Munchen und Fuessen, Wed. June 27- Sat. 30

Gruss Gott!

As soon as I arrived in Munich, my first German class dialogue test came back to me:
"Guten Tag!"
"Gruss Gott!"
"Ich heisse Christine, wie heiss du?"
Bavaria is Gruss Gott country!

I'm sorry Munich, I enjoyed you very much, but I think I had a few distractions that prevented me from absolutly loving you as a city! With only one day to see Munich and one to see Fuessen, combined with being nudged in between visiting Elizabeth in Berlin and getting to finally see Vic in Prague, Munich really did not get a fair chance to make the impression as the best city in Europe. All that being said, I did enjoy myself and made my way all through the city in my day that I had.

If anyone is reading this waiting to hear exciting European transportation stories, you might be upset to hear that I had an incredibly easy time finding my hostel. It was right across from the gigantic hauptbahnhoff.. with any food you could want at a train station... and only took about five minutes to walk to. My gosh, what a relief. I have realized that being in a hostel next to a train station does have its advantages--Five minutes to find as opposed to two hours, for example-- but I have also found that the areas next to the train stations are dirtier and a bit dicey. Apparently the section I stayed at in Munich was supposed to be next to some dicey "erotica" centers, but the only thing I saw were tons of African men always standing right outside my hostel... which happened to be next to a "Call to Africa" calling cafe... I'm not joking. By the way, I think that Munich must have stolen all the internet cafes from Paris. They are everywhere! Every other store is an internet cafe of some sorts. You can also buy underware, books, gadgets, and other random finds at these internet cafes.

Rather tired, I didn't venture out until Thursday morning. I actually considered taking one of the Free Tours that many of the hostels, or cities provide. I have never taken one, because to me, they seem somewhere inbetween a U-Guides UVa tour and a Colonial Connections or Maximum Ghost tour. I realize that many of you don't know both, or either of these groups... but just think of an excited, show-off cheerleader type giving out false information. So anyway, I have yet to take a tour... but on Thursday I had a blast following a few minutes of several different tours. There were tons of groups and individuals, (like myself... although remember I was floating between the groups,) all staring up at the Glockenspiel waiting for what my book called "The most overrated show in Europe." Yes, highly overrated, but coming out the clock were dancing coopers!! Yes, the highlight of the clock's little play were dancing coopers... will someone please pass this info. on to Marshall?

I climbed the St. Peter's Church Tower. I'm always up for a good tower climb, and this had to be one of the highest... and best. It was a lot safer than the climb to the top of the Church Tower in Amsterdam, (where my guide said that he was sure climbing to the top would not be allowed in the US, given the conditions,) and I think higher as well. I have found that towers are great for orienting yourself to the city! I found my next stop from it, the Viktuelien Markt. (I hope that spelling is close, I am not looking at my book right now.) It's a huge permanent farmer's market, with lots of... bier, pretzels, and sausages! I was proud of myself for getting the Bavarian/Munich musts of food-- a weisswurst, (white sausage,) pretzel, and a bier. I did get the small beer- which I think is about two pints in the US... or for those that know the Leafe... a mug on mug night. So, obviously, Christine did not opt for the classic beer stein size. The "small" one I had at noon though, was enough to send me off to Munich for the rest of the day with a bit of a buzz. I walked down to Odeonplatz where I thought it might be wise to get a large thing of water, and perhaps another bready pretzel. The University in Munich is beautiful... although to me looked very much like Stanford! No, I swear it's not just because I was thinking how I would see Vic in two days... all of the red tile on the roof looked like Stanford's buildings. I walked through the main Garden, where I didn't see any swans, and I'm positive I was supposed to see Swans! Although I made it up to the Olympic Village, there was nothing going on there except for a "Spain Expo," and I decided that I would simply wait for two-three weeks before seeing Spain. I thought perhaps the huge park where they have Oktoberfest might be nice for sitting and reading... but it seemed more like a huge, empty torn up field waiting for throngs of drunks celebrating Oktoberfest! I guess one would have to be there in Sept/Oct to actually get any use out of the park.

I saw very few dogs in Munich. Jenny, this is obviously not the place for you.
I did see the most amazing street musicians I have ever heard. I heard everything from Spanish guitar, to string and woodwind ensembles to a guy playing on a grand piano in the middle of the street!! And, they all had their CDs for sale! Munich is obviously very serious about their street musicians. Jared, perhaps a place for you and the band;)?

