Conas a ta tu and Fenbi Status

Conas a ta tu = hello, how are you in Gaelic.
I am still in Cork. Last night I went to an Irish pub and performed for my first authentic Irish audience. I have never been so nervous, but I had a lot of energy, and people liked the two songs that I played. One guy even referred to me later as "the American Shane McGowan".

It is funny, because in America I always associated myself as being 'Irish' - but in Ireland I cannot get away with it. I am known as the American everywhere I go - even though I am hardly your stereotypical yank. In fact, every time I open my mouth, people are shocked that I don't have an accent - well at least not the one they expect. At a pub today, some Englishmen were talking to me for about two minutes (they thought I was French), and when I finally answered back one was like 'oh he's a YANK' - and they started laughing hysterically.

A town called Ennis.
Today started off on a bright note when some Irish people I met at my dad's church in Granada Hills this past summer came to the hostel and graciously invited me to stay with them in a town called Ennis, which is north of Limerick.

At the ole' internet cafe I got some bad news- my plans always seem to fall apart at the seams unless I have 100% control over them. In this case, my plans to move to Portland are not going to be as I fantasized - with old friends going with me. I am becoming more independent all the time and know it is possible to do a big move like that alone, but as a lone traveler, it is hard to be faced with the prospect of a lone move when a group move was sort of the beacon in the distance. No disrespect to my pals intended, as everyone is free to make their own choices, but I think I have finally learned that it is impossible to make any plans with other people unless you are married to them, or they are bound to you by law in some other way.

So to counter the sadness I felt, I went and cut all my hair off - it was really cathartic to me. I went in there and sat down, and said 'cut it all off.' I closed my eyes and expected to be this ugly baldy when she was done, as I have seen more and more hair in my comb every time I run it through my hair. But as it turns out, I am not bald at all, and actually look a lot better then I did with that mass of 6 inch feathery fluff. After that I walked the streets of Cork as a new man, with a new look-a new outlook-and more confidence!

Today, I helped my Italian friend Miercol find a job. In Ireland it is really hard to find work, because you need a 'safety card' to do construction (which takes 6-8 weeks) - and you need ridiculous other cards for other work. Miercol has a somewhat disadvantage as he speaks hardly any English - but he has an extreme drive to avoid going back to Italy. He is 27 years old, and I think he left his village to show everyone how independent he was and that he didn't need to live in a little 800 person village anymore - but now he is terrified that he will come back with his tail between his legs.

The phones of Ireland are so impossible to use, and cost an arm and a leg. And that's one thing that a new haircut cannot fix! There is a cute Spanish gal that invited me to go to a club, but I almost left that out of the letter because I don't want people to think my ego is inflating. The bag may not appear inflated, but air will be flowing through ... (that's what flight attendants say ....) Gosh ... no one in Europe understands my sense of humor either....

Fenbi Status
The band is going to take a different form as Orion is going to Thailand, and I am going to start it anew in Portland. It was a very interesting experience for us - to get to this point where we finally just decided it was the best move to go separate ways. To me, it shows how deep our friendship is - and even though it is sad that I can't share it with him, it is exciting that he is following a dream that he is really passionate about - which is going to Thailand and teaching English.

This is a reminder of what life is about - having dreams, setting goals - doing them - and there is nothing within reason, which one cannot do if they put their mind to it. It's kind of like what my step-dad used to always tell me! Now that I have done the college thing, am in Europe, my next goal is to play music in a stadium, (and no, Memorial Field in Port Townsend doesn't count), cause I already did that once.

Opportunity and the knife fights of Limerick. Today I feel refreshed and ready for some sort of opportunity to come my way. Maybe next email will get back to the knife fights in the back alleys of Limerick. Ha-ha. Until next time....

Cork

Well I have made it as far as Cork now. It is somewhat of an interesting town. It is really just a mini-Dublin in my opinion, but perhaps I haven't stumbled upon it's unique culture yet. It also reminds me a lot of Seattle, mixed with a bit of San Francisco.

This morning I walked to the top of a hill and looked out over the entire city and marveled at the colors and architecture and the brilliant green fields on the far hillside. I patted myself on the back for that one.

Well, last night I went out with this Italian guy I met at my new hostel. I have no idea what his name is, and he speaks very little English. He is from the Northern part of Italy and so he looks more Spanish to me. He has long hair in a pony tail, and when I first saw him I thought he was Native American. But we just went out, met some Spanish girls who are learning English here, so they were interested to talk to me because I guess the American accent is way easier for them to understand then the Irish alternative.

