I made it :)

Well, after a LONG night at the train station, being yelled at by a lady at the ticket office (no idea what she was saying because it was in German) and eventually a six-hour train ride ... I am in Amsterdam!

My hostel is totally booked. It's in the heart of downtown and has a big bar with a pool table. My goals for tonight: make friends so I have some cool people to go out with tomorrow night; don't fall asleep on the pool table (not the best way to make friends).
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My crappy luck

I'm sleeping at the f#*@ing train station tonight because the conductor shut the door in my face when I was trying to get on my 12:30 am train. Oh, and all of the hostels and hotels in Berlin are booked because of a damn football match. Grrr.

I am not a happy camper.

But I suppose in a week or so I'll look back at it and laugh ...
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Crazy for Krakow

Let me start by saying this: I spent three nights in Krakow. And I saw four live bands. I freakin' love this city!

There's a great energy here that's hard to explain, but everyone feels it. Perhaps it's the sacred Shakra stone said to have been sent here by the Queen of Sheba ("Indiana Jones", anyone?) but seriously, Krakow is lively, young and, best of all, a little quirky.

It was founded by Prince Krak, who, legend has it, defeated the dragon who once lived here. Below the castle, you can visit the dragon's lair.

In the Main Market Square, there's a big tower. Every hour, a guy gets out of his cot and plays the bugle from all four windows atop it. But the bugle call cuts off abruptly to symbolize when, hundreds of years ago, the bugler was shot in the neck with an arrow while warning the town of an enemy attack.

Isn't that great??

There are about a million bars, so you have to find the good ones. The really cool part is that many of them are in old cellars. Great fun. My favorite was a jazz club I went to last night with one of my roommates, a nice German girl. The band was a bunch of old guys rocking out. Really really fun. And one of the songs they played: "St. Louis Blues"!

So, Krakow is now officially one of my favorite cities. And to think I only came here because of an enthusiastic hostel employee in Interlaken!
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An American in Praha

Or how about a million of them? I swear I've met more Americans here than anywhere else. Barcelona had a good number, but it was spring break, so ...

Example: I checked into my hostel with a guy from Texas that I'd met on the train coming in to the Czech Republic. Sitting around the common room that night, I met a couple Coloradans (is that a word?), a New Yorker, a Californian (more importantly, a RIVERSIDER), and even a guy from Alaska. When I said I was from Missouri someone joked that there was someone from every state staying in our hostel.

I went out Friday night with an American crew - to a five-story nightclub that kicked us out at 5:30, in time to watch the sunrise. And after a day of sleeping through the rain, I made friends with a more worldly crew last night - a bunch of Aussies, a few Canadians, a German, and a Japanese girl. So st least there aren't ONLY Americans here.

Prague is a beautiful city, despite the mass numbers of tourists, many of whom travel in large packs. The center of town is gorgeous. The architecture is pretty typical of Europe, but Prague does it better than many of the other cities I've been to.

On my way to Prague, I stopped for a few days in the quiet little town of Cesky Krumlov. Awesome little place. I sort of wish I'd gone there after Prague, but it was nice either way.

Today I'm taking a day trip to Kutna Hora. It's supposed to be a nice place also, but what attracted my attention was the "bone church." It was decorated a couple hundred years ago using human bones. Sounds creepy and unusual, right up my alley.

And tonight I board a night train for Krakow, my last stop in Eastern Europe.
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A Bud Light girl no more?

I'm in beer heaven right now. And have been for a while, probably since I hit Germany. Beer is one of the food groups here, I think.

So I wonder - and I've talked to other Americans who had the same thought - will I be able to go back home and enjoy an ice-cold Bud Light? Or am I going to end up being one of those people who has to drink imports?

Well, I guess that wouldn't be too bad ...
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A Slovenian adventure

On my way to Slovenia from Romania, I missed my connecting train in Hungary - by about 2 minutes - and found myself back in Budapest for about five hours. Luckily, though, there's a mall at the train station, so I was able to shop for new jeans since I had busted a big hole in my only pair the night before. A great start, huh? To add to it, the guy at the information desk was less than helpful and I ended up wandering the streets in search of a tram that would take me to another station, where I would catch my train.

