Interlaken,Switzerland

Thank goodness for Interlaken!! Now, ya all know that I tend to gravitate towards some extreme sports... well, this is the land of Extreme Sports and i am thankful!

First off, Interlaken, actually, Switzerland in general is absolutely phenominally beautiful! The Alps, the Valleys, the Waterfalls, the Chocolate! - everything is fabulous!

Day 1 - Our first night here, we survayed the land and of course took many pictures as well as wieghed our options on what sport were were going to do. After much deliberation and pursuading, Aimee and I decided on Canyoning and Zorbing.

CANYONING is basically jumping and exploring gorges, rappeling down cliffs and jumping and sliding down natural waterslides (think the end of Goonies) and hidden pools. - Awesome!

ZORBING is basically this huge ball that you climb into and strap yourself into, and then bam, the guides throw you down a hill and a huge net at the bottom catches you. It is probably the most silliest thing anyone could possibly do. So much fun.

That night we are at the bar in our hostel, where both Aimee and I ordered Tea (not exactly the typical drink you order at a hostel bar!).. anyway, needless to say, everyone was making fun of us and that entail, got us talking to Sashal. A local as well as a guide on multiple sports. Aimee of course, nervous about the Canyoning from the beginning, is now in deep conversation and questions with him about canyoning, being a guide and what and what not to do. It is quite hysterical! Also, Aimee brings up the point to Sashal that she recently had eye surgery and the Dr. says to wait at least 3 months for it to entirely heal but it has only been 6 weeks, is she OK? Sashal had the same surgery and quickly advised her NOT to go Canyoning. So of course, that calmed Aimee's nerves, and she quickly opted for another sport. ICE CLIMBING! Of course, I too am intreged by this sport, so in addition to Canyoning and Zorbing, i decide to join Aimee in Ice Climbing!

ICE CLIMBING wow, basically you are rapelling down crystaline blue cliffs and glaciers and climbing back up with ice hammers and spikes on your boots. Extremely intense!

Day 2 - Aimee and I wake up for our first adventure, Ice Climbing. We head down to the meeting point where Joyce picks us up and we meet HANO, our guide. He is right out the movie "Vertical Limit!" So awesome and a local so, we got the best of both worlds. He gears us up, layers us up with extra clothes, because, um.. hello we are ice climbing! and tells us what and what not to do, then we jump in the van and head about an 1hr up and outside Interlaken to Steinglecier (the mountain / glacier we are to climb - "Stein" meaning Stone and "Glecier" meaning Glacier)... this was awesome! After another quick lesson we load our backpacks and head up. Now, one would think this would be easy, but let me tell ya... WOW oh WOW, it was a little crazy. The climbing itself wasn't so bad, the falling rocks and dodging of bullets from the Swiss Army was a little difficult. Now I know that you all are thinking, yeah right, bullet dodging, sure... but it's TRUE! The Swiss Army was shooting randomly into the mountains where were were climbing. Super Scary! After about 45min or so of climbing, we reached the snow, where we clipped on our spikes and headed into the snow and glaciers. We were roped together and leaping over gorges to our destination. There we enjoyed a little picnic while Hano set up shop deep into the glacier and gorgers. Once he was ready, we split up into teams. A Brit named Mike and I team up, while Aimee teamed up with Ben -aka Ferrari - from Germany and Michelle and Marvin (a couple) stayed together. (Oh.. by the way, Ben was nicknamed Ferrari b/c Aimee and I believed Hano when he told us that Ben was not taking the van with us because he was going to drive his Ferrari 3/4 of the way up. And the whole time, we were saying what kind of idiot drives their Ferrari up a mountain!?! Um, gullable - ya think! Which of course we only learned after dropping him off at his 1972 white van that Hano was kidding!) Anywho, the start, Mike went first and propelled down the icy glacier, all the while i am holding him via rope and harnass. Slowly he digs in his feet and ice hammers and climbs up. So, now it is my turn, and of course the slight competitivness in me kicks in... and i decide that i have to do it better and quicker! I succeed... well i think we tied. :-) So, now we are pumped and we head down the glacier to the deeper gorges and again take turns. It is so fun and hard! The key is to use your legs, not your arms to pull you up. Literally you kick your toes straight into the ice and with baby steps you climb up all the while using your ice hammers to go higher and higher up the glacier. Unbelievable! One point, i slipped and i was hanging by my harness holding on to one ice hammer, I felt like Chris O'Donnel in Vertical Limit. Then i swung myself back and resumed climbing. Awesome!

