Eurotrip 2007

Ede-Wageningen (pronounced ay-day-va-(spit/hack)-in-en)

2007-06-06T07:02:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Ede-Wageningen at 7:32 in the evening, after leaving the train in a puddle of saliva and spit ... the dutch language certainly is one that is harsh and very 'projected'. I found this out after asking an older man where the train I was one was heading and he replied confidently "to eh-day-va-hock-in-en". I thanked him for the information, dryed off my face and sat down and cracked a beer. They did however all notice my Canadian flags. It is true, the Dutch really do love Canadians. One old woman regaled me with a tale of how she remembers the Canadians liberating her town in 1945. She seemed so happy and it was definitely clear to see she remebered the day she was liberated with the Germans just as though it were yesterday. Being here really makes you feel a different sense of pride in being a Canadian citizen.

I finally found my way to Mel's at a little after 8 in the evening. I found that Ede-Wageningen is really a 'twin city' town. The big town being Ede, and the smaller student community of Wageningen is only a short 10-15 mins to the south. Mel is a tremendously gracious host. After she fed me dinner and had stock-piled both wine and beer, we headed for the booming waspitigen club scene ... on bike's of course, I mean we are in Holland. And by bikes, I mean bike ... me pedalling, and Mel on the back. And on top of it all, as if this weren't enough fun, Mel ingeniously bought herself a child's bike. Each time my leg came up from the downside of the rotation, my knees were knocking around the handlebars causing the bike to noticeably shake. I hd to change my pedalling habits and learn to pedal with my knees in a very spread manner to escape the grasp of the metal bars that continuously prodded me on each and every revolution. We found our first hangout to find that on weekends the entire town goes home and a ghost town of sorts emerges. We had to beers at €1.50 each and decided to move on to the next bar. We got there, which Mel forgot to alert me was on a gradually increasing incline of a hill that seemed to stretch to the horizon without any sign of planing off and flattening. We reached this second bar, after trying to get directions from drunken dutchmen with Mels extremely broken Dutch ... we did make it safely, me panting as Mel skipped hapily in a drunken manner to the front door, only to be rejected entrance. It was 3:15 in the morning, and although the club stayed open until 5am, last entrance was 1:30. Disappointed Mel wanted to talk her way in ... I had been up for several hours and was happy just heading back for another beer to her place. The descent down the hill was far more enjoyable for me ... Mel drunk as a skunk did not likely notice that her life was in grave danger letting a sloppy me ride downhill on a bike after having half a bottle of wine and copious amount of beer in my system.

We decided to put a DVD on, and might have gotten 5 minutes into the first episode of CSI before we both passed out.

I awoke the next morning to hear Mel explain "I can feel my face getting puffy and expanding .... ughh Bentley I feel like a big pile". She paints a vivid picture doesn't she? We rose that morning at the crack of noon to venture into town for a Dutch lunch. After the evening lst night we decided to reverse the order on the bike, she would pedal, and I would ride the back ... possibly the worst mistake I have ever made. Not saying that she can't ride a bike, but the size of her bike caused my feet to either drag perilously on the ground and jagged streets, or forced me to hold them up in very unflattering postion in a spread stirrup sort of way. Not to mention that I was straddling the medal rims with no incling of there ever being a pillow there ... I felt every single bump and dip in the road in the most intimate of ways, and by no means did I enjoy it ... I forgot the safe word "Blechlawinehottentotententententoonstelling" ... don't ask what it means, I still have nightmre's over it. We found our way into the town square that seemed deserted at first, but it soon opened up nd we had lunch. Lunch was awesome, the Dutch do know how to do sandwiches very, very well. We ordered, Mel not getting anything to drink because her hangover was still yelling at her. We realized the extent that many Europeans do not wear deodourant ... a guy sat down at the table next to ours, and I am quite certian the wafting musk began peeling the paint on the little fence behind us. He stink brought tears to my eyes. I ended up having a burger, that consisted of: a panini bun, mayo, lettuce, bacon, tomato, more mayo, thick beef patty, melted cheese, red peppers, green peppers, onions, sauteed mushrooms, bbq sauce, a fried egg, and more melted cheese. I was in artery clogging heaven. It was magically wonderful. We road back to Mel's, I pedalled again (on the trip there, I was yelled at by an old man for making the female pedal, apparently chivalry is still alive and kicking in Holland). We made it back, and decided to have a lazy afternoon of movies and ice cream, and photo uploading. Mel cooked dinner again that night, we had a few more beers and that was the end of my stay in small town Netherlands.

The following morning on the 4th of June, I bid Mel farewell, and thanked her repeatedly for her great treatment ... hell she even made me a sack lunch for the train. I departed for Amsterdam early in the morning with high hopes in store for my stay in every way imagineable.

From the Sea to Windmills

2007-06-06T06:52:00.000-07:00

I decided to leave Hamburg and head north to the North Sea and have lunch and spend an hour or so there. I departed at 9:46 am for Bremerhaven and the north coast of Germany. This little town was simply beautiful. Quaint seaside fisheries and ports dotted the shoreline. Little coffeshops and pubs lined the streets. Every road had a tree-lined island in the middle. The people were all smiling, old men smoking their pipes, and yes, old ladies with their hair in the lrge dryers as I walked by some salon. It was a really innocent scene from all angles.

I started walking to the sea with my pack. 30 mins later and my aching shoulders telling me to drop the 40lbs. on my back, I found the "Wilhelm Bauer". It is an old Type XXI U-Boat commissioned by the Germans in the late stages on 1943, and never saw action or fired a single shot at the enemy. This boat was entirely different from the Russian ship in the sense that it had room for me to walk around in. It was confined and tight, but more or less what I would have expected. I could stand and walk the passageways without much discomfort. The Germans truly were years ahead of their time in submarine construction.

I ate lunch at a seaside fish place and it was delicious. I got the impression while walking through the town that they get very few travellers as the sight of me and my bag caught many by surprise it seemed.

I returned to the train station at 12:50 where I found the small print at the bottom of the train schedule alerting me that the next train that I thought was at 12:57 ran on all days except Saturday (inconveniently for me, June 2nd was a Saturday). I had an hour to sit in the train station, my shoulders thrilled at the down time they would get from my sitting and waiting.

I boarded a train that in only 5 and a half hours would arrive in the small town of Wageningen in Holland and the spot of the one and only Mel Upjohn.

