Germany and Sweden

Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know... I know I said I would make more of an effort to work on this blog, but EXCUUUUSE me for wanting to experience more, and write less.

Actually, I've had time to add entries, but often times, I've been on computers that wouldn't allow me to connect my camera, or I just didn't have my camera with me at the time.

Right now, I'm at a decent hotel in Toledo, Spain. My trip ends in two days, so I would be out, exploring this city, but Graham had an allergic reaction to something he ate late last night, and so we stayed up late to make sure he was going to be all right. He's fine now, and is upstairs sleeping in our room. Fortunately, we are at a hotel, and not a dirty hostel.

Okay, so I left you all hanging in Berlin, so that's where I am going to pick this up:

In Berlin, locals are friendly, but do not show nearly as much emotion as people did everywhere else we've been (except for Prague). I was surprised at how many people speak English, and do so well. A man at an information booth at the train station took the award for European Who Speaks English With the Funniest Accent (easily). In contrast, a couple guys approached us outside a club, first speaking to us in German (apparently they were asking for drugs), and when they found out we were from the USA, they spoke to us in English, and could have easily passed for an American.

We spent five nights in Berlin. We wouldn't have stayed as long, but Germany qualified for the Euroleague championship in soccer (or fussball, as they would say), so we added a night to our stay. While in Berlin, we did another bike tour, went to the German History Museum, went to a couple crazy clubs, and so much more. We found comfort in some of the similarities to the States. We ate (every day) at a real good California mission style burrito restaurant (it had fresh guac!). Germans now drink more coffee (big, American style coffees) than they do beer - so i got my caffeine fix. When we were feeling worn out, we were able to go watch Indiana Jones, in English.

In Berlin, the clubs don't get going till after 1 am. Unlike Spain, people don't eat late there. Neither Graham or I could figure out what in the hell locals do from 9:00 pm to 1:00 am...

We left Berlin at the right time. Deutschland lost to Spain in the finals, and the city seemed devastated. We watched the game on a giant screen near the Brandenburger gate. I believe somewhere around 2-3 million people gathered in the area to watch the game on one of four screens. The scene was pretty chaotic (although i can imagine it would have been much more wild here in Spain). Entrance gates were being shut, and thousands of people were trying to sqeeze through the one last gate left open. Fortunately, we made it through, but not without bringing in some Germans' sweat and face paint with us. Just about everyone was wearing their country's colors, and a large portion of the people waved flags in the air. After learning that it wasnt until recently, that showing national pride was accepted there, this was all pretty cool to see. Anyways, Germany lost, and on the way out, we saw a couple fights, and dozens of people crying.

The next day, we woke (way too early) to head to Sweden. One of Graham's good friends, and former college teammate at Cal, Jonas, is from Trelleborg, Sweden, so we decided to go there for a few days. I started to feel a bit ill (for the second time this trip. I never get sick back in the States), on the train ride. We passed through Hamburg, and Copenhagen on our way.

We stayed with Jonas' family the small, peaceful town of Trelleborg, in the southern part of the country. Jonas and his family were very friendly, and generous. Even though Jonas was Graham's friend, and I was tagging along, I never really felt uncomfortable or out of place. After staying in so many hostels, it was nice to have the comfort of a home. However, as time went on there, I began to feel worse. On the second night, I rallied, and we went out for a night in the city of Malmo. Unexpectedly, the club (on a Tuesday) was one of the coolest clubs we had been to. The energy of the place made me forget about how I had been feeling. However, I still took it easy. The three of us had a blast, and I was amazed at how beautiful the women were there. It was a bit ridiculous...

That night, it didn't become dark until 11 pm, and when we left at 3:30 am, the sun had already begun rising.

The next day, I felt much worse (I only had a couple drinks on that night out, and it would take more than a couple to be the reason why i felt worse). My stomach was causing some wicked problems. We went to the beach, but I only had energy to lay down. I had the chills, and was real low in energy. Later, Graham and Jonas went to play soccer, but i slept.

We left Sweden early the next morning. I wish i had had more energy, but I was very thankful that I was able to stay with Jonas' family, where it was easy to relax, play video games, and watch movies. Being in a hostel, feeling the way I did, would have been awful. I dug Sweden. The people were friendly, the quality of life seemed high, and the girls in the club in Malmo provided some of the best sight-seeing Europe has offered us.

Allright folks. That's it for now. There is still so much to tell. On the next entry, i will get into Amsterdam and Paris, and Barcelona, if I have time.

Adios. Au revoir, Ciao

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