After we were done with our ice climbing, we headed back down the mountain again trying to avoid the Swiss Bullets, luckily, a lonely Swiss Army dude appeared out of nowhere with a walking talking and told us to stop or else we would get shot! He had to walkie down to the guys at the bottom to let them know were were coming down and to hold off on shooting so we wouldnt get shot!!!! SO CRAZY!!

As soon as we reached "base," we darted across the street for our Zorbing Adventure! There, we teamed up with 3 other girls from San Francisco and a dude from Korea. We piled into a van and headed up the hill. We all jumped out and immdediately started laughing at ourselves for what we were about to do. After a quick briefing on what was going to happen, and informing us that this is the fastest Zorbing in the world!!, We all climbed up the hill and waited our turn. The San Fran girls went first, then Korea, then Aimee then me. Aimee was a little nervous, thinking that she would actually roll over the net, but pulled through, despite forgetting to breathe, she enjoyed it! Then it was my turn. I loved it all. I dove in that ball and strapped myself in and i was off - hysterically laughing the entire way down!!! - Ready for round two!! This time Aimee was more relaxed and we all Yoddled the entire way down. SO fun!! and Seriously if you want to act like a kid again.. GO ZORBING!!

THe following day, I was ready! Ready for Canynoning!! And ya all know my motto.. "Go Big or Go Home!" So i opted for the longest, hardest trail! 7hrs of pure amazing fun!! So Awesome! We met at the base at 7:45. 6 Guys and ME! We received our helmets, wetsuits, harnesses and the rest of our gear and jumped in the van and headed out about an hour or so out of Interlaken. Once we reached our destination, we changed into our gear and hiked through the valley and mountain. The trails were slippery, muddy, steap, rocky, you name it we climbed over it or under it! Finally we reach our spot. Neil and Francie are our guides and Neil is crazy and awesome canyoning! The first stop - a 15-18ft jump into a small pool below. And the key is, you must jump into this certain spot just after the waterfall - a little to the left or a little to the right or not far enough, you are either smacked into a huge rock or drowning under a waterfall! WOW! ... so.. i am in the middle of the line looking forward to seeing someone else go first when Neil calls my name and says your up first! WHAT!?!?! So, i make my way to front.. take a quick peek down and WAHOOOOOOOO!! jump right in.. give the OK sign and swim on .. turn around and literally was said outloud: "HOLY CRAP!" Then i watch the others... Awesome! So, saweet, the first jump is out of the way and now we make our way to our first "waterslide - called "MOUTH." So steep and whindy (is that even a word?) anyway, Neil tells us that we have to have our arms crossed above our heads but not too high because when you go down the slide, the rocks turn you over and if you dont have your arms in the right place, you will hit the wall and get hurt - Then he takes out his TEETH and shows us what he means! Well, needless to say, we all look at each other with the same "OH SHOOT" look on our face... and again.. Guess who gets to go first!?!? That's right ... ME! .. so.. i show him my arm stance.. and he says its good and i jump into the raging water and HANDLE that slide!! So, now, obviously the edge is off.. we are good to go. We are thinking the hardest is over, we are BAD ASS! A few smaller slides, one we take head first and a few smaller jumps into pools that we have to jump into and land on our backs b/c it is so shallow. Then he brings us to yet another huge jump where we have to jump to the side of a waterfall into a pocket that is the width of about 6-8ft - maybe - and the close to the rock wall you are the better infact he even suggests touching it! So again.. the leader that i have been forced to be, i jump in first! Hand sliding down the smooth rock wall and Splash! OK sign and move out of the way! Crazy!! (oh.. and keep in mind at each jump, we have to have our left and right foot in a specific spot sometimes on the guide's shoe, if not the jump won't be a success!) Later we reach a waterfall we are harnassed down while riding it! Unbelievable!! Then one of the coolest jumps we have to do is actually jump over a waterfall ONTO the slanted smooth rock wall cliff and slide down!! SO absolutely amazing!! By now, me and the boys are stoked beyond belief! We cannot believe all the stuff that we have just done!! and then Neil brings us to our 2 highest jumps.. and 20ft jump and an 30-35ft jump!! This time, i was luckily enough to not go first, which allowed be to be creative, so at my 1st 20ft jump, i decide to do a back flip!! EH OH!!!! NAILED IT!! then we climbe via rope to the 30-35fter and there i calmly just jump off like a lady! :-) once in the water, we persuade Neil to let us do the 20fter again!! and this time.. Front flip baby!! So much fun!!! Now we are all beyond thrilled with ourselves. We head to the next waterslide and waterfall fearless! We propell down steep rocks and waterfalls into caves, dive into slides and pools run sideways off walls into pools. Absolutely fantastic!! Then we finish our day in a huge pool and hike back to the van for a delicious lunch.

