhere. The club scene here is suppose to be massive. A crew of like ten, had to not been a day over fourteen, boys kept me company along part of my walk politely offering me a swig from there orange two liter soda bottle, asking me with crossed eyes I'd I'd like to go to party with them. Hey girl, as they kept referring to me, come to club with us. Haha. I don't think they have a drinking age here. Also, hardly anyone from here speaks English,Making it even more difficult to find your way when you first arrive. Every time I feel helpless, or bad for myself, I just have to tell myself, don't even go there, you asked for it. Unless Czechs have to deal with English speaking people, like in hostel and such, they really don't speak any. Makes sense, but iwas so used to being the spoiled ignorant America haha.
   Strolling through Berlin in the morning, and walking down the river in Prague by night.   Cant really complain What a glorious Friday.
    Of to sleep a little earlier than I have been to get my sight seeing in.  Take care, and love you all.  Chou 

Kreuzberg or SO36

I am trying toke in as much as I can here, but the history is extremely complicated. A biker rode by the other day with a shirt saying, " Berlin, poor, but sexy". That described it perfectly. There is this sort of charm about the city. It attracts, what some would say are the outcastes of society, or those trying to escape reality. The city as explained by the guy on the tour yesterday, is basically artificial. This was no ordinary tour. There were only three others, and this guy was a crazy old drugie, who was extremely brilliant. We would stop for beers, and he refused a tip. It was more just hanging out and letting him go off on his rants about the city he was so passionate about, and the architecture, of which he is obssessed. He and his wife found themselves here when they were caravanning around Europe in there old rv. They came across an environmental check, and because of it's age, it would not pass. They were from great Britain originally. They found themselves lost in Berlin, and didn't want to leave. After two years of emersing themselves in the city scene had flown by they decided to set up actual residence. They set up a cafe, and it has become one of the most popular in town to there surprise. You would expect this story of a five year period to be coming from late twenty or thirty year old, but no...they are in there fifties. He just quite partying all night. His wife started to feel left out because she couldn't stay up all night anymore, so they started doing the after party scene at five or six in the morning, wake up fresh, eat breakfast, and go party the rest of the club night. Haha hilarious.
This city is very much comprised of trends. One cafe sets up, and another shuts down, every week he said. Where I was going with, an artificial city, is that the city practically generates no income for the country and is entirely subsidized practically by the government. For a population of3.5 million, which has actually gone down since the war, tourism, whichnis it's only market really, would not be able to sustain that aortic population. Tourism is also very conflicting with the city culture. Most the people that do have a steady income in the city, setup residence here because it is inexpensive, but them have clients elsewhere, are journalists for other places, or authors and artist. There is a German phrase I can't remember but basically it says something like, half the city serves the other half of the city coffee in the morning, and then everyone switches in the afternoon. There is practicallyno market here. It is an extremely confusing culture. It has the best scene in Europe, but very much underground. It is nothing like the other western European cities. There Re still empty spots in the city, slowly getting filled in, but you can set up a caravan,and some random tables and have a bar. It is so neat. You used to be able to ride your bike through all of the buildings around some areas. It is slowly deve,oping, but to the dismay of many residence. Everyone here bikes as well. They are everywhere, old retro bikes with headlights. There is quite a division here, and many of the people of the city oppose gentrification, and development. Here is a bit of that history so it makes sense, and I pro ably won't do it much justice.
After the wall came down many of people who had come to the western part of Germany to escape oppression, or just found themselves on this side when the conflict began, such as Turks, Slavs, and many other eastern European nationalities were then stuck here. As borders between other countries were established, they could not just move freely to other parts of western Germany, and many of them had been settled in Germany for a very long time and it was home now. It created quite a nationality identity crisis. These people's origins could not be traced, so they could not get a passport. In Germany citizenship goes by nationality, and not by were you are born. So over the decades there have been generations of Turks and other nationalities, who have never been to Turkey, can't get thereto establish a nationally and get a passport and have no way of becoming German citizens. This area of the town we were in, is made up of a great deal of these peple. Due to not being a citizen, or filing for rights as an immigrant, they are unable to get jobs, or work under the table with no benefits. The buildings around this area had once been upper middle class residence, but because the wall was erected right near this part of town, many of the residence left, landlords were losing money, so left properties unattended and abandoned. Many of the property owners in this part of town had also been Jewish, and had all been killed in the Halocaust, and if they had not, never returned to this part of Germany again. So after the war, this became a squatter residence. People would set up residence here, like the poor, the refugees from other countries and so on. It became a place that attracted many anarchists, and leftist. It became the place of anarchy and organized rioting as time went on and the city began to develop. The squares became organized, and many of the ring leaders of a certain squat actually gained ownership during the seventies and eighties, and after the wall had come down there was a huge last afford to pour money into this sinking city for renovation, and to excelerate it into the rest of the western world, mostly funded by the U.S. These square still exist, and unless you were told, some of them you would wander up to and think were quite lovely with pubs and caves set up. So e even have there own schools. The anarchy still thrives, and riots still occur. Somewhat out of tradition even. When a public pool was being opened, many of the people came to protest. Jim Hutson, the guy taking us on his tour, had told us a story about a friend he had who was a doctor, and had told him the story of everyone coming and throwing paint against the walls, and he asked why would you protest a community pool. His response wS, "it's kruezberg, that's what you do, you protest." This rational is understood only by the people from here I believe. The spray painting that covers literally every square foot of this city is just a part of the squatter culture, and has been accepted as such. The fire station is even graffitied. This was actually commissioned by the fire department. There are murals of flames, and Berlin burning behind butch firemen carrying scantily dressed woman out of the flames. It is unreal. The riots here are also quite organized. It happens the first of may every year. There is a huge street parade during the day. The shop keepers have to decide between making money and protecting there properties. It is quite a scene as described by Jim. The shops and bars board up there buildings, then set up stands outside with beer and food holding baseball bats. Once the parade clears out the rooters line up on the eastern end of Georenstrausse, I believe I can't really remember specifically, but the main steer through the town, and the riot police assemble on the other. The riot police are pretty much thugs themselves who are quite jacked up and actually serve no other purpose in keeping law and order. The rooters throw bricks, paint and smash anything in sight. Blow up cars, and the riot police meet them in the middle where it is a full out brawl. Hugely violent, yet strangely organized. A place unlike any other without andoubt. This tour is actually never held, so the guy was just really stoked to be sharing it, and hanging out with the handful of us. All of the best might clubs are in this area, although I think I'll be sitting out that scene, unless I were to meet a born and raised Berliner in the next day. Even the bar SO36, which the area is also known as, is raided lured and destroyed, and the money gained by the looters, is used to reopen it and reclaim it from the group of thugs that had owned it before. It has just recently shut down, but who knows for how long.
The synogogue in the area, or what still remains of it is quite often attacked, but by the right wing extremist groups. The mosque has only been damaged just because it is along the streets of the riots and they were setting fire to the shop below it. The Islam practiced amongst the Turks is similar to the Israeli Islam, in that is very lax, and peaceful, so the only attacks that Easter Germany has had to deal with is from other extremist Muslim groups.
The parks in these areas are amazing. They are set up like little festivals every weekend, with seemly no organization. The pop culture is fascinating here. The peple attracted to this city are attracted to the anarchy, and lawless free culture in a way I guess.

