great moments in travel

so this priceless photo is in vienna in front of the fountains at the palace/castle thing, which i am standing in front of in the second picture. i could not resist a photo of this creepy dude, sorry. the second one is me wearing a yamecuh in a synagogue. cant really see it, but it was a first for me. it was a nice break from all the friggin churches weve been in. the next one is of a funny sign i saw moments after arrival to vienna. german is, and always will be, a funny language. gonna change my last name to "weinerburger." there are lots of "fahrts" in german street names and i couldnt get enough of it. but then again i had no idea how difficult hungarian would be. didnt even try to learn cause my sprained my tongue trying to say "cheers." another sign that was funny is the next one, lets see if you can find it. like a where's waldo type of thing. im taking lots of pictures of signs, is that boring? im also trying my best to find the best euro-mullets in the region. got a good one in vienna right here. everytime i try to take a picture of one the camera loses focus. almost like its unwilling to poke fun at peoples silly haircuts. but theres something classy about euro mullets compared to white trash mullets. its too bad i got a haircut. i also shaved today. rocking a goat and sideburns. gotta admit i look damn good. hopefully the ladies will notice. the ladies in prague are rediculous. oh how i missed them... so the mariners are still winning, right? whats with that? ichiro all star mvp, probably gonna re-sign. is this all because im gone? keep it up, dont let me down. thinking a mariner game or two should be in the works when i return. anyone wanna give me tickets? there is so much i wanna do when i get back. in a way i am excited about coming back, but then again this is a pretty sweet lifestyle over here. maybe ill move here and teach english or something. theres definately more of the world to see. ive only seen a small part of europe so far, but its pretty damn cool. so im thinking after i graduate in the spring of 08, would anyone be interested in the mediterranean? i would totally be down. im thinking i will only have enough money for one maybe two trips before heading home, so this is definately making me want to round up a crew and wander aimlessly around the world. kjg and cmb better be on board. vegas is cool, but being surrounded by people who do not share your language is a pretty cool thing. take pictures of euro mullets together. take dumps in castles. prague is really a place everyone should visit. so i signed up for classes this fall - "Race, Immigration & Ethnicity" "Water & Sustainability" and "Conflict in the Americas"... sound good i think. tuesdays and thursdays 845-320. being out here studying is really the best way to learn. but i should have a pretty good last two quarters at bothell. then the real world. hope that includes lots of traveling. still waiting on the mullet photo to load. so slow... theres gotta be a better way. how about everybody just come with next time? okay giving up on the mullet pic. try to get it next time.

october 2, 2007

okay so i know its far off, but i just got word that my favorite band - the national - is playing the showbox on my birthday - october 2nd. so - i already know that this is where i want to spend my 27th birthday. the question is - who else wants to go to see a great band, get a little tipsy, and spend the evening with yours truely? if you are interested - or even if your would like to hang out before or afterwards - message me. i think tickets go on sale soon, and i really think the more the merrier. i will be there. will you be too?

home at last?

okay so i thought i blogged last night (complete with a picture) but now it is nowhere to be found. it wasnt very long and i was tired so it is probably best. anyway - i am "home" now in prague. and its good to be back. vienna and budapest were fun, but a little expensive. the czech republic should never go to the euro. please stay with the crown, its one of your best features. its been a week away from here, and i really did start to miss it. vienna was really cool, but the euro really killed me. plus it took a chunk outta my right big toe. and budapest good also, but they arent on the euro, but their forint really made me question my meager math skills. budapest probably had the best food id had in a while, while parts of vienna were spectacular. the first picture, was the least spectacular part of vienna. i caught this dude posing in front of the fountains at the castle. too funny to pass up. who lays like that? anyway the castle was amazing. absolutely huge. the other picture portrays that a little better. i took some panoramic videos of both cities and i will try to put them on myspace at some point. in austria, theres no shortage of words like "weiner" and "fahrt." i captured a couple of them, one at the train station within 5 minutes of arrival. i think i mentioned that german is a funny language, and that is why. its really also hard to speak german kindly. maybe i just missed czech. in vienna at that castle, there was a labrynth and a maze. the labrynth sucked, maybe just cause there was not david bowie to lead the way. the maze was cool, as we got completely lost. fun though. thought of the human giant sketch "corn maze." corn maaaaaaaze. i kept saying it but no one really knew what i was saying. so vienna was scenic, but it really felt like a dream cause we were there for really one full day. but hey, i can cross it off my list. so i literally had 12 hours in prague before heading back out to budapest at 630 monday morning. on a bus. a stinky, sweaty bus. its a long bus ride - like 7 or 8 hours - and enjoyed some classic american cinema on the way. an olsen twins movie (kelly you woulda enjoyed that). also a really corny czech movie that put me to sleep. actually i think i watched the beginnings of a lot of movies on the bus rides. we get to budapest and i am ripe. so i am on a mission to get a shower before anyone else and i have to say that it was one of the greatest showers ever. we get a little tour of the city and grab some food. i really wish that the pictures would upload faster. i will go across the street later and make a post with nothing but pictures. sound good? everyone passes out pretty early and so the first night is pretty low key. played cards til 1am. think i was the last one up. we do have some making up to do the next couple nights. went to this place called old man's and it was pretty cool. not really anything special but fun nonetheless. one of our professors was out with us and stayed til dawn. played some favorites: vanilla ice, snow, even a little justin timberlake. those austrian clubs need to get a few tips from the hungarians. i am actually tired physically from dancing so much. maybe thats how i will work off all the hearty food i am eating here. the next day i go to burger king to eat (thanks natalie). hadnt had fast food in years. pretty delicious, but not sure if i really regret it. theres pics of this occasion also. after that its naptime and i sleep sound as a pound. dancing again? why not. when in budapest. went to cha-cha-cha which is an outdoor club. danced forever, maybe even more vigorously. left earlier though. saw a lot of the city, had some deep conversations about the holocaust and religion. ive really been opened up to the realities of the holocaust since ive been here. ive decided i need to go to auschwitz (sp?). so strange being in these places where ordinary people were taken away to be murdered for being who they are. deep stuff. elise says ill cry all day, hopefully i can compose myself. so thats that i think. i havent had access to internet recently so its hard to remember everything. things happen, and then i think oooh ill blog about that. but then i forget when it comes time to blog. write more today with pictures. happy birthday mom!