On Friday I went to Fuessen, but only for a few hours, as I was able to return to a hostel in Munich for Friday night, (to catch my 6:45 am train to Prague this morning.) Fuessen was beautiful... a little less crowded and ritzy than Heidelberg, but just as touristy. Mom and Dad, I think you would really like it there. The castle was an easy bus ride from the train. (EASY bus ride!! I know, the transportation on this trip was not too good to be true... because it was true.) Unfortunately for the Japanese tourists, they still struggled and asked ten billion questions to everyone. (But, then again, nothing different here;) I figured out how to get to the castle by following tons of other tourists who were going the same way. Now I hope that I would have done this no matter what my previous experience... but after working for Rev. City and listening to the question from the stupid person that asks, "where's the next scene?" while a hundred other people in front of him are all moving in the same direction to the next scene, I knew it was best to just follow the crowd.
Thanks to Chris, Rachel, and Paul for putting it in my mind to go and visit the "Cinderella Castle" the Neuenschweinstein Schloss. The castle was gorgeous, but even better was the walk and hike around it. Finally I saw tons of Swans, (hence the name of the castle--schwein.) I also thought about how lucky I am to have grown up in such a beautiful area as well. I think I took the mountains for granted when I was little!
It was as I was about to go into the castle that I had a huge scare. Many of you (non CWers) will not understand this fear--but count yourself lucky. I was positive I heard Felix's voice giving a tour! There was someone who sounded exactly like him! I quickly shot my head in every direction, (trying to figure out what direction I should NOT walk in,) until I calmed down when I saw that it was not, in fact, Felix. But he sounded just like him... maybe he has a voice-alike giving tours in Bavaria!! Ahhh!

Well, I have arrived in Prague. Had a wonderful train ride in with a bunch of the ditziest Irish girls I have ever met. Transportation to here was okay, not nearly as easy as Munich... but after walking in the wrong direction... only once... I made it:)

So closes the first leg of my journey. I imagine that the second will be quite different... with Vic here for fifteen days and Ellen here for nine... but I'm sure just as many adventures!

Berlin, Germany

Hallo from Berlin!

Ahhh, Berlin--a city best appreciated with a great guide who gives you a place to live for a week, great food, and intellecutally stimulating conversation! I do not think I would have appreciated Berlin as much if I had been the typical tourist, (that I am in other places.) Wait, actually I am not the typical tourist anywhere, I am an exceptional tourist, and budding travel expert! However, Berlin has so very many neighborhoods and lacks the major city square-tourist hub of other heavily touristed cities. I was not sure about the city at first, but I fell in love with it by the end! I understand why Vic lived here for a semester and wanted to move back and why Elizabeth does not want to leave!

I had a handful of places I knew I had to see, courtesy of Vic's constantly growing list. I strolled down Unter den Linden--the most heavily tourist section of town. I even got Elizabeth to act like a tourist--taking pictures under the "Good Girls Go to Heaven, Bad Girls Go to Berlin" sign, well, until she saw people of academia she knew and we had to run away;) We checked out the Wall remains at Potsdamer Platz, and adajacent monuments. There was a neat monument at the Bebelplatz, which consisted of empty bookshelves underground that you look at through glass on the ground. Doesn´t sound terribly exciting... until you think of how many books could fit on all those shelves, and the meaning of how many were burned by the Nazi youth. I climbed the Reichstag, (I think that´s a requirement,) and walked through the Tiergarten. Going by Vic´s suggestion, Checkpoint Charlie´s museum was interesting, but also one of the most cluttered museums I have ever seen! It was a bit interesting to come out of a museum that talked about how many people died around the area trying to escape and now the place is filled with vendors selling old East German memoribila.

In addition, I found the strip mall after strip mall where the Wall and space between the Wall once stood rather fascinating. There was construction everywhere. I tried to imagine Berlin when my brother first visited it about fifteen years ago. What a fascinating history.

Elizabeth, her sister, and I all went to Potsdam on Saturday. The Schloss Sanssouci was probably the best castle I have seen... although it is not a castle at all really, it was a summer home for Frederich II. I found it an appropriate place for Sukey to spend her summer. It was beautiful, and a wonderful day, save the massive rain-thunder-lightning storm that blew in quickly, turned our umbrellas inside out, and soaked us all.

I would have to say that one of the best parts of the week was going to one of the Turkish Markets... they had everything from olives to underware, including some tasty fried and syruped sweat bread. Another great treat was the bratwurst from the neighborhood sausage man. Perhaps not a highly intelligent man, or just one willing to take risks for his job--as he straps a gas burner to his back--but never the less, I ate my share of some great sausage on the street... and the photo proves it! Even the sausage, however, did not compare with the wonderful breakfasts of rolls and Elizabeth´s Grandfather´s homemade honey. It was the thick cream of the honey, and absolutly the best food I have had here. (Her grandfather is Swiss, to give proper credit.) I would say that it is worth the trip to Berlin just to have some of the honey, but as I ate almost all of it, you might have to visit her Grandfather in Switzerland. If you are planning on visiting Berlin though, I reccomend staying with Elizabeth!