I am going to see if I can rent a bike for half the day to see all the other districts. Each little district here is like it's own little city. For this afternoon though I think I am going to do a quick walking tour to just the main central attractions, to see them quickly and get a brief history. I may just do everything by foot too. It would take me a few hours, but easier to look at the map and figure out where I'm going without being on a bike. They are also branded rental, and you kind of want to be discreet as a tourist here. Berlin, poor, but sexy.
Talk to you all soon

Berlin

Finally escaped the chaos. You could get lost in Munich on a bender like Oktoberfest. I think I might of ended Sunday with saying that night we were going to take it easy and just soak in the atmosphere. The latter of the two we did, take it easy however was not the case. We had been so fortunate this weekend with getting a table, which apparently is suppose to be next to impossible. The table we managed to seize was that of a random group from all over, who had been drinking since nine and by seven when we got there were wandering around in a stopper. We got a beer and food, which is very difficult to eat with people jumping around on the table and benches. It almost becomes taboo to walk anywhere thru the hallways, as everyone runs across the benches and tables. By liter two of beer, we were all up on the tables with everyone, and out spot was right in the middle in front of the stage. The bands are hilarious. Between every song they chug half a beer, lose there own place in a song and dance. It is really the most jolly atmosphere I've ever seen. I was so disappointed I didn't have my dirndl on the second day. You honestly feel out of place in street clothes amongst all the lesser hosin wearing men, and dirndl wearing woman. We closed down the tent, and wandered like fools through the festival grounds with the rest of the masses.
The next morning checking out and packing by ten was difficult. I had laundry strewn throughout all the washers and driers, irresponsibly getting distracted with the festivities. Lucky for me Lian was leaving her stuff with Zachary and Jules friend Yuki who they were staying with, so I could enjoy a few more hours, and get use out of my dirndl. I am proud to say I had good farm raised German chicken, pretty much as my only meal one for the three day. I missed the last train out for Berlin, the six hours would have been brutal. I just had to get out, because all of the hostels were packed and Munich is so expensive, so I found a train going half way to Jena, ori ounces kind of like yena. Yuki said that it was a very neat little town. I was unaware though that it was much smaller and quant, so arriving at 11 made it a little difficult to find out where anything was.
So fortunately for me I heard some people speaking English coming out of a pub bellow a hotel, that there would have been no way I could afford. The one guy Pete, came to my assistance. He was trying to escape his colleagues boring conversation anyways. He had traveled a lot, and found it necessary to help a fellow traveler in need haha. He was German, but spoke English very well. He was studying for his PH.D at the university there. He used his phone to find a hostel, which he pretty much nowhere all closed. He found a 24 hour number for me, and soled the owner who was asleep, and convinced him that I was alone and needed a place to sleep. The owner said the place is left unlocked, it is a very small safe city I got the impression of. To just walk in, find a bed, and pay in the morning. Pete new where it was, so walked me there, and crept around with me until I found a place to sleep. He is on couch surfers, and suggested could go back to his place if there was nothing available, but his girlfriend would probably prefer it if he found me a hostel haha. On the walk there he gave me a background on the little city. It is mostly a university town. It is the youngest city by population in Germany. School was just starting the next wek so it was still a bit of a ghost town. 25,000 of the90,000 residents are students. I feel like I have been following the college opening week everywhereive been so far. In cork my roomier were looking for flats before school started. In Galway Antonia was staying at the hostel waiting to start teChing the following week. In Scotland I was there the , freshis week I think they call it. The first weekend back, so the city was nuts at night. Then at the hostel I snuck in at Jena was all students waiting for school.
Explaining to the two old German ladies in the morning that I had actually snuckintothe hostel, with permission, and found a bed was quite hilarious. They were so sweet, but it took a lot of sign language and physically walking them through my approach to the situation the night before, to finally get them to understand I was just trying to pay. Pretty much slept showered, walked thru town and camped out at a cafe, where I was joined by a kid, Kyle who had recognized me from the hostel. It was his first year starting school after traveling with a band. He was very laid back, obviously, being that he hid out at the cafe with me why the two other people he wanted to live with were left to scramble around town to urgently find. Flat before they all filled up. It was an interesting conversation. He had an offer to join something like a frat or a brotherhood, which was mDe up of lawyers. This threw him off because first he confessed, like I couldn't already tell, that he was not a manly man. Then he said they are probably fascist or nazis. That is actually still kind of a problem or division here I realized. More now of a nationalistic pride thing, with a bit of discriminating undertones but I still hadn't realized that. Sorry, I'm going to say it, probably similar to many republicans mindsets really, not actually like hitler's regime. Most of the younger generation has moved away from that, I gathered from Kyle, and aRe much more liberal.
You definitely get that feel in Berlin. Which i eventually fot a train to, then wandered on the subways and steeets for two hours, to find my hostel. It is very hip and cool. The ciruc hostel. The streets are litered with grafiti, which has seemed to just trNsformed into street art and been accepted as the city motif. Even the old brick buildings and elegant wooden doors are spray painted. There are neat retro posters and advertisements everywhere. Even the bike racks are retro. It is very very cool. The galleries all have the neat abstract retro art. This is tim's dream city is all I could think of as I walked around the central neighborhood I'm staying in. the cages ar so cheap, and everyone is dressed so grungy, and shique at the same time. Such a neat feel, very abstract.
A few things I just thought of and need to randomly note: the toilet paper so farin German has been stunning haha. They are all these different colors with themes and pictures on them. Like ocean blue with printed sunshines and birds. Mi saw a neat one yesterday too. Random.
Also need to note the comfortableness with public nudity. It is amazing. I love how it is so much less conservative. The park in Munich has nude sun bathing. Professionals just go on there lunch breaks and time off, fold up there clothes and hang out in the sun for a few hours.
The condom machines, this one is just strange, have sex toys, but the strangest are inflatable farm animals. I let you use your imagination, as to what they are used for...
I am going on a free walking tour this afternoon, to figure out more of my way around, and the history. The people at the hostel are all very cool and helpful. They go out of there way to let you know what to see and do. I would really like to find a live show for the weekend. All the neat posters, and funky live shows they advertise around town definitely sell it. You can tell that live music, the retro art and design is very much the dominating popular culture.
Well hopefully I will see something here for Tim. I've seen some neat stuff he'd like already but a little too fragile. I have two more nights in Berlin, then of to Prague. I really have no idea actually though. Too much to do and too little time. It's hard to stay out all day and night taking everything in, and planning for the next thing at the same time. Just looking at the map, picking the next cool looking city, and showing up has worked out pretty marvelous for me so far though. I guess that's what backpackings about anyways. Take in and experience all you can. Love you guys. I'm trying not to get lost in my own whirlwind, but it is just too thrilling and exciting.....ah.
Bye-bye

