Blogs from Europe - page 11696

Happy Father’s Day! The kids got up around 8 and had a bowl of cereal. I got dressed and took Eliza to the bakery to get some special pastries for father’s day. Emma made a card and Abigail made some wrapping paper to wrap his new water bottle up (the metal kind; he was the only one without a water bottle). We were all out the door and on the bus a little after 10am. At the train station we bought our tickets (6.80 euros each for Jonathan and I) and made the mandatory reservations for the Thalys train that runs from Brussels to Paris, which we will be taking on our trip to France in two weeks. We have eurail passes that are good for France but you still have to pay an extra ... read more

Our original intention yesterday had been to travel south to see my grandparents who are now both in their 80s. The plan had been for my sister, Esther, to drive us down but she was far too ill to do it. Today, Franziska, my father's wife, came to the rescue and after a quick phonecall to see if they had time, we were zooming off to see only my grandpa who is currently recouperating in a spa resort after having a replacement knee put in. My grandma was too busy to see us at such short notice unfortunately. We took my grandfather for coffee and cake and I couldn't help but be impressed by how well he is walking just 5 weeks after his operation. It was also nice to see him on his own ... read more

So things are continueing to get tricky with the busy season. After Barcelona our plan was to head to Italy but the cheaper hostels had already been booked so we headed to Switzerland which ended up working out perfect. Interlaken is an overpriced town full of tourist and backpackers looking to get their adventure fix either with rafting, skydiving, hiking, bungee jumping etc. It is also a party town so its easy for the vulnerable to be brainwashed with all the big secreens showing peoples skydiving videos all night. We purposely booked only two nights in hopes of avoiding the bank account sucking madness of Interlaken. We didnt do so well Our first night we got really drunk and headed to a nightclub with a couple of Mexican girls we met. Turns out this club ... read more

We spent another day exploring a bit of the city and walking around. We had some delicious austrian food and then decided to head to Innsbruck to crash for the night before taking a train the next day to Garmisch-Partenkirchen to meet with one of my college friends living there, Kim. Aaron decided to read the arrivals board rather than the departures so we missed out train to innsbruck and instead decided to go to Munich for the night and catch a train to Garmisch in the same fashion the next day. The train took about six hours and we arrived in Munich late to crash after grabbing some food and realizing that our hostel was likely next to every sex shop and strip club in Munich. ... read more

Now that I'm done summarizing the past, I would like to write a little bit about what the future holds. I think that the reason I was inspired to summarize 15 trips in one day (I've been typing for about 9 hours straight now) is because I have so much to look forward to. At the end of this month, I will travel to Uzbekistan. The preview of that trip will follow this post. In October 2007, Raluca and I will spent two or three weeks in Romania, possibly via Rome if Raluca's brother is still working there. For three months in early to mid-2008, I will take Phase I of the round-the-world trip. This wil certainly feature Tibet, Nepal, and India. The rest of the trip is not yet confirmed. For three months in early ... read more