And at the same time I am way excited to see my family and friends again. I really have missed you all, as well as Stillwater, Sussex County, New Jersey, and all the spots that I love to visit contained therein. I can't wait to drive my car, esp b/c it will be on the right (correct) side of the road.

Travel plans for tomorrow:
Take Piccadilly line to Heathrow airport
Get on Flight 111 Air India to JFK
Take AirTrain to NYC Subway
Take A train to Penn Station
Take Train to Dover
Get picked up by dad
Relax
family dinner
see friends?
sleeeeeeep

Wish me luck!

Homeward Bound remains copyright of the author Brainford, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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It was in a word: terrible.

Dirty, cluttered, lacking toilet paper, and tending to emit loud drum and bass music at night, i was glad i was only there one evening.

On the next day, i found the hostel that luke and i would be staying in for the next three nights, then went out to ambush luke which i did at the local tube station. we made a deal: he wouldn't succumb to jet lag if i agreed to go to the london dungeon, which was a very disney-fied haunted house that told all the stories of scary london, ie. the plague years, torture in london tower, jack the ripper, and my favorite (and kyle's sweeney todd. (btw fleet street is actually a really nice place for food, nothing like the den of murder and terror that it used to be)

Today we woke up early and went to the Tower bridge, which luke fell in love with, and The Tower of London, where we spent almost 5 hours and got our picture taken with a beefeater. Good times. Needless to say i am glad to have a friend with me to wander about the city and sightsee. Although i can no longer make mistakes (like mistakenly order 2 dishes of rice at and indian resturant) without being made fun of. Having a great time! See y'all soon.

-Brian

And introducing a very special guest contributor to the blog, the illustrious Luuuuuuuuke FRANK-liiiiiiin!

Okay so I only have about ten minutes so I'll make this quick. London so far in my less than 48 hours has been awesome. My flight was good though I did sit next to a chatty chelsea on the plane which meant I couldn't just sit and read and fall right asleep. She was a sweet old lady from England, but it was still somewhat annoying.

Anyway, so once I landed I figured out how to get on the train I needed to take to London and then arrived there around 10am UK time. I went to take the tube to the hostel, which was remarkably easy to navigate. This proved a good thing as since it was Sunday there were numerous lines down so I had to go a crazy roundabout way to get where I wanted.

As Brian mentioned, he snuck up on me at the tube station by our hostel. We checked in and then went around as he mentioned. Now he is making fun of me for loving the Tower Bridge, but the thing is so COOL. We do not have bridges like that and I don't know why he doesn't share my affection for it.

We have been wandering around the city a lot which has been great. To be honest, some of the best things we have found so far we have stumbled upon just by getting lost like the pub we ate at tonight and the fake Rockefellar center of London. Well, I have to wrap up this rambling message as our internet time is up. See you all soon.

London: Part Deux remains copyright of the author Brainford, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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So after an 11 hour train ride from nice, i arrived in barcelona and as soon as we got back to nicks hotel, we went out with hos coworkers for dinner, and just as a side note, you could def tell by our dress who the backpacker was and who the professionals were. We had a great meal and when it came time to pay, the bill went on the company credi card. needless to say i was grateful and more than a little surprised. The Vernon Township BOE certainly never paid for a 3 course dinner and wine. Maybe i could get used to this business model...

Barcelona could very well be the most beautiful city i have ever been in. It has a well-organized grid pattern for the streets, with multiple tree-lined boulevards crossing the city providing an amount of greenery that you don´t find in too many places. In addition to this, there are also 3 HUGE parks in the city, the most famous being the Guell Park, designed by the city´s famous architect, Antoni Gaudi. Gaudi´s work was inspired by both Christianty and nature, so that much of his work is shaped by his study of the complex and simple structures of nature.

He also designed many buildings in Barcelona, but his most extravagant work is the Sagrada Familia, a huge cathedral that is still under construction more than 120 years after it was first started. Nick and I both had the same reaction; absolute awe at the fine details and sybolism grafted onto stone of every shape and hue. I spent almost 2 hours there and barely felt the passage of time.

i wish i had written this better, but i am a little pressed for time so enjoy what is here. i know its lacking in detail and clarity, but check out the websites since pictures are worth a thousand words.

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1.) I got into Rome itself and called my hostel for a ride, only to find out that i needed to take ANOTHER train for 40 minutes to get to the hostel, which was in a suburb called Ostia. When i arrived there i could not help but think that this place is either a mental institution or based off a level from Goldeneye; tall white ceilings and long corridors seperated by a ton of unneccesary doors with a wide staircase with elevator in the middle. When the owner opened the door to my room, i was able to glimpse a couple youngish americans, a few bottles of wine (empty) and was assaulted by blaring MTV. The owner turned and said she could find another room for me, but this looked way to good to pass on. Turns out there were 5 minnesotans sharing the 6 person room, and they were all just a year younger than me. And 4 were girls We ended up hanging out the next day and went to...

2.) The Vatican Museum. It took us a good 10 minutes to follow the signs directing us to the entrance, but when the signs stopped, all we saw was an exit from the museum. a little confused, we asked a couple that was leaving where he entrance was and she pointed to the right. to two large bronze doors. that were quite definatly shut. It turns out that the las entrance to the museum is 12:20, and it being 3:00 at this point, you could say we were a little dissapointed.

3.) Fortunatly, John and I were staying an extra night and got to see the museum and the Sistine Chapel the next day, and we only had to wait in line for an hour. The museum was amazing, there were more statues, tapestries, gold leaf, frescoes and arble than i have ever seen before in one place. I made a joke about the Catholic church having more money than God, but john, being Roman Catholic, didn't really appreciate my humor. but seriously, when you see what all the collection money of thousands of peasants being used to pay for a very large peice of artistic cloth, you begin to realize why martin luther started the reformation. i'm sure that money could have been used in a much more useful manner.