Oktoberfest 0'11

When I first got to much I was a bit regretful to have come to Oktoberfest by myself. That lasted all of twenty minutes. It is such a small world. The girl from Edinburgh that had checked me I to my highland tour arrived to my room with her three friends. Also, a girl Lean was staying alone as well. Her friends are here staying with her two friends from here. We collected a big group and headed out to the beer garden. There is so much food and huge beers everywhere. It's awesome, and everyone is dressed up so festive. My bag got lost at the airport, so I got convinced since I didn't have any clothes anyways, to get a dirndl like all the other girls. Very cool, and flattering. Apron over your beer belly, sucks in you waste and pushes up the boobs. I looked so bed Arian with my dress and pig tails for the opening day of Oktoberfest Saturday. Lean and I hit it off straight away. She went to school for history and culture and went to grad school for cultural heritage. Gave me some ideas about what I may want to go back to school for. She work with a lot of volunteer and fundraising organizations. Also, she is going to get me the contacts for a job she had giving lectures on cruise ships about the history of the places people were going to visit. It sounds amazing, and would be perfect for me if I could pull it off. Get paid to travel and work on a ship. You get to write your own lectures, and you include you own historical research. Something to think about. Your contract is only for three or four months, so I could get some good experience with lecturing and travel a bit, before seeing what else I might want to do. Sell my boat and full time travel, and move around....especially since the ala wai is filled with twats...Grrr.
We stayed out until far to late. In the morning our atuff was strewn throughout the hostel. Her shoes at the desk, my scarf randomly tied to the banister. Quite entertaining, and my bag came! We got dressed in our festival dirndls, caught the end of the parade, then huffed in with the masses for the opening of Oktoberfest. Quite a spectacle I must say. We met up with Lians friends; yuki, Japanese and German from Germany, his wife Natalie from australia, and Steven and Juliet, who are probably the most beautiful couple I've ever seen. Juliet grew up in hong kong but lives in London where she met the cheeky new zealander, that looks maori but actually had fled from Laos as a small boy, and now resides in London. They were so much fun. We got into a beer tent, by some stroke of luck and it was a beautiful day. Hot and sunny. We stayed there for a few hours none of us quite remembering the details of leaving after four huge steins of beer each. We do remember however, goingnon the most violent roller coaster ever invented. German engineering my ass. I still have bruises now the side of my legs, whip lash and a bruise from where we all cracked our heads together. Quite hilarious, especially that Eddie it again, in the pouring rain. What an amazing festival. Everyone is so friendly, and just trying to meet so many people. A beautiful thing really.
The mood today was quite diffent. I joined Liana, Steven and Juliet for a visit to Dachau. The only concentration camp, open all through the war. I think we lucked out with our guide, and he filled us in on a great deal of the history of the establishment of refugee camps. To long to go into details. It was very unsettling. It was cold, rainy and gloomy. Walking in past the barbwire fences through the front gate, you instantly got chills. The front barracks are still there bordering the massiveCourtyard where the prisoners would have lined up, heads down for roll call every morning. The desciption of there day to day existence was gruesome. Many of the images were very disturbing as well. It was extremely eerie walking thru the buildings and imagining all the horrific things that had occurred all around where I was standing. Dachau has one of the only fully intact crematoriums as well. These were outside the fences, out the back of the camp. I honestly can't describe how disturbing it was. I could bring myself to walk into certain place, where there were chambers that prisoners had been hung from there arms and beaten and torchured. I did step into the gas chamber, it was the only way to see it. Imagining the people that sat outside in the waiting room petrified of there unknown fate of either an actual shower, as they were told it was, or a painful death of being poisoned and suffocated. The physhi of these people must have been in torment. Out the back there was a path where prisoners would be walked thru to the execution range. It was extremely odd. In some ways the Forrest is emteemely beautiful and enchanting, with wild vines growing up the walls that in the past had been lined with people to be shot. It was like an evil enchanted Forrest or something. So odd. I wnt to the Jewish memorial, and walked by the mass grave where the ashes of those that had been killed were scattered. Six million people died at Dachau. Unfathomable really, and indescribable. I was glad I went, but it was very disturbing.
The temperature has dropped dramatically. I'm trying to get some sorted out and then leaving to meet up with everyone from yesterday to enjoy the lively environment one last time. May take it easy today though. Heading out tomorrow, at some point. May try to get a train ticket out at night and lock my bag at the train station to have another day at the festival. We will see. Take care, love you. I'll try to get in touch soon. Mom email me back! Byebye

