Well when I got to Italy I was exhausted. I spent about 3 hours walking around from hostel to hostel looking for a room to stay in until Bryce got here the next day. Finally found a place with ice cold showers and a rock hard matress to stay at. It definately beat the previous 4 nights I had where I didnt have a hostel at all. I thought that when Bryce got here I would be able to relax because I wasnt going to be traveling around a lot, but I was wrong. After Bryce got here, which was an adventure in itself from what he told me, we went on a hard core mission to see everything we possibly could. As soon as he got here we got some of the most amazing pizza we have ever had, and attempted to go on a walking tour with a guide, but instead ended up doing it ourselves. We did all the ancient Rome stuff that day. My favourite was the Colloseum. Its so unbelievable the stuff that went on in there. I think what made it better was the fact that we watched Gladiator that night just by coincidence. Apparently I have gotten really good at walking because Bryce could hardly keep up with my pace. I guess thats what happens when you do nothing but walk everywhere for a couple of months. Bryces legs and feet were sore, but he kept up quite well.
The best part of hanging out with my brother in Rome was watching him experience all the weird quirky stuff about traveling that I have become used to. His first time using the subway I could see that he was really excited and unsure of what exactly to do. Crossing the street for him was a challenge and eventually he learned to just follow me like a little duckling. Not gunna lie, Im pretty good at crossing the street now. The locals even follow me; a true sign of an accomplished traveler. I also took for granted how easy EuRail pass makes traveling. Watching Bryce have to wait in lines to buy train tickets and validate them (Which he forgot to do once and got a huge fine) makes me realize just how awesome EuRail is.
The Vatican was simply amazing. The museum and the sistine chapel were breathtaking. St Peters Bastilica took me by complete suprise. The inside of it is awe inspiring, I cant describe the way it makes me feel. Bryce brought me a couple of good books to read as well, which I was desperate for.
All the churches here are amazing. The David is really awesome, which I wasnt expecting it to be, I thought it would just be another statue. My favourite though is a statue of Michael slaying Satan. Such an epic statue, I think Ill buy a mini one to put on my desk at home.
Florence and Siena are in my opinion superior to Rome. Rome of course is awesome to see the art and the history of, but the feel of the city is a bit dirty and not what I would consider authentic Italian. Florence is an awesome city, and I love how walkable it is. Siena is beautiful, has some of the most amazing views so far this trip, and the plaza that I cant remember the name of, where people are just sprawled out on the ground, is one of my favourite places so far this trip. I could lounge there for hours in the sun. Speaking of the sun its such a relief to have some warm sunny weather, even though its raining right now; at least it gives me a chance to get on the computer ;). I did get a little sunburned on my face due to not seeing that much sun in a while. I am a big fan of Italy but for the most part Im not really into the people here. The food is ridiculous, me and Bryce ate quite well while we were here. The Gelato is amazing as well, unless you get tricked into buying a cone for 9 euros. My favourite flavours are banana and melon.
My favourite part of Florence was just having a bottle of Chianti and listening to some guy play guitar and sing covers of Oasis in front of the Uffizi at night. Free awesome concert baisically. Anyway it was an awesome experience to have my brother here with me for a week, and we had a lot of good times, and good memories.
Anyway I went from Rome to Florence to Rome and now I am back in Florence. I met someone that goes to school in Florence right now so I think Ill hang out here for a bit. This is the beauty of traveling alone and with no itinerary, I wouldnt have it any other way. I think Ill day trip to Cinque Terre and then go to Nice, followed by Barcelona, try and get a plane to Ireland for cheap, then get back to London to fly home. I think it would be cool to be in Barcelona for Easter, but Ill have to check and where there are any big festivals. I have a month to do that so I get to take it nice and slow. Of course the last time I had an idea of where I was going I ended up in Bosnia, so wel see where I end up next.
Once again sorry for not posting that often, just been so busy with stuff to do and things to see. I have been meeting some really cool people which is good. There is so much I could write about Italy but simply dont have the time. Thanks for keeping me in mind
Kyle
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Dubrovnik and Ljubljana
The bus ride to Dubrovnik was long but amazing. The Croatian coast is amazing. Everything is a mix between Eastern European and Italian it seems. The food, the people, everything. The city of Dubrovnik itself is amazingly beautiful, and I dont think I could have been there at a more perfect time. The weather was sunny, and the tourist crowd was not there yet. I felt like we had the city all to ourselves. I think that when someone asks me what city they need to include when they visit Europe, Dubrovnik is on the list. Really... once I can upload pictures, anyone who hasnt seen Dubrovnik will be in awe. Its a real good place to just chill out and relax. The seafood was ridiculous the views are unbeatable. The strangest part of the city was when we ventured outside of the main area and went to a Croatian farm run by some crazy man, and when we visited the fortress on top of the mountain looking down on Dubrovnik. They show the footage of Dubrovnik being attacked at the fortress and its insane to think that the city was under siege not too long ago.