4.) I also went to see the Collesum (little kids dream come true), Roman Forum (cluttered group of once great monuments), San Clemente (church built on top of a church built on top of mithriac temple, excavations in progress) and later spent a whole day in Pompeii which was just amazing. We're talking a full out roman city complete with 2000 year old frescoes that don't look a day over 500.

5.) and you might ask why i didn't stay in naples, which is a lot closer to pompeii than rome and would not have required a 3 hour train ride back and forth in one day. i'll tell you why.

-First of all, an Italian girl i was hanging out with in Berlin said that in naples you should keep all of your money in your pockets and keep your hands in your pockets.
-Second, Massimo, the guy i bought my jacket from, said that i should put money in my shoes and not to bring anything valuable out on the street with me.
-Third, and finally, i saw a front page article in the Herald Tribune that read "Violence is getting out of control, even for Naples." The article went on to discuss the rampant drug use and gang wars in Naples and the idea that italy might send in the military to control things. This was not so much a straw, but more like an anvil that broke the camel's back. I decided i liked my life and that Naples probably was not such a good place to be.

I have now returned to venice, and from here i will be going to Nice again, and then take a train to Barcelona where my good friend Nick will be staying for business during the day, and fun at night. It will be good to see a familiar face again.

5 Days in Roma remains copyright of the author Brainford, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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1.What is so wrong about eating gelato before dinner, and could i replace dinner with another gelato?

the answer is of vourse yes, as long as you have two different types of gelato.

2.Is is better to buy italian leather in italy or America? I am really hoping italy cuz i finally bought myself a sweet souvenir. and italian leather jacket. its espresso colored and i bought it from massimo, who was a pretty savy business man, but even he wilted under my stern bargaining. we started out with a jacket for 180 euro, which he assured me would be 300 euro in other stores, and 300 pounds in london. i moved him to another for 160, and because i drove a hard bargainm he dropped it to 150. sweet huh? AND i later went to a regular leather store, and i found a similiar jacket for...330 euro! i am a shopping champ. now i just gotta get it back home safe and sound. dont worry, i got him to specially wrap it as part of the deal

off to rome!

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the hostel was clean and had free internet, two of my big sticking points. i met a guy who just got out of the navy after 9 years and we went out for dinner and discussed teaching and politics and the war in iraq. since he had been in bagdad a few months ago i asked him about the current situation. he explained that this is prob the worst mess we have seen in many years and will end up being there for 10-20 years and as poor of a job as we are doing at keeping peace, if we weren,t there the country would be in absolute chaos.

later on the train to florence i read an article in the international tribune that explained that most if the government contracts given out to companies to rebuild iraq are expiring and that the companies (ahem, haliburton) havent actually completed much rebuilding, thanks in large part to security issues and a lack of criticism and prodding from those in power. and the us government has no plans to renew efforts at rebuilding. considering the country is only getting 6 hours a day of electricity, is it really a surprise that the insurgency is only getting stronger? is this even being talked about back home in the midst of elections that are coming up? has anyone put forth a plan to actually improve conditions in iraq so that our army can actually have a chance at coming home in the next 10 years?

sorry, this is supposed to be a travel blog and i really started this out as a story about nice, but its hard to avoid the news from home when it seems all bad.

Nice however really was nice. i ate cheese and french bread on the rocky beach the next day and then decided that 65 degrees air temp and similair water temp meant that i should go for a swim in the med sea. it was awesome. a saltier than the atlantic, but i floated around for awhile then basked in the bright sun for an hour. no vacation is complete without a little beach time.

Nice kinda\reminds me of the jersey shore, touristy, relaxed, but in the offseason the fading grandeur of the buildings and cheesiness of the shops becomes a little more evident. in other words it was perfect.

So much nicer in nice remains copyright of the author Brainford, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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anyway back to Paris. I mastered its metro systems, which i am very proud of since so many people said it was confusing. The Louvre was fantastic, i literally spent 2 hours in one half of one of the 4 floors. this is not so hard when you consider e"ach floor is the size of 2 football fields. saw notre dame that day as well and rounded off the evening with ice cream at the eiffel tower (which you can see in my pics)

the next day i walked the champs elyesse to the arch de triomphe which was another example of napolean having a napolean complex. just had to have the worlds largest triumphal arch didnt he? i also tried fitting in with the parisiens by getting a baguette and eating itin the jardin de tuiliers. lovely day.

the food was great aunt pam. crepes from street vendors have def topped doner kebab as my favorite fast food in europe.

i didnt get to versailles but may be able to on mly way back to london from italy later in my trip.

I did however go to a little village in Normandy near Mt St Michele where i stayed in a lovely little b and b style hostel run by an english couple. i stayed there 4 nights and in between sleeping in a room all to myself with clean towels and the possibility of instant coffee in my room if i felt so inclined; i was able to ride bikes to mt st michele(really neat old fashioned island but very touristy), take a bus to st malo (where they happened to be having a very famous bout race and i got to walk on the brach) and a train to Bayeux (where i went to a dday museum and saw the famous bayeux tapestry) great ti,e there thanks to steve and liz (owners). they even let me have a book i started to read while i was there.

now i am in bordeaux and the town seems ok, but my hostel kinda reminds me of the hotel that tom hanks stayed in in the movie BIG. lil scary. i'll be in nice in é days and then on to italy for 10 days, then back to london to meet up with luke, then after a week, home again home again, jiggity jig.

thank you to all who are commenting and sending emails, i really appreciate knowing what is going on back home. though i think that for having a blog thats gets 40-50 hits a day; it looks like more people could leave some love here :-)

later!

btw, it is consistently 10 degrees warmer here than in NJ :-)

Paris, Normandy and Bordeaux remains copyright of the author Brainford, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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ice cream in prague looks almost too good to eat

how about this jaunty item for an adventure hat???