Suprise Trip: Luxembourg City, June 19-20

Bonjour und Guten Tag!

For everyone who thinks they know exactly when I'll be where... haha, I have fooled you in a suprise trip to Luxembourg City, Luxembourg! I just went for a day, because I had an extra day before I could meet Elizabeth in Berlin. It was a fairly quick trip from Brussels...
well... it was almost a quick trip from Brussels.
After a smooth train ride I walked right out of the small train station in Luxembourg City, quickly found the bus my hostel directions said to get on, asked the driver if it was going to the hostel--yes it was, and was set to arrive at my hostel within minutes. As the bus drove through perhaps the most scenic city I have seen, I thought, "this is too good to be true, I have never gone from the train station to my hostel so effortlessly!" And of course, it was too good to be true. Suprise! They had just started road work on the road to my hostel, so it was closed! The bus driver waved me to the front of the bus, talked to me and over his little radio, then gave me instructions to get off that bus and onto another, which would soon be coming. I follwed his instructions and on the next bus the driver drove me a little farther, then radioed some other drivers, before giving me instructions to get off the bus and onto another. Perhaps I have deleted the scene from my memory, or maybe I just temporarily blacked out, but I cannot exactly recall how many times this shuffling of Christine around buses happened.

To the credit of the Luxembourg Bus drivers, they were extremely helpful... although perhaps a little too helpful because they kept wanting to help when they really couldn't. (I suppose this is why I probably got on a few unnecessary buses.) They finally got me close to the hostel and I walked down a little path in the woods to arrive at it. About two hours after I thought, "this is too good to be true..." I finally arrived at my hostel! Phew.

Arriving at the hostel I found many other frustrated travelers wondering why no one knew the road was out and a few "so how many buses did you take?" conversations.

The best part about talking to so many bus drivers was that I discovered that Luxembourg is the place for me, in terms of language, that is. They speak a mixture of French and German... which worked perfectly for my dozen words in each language combined with their dozen words in English. (Or maybe it didn't work so well and that is why I ended up on so many buses!)

The girls in my hostel were lovely, (there were only four of us and we all spoke English and we had some great conversations.) The hostel itself was the nicest hostel I have stayed in, (once we figured out that there was a shower in the room, and not just one for all four floors!) It was in a beautiful garden area, with a wonderful outdoor cafe/bar, and right under the gorgeous palace and casemates, (tunnels.)

I had a chance to see quite a bit of the relatively small city despite only have a short while there. I saw the casemates, which are underground tunnels begun around 900 AD. Apparently they tried to blow them up in the late 19th century and they wouldn't collapse! They had a cannon placed in one of the windows overlooking my hostel. I was mildly concerned about this... and wondered if the cannon worked. (I did kind of wish that I could load it and shoot it... nothing like being a little homesick for shooting cannons:)

The old section of the town is up on a huge mountain that is still built up like a fortress, it is really the most amazing city. Every view is gorgeous! At the Palace where the Duke and Dutchess live there were guards wearing what appeared to be wool uniforms despite the fact that it was extrememly hot that day. I wondered if I could make them "break character" by asking if "they were hot in that?" There were paparazzi outside the Palace... perhaps waiting a chance to see the royal family... although one camera man just took pictures of people eating ice cream, so I assume nothing much happened. I did find it rather peculiar that in front of all the stores were pictures of the royal family. Lots of store windows said "Lottery!" with a huge royal family photo under the sign.

On Wednesday morning I went to the Historical Museum with a girl from Austraila who was also a history nerd. That history museum was the best one I have seen! Sorry to say, Amsterdam, but much better than yours! They had a little section at the end on the history of the history museum, and there were several "European history museum of the year" awards. I never knew that such a reward existed, but I'm glad Luxembourg got it!

My trip was not complete without a nerve-wracking journey to Berlin. I am proud to say that I did not miss the train while making sure that a confused elderly German couple got onto that train, for which they already had tickets, even though they insisted it was not the right one because it had arrived too early! I was a little concerned when, at one point, nearly everyone got off the train, and, after it sat for a moment, it started moving in the opposite direction. (Great... I was going right back to Luxembourg... and oh no, did the confused elderly German couple get off?) Turns out it was making a 90 degree turn.