A Rocky Road with a Smooth Finish

2007-06-06T06:20:00.000-07:00

So I departed Berlin on the 30th of May ... making my way to Hannover before eventually reaching Hamburg for the next stop on my Eurotrip.

The reason for going to Hannover was to get their and then turn a course north and head to the small town of Celle. From this tiny town in the middle of Germany, I would make my way to the remains of the Concentration camp of Bergen-Belsen, roughly 15 minutes outside the town of Bergen. I wanted to go to this camp for a couple specific reasons: 1)It was liberated by a combined Canadian-British force of the 21st Allied Army Group. 2) It was the final rsting place of Anne Frank and her sister. After reading the diary of this young girl, one forms a connection, and based on the nature of several of my locations, I wanted to go here simply out of condolence and respect, not taking anything away from anyone else who perished in the wat either. Sadly, there are so few buses leading to Bergen (only 2 per day and they are 4 hours apart), that if you miss the first one, which I did, it is nearly impossible to get there without dropping nearly €75 for a round-trip cab fare, something not in my budget.

After returning to Hannover to board my train for HAmburg, I arrived in the city in the early afternoon. Near my hostel, there was large crowds massing ouytside the train station, and riot police in full gear were swarming the streets. I was in the middle of a mass protest against the countries of the G8. There were many punk/anarchist culture people in all the streets. Hamburg was filled with these people who would do nothing else but simply beg for money.

I arrived to my hostel to find out that they had simply recorded my reservation down wrong and the 3 nights I needed were now only 2 nights ... and the entire city was reserved fully. Iwas mighty pissed as I had the reservation and replies from the hostel in my email account, it was straight out of Seinfeld, they took the reservation, but failed to hold and keep my reservation, which really was the crucial feature of the whole reservation process. The only reply the hippy girl behind the counter had for me as I was clearly getting pissed off, and those who know me, alot of dry sarcasm being thrown her way, was "I can see your 3 night reservation, but there is little I can do now, you don't have to get unfriendly about it all". It eventually worked out in the end and I got a bed to stay in a 25-bed warehouse of sorts, definitely a new experience up to this point in my trip.

The first night in Hamburg was spent with me and some Scottish guys going to the Reeperbahn-St. Pauli area and experiencing the ngihtlife. It was certainly a lively place, perople everywhere window shopping for whatever they so choose. It was a different experience all in all, I am glad I only dropped a few Euros in the process. The first full day in Hamburg was spent lazily sleeping in, as I soon found out that the city is more or less an entirely nightlife town which is pretty quiet and tame during the day, not a whole lot to do. I went out to simply roam around the town and take in a lot of the old, lavish architecture that covers each and every building. This city truly is one filled with old and new. I started my morning by going down to the harbour area where I found an old Russian Submarine on display as a museum. It was really interesting to see the living conditions on board U-Boats in this pre-nuclear era. By no means could I have ever been aboard these in any situation. The cramped conditionscaused me to be hunched over for the vast majority of my time within the ship. The narrow passageways were too slender for my shoulders to fit through walking regularly forward. Never the less, it was very cool. I next went to the church of St. Nikolai which was charred in the firestorm of Hamburg and the Allied bombings. It was really interesting seeing a memorial and monument from the World War II era dedicated to the suffering of Germans. The city and population of Hamburg were decimated during the Allied firebombings. Thousands of people were burned alive as the incendiary bombs fell nighgt after night in July of 1943, during Operation Gomorrah. The firebombing of Hamburg was at the time, the largest aerial assault in history and referred to as the Hiroshima of Germany by British air officials after the war. The entire memorial and museum were sadly only in German, so I could only make out sparse information, but from prior knowledge got a fair chunk of it all. Really a very powerful memorial site.

I returned to my hostel with the idea of having a nap, seemed like a good idea at the time. This second night in Germany was spent with a couple Spanish girls I met who decided to take me to some beachclub bar they had heard of, coincidentally on the Reeperbahn. It was a different bar experience to the others I have been to in Europe, definitely enjoyed myself this night.

The next and final day in Hamburg was spent again by heading down to the dock facilities where I found that the British Aircraft Carrier was in port after returning from somewhere in the Baltic regions. The HMS Ark Royal IV was a very impressive ship, designed to deploy a wide array of armaments and ferry Royal Marine Commandoss around for special ops. I originally thought the ship was on display for tourists because it seemed out of place amongst all the frieghters in port. I went down the gangplank to be met by 4 Marines armed to the teeth, who promptly informed me that the ship was off limits. I left that area speedily and took some pictures from the outside and beside the dock. I later walked around town again and found the Hamburg Conservatory of Music which had originally been a German AA silo during the war. The building was very impressive and possibly the most fortified and armed music conservatory in the world. All the original defenses of the building still exist on the roof! I spent the rest of the day eating dinner and returning to the hostel to play cards and talk with a Norwegian and Australian girl. I wanted to be prepared for my early morning departure to Holland.

A Conclusion in the Making

2007-06-04T02:55:00.000-07:00

After Joels quick departure this morning, I was rudely awoken by the man as he decided that slapping me was the best way to wake a sleeping giant. I was groggy. The night before I had gone out with a couple Canadians and an Aussie ... we were in search of the elusive German female. We went immediately to the direction that the Aussie said he had seen them in a previous night. We went to his hunting grounds and saw nothing but tumbleweeds rolling past us, and the strong musk of old German men. A very disappointing beginning to our nightly endeavours. The four of us, out of the corner of our eyes, spotted 3 people of the fairer sex walking in our direction, we all puffed out our chests, sucked in our guts and prepared for the pick-up lines of the century, I dare not drop them here for I fear many of you would simply liquify out of envy of these three girls. We began talking, and they walked right through the four of us as though we did not even exist, slowing merely to tell us the bars were in any direction that they were not going ... crash and burned on attempt number 1. We roamed for a few more minutes before spotting another two, although these ones did not seem or look as refined as our first encounter. We approached with somewhat more care. These two were completely happy to help us, probably taken a back by our ravishing goodlooks. They even suggested that they lead us to the bar. We obviously obliged. As we walked, their bar of 5 minutes away turned to 15 minutes then 20 minutes before we finally got there. I seedy little pub in the outskirts of the old Soviet Bloc. The four of us bought 4 large beers, unknowingly the girls bought a small coke each, proceeded to chug them down, and left the four of us to fend for ourselves in our new surroundings. Probably for the better, we discovered on our walk, that the girls were 17 and 19 ... the 19 year old sporting a 5 month old child, ad the 17year old newly pregnant ... whoa, can we ever spot them in the dark. It was a fun adventure to end night 3 in Berlin.