Luckily, things after that settled down. I found the station. Got on my train. And I finally arrived in Slovenia at around 9:30 Friday night. I was greeted by Matej and Katja, friends I made in Morocco. I stayed with them in their cozy apartment in Ljubljana - so nice!

The weekend was packed with different activities and places to see. They took me to see caves (quite different from the ones in Budapest), the beach and the mountains, and also to their families' homes for a couple Easter feasts. It's a beautiful country, although the weather didn't want to cooperate. I had a great time!

Some things a copy editor hates to hear: some Slovenian athletes in the Olympics have recently been labelled Yugoslavian. When the Slovenian president visits other countries to speak, it's common for the Slovakian anthem to be played. Oh, and even our dear president called Slovenia Slovakia.

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Goodbye, lovely Romania

A lot of how you feel about a city has to do with the people you meet - locals and other travelers. There were really good people in Brasov.

I stayed in the nicest hostel run by a crazy woman (I mean that in a good way) known for meeting every single train that comes into Brasov. And when I say she's known for it, I mean it - she's even in Lonely Planet!

I had the coolest roommates.

I saw Dracula's castle. I walked around in the rain.

Who could ask for much more?
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I vant to suck your blood

Dracula's castle
Originally uploaded by mercoop.

Transylvania is awesome. I'm staying at a really nice hostel in Brasov and have spent the past two days with four of my roommates -- two brothers from Brazil, an English guy and a guy from ... St. Louis. Funny.

Today we went to Dracula's castle. Not quite as scary as we thought it would be (it feels more like a cozy log cabin than a castle). But it was cool. We also visited the town where "Cold Mountain" takes place.

The one weird thing about Romania, though, is the money. First, it's waterproof. And second, there's new money and old money and they're the same, except the old money has four extra zeros on it ... so a 10 bill is worth the same as a 100,000 bill. Makes things difficult.

Overall, I really like Romania, though. Brasov is like the second biggest city in the country and it's SMALL. It's really nice to be out of a big city and into a smaller place. And it's really beautiful here, with the Carpathian Mountains all around. Two thumbs up!

Under the surface in Budapest

Wow! I had a fabulous day doing something I never expected, especially in a big city -- caving.

When I checked into my hostel last night, I saw a brochure for exploring the caves beneath Budapest. I thought, "hmmph, that's interesting." Then I talked to a girl who had done it the day before and said it was awesome. So I weighed my options between walking around another big city today or doing something I'd never done before. And I signed up.

We met this morning at 11 am. It was me, four Scottish guys (well one of them is Spanish, but he lives in Scotland and has a Scottish accent), who were also from my hostel, and two Alaskans and an Aussie from another hostel. Perfect little group. Our guide was, of course, Hungarian.

We took a couple of buses to the far reaches of the city and went to a house where we could lock up our things and suit up. We were supplied with full-on jumpsuits and helmets with lights on them. Our guide had a helmet with a gas flame -- much brighter than the flashlights.

On to the cave. We entered through a locked door on the face of a rocky hill. Then we used a ladder to descend to climbing depths. I think we all sort of wondered what we had gotten ourselves into when we immediately had to get on our stomachs and crawl through a small passage. I was a little worried I'd get claustrophobic, like I had in the pyramid, but I was fine. I was more than fine -- it was so freakin' cool!

We had an athletic group -- I was probably the least in-shape -- so we took the "hard way." Dude. There were parts where you had to be pulled up by someone ahead of you because it was so steep and slippery. And there was one hole that so tight that I had to basically lie on my side, limp, one arm up, one down, and be pulled through by my feet -- there was zero wiggle room. That was the hardest part.

Along the way our guide gave us a few challenges. One was that we had to climb up a steep little cave hill, and wedge ourselves into the top -- maybe 12 feet up -- and clap three times with our hands and feet. If we did it we would prove ourselves as cavers and not just tourists. It wasn't easy. And I had little confidence that I would be able to do it, especially after some of the guys failed, but I totally did it! I was so proud of myself!