I cannot fail to mention that to top the entire transportation adventure off, was the encounter I had on the final leg of the journey to Berlin. I had five minutes to transfer trains in Cologne, (this was after the scare of the train going in the opposite direction and getting the confused elderly German couple onto the train.) Needless to say that as I sunk down in my reserved seat going to Berlin, knowing that all I had to do was sit for five hours and get off at the very last stop, I was enormously... prodigiously relieved. I pulled out some chocolate and my "Bride" magazine I had bought earlier, (Mel I found one!) At this very moment a new passenger sat in his or her reserved seat next to mine. In all seriousness, after five hours I still couldn't figure out if this person was a he or a she. To make it worse, as I'm holding my Bride Magazine open and ready to eat chocolate, he/she begins to make conversation and I soon discover wishes to ask me very strange questions for hours! HIs/Her English was not very good, and I'm hoping for that reason that he/she did not actually mean I should get off at his/her stop with him/her. And all the while, I held my "Bride" magazine, making the entire scenerio, in my mind, all the more bizarre.

Just in case you haven't already assumed as much, I was incredibly happy when to see Elizabeth waiting for me on the platform when I got off the train in Berlin!

I'll share my news and photos of Berlin very soon!

Brussels, Belgium July 17- July 19

Here I am in Brussels, Belgium... the first place I have been where everything is written in French, Dutch, German, but not so much in English, including the computer keyboard. The French one is even more different than the German one, so my apologies now for the upcoming typo possibilities.

For all of you loyal to my blog, I have a quiz for you...
I will give you a few facts, and then you answer one yes or no question, okay?
Facts: Brussels is known for its 1. Waffles (with lots of chocolate syrup). 2. Chocolate. 3. Wheat Beer. 4. French Fries. *5. A statue of a little boy peeing.
Question: Does Christine Love Brussels?
*Special Note: This fact really has nothing to do with the answer to the question. If it confuses you, ignore fact 5.

I hope you answered Yes, if you were wrong, perhaps you do not know me and you are reading the wrong Christine Diffell's blog?

So the food is perfect for me...luckily i have now been in my pants and shorts long enough that they have stretched out:)
The Center Square is amazingly beautiful~. My guidebook says that Victor Hugo called it the most beautiful square in the world, and he could be right...(I have a few more to check out though before i can agree.) There are also Cathedrals and Chapels everywhere. I have come to believe that they only post the sign directions to about 25% of them though, because on my way to one I passed several other huge and gorgeous ones that were not even marked. In an effort to remember what is distinctive about each of them, I have created a criteria for which parts of them would be best for a wedding...I generally think about this while I walk down the several hundred foot aisle. (I have also decided that if the aisles are too long, I would be tired by the time I arrived at the alter, so that could eliminate about 95% of them.)

In regard to fact #5, I suppose some of you knew that Brussels is famous for its tiny Mannikan Pis statue...a little boy pissing, (in case you did not gather that from the name.) Yesterday he was naked, but today he had on clothes. There is a whole museum devoted to the clothes people have made for him...perhaps the Tailors Hutter and Hurst could add to this? (By the way Hutter and Hurst, the Tailor,s Guild has one of the premier spaces in the center square, and Victor Hugo once lived in the same space as well, so you are pretty important... kind of made me think about getting a new pair of stays made... well, actually not too much, as I never realized how much I would appreciate not wearing them everyday.)
Oh yes, there were some interesting marching bands parading through yesterday, nothing like ours in the US though.
For all of you wondering when i am going to talk about the dogs of Brussels, here is the dog update: They are everywhere, but mostly with the beggers. I have seen many beggers sitting with dogs who are wearing signs saying they are hungry, or having their dogs do tricks for money. The most bizarre, (sad) incident I saw was a guy who had a little black lab mix (looking quite a bit like Lane Staley,) sitting on a bright yellw blanket wearing a pair of bright yellow rimmed sunglasses with a little cup for people to put money in, presumably after taking a photo. Actually I should say TRYING to make the dog do all of this, who kept pawing the sunglasses off, and then kept following little kids around rather than sitting down, and tried to eat what was in the little cup. The man trying to get money from his sunglasses wearing dog was furious and yelling at the dog and the dog kept trying to bite him so the man would jump back. Then kids other people would pet the dog, the dog would calm down, and the man would once again start the process over again by trying to put glasses on the poor dog. I watched this for quite awhile with mixed feelings of "this is horrible" and "this is totally bizarre."
Anyway, Brussels is beautiful, (Donna, you were right,) and I am glad I made it a stop. (I will not mention any names of anyone who discouraged me from coming... you can all just wonder about it.)

Before I go I will note that it is great that Brussels is wonderful, because there were quite a few frustrations throughout yesterday...
I left Amsterdam at around 5:30 am to arrive in Brussels at 9:30, hoping to check into my hostel and then quickly hop on another train to Waterloo to see Mark Schneider in action as Napoleon. However, because of some rude fat men standing in front of the door for the next stop, I could not get off on my right stop, and then the area where I had just stored my bags seemed to start flooding, which held me up a bit longer. I decided that it was best to not spend several more hours traveling and hold my post in Brussels... sorry Mark~/ The day grew increasingly exciting as all the "automatiques" were down, plus most companies' credit card machines~ (Mel, I am positive you were right because everyone does, in fact, say automatique...i think that one lady was just confused and crazy about the modern world of banking.) Ah well, the joys of traveling. The worst part was actually that because of the bank problems I couldnt go to the Chocolate Museum:(

There is a new suprise twist to my travels-I will be going to Luxembourg for a night...so more adventure stories still to come.