The festung in Salzburg had three main defenses
1.) Steep climb to exhaust invading armies
2.) Massive walls

and 3.) Fierce warriors with spears!

Jed, Max, and Me at the base of Jungfrau AFTER ascedinding 1000 meters

and last but not least, ny postcard shot

all is well, be home in less than a month

New Pictures remains copyright of the author Brainford, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Cole Little

aaaaand

Katie Ghilain

both guessed 8 dollars (american) but cole was the first to answer correctly. congrats to both of you and you will be recieving postcards soon. and thanks to katie for critically analysing the phrasing of my contest rules (silly lawyer).

To everyone else who guessed, thank you for your attempts, esp to Brian for guessing in crwons and alex for guessing in obth crowns and us dollars.

keep tuned for more contests (like "who knows where the exclamation point is on a german keyboard???)

WE HAVE A WINNER...OR TWO?? remains copyright of the author Brainford, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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things got better qfter that (as could be imagined) and i went for dinner, and on the way saw some people i had met in berlin and we decided to go out for crepes later: this was a good idea as crepes are delicious, esp w/nutella or applesauce and cinnamon.

FLASHBACK

1 Day Ago...i was hiking the swiss alps with a couple of guys from boston, and no we did not talk about baseball as this prob would have resulted in us not travelling together anymore. we took a train up to grindenwald (1034 meters) and from there we set off on a fairly well travelled trail that at times was more challenging than the grand tetons trek that i did with joel a couple summers ago. We ascended up to a town at the base of Jungfrau (2072m). it was supposed to take 4 hours. We did it in 3. and stopped for lunch. a lunch that included cheese that i cut with my NEW SWISS ARMY KNIFE!!!! needless to say the views were amazing and i was just really happy to get out of the cities and experience nature on a meaningful level again. i also can't imagine the labor it takes to build up there.

3 Days Ago...i was in Munich and went to Dachau (great pics for a powerpoint lesson) the public baths (interesting...and i was glad i got a chance to swim) and then the Haufbrauhaus (drank 2 very good liters of beer)

aaaand thats about it...bed time...bon soir

French keyboqrds qre qnnoying remains copyright of the author Brainford, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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1.) My glasses (York, later recovered)
2.) my nalgene bottle (on the way to amsterdam, -$10)
3.) 100 euro (Berlin, -$130)
4.) my swiss army knife (Berlin, personal value, dad bought it for me when i was 7)
5.) my eurail pass (Prague, -$900°)
6.) my airline ticket home (Salzburg, for about 5 minutes)
7.) my mind (Salzburg, for that 5 minute period)

°i bought the insurance package for this so it should just be a matter of getting reimbursed

hopefully this is the end of the trend because i have nothing more valuable to lose. needless to say i will be very careful in the future. But when i couldn't find my eurail i was pretty frantic. to make matters worst, the conductor on the train (austrian) told me i could either buy a ticket or walk (exact words). When i tried to ask questions to another autrian transit worker in salzburg, he began speaking in english, and said he couldn't give me another ticket, which was not what i was asking him to do. he then said "this is austria, we speak german. sprekken zee deutch???" in such a sarcastic manner that i do not know how i managed to politely (seriously) explain that i just needed some info. he eventually sent me to another worker, where i bought another pass.

i then had to file a police report (for insurance) and thankfully the police were very nice and understanding.

silver lining of the day was when i checked out and found greta and lindsay (1st entry minnesotans) who happened to be staying there. we exchanged email and decided to meet up again in paris.

After that whole ordeal (ending with the police telling me to relax :-)i was really able to enjoy salzburg. its a gorgeous city, and in a valley that is phenomenal. Again, i have tons of pictures but have been having trouble getting them uploaded. Now i am in munich for a few days and might relax at a spa tomorrow...after i go to dachau of course.

Wow, embarassing... remains copyright of the author Brainford, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Wanna win a really cool post-card from Prague, written by yours truly??? All you have to do is answer one simple question, the answer to which will amaze all and make you want to come to Prague...to eat!

Last night I saved my money and instead of going to little dinky museums, i instead spent 500 crowns (about $25) on a ticket to see a chamber orchestra perform Bach, Mozart (Little Night Music, Concertina in C), Vivaldi (Summer and Winter), Smetana (From my Country), and Dvorsak (Songs For a New World). Great stuff, but i wanted a cheap to dinner. I wandered around and found a great deal! A 3 course meal (vegetable soup, beef goulash, apple strudle) + hlaf a liter of great czech beer + tip = ???

If you think you can guess how much all of this cost, i will personally send you a postcard from Czech Republic. All you have to do is...

1.) Think of a number (dollars or crowns)
2.) Send it to me (post it here, email, myspace, whatev)
3.) include your mailing address so i can send you your prize!

Contest to close when i get to munich (10-22-06) So getyour guesses in NOW!

The winner will be announced on this very website it 3 days!

• **minimum of 4 entries required for winner to be chosen.

Your chance to win!!! Read Below!!! Not SPAM!!! remains copyright of the author Brainford, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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I mentioned the 4 internationals last time, so u should have read about them already. anyway they convinced me to go out for dinner (at MIDNIGHT!) and the restaurants were teeming with people. I think people in germany actually stay out and party later than students at rutgers.