The final challenge was at the very end. We had about 60 feet to go and we turned out our lights so that it was PITCH BLACK and we had to find our way out by communicating with each other. Freakin' hard. There was one point when some people got ahead of us in the back, and we had our feet dangling over an edge -- no idea if there was ground right below us or a hole below us -- and that was scary. But eventually we all made it out. Without turning on our lights. Very cool! After 3 1/2 hours climbing and crawling and slipping and squeezing, we all shared a beer at the bar underneath the changing rooms. And we were exhausted. I'm gonna be sore tomorrow. But what a great day!

Welcome to Eastern Europe

I'm sitting in a bar in Bratislava. That's in Slovakia, for those who don't know. And yes, Mel, it IS the city where the horror movie "Hostel" takes place. Funny, too, I'm staying in a total whole in the wall place - but it's really cozy. And the people are nice. :) I'm rooming with two Hawaiians - a father and daughter, I think - and there are four or five Mexicans in the next room. I feel right at home!

I wandered the streets of the old town today. It's strange because it's at the same time easy to get lost and easy to find your way. No one speaks English, but signs are in English.

I had a Slovakian specialty for dinner - don't ask me what they're called, but they're basically cheese raviolis covered in ham and sour cream. Really good, but I'm glad I walked a lot today cuz it was heavy.

Tomorrow it's off to Budapest!
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Deep thoughts, by ... Me

I never expected to find myself in Germany. Ever. Even after I added it to my itinerary I sort of thought, "well, if I don't make it, oh well." I never really had a desire to go there is the thing. I blame it on my own ignorance and bias against Nazis. I always just sort of thought of Germany as being what it was in my history books. But of course that was 60 years ago now. Things have changed!

So I am very very happy that I made it to Germany. Munich is wonderful, and I look forward to Berlin in a few weeks. I knew that I was foolish to think badly of Germany because of its past, but it was hard for me to look beyond it. Now I've been there and have seen for myself how beautiful it is and how friendly the people are. It's a culture that believes beer is healthy - how can I not embrace that?!

I've had a really great time in Munich, despite the hail. There's so much to see! I went to churches, gardens, museums, beer halls. I sat today at the Hofbrauhaus, the most famous beer hall in Munich, with an old German guy. It's like picnic benches, so you just pick a seat next to whoever. He was really nice, even though we couldn't communicate with each other. The only thing I truly understood was when he said "prost!" - the German word for "cheers." And we lifted our steins and drank to our understanding.
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Biking in a hail storm in Munich

Dude. It was so nice and sunny, with scattered clouds, about a half an hour ago when I rented this bike. Now I'm chillin', quite literally, outside a movie theater watching the hail hit the ground next to me. And my bike. So much for a relaxing ride through the English Gardens!

Oh, and the only thing showing in the next half hour is "Antarctica." In German. Ha.
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Lovin Interlaken

Ahhhhhh
Originally uploaded by mercoop.

Interlaken is a small city in the middle of (surprise) two lakes and surrounded by the Alps. It was raining when I arrived, and it was a 20-minute walk to my hostel (thank you, Joel, for that umbrella!). It was pretty dreary out so I kind of hung around the place - nice and cozy, a winter cabin feel. I met a nice Korean guy and we ate fondue together. Good, but a bit too much bread and cheese for me! That night I went out with a bunch of Americans from my hostel. One of them was a cute Army boy ;) And we managed to stay up until 5. Sadly checkout was at 9:30, so you can guess how much sleep I got!

That next day, though, was gorgeous! The rain had stopped, the sky was blue. I dropped my bags off at the train station and just wandered around for a while. If I had been more awake, or had more time, I would have hiked up a mountain or something. I even considered skydiving - Interlaken is THE place for adventure sports - but it was way too expensive. Ah well.

I was only there for 24 hours, but I was lovin Interlaken.

From there I spent a night in Zurich, but I was so tired from the night before I didn't do much. I wandered around a bit the next day, though, before heading to Munich, which is where I am now!