Amsterdam, Holland

Hmmm, still not sure how to say Hello in Dutch, (although I know that some of you know... and I imagine it has a few oooo's in it,) so I will just say Hello, greetings from Amsterdam!
In the past few days I have passed by many internet cafes, yet finding them again has proved rather difficult. There is one behind my hostel, but I have now gone to it three times and it has not been opened once... and there are no signs giving hours... ???

Anyway...

Amsterdam is a crazy city--and I'm not talking about because of legal pot or prostitutes--I'm talking about the mix of bicycles and cars on the streets without lights at intersections, streets that go in large circles, and weather that turns from thunder and lightning and rain to sun and back in about ten minutes. (Okay, the last part I should be more than acquainted with, coming from Williamsburg.) Speaking of Williamsburg, for all of us that have always enjoyed gawking at the tourists, boy would you have fun here! I have found it much more difficult to navigate, (with the streets that all look the same and go in circles,) than Paris. Now, I know that some of you may doubt my directional ability, (Stewart--I was very close to pulling out my compass,) but I will tell you that I was one of several dozen tourists in any given area who had my map out and was searching for the street names on the sides of buildings. (Vic--you can attest to my great direction anyway--think of my stellar navigation through Orange County.)
I cannot believe how the bikes, cars, and people all seem to mix rather easily through intersections with no traffic lights or signs. And I still have not figured out which places are roads, walkways, or place/park areas. I saw a truck drive right through an area I am positive was a pedestrian zone because there were seats and tables everywhere... but maybe he just had to cross! I have no idea! I suppose everyone is alert... I know I have been. I decided not to rent a bike though, that would have been too difficult. Oh and the trams, phew, nevermind.
It has rained everyday that I have been here, but not all day everyday. Some parts of the day have been beautiful. Parts of today felt like a nice early Spring or Fall day. (Until the lightning storm that I spent under a bridge with a ton of other people who were at Vondel Park when it happened. The smell of rain mixing nicely with pot smoke.)
Fortunatly, despite of all the rain, there is a lot to do inside. I think my guidebook said there were more museums in this city than any other in the world... or maybe it was per sq. kilometer.
I decided to take the Canal Hop-on-hop-off bus, (like the big red ones in London,) so I could mix my museums with a canal cruise. The boating bus proved much more difficult than the road buses in other cities because it was extrememly difficult to figure out where the dock was that the boat would show up at! (I was one of many who finally arrived at a dock with a sigh.) When the weather was nice it was awesome to be sailing through the canals!
(I have to say--Chris and pass it on to Nick, if you are even reading this--that I thought of our bus experience in London more than once!)
On Thursday I went to the Van Gogh museum, mostly in honor of LaToya, and it was a great museum... not too much stuff, and a nice mix of Van Gogh's life history explained in each room with his art. (I was disappointed to find out that Starry Night is in NYC, not here... but LaToya, I'm sure you knew that already.) I also went to the Anne Frank House, and now agree with Vic that it is one of the best museums I have seen. Nice mix of multi-media in the house, I was one of several with tears in the eyes by the end of it, and it has been a long time since I read the book. I got lost for awhile... of course when it started to rain... but ended up in the center square area-- Dam Square, which had a great feel even in the rain! Desperate to eat, I finally had a meat sandwich from one of the kabob stands, (nothing like the kabob stands in Oxford though.)
On Friday, because it was once again raining in the morning, I went to the Rembrandthius--Rembrandt's house and museum. Nice mix of art with 17th century house history--but the best part had to be that they explained how the bed was so short because people were shorter at that time!!!! (No joking!) Of course, this made me a little more leary about the rest of the history given. I had a nice chance to walk over to the History Museum... before it started raining again. On my way I stumbled upon a park with the Clandestine Church in it. Apparently it was a Church that remained a secretive Catholic Church even when during the Reformation when Catholicism was actually banned here and all the Catholic Churches were forced to shut down. It was a beautiful little Church in a lovely courtyard, but I must say that I found it very amusing that I had to search and search for some things, (on the look-a-like-circular-roads,) and constantly use my map, but then bam--unintentionally I ran right into the Clandestine Church. The history museum was alright, although there were a few too many artifacts for my taste, (and no people dressed in costume giving me a tour--just what kind of history museum do they think they are??)
Brooke--there was a special costuming exhibit though! Wish you were there!
I met some girls from my dorm who wanted to walk through the red light district and get drinks last night-- definitly not something I wanted to do on my own--although I'm not sure what the bigger stretch was--Christine going out and meeting people or Christine going to the Red Light District?? Anyway, quite an interesting experience, but I must confess, really not all that crazy. I think I trip down Rugby Road, Cville on Friday night was about the same as a trip down the Red Light District, Amsterdam on a Friday night... the difference being that the guys in the Red Light District were absolutly quiet... no yelling or gawking, (unlike Rugby Road,) so I was quite suprised. I did decide to go with the part of the group that decided NOT to go to the sex show though.
To Bruce and the YAM group---I went to St. Nicholas' today, I think he is the patron saint of Amsterdam... which would make sense with all the water and sailing! I also went to Vondel Park, but it rained before I could make it all the way to the Film Museum, (and I was about museumed out.) Perhaps the best part was going to the Diamond Exhibit! Amsterdam is well known for their diamonds, so I went to a free museum where I could see some people actually cutting the diamonds... they explained all about diamond cuts and such... haha, I think that I already knew all the information though:) They had lots of rings for sale... and I looked through them, just to prove that not one of them is as nice as mine:)
On a few other notes, Ben and Ellen--I think I fit in very well here because they eat A LOT of sandwiches!
Stewart--you would love it here with all the canals and there are tons of house boats. I think you should move here, because with all the lost tourists you would not get homesick. Oh, and tell James that my waiter tonight at dinner looked exactly like him! (I also saw him drinking lots of beer behind the counter in between taking orders, so he rather reminded me of James as well.)
Jenny--there was a dog in a really nice antique shop window, lovely golden retriever, but a little odd to be in an antique shop, don't you think?
Well, I must say, that to love the city, despite the rain (and public urinals... I forgot to mention those,) says it is a lovely place with all its canals. The buildings actually lean in. There are some extremely narrow ones--two houses down from my hostel is one that is only the width of a door!