A perfect day!!

Off to the night train to Amsterdam!

Munich... and Mozart

Munich... where to begin... ok.. well first off, I had a great surprise when i get a call from my friend Aimee Garcia from LA. She tells me she is thinking of a visit, this by the way is about a week before I was to be in Munich. She asked where I would be on the 24th and i said, "i dunno, somewhere in the south of Germany, maybe Munich you should come." Not two minutes later do i get a text saying that she is on the phone with the travel agent.. and another 2 minutes later, it is booked! WOW! so.. Munich with Garcia...

I had a day in Munich by myself which was great. I did their walking tour and learned quite alot. First off, the Child Monk, the Lion and Beer are the "symbols" of Munich. The huge wood tower thing, i forget the name, is a sign of affection / love. If you like a girl, you would put that large mast thing in her yard and when she wakes up and sees it, if she likes it and you, she will dance around it, if not, than nada and the mast is taken away. However if another guy likes the same girl, he can steal yours and puts his in its place.. And unfortunately, if she only sees his, she would have no clue about you. So, be creative and stealth! Also, I saw the Glockenspeil (i KNOW i spelt that wrong!) :-) it is this show that is put on at 11:00, 12:00 and 5:00 in the center of town in the New Town Hall. A little overrated in my book. You stand in the center of town looking up to the sky where the Glockenspeil is two merry-roung type shows, one on top of the other. The top one is a wedding of the kind of Baravia and his bride to be. There there is a mini jousting show. The one below it is of the Coopers dance and the Plaque or some crazy disease. Basically back in the day, disease ripped through Bavaria and the Coopers (who make barrels for beer).. figured out that the spread of disease had stopped, so instead of word of mouth, they came up with a kooky dance. And to this day the Coopers do that dance very 7 years in the square. And it is also on that little merry-go-round type thing in the Glockenspiel. Also, i learned how Hitler tried to start a revolution in Munich and Failed (known as the Beer Hall Push) at the HB Beer Garden. ..also, just outside the President's Palace, there are four lions, and when you rub 3 of them you get good luck, if you rub all 4 - that is just greedy... very interetsting stuff.

After the tour, i head to the park to relax, read and write. There I became amazing friends with this little butterfly. I mean she was fearless and quite wise. :-)

Later that night Aimee arrived. Shortly after, we headed to Tollwood, a local festival with ZERO tourists. It was fantastic, located just behind the Olympic Field, which was also amazing! the first thing we saw when we got there was this lady crawling across the stage. Aimee immediatly thought she was doing an interprative dance, i quickly advised her that, no.. she was just drunk! So funny! We ate yummy food.. i had this out of this world corn on the cob! I know, corn - really? - but yes. It was soooo delicious! and Aimee got this yummy veggie pita thing. Anywhoo.. Later we walked around the festival and met two guys from Munich where Aimee of course quizzed them on everything. They were laughing at us hysterically and gave us some great tips on what to see!