The next stop was Ljubljana which is in Slovenia. This city wasnt even on my radar to begin with, but I am glad we made the stop. It seemed like a Vienna, with some nice water walks and nice buildings.
Well for the last 2 days I have taken an 11 hour bus ride, a 5 hour train ride, another 5 hour train ride, and a 6 hour train ride so that I could get back to Rome. I havent stayed in a hostel the last 2 nights, slept a little on the transportation as well as in the train stations. I stink, I need to shave, I need some sleep. But thought I would do laundry first and blog while that is going on. I am in Rome now, just waiting for Brother to get here in the morning. Im sure I missed a ton in the last couple posts but it had been soooo long since I said anything so I decided to just throw some stuff down. I am not going to be traveling like I did the last couple weeks, so I shouldnt have any more of those gaps like that.
The next stop was Ljubljana which is in Slovenia. This city wasnt even on my radar to begin with, but I am glad we made the stop. It seemed like a Vienna, with some nice water walks and nice buildings.
Well for the last 2 days I have taken an 11 hour bus ride, a 5 hour train ride, another 5 hour train ride, and a 6 hour train ride so that I could get back to Rome. I havent stayed in a hostel the last 2 nights, slept a little on the transportation as well as in the train stations. I stink, I need to shave, I need some sleep. But thought I would do laundry first and blog while that is going on. I am in Rome now, just waiting for Brother to get here in the morning. Im sure I missed a ton in the last couple posts but it had been soooo long since I said anything so I decided to just throw some stuff down. I am not going to be traveling like I did the last couple weeks, so I shouldnt have any more of those gaps like that.
Eastern Europe Tour
The last couple of weeks have been exhausting to say the least. I got a nice rest from snowboarding when I was in Vienna, and while there ran into a couple people I had met earlier. I went to the Opera and walked around the city a lot. There is a lot to see in Vienna but unfortunately it was really windy the whole time I was there. I think thats normal for Vienna though. Staying in my room was a guy from Australia named Sean and we seemed to get along quite well. Eventually we made plans to go to Budapest together.
Budapest-
What an amazing city. There is so much to do and see here, its overwhelming. Budapest is one of the places that I would tell everyone I wanted to go, and almost everyone would say how much they loved it or how many good things they have heard about the city. So my expectations were high to begin with. Budapest is full of amazing statues, lots of history, massive monuments, and of course the weird public baths. I spent a good 6 hours in the baths in total, which are these large thermal pools, each pool containing different minerals and different temperature water. The majority of the people in the baths are old men with giant pop bellys but there are a good amount of younger people as well. Everyone is so relaxed in the pools and the saunas it was definately a cultural experience. Budapest has some of the nicest, most beautiful people I have seen as well. Everyone is willing to help. There are also some really cool bars and places to hang out, that have a great vibe to them. Its not a city full of pretentious snoody people that go to their expensive hang out places to feel better than others. Its a great town. Eventually after talking with Sean we decided that we had a good time together and should travel all through Eastern Europe until I had to be in Rome and he had to go back to Prague, where he was working.
Next stop was Romania, not much to say specifically except that there were stray dogs everywhere. The people are typical Eastern European. We stayed the night there and decided to pack up to Serbia the next day.
Serbia was an experience. The bus ride took so long to get to Belgrade, and once again we had no idea what to expect. We kind of just assumed we would figure out what we wanted to do and see in Belgrade once we got there. We ended up staying 2 nights in total, and were pleasantly suprised with the city. Luckily my friend Mina who is from Serbia told one of her friends that we were coming to the city and she was nice enough to show us around. There is nothing like a local tour guide, and Slavika did a great job showing us around. The coolest parts of the city are the giant white church that you can see from almost every part of the city. St. Slavas is the worlds largest orthodox church and our hostel was about 25 meteres from it. The other part of the city is the fortress, which is nice to visit. I did notice that the Serbians dont talk that much about the war compared to the Bosnians and Croatians. The weirdest/coolest part of Serbia though was that when me Sean and Slavika walked into the ? Cafe which is the oldest in the city, I heard my name full name called out for the first time in a while. "Kyle Healy?" I turned around and Colin O'Leary my cousin. I was in shock, first of all I am lucky if I get to see him once every couple of years because he lives in New York and goes to school at Yale, and secondly I had no idea he was going to be in the Balkans. Unfortunately he was getting ready to leave Serbia and we had just got there. It was still a pretty cool experience though. Next stop was going to be Bosnia.