Scotland- highlands, and Edinburgh. Waiting to leave Stansted, England to Munich

Alright, so I may not be able to go into as much detail about Scotland as I had hoped.  Internet in the u.k. And probably the rest of Europe will not be as convenient anymore, and quite expensive.  Two pounds an hour, which is over three dollars an hour.  Scotland is incredible.  I learned a lot about the history will all the tours that I did.  After a bus tour, the tour to the highlands, and a free walking tour I'm pretty sure I have all the famous stories of Edinburgh, the Scottish highlands, and the quick overview of Scottish resistance, and eventual unification of the united kingdoms, yes brought together under the Scottish king James, son of Mary of scots, cousin to the virgin queen Elizabeth, leaving no hierarchy, contrary to popular belief, pretty much memorized.  Not to mention the story, that I'm nerdily, if that's even a word, obsessed with, of Braveheart.  Actually somewhat historically accurate.  William Wallace was however, not a kilt wearing highlander, all though he rallied many highlanders to his cause, but he was a resistant Scotsman who was motivated by the murder of his wife by the English 
Sherrif of Lemerick.  He skinned him after he was killed and made a belt from his hide, which he wore in every battle to follow. The Sherrif was trying to teach William a lesson.  This Ended up leading to the persistent movement to eradicate the English from Scotland.  He rallied an army and marched from Abbey Creek to Sterling in September of 1296, where the river Forth " ran red with English Blood". His strategy was seizing one English stronghold or occupied castle at a time.  A price was put on his head however and his campaign would not last long.  He was betrayed, not by Robert LeBruce, Scotland's most renowned hero, but an Earl, which is the major upset amongst the Scottish with the movie.  William Wallace also would not have painted his face blue, as the farthest northern Pictish pre-Christians had done 400 years before William wall aces time.  After wall aces brutal execution LeBruce, who had before cooperated with the English, was moved and picked up where william left off. He is considered one of the most brilliant military strategists.  He ended up killing his competition to the thrown in a dispute in a church, so had to get crowned before the pope gained knowledge of this.  Once it was learned of however, he was excommunicated from the church making it very difficult to the lead the country.  He lived like an outlaw rallying those to his cause and eventually,  Defeating the English, now under Edward the second, Edward the first's pussy son, as portrayed in the  film, at the last battle at  sterling castle.  This story, historical factual story, is a source of extreme nationalism, and is truly awe inspiring.  Scotland is still an extremely nationalistic and proud country.  
      The highlands were remarkable.  I hope to one day, soon, come back to hike the 90 mile west highland way.  There are no trespassing laws in Scotland, under the right to go country code or something like that, so you can camp the entire distance.  It is one of the world most renowned natural wildernesses.  The rain, which rendered picture taking impossible, was the source of some of the most beautifully enchanting waterfalls I've ever seen,  they ran down the tall steep sloops of the highland mountains.  Truly a sight that one must see with there own eyes.  The trip all together was about thirteen hours, almost covering the entire country,  well worth it, and there was not one minute I was not in awe. We went all the way to Loch Ness, along the way passing four other major Lochs, which have actually been connected by a canal.  In the town before a boat trip I saw how they flood a section to raise the water lever then pull the boat along, dam it off again, raise the water level until you can take it up to the next loch, levis I believe.  I've never seen it before.  Brilliant enginering,  at least for me.  I had signed up to go out on a ferry to see the lake, which is massive!  You can fit every major body of water including every Lorre on the shelfs of drinking water, in Europe into Loch Ness.  The water is very clean, but there is this mineral called peite, idk how to spell it, which washes into the water, making it almost black.  As the ferry flooded with people, I heard the wild highland man with dreads,  sexy, advertising for a speed boat ride, like those military inflatable ones.  A French couple was on there honey moon and really wanted to do it so they needed one more.  No one was interested because of the rain, I was in.  I made a deal that if they could make it an hour instead of one and a half, so I could be back on time,  I would go so that they had enough people to take the boat.  Well worth it.  We could cruise right up to the coast, and cover almost the entire lake.  The northern western side, I believe, is ancient Forrest, completely preserved, because the terrain can only be accessed with rock climbing gear, asthere are slopes everywhere.  Little waterfalls ran down the bank, which made the black water look like bubbling cappuccino.  There were caves along the remote shore as well.  When taxes had been put in place by the king that overthrew James, they had placed a tax on whiskey, or the Gaelic ushgabe meaning water of life, it made it nearly impossible to drink.  Highlanders could use these caves like distilleries, supplying the highlanders, specifically the Macdonaugld clan with there water of life.  