The next day, we did Mike's Bike Tour. It was so fun and funny! I volunteered to be "The Ass Man." basically, i bring up the rear of the bike group - obviously, since i am such the bike tour pro! :-) This bike tour was so much fun. We went through town and learned all the history of the major sights and the English Gardens (which is 4 times the size of Central Park) as well as the Isar River (i am sure i spelt that wrong, too!) :-) .. anyway, this river is BAD ASS! The current is so strong, it is the run-off from the Bavaria Alps. At one point in this river, there is an huge rock that cause the current to form a constant wave that surfers actually surf! And at night, they have spot lights so they can surf at night. Each surfer waits their turn and jumps in! UNREAL!! Further down this river, is a fun place for people to jump in! That's right! During the tour, Frankie, our Hawiian guide was like who's up for it! Aimee and I, along with a few others, were like Heck Yeah! So, since neither of us had our bathing suits, we stripped down to what we could and on the count of 3 we all jumped in! Since the current was so strong we had to follow strict directions if not.. we were gonners! So, after jumping in, we had to immediatly swim to the left where the current was stronger but less rocky and once we were about 10meters from the bridge we were going to go under, we had to lay feet first and head up like a board or else we would lose a leg or something b/c of the rocks and rapid under and after the bridge. Aimee of course was just enjoying the river when one guy was like, "Dude - Feet first! feet First!!" - Aimee in a panic quickly changed her tune and was laying the right way. After the bridge, the only way to get out is to grab onto a tree branch and swing yourself to the side and climb out! Amazing!! So, of course, we did it again! This time, we went a little further up the river and jumped in and about half way down, we stopped at a "pool" type aread of the river that was blocked off by a wall. Then jumped back in to the current and did it all over again! FUN!!!

After the tour, a few of us hit of the HB Beer Garden it was so fun, i will post the pic of all of us with the "Germans" when i get it!

The next day, Aimee and i decided to take a day trip to Slazburg, Austria - the land of Mozart and The Sound of Music. We had a blast! Mozart's house is Huge and he had a sister that was just as talented as he was on the piano, but was overlooked.. such a shame. Later, we headed through town to the castles and Squares!! Along with a few of the sights from The Sound of Music. :-) So beautiful! (I will get the names from Aimee, she was taking notes for me) anyway, there we saw amazing views of all of Salzburg. Unbelievable! After a little sushi dinner, which NO WAY compares to Roku, we headed back to Munich and packed up for our early train to Interlaken, Switzerland.

Berrrrrrrrrrrrlin

Berlin... WOW what an amazing city. Very modern, but there is still a constant reminder in the air of how awful it was there.

I stayed in what was once East Berlin and it is still to this day, not as updated or progessed as West Berlin. Not as many shops and such but very unique.

My first night i walked around town and just soaked it all in and grabbed a super cheap Vietnamese dinner for 8€! Amazing! Berlin doesnt have the typical German Food anymore, it is so international, that it is easier to find Asian cuisine and Turkish food than typical German food.

The next day i of course did the bike tour. It was alot of fun even though it rained cats and dogs! and i am not kidding.. a few poodles did actually fall out if the sky! But it was great. We went everywhere, Fernsehturm (TV Tower - which the Swedes actually built), Brandenburger Tor, Bebelplatz (where studentsburned nearly 20,00 books) - unreal!, The Reichstag, the Jewish Memorial, Tiergarden (of course for beers in the beer garden and lunch - delicious tomato soup!), Check Point Charlie and the Berlin Wall, and so much more. It was really great and i got a free T-shirt since i did all three of the Fat Tire Bike Tour Tours as well as my own piece of the Berlin Wall! WAHOO!

