You Know It's Time to Go Home When...

Saw this on the Lonely Planet blog and liked it. Enjoy....

You know it's time to go home when...

1. No shame
   You think it´s perfectly normal to wash your underwear in the shower (with shampoo) and hang them out the dormitory window to dry
2. Cleanliness is subjective
   You have rationalized the contents of your washbag to the point that even the soap is starting to look dispensable
3. All your conversations are the same
   You can´t remember the last time you had a conversation that didn´t begin with ¨So, where you from?¨
4. Malnutrition is setting in
   Crackers, cheese and biscuits form your staple diet
5. Your friends have given up hope
   You have noticed that your friends have started refering to if rather than when you come home
6. Life´s a commune
   You haven´t slept in a room without several other people in it for months
7. Your feet may never be the same again
   You´re getting flip flop feet
8. Too much like a local
   You know the words to all the local pop songs
9. It´s time
   Your backpack smells

Velvet Revolution

Just read a little bit about the Velvet Revolution that happened in Prague in 1989. A group of 30,000 students peacefully marched to mark the 50th anniversary of the suppression of student protests by the Nazis, which had led to the closing of Czech universities till the end of WWII. It's an interesting situation and I am looking forward to being there and standing in the places where these students marched. I'm hoping to gain some inspiration from it.

I feel like my generation has gotten a little too lazy about protesting and speaking up for things that they find important in society and government. How can we expect to change the wrongs in society if we aren't willing to speak out against them. I do comment those students who safely and intelligently protested against the new immigration bill here in the US. That is a whole other subject for another day, but it's nice to see young people taking a stand for things they believe in.

To read more about the Velvet Revolution: Click Here

(Picture is of students offering riot police flowers in a gesture of peace.)

Craig in Germany

I thought it would be fun to post a pic of my friend Craig who I will be meeting up with in Germany. We met years and years ago (wow I feel old) back in St. Louis when we were working at Six Flags.

I thought it only right (and extremely embarrasing) that he not know that his pic is up here until he reads this and sees it....haha!! I think this picture was taken when he was in Iraq.

Preparing for Prague

My hotel reservations are made for the Prague portion of the tour. I'm staying at a hotel right across from the German Embassy and around the corner from the American Embassy. The hotels there try to maintain the residential feel of the area by not posting signs with their hotel names on them. So, all I have is the address and the fact that it's right across the street from the Embassy. I hope that is enough! The hotel is Dum u Velke Boty. In English, it translates as House at the Big Boot.

Here is a picture of the hotel:





















View of the German Embassy from the hotel's window:

I've also started reading more about Prague. I have a couple of the typical tour books, but I'm also ready some nonfiction by Prague writers. One is titled "The Spirit of Prague" by Ivan Klima. It's a great book so far. It's a collection of essays about growing up in Prague and the culture and people of the city. Ivan grew up during the Nazi occupation and at the age of 8 was taken to a concentration camp. He chronicles what life was like there and how it affected different people in different ways. Below is a link for the book if you're interested in reading more.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0964561123/102-2885354-8708117?v=glance&n=283155

The ticket is bought!

I am officially going to Europe. I bought my plane ticket, and I am locked in. I spent $1477 on the ticket. Yeah, I'll wait for you to recover from that one..... All I can say is, God bless the World Cup.

Yeah, I've never loathed soccer so much in my entire life. I'm going over right at the end and the final games of the World Cup. It's all good though. They are in Germany this year and I have planned my trip around them. As much as I love millions of sweaty, drunk people surrounding me in mobs, I'm going to pass just this once.

My trip is slowly coming together. I'll be over there for 17 days total. As of now, it breaks down like this:
Prague: 7 days
Frankfurt: 2 days
Berlin: 3 days
Madrid: 2 days
Toledo: 2 days

I'm still deciding on a day between Berlin and Madrid. Not sure if I want another day in Berlin or get on to Madrid and experience that.

I am really excited to go to Prague. Everybody that I talk to loves it and has become addicted to the city. I'm going there alone, and I'm a little nervous but really excited. I've been reading a lot about its history during the war and the Halocaust. There is just so much history to this city!! It's unbelievable.

From Prague, I will be taking the train over to Frankfurt to meet up with my friend Craig who is stationed in a military base just south of the city. I'm going to hang out with him there for a day or 2 and then we are going to drive up to Berlin. I haven't really looked into everything that Berlin has to offer. I know there is a great night life, the Berlin Wall and good beer. I'll have to do some research and find some more historical things there. Craig and the guys drive up there a lot for little trips. It's a four hour drive from Frankfurt.

From Berlin, I'll be catching an EasyJet flight (England's version of Southwest) to Madrid. I think I might take the train straight down to Toledo from there. With the new train system, the trip is only a half hour. I will be meeting my college roommate Julie there. She is going to University in Toledo. I plan on spending a couple days with her. Then I want to head back up to Madrid and check out the city. The Museo de Prado is suppose to be unbelievable. And I just read online about a great park that they have there that sounds like a good place to chill and read a book in the summer. I might end up seeing Madrid alone, depending on Julie's class schedule, but i'm ok with that. It'll be an adventure and force me to interact more with the locals. It'll be good. I heard the nightlife in Madrid is absolutely insane. I can't wait!!

From Madrid, I catch a flight back to the good ole USA. I have a couple hour layover in Miami and then on to your favorite airport and mine: LAX.

If you have any suggestions on places to go, see, things to do, etc for Berlin, Madrid or Toledo, please let me know. I'm excited to hear what other people have enjoyed.

Until then... Guten nacht. Buenos Noches. And...yeah, haven't quite learned Czech yet. Right on top of that one.

Jill