bsktcase's Guestbook

Looks like an interesting and hard day for all of you! Thanks for taking my kid...I#m sure she loves it!

American Drivers
"I learned it from watching you!" *sigh* Giving us a bad name! :)

What a neat picture with the castle high above in the background. My daughter was born in Germany 21 years ago nad she just got back from a trip there about 3 weeks ago. She went to the castle and had a great time. She loved Munich and it is one of my favorites as well. Have a great time!!

I'd say not worth it.:) It seems costly, plus the space it takes up is precious.

Eagle Creek cubes?
Hi CMH, it looks like you're quite prepared. I don't get the point of the Eagle Creek cubes though. Can't you just roll up your clothes and put them in whatever bag without having to have an extra container in which to place them (thus taking up additional space in your luggage)?

PCC Insider
Your review holds completely true and this comes from an insider, a non-tourist. A came to Laie as a student and became one PCC's ambassador tour guides. The ambassador tour package for an western English speaking person is a waste. Which is what I did most of the time. I do speak another language and loved every chance I got to use this for a tour. I do believe that PCC can be for everyone though. You just need to know what your buying, just like a car. Many times the ambassador tour people were sold ticket packages they didn't really want. Some of the tour guides are fantastic and some aren't. I did this job for about 3 years and then on-call after that. That is a long time for a student job when many just do it for a semester or maybe a year. If I had been your tour guide, then we could have skipped most of the shows and been in the village huts. I was able to teach about the Tongan village alone for up to twenty minutes. (I took Tongan language and cultural classes). Also PCC now has village scheduling problems. They claim to be there for the students but over the last 13 years I see them cutting back the number of student workers, increasing ticket prices, and increasing full time administrative staff. They used to have village shows every half hour and the canoe show twice. And it was a good canoe show. The one they have now is no good and any time I have family or friends come, we skip it. It is too crowded and not interesting enough. As for the authenticity, it is pretty good and well balanced with the entertainment. The dancers wear various costumes from different periods in their history which include pre and post Christian contact but they don't explain everything in their demonstrations and if you have a guide who is any good, she could tell you that. (My husband was a dancer there for 5 years). The ironic thing is even though most of the workers actually come from those island, sometimes they don't know their own cultures or neighbor cultures. I have trained and knew more about the cultures than students who were from there. So you can't always know who to direct your questions to while there. Sadly, they are understaffed, student worker wise, and no longer staff the Marquesas village and now it falls under the overworked Tahitian workers to handle both areas. The Marquesas have a different language and dance in comparison to Tahiti. One other sorry note for loss of authenticity is that they no longer show the "Polynesian Odyssey" at their imax theater which had fairly authentic reenactments of Polynesian life. They show other imax movies which are seen in other theaters so there is no need to go to the imax at all now. Sorry for all this rambling but here is a summary of my advice: 1) If you speak English, don't get the ambassador tour guide 2) skip the canoe show, Laie tour, and imax: focus on the villages 3) ask questions as often as possible to the workers, perhaps ask the same question to more than one worker to see if there is a different answer If PCC gives you a survey, please suggest: 1)fix the village show schedule so shows are on every half hour making it possible to see all the shows in one day or having the option to pace yourself better to avoid running from show to show or standing around with nothing to do. 2) train all staff better in the Polynesian culture 3) offer the "Polynesian Odyssey" imax again 4) offer the canoe show twice to avoid overcrowding and shady seating for everyone

Saw Bones!
Your pictures are beautiful! Much better than the ones I looked up on their websites. Looking forward to seeing ALL of your pictures! John taped PBS "Over Germany" for me while I was gone. : ) Got a kick out of Bones! Wished I was there.

A Rick trip
That guide book is sure doing you a lot of good! The descriptions of your adventures are entertaining! Got another post card, love'em! No post cards on my quilt shop hop only 42 pttns & fabrics to remember them by. House ok & 1 pkg arrived. Cloudy here & cool.

very good shape
For some reasons I didn't read the last blogs as they came in, so I read them all at once right now. - Lot's of Europeans hardly even know the Sound of music (and if, they either had been exchange students or they know it as "Die Trapp Familie" (The Trapp family) :) Ulfs sais he only knows the german version, and he thinks it to be an "extremely bad and tastless movie" :) - St. Hildegard is especially known for her medication. In Germany nobody sees her in combination with feminists, but as a patron for doctors and nurses. How I know this? My aunt is a nun in the convent of the Benedictines, founded by St Hildegart, in Bingen ... if you care to visit...:) - I look very much foreward to see you again, but to be frank, I expect you to either be totally exhausted or in better shape than you make us readers believe:)) Salzburg, Bingen, Mainz, Köln, Aachen, Trier all within a couple of days :)) Have fun, looking foreward to see you, Drea

Sound of Music
It wasn't at all what I expected. Glad I didn't take the tour bus there from Vienna in 1970. I would probably have enjoyed the scenery. Like today, on the Quilt Shop Hop clear over to Duvall! Mozart sounds fun! Got 2 more of your postcards, thanks.

courtesans
I read a book about courtesans and a king's mistress was more powerful than his wife--literate, trusted advisor. I'm jealous you got to see Neuschwanstein!

You made the "Apotheker" sell 50 tablets of Ibuprofen to you? Either you bribed, are more seriously sick than you admit, the Apotheker is used to Americans or you had an birthday-aura with you he couldn't resist :) I'd rather catch you cold and travel with you than staying here, btw...