July 31

Great day! Glad to be here! Glad to be a lone American!
Work was great today; we decided that it would be better for me to do a lot of surveys instead of interviews because of time and logistical constraints. I am so glad! I just happened to bring along a survey I had done for an early rough draft of my proposal, so I made 180 copies and stabled the packets together. I also spent several hours reading this great book about the AIDS problem in South Africa. I was just busy enough all day. When I got home no one was there, but I found on my bed the laundry I had given Eunice this morning! She also makes my bed everyday. I’m getting even more spoiled having daily maid service. Soon David came and picked me up (fetched me) and took me up to their church for “Alpha” (have you ever heard of it?). It is an introductory to Christianity class that church members invite their friends to. It was started in the UK by an Anglican pastor and apparently it has spread rapidly around the world. Tonight’s meeting was just a sign up meeting with no pressure to continue attending. There was a finger supper provided. Get this, though: I about died and I wanted to take pictures: they had WINE (real alcohol wine) AT A CHURCH FUNCTION! I told them how shocked I was (as a good southern Baptist girl) and they said they wanted to meet the people coming “where they are at.” Good thinking. Also at the meeting were Neal, his sister, and two guys my age they are friends with. I hung out with them all night and it was sooooo great to hang out with people my age in such a nice environment. I think we are all going up the coast this weekend. I had talked about going with Janet and Sarah to a private all boys high school rugby match rivalry on Saturday so it would ruin those plans. I am not sure what to do, part of me thinks Janet would be glad not to have to “baby-sit” me for a weekend, and part of me thinks I should stick to my first “commitment.” Suggestions?

July 30

This morning I went to church with the Hotchkiss’ early because everyone was involved in some sort of set up (tea duty, sound system, choir- I opted for tea duty). After church I “fellowshipped” with a very nice girl and had tea. After that we picked up Janet’s mom from a nursing home and went back to their house to have lunch. After lunch we scattered about the house and I was able to use their dial-up Internet for a while. Later that afternoon we had tea and then went on a walk with the dogs through a sugar cane field- such beautiful valleys and hills here. Then we watched this “Heartline” series on TV that is so neat. It is an 8-week “campaign” promoting 8 values (forgiveness, love, grace, etc). Eight movies illustrate them (one a week) and then a discussion is held after words. They all target the AIDS problem and it is so amazing to see such Christian values be played out over public television (like on our NBC or ABC).
Due to the weather and the need to wear “work” clothes I have begun an inventive outfit rotation with two long sleeve tops, two short sleeve white shirts, two pants, and two skirts.
I am picking up so many new South African phrases: robot (traffic light), shame, costume (bathing suit), fetch (pick up in a car), boot (car trunk), and many more!

July 29

I thought I would end up spending all day on the couch reading; however, I luckily did not. I had breakfast, then rode with Sarah and her dad to Sarah’s church choir practice, then home, where I sat on the couch outside (with a beautiful jungle, valley view) and read until Sarah came home. Then she invited me to come along shopping with her, her friend, Charlene (20), and Charlene’s brother Neal (22). Neal has dread locks and has hitchhiked through many states including Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee. I enjoyed talking about all that with him. We went to a big mall with cheap stores and then to Meltz Factory Outlet (like a huge TJ Maxx, but cheaper and it had more of a warehouse feel). Everyone bought something but me, I don’t need anything and I don’t want to have to lug anything around for 3 more months. When we got home I helped Janet fix dinner (I tried at least). Then 2 black boys (16 & 17), from the valley (aka rural township), who go to their church joined us for dinner. I was able to interview them and I learned a lot of interesting things. Once again, I must learn to be more grateful for all God has blessed me with.
After dinner Sarah, the 2 guys, and I went to their church for youth group (aka play pool, fussball, and ping pong). It was just us, Neal, and another young guy. It is nice to be included and I was so glad Neal was there so I wasn’t the oldest by 4 years.