After Joel's departure, I went out on my own to the Jewish Museum, it was an interesting experience and essentially gave me a crash courses in the mast millenium of Jewish history and the turbulent times their people have gone through over the centuries. It was very interesting seeing the advancements of Jewish culture and their contributions to Germany over the years ... it was largely focused on Jews in Germany and did not stray too much away.

Following the Museum, I went to a travelling exhibit on the life and times of Anne Frank, very interesting to me sicne reading her diary this past winter. It was strange seeing the actual reports of transfer to Auschwitz from Westerbork of her and all the females of her family. As well, I found it fascinating reading the newspaper ads taken out by her father to seek the fate of his family, he being the only member of his entire family to live through the Holocaust.

After the Frank Museum, I headed back to the hosttel as again for the fourth day in a row, the rains fell on Berlin. People were scattering everywhere, and despite it being early afternoon, the prospect of a 'down-night'was already in store. We all hunkered down and waited out the rain. Strangely enough, 3 guys came into our hostel early that evening, turns out they were from London, and one mentioned he knew people from my hometown ... in a town of 150, 000 and over 19 highschools, it is not uncommon to have no clue who people are talking about. Strangely to me, he was dropping names of people I knew very well and grew up with. Morgan and I went out for a romantic dinner and the Blockhouse steak eatery. over candlelight. Real nice, HaHaHa. We stayed in the hostel and drank all night and updated blogs and writings. I nice night off and change of pace.

The following day, Morgan and I headed to the beautiful Berlin suburb of Wannsee, and the house of the Wannsee Conference ... the official decision to the "Jewish Question"was made in the walls of this house. The decision to exterminate the Jews of Europe happened here. Strange considering the sheer beauty and elegance of the property. There was a canopy of trees lining the driveway as you walked up to the mansion. Rich mahogany adorned the walls and ceiling crowns. Chandeliers shimmered in the sunlight in nearly every room of the large estate. It was a house most people would envy living in. It had luish gardens that gave rich, splashes of colour to every corner of your vision. Sad that the history of this house does not at all follow with its elegance. We moved through the extensive exhibits that touched on the complete modern history of Judaism in Germany, and the path to oppression, the pogroms, deportations, and exterminations. IUt was very involved and informative. When you were standing in the room and realized that you were standing over the table where the actual decision was made, was a different feeling from the other places we have been thus far.

After the house we headed back to BBerlin, and split waqys for the day. I headed back to the Reichstg and Brandenburg gate where I sought out the former location of Adolf Hitler's Bunker ... strange that it is situated nearly directly across the street from the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. From here, I went to the Tiergarden. Each city, as it seems, in Europe has a beautiful expanse of lush greens with rivers and lakes right in the middle of town, many rivaling New York's Central Park, and London's Hyde Park in size. It was beautifl and relaxing walking through the gravel lined paths. I met up with a guy I met the previous day and we decided to head towards the lake. We started off in search of the lake from the vague images of the blurry map we had in front of us. Nothing more than our immaculate sense of direction and female radar shedding light on our path. We decided to go off the beaten path for a bit, and started blazing our own trails. We pushed through a dense row of hedges, and emerged at the "promise land"... the two of us emerged from the bushes cleared our eyes in preparation to join a flock of youth in an afternoon of nude sunbathing and sun pleasures ... instead we emerged in the middle of a vast field of naked old-man ass. The youngest being a youthful 55 likely. To our left old people were playing handball, others playing wiffelball, some doing naked yoga, and others simply stretching to toe-touches in the warm sun. I have never left a scene in such a hurried-fashion and straight line in all my life.

After boiling our eyes, we headed back for the safety on the known parts of town, promising never to return to the depths of naked manland. We walked around the town, until returning to our hostel. Being our last night, the group of us simply stayed in, watched some badly dubbed English movies in German ... Kevin Costner dubbed in Prince of Thieves, is quite a movie in German. We started talking, and before we knew it, it was well past midnight and our morning trains were fast approaching ... our excursions through the capital of Germany, both beautiful and disturbing all at the same time was an experience I will never forget ... I would love to return to this city someday when the chance presents itself.

I leave for Hamburg ...

A Week in the German Capital

2007-06-03T15:41:00.000-07:00

On the 25th of May our trio arrived in Berlin. Our hostel was the Pegasus, located in the former east bloc. It was a wonderful hostel. I would highly reccomend it to anyone trvelling in the area, and with student card came to a whopping 11.70 Euros/night. We began our trip in Berlin by being lazy and experiencing the cutured side of the German capitaol in the Charlottenburg, Friedricstrasse region. I'll leave it to that, and if you know the city, you'll know what I am talking about.

Our second day we went to the Sachsenhausen Concentration camp, just orth of the city near the town of Oranienburg. The remaining structures at this camp, the careput into its upkeep, and the wealth of knowledge to gain here and give one a perspective into the life of prisoners was of great importance to us. Joel and I began our excursion through the camp by going into the Camp museum located in the old SS motorpool. The museum was very comprehensive and touched on day-to-day life of prisoners, the camps liberation, and the memorials built to keep remebrance for this place and the people who perished here. Morgan went immediately into the camp and experienced it on his own terms.

After emerging from the museum with a greater feel for the pain and suffering experienced by the people, another very depressing read in our trip of the camps, we walked through the ominous gate which loomed infront of us almost beckoning "you will never leave this camp the way you are coming into it". It opened into a quick exhibit on the security measures taken to keep people in. It had 2 foot thick concrete walls, adorned with barbed-wire all along the top, and in front of that stretched 2 seperate rows of barbed wire fence, and even more coils of barbed wire connecting the two rows of fence. To top all his off, as if it wasn't enough, the SS of the camp had the fences all electrified. Nobody was leaving here. Joel and I began by heading towards the barrks, but our attention was drawn by a small semi-circle that opened towards he gate. This turned out to be the "shoe testing track". The Nazi's would force prisoners to march with 30kg sacks to test the durability of the shoes being made for German soldiers. The track contained about a dozen different surfaces all roughly 10 metres in length. Each surface was littered with jagged rocks, sharp slate, multen rock, lava rock (as it looked), smooth rounded stones, gravel, and extremely soft sand. The prisoners were commanded to walk this track to distances up to and exceeding 25 miles at a time. As they walked they had orders shouted at them to run double time, drop and do a push up, get up, march in sequence, turn aroud, jump, etc., all whilst keeping their packs on at all times. Joel and I decided to walk a course of the track, and the both of us, 2 young males in our early 20's in relatively good shape, on 2000+ calorie a day diets, were tired and given discomfort and pain i our feet afer walking one circuit of the track. Our modern walking shoes did not aleviate the discomfort from the forced terrain. I cannot imagine the pain and suffering by the prisoners forced to endure for 25+ miles on this track in all types of weather.