Sarajevo was not what we were expecting, but we didnt really know what to expect. First we had no idea that it was in the mountains, oops. We also didnt know that it was so dangerous. I had never had so many people ask me "Why are you here". Like we were crazy for being in Bosnia. The first thing you notice is all the grave sites packed full of grave stones. Over 11000 people died in Sarajevo while the city was surrounded by the Serbian army. We learned alot about the war and how no one could go out during the day because of snipers. There is a part of the city called sniper alley where there are still bullet holes from them. The apartment buildings look like they were just under attack, holes in them and massive caliber bullet holes in them. It was a freaky site. There are still so many buildings that are in ruins and have not been repaired yet. The city seems to be doing well despite the war but the people are still a little cold. The food was good as well. There were a couple of scary experiences including every time we crossed the border in and out of bosnia, a total of about 9 times, for various reasons. The worst one was when we got our passports checked the guy got a real strange look on his face. He made the bus stop for about an hour and called in reinforcements. We got our backpacks disassembled and the contents layed out in front of them, and they went through everything we owned. They then had the dogs come and smell everything. While this was going on the soldiers still had our passports and seemed like he wasnt going to give them back. Eventually he did though and we were on our way. It was freaky because they carry some pretty big guns with them and I had a really bad vibe that he was going to plant some sort of drugs on us or something. It was creepy. Another situation was when we were just exploring the ruins of one of the buildings, and looking at shrapnel on the ground, just wandering around, we stumbled into a mine field that still had not been cleared of mines. The only thing telling us this was a thin line of yellow tape that looks like it had been there for ages. Some local man started yelling and waving his arms at us to get out, but of course we had no idea what he was saying so we walked closer to him, he freaked out more, and somehow we got the message that we should go out the way we came in. Pretty strange experience. Anyway we decided to go to Dubrovnik as soon as possible.. knowing that would be a nice oasis away from the crazyness.
Budapest-
What an amazing city. There is so much to do and see here, its overwhelming. Budapest is one of the places that I would tell everyone I wanted to go, and almost everyone would say how much they loved it or how many good things they have heard about the city. So my expectations were high to begin with. Budapest is full of amazing statues, lots of history, massive monuments, and of course the weird public baths. I spent a good 6 hours in the baths in total, which are these large thermal pools, each pool containing different minerals and different temperature water. The majority of the people in the baths are old men with giant pop bellys but there are a good amount of younger people as well. Everyone is so relaxed in the pools and the saunas it was definately a cultural experience. Budapest has some of the nicest, most beautiful people I have seen as well. Everyone is willing to help. There are also some really cool bars and places to hang out, that have a great vibe to them. Its not a city full of pretentious snoody people that go to their expensive hang out places to feel better than others. Its a great town. Eventually after talking with Sean we decided that we had a good time together and should travel all through Eastern Europe until I had to be in Rome and he had to go back to Prague, where he was working.
Next stop was Romania, not much to say specifically except that there were stray dogs everywhere. The people are typical Eastern European. We stayed the night there and decided to pack up to Serbia the next day.
Serbia was an experience. The bus ride took so long to get to Belgrade, and once again we had no idea what to expect. We kind of just assumed we would figure out what we wanted to do and see in Belgrade once we got there. We ended up staying 2 nights in total, and were pleasantly suprised with the city. Luckily my friend Mina who is from Serbia told one of her friends that we were coming to the city and she was nice enough to show us around. There is nothing like a local tour guide, and Slavika did a great job showing us around. The coolest parts of the city are the giant white church that you can see from almost every part of the city. St. Slavas is the worlds largest orthodox church and our hostel was about 25 meteres from it. The other part of the city is the fortress, which is nice to visit. I did notice that the Serbians dont talk that much about the war compared to the Bosnians and Croatians. The weirdest/coolest part of Serbia though was that when me Sean and Slavika walked into the ? Cafe which is the oldest in the city, I heard my name full name called out for the first time in a while. "Kyle Healy?" I turned around and Colin O'Leary my cousin. I was in shock, first of all I am lucky if I get to see him once every couple of years because he lives in New York and goes to school at Yale, and secondly I had no idea he was going to be in the Balkans. Unfortunately he was getting ready to leave Serbia and we had just got there. It was still a pretty cool experience though. Next stop was going to be Bosnia.