We got up eary the next day and went on a free tour of berlin and saw all the highlights in east berlin: The Reichstag, Brandenburg gate, Memorial for those killed in the Holocaust (this was a serious memorial costing millions of dollars and also included a museum), and we saw Checkpoint Charlie, parts of the Berlin Wall, Humbolt University (guys named Einstein and Marx went there) The Opera House, and finally Museum Island. The tour was 3.5 hours, amazing, AND the guide worked on tips. To give you an idea of how profitable this was, there were about 30 people on the tour, and each gave between 5 and 20 euro in tips. You do the math. (maybe we could start one of these in NYC???)

Next, a nap, but then we hooked up with some of my friends other friends who are working in the French embassy over here. We played pool till midnight and it was a surreal experience hearing german cursing, french arguments (at lightning speed, some of which i understood) and english being spoken almost at random since it was the common language. Hearing so many people with an affinity for multiple languages (most spoke at least 3) again made me feel guilty for speaking like 1.1 languages. but again the others told me that no one in europe really cares because they realize the need for a common language and it might as well be english.

Oh and they love Bruce Springsteen in France, and Kevin (Keh-veen) got so excited when he found out i was from NJ. We later went back to his flat and watched a concert on DVD. Oh and then at 2am they all decided it would be a good idea to go dancing. Me and my dormmates decided we should prob call it a night, but still we didn't sleep till 3am after traveling on the freakishly empty subway. (pictures to prove)

I need to call Uncle Ernie's relatives now, and figure out when i am leaving for Prague. Hope things are going well at home and ACT broke legs this past week.

will write more when internet becomes free again.

Berlin never is, Berlin is always becoming remains copyright of the author Brainford, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Setting: Cologne, 10/11/06, a Thriving west german city with lots of shopping and lots of students (ie lots of bars)

Cast of Characters:
Bret-a young, obnoxious South African, good looking and he knows it
Antonio-yound, balding Spaniard who has difficulty when ave amounts of beer are inbibed
Brian-our hero, smart, handsome traveler with a propensity for getting lost in new cities
Thom-german bartender with great knowledge of Cologne night life

Scene 1: The Hostel-Brian enters from stairs and walks to counter

Bret: Where are some clubs where i can meet some girls?
Hostel Worker: Well, you can take the A to the station, cross the river and walk up dykdlv gfhlbf and ougflf (conversation continues in series of uniteligible german names)
Bret: Forget it i'm just gonna get lost.
Brian: Yea thats usually my plan, I'm Brian.
Bret: I'm Bret,you got any ideas for tonight?
Brian: Walk around, find a bar, drink some german beer.
Bret: Nice, mind if me and Antonio come along? we're hoping to find some german [girls].
Brian: Sure, lets go. I just need to get some water before we go.
Bret: Yea, maybe i should get a beer for the road, Antonio lets get one.
Antonio: Yea.
All: Cheers!
Characters exit hostel and walk towards shopping district hoping to find some excitement

Scene 2: The Streets of Cologne
Bret(to girls passing on the street): Sprekken zee English?
Girl: Nien
Bret: Yea right, (expletive censored-I am writing this is Eastern Europe :-)
Antonio: Yea (censored) you! (as he finishes his first beer)
Brian: um...maybe we should ask someone else.

Scene 3: A dark bar.
after learning the student district is a few tram stops away, our gang boards the tram and heads downtown,where they eventually find an almost empty bar that was recomended

Brian: What beer do you have on tap?
Thom: Jever is good. A pilsner.
Bret: 3 of them. And where can we find girls? (ignoring the fact that 3 girls are at a table in the corner)
Thom: Well, the Rose Club is a good place, just take a right, a right, a left, and a right, but it won't get busy till 12. There's another club called (the author and friends immiedatly forget the name as they try to sort out right from left) But thats mainly for younger people.
Brian: (checking watch) Well that gives us some time to hang out here. How do you say cheers in German?
Thom: Prost!
Brian: Proost?
Bret: Brost?
Antonio: Proosht?
Thom: I better right this down for you guys...

Scene 4: same bar
1 hour elapses, new beer is sampled, a type of hefeweizen, Brian is in love with this beer, antonio has different opinion.

Antonio: In Spain we don't drink beer like this?
Brian: How so?
Antonio: No, we have tapas with beer, a little snack, and we usually only have one or two beers, and they are smaller than this (holds up half liter glass)
Brian: Well you know you don't have to keep up with us if you don't want to.
Antonio: eh its not so bad (grimaces as he finishes his 3rd beer of the evening)

Scene 5: Streets of Cologne
After settling the tab our heros find themselves at a cross-roads.

Brian: he said right right left right
Antonio: Yes, right right.
Bret: But the first right was out of the bar
Antonio: Yes, right.
Brian: i don't think so bu well go your way.
(walk brets way 20 yards and there on right is the rose club)
Bret: told ya so
Brian: i really have no idea where i am. Well the Rose clun looks kinda dead, what about that other place across the street, it looks packed.
Woman on street: Hey guys you should come in, they have 1 euro beers and 1 euro tequilla shots. 6 euro cover.
Brian: What kind of beer?
Woman: Yarick, its good.
Brian: Sounds good to me lets go.
Bret: Are you sure?
Brian: 1 euro beer, 6 euro cover, we just have to drink three beers for it to equal out, and we have plenty of time to do that
Bret: Ok, lets do it!

Scene 6: Inside the bar.
Brian: Three beers please.
Bret: Buy me two.
Brian make that 4.
Bartender returns with 4 glasses that hold about the same amount as a sippy cup.
Brian: (Knowing his calculation is totally foiled) Hm.
Bret: they have foosbal, lets play.

After the American soundly beats the South African and with their plan for attracting women through displays of foosball athleticism having failed, the group takes a moment to look around the bar. What they see is rather dissapointing

Brian: How old do you have to be to drink in germany?
Bret: 16, 17?
Brian: Well we just found out where they all hang out...we need to get out of here.
Antonio: yea, i can't drink anymore beer. (stumbles into table)
Bret: lets go.