   The highlander culture is extremely fascinating, and completely unique.  It is the longest existing tribal system in the world, lasting up until the mid 1700 s, and many highlanders still identify with their clan, even though it was outlawed by one of the lowlander kings that came after James.  The highlanders were considered jacobytes, which is Latin for his followers and supporters.  This resistance to the new rule of Scotland in the early to mid 1700s led to horrible persecution of the highlander tribes.  I don't have enough time or battery space to go into anymore detail, but it an extremely fascinating history.  Of all the ancient tradition I have always found the ancient Celtic tradition the most interesting, and mysterious.  Celtic history is also my favorite eurpean history, so I was thrilled to be in Scotland.  
   Once I returned to the hostel, Aleks, the girl from Poland had left me a note to meet her at 8 for a pub crawl.  Being that it was eight, I changed out of my soaked sweater and ran to meet her.  It was a lot of fun, and the first week for student coming back to Edinburgh university.  We stayed out until 5. I'm still recovering.  That night, I wish I could remember in more detail, she shared some of her family history.  She isn't Jewish but her step father I believe she said was, who is like her real father.  She had a set of grandparents who had actaully gone into the Forrest to hide from the nazis in Poland.  Her one grandfather had been imprisoned as well and chained with his hands up in chest high water for months on end.  Her grandmother sold all of her belongings and lived on the streets with her two small children, with the smallest hope that what she earned would win his freedom.  When he was finally released and found her, she burned his clothes and had to wash the worms and parasites that were living on him.  He never recovered his hearing from the infections and sickness and she had to learn a form of sign language to communicate wi him.  This family history was recorded in a. Photo album including pictures of her family, and written accounts from her grandmother, and passed down to Aleks.  I was a bit stunned and overwhelmed meeting someone that has personal experience with the impact of the war, which many Americans can much more easily cognitively remove themselves from, especially with the lack of knowledge we have on the subject limited to the brainwashing of the u.s. Carriculum.  She has had to keep having a German boyfriend, whom she met a Cambridge, a secret, because her stepfather is still very bitter about the persecution his relatives had received.  She said it is strange to think that so many people she is close friends with, had grandparents who would have been Nazis persecuting her distant relatives, but it is a new generation, and people her age just try to move past it.  I hadn't ever really taken that concept into consideration before.
   Well as if I couldn't get enough history, which I couldn't, I dragged myself out of bed for het another tour, this one a free walking tour,  around Edinburgh.  Where the stories of the city were yet again ingrained in my mind.  It was about three hours.  The stories of the great writers like Scottsdale and Robert louis Stevenson were told.  Also the story about Deaon Brodie, who by day was an outstanding citizen, and by night robbed the city vaults and people's homes.  He actually was the one hired to catch the thief, he was though of as such a good citizen.  The real life Jekyll and Hyde, which was put into fiction by Stevenson.  Edinburgh, actually had the world first skyscrapers.  The wall built to keep out the English was very successful but it also kept the Scottish in.  As the population increased over the hundreds of years, the city built upward.  There was no Plumbing or sanitation.  People threw their waste out the window.  This is where the term shit-faced actually originated.  Charming I know.  When the drunkens scots were to intoxicated at night to yell back for those yelling out the window Gaude Lou, French for watch out for the water,  they would look up and literally get a face full of shit.  On the tour we went to the graveyard which was overlooked by j.r.Rowling, from the elephant room where they let her sit in the window to write her books, because she couldn't afford heat and her fingers were too cold to write in her home.  On the tomb stones you can find her ideas for names.  Also it over looks the private school that someone named goerge something, had built for the homeless boys of endinburgh, which still takes in fatherless children and educates them for free, and Edinburgh castle.  If you take the dickons, maybe idk, school and put it onto of endinburgh castle, which sit on a high volcanic rock overlooking the whole city, it looks exactly like hogwarts.  Rounded four towers and all.  There are so many stories and too little time.  Edinburgh takes pride in it's cities stories and you can find the names of it's characters littered throughout, as the name of pubs, shops and hostels, brodies backpackers, where I stayed for example, on the royal mile.  Which the mile between the new palace and Edinburgh castle.  The Scottish are very simple when it comes to naming things.  I doubt another city will top Edinburgh for me, but we will see.  
     I flew to stagnated today where I was goi g to take the bus I to London to sight see, then come back because I. Have alight at seven.  I took a nap and decided to relax instead.  I will take the tunnel back from France the last day of my eurorail. Get a hostel in London for a night, just one because, as the English say, it is bloody expensive.  Sight see, go to stone henge, then go meet up with Aleks for a weekend at Cambridge.  Munich tomorrow.  We' ll see how I fare in a country, were English is not the language.  I've already got in contact with Magdalena from my first night in Cork, so hopefully she can show me the ropes.  Off to find my bench for the night.  Take care. Love you all...and goodnight.