That night, practically everyone from the bike tour did the pub crawl. We all kinda bonded in the rain. And the pub crawl was hysterically fun. We went to this on bar that was 4 stories high and with a beach bar on the bottom floor between the buildings. But what is so cool about this bar, like Chirstiania in Coppenhagen, it is run by squatters. Basically after the war, the Soviets tore down all huge buildings to create parking lots. But when they asked who owned or lived in that building, artists claimed it, so the Soviets said, heck, Keep it! So it has art galleries within as well as dance floors and bars. very cool.

The next day i again walked Berlin. In East Berlin they have the "Old School" walk and don't walk signals.. SO great! Western Europe wanted to change them to their more modern signal, but they refused. I also went to the Check Point Charlie / Wall Museum. Unreal. They had personal stories of people that escaped and unfortunately of those that attempted but failed. One lady hollwed out 2 surfboards and laid in between the two. Another lady nailed two suitcases together and laid inside that in the back of a trunk! Unbelievable the guts of these women! This one man was a janitor, and he hide his family in the janitor closet for 2 days then sent a signal to his buddy on the West side and they hooked up a zip line and he and his family zipped line across the wall just above the lights undetected! Crazy!

That night i did probably the absolute best thing i have EVER Done in my life. I had "Dinner in the Dark!" That's right - absolute darkness. You decide which menu you want, veggie, fish, meat or mystery. I went fish, while my two friend Tom and Curtis went mystery. It was AMAZING! After you decide what you want, they lead you downstairs where a blind person, in our case, Wolfgang, takes your hand and you are lead to your table in a conga line style. There Wolfang walked us through the details, for example if we were finished eating, we had to call his name, because obviously in the complete darkness and that he is blind, he cannot tell that we are finished and if we had to used to the restroom to call him, so he could escort us to it. Unreal. Your senses are in complete overload. I think you actually enjoy your food more, because you cannot see what it is your're eating. Usually, if i don't like how it looks i am a little weary to eat it. But in this case you had no choice! -- and of course we each tasted the lemon garnishes on the plate, thinking it was part of the meal!!! Hysterical! And by the end of the night, even though we could not see at all, the three of us were pretty good - Cheersing, passing bottles and silverware with no problems at all. Unbelievable! Oh! And how could i forget, they also put on a show in the dark! Some of the waiters and staff were actors and actresses. The night that we went, they did mini movies. So we were inthralled with Titanic, Psycho, Dick Tracy, and a few others. Over course it was all in German and in the dark, we we had to really think on what it was, but it was amazing!

The next day, it rained, again. Awful! But I still headed out. Went to the New German History Museum. Really insightful. Everything from the Nazis to Communism and the Romans before that. Intense.

Then... Munich!

Stockholm & Coppenhagen

Stockholm... Stockholm is a BEAUTIFUL city and I mean beautiful in every sense of the word! There is not ONE ugly person in all of Stockholm! Not kidding at all, I feel like I stepped right into a Nautica Ad! Plus the city is so clean, the parks, the SQUARES i mean everything is fantastic!

The weather was so great. It felt like a crisp fall day with clear skies and an amazing sunset at 12:30am!! and an equally beautiful sunrise at 3:30am! (and yes, I was awake for both...)

My first day and night, I walked all around the Old Town and the canals. Stunning! And then, that night my new friend Andy from my hostel and I grabbed dinner at this restauran that was called "garlic and shots." I had a delicious pasta and chicken meal with of cousre tons of garlic! But if you know my mom, she loves cooking with garlic, so Andy was a little taken back on how much there was, and i could hardly taste it! :) after dinner we headed to a few bars. very fun and interesting in that it feels like it is 6:00pm when in reality it is 12:00! Also in the majority of the bars they have casinos! So..needless to say, i played couple of hands of black jack...and WON! wahoooooooo!! so much fun and dangerous! I am sure they make a killing off drunk Swedes and tourist!