They cross the street to the Rose Club. Antonio is visibly drunk

Bouncer: You guys can go in. Watch the beer Spanish.

Bret orders another round.

Brian: Let's go check out the dance floor.
Bret: It looks good, lots of chicks!

The guys enter the fray, looking for cute german girls, find them, but after an hour of trying to dance with them, all guys strike out multiple times.

Brian: You wanna get outta here?
Bret: Yea this place is lame. (continued by long rant on why german girls are lame, german guys can't dance and how hes surprised the country has the ability to populat itself. This continues in various forms of language, with some insults in dutch to passing german girls, until the trio arrives back at the hostel, usually with antonio walking about 20 yards behind. Or trio calls it a night after very little luck with girls in germany.)

Act Two: Wurzburg, Southern Germany

Characters
Alex: Cute, short-haired german girl brian met in Galway
Her Friend: Who's name started with a C, but has since left the Author's brain. (corina?)
Brian: Our hero makes another appearence

Scene 1: Alex's house, the new trio has a few drinks and checks the time.

C: its 11:30, we should probably get goin
Brian: I hope, i can stay up with you guys, i'm kinda used to going to bed at 12.
Alex: [german word for wimp]

Scene 2: The club
Strains of rock/dance music flows over a surging crowd of young people (18 and over thankfully, and most are older university students) Shots are ordered, and Wheatus' "Teenage Dirtbag" begins to thump through the crowd, followed by Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Blink-182. Brian dances, hilarity ensues, and a good time is had by all.

Finis.

(Sorry i got lazy and internet costs 1 crown per minute here in czech republic)

A Tale of Two Clubs remains copyright of the author Brainford, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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But Köln is more than just a giant church. Thats right folks, it is also one of the largest areas for shopping i have ever seen. We're talking 4 H+M's, at least 7 American fast food stops, and in a great twist of irony, 2 Christ jewelers. And that was just in a 2 square km area. Needless to say, it reminded me again how underdressed i am in Europe and how i wish i had more room in my pack for more stylish apparel.

My net time is about to run out, and i am going on a free walking tour of Berlin with a group of 4 international students who are in my dorm room (1 German, 1 italian, 1 French, and 1 Turkish, needless to say VERY interesting political discussions, esp concerning armenian genocide and frances latest political maneuver)

Next up "A Tale of Two Clubs"

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I was in Bruges for two days (belgium)

It was fairly boring, but had really good chocolate and pastries which i somehow only spent 10 euro on. Also met a really cool guy in a bar who explained the belgian voting system (vote or get fined, 5 parties, up to 47 candidates from each party) Tried 3 new beers, reviw to follow.

I was in Rotterdam for two days

Not the most exciting city either. Hated the art museum there. Met a couple germans and we went out and tried some more belgian beers. There are over 400 to choose from so you can see how this activity can take many nights.

After that i was in Amsterdam for 3 days.

This city is just intriguing and forces you to deal with a lot of questions about morality and community and how the state defines criminality. I really have why more to think about and say on the subject, but i must move on. Fortunatly i met a guy from Seattle, Gene, and we got to go to the Anne Frank Museum. This was by far the most moving experience of the trip. no matter how much u study the holocaust, standing in the house where so much fear and sorrow was felt is downright shocking. Many people go there everyday but it will never be enough. That will only occur when people start to do something about the other attrocities that are taking place in the world such as Darfur. I also have many complicated thoughts on this matter that will need more time to write out.

I am in Cologne (aka Köln).
Tomorrow i will be in wurzburg.
After that i will be in berlin for three days.

German keyboards switch the y and the z to facilitate the german languages love for "z" and this key (Ö) exsists. That should make diction fans happy.

I am thirsty and will now go get something to drink.

Hopefully i can more pictures up soon. I got bored in Amsterdam and did a study on "The Cats of Amsterdam"

Mom and dad, please do not let kyle make phone calls with my phone.

And don´t worry about leaving my morals at home dad, i "remembered who i belong to" as pop-pop likes to say.

Soooo busy...and naps are sooo nice remains copyright of the author Brainford, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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i really home i can write a happy entry when i wake up (its 0:00 right now, midnight, and i went to this awesome bar where i would buy a drink and the get a drink on the house, good deal huh?

Sad News from Home remains copyright of the author Brainford, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Afterwards i went to a net cafe and got an email from the last hostel i stayed at. it seems that i left my glasses there. they asked me for my credit card info via email so they could ship them to me. this seemed kinda shady so i decided to just use one of my rail passes and go back up and get them(3). Later that evening I met wim and another group of his friends at a piano jazz bar. very nice. it was there that i met wasseem and we teamed up the next day to go to Dover. Dover Castle was amazing. we spent 5 hours exploring the place and attending a tour on the secret underground command tunnels used during WWII and the Cold War(4).

On Monday I took a day trip to Cardiff. Really neat city in wales, although only recently built up. It has many arcades lined with shops and eateries(5) not to mention one of the best amalgamations of architecture in the UK. Cardiff Castle was originaly (you should see a pattern here) Roman, taken over by the Normans, and then molded into the British Kingdom. But this side had the added oppurtunity of having a Victorian Neo-Gothic pseudo-mediveal townhouse built on it by the Marquess of Butte(sp?). The tour included a visit to a modern falconer (6). I met a lovely lady there who suggested i go to St. Fagans Village to see example of welsh village life, but i did not have enough time and was sorely dissapointed.

The next day i went to Bath to see the Roman Baths. nuff said, they were awesome. It was also on this day that i met up with megan smith, who rocks(7) and i bid farewell to my hosts by buying them lots of homeade fudge(8). I spent a total of 6 nights with wim and that is why he is awesome.