Edinburgh, Scotland

I can see now why the German boys I had met briefly in Galway said it was their favorite European city. It is enchanting. Edinburgh Castle looms over the city from a high mountain. All the buildings are beautifully decorated, and of older architecture. They are also suprisingly big. In the cities early history, many people who would travel here would think that they were in a large East Coast city. I left Dublin this morning, and the flight was relatively quick and painless. Right of the bus I hopped onto a city tour, because it was already close to four, and I reloads it was larger than the cities I have been to so far. I thought this would show me the hotspots quick, being that the weather was a little rainy and very windy upon arrival, and maybe I'd pass by and see where my hostel was. No such luck, but it was nice having the min attractions pointed out, and the brief history lesson. I found the direction, generally, that my hostel might be in and set off. I had my pack with me the whole time and was ready to lighten the load.
While on my walk I found a Scottland highland tour office, so fortunately I made my reservation, because they only had one seat for the next two days, and they pointed out my hostel. It was in a thin little corridor so I don't know if I would have found it. Brodie's backpackers. No Internet, and pretty basic...just a bed. Right across the street from parliament and right near the castle, also close to main street, Royal mile, the bus stop and across the street from my early morning tour, so cant complain. Royal mile is a really neat street, all cobblestone, and underground entrances to the castle. Where I am at is considered old town, and the other side of Edinburgh is a bit more modern. I will have to reference my notes from my tour, where I happily sat outside in the rain for the better view, to share some fun facts later.
There is a really cool Polish girl in my hostel, and we have found Internet together, and will probably go for and drink and food. She travels a lot, but is settled down for one more yer to graduate Cambridge. She just returned from southeast Asia, where she travelled for the summer. She loves meeting new people, so she was thrilled that someone sociable checked in. She also knows someone living here, near the university, so when I am back from my tour tomorrow, we my have a night out on the town. We both leave Wednesday, but she told me I should visit in Cambridge in november, I will definitely take her up, and maybe we could take a trip down to London. She also has a lot of connections from traveling around Europe, and a number of friends on couch surfers, so she may be able to help me with some alternative accommodations to hostels. I'm thrilled to be going to the highlands tomorrow, and am doing the nine hour trip, which will take me all the way to loch ness, and a lot of other beautiful scenic spots.
Internet is inconvenient here, but if I am out on the town, and have access I will try to get in contact. Love you guys. Farewell

Dublin

Captain's log: day...who even knows. Going into this one with my last buzz from Irelans. Had to have a few Guiness at temple bar. I don't tend to right after drinking, but then again I don't tend to drink alone, and yet again agin are you really alone in a bar with loads of people, even if they don't speak English, to engage in random and pointless conversation... I say nay.
Dublin is a very neat city, and far bigger than all the others I've been too. I missed the tour to the ancient Celtic sight Newgrange this morning. There wAs no way that, for lack of a better word, I was going to get Ny sleep with the fuckers, excuse my language mother, that were up until the crack of dawn in my room and the guy that I thought was having an asthma attack in his sleep henwas snoring so loud. Was wondering when mynfirst rediculous hostsel, or hostile hostel haha, experience was going to come about. I called it quotes when the ouley wouldn't work to charge my iPod, and had to go get a key for another room. The obnoxious American girls and two obnoxious Australian boy's Blau faintly ignorant and mindless conversation and battle over whose country was better pushed me over the edge, and some stole my towel, ew, but stiLl that shit was like 16 euro, light weight, for that price it should have been cougar fur.
I spent my morning finding the other guy who gave up on sleeping in that room before I even went in, to retrieve it. Hotel staff got it for me. I was about to make wanted posters. Spent my whole afternoon exploring Dublin and successfully thing in those five to six hours found every nook and crany.
My last few days before Dublin were good fun. I walked Ucc, the college in Cork, the first might back. It was gorgeous, I think it just got upgraded to a five star campus. It was like a mini hogwarts. The next day, after sleeping of myna
L nighter i visited blarney. The castle was neat, but exploring the grounds for the three hours after closing with no one around was the most spectacular. They kept the grounds astonishingly groomed. It was like a fairy tail. I roamed in the Forrest trails, and off the Forrest trails. There was a fern garden, where the ferns were like trees, it looked tropical, and kind of like a game board from super Mario bros. There were gardens and a river walk, rabbits bulging out every ten minutes and hills of green and cows grazing.
The minute I hit the the streets this afternoon I ran I to Simons and the other Italian boy from Galway. I heard them yell out my name right when I was getting my bearings. It was good seeing a friendly face. They are very delightful sweet boy, and for some strange reason find me quite fascinating haha. I joined them for fish n chips. It was like they read my mind because this was exactly what in was wandering to find to start my day. They had a place suggested to them. They treated me to lunch, against my will. What gentlemen, then sent me on my way. I will surely contact them while visiting Naples.
I saw the university, the cathedrals, old Viking town, st.
tricks cathedral, Dublin castle, and all the random districts. Temple bar, which is a street, and area, as well as the popular bar, is a neat area for the night time, with late night pubs and cobble stone streets.
I really can't think of much else to share so....recap on Ireland:
Moro bars are the most spectacular cheap chocolate bar ever one Ted: they're from cadbury, which I noticed is the leading cheap candy in shops and gas stations.
Pikey's, for those who are unfamiliar with this, the u.k. Gypsys, really are a nuisance.
I saw a midget dressed up like a leprecon today.
I can't even go intomthe lingo, but no I cannot understand half the time when a group Irish are speKing quickly to one another.
The Craic is the fun.
Guiness tastes no different, however, the other beers like, the original budwieser, hieneken and much more, aren't dampened and chemicaled down to hardly any percent alcohol, and don't taste like shit.
Irish men propose on a first glance
Sprise...it rains alot
Plumbing hardly works
Shocker...they stop serving beer, if you are buying it to party locally and not at the pubs, by ten.
A load of people surf
With the new generation, very few are practicing Catholics
there are vegetarian options everywhere. While right next to them helpings of meat, layered on top of meat, on a meat patty topped with meat pudding are the number one sold dishes.
The stereotype of Irish folks being amongst the friendliest and most considerate in Europe has rung true for me.
When it came to leaving my new friends in Cork I choked back tears. Leaving Ireland is not a pleasant thought.
What a remarkable place in this world. Farewell, Ireland. Hopefully come through again soon.
Off to Scotland...which I'm sure is beaming with history, not to mention the home of my historical heroes, William Wallace and Robert LeBruce. beginning my journey in Ireland, and then to Scotland, makes me not the least bit disappointed in having to skip over England.
Love you all,
Sierra