Sarajevo was not what we were expecting, but we didnt really know what to expect. First we had no idea that it was in the mountains, oops. We also didnt know that it was so dangerous. I had never had so many people ask me "Why are you here". Like we were crazy for being in Bosnia. The first thing you notice is all the grave sites packed full of grave stones. Over 11000 people died in Sarajevo while the city was surrounded by the Serbian army. We learned alot about the war and how no one could go out during the day because of snipers. There is a part of the city called sniper alley where there are still bullet holes from them. The apartment buildings look like they were just under attack, holes in them and massive caliber bullet holes in them. It was a freaky site. There are still so many buildings that are in ruins and have not been repaired yet. The city seems to be doing well despite the war but the people are still a little cold. The food was good as well. There were a couple of scary experiences including every time we crossed the border in and out of bosnia, a total of about 9 times, for various reasons. The worst one was when we got our passports checked the guy got a real strange look on his face. He made the bus stop for about an hour and called in reinforcements. We got our backpacks disassembled and the contents layed out in front of them, and they went through everything we owned. They then had the dogs come and smell everything. While this was going on the soldiers still had our passports and seemed like he wasnt going to give them back. Eventually he did though and we were on our way. It was freaky because they carry some pretty big guns with them and I had a really bad vibe that he was going to plant some sort of drugs on us or something. It was creepy. Another situation was when we were just exploring the ruins of one of the buildings, and looking at shrapnel on the ground, just wandering around, we stumbled into a mine field that still had not been cleared of mines. The only thing telling us this was a thin line of yellow tape that looks like it had been there for ages. Some local man started yelling and waving his arms at us to get out, but of course we had no idea what he was saying so we walked closer to him, he freaked out more, and somehow we got the message that we should go out the way we came in. Pretty strange experience. Anyway we decided to go to Dubrovnik as soon as possible.. knowing that would be a nice oasis away from the crazyness.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Budapest Pictures
awesome statue/monument, one of the most enjoyable so far
Climbed that and got amazing pictures of the city, could see everything it was awesome.
Vienna Pictures
WINGS + SWORD YES
friends, after the opera so i was still dressed up, only one person wanted to go with me to it. I actually liked it a lot.
i went to the opera
Supposedly the best chocolate torte in the world. Ive had better chocolate cake tbqh
Snowboarding/Switzerland/Austria Pictures
the pictures dont do it justice
11 kilometer run
Fondue
im a gangster
Frankfurt/Hofheim Pictures
Lisa Kathrin Moritz Myself
All the houses in Hofheim are pretty, and there are castles scattered throughout the area. I really liked it there
Eyeball monster graffiti down the drive way of Kathrins house
Went exploring the forest and climbed this giant observation tower with something like 300 steps to the top
View of Hofheim... kinda
The skyline is really nice in Frankfurt, wasnt expecting it
Sunday, March 8, 2009
This is unreal
Snowboarding post.
Starting off in Switzerland, I got there and there was more or less a blizzard. Luckily I didnt arrive in Interlaken until the night so none of my plans were ruined. I met a nice guy named Dylan and we decided to go skiing together. He is a pretty good skier and we decided that it would be better to ski with some one the next day because there was such a high risk of avalanch. Anyway we woke up bright and early for the free breakfast and were amazed to see that it was perfectly clear out. The mountain was empty for some reason. The cool thing about Jungrau is that there are these alpine trains that take you up to the summit. And there are a couple of runs where you can ride all the way from the top of the mountain to the bottom and take the train all the way to the top again. Its about an hour cycle to do that trip. Another cool thing is that when you do that run you end up going through a couple of small mountain towns on your way to the bottom. So I am crossing roads and bridges on icey snow covered paths on my way to the bottom. It was pretty cool. The mountain is definately a skiiers mountain because there are several flat sections where poles would come in really handy. It was no big deal though because I would just have to avoid those sections. Anyway I skiied there a couple days and it was amazing. Honestly not the best snow or runs but you cant beat the views.
Austria was the best snowboarding I have ever seen. I think I was lucky because I got here just after a huge storm, and the two days I snowboarded we had perfect visabiliy and some nice sun on one of the days. The off piste action was amazing here, the powder was knee high in most sections. The groomed runs were also amazing and there wasnt too many bumpy sections. Sunday was the best day of snowboarding I have had. The sun was out, everything was beautiful and the runs were in perfect condition. The bottom of the mountain got a bit slushy towards the end but other than that I was in heaven. I went on the longest run in Europe a 11 kilometer run from the top of the mountain down to a small town. I actually ended up doing it 4 times because the cable car that takes you back to the mountain was pretty quick. I would have to take the cable car then 2 more ski lifts to get back to the top of the run but it was worth it. I cant wait to upload a couple of pictures from the mountains. The place I am staying at here in Austria I thought was too good to be true, but its not. This really is unreal, I could not have pictured a more ideal place to stay, and its only 15 euros a night. Plus they give you a voucher to rent a board and boots for only another 13 euros a day. They also have one of the better free breakfasts with all you can eat nutella, honey, bread, cereal, milk, orange juice, cheeses, and cold cut meats. Dad will be happy to know that I skiied from 9 (opening) to 43ß (closing) everyday without taking a break for lunch.