The next day i left london at 8:30, took 1 subway, 1 train, 1 ferry, and then 3 more trains in order to arrive in Brugge, where of course it was dark and raining as i tried to find my hostel, which i did. More to come later.

Brian (in Brugge)

(1)I love the Tube. Ian said that if you have ever taken a the NYC subway, then you can easily handle the tube. he was sooo right. It is twice as clean as NY, much easirt to navigate the tunnels to trains, and has CUSHIONS on the seats even. only downside is no air conditioned cars. oh well. also where we have guys playing old trumpets and pickle drums, they have guys playing harps for spare change.

(2)They have sit down haggen-daas restaurants here, how cool is that! Oh and there appears to be quite a few ben and jerrys stores as well. so far i have resisted the urge to go there.

(3)I went on sunday and much to my dismay the 1 pound Mr.Sandwich was closed. BUT i took this oppurtunity to sample 2 cornish pasties (stilton and steak and cheese and onion fillings) wow were they good.

(4)it was thought the cliffs would protect those inside from nuclear fallout, but then they realized the white chalk was porous and really offerred little protection.

(5)where i had the worst mixed grill of my life, should stuck with a pasty.

(6) who mainly uses his hawks to scare away pigeons at the football stadium. he also has a bird that is a cross breed of a merlin and a peregrin falcon. While it is one of the quickest birds alive with the ability to fly verticaly, it is also the size of a merlin and can only hope to "ride" rabbits, not actually kill them.

(7) and said she would only read my blog if i mentioned her in it.

(8) which, according to the guy in the store, tastes so good it will blow your face off. it was good but not quite that good as everyone's faces remained intact.

Why Wim and his friends are awesome remains copyright of the author Brainford, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Don't worry, i was never actually locked up in Kilmainham Gaol

Did you know the Toucan was last used in a Guinness marketing campaign in 1985?

Greta, Me, and Lindsay at the Brazenhead pub, est 1128. old.

Kylmore Abbey, originally a house. a very big house.

Kylmore Cathedral and its not really all that big.

Mom here is proof that i am still in one piece and in the nicest lift i have ever been in.

i loved walking around the city walls of York (and only pretended i was fighting off orcs once or twice)

Roman lighthouse in foreground, Dover Castle in back, used to defend England from 1128 till the 1970's.

For those of you having trouble finding my pics remains copyright of the author Brainford, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Pictures are up remains copyright of the author Brainford, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Belfast is a really fascinating city and i wish i had more time to spend there, but i did get to wander a bit and this is what i saw. Belfast is a shipping city that didn't not gain city status from the Queen until 1889, so it is relatively new and this can be seen in the mostly well planned street design (in blocks like most american cities) and the architecture which tends to be more in the georgian style in the old parts of town (think large marble and granite buildings, not unlike TCNJ but with more copper roofs and statues). There is also a large redevelopment plan by the river that has created residential buildings, malls and offices that are in the same style as the NJPAC, with large walls of glass, shining copper and brick. Very nice.

I did not see too many signs of the sectarianism that has divided the city for so many years, but there was an Orangemen Rally (Protestant Royalists) the day i left to drum up support for the 7-year vote in which the citizens of northern ireland decide whether or not they want to remain part of the UK.

I had fish and chips for the first time in Belfast. they were really good and really filling. I am trying to justify the amoun of fried greasy food i am eating in two ways 1.) i am walking a ton every day 2.) frying food must be a national pasttime over here.

Leaving Belfast

I woke up at 6 am so that i could shower and then walk all the way across town (about 5km) to get to the Stena Line Fast Ferry (7:35). When i left my hostel i really didn't know how far away it was because on my map it ended before the harbor and just had an arrow pointing north. well of course it was much further than i thought it would be and my watch read 7:25 when i turned a corner and saw stena line office about 300 yards away. i broke into a sprint, got into the office at 7:27 and was told i needed to be there at 7 to buy a ticket and board. needless to say i was a little dissapointed. The next ferry was at 12:20 so i spent a few hours wandering, got some breakfast at subway, joined what i thought was a tour but turned out to be British version of antique road show, and finally got on the ferry.

Stena Line Ferries

Europeans really know how to travel in style. i was expecting a small cafe and prob a bar. what i got was a HUGE sports bar, burger king, 2 star restaurant, movie theatre (watched herbie: fully loaded), slot machines, etc. AND it was one of the smoothest rides ever on a boat.

Edinburgh

was fantastic. prob my favorite city so far. The heart of the city is the Royal Mile, a street that connects The Royal Residence with Edinburgh Castle, a mediveal fort that has been expanded over time. Along the mile are tons of little shops and museums where you can learn about closes (the small alleyways that developed off of the royal mile as the city expanded (vertically for the most part) The most famous close, which you can visit, is the Real Mary Kings Close, an alley where most of the houses have literally been built over and now provide the foundation for the city municipal builing. The rooms are still intact however, and you can see traces of wall-painting decorations on plaster that was made from horse hair and human ash (which was abundant during the plague years) It is supposed to be haunted but i saw little evidence of that. speaking of plague victims, most were buried in pits that have now become the Meadows, large playing fields near the many universities. in the winter a man goes around and pushes down the bones that are forced to the surface by the frost. i tossed a frisbee on top of said bones. :-)

I also got a chnace to go hiking in Andrews park, an area that was formed mostly by volcanic vents which left outcroppings of basalt which would become the basis for defensive fortifications. I scaled the 220 meter "peak" of andrews seat and got some great views of the city and sea.

oh and i stayed with luke and his wife, Haley for 3 days and we had a blast. home cooked meals, real shower, real towel, and real ats to play with = welcome respite from hostels. oh and me and luke played worms 3d on playstation. great game. i am eternall grateful to them for taking me in.