Back in Cork

It feel nice being back somewhere I am familiar with.  I getting very comfortable in Ireland.  I recognize, and am recognized by people around town from the shops and the hostel.  Makes for a smooth transition into travel mood.  My food from the market is still here which is also nice! I think they knew I was coming back so they didn't ditch it.  Nothing to exciting planned for the night.  May go down later to hang out in the Bru.  I plan on taking the bus to Blarney castle at some point tomorrow.  I got distracted from a visit there the last time I was in town.  There is this nice Estonian girl I may come back to the hostel to get tomorrow after I check out to come along.  She was shocked that I knew about Estonia.  It is a small country with a population of about one million.  They have they great custom, however, I doing work travel.  The young people quit often will anually go to work somewhere else until there work visa runs up, then return home and move onto somewhere else.  This is how I know of the place.  In both of the restaurants I worked at in Hawaii and the Kandoo boat thing there were two people from Estonia traveling together.  Mostly Beautiful blondes, much like Iceland.  Off now to seek out the famous Macallean (I think?)  hot chocolate shop, since there is no need to buy food.  Peace and love
your little homie,
   Sierra Rae

Aron Islands

Like stepping into another time. The Aron islands were one a part of the Burren, which is the haunting and remote western coast of Ireland. There are three islands; inis Mor, inis meain, and inis oirr. The residents that dwell here, all 800 or so, retain the only living Celtic culture. They speak primarily Irish, but most know English as well. They are famous for there had knit wool Aran sweaters. The origins of these sweaters lay within the family lineages of the islands. They initially were knit by the woman, each family having there own unique stitch. Those who still knit these sweaters, keep with the tradition and stitch of there own family, making each shop that has them unique in there own way. The largest, containing the most ancient sites is inis Mor. This is where I, thankfully stumbled out of bed despite sans alarm clock, to head off to today. Can't forget about first indulging in the stupedious complimentary breakfast of cornflakes or toast. This has got to be the universal hostel breakfast, in caparison to continental breakfast just discusting. Hey I'm not complaining. Packed my eighth peanut butter and jelly of the week and off I go.
The bustier from Galway takes about an hour and the ferry ride is about forty five minutes. ThE seas we crossed were billowing with waves. They actually seemed quite intimidating. I kept thinking as I got closer and closer to the coSt and could view the break, that this would be a very interesting, let alone extremely remote, place to go on a surf trip. Sure enough as I got off the fairy I walked past another ferry unloading kite boards for a couple of backpackers. There is actually one hotel on the island. The island is relatively small, about nine miles around to the major sites, and all very a cesible by bike. I decide to rent a bike for the day. Just as I thought, finally alone on this trip I've been trying to take alone, a sweet little lady rides next to me while I'm starting of. I couldn't refuse. She was from Venzuela. Her English is pretty good for conversation, but she said she has a hard time understanding the maps and getting directions. We set of. She turned out to be a wonderful traveling companion.
The lanscape of this island was unreal. The land and field were brides out and separated by extensive rock fences. All still maintained by the communities of farmers. The houses are very old tradition, some evn having thatched roofs. It is a bit windy, and I am assuming it rains a lot. It only sprinkled briefly a couple times while I was visiting however, I also was suprised to find out from one of the ladies at the shop, Victoria from Venezuela has a charming way abPout her of engaging with anyone she is interested in all of five foot and a really eccentric and excitable landy, that you can harvest year round. An extremely self sustainable island. Blackberry bushes grow all along the rock fences and wild flowers are strewn all throughout the green fields. It is hard to go far without stopping to take in the diverse and unique landscape. Not to mention the numerous ruins of old Celtic forts, early Christian churches beehives and small monastery ruins, from first century Christians to Ireland. The most famous being teampall bheanain, the worlds smallest church, and teampall mhic dhuach. The most famous feature of the island is the hill fort Dun Aonghas, the most spectacular semi circle Celtic stone fort. Going to this excavated site alone would have made the trip worth it. After stopping in the one other little, two shop one cafe town on Opposite side of the island from where our ferry dropped us off, we heading that way. Not without first collecting an Aran hand knit wool sweater for Zoie. And yes, I will kill you megan if you ever get rid of it.
You have to park your bike before gaining access into the site, and then walk up the stone pathway to it. More breathtaking than the fort itself I can easily say, is the famous cliffs, that had once been a part of the long stretch of sea cliffs expanding down much of the wester coast of Ireland. ( still working on those pictures, along with more than four or five hours of sleep a day.) it was ripping wind from time to time and rain showers danced across the expansive Atlantic. You could walk right up to the edges, it was a bit eery. Breathtaking. The sun broke thru and the ocean turned baby blue in the spots hitting the bottom of the, had to of been, hundred or more foot, cliffs. Victoria and I yelled and jumped with excitement. For all the people who got off the ferry we didn't cross paths with more than one or two people at any point. I also don't think many of the other passengers wanted to take on the wind and chance of rain. Victoria and I were determined. In her adorable Spanish accent she said, " I could see nothing more and go home happy". And just kept repeating I am so happy.
I have found that on my trip so far I have warmed up to the older woman I meet, much more so than any of the other travelers. Even the multitude of young travelers, all about my age, seemed shocked that I could do such a thing and not be lonely. Many of them have assumed I am much older until they finally approach ,e about my age. It is funny too, because despite that fact that none of them have been more than a year younger than I am, I see them all as very young. I have been fortunate in that all of them are very sweet. The two Italian kids, 22 year olds I should say ivied me to stay with them in Naples Italy, or at the very least allow them to show me the town for the day. The same with the Spanish and German visitors. As much as I try to go off on my own I feel like I cannot escape friendly faces. I shouldn't complain about this by any means. The two Italian boys flattered me by sharing with me, " that there is something we must tell you, in all of our travels we have never seen such a beautiful woman as brave as you.". It took a lt for them to spit it out.
I suppose my attraction to the woman that I have met, is that most of the ones I have designated time for, inspire me. Victoria and Noel among them were both strong spirited women. It is wonderful to take pieces of people I meet and who I admire. From those I have met in life, and and fortunate to still come across, it is like I aspire to be like that one day. This must be a reason for attraction to and gravitation towards these sort of woman on my travels, I can't say there have been many instances in my life where I have met a man and said, "I would really like to be like that some day." Victoria and I also have the same birthday we found out, making us both rambunctious leos.
After our over stimulating visit to the ancient Celtic site we hustled back to the main town to catch the fairy. We took the inland road, which had even more spectacular sights and ocean views that stretched our over the maze of hundreds of stone fences. Structures of long Histories and of the ancient past fill the landscape. It was a stunning adventure.
After returning Victoria and I walked around town to find a good, and affordable place to eat. We stumbled across a great Italian run pizza and pasta parlor. I had pizza with potato and onion, strange but it looked and tasted delicious. I feel like I'm carb loading, between the pbj's, starch bar breakfast and beer almost every night, but nothing has preservatives and I walk so much I think it makes no difference. Fruits and vegetables are easy to grab on the go as well, and I always have some stashed away on me. Victoria and I chatted for a long time, until I had to help her find her way back to her hostel. Due to her thrill and excitement it is hard to keep her attention. She managed to have the band that had just assemble in the street play a song for me, and almost had them pack back up, ready to go out to the pub. Free spirited nature isn't in short supply here. It is such a remarkable way to see people love there day to day life's that way, an unrestricted by the miniscule stresses of life.
When I finlly got viotoria back to her hostel, she wrote down her name, email, phone number, oh wait there's more, and address so if the other venues don't seem to be adequate enough, I can just show up in Venezuela, and the door is open. She does a lot of hiking and camping alone in the mountains and loves to travel. She has two children my age, a son and daughter. She wanted to look after me I think. She was adorable. Interesting suggestions on camping gear which tied in with my interests of Scottish history. She had come from Edinburgh, which is my stop after Dublin. She informed me that she found out, while there, that there is no privately owned property in Scott and, outside the cities. Many people live in tents in the hills and mountains, like a part of the culture. You literally can gypsy around the highlands. Without adequate gear however this would be suicide. I am sure there were far more points of interest. All packed up and finally reorganized from my scramble around this far. Check out by 10:30 , then lock my bags to take one last walk around Galway before catching the bus back to Cork at half eleven, as they say 11:30 here. Take care and goodnight.
- love, Sierra