I am going to Vienna or Wien tomorrow to recover. I am sooo exhausted from all the non stop boarding, and I dont think I could go all out for another day of riding. The cost of boarding and renting all my gear tends to add up as well. A friend of mine that I met in Munich let me know that she was going to be in Vienna with some friends she met in Prague, so it looks like Ill be going to the opera tomorrow with them. Its nice having no itinerary at all. People get so jealous when I tell them that I really have no idea where I will be next, and its always nice to change plans when a friend comes along.
Starting off in Switzerland, I got there and there was more or less a blizzard. Luckily I didnt arrive in Interlaken until the night so none of my plans were ruined. I met a nice guy named Dylan and we decided to go skiing together. He is a pretty good skier and we decided that it would be better to ski with some one the next day because there was such a high risk of avalanch. Anyway we woke up bright and early for the free breakfast and were amazed to see that it was perfectly clear out. The mountain was empty for some reason. The cool thing about Jungrau is that there are these alpine trains that take you up to the summit. And there are a couple of runs where you can ride all the way from the top of the mountain to the bottom and take the train all the way to the top again. Its about an hour cycle to do that trip. Another cool thing is that when you do that run you end up going through a couple of small mountain towns on your way to the bottom. So I am crossing roads and bridges on icey snow covered paths on my way to the bottom. It was pretty cool. The mountain is definately a skiiers mountain because there are several flat sections where poles would come in really handy. It was no big deal though because I would just have to avoid those sections. Anyway I skiied there a couple days and it was amazing. Honestly not the best snow or runs but you cant beat the views.
Austria was the best snowboarding I have ever seen. I think I was lucky because I got here just after a huge storm, and the two days I snowboarded we had perfect visabiliy and some nice sun on one of the days. The off piste action was amazing here, the powder was knee high in most sections. The groomed runs were also amazing and there wasnt too many bumpy sections. Sunday was the best day of snowboarding I have had. The sun was out, everything was beautiful and the runs were in perfect condition. The bottom of the mountain got a bit slushy towards the end but other than that I was in heaven. I went on the longest run in Europe a 11 kilometer run from the top of the mountain down to a small town. I actually ended up doing it 4 times because the cable car that takes you back to the mountain was pretty quick. I would have to take the cable car then 2 more ski lifts to get back to the top of the run but it was worth it. I cant wait to upload a couple of pictures from the mountains. The place I am staying at here in Austria I thought was too good to be true, but its not. This really is unreal, I could not have pictured a more ideal place to stay, and its only 15 euros a night. Plus they give you a voucher to rent a board and boots for only another 13 euros a day. They also have one of the better free breakfasts with all you can eat nutella, honey, bread, cereal, milk, orange juice, cheeses, and cold cut meats. Dad will be happy to know that I skiied from 9 (opening) to 43ß (closing) everyday without taking a break for lunch.
I am going to Vienna or Wien tomorrow to recover. I am sooo exhausted from all the non stop boarding, and I dont think I could go all out for another day of riding. The cost of boarding and renting all my gear tends to add up as well. A friend of mine that I met in Munich let me know that she was going to be in Vienna with some friends she met in Prague, so it looks like Ill be going to the opera tomorrow with them. Its nice having no itinerary at all. People get so jealous when I tell them that I really have no idea where I will be next, and its always nice to change plans when a friend comes along.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Whats on your mind
So everyone loves the little updates about what Im doing, but apparently people want to hear about what I have been thinking about and etc. I suppose that stuff is a little harder to share, but since I was on the train today for a good 13 hours and had to switch trains 5 times I had a lot of time to think.
So I was reading though Psalms waiting for something to jump out at me and it did. In Psalm 90:12 there is a line that says: Teach us to number our days so that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Of course I am all about gaining wisdom, learning as much as possible, and reading all that I can so I was interested in how I could gain wisdom from numbering our days. So I did it, I determined Ive been here for about 8300 days if you round up. The way I took the scripture to mean was that we need to treat every day like a gift and make the most of it. The bottom line is to not have any wasted days. So when I look at something like 8300 days I cant help but think of how many days Ive already wasted without being aware of it. If I am lucky I could live to be 100 which means about 365,000 days are in total. It brings me joy to think of this because I am making the most of every day that I am on this trip. I havent had a single moment when I have thought I have wasted an opportunity. I guess the wisdom comes from making the most of every day and being aware that we only have a limited time to experience all that we can on earth. I feel like there is so much to experience in the world and I would be foolish to not try and experience all these different places and cultures. To at least have a little taste of all that has been put here for us to experience is all that I ask for.
