the pictures dont do it justice
11 kilometer run
Fondue
im a gangster
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Snowboarding/Switzerland/Austria Pictures
the pictures dont do it justice11 kilometer runFondueim 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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