Just so you guys know that I haven't been a little Don Juan over here - the very first day I arrived in Ireland I got a huge cold sore on my lip. I think it was from the stress of travel and jet lag and not sleeping well for the first week or so. But if you add that with the in-grown hair I got on the left side of my lip, I look more like a walking anti-chewing tobacco poster. It is almost healed now, but all those nights in Dublin where I was running around with Danes and Frenchies - I have to assume that they must have truly just enjoyed me for my American wit and grace, because I was definitely low on the cool factor.

In Cork I have decided a new approach to things. I have been working on what I call, my Euro-face. God, this is how you talk when you have been by yourself too long. Anyway, this is what I am going to practice so that gay men and weirdo's stop singling me out. In America, I say hi or nod at almost everyone I walk past. But here, I am just going to do an empty stare, or even make it look somewhat menacing. I also shaved off the little goatee scruff I had growing under my bottom lip, in case that was somehow contributing. I almost cut my hair today, like shaved it - because it is just too long and stringy and annoying. Some days I walk around feeling like I have mange - because it is just so unmanageable. But, alas, in the spirit of rock and roll I held out and bought a scarf instead. If that makes sense.

Also today, I have just been feeling the frustration of doing this alone. It has been cool meeting all of these people ... but it is a lot of energy to always be putting yourself out there and going out of your way to find 'single use friends'. They are single use, because the next day they are off or I am off ... and then I just have to do it all over again. Kinda like what Edward Norton was talking about in Fight Club. And also, trying to speak English with people who aren't very fluent is very difficult. I am sure it is way harder for them, but man o' man. Just give me an American or a Canadian for a couple days - and maybe I will feel more motivated to go see Blarney castle ... but right now all I really wanna do is drink coffee and read.

Anyway, I have two more days in Cork before heading to Limerick. I just found out that my dad's Irish friend Vince, who I met in California, is in Cork. So I am going to try to give him a call. Using the pay phone ... that is a whole other story ....

The wild cats of Kilkenny

I've been telling everyone that I meet in Kilkenny, that the Irish band 'The Pogues' are what brought me here. They have a really good song called the 'Wild cats of Kilkenny' - and not one person has ever heard of it.

At any rate, leaving Dublin was more of an eye opening experience. As the bus pulled away, the grey turned to the green that everyone speaks of. It truly is the greenest place I have ever seen - and this is right after summer when most grass fields would seem to be brown anywhere else.

The town itself is beautiful, and I have already booked a second night. I don't really know how many people live here, but there are a lot of old buildings and a few absolutely amazing castles.

I spent all yesterday and all last night hanging out with two Swedes that happen to be my new roommates. Apparently if I had gotten here two days before, I would have seen two guys with hair down to their shoulder blades and dressed like the Nihilists from 'The Big Lebowski'. They even have the same accent and it is absolutely ridiculous. Anyway, they are trying to get work here in Kilkenny so they cut their hair short, and whined about it all yesterday. 'where has my hair gone? I have none anymore. Where there used to be lots of hair, I have very little now.' They are really funny guys. I have come to understand, that if it weren't the culture in Europe to buy rounds of drinks for the people you are hanging out with, I wouldn't be spending more then 30£ a day on my travels. But as a result, take last night for example, where I threw down close to 40£.

On the plus side, I am still spending way less then I had imagined from the states, but I could be a liiiiiittle more frugal. Last night we went to this bar called 'Paris, Texas' and we listened to an Irish cover band play all the new hits from the Bravery, the Strokes, Chili Peppers - and some old ones like 'where is my mind' by the Posies, I think? Something like that? I was just dancing away with one of the Swedes, and the annoying thing was that thing Irish guy who must have been close to my age kept pinching me and when I'd look over at him, he would put his fingers to his lips and make the 'shhh' sound. Now this has got me wondering, do I have some sort of gay beacon that the Europeans are able to pick up? Cause that is twice in two days, and really annoying.

Anyway, to counter this annoying man, I met some Irish gals who took me to another club - and they held me and sang me old Irish songs as we walked down the cobble stone streets. It was quite amazing. However, when we got to the other club, I did the whole 'ladies first' thing as we learn back in the states, and they rushed right in and went around the corner and were gone. I started to walk in, and the doorman said 'that'll be 7£ please' to which I replied 'f*$% that' - and I turned around and walked back.