July 28

I am so thankful for the safety and freedom we have in America! We can drive safely; walk (many) streets at night safely. Be thankful!
The weather is PERFECT here- cool at night and in the morning and beautifully sunny in the 70’s during the day.
I woke up a million times last night, had "cream of wheat" (made by their live-in maid/housekeeper, Eunice) with Muesli (that's the way you do it here) for breakfast , and was driven to Focus on the Family (Focus on iThemba) at 8am. I met up with Shanno (a woman) who is in charge of interns (I guess that is the closest category I fit into) and we went to a prayer meeting, then at 9:30 am I met with the Curriculum Manager of the No Apologies abstinent program and we discussed what I will be doing for the next 3 weeks. Everyone is VERY nice, helpful, and accommodating. Transportation is a bit tricky because I have to be driven everywhere (I can’t drive stick-shift and no one has automatics) and public transportation is not an option. I don’t think they were expecting a naïve-looking blonde girl! I was able to look through the abstinence curriculum today and to also speak with some of the educators. All that did not take very long though. I also got 3 tours of this place- Focus is in an old Bible College and it has a lot of land with several houses (where they hope to house foster kids and parents), old class and dorm rooms, a radio station, and then the main offices. I am so glad to be seated at an office desk with Internet. I feel like I did my first day at Dallas Fan Fares where I sat and stared at a computer screen in between figuring out something to do with myself.
They drink tea all the time and it is quite lovely. Also, the “compound” backs up to a gorgeous valley where all the poor shacks are. “Bev” from the bookstore took me home and we stopped at clicks (South African Walgreen’s) for her to pick up a few things and then I was dropped up. Bev reminded me of all the safety issues I have been hearing about. She is concerned when she has to stop to make turns because she is weary of car jacking. Everyone reading this- thank God that you live in America (if you do, I don’t think I have any international readers… yet). I can’t imagine living without the safety (which equals personal liberties) we have at home. I am hoping I don’t go stir crazy in 3 weeks not being able to walk or run anywhere outside the home or office.
When I got in only Jade was home so we chatted over tea (of course) and waited for Sarah (17, junior in high school, who goes to boarding school, M-F) and her dad to get home from the city where her school is and Tim to come back from tutoring a kid whose teacher comes to school drunk. We had Pizza for dinner and ice cream with Milo on top. Milo is like Ovalteen or Nesquick- interesting. The children are very talented- Tim is an amazing artist and Sarah is very musical, perhaps I would have been more talented if I stayed inside my house and if we didn’t have cable.
I was told tonight that “so fun” is not proper- its “such fun” which is a bit of a problem because I am all the time saying “so- whatever.”
I wasted some precious minutes on my expensive international phone to check my voice mail on my cell at home and it was SO great to hear 3 messages from friends (thanks Emily and Katie!) It made me feel loved and missed and it was just great! It is Friday night and Sarah is practicing on the piano, Tim and Jade are packing to leave for UCT, David (the dad) is on the computer, Janet (the mom) is in Durban on an overnight mission, and I have retreated to my room (thank goodness I have my own room to retreat to). I am sorry if I am making this experience sound negative. It is not at all, it is just stretching me out of my comfort zone, but its not too far stretching (it is only my first real day), it’s pretty easy all things considered. And I am so glad to have this opportunity and experience

July 27

Durban- Hillcrest- the Hotchkiss'
I had another huge breakfast (I have got to lay off the carbs), although the hotel staff is plentiful and overattentive. After checking out I ran into the waterfront to use cheaper internet than what is at the hotel, from there I got picked up by an airport shuttle. The man who drove me was very nice and I hope to hire him to drive Sydnee and I around for a day to see the remoter areas of the Cape. He also made an interesting statement that he would be worried about the blacks in hostels, in America he would be considered black, but here he is considered coloured, which are appropriate terms to use for people from the aparthied times.
The flight to Durban (via Port Elizabeth) was through an airline called Kulula Air. They were very entertaining- comedy in their pre-flight instructions. When I arrived at the airport Mrs. Hotchkiss greeted me with a huge hug and then Mr. Hotchkiss arrived from Jo'burg (well timed arrivals). We then drove roughly 30 minutes to their home in a growing town called Hillcrest. It was dark coming in so I didn't see much. Her son Tim and his girlfriend Jade (20) are home on holiday from Varsity (college). They attend the University of Cape Town (convenient). The family is so nice and I really enjoyed talking with Tim and Jade. Mrs. Hotchkiss made sweet tea, which was such a treat for me! Tim drank some and said- what is this? and I told them it is a delicacy where I am from. Their house is very nice and spacious. I have my own room. Once again, I can't believe I am here, spending the next three weeks in this home on the other side of the world from my home. The family is very nice about wanting me to feel at home.

July 26

Cape Town
1. It is winter in Cape Town- literally- picture December. (and on Monday I was experiencing one of the hottest summers central Europe has had in years)
2. They drive on the other side of the road (I won't say wrong side, since it is right to them and the British).
3. Cape Town is VERY racially and economically diverse- every color of people and homeless sleeping on cardboard only miles multi-million-Rand beachside villas.
4. They have 11 national languages- really- and English isn't everyone's primary language, in Cape Town, Afrikaan is another predominate language, in Durban, Zulu ( I think), the languages with clicking in it, is spoken by the rural population.

All day I kept thinking: "How am I here? How did I end up all by myself in South Africa?"

After nearly missing breakfast from sleeping too late, I ran downstairs to an abundance of