The next day, Andy and I decided to take the boat tour throughout. Really cool and interesting. I am not sure if you all know this or not, but Stockholm is made up of several islands all connected bridges and trams. Unfortunately, it rained, but that didnt stop us for enjoying the day! So after our tour and walking around, we headed up to the top of the TV Tower to see some amaziong views. The wind was so strong at the top, it knocked me off my feet. It was quite hysterical!

That night we hit the town, Stockholm style. Ok, well more tourist Stockholm style.. lol.. We went to this AMAZING restaurant for dinner, where we ate Reindeer! Yes, I am sorry but I ate Rudoloph and I am pretty sure Andy at Dancer! And let me tell you, it was UNBELIEVABLE! So delicious!! We both practically licked the plate clean! Highly recommend you try it some day! Then after dinner, fully stuffed, we headed to the Absolute Stockholm Ice Bar. Super Fun! Great cocktails and my poor little toes were freezing, but well worth it! We still had a blast! And then we were onto a bar that was on a boat! It was really fun and of course after a few cocktails Andy says.. hey, where are the girls... and of course in true RG style I was oblivious to the fact that it was Gay night... it was really funny! So after a little while of people watching we headed home.

The next day, Martin, an awesome local, took me to Vaxholm. An amazing little island about 40min-1hr by ferry. We had a delicious lunch and went to see the castle, which again we had to take a ferry to. But what was so funy is that the ferry is seriously the length of the distance to the island. So once the captain basically turned the boat around, we were at the other island. Hysterical! And this "castle" was quite pathetic. Sure there were some cannons and stuff. But really the museum inside was quite sad. But we made the best of it! After touring the rest of Vaxholm and some ice cream, we headed back to town. There we walked all around and managed to work up an appetite and tried some Libaniese Food (i am sure i spelt that wrong). It was very good but with a little kick. Then i said good bye and headed to Coppenhagen.

The night train to Coppenhagen was interesting. I was in a room with 5 other guys and one of them probably snored louder then anyone i have ever met. It was dreadful. He slept right above me and every 30min or so i would smack him so he would shut up! Awful! But dont worry, he told me he snored and gave me the A-OK to hit him...

Upon arriving to Coppenhagen, I am now so beat. I grab a locker for my stuff, since i plan on taking the night train to Berlin, and some food and head to the park for some light reading and napping. So nice. I was out! I set my alarm for my bike tour and I was ready to go!

The Coppenhagen Bike tour was alot of fun! It was just me and a dutch couple along with the owner / tour guide Neils. Coppenhagen is a fantastic city! And the MOST Bicycle friendly city in the world!!! Because of traffic, the government actaully removed one car lane and turned it into a bike lane. And at rush hour and all throughout the day, watch out b/c there are millions of bikers cruising around town - in suits, dresses, with strollers attached, you name it - very cool!!

Christiania in Coppenhagen is this fanatic commune that Neils took us through. About 40yrs ago or so, the government was sick of all the hippies hanging out in the city center so they forced them all to Christiania. There, they were basically allowed to do whatever they wanted. Old bulidings that have not been used since to the war or earlier were theirs to live in. So basically this is a squatters town. They even have their own flag. It is so artistic and fantastic but also very drug friendly.. The main street is known as Pusher Street for pushing drugs. They have graffetti everywhere and huge NO CAMERA signs all throughout. Basically if you have a camera out, they think you are a cop. Very crazy. Now the government is looking to "reclaim" Christiania and clean it up, make it into parks, etc... but the Christianians are not having it. Therefore, there have been major protests. Also what is cool about Christiania is that no one can move there or build anything, sure you can fix up what you have, but no new buildings can go up. And the only way to live there is if your family has lived there for generations with the "land" being passed down (even though they dont own it.) Very interesting place!

Neils was not only my tour guide, but my Coppenhagen hero. My night train was canceled, actaully no longer exists, so he graciously let me sleep on his couch free of charge. (Which we all know is fantastic when you traveling and are low on funds!) :) The rest of the day, Neils and I paled around on bikes. We went to his friends cafe in the park that has this amazing view and he told me some amazing traveling stories. He sailed his boat from San Francisco to Tailand! And now, from Sept 1st - May 1st he lives in Tailand and the rest he is back in Coppenhagen. All the while traveling and seeing the world. Absolutely amazing and Neils is probably one of the nicest guys I have ever met! Later we headed to a really cool wine bar with a couple of his friends, it was alot of fun!