I had a really interesting 2am conversation with the Irish guy working the door at the Hostel. He was probably late 20's early 30's and has lived here his whole life. Everything he said, he said so matter of factly and was just all around convincing. Course, he was explaining how this WWII video game worked, but he was explaining the tactics that his 'real time' German U-Boat was taking to scour the water of England. He would be all 'take this water for example, now that is real water - you can't just go around programming a computer to make water the moves like that. It is something else, I tell ya.' Then the conversation moved to Iraq as it often does around me, and he mentioned how he doesn't like that the US is the only super power, but said he would gladly have it be the US versus China or Russia. Which was a comment I had never heard before, and I thought to be very interesting.

Anyway, I just realized it was noon, and I have only been up for a couple minutes, so I am going to run out and explore Kikenny!

Dublin

My travels have been pretty insane over the past few days. I have been in Dublin of course - I can't quite remember where or when I wrote the last group email, but I believe I was in Weisbaden at that time. Anyway, I arrived into Dublin without any real bells or whistles. The plane ride over was a little sketchy, I guess that is why Ryanair is a discount airline ... well maybe that isn't fair. It's just that when you know something is a discount, sometimes you look for all the signs you possibly can to verify your stereotype. For example, when the plane was taxiing on the run way, it went to stop and the brakes made a 'screeeeeeeech' sound.

Then I was surrounded by a bunch of roudy and drunk Germans, and I thought they were going to make the plane crash. For one, they couldn't sit still, and for another - they kept pounding back the Heinekin. Anyway, as I got into Dublin I met a nice couple that told me how to get to my hostel, and they freaked me out with 'if you only follow the river you shall be safe' - they were making the neighborhood sound quite frightening.

One of the first things you notice in Dublin, is how difficult it is to figure out what street you are on. There are no street signs, and no labels hardly anywhere. It is as though I have to vicariously know what street I am on as I pick up the street energy from a passing local. If that makes sense. Now that I know my way around pretty good, I can say that I circled the hostel about two times before I actually got there. Another cool aspect, is that at every crosswalk, it is painted on the ground 'look left' or 'look right' - I have found this very handy.

The hostel is called the Ashfield house and it is located just two streets away from Temples Bar, which is probably one of the most famous districts in Ireland. It is where foreigners go to hear 'real Irish music' and the like. When I got my bags checked, I went upstairs to check out the room, and inside were 13 people snoring away (it was approximately 11:55pm and a Wednesday night).

I was too excited to go to sleep, so I just did the ol' about face and went back downstairs. One of my pledges on this trip has to be as outgoing as I possibly can, so when I saw that table full of beautiful blonde women, I just walked right over, sat down, and said 'whaaaat's happenin?' It turned out they were Danish high school seniors on a school trip, however they were all 19 because in Denmark, as in a lot of other European countries, students must spend 13 years in school versus 12 in America.

My god, I couldn't have imagined a better scenario then this. They were all interested in the fact that I was an American, and I pretended to be annoyed as they teased me about our president and the current administration. They shared their cheap Czech beer with me, and I learned this crazy Danish game involving dice. I couldn't explain it to anyone if my life depended on it, because as most of my friends know I am not really into playing board games, but in some situations it can be to your benefit to be the loser.

Anyway, after the meeting and the greeting I finally made it up to my room after 2am, and since everyone was sleeping I could not turn on a light to see where I was going. I was just blindly stumbling around, I could sort of see one empty bed so I made my way over there and laid down. Unfortunately for me, it was a creaky old metal frame, so every little movement I made was expressed for all to hear. I didn't even bother taking off my clothes or making my bed or even putting what few things I had with me away. I flopped down, and in a daze pretended to sleep with a comforter at my ankles, a sheet halfway down my back, and a pillow under my armpit. I wasn't drunk, if that is what you are thinking - I was just excited to be in Ireland after all these years of anticipation.

However, as I laid there unable to sleep, some guy came in the room and shone a flashlight in my face, and then stormed off. I had the thought that maybe I had accidentally taken his bed (which I had) but there were no other options as someone had taken my bed. The guy at the front desk came back minutes later and threw the door open, looking around. I sorta slipped my arm over my head, anticipating some embarrassing confrontation where I had to go sleep on the couch and then become the laughing stock of the hostel, but it never came.