Afer the track we headd to the medical barracks. Here I found out that Sachsenhausen was very involved in the medical experimentation on prisoners. It was a very emotional building. Here we heard stories that were simply chilling. SS medical docters experimented on prisoners with such substances as Chlorine gas, Mustard gas, Jaundice, Tuberculosis, and poisoned tipped ammunition, as well as a wealth of other horrendously gastly experiments. To paraphrase one account: "the prisoner's were instructed to lie face-dwn on the jagged surfaces of the shoe-testing course. They were in shorts or rolled up pants. An SS officer would walk up and down the lines, every now and then drawing his pistl and shooting the elpless men in the fleshy part of their thighs. He was testing the affects of poisoned tipped bullets. The men writhed in pain as they were shot, but the immediate shock of the pain soon subsided as they lay in quiet agony. Their wounds immediately began to fester with the affects of the poison. These men were simply left their to die a slow and painful death". The stories of the medical experiments on children esecially got to us, not only based on the subject matter, but the video testimony of survivors. Joel and I watched one video of 2 gentlemen telling their stories of how they lived and survived in the Sachsenhausen camp. As they were telling their gruesome stories of Jaundice and experiments on their livers and kidneys, one of the men began describing the room in which he was confined to for most of the hours of each day. He described the row of bunks as soon as you came in, Joel and I noticed markings on the wals in our room. He described the broken down radiator sitting in the corner. We had one. He spoke of the cracked mirror and faucet in the corner. We saw nothing, until the light hit the corner of our room illuminating the outlines of what was once a sin and the paint above the sink was not as faded by the sun a the areas around it ... a mirror once hung here. There was pipes evident in the ground that once brought water into this room. Joel and I were sitting in the exact room that these boys lived in as the Nazi doctors experimented on them without a care in the world for what was to happen to them. They were all to be sent to Auschwitz to cover what had been done to them, ut a twisted turn of events prvented their transport and their lvies were spared. They were two of the lucky one's who were able to survive and tell their story. Thousands like them never lived to be able to tell theirs.

After leaving the medical building, we headed to the pathology building which was chilling in every way. The rooms were very sterile. The two tables were just sitting n the middle of the room echoing the purpose of their past. We went to the basement morgue of this building, and the temperature plummetted here. An eerie reminder that once on these walls hung the boies of the dead as well as merely being thrown in piles into the corner to be forgotten until it was their time t be carted off to the crematorium. Some of the sites we hae been to are utterly awful and it is hard to describe the feelings thatone feels when walking into such rooms. It is not only their look and feel, but a strange presence still haunts these rooms.

We went to the crematorium after this, a building that the Nazi's tried to cover up, but failed in doing so. We walked around the ruined foundations f what was once a massive building with the sole designed purpose to dispose of the bodies. The Sachsenhausen camp at ne point would send the bodies of their dead to the local Berlin cremtorium, but once an accident spilled the remains and evidence of their crimes. This prompted the SS to construct a crematorium on site. Never again would a slip-up of sch nature happen, and the killings would continue at rapid rates.

We next walked into a guard house which held a very interesting exhibit. It had digitally interactive video set up describing locations. All the windows were blacked out except for little slits. The sits commanded your attention to chosen direction and highlighted things: "the small smkestack in the distance that you are looking at is the remains of the brickworks that the SS occupied and forced prisners to work at while they were building the camp. The prisoners of Sachsenhausen were forced to construct the walls many would never again see the free side of.

We then made our way to the barracks of the Jewish prisoners. In 1993, an attempted Nazi arsonist tried to burn these buildings down, but they were thankfuly saved and preserved for their tory to be continuously told to the thousands of visitors that enter those gates each year. The barracks were stifling in the 30 degree day. We in our shorts and T-shirts were sweating immensely. The Nazi's would put prisoners into cramped rooms in winter clothing and fur lined coats at upwards of 30 at a time and instructed the people to stand for several hours on end, sometimes all day without water, food, or the chance to move. Many people succumed to exhaustion and perished in these atrocious conditions.

We left Sachsenhausen with a greater understanding of the Nazi experiments on prisoners and their horrible 'alternate' methods of torture.

That night we went on a pub crawl of Berlin, meeting dozens of Canadians. Joel even met 4 other people from Winnipeg ... shocking. It was a wonderful night I won't soon forget.

The next day we went o an excursion around Brandenburg Gate. It was a national holiday in Germay on the 27th of May, and a massive street festival and concert was in full swin when we arrived in the midafternoon. We had much of the party culture and beer gardens surrounding us in our wake. Joel ate a massive Pretzel, and gorged on a 3-foot long sausage ... it was simply wonderful. As we watched many people plummet in fear from the 65-metre bungee jump, the rain began to exceed its original small drizzle. Joe and I walked to the Reichstag, which is simply a wonder in architecture ... this building is absolutely stunning. We next moved on to a museum that highlighted the life and relation of Joh Fitzgerald Kennedy and his entire family. It showed insight into the US-German relations immediately following the construction of the Berln Wall. It was a really interesting experience ... the girl working the frnt was also a graduate of WLU which was interesting in itself ... small world.

We next moved onto the Babelplatz, the location of the Nazi book burning. Joel and I gave a breif historical account of the incident to a group of German toursists who were unaware of the significance of the location. On our way back from the Babelplatz, which is located on the promenade in front of Humboldt University, we ventured into an Audi dealership which housed an R8, absolutely amazing, and yours for only 120, 000 Euros. After that we went into a Bentley dealership and saw an Arnage and Continental before the piece de resistance emerged in the form of a Bugatti priced at only 1.1 million ... 1 of only 100 of the cars ever produced. An absolutely gorgeous piece of craftsmanship and machinery.