Early that morning i took an extremely long train to Berlin... that is where i am at now. This city is awesome.. but more on that later! :)

Pictures to come, soon!!

Poland - Krakow and Warsaw

Ok.. so Poland was no where on my schedule of places to see, although i was interested when planning, just seemed a little too out of the way. But, throughout my travels, i have met many backpackers that said "GO TO POLAND - You won't regret it!" So, i said to myself, Rach... Go to Poland, why not!? So.. with that, i left Prague and headed to Krakow.

In my train compartment on the way to Krakow was a fun guy named Jack. HE just graduated from grad school and had 2 months to kill before starting a new job. Obviously two fun people flock together, hee hee, and he and i became fast friends and toured Krakow together.

Krakow is an astonishing city. Like Prague, it is untouched from the war. An amazing place. It has these amazing Squares, which we all know by now, i am OBSESSED with. And what is fun and funny about this square is after the bell rings at each hour, a trumpet player sticks out his trumpet and plays a little ballad. It was fantastic! Also, Krakow has beautiful views, castles and churches a Jewish quarter as well as JAZZ!! I love JAZZ!! For three nights in a row, Jack and i hit up different Jazz clubs until finally, our last night, we found the one i was looking for..M****. M*** is a famous Jazz Saxophone Musician out of Poland. And he now owns this club and the night we were there he played with the local band! It was OUT OF THIS WORLD!

The first day we arrived in Krakow, we basically handled the Old City and toured around. Found the "local" spot to have a couple of beers and then i had my first Pirogi for dinner.. It was quite nice actually. Then we head obviously to the Jazz bars and when that was over, we found one of those bikers with the seats in front (oh, Maroney, you know what i am talking about) and he hauled it around town to this underground club with really fun dancing. Also, oddly, at this club this girl was dressed in one of those silver vent tubes and was dancing. So strange!

the second day was very interesting and knowledgable. We went on a communism tour in an old T Car. It was really cool. Jack got to drive it and said it was like driving a golf cart without power steering! We went down to Nowa Huta which is a communism "planned city." It is really intersting and looks a little like the streets in Paris how they all run into the Arc de Triumph. All the building are the same in the 5 cities within the main one. All with their own schools, movie theathers, grocery stores, etc.. very cool..

Our third day, was a little depressing. We spent the day at Auschwitz Concentration Camp. I cannot even explain to you how awful that place is. It amazes me that people could what they did. I saw everything from the gas chambers to the cremation "ovens", to barracks, photos, stories of children, thousands and thousands of shoes, brushes, kids items, i mean everything. jack and i we sick and to add to it, it was cloudy and started to rain, which honestly was fitting. I think everyone should visit Auschwitz or another camp so everyone can see how despicable it was so we NEVER repeat it or anything like it.

Later that night, we ended our evening with dinner in the Kazimierz, the Jewish Quarter and then jazz baby!

Our fourth day we headed to Wieliczka Salt Mine. This was very fun and salty! :-) We were maybe 25-35 stories underground. Walking through mazelike tunnels and seeing these cool statues carved out of salt and they still had some of the old equipment and churches inside. Infact, that salt mine is still active and producing salt!

After the salt mines, Jack and i parted ways. He was heading to the south of Poland to hang out in the mountains where i am now in Warsaw. And to be quite honest, i wish i went to the mountains with Jack! Warsaw is Pee-U! Just another big time city. Sure it has the CHopin Musuem which i loved and the National Museum with Polish Artist and an Old Town with Obviously a square, but really.. eh, i could have skipped it.

Tomorrow i head to Stockholm and work my way down. I cant wait!

Pictures to come shortly.

Love and miss you!