home at last

well i made it back to my home away from home - prague. its good to be home. in vienna for 3 days, then budapest for roughly 4. vienna is expensive and budapest isnt much better. prague is cheap and i like that. please dont ever go to the euro. i beg you. also the hot to not so hot girl ratio is a lot better in these parts. so ive officially been to 5 countries on this trip: england, the czech republic, austria, slovakia, and
hungary. i have lots of stories in which i will write more tomorrow, a day off.

budapest

okay so i am in budapest right now and its pretty cool. just got back from the baths. pretty odd, got the first massage of my life today. pretty interesting... i had to be naked and i got it from a dude. he slapped my ass when he was done, I HAVE MAINTAINED MY HETEROSEXUALITY NONETHELESS. but i feel really relaxed right now and we are all headed out to a jazz club and then go dancing. very invigorating massage, but a little weird. ill write more once i make my triumphant return to prague circa the end of the week. hope all is well in the west. lots of pictures to come...

watch your toes

well, apparently its the 650th anniversary of the charles bridge and everybody is down at the center tonight. except me. i just know i got home tired this afternoon and took a much needed shower and passed out to sleep. i just woke up 10 minutes ago to the sound of a silent neighborhood. does no one else realize how early we have to be on a bus to budapest? 6 am anyone? oh well, im glad i got at least some sleep. anyway. lots to catch up on. hopefully i can get to it all. ill start with the fourth of july. had tacos (a few actually) and drinks (also a few) at a classmates/neighbors apartments. then went to the local pub for pool and darts. pretty good times, but i think a lot of us paid for it the next day. toured the prague castle (or at least some of it) the next day, which was cool. pictures were taken, but uploading them now seems like quite the chore right now. after budapest i will get them on here. but anyway. my memory is failing me at the moment, so some info is slipping through the cracks. friday morning is spent training it to vienna. 5 hours more or less. beautiful buildings, pretty city. the viennese (sp?) go big or go home. very impressive castle complexes. got lost in a labrynth and maze and spent saturday in awe. friday night got my big toe caught in an escalator. i look down and my foot is covered in blood. so, with the help of my classmates we get it cleaned out (in a mcdonalds bathroom). im standing with my foot under the sink. pretty gross. plus it was a womens bathroom, but no one seemed to mind. better now. bought some decent bandages. let that be a lesson to you all. watch your toes on escalators. i always thought i was invinsible, but there is some truth to watching your toes. maybe just watch yourself in vienna. violent ones there. anyway. today consisted of checking out of the hostel and leisurely wandering around town. austria is expensive. its on the euro and so its so easy to blow a bunch of money and not even realize it. especially after getting used to the cheap life here in prague. gotta love the crown. and the nightlife was a little less to be bargained for. seemed like walking took up the majority of our nights. i tried to request justin timberlake in a club and i got a silly look. the austrians are an odd bunch. or was it us crazy americans? train ride back was decent... somehow between the three of us who didnt get up early today to catch the 830 train it was a good time. put down a few budvars. bonding is at a high level right now. couple of the classmates are becoming friends and looking forward to budapest to get to know some more of them. i really think that theres more to this weekend, but i honestly dont remember at the moment. will try to update in budapest. internet connection has been promised at our hostel. have a good night everyone, think im going to bed. watch your toes.

lifes moving by fast

okay so this is an abbreviated blog. i just got back from vienna and i am dead tired. leaving for budapest tomorrow morning. wild times. i dont quite have the time at the moment to recap the last 5 or so days but i promise to after a nap. song of the day = "Above You" by The Whitest Boy Alive. i know, i know, the greatest band name ever. but great song. i cant get it off the ipod. anyway - vienna a very pretty place, but night life a little weak. good to be back in prague. i have stories and even videos from a fun trip that i really want to upload when i get time. times going by fast, but i gotta admit im having a blast. have to give up the computer at the moment while my roommate writes a paper that was due a week ago. dont worry, i did it a long time ago. really good too. hope the weather in seattle is as nice as its turned out to be here. i miss everybody, hope all is well. dont hesitate to comment. i know you have to have a google account, but its free to register and i would really like it if you did. ps - german is a funny language. HILARIOUS. pps - the brake lights always on. part of the character of the car i guess