Augusta woke me up at about 6:30 am so that I could listen in to the call to Shawn's family to announce that Augusta is pregnant. But, alas, it was busy and we couldn't get through. Later, Shawn and Augusta were able to get through at the Navy base. I slept some more. Once getting up and about, Augusta, Kai, and I met up with Shawn for lunch at the base, where I met three of his co-workers. It was odd being on a base with soldiers around, but it also felt a little like home being around so many Americans. [View Full Entry]

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The morning went well and I was soon on a flight to Istanbul to make a connection to Bahrain. I had a four hour layover in Istanbul... so I got to see a lot of the airport and try some of the food. I also called Augusta to let her know the trip was going well. I also called Celeste to let her know how things were going (and to relay this info to mom and John). Also, at the Istanbul airport I picked up a copy of the Silver Chair... the sixth book in the Chronicles of Narnia... I was [View Full Entry]

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In the morning, I got my bags packed and ready to go. Thea and I then set out to see the Book of Kells at Trinity College. However, it was pretty packed, and with the time constraints, I decided I would rather visit the Guinness Storehouse... so we took a taxi there. By the way, I think all of the cabs we took had Irish drivers... even though there are a lot of immigrants in Dublin... it was kind of refreshing and the Irish drivers liked to talk a lot... giving me more insight into Ireland. Thea and I then toured [View Full Entry]

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Well, pretty much during my whole stay in Dublin the weather was unpredictable hour-to-hour. Most mornings started out sunny... only to turn windy, chilly, and rainy, then switch back to sunny for a bit before repeating the process. On this day, bouts of hail were also thrown in. While it let up for awhile, we walked around a park and a little town-area (still in Dublin) nearby. In the park there were a few duck families. And also along the way were what looked like four male ducks courting a female duck... three of the males standing side-by-side on a little [View Full Entry]

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Woke up late and then walked to where Thea works (just off of St. Stephen's Green... "green" means "park". Thea gave me a tour of the building... I forget how old she said it is, but hundreds of years. It was built using Georgian achitectural styles... like many of the buildings in Dublin. "Georgian" refers to the years of King George. It consists of a narrow brick building with four of five floors. The front door is one of the showpieces of the building, and usually painted with a gloss paint. The doors were often bright colors of green, blue, or [View Full Entry]

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Got a late start. There is a little town-area, near where Thea and Damien live, with little stores and restaurants... so I walked around there for awhile and also got lunch. From there I walked to Thea's work and said "Hi!". Then I went to the National Gallery of Ireland (http://www.nationalgallery.ie/), which displays a range of Irish and European artwork. Great artwork, but I'm also kind of burnt-out on the typical European artwork. From there, I walked to Trinity College... beautiful campus. Lots of students and tourists were out and about. A large pub at the corner of campus was o [View Full Entry]

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Breakfast was pretty good at the hotel, and I saved a roll and some cheese for later. Then I took the underground from Old Street to Angel to the Internet cafe to check email, etc. and then took Angel to Westminister. Exiting the underground, the first thing I saw was Big Ben towering above. I then walked across Westminister bridge to get a better view of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament on the other side of the river Thames. Next up was Buckingham Palace, so I doubled back and wandered through some parks and neighborhoods (took the long way) [View Full Entry]

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Started the day out at the Basel train station in Basel on the French side. Walked to the Swiss side to get a refund of my ticket for the previous night (sleeper car to Paris that was cancelled do to striking), then went back to the French side and hopped on the train to Paris, which takes about four hours from Basel. By this time I was so tired that I sprawled out in first class and slept... shoes off, very dishevelved, and smelling a bit. During this, I woke up periodically to new passengers hopping on the morning train... most [View Full Entry]

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One very long, exciting day. Started with a great breakfast at the hostel... some cereal, bread, honey, butter, hot chocolate, and yogurt. Ready to go, I went to pick up my skis and took the lift up (which is actually three lifts to get to the very top... from about 3,000 feet in Engelberg to about 10,000 feet elevation at the top of Mount Titlis). This morning it was snowing in the mountains and had already accumulated about 3 to 4 inches. This made for great skiing. Furthermore, it was a Monday and the ski season is at its low point, [View Full Entry]

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Woke up around 6:50, got ready, and headed for the subway. Took the subway to the train station and, after a few connections and about seven hours, I was in Lucerne (Luzern). Lucerne looks very Swiss. I really like the architecture. It has a river running through it with very clear water and big swans that swim towards people in hope of getting some food. The hostel was big, and the staff was very nice. About six people stayed in the room I was in. There was one overweight, older guy that breathed heavily and snored loudly... sleeping in the bunk [View Full Entry]

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