I must be off! My time is nearly out!

Heidelberg, Germany

Guten Tag!

Ich bin in Deutschland, und mein deutsch ist nicht so gut. (Perhaps some of you will even correct me on that sentence...) Nearly everyone speaks English, in Heidelberg, at least, so I have been fine. Perhaps making the transition from 'Pardon' to 'Enschuldegung' was the only difficult thing. (And the fact that the z and y are in different places on the computer kezboard!)

Getting here bz train was a lot easier than the clerk in Paris made it out to be, so when I arrived at the train station for my original train from Geneva to Heidelberg, I decided to change mz itinerarz to take a different train, and eliminate about a day's worth of travel time! I stayed an extra night in France with Mel and Josh, (which was wonderful because we grilled burgers outside... yum, and how American!)

Since I had made a reservation for the train, I had my own little compartment, which was nice, except that I kept waiting for someone to come by with magical candy. (If you don't get that reference you better start reading HP ASAP bc the new book comes out very soon now. cough, Vic, cough.) Anyway, about half way through the trip a family joined me in the reserved compartment, and I don't think they realized I didn't speak German the whole time. They kept saying things and smiling, and I would smile, and that was the extent of it.

The hostel I am staying in is extremely different from the one in Paris. Perhaps it is bc it is a bit out of the way from the small city, (although only about a ten minute bus ride.) The hostel is huge, but it was completly empty on Sunday night. I was the only person in my room that had six beds. Last night two very nice girls from Norway were there, and after we had all gone to bed, a woman, probably in her fifties or sixties joined us in the room. She told us that her friend had decided to stay in their van, but then went right to bed, and was gone by morning...It was a little odd. Even stranger was that not only was there no one in my room the first night, but I never saw a single person in the hallways or in the huge bathroom with toilets and showers. I did see several school groups today, and there seemed to be some other groups in, so I get the impression that perhaps it is often used for camps or retreats and seminars. Also, the hostel is next to the Heidelberg Zoo, so it was a little unusual to hear wild animals at night.

Yesterday morning as I was waiting at the bus stop to go into the 'Aldstadt' old section of town, where nearly everything, (except for the zoo,) is, another guy staying at the hostel befriended me. He talked quite a bit, and was a little difficult to understand sometimes--he was from Quebec and had a rather strong accent--which was interesting because he bragged about how everyone thought he was from the States because of his "perfect accent"--I decided not to say anything. Among other things, he talked about his girlfriend in Helsinki, Finland, so that made me feel more comfortable... (and come on, who could miss my left hand... well, I suppose perhaps someone could as the ring I´m wearing here is no where near as perfect as my real one.) Anyway, he asked if he could join me to see the sights for the day, and he seemed nice enough, even if just slightly annoying, so I said of course. I will say that he certainly made the day amusing. He did about 99% of the talking and I really don't think he took a breath the entire morning or afternoon! He had very strong and definite opinions, which seemed based on some very inaccurate facts. Once I realized that I would never be able to convince him that you could, in fact, buy German Beer in the U.S., I gave up. There were a few times I considered trying to lose him, (which would not have been that difficult, seeing that I put myself in charge of the map and all directions,) but as I said, although annoying, he was actually a bit of humerous entertainment for the day.