Joel and I found our way to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe which lay just 600m from Brandenburg Gate. The Germans are so ashamed of their past and wanting to accept what they are connected to, that they are building monuments to the Hlocaust and murdered groups in the heart of their cultural world. It really is a testament to the people and how the country has changed.

The Holocaust Memorial was possibly the most powerful place I have been. As you enter the stones rise many metres and dwarf all who walk among them, the uneasy ground causing the slightest dicomfort to those who walk within. It was a very powerful structure with the 2700 polished stones. As one enters the museum uner the memorial, a sense not felt before emerges. It highlights the actions of the Holocaust, but is focused more on the specific people and the lineages lost to this horrible tragedy to humanity. Their are letters from people writing to their loved ones after realizing the fate of Jews in the East. Few dry eyes are left in a room when you read of mere children writing to their parents of how they are awre of their soon imminent death. Many people were highly emotional here. The next room portrayed the lost lineages and history of many families. One picture highlighted a family. Of the photo of 2 dozen people, only one survived - he was a young male of possibly 9, when he looked at the photo, he was only able to recall 75% of the faces ... due to the Hlocaust, these people are forever nameless faces whose history has been lost forever. The power that that thought demands is overwhelming. The next room was a remembrance for individuals. It was completely dark and a projector would flash a name onto the wall. It would tell this persons story, and where they were interned. It would then tell you the date f their death. It really amplified ow suddenly lives were hanged at the hands of the Nazi's. The remaining two rooms described the caps in greater deail, and Judais today as well as an area dedicated to Yad Vashem. It also asked all who knew survivors to write their names into a database in order for them to be contacted to get their history and stories down. A very, very effective, powerful, and emotional place. I am truly priviledged to have been here.

We drank in the hostel this evening as the rain began pouring for the third night in as many days n Berlin. The immense heat and humidity through the day, caused a downpour each ngiht we were there. I thouroughly enjoyed Berlin.

The final two days in Berlin will be covered when I get a chance ...

Small town Germany, quaint with all the amenities

2007-06-03T14:55:00.000-07:00

So on the 23rd of May, Morgan and I ran into the one and only Joel Zimmer ... conveniently arriving 90 minutes late on his train.

I arrived at the train station a little before 6:30 to usher him back to our 'hostel', and instead he decided to choose the train arriving at 7:51 ... it was just swell, i had a goodtime being the alcoholic sitting for 90 minutes drinking temperate Beck's in front of old ladies, who likely thought I was lurking for innocent train-goers.

As soon as we got back, I imagine Joel was struck with the sae feelings Mrgan and I had about our Weimar hostel ... it looked like a run down antique shop, there was crap lying around fro the last century. The seats in the cramped 'comon room' were those of old stadium seats. The table was a door layed on its side. The showers were merely sprinkler heads in the ceiling that instead of typical doors, had etirely sliding walls, that divided the showers from yes, that's right, thekitchen table. As you ate you were able to be fondly greeted witht he visual accompaniment of people toweling off from their uke warm if not cold drizzling of water. There were no lockers in our room, so everything was on close watch until we realized that all of our 7 other roommates were over the age of 40, and not likely to touch our things. It was an entirely new experience all in itself.

That evening we went out for dinner to a place called the Texas Gril ... a restaurant intended to mimic food from the American South. We all had burges, the first red meat we had had in the past month. Morgan however, had the unfortunate luck to have ordered a burger that consisted more of sour creme than actual ground beef. It was more or less, would you like some beef with your sour creme sir? We had a fine laugh at his expense, until he pointed out to Joel and I that we had ordered wheat beer ... in my opinion the most atrocious beer of them al, with such a nasty aftertaste it would make Buckley's blush. Either way it was an interesting adventure all in itself.

The following day, the 24th of May, we decided to begin our morning as the typical back-packers that we were, and engaged in a breakfast that involved 3 pears, a baguette, 8 slices of cheese, and 12 slices of meat that was to be divided amongst the three of us. My dietary needs have completely diminished since coming to Europe, but whatever, its how things are supposed to be in my mind. After our delicious gourmet meal, in which we ate while sitting on a park bench yeling at the pigeons about their laziness to search for food (possibly a view into my distant future), the three of us boarded a bus for the concentration camp of Buchenwald.

Buchenwald was another experience of a serious nature that we experienced thus far. Unlike the majority of our camps so far, this as almost completely destroyed by the Allies in rder to conain a horrendous typhoid epidemic that swept over the camp in the late spring of 1945. The entire camp had been burned down except for the main entrance buildings, the crematorium, and a few scattered ruins here and there. It was purey a commemorative site. Powerful and emotional nonetheless, and I am glad to say that I have been there and seen what it has to offer to the World today as a historical site and view into the past of the 20th century.

We began our tour around the camp as per usual walking through the main gates ... the phrase of "To Each His Own" adorned the entrace to Buchenwald. A strange phrase given the context of the situation. We started out by venturing around the grounds and the zoo the SS had established. They would casually throw large chunks of meat to the black bears in ths pits whilst starving prisoners watched on in shear envy of the food the animals were getting. A very petty form of physical and mental torture was forced upon these people. We moved around the memrials to the barracks and the poor people that dweled within during the entire course of the camps existence. After pausing momentarily, we walked past "the Little Camp" which was strictly dedicated as a spot for peoe to die. When the SS guards grew tired or felt a prisoner could no longer contribute, they were put into cells in the back of the camp and simply forgotten until their life extinguished itself from dehydration, disease, starvation, or exposure ... a truly terrible and painful way to die. After this, we went through a museum constructed on site to give a view into the life of prisoners. It showed the work conditions, the food rations, and the tortuous treatment thrust upon these people. We went into an exhibit that was dedicated to artwork made by the prisoners both during and after their liberation from the camp. These works were both a fascinating and utterly vivid view into the unthinkable experiences these people were dared to survive through. It was more graphich than many of the photos taken, as it was from the perspective of the people enduring these fates rather than the perpetrators

Following the museum, we went to the area dedicated to the Soviet POWs. During the course of World War II, the Nazi's were aside from the Jews, Sinti and Roma Gypsies, and Homosexuals, unthinkably terrible to Soviet Prisoners f War. In the case of the British, American, and Canadian forces who for the most part were put into PW camps, the Soviet POWs were not viewed as people. The entire Slavic population was seen as lesser human beings to the Nazi's. The Soviet POWs experienced some of the worst massacres put upon war prisoner's. In the back (sorry for rambling) of the camp there were hundreds upon hundreds af silver poles sticking out of the ground all within a forest. Each pole marked the unmarked grave of 6 to 7 Soviet Prisoners who were murdered by the Nazi's. It was a very powerful sight ... it is difficult to convey the shear number of poles ... it was a dense forest, and everywhere you looked, every step you took, the suns reflection illuminated just a few more poles than the steps previous to you. It was very powerful.