Needlesstosay, the thought was enough to keep me from sleeping. When morning came, I strapped on my day pack, grabbed my guitar, and began exploring the city. I aimlessly walked around for over five hours that day and saw many interesting aspects of Dublin. For starters, the climate feels a lot like Seattle. The constant cloud cover, the occassional drizzle, and the faint smell of the sea all add to the atmosphere.

The architecture is somewhat depressing in many areas. When you get off the beaten path, buildings are cracked, in need of a paint job, or just drab and grey. They alleys are ancient, many of them are cobble stoned, and many walls have barbed wire over the tops. Some of the smells I encountered were so disgusting that they were nearly gag-worthy. On the other hand, there are fancy pants areas in Dublin that remind me of what I saw in Santa Monica - like Grafton street and Temples Bar.

They are just shopping areas with scattered pubs that all have signs like 'O'Flaherety's since 1798' or something like that. There are also more churches here then I have ever seen before. I went in a couple, and they are absolutely beautiful ... especially the stained glass ... but regardless, many had issues where the paint was peeling off from water damage. Then there are the government buildings which are all your typical Roman influence with the copper domes turned green through the elements.

Towards the end of the day I was starting to feel a little bummed out about the fact that I was experiencing all these cool things by myself, but I met an American from Minnesota named Nick, and we made plans to check out some pubs later that night. However, when push came to shove, he ran off with some Slovakian woman who was working at the hostel.

The Danish gals, sensing my state, invited me to go out clubbing with them. Also, as most of my friends know, I dislike clubbing about as much as I dislike board games. However, I did get to run around with a bunch of disgustingly gorgeous women, so beggars can't be choosers. There were three in particular that I was pretty sweet on (haha) - and so sensing how retarded my situation was, I just put a little distance in. I actually got sick of not knowing what they were saying, and not knowing who anyone was, and not hearing anyone who talked the way I do. So I went back and went to bed.

The next night, this is last night now, I met some Italians who are in Dublin just cruising around. They were hanging out with this French girl named Marion (like the Danish girls, annoyingly cute) and approached me when I was playing guitar. This was yet another situation where people were interested in the fact that I was American. However, these people spoke poor English to say the least, but were very friendly and offered to share the wine and pasta they had. We ended up going to Temples Bar to check out real Irish music and I bought a round of Brian Boru vodka (he was the legendary figure that drove the vikings away).

These Italians were so ridiculous, I don't think words can describe. We were watching this street performer singing a Dennis Leary song called 'a**hole' and this guy named Manuela was literally yodeling along and doing some weird sidestep dance move. And to add the fact that he was a goofy Italian who didn't speak English made it all the more humurous. But we had a really good time last night.

I haven't seen any Irish music that I have been very impressed with, and it hasn't done anything except make me wish I were getting paid to be in their shoes. Ireland is dying for something Fenbi style, I think. Which brings us to today. I basically hung out with Marion all day long, and we didn't really do anything too amazing. We went to an Irish art gallery, but neither of us are really art enthusiasts so it wasn't too exciting.

However, at 2pm there was a rally in Parnell square celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army. It was an amazing show of people dressed up in costumes, some very political, and others just showing their declaration for a peaceful reunification of the island.

The highlight was seeing Gerry Adams give a very dramatic speech about kicking the British out, and making Ireland a unified state versus seculatarian. I got tons of pictures, so when I go back state side I can show them to anyone interested. I can't really guess how many people there were - but tens of thousands at least. And very peaceful too ... there were some harsh words ... but I think they are genuinely interested in a peaceful means.

At the rally I met this gay Israeli who invited to take me out to dinner. I figured what the hell, so that is where I am headed right now. I already told him no way Jose, so no worries there. Also, I think I can run faster then he can .... if needed. Tomorrow I head to Kilkenny, and heck - I really don't know after that ... yikes ...

day three, Weisbaden

Man, there are so many beautiful women in Germany.

That is my thought for the day. But anyway, I have spent a lot of time walking over the past few days. Firstly, to break in the new boots my uncle and aunt were more then kind enough to spring for, but secondly to just enjoy my surroundings. I have always been one for walking, and it is nice to be completely carefree as I do it - versus stressing about college, women, or life. Yesterday we took a walk through this forest behind my uncle's house. As I may have already said, apparently German's are big time walkers.

These trails by the house were evidence of that. At the entrance there are three symbols color-coded and posted on a tree. As you are walking through the woods, you will occasional happen upon one of them directing you one way or the other. My aunt said that you can spend hours walking through these woods, before finding your way out again. Apparently one trail leads to a castle, another to a church, and I forget what the third one was, probably some *input cliche European feature here if desired, or use mine* ... German Shepard doggie park. This forest was actually interesting because, as the Unkie explained, the German's manicure their forests.