York

My favorite city so far to just walk around, literally. They city walls, which were built on top of norman earthworks, which were in tun bult on Roman walls, still surround the city and you can walk on them. really neat. Seeing evidence of Roman habitation almost 200 years ago really shows how phenomenal their engineering skills were.

I met up with a coupletexan girls and a guy from RI, and a guy from brazil. we went out to pubs and i got to try new beers.

Carling = light beer with a hoppy kick. good and cheap
Kronengburg = real good lager
John Smith = cheap excuse for guinness

Really cool museums/attractions in York. Jorvic, or the viking museum, is kinda disneyfied but does a great job of telling the story of nordic occupation of York. The DIG, an archelogical exhibit designed to get kids interested in archeology. really fantastic. it was also there that i got to touch the largest specimen of viking poop in the world. needless to say after that i left for london. and that is where i am now.

Brian (in London)

ps. miss you guys, but if i don't see some more comments i'm not coming home...just putting it out there

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Ben, if you are reading this remember the last time that i took driving directions from female actresses? that night got me lost in middletown NY and eventually parked in a snow bank. i should have learned my lesson then.

so she picks me up at my hostel at 10 and we depart for Cavan, at which she assures me, there will be a train to belfast. we hit a detour and she gets lost, so i'm getting a little concerned. next she offers to drop me off in navan so i can take the train from there. unfortunatly, Navan doesn't even have a train station. She is beginning to feel bad at this point and so we drive to the closest town w/a station. Thankfully there was a 2pm train to belfast. Moral of this story: while i learned a lot about driving in ireland (ex, although you shift with your left hand, the clutch is still pressed with your left foot) i ended up losing a full day of sightseeing in belfast. It was an adventure and thats what i am here for so i'm not too upset.

good note: of the $1200 i spent on rail passes, northern ireland is not covered, but the ticket checker in belfast took pity on me and let me go for free after the trip. i love irish people.

Culture Night in Dublin and Mr. DeGroat's Wild Ride remains copyright of the author Brainford, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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And that is why Ireland is awesome.

Thanks to this good fortune, i did not feel too guilty about paying for 2 pints of guinness at the Spanish Arch :-)

Random story about why Ireland is awesome remains copyright of the author Brainford, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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MUSEUMS

Being a history nerd, i had to check as many museums as possible (esp b/c they are usually FREE) and one thing that I have noticed is that while Dublin Museums are smaller than most in NYC and DC, they more than make up for lack of grandeur with a fusion of content and style. The State of Ireland and the EU sponsor the National Museum of Ireland, which is actually 4 seperate buildings spread throughout the city, all within in wlaking distance of my hostel. I got a chance to visit the Museum of Natural History which had a great if somewhat morbid display of Irish wildlife throughout history. Many of the animals had been stuffed in the 19th century and are still on display. Did you know that Ireland has seals? i didn't but now i know. Then i explored the upper three floors which showed animals from across the globe (although North America had some short comings like no white-tailed deer, we'll have to send them the next one that my family hits)

Next was the Museum of Archeology which i was really exited to see! but it was closed because of some reception party for the royal family of Norway or something...

So i went nextdoor to the National Library where i saw a tour of an exhibition on W.B. Yeats and despite the fact that i barely knew any of his poetry, the exhibition was facinating! It incorporated artifacts such as his journal writings (which were illegible) with touchscreen technology that allowed you to read scanned documents, use a virtual magnifying glass and pull up a transcription of the text so normal people could read it. They also used small video rooms that were decorated to display a particular theme of his life, such as the subject of his creation of the Abbey Theatre which you could view from a 'backstage' location. Yeats was extremely influential in the Irish independence movement, was heavily involved with the occult, and towards the end of his life exlpored eugenics. Fascinating.

Earlier in the day I visited Trinity College. Instead of paying for a 10 euro tour plus admission to the book of kells, i hopped on the back of an exsisting tour and then paid 7 to view the book of kells. for those of you that don't know, the book of kells is one of the most famous illuminated manuscripts, written in c.805 and contains the four gospels of christ. I thought it would be tough to justify 7 euro just to see it, but fortunatly the college created an amazing display that took you through the creation of the manuscript, the monks daily lives, the materials that were used (ex. lapis lazuli from afghanistan, red dye from pregnant african beetles, and all the other normal crayola colors) and then showed the histor of the book itself. Written by scripes (who really needed spellcheck) illustrated by 3-4 artists, never completed, moved to aviod viking pillaging and finally given to the Protestant Trinity College where it would be protected during the Cromwellian Wars. Again, the way in which this exhibit was displayed made great use of limited space by using large curved wall screens to display text and enlargements of the illustrations. In doing so a space was created that was never crowded and allowed you to feel a personal connection to the artifacts on display. I must have spent an hour in there, reading all the details and finally viewing the Book of Kells and the Book of Armaugh. Good thing i am traveling alone otherwise my companions would get annoyed...

Another excellent tour was of the Kilmainham Gaol (Jail). This was a great artifact because you found yourself physically immersed in this limestone building of despair and disease. The tour also showed the historical relevance of the prison by discussing the role it played in the War for Independence. Since this war occured in 1916, there is still a very strong awareness of these events, and still some ill-feelings from a few of the brits that were on the tour with me.

Also went to the Collins Barracks (National Museum of Decrotaive art and history) but only because i missed the first train from dublin to galway. glad i went for an hour, but also lacking american artifacts...hmmm

Overall, the museums were great, i love learning for the sake of learning, it reminded me of when i was a kid going with dad to see the museum of natural history in NYC. Maybe i'll be a curator when i grow up???