After the Soviet memorial, we went to the crematorium of the camp. This place was as sterile as the rest and had the same eerie feel accompanying it. This place had one feature unseen in the previous camps to this point. One way of murdering prisoners was to usher peole in for 'routine' medical check-ups. when they were to have their height measured, a slit in the wall would open up as they stood on the scale, and shoot them in the base of the skull. The little window where the SS man stood was a small closet directly located behind the measurement on the wal. The helpless peron never saw the shot coming, and the murderer never had to look into the eyes of the person he was killing. The Nazi's were just making it that much easier to commit their rimes which they knew were wrong. The crematorium had the same efficeincy as all the others. The basement held the morgue, and an elevator shaft lifted the bodies into position to be cremated in one of the 4 ovens. The ovens being the trial ones, and proving so effective, the Nazi's would install the very same models in the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp only 8 months later.

After the camp we walked to the train platform where the people were unloaded from their cattle cars. It had the originaltrac and pltform still in place only 1.5 km down the road from the camp. A chiling place considering the context of it all. We then walked ot the Soviet monument dedicated to all the countries who had people die in Buchenwald, a very movng memorial. It was massive tower with sculpture of survivors and their victims, symbolizing the growing strength and unity of the World against National Socialism.

After leaving he camp, a large group accompanied by a mass number of armed riot police had filled the town square ... Joel and I were to find out that this was because there was a Nazi Party rally taking place and an Anti-Nazi group countering their positions. It was a very shocking scene, one I would not expect in this day-and-age. Later that night we met some German girls who were more than happy to escort us around and meet up with the group of us for drinks. A very satisfying way to end our experiences in small town Germany and the town of Weimar.

Engulfed in German History

2007-05-27T11:04:00.000-07:00

It certainly was sad to be leaving Switzerland, it was such a relaxing, layed-back place. However, the draw that Nuremburg had was something I just needed to see. This place has such a deep-rooted past in the National Socialist culture of Germany, that my educational interests could not pass up a trip here.

We arrived into Nuremburg Hbf to a scorching 32 degrees of sticky heat. We made our way towards our hostel which lay just inside the walls of the Old City which dated back centuries. Our first day was mroe or less spent shopping for food and preparing dinner.

We got settled and went out on a shopping spree for beer, meat, and breads - delicious gourmet cooking at its finest. The first night we again realized that the country of Canada travels in packs, and we were only 2 of nearly 10 Canadians staying at our hostel. We met David, a really nice guy from England, who likely will be hanging out with us tomorrow. We have also met a couple from Calagary, and another couple from Montreal ... all very nice people. After eating dinner, the notion was brought up to walk through the city, and experience some of the old town culture. To our amazement, Nuremburg has a Red-Light district only a few blocks from our hsotel ... nothing but window prostitutes trying to hock their wares. There were people there for every physical taste ... to put it mildly. Disgusting, yet funny, we walked past a row of windows on our evening stroll that had very senior aged women sitting in full lingerie, one wasw even knitting. Completely hilarious to our group of 4 guys just looking to walk around and see the sights.

We immediately returned to our hostel when we realized that the town didnt offer too much more to the youthful nightlife. We sat around with a room full of other travellers, speaking about our journey, drinking cheap Ger´man beers, and playing several card games that we have all picked up from our trips to the corners of the World. In hostels like this, there is usually a person who has been everywhere you can think of that people might live.

I have learned many new card games since beginning my trip, and look forward to learning even more. Morgan and I have decided to go our seperate ways for a while here, after Berlin he will be going to Dusseldorf, and I to Hamburg. Wether or not we meet up again for a lengthy period of time is still to be determined.

We spent our first full day in Nuremburg by first going to the Courthouse. The Nuremburg Palace of Justice is the location for the war crime trials of the Nazi perpetrators of the Holocaust and of the war crimes of the Second World War. The history this building has seen is remarkable. Relatively undamaged during the war, despite the surrounding buildings being obliterated, the courthouse stood to deal justice to the criminals of the war. The 4 charges that were dealt to the 24 Nazi defendants, would eventually lead to the sentence of death by hanging for many. Only problem on this day was that court was in session and we were not able to get inside the courthouse. Still a very interesting location with beautiful facades and architecture.

From the courthouse we moved on to the Nazi Party Parade grounds ... the location of the Nazi Rallies starting in 1934 and extending to the collapse of the Third Reich. Upion reaching this site, it became very apparent of the German governments will to seperate themselves from their past (purely speaking of the government of the 1950s and 1960s - Germany now is probably one of the msot anti-Nazi nations, and is doing very much to acknowledge their past and educate peeople so as the atrocities that were committed never happen again). The rally ground which at one point held upwards of 125 000 people and was purely a concrete jungle with grandstands and marching paths for the SS and elite armed units of the Reich, has since been transformed into a lavish park with green grasses, fountains, flowers and little more than small bulletin boards highlighting the past of each location. It was very surreal seeing the vague remnants, things that an untrained eye in the topic would glance over and not give a second thought to. Seeing the steps of the gallery, seeing the podium of the highranking officials, being able to visualize the scene witht he help of the pictures in the park was a very strange feeling I am glad I felt. It truly made me feel as though I was standing back in time ... a different feeling than when I have gone to the Holocaust camps. The only structure that still stands in the park that is identical fromt he war era is the monument to the fallen soldiers of Nuremburg from the First World War.

From the park, we moved onto the "Colloseum" and Zeppelin grounds. These sites were a little easier to distinguish as being from the Nazi era. There are lakes all around the site, the largest being made from the excavated site of Albert Speers National Stadium, designed to hold upwards of 400 000 people. The buildings in this complex really express the Nazi architectural designs and desires. The grandeur in the size and presentaton of these buildings in astounding. We moved arounnd the grounds, again a stifling hot day, and finally found ourselves at the Zeppelin site. This was a very strange feeling as well. The podium used by Hitler himself still stands in the place it did over 7 decades ago. Not to sound like a crazy neo-Nazi, but it was very strange from a historical perspective standing in the exact same place as one of the worlds worst people. The heavy, armed doors still adorn the building behind the podium overlooking the grounds. Wierd that now soccer fields are what lie in the grassy areas in front of the podium, and the Nuremburg soccer stadium is in the background.