I suppose some of you might actually been interested in what I saw though. We hiked up through "Philosopher's Way"\ "Philosophenweg," which was a great hike. With an extra 5 kilometers we could have gone to Bismark's tomb, but we opted to only go to his monument, which was a great view of the Castle and town on the other side of the river. We cut down through a tiny road with some amazing houses... not mansions, but still very large and they looked like they had actually been carved out of the mountain. We crossed over the Old Bridge which is one of the bridges that goes over the Neckar River; the river that cuts through the city. (I never really got a word in to explain to my new friend that it was actually not the "amaying Rhein.") We walked up the mountain to get to the Heidelberg Castle/Schloss. The castle is neat because it is about a third in ruins, a third rebuilt, and a third about a third of the way rebuilt. Oh, and there were different lions all over the front of it... what a great place. It will be interesting to compare it to other castles in Germany I will see later. After a meat, bread, and bier filled lunch we walked around the touristy area of the main street--Hauptstrasse. I finally managed some peace and quiet when I told my new friend that I was going to go to a cafe and read. Whew... it was a very enjoyable quiet for the rest of the day. I also went into the Heiligg Kirche, and they were having a free organ concert... which I listened to some of, but even outside the church you could hear it. There are tons of little kiosks selling trinkets to tourists all around the church. It was a beautiful evening and great for walking around town. All in all, Heidelberg reminds me of Colonial Williamsburg in many ways, with the Haupstrasse very much like DOG street... one end has the castle and the tourist attractions, and the other, (like Merchant's Square,) has all the modern shopping. At night though there are tons of students and people biking everywhere. It is really a great little city. I loved it!

One more thing I did was go to the Zoo, (this morning,) because it was right next to my hostel, and very cheap. I took lots of photos that I wanted to post here... so maybe I will be able to do that later. I spent my time at the Zoo thinking of how it reminded me of Rev. City, which made me slightly homesick. The seals were having a show at 4:00, but because it was only 12, they were just swimming around looking like they were not sure what to do before then...(perhaps they didn't have a program planned?) And of course there were lots of monkies... which made me miss all of you AI's! And the chimps seemed remarkably like AI's because they seemed like although they wanted to play in the back of their cage, all the visitors kept calling them closer to take their photos!! All this analzying... I must be turning into Goethe here;)

I will try to post photos as soons as I can, but I cannot download my photos onto a disk to put them on the blog from these computers.

So, by the way, does anyone want to fly into Amsterdam tomorrow to meet me? Neither Kristin nor Latoya will be there, but I'm sure someone wants to leave for the airport right now, buy a ticket on the spot, and join me. Matthew?

I miss everyone!
Tschuss!

Geneva, Switzerland; Sergy, France

Je suis dans Geneve, Suisse, et Sergy, France!

After exploring Paris on my own I was ready to meet up with old friends and have some company! I am visiting Melanie and Josh who just moved in to their new house in Sergy, France. For the past month they were staying in a house in St. Genis, France. Josh works at CERN, which is mostly in Switzerland but even some of it is in France, so it is right on the border. Geneva is about a twenty to thirty minute car ride from their house. (Although, when Melanie and I were on the bus coming back from Geneva during rush hour, standing in between a couple making-out and a group of crying babies, to took much longer!) Melanie and Josh just moved in, (as in four days before I arrived,) so I was here when they bought their car. Such a purchase was perfect timing for me because then Mel and I could drive it into town where there is a shopping mall for me to get those few things I forgot to bring. They also have a washing machine... what great friends:) The shopping is an adventure, I was looking for shoe deoderizer and it was located with the condoms, and the multi-vitamins I wanted were inbetween the birth control and menapause pills. This situation was made all the worse when Mel and I were at the register of the pharmacy and about four clerks were looking at the screen and laughing. We double checked the vitamins about a dozen times to make sure they were what we thought they were, but we were still curious as to what they were laughing at all the same. I'm hoping it actually had nothing to do with us, but a joke that someone made, which of course we couldn't understand. (Although I should say Mel's French is much better than she gives herself credit for!)

I took the train from Paris to Geneva on Wednesday, June 6, morning, which was a day and a half earlier than I originally planned. The train here was incredibly easy... getting to Heidelberg next will be a different story! The guy across from me on the train was a large, muscular, black guy who was wearing a football tee-shirt, and spoke both French and English. He told me how he had graduated from college and made it into the French Football (as in American Football) Team, and how it was the best thing in the world--even better than going pro-football in the states, because the two things he loves in life are Football and France! For some reason it seemed like an interesting combination to me; a big tough football guy speaking the delicate language of French and talking about pain au chocolat, bread, wine and cheese.