MINNESOTANS (sp?)

When i sat down to write my first email, there were two girls sitting next to me discussing whether or not they should go to galway. having second knowledge via Kevin Baily, i told them they should def go. They enjoyed the suggestions and we parted ways. later on i was moving into my bunk aka putting my bag in the under bed storage, when i noticed that some girl had completely taken over the unit. slightly peeved i just adjusted her stuff and was about to lock it with my lock and leave a note for her, when she and her friend came back in the room. and wouldn't ya know it, it was the same two girls as before! So we chatted for a bit and i learned that they were both from Minnesota, just graduated from Denver U, and had no glue what they wanted to do. I took a nap and quickyl forgot their names but i managed to pull through and relearn them (lindsay and Greta) and then we all went to dinner at the Brazenhead pub (more to follow) and the next day they accompanied me to see the book of kells (i think they were a lil annoyed with how long i was in there :-) We parted ways, they to the Guinness brewery (which i had attended the day before) and me to my museums. We met back at the 4 courts hostel and met another girl (Robin) who amazingly enough was also from Minnesota. We went in search of dinner and came upon Farrington's. We parted ways again on Wed morning, but we are supposed to meet up again in Galway sometime today.

The hostel was great for meeting people, some of which that didn't come from Minnesota. Carlos is from Spain, trying to improve his English (which is way better than my french) so he can be an engineer, Kim is from Belgium studying Germanic Languages at Trinity (we watched lost togther, less commercial time, or just less breaks but longer) in Europe), and i met a guy from sweden but can't pronounce his name.

PUBS

Guinness could really be marketed as a meal replacement diet drink. Since i am trying to save money, but also sample representative cuisine, this was my lunch for two days. My first pint of true guinness (the stuff we drink in NJ, not brewed in Ireland) came after a 7 story tour of the storehouse, a period in which i slept 2 hours in 36 hours, and miles and miles of walking (some of which because i was lost in dublin where the streets might as well have no names) needless to say this was probably the most rewarding beer i have ever had. The Yeungling brewery came close, but i was far more in need of sustenance at this point.

Had another pint at dinner at the Brazenhead pub (est.1198) along with traditional irish lamb stew. so good. Had another pint when the family of siblings next to us started chatting with us and bought us more beer so we wouldn't leave. they could affor it believe me, Paul owned an ad agency that worls with coors and nike, rob sold a chemical compound to nutrogena for 65 mil, and the sisters "married well." We had a great time even before the traditional irish folk band started playing, and things really got awesome. This pub was a real winner. i could have left dublin happy after that day.

Luckily i still had another day, and another day means another pub. This time i went to O'Donaghue's at about 1pm. I didn't plan on stopping but Tim Dunnigan had suggested I go so I really had no choice. Had a pint and a great conversation with a 50-something carpenter who also loved to travel. I asked him why all the signs and closed captioning on the news was in gaelic and he told me that gaelic is mainly spoken in the west and south west of the country, but that since the late 19th cent and more so today, there has been a vocal minority that has pushed for more language visibility as a matter of national irish pride. He didn't seem to care so much as long as everyone spoke english too.

That night me and the girls found farringtons, a more modern bar in the temple bar district. it served a greater variety of food (i had beef lasagna and soda bread which is nothing like what dad makes) and the live music was a guy with an electric guitar. also, despite the fact that it was fairly large, no waiters meant that you had to order at the bar. Not as cool as Brazenhead.

More to come later, fortunatly my current hostel has FREE net access, as opposed to the 2 euro per hour at the other place.

Hope you all are doing well and that no one has driven my car yet (mom and dad this means you)

-Brian (in Galway)

ps. photos to follow

Of museums, Minnessotans and pubs... remains copyright of the author Brainford, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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1.) It takes me a long time to plan. ex. Luke and I got together the other night to plan the 9 days we will be spending together in London at the tail end of my trip. I arrived at about 8 following a last meal at Ruts Hut, then we proceeded to figure out where we would meet and where we would stay and if we would possibly take a trip to another city. Well 3 hours later, after numerous discussions with luke's well travelled roommate, a phone call to honor about the attractions of Spain, 2 beers, and countless visits to orbitz, google and hostel.com, we managed to switch meeting spots (only once) and decide on a place to stay for three out of the 8 nights.

While this took a long time, we were still able to marvel at how this would not have even been possible before the internet age. We found and booked a place to stay that we were fairly confident in its reputation in a city which we have never been to and know very little about, except from what we gleaned from the oracle known as google.com. It really makes you wonder what did backpackers and travelers do before all this? I would follow this thread further but have other problems to deal with...

2.) Like how my mobile global phone (ordered on Monday) was shipped (3Day) not to West end drive, Stillwater, NJ, but rather found its way to Westwood Drive, Stillwater, Oklahoma. Thats not even the same timezone people! Well after a lovely conversation with Keith at UPS Olahoma, we decided the fault lay with the mobile company, ekit mobile, so a call to them was in order. once i finally got to speak to a manager, i was assured the phone would be shipped to me on friday so that i could have it by the time i left on sunday. Happy ending, the phone just arrived a few minutes ago and is charging on my wall. Which leads me to some important information

CONTACTING BRIAN

Obviously messages on this blog will be good, but for detailed responses (when i can find some time) email me @ mrdegroat@yahoo.com.

CALLING ME

you can call me for FREE*

• well free for me, international calling rates apply to you :-)

1.) Dial 1-866-305-6462 (as long as you are in the US)
0808-234-7418 for the UK

2.) dial my number: 44 762 4133 716

3.) Feel free to leave voicemails, i can retrieve them for free too

Keep in touch!
-Brian

The Tribulations of Prepping remains copyright of the author Brainford, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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