The rich history of Nuremburg drew me to come here on my way to Berlin, the people are very helpful, and it truly is a place that with the right time and money, a person could be amazed with what they find.

Basking in Natural Beauty

2007-05-27T10:42:00.000-07:00

On the morning of the 18th of May,
we travelled through the Alps and Innsbruck as we made our way to Zurich, Switzerland. The natural beauty of this country is unbelievable. We passed through sheer mountain cliffs that overlook crystal-clear lakes that stretch to the horizon. Mountain streams that cascade into waterfalls dot the country side as our train snaked its way through the mountain passes. As our train arrived in Zurich, the people are as beautiful as the landscape. Everyone is very friendly and more than happy to meet new people.

We arrived to disbelief at our hostel of the numerous add-ons to the price that shot our nightly rates to over $40 a night, but in hostel terms it is outrageous. The entire country is outrageously priced ... to put it into Canadian terms, a Big Mac meal at a Swiss McDonalds comes to a staggering price of $10.90. The landscape of the city is not at all what I imagined. I thought it would be very similar to Toronto, only cleaner with much nicer natural views. But that was a total understatement. The river flows into the Lake of Zurich which is surrounded by nothing but clean, public parks with many sunbathers and people enjoying the natural outdoors. Something very rare to see when you come from the GTA or anywhere in southern Ontario for that matter.

I did absolutely nothing in Zurich. My entire days were spent trying to make feeble attempts to flirt and chat up the gorgeous Swiss Misses, still ended up having some nice talks with a few, and will be keeping in touch with some ... so it was not all for a loss. I decided to return to the lake and tan for the first time in 2007. It was a balmy 28 degrees with not a cloud int he sky. I even went swimming and felt the European bug, and felt much more free with myself than I would have had I been back home ... you know what I mean. I brought my camera this last day into town to photograph the sights and awe this city commands. Only issue was it was difficult to get a lcear view of something for more than a few moments ... nobody slows down and continuosly blocks shots. Here I was, sitting on the shore of the Lake of Zurich, lining up a perfect shot to take with snow-capped Alps on the back, the boats all across the water, and tours coming and going fromt he main harbour, to line up the perfect shot, I clicked the shutter ... without even noticing, checked the review to see my shot, only to find the nude ass of an 80-yr. old man had emerged from the water. My perfcect shot ended up being the wrinkled backside of a senior citizen who was awfully comfortable with himself.

We were constrained for social outings in Zurich, because as backpackers, I certainly did not have the funds to enjoy the nightlife provided by Switzerland. It certainly is a place where you need to work in the country or just come here for a week ... otherwise it will drain all financial resources you bring with you.

A Bavarian at Heart

2007-05-26T09:40:00.000-07:00

So it has been a while since updating this thing.
As we crossed the border from Austria into Germany on the 13th of April, a sense of awe came over me. The commanding presence of the mountains, and the pristine, untouched landscape. It is so different here than in southern Ontario.

As the train pulled into the Berchtesgaden Hbf, it was so easy to get a sense of the rich heritage and torrid past this town possesses. The entire town being taken over by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party in the late 1920s and early 1930s as the spot of true Bavarian lifestyle and heritage. It was the power source of Nazi government outside of Berlin.

The town gives all who enter a sense of pride and status. The mountains towering over you give a sense of being larger than the rest. It was a very strange feeling, but I loved it. The afternoon of the 30th was a beautiful day in the high 20s with unlimited visability. It was the best day our guide says he had seen in years. We were so LUCKY!!!

I was amazed at the elaborate system of underground bunkers and tunnels that have been carved into the mountain. The Nazis intended to build a 2 lane road that cut its way directly though the face of the Kehlstein mountain. Unbelievable feats of engineering have been undertaken at this spot.

By 3pm we began our ascent to the summit of Kehlstein mountain and the Eagles Nest. Hitler was given this mountain top teahaus for his 50th birthday from the NSDAP, and it only cost a staggering price of nearly 150 000 000 Euros in todays standards. Hitler, being afraid of heights, only managed to make the climb to the top of the mountain and visit his present 14 times. That works out to a price of nearly 10.5 million Euros a trip. As we stood on top of the mountain we could see the peaks of 3 countries. It was gorgeous. I will upload photos as soon as I get a chance.

The morning of the 14th, we travelled to Munich. Home of the worldfamous Oktoberfest and some very reknown beer gardens. The hostel we stayed in in Munich was a really cool place. We had a bar connected to us, and we were situated right across the street from the Augustiner brewery. Munich was a big party. Here we met Matt (Ricey) and Joel, the big limey Brit Arthur, Bruno the Brazillian (F*** the Brazllians, HaHaHa), Alex and David the Canucks, and both Morgan and I. Goodtimes were to be had. Some of whic I cannot explain on here ... the 8 of us know what went on.

While in Munich I experienced the authenticities of Bavarian cuisine. I have since eaten pigs feet, duck, pork saddle, sauerkraut, blue cabbage, and copious amounts of new beers. I have been called a true Bavarian by an old German man. I was shocked for a bit when I was told by a guy that although he knows I am adamently against the Nazis. I do study them, he explained that had I lived in the 1940s I surely would have been drafted into the Wehrmacht and thrown into the Aryan type regiments. Something I was kind of uneasy about hearing, but whatever, that was 60 years ago and will never happen again.

I LOVED Munich, and want to come back as soon as I can.

people are waiting for this computer, so I will try to update all I can before I leave here next week.

Why Austria?

2007-05-14T06:33:00.000-07:00

So, here we are on the 9th of May (I write these down when I cannot get o a computer, so don't let me know that they are posted on the same day), we have just arrived in the city of Vienna, Austria. Believe it or not, the basic German I do speak, is helping me get along with simple questions, and very primative conversation.