They don't just clear cut to every last stump as they do in Washington, but they thin them out, taking a little at a time. I personally like this approach better, because it makes sense. If in Washington and Oregon and Montana, we could figure out some way to 'recycle' log an area over a 50 year period, so that we can take a little each year, yet maintaining the forests at the same time, we might not see so many dying salmon runs and depressing scenes out our car windows.

At any rate, today my aunt took me into Weisbaden to do a little sightseeing. We met my uncle for lunch, and got some real authentic German food. It was kinda funny, because I ordered something and I had no idea what it was. There was an English description but it didn't help. Tascha cheese with onion and pretzel. Well, when it came to me it was two lumps of pink-orange paste, a couple leafs of lettuce, and a pretzel. I assumed that I was supposed to dip the pretzel into the lumps, but by the time I was done with the pretzel there was still another lump left. In fact, just to finish the first glob, I was relunctantly taking spoonfulls, or should I say, taking one for the team! I didn't want to be rude to the German waitress (or the uncle that bought it for me) - but I could not have stomached another bite. It wasn't gross, per se, just ... not really food that you ... eat? haha. But it was funny because they were playing the Dire Straits album, 'On Every Street'. Good times.

After lunch, my aunt and I went jogging through this amazing park called Kurkpark (she is a fitness instructor so I had to pretend I was in better shape then I am). Some parts of the park looked straight out of a Monet painting. In one corner of the park there were ruins of an old building with Roman numerals, which I assumed read '1042' or something - but since I didn't really take the time to work out the math, I was later disappointed to find out that it was only 1810. Apparently just another relic from the wars of the late 19th and the 20th centuries, however, somewhere in this town there are baths that go back to the Roman times. I just haven't found them yet. And I think you have to go naked, so I might not do that even if I did find them.

As we continued our jog, we reached a suburb called Sonnenburg which was up in the hills from Weisbaden. There we stumbled upon an old castle that was at least 800 years old (according to the guidebook in my lap). And that is just crazy. To see any building over 200 years blows my mind, and I actually met someone today who told me that she doesn't even find these castles very amazing anymore! (more on her later) Anyway, my aunt turned me loose to explore the town on my own for a couple hours, and I spent that time trying to pick up chicks. haha - just kidding.

But I did go to a small German pub and bought an 8 ounce beer for 1,90 euros, hoping to meet some other weary traveler (as if I were) - but to no avail. So I wandered aimlessly around the tight windy streets. I was again, very impressed by the architecture, as every building seemed to be a work of art both through the color schemes and the statues and angles of certain features. This area was the shopping area of the town - kinda high class and ritzy. Lots of little shops for the fashion conscious and fruit lovers alike. All the people walking past me were better dressed, smelled better, looked good - it was weird. Europeans are definitely classier as a whole, although I did take the time to spot out some very unclassy people, so as to soothe my wounded ego.

As I started to run out of ideas, I saw this extremely attractive woman across the courtyard, and sitting at the steps of the new town hall building. I gingerly walked over pretending to be very interested in the Marktkirche (this gothic church, that I was interested in, only I had been staring at it for a couple days already) - but really I was just plotting some un-smooth plan for starting conversation.

The things that go through my mind in this situation are absolutely ridiculous. While normal people will just go up and talk to someone, I will have this grand moral debate. Picture the framers of the constitution shrunken down inside my head, and debating on whether I was being invasive, or what I should say, etc. But if there is one thing I have been telling myself, it's that I am going to learn to stop being so damn shy all the time, so I walked over to her and said "shpreken zee English?" I didn't even know if that was 100% correct, but I heard my cousin say it a couple times.

Well folks, let me tell you, that started off a firestorm of conversation. First I pretended (again) to be curious about some of the random building, in fact any that I could think to point to while I stockpiled other questions in my head. However, once we started talking a little more, conversation came easy. Her name was Effie (short for teasfhds; fhds;hsapd yfu) and she was a stueretess for some airline, also pronounced eijewrn;lafn andf;sjklf. She was actually half-Greek, half-German, and I gotta tell ya, she was a real looker, and I almost felt glad that I couldn't figure out a way to meet up with her again, because she looked like a real heartbreaker. But she was very sweet, and talked to me about nothing for close to an hour; at which point she had to go see her friends' baby. I ALMOST changed my plans to go to Greece instead of Ireland, but that thought only lasted long enough to remember that I already bought my ticket for Wednesday! So here's a new goal. I can't come home, unless I bring a European woman with me. hahaha. Just kidding, sheesh.