Wandering in the famous rain of Galway

I set out today to learn every corner of Galway. It began to storm a couple hours in, but that is expected here. I didn't give up. It is a really neat little city with rivers and harbors around the outskirts. The streets are labeled a little bit better here thatn they had been in cork. I found a really neat bead shop and got Tori some beads as a Sligo ere, with the expectation of some neat jewelry coming out of it my way. I may have gone a bit overboard. I also found aroma sweaters, which are beautiful local made wool sweater, pretty penny for one however. I think I also may have found the cross I want to get for grandma as well. The shops closed by the time I made it back four hours later. I found the Spanish arc. I walked off the beaten path as well along the river shore past the arc where old sail boats are washed up on to the rocky beach. Makes for a very neat picture. Found all the hotspots that were suggested to me aside from belle book and candle which is somewhere along an unmarked street My only break in my wanderings was for a hot bowl of clam chowder and brown bread.
I take back that nothing here is worth the money regarding food. A lot of pubs have some great soup and it is always served with homemade brown bread, and inexpensively priced. I got clam chowder and the clams in it were huge. The vegetable shops are great too. The stuff is straight out of the ground covered in dirt. I got a potato, zucchini, onion and broccoli for two euro, with enough to eat for breakfast tomorrow, or bring on my trip to the Aron islands.
The hostel provides breakfast. I like the feel of the city here. It is described by locals
and in most things I've read as a little bohemian town. There are alot of old buildings and
stone building, and of course little cathedrals nestled in alleyways and around some corners.
The city center can only be walked thru and some streets a cobblestone. There's Live music
in all the pubs at night and neT little shops and galleries. Quit charming. Now that I've
made my dinner and hung my clothes up to dry off to listen to some live music. The sunsets pretty late here still, just past 8 and I did not realize I was walking around until so late. Farewell...love you

Galway

Charming little city. It is famous for it's rain. The hostel I'm staying at is the Kinnley house. It is massive, with large lounge room almost like a cafeteria, and spacious 8 bed mixed dorms. All of my roommates are very sweet and jolly. They are from Spain and Germany again, but try their best tontalk to me. One amongst them all is the most lively. Antonio from Spain. He is a bit older and got a job teaching Spanish. He travels from place to place every year or a little bit less. He says, " I am not rich, but I am a gypsy and free spirit and my memories are worth more than anything I could buy." I have warmed up to him a lot. He is about 36 and has some great stories. We went to a pub that a friend in cork let me know about, Kelleys, this morning for breakfast. Our breakfast was a beer. We are both avoiding food out. I had bread and he had cheese he brought from home, which was excellent. The food here isn't that great here apart from some seafood, but all very expensive. This relieves me that he find things here expensive as well. He has assured me that my money will go much much further on mainland Europe, which is about a third of the price.
The city is easy to get around, and there is a nice scenic walk along the bridge. I will have to suck it up and layer up with raincoats and go soon. The rain is kind of nice to book the rest of my trip. Ive already counted out northern Ireland. Flights from Dublin to Scotland are much cheaper and quicker than a couple more days on the bus and the ferry. I've also scheduled my flight from Edinburgh to London a day before my flight from London to Germany. I'll walk the city but would rather save my funds. May take the tunnel back with the last day of my auroral to see Stonehenge and fly from London to new York for the cheapest. fare. Off to the Aran islands tomorrow for the cliffs, as well as the Neolithic and celtic sites. Take care.