Vienna is an awfully expensive place when compared to the rest of our trip thus far. Using the Euro is not nearly as much fun as the Polish Zloty or Czech Crown. We have formed a sort of possy at our hostel here in Vienna (Hostel Ruthensteiner - truly a great location). We consist of Aiden the Aussie, Morgan, and myself, Manu the Austrian, Pastor Matt from the US (mighty religious guy, but very nice), Duncan from Canada, Christine from Hawaii, and Karen from Washington. The 8 of us rented some of the most painfully dated bikes I have ever seen, no hand brakes, and rode around the city after happy hour. The city lights are amazing at night. After the rest of them returned to the hostel before midnight to go to bed, Duncan, myself, and Aiden missioned around the city for another 4 hours ... legs destroyed, we still saw some of the nicest partws of old Vienna.

You meet so many cool, new people when travelling like this.

Aiden and myself trained up to the Danube river on our last night of Vienna, sadly, we found the amaying ngiht life everyone was talking about ... For those of you that are Canadian, Vienna has a sort of Hess Village, as we have in Hamilton. Only imrovement, is their Hess is located on the water ... river barge after river barge, pontoon boats and floating bridges connect this floating bar wonderland. Drinks are a bit prices, compared to Toronto bars, but a night that is sure to please will ensue.

We have started cooking our own meals here in Vienna, as it is FAR FAR cheaper than buying stuff.

On the 12th we boarded a train for Salzburg ... making a pit-stop at the Holocaust fortress of Mauthausen. This place was strange when compared to the others we have been to so far. It is perched on top of a hill surrounded by green fields and the Alps in the distance. Not the setting one would think of when imagining a location of murder and death.

After touring around this place for about 4 hours, we returned and headed for our nights stay in Salzburg.

Upon reaching Salzburg, we discovered that our hostel (which turned out to be more of a B&B) was located on a hillside overlooking the valley where the citv is located. Our hostel had a front row view of the mountains and city lights, it was simply awesome. We ate dinner in town, food was good but service took forever, there was a massive group, that had pretty much bought all the servers.

We only stayed one night in Salzburg, as we boarded a train for Germany yesterday morning, the 13th. For all who are wanting to hear saucy tales of debauchery, I apologize, the scenery and not necessarily typical masculine things trump everything else thus far in this Alpine area of Austria. I sat in awe last night drinking a beer with the Mountains few miles from my terrace. Yesterday morning we had breakfast overlooking the valley, it was awesome, could get used to all that regularly.

I will try to post the first bit of Germany asap ...

Lazy Days in the Czech Republic

2007-05-14T06:20:00.000-07:00

So,
It has been since the 8th of May that I have been able to get access to an internet connection for less than €2/min. I spent 5 days in Prague with Morgan and his relatives. His familyy was awfully gracious hosts and generous.

We spent the majority of the time doing the typical tourist stuff, and seeing much of the old city.

We went to the town of Plzen and ate lunch at the brewery, the town was in a big celebratory mode as well on the 5th as it was the towns day of liberation by US forces in World War II. Was very cool seeing everything and all the fanfare that went along with the day.

For the entire 5 days we did little else besides drink. Czech beer prices are remarkably cheap. Approximately $0.50/0.5L pints. What a super great system they have going. You can also buy beer in the bars and walk home with them.

The Czech people were all very friendly, and the females in this country were very visually pleasing as well. The food was delicious, but I soon found out that despite the fact that Sauerkraut and I are friends on the surface, we are enemies aferwards. The 5 days past pretty fast in Prague. I really wish I was able to experience more of the night life ... Canada did beat the Czechs in World Championship hockey, so at leasst there was something to brag about in the bars and trash talk ... I don't think any of them really knew what I was saying.

The first day we were given a rude welcome to the city when we were fined $25 for not properly validating our tickets before jumping on the subway. I will never make this mistake again.

For all those people out there that feel travelling to Europe will simply be a feast of carnal pleasures are totally wrong. Everything hereis the same in Canada, nobody just throws themselves at you eventhough you are a North American, English speaking, drop-dead beautiful gentleman ... it just doesn't happen.

We have finally managed to do a load of laundry here in Prague, I feel our foot odour may have started a national incident if we did not get on it sooner rather than later.

Signing off for now, or until I can find another free computer ...

A Week in Poland ...

2007-05-03T08:15:00.000-07:00

So Morgan and I have been in Poland for the past 5 days and are leaving tomorrow to go to Prague in the Czech Republic.

The first thing that is striking about Poland is how remarkably green and rural this country is. There are the main cities, and as soon as the city limits are reached, it is immediately in the middle of nowhere. Such scenes in these rural areas are of chickens running openly around the streets, an old man talking his holstein cow for a walk on a leash, and the remnants of communism is still seen everywhere.

The language barrier is extremely difficult, and I have only managed to pick up the simple phrases of how are you, good morning, hello, thank you, I need a train ticket to .. , and beer please. The streets do not have the standard north american signs posted on the corners, but they are located on the adjoining buildings ... it was mighty difficult for the first few hours figuring things out. The next problem we came across was the public transit system in Poland ... although the trains/trams.and buses run quite frequently, it is tough to figure out where you are going, as the maps read very similar to the TTC subway system in the sense that all the stops are labelled differently than the street, so it is painfully tough following things when you can't read the language. The girls working our hostels have been amazing! They have helped us call and write letters and do pretty much anything that one could thing of (please keep your minds clean when reading this). Our hostel's are Hostel Helvetia in Warsaw, and Mama's Hostel in Krakow. Anyone in these areas, I would highly recommend both these locations.

We have thus far been to Treblinka, Majdenak, and Auschwitz ... these places were horrific, and wonders how humanity could sink to such lows as to produce such mass killing factories. On the brighter side of things, Krakow is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen. The river and the city centre are absolutely a joy to just sit in and watch the sights go by. Also, the vast majority of Polish females are a delight to the optical senses, I know Morgan, myself, the two Aussie guys we have been walking around with, as well as the Yank, and other Canadian are in awe how such gorgeous women are with such visually atrocious gentlemen.

This past week has truly been an enlightening experience, and has truly caused me to think of the tourists in Canada who do not speak English, from now on, I truly will be more thoughtful when dealing with them and try to lend a hand when I can.

Today is a national holiday in Poland, and the entire city is out in full-force. There has been a military parade through the city centre, marching bands, flags everywhere, street performers, and the true culture of Poland is coming out of the wood-work everywhere you look. Krakow truly is a city I would recommend all to come if they have the chance, ... ,as well as a small phrase book in Polish.

I will try to update this bog more often, and possibly upload pictures, but due to my electronic ineptitude that may prove difficult, I am averaging about 80 photos a day, so albums will be immense when I return to Canada.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer break thus far, and/or work/school is going well,

Take care