Germany day one

Today was my first full day in Germany. I woke up at 3am and could not get back to sleep. I am still stuck in the West Coast time zone, but since it is 10pm right now, I have high hopes for tomorrow. For those who do not know, I am staying with my Uncle Anthony and his family near Weisbaden.

So as I rolled around for an hour, I started to think about all of the interesting new things I would be exposed to today, making it evermore impossible to fall asleep. I worked myself up too much really, and had to watch Fight Club to calm myself down. I am lucky to have a DVD player in my room. The second it started to get light outside, I was throwing on clothes and getting ready to go for a walk.

The village they live in is on top of a hill that overlooks a valley similar to Chimacum, for those of you who have been there. Germany actually looks and feels quite a bit similar to Washington state. The fields and the temperature patterns are like Eastern WA, and the forests are like Western WA. The houses all have these electric-powered metallic shades on them, I guess it is because in the summer it stays light until 11pm sometimes, but as I walked around the village, most of the houses had them down.

Anyway, I walked through the sleepy village, being the only one up, and walked past a field full of goats, to this church that was easily a few hundred years old. I couldn't really tell though, because all of the information was in German, of course. It was basically a one room structure made from large rocks, with a large bulbous tower at the end.

In the front of the church, there are statues of Jesus Christ, and a WW1 and WW2 memorial, honoring those soldiers who died ... for Germany. I felt kinda weird seeing that ... I can't really explain why. It's just that I have seen cemeteries for American soldiers who died in those wars, and it made so much sense to honor those fighting for a just cause. But to see something honoring those who died fighting for Adolf Hitler had a different feeling associated with it. Not that I think they shouldn't be honored for losing their lives, but it was just kind of weird.

As I continued my walk, I passed a bakery that was starting to see some life. I actually walked past it three times because I couldn't decide if I wanted to try to buy something. I knew my uncle Anthony was making coffee, so I kinda wussed out. This old man/woman, I couldn't really tell, approached me and asked me some weird question. The thing I have determined about the German language, is that no matter what people are saying, it always sounds like they are pissed off at you. So this person was all "ein stinch stiuggen sloghan .. " I don't know what the hell it was, but it was not something I'd like to wake up to every morning. However, it got me acclimated for what was to come this day, and as I walked away I had a certain bounce to my step ... haha ... now I am just getting over-dramatic.

Anyway, the big trip of the day was to this old city called Koblenz. It is at the point where the Rhine comes together with the Mosel river. This town has a history going back to 9 BC, when the Romans founded it as a fort. In the town center they have a statue depicting the various chapters in the history of the city. At the bottom there is a rowboat full of Romans, and it goes up through French occupation, the destruction in both WW1 and WW2, and is topped off with this hopefull scene for the future.

Another interesting statue in the city is set at the point where the two rivers come together. It is a 46 ft high statue of Kaiser Wilhelm that has been there since 1897. In 1945 it was destroyed, yet to be resurrected in 1993. At the base it has descriptions in English saying that it is a symbol of German unity. However, again, I felt it kinda odd to honor a fellow like that. My aunt and uncle treated me and the cousins to a boat tour that went up and down the river. The guide only spoke German, so we mainly just appreciated the architecture. However, on the opposite side of the river there was this tremendous castle structure built into a shear rock face. It was the most amazing thing I have seen, however, I had no idea what it was.

Later in the day, my older cousin Dennis and I strolled around Wiesbaden, which is a larger and more metropolitan area. In some ways it reminds me of downtown Portland, but all of the buildings are crafted very beautifully. They have statues built into them, faces set in the facade, angels holding up porches, all kinds of crazy stuff. Churches with pointed steeples, cobblestone streets - the place is just your stereotypical European city. I go in and out of thinking "this isn't really that different from the US" and "man, this is completely different." So, hopefully most of you have seen for yourself so that you aren't relying on me to form an opinion.

But so far I am amazed with Germany. Things seem to make a lot of sense, ie the transportation systerm, the cars are smaller, and you get fined if you don't recycle. I haven't really noticed the 'bad' things, but then again it would be silly to seek either out. Anyway, that is my first full day in Europe. It's life changing.