Melanie and I walked around Geneva, which seemed like a rather small city, but still very beautiful. We saw the jett d' eau, (water jet,) which is a great landmark in Geneva, b/c it is so large you can see it from everywhere. We went to the old section, where we ate some great sandwhiches, and of course, ice-cream. And, as fate would have it, we sat next to the "18th Century Fountain." (Of course we took a photo for all you Colonial Williamsburgians!) Perhaps the most exciting part was our search for "the oldest house in Geneva" from the thirteenth century. We looked around for it, and I joked, "Watch it be the building that is wrapped in plastic and under construction!" And then, of course, it was! So, in case anyone cares, the oldest house in Geneva seems to be made from huge plastic bags and metal scaffolding.

Yesterday Melanie and I walked in the Jura Mountains, which are in her back yard. The hike consisted basically of walking behind her neighborhood and then straight up a huge mountain on a gravel path. We didn't go very far making the excuse that her dog, Ally, was out of shape and tired;) The view where we stopped was amazing, though. You could see all the way into Geneva and the Jet d' eau, and look across to the Alps on the other side! It was good that we took the hike when we did because a huge thunder, lightning, rain storm blew over the mountain later. Today I am visiting CERN, where Josh works to e-mail and update my blog. Tonight we will go out to eat because tomorrow I'm off to Heidelberg, where, I hope, (Vic, did you notice I didn't say "hopefully") my German is better than my French.

It has been wonderful relaxing at the Moss-Collins household, eating lots of bread, cheese, and chocolate, and chatting about weddings. Mel is getting married in September in New York and has had to plan her wedding from Virginia and now France, so she has some wonderful hints and advice! I thought about joking that I decided to buy my dress here, but didn't want to give any of you a heart attack, so really, we just chatted a lot:)

To everyone in Williamsburg that also misses Melanie, I will pass on that her place is wonderful and they are doing well, but don't forget to write!

Paris, France

Bonjour!
J'aime Paris! Why did I almost not come to Paris? I'm so glad I did--it is an amazing city, with entirely too much to do. I have learned a lot from the tourists in Williamsburg, and I have tried not to be a stupid tourist, although definitly a tourist all the same. Wondering around the city has been just as fun as sight-seeing.

Of course I saw Notre Dame, the Arch de Triumph, went up the Eiffel Tower at night when it was sparkling, and I wondered if Eiffel is any relation to Diffell? The Louvre was much better than I expected because I enjoyed looking at the rooms more than the paintings, and you can put your feet in the fountains in the courtyard. (I took a photo of my feet:)

I spent much time strolling about the Latin Quarter and enjoyed stumbling upon the churches and cathedrals.

I enjoyed Versailles--I think it is where Sukey belongs! The Governor's Palace just isn't good enough for her.

I like the pain au chocolat, although I have definitly overdosed on bread here. Oh yes, and there is ice cream everywhere.

My hostel is in Monmartre... which is a really neat area... very artistic. I am in a dorm with five other rotating people, and it is often difficult to sleep at night with people coming in and out. Nearly everyone is an American traveler on a similar journey as mine, so everyone is incredibly friendly and excited to share and receive info about where they have been or are going. I'm suprised though at how many people want to talk about Blacksburg when I answer their question of where in VA are your from? Hard to believe that people all over the world know about Blacksburg now. A lot of people join up to visit places together or go out and eat, and although I have done that some, I mostly enjoy traveling on my own... although I would enjoy if any of you were with me!

Unfortunately, despite trying to find internet cafes for hours, I haven't been able to find any, so the computer at the hostel is my only way to post a blog, and it is always very busy and you only get a few moments on it at a time.

Jenny-- I have seen several very healthy looking dogs wondering about without owners, and I wonder about them... they don't appear to be strays... maybe just out for a stroll. For the dogs that have owners, no one else seems to be petting them, so I wonder what the French protocall is for petting other people's dogs?

Brooke--the blue skirt is perfect! Thanks for making me get it!

To Mark Schneider--I didn't make it to Napoleon's Tomb on time before it closed, but I did happen upon a huge monument to Lafayette.

Oh, and for all that remember the high school French days of Mrs. Campbell, I am suprised at how well I do at reading French... but speaking it is another story. Often when I attempt any French I remember it ends up getting mixed with the little German I know so that I speak half in German and half in French, but it all ends up in English anyway.

Sorry I cannot post any photos, I wish I could because I've taken some great ones, but the computer isn't capable of uploading them.

Cheers!
Christine