This brought me back to a conversation I was having with someone I ran into along the way when we were talking about our travels and what we are trying to accomplish on our journeys. He had some feeling that life owes him and that he deserves to see everything out there, where I on the other hand was stressing that life owes us nothing, but we in fact owe everything to life. I feel like he was traveling to escape his life, where as I am traveling to make sure that life doesnt escape me. I hope that no one at home thinks that I was trying to escape from them, the truth is I cant wait to get back home and see friends and family again, but that doesnt mean I am not also enjoying every moment I am having abroad.
Anyway I think maybe the point is that the real path to wisdom is to try and experience everything that God, by his magesty and grace, has given us the opportunity to experienece. Life is a risk, and that you never know who youre going to meet and who wil have an impact on you, or challenge you. I said I was getting tired of telling people the same old story about who I am and what I am doing and luckily I have realized that I should not get tired of that. I need to put myself out there even if its just for an hour or two. I need to take chance, take risks, and if it doesnt go how I wated I will never see those people again. Of course it going how I wanted is a hard to do since I have yet to find anyone whos standard for human interaction has been as high as mine.
Anyway, this took me back to a previous thought that dealt with shareing thoughts. I believe its hard to write everything that Im thinking in a readable and linear way because thoughts are, in fact, not linear at all. I am fascinated with the articulation of thoughts. I believe it is a subconscious goal of mine to reach a point where I can write down what I am thinking in a coherent way. A way which would inspire others. Inspire others to think, but not think like me, but to think for themselves. By using a medium that I have deemed as imperfect to track my thoughts and journey while in Europe I am not necessarily doomed for failure. I have learned this from CS Lewis, from Dostoevsky and Rand that writing can be extremely efficient. I believe all people have profound things to say, but those that have been given the gift of articulation, thereby the gift of reaching people and having an impact on them… they are remembered forever. That is what is so appealing about writing. This is why I inevitably feel as though I need to document my trip and give people a chance to reflect on it. I fear that I will lose track of what I wanted to write, or not get my thoughts across and therefore have only shared about what I have encountered. I do not think that will stop me from transferring my scattered thoughts onto these pages. Even now my head is full of things to write down about my trip and to get off my mind. Luckily I have a journal for most of the scattered things flying though my head. The presence of such an overwhelming amount of thoughts, ideas, commentary, which are present in every person make it a chore to organize them and articulate them in a manner fitting for others to see. Fortunately for me these pages do not tremble. These pages don’t blush, and there is no such thing as a shy blog. If anything this medium has the potential to let people know what I am really feeling. We´ll see how that works out.
Cant wait for you to get here brother. Two more weeks!
-Kyle
So I was reading though Psalms waiting for something to jump out at me and it did. In Psalm 90:12 there is a line that says: Teach us to number our days so that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Of course I am all about gaining wisdom, learning as much as possible, and reading all that I can so I was interested in how I could gain wisdom from numbering our days. So I did it, I determined Ive been here for about 8300 days if you round up. The way I took the scripture to mean was that we need to treat every day like a gift and make the most of it. The bottom line is to not have any wasted days. So when I look at something like 8300 days I cant help but think of how many days Ive already wasted without being aware of it. If I am lucky I could live to be 100 which means about 365,000 days are in total. It brings me joy to think of this because I am making the most of every day that I am on this trip. I havent had a single moment when I have thought I have wasted an opportunity. I guess the wisdom comes from making the most of every day and being aware that we only have a limited time to experience all that we can on earth. I feel like there is so much to experience in the world and I would be foolish to not try and experience all these different places and cultures. To at least have a little taste of all that has been put here for us to experience is all that I ask for.
This brought me back to a conversation I was having with someone I ran into along the way when we were talking about our travels and what we are trying to accomplish on our journeys. He had some feeling that life owes him and that he deserves to see everything out there, where I on the other hand was stressing that life owes us nothing, but we in fact owe everything to life. I feel like he was traveling to escape his life, where as I am traveling to make sure that life doesnt escape me. I hope that no one at home thinks that I was trying to escape from them, the truth is I cant wait to get back home and see friends and family again, but that doesnt mean I am not also enjoying every moment I am having abroad.
Anyway I think maybe the point is that the real path to wisdom is to try and experience everything that God, by his magesty and grace, has given us the opportunity to experienece. Life is a risk, and that you never know who youre going to meet and who wil have an impact on you, or challenge you. I said I was getting tired of telling people the same old story about who I am and what I am doing and luckily I have realized that I should not get tired of that. I need to put myself out there even if its just for an hour or two. I need to take chance, take risks, and if it doesnt go how I wated I will never see those people again. Of course it going how I wanted is a hard to do since I have yet to find anyone whos standard for human interaction has been as high as mine.
Anyway, this took me back to a previous thought that dealt with shareing thoughts. I believe its hard to write everything that Im thinking in a readable and linear way because thoughts are, in fact, not linear at all. I am fascinated with the articulation of thoughts. I believe it is a subconscious goal of mine to reach a point where I can write down what I am thinking in a coherent way. A way which would inspire others. Inspire others to think, but not think like me, but to think for themselves. By using a medium that I have deemed as imperfect to track my thoughts and journey while in Europe I am not necessarily doomed for failure. I have learned this from CS Lewis, from Dostoevsky and Rand that writing can be extremely efficient. I believe all people have profound things to say, but those that have been given the gift of articulation, thereby the gift of reaching people and having an impact on them… they are remembered forever. That is what is so appealing about writing. This is why I inevitably feel as though I need to document my trip and give people a chance to reflect on it. I fear that I will lose track of what I wanted to write, or not get my thoughts across and therefore have only shared about what I have encountered. I do not think that will stop me from transferring my scattered thoughts onto these pages. Even now my head is full of things to write down about my trip and to get off my mind. Luckily I have a journal for most of the scattered things flying though my head. The presence of such an overwhelming amount of thoughts, ideas, commentary, which are present in every person make it a chore to organize them and articulate them in a manner fitting for others to see. Fortunately for me these pages do not tremble. These pages don’t blush, and there is no such thing as a shy blog. If anything this medium has the potential to let people know what I am really feeling. We´ll see how that works out.
Cant wait for you to get here brother. Two more weeks!
-Kyle
Switzerland
Switzerland is so incredibly beautiful. The hostel I stayed at is pretty world famous and I met a lot of good people there. I was super excited to do some snowboarding. I was suprised at how wide open the mountain is. We snowboarded on Jungfrau which I believe is the tallest mountain in Europe, or one of them, because they kept calling it the top of Europe. Anyway there are no trees on any of the runs which I am definately not used to. The swiss also ski kind of weird, no one really goes super fast down the mountain, and instead just try and make sure they have perfect form. No one skies when it snows either. So the first day it was nice a clear and there wasnt really many people there, and the second day when it was snowing and full of powder there was no one on the mountain.
The snow isnt as good as Utah or California but the scenery can not be matched. The views from the mountain are incredible. The Alps are so steep and massive that wherever you look there is a giant face stareing back at you. So I snowboarded 2 days with a couple of guys I met, and afterward had some good times in the bar. Also went on a 60 km bike ride around one of the lakes of Interlaken with some crazy Canadian triathalon chick. It is a pretty cool town, and would be fun to come back to in the Summer to do some skydiving or cliff jumping or something.
I am in Austria now and my hostel is 50 m from the nearest lift to the top of the mountain, and 50 m in the other direction are some world famous hot springs to relax in after skiing all day. Its snowing now and tomorrow will be nothing but powder.
Really need to get some sleep and the computers here are expensive and you cant upload pictures so this post is a little lack luster. Oh well.
The snow isnt as good as Utah or California but the scenery can not be matched. The views from the mountain are incredible. The Alps are so steep and massive that wherever you look there is a giant face stareing back at you. So I snowboarded 2 days with a couple of guys I met, and afterward had some good times in the bar. Also went on a 60 km bike ride around one of the lakes of Interlaken with some crazy Canadian triathalon chick. It is a pretty cool town, and would be fun to come back to in the Summer to do some skydiving or cliff jumping or something.
I am in Austria now and my hostel is 50 m from the nearest lift to the top of the mountain, and 50 m in the other direction are some world famous hot springs to relax in after skiing all day. Its snowing now and tomorrow will be nothing but powder.
Really need to get some sleep and the computers here are expensive and you cant upload pictures so this post is a little lack luster. Oh well.
Hofheim slash Frankfurt
Frankfurt was pretty cool. I spent most of the time in a suburb outside of Frankfurt called Hofheim, though, and it was one of the better times Ive had on the trip so far. I think it helped me realize that I like the smaller cities, and Hofheim is perfect because you can jump on the S-Bahn and be in Frankfurt in about 20 minutes.
Frankfurt has a real big city feel to it. The skyline is very impressive, and has some of the cooler and bigger buildings Ive seen.
Spending some time with Kathrin and her family was exactly what I needed. When I got there I was completely exhausted. I tried not to show how tired and lazyI was at first, but I really needed a nice rest. There was so much sight seeing and traveling that I rarely had time to just take a break and rest. So when I found out that I was going to have my own warm bed, in a nice house, with a home cooked meal I was pretty excited.
Kathrin was nice enough to introduce me to all her friends and show me around Hofheim and Frankfurt. We went to Moritz, a friend of hers, house and had a nice meal with Kathrins friends. Went into the city to see some museums and enjoy the sights of Frankfurt. We played soccer with some people (Im actually not that bad). One of the funnier nights was when we tried to go clubbing. Without getting too much into the story we ended up getting lost on the way there, getting lost after we parked, and eventually going into the wrong club. We made the most of it though.
I was on a mission to try all things German, most of which are different varieties of candy or strange looking sausages in the meat market. The gummy bears are awesome, as is the Toffeefee and Marshmallowcreamychocolate things. Kathrins mom made us an amazing meal one night, with some friend potatoes, some sort of pork, and some sourkraut.
We had a really fun night before I left when Me, Kathrin, Moritz and Liza went downtown to just hang out. There wasnt much going on since it was monday, but we ended up finding some crazy guy who bought us all drinks. The most fun though was just walking around with Kathrin looking for castels in the forest, or enjoying a nice tea at the house. Had some good laughs, and I really wish I could spend some more time in Hofheim. I was definately looking forward to doing some snowboarding though. Im a little rushed and I could probably type forever but dont have that much time and cant upload pictures so Ill do that later.
-Kyle
Frankfurt has a real big city feel to it. The skyline is very impressive, and has some of the cooler and bigger buildings Ive seen.
Spending some time with Kathrin and her family was exactly what I needed. When I got there I was completely exhausted. I tried not to show how tired and lazyI was at first, but I really needed a nice rest. There was so much sight seeing and traveling that I rarely had time to just take a break and rest. So when I found out that I was going to have my own warm bed, in a nice house, with a home cooked meal I was pretty excited.
Kathrin was nice enough to introduce me to all her friends and show me around Hofheim and Frankfurt. We went to Moritz, a friend of hers, house and had a nice meal with Kathrins friends. Went into the city to see some museums and enjoy the sights of Frankfurt. We played soccer with some people (Im actually not that bad). One of the funnier nights was when we tried to go clubbing. Without getting too much into the story we ended up getting lost on the way there, getting lost after we parked, and eventually going into the wrong club. We made the most of it though.
I was on a mission to try all things German, most of which are different varieties of candy or strange looking sausages in the meat market. The gummy bears are awesome, as is the Toffeefee and Marshmallowcreamychocolate things. Kathrins mom made us an amazing meal one night, with some friend potatoes, some sort of pork, and some sourkraut.
We had a really fun night before I left when Me, Kathrin, Moritz and Liza went downtown to just hang out. There wasnt much going on since it was monday, but we ended up finding some crazy guy who bought us all drinks. The most fun though was just walking around with Kathrin looking for castels in the forest, or enjoying a nice tea at the house. Had some good laughs, and I really wish I could spend some more time in Hofheim. I was definately looking forward to doing some snowboarding though. Im a little rushed and I could probably type forever but dont have that much time and cant upload pictures so Ill do that later.
-Kyle
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Munchen Pix
Munich was awesome. Lets see.. I think Im uploading a couple pictures of the people I hung out with. I picture of the GLOKENSPIEL or something like that. Its a giant clock that makes annoying bell noises and has about 4 moveing pieces that spin around and looks dumb. But for some reason people love video taping it and gathering around it every day at 11 and 12. It is one of the few thing that did survive the bombing of Munich along with the 2 tower dome things you can see in one of the pictures.
Its strange how all the WW2 memorials are all on the ground somewhere and in places where you will just walk by them without noticing them. There is absolutely nothing to do with Hitler anywhere, even in the Hofbrauhaus which was baisicallz his main base in the beginning of his rise to power. There are some pictures of the house of parliament which I thought looked cool, as well as the river, and some food. The picture is of the schweisswurst and semilknoddle or however its spelled. Greg would be thrilled to know that Schneiders makes one of the better weissbiers in Munich. There is a picture of the market area, where you can do all your food related shopping and get things really fresh and reallz good looking. That is where I would get the spicz red bratwurst that I fell in love with. I went to the BMW headquarters and show room where you can see all the futuristic models of cars thez plan on making as well as the cars thez have out right now. There is also a museum.
I also decided to go to the Olzmpic Stadium in Munich, it was prettz amaying. I was told there was a view point where you can climb the highest peak in Munich and see all of the citz and all of the Olzmpic area. Thez said no one goes up it in the winter, but I decided to do it anzwaz. It was a long hike to get to the top, and the picture of it doesnt do it justice, and the pictures from the top of it dont do it justice either, except for the one of me at the top with the stadium and TV tower in the background. The citz szmbol of Munich is the Lion so there are statues of Azlan everzwhere. I want one. Anzwaz Frankfurt is nice, and Im going to Interlaken on Tuesdaz, going to snowboard Jungfrau and then going to the Gastein area in Austria to do some more snowboarding, probablz spend a daz or two in Vienna recovering and sitting at their famous cafes, then to Budapest, make a stop in Croatia and on to Rome to meet brother there. At least thats the plan right now. I dont know if Ill have the chance to post when Im in the Alps since Ill be gone all daz and exhausted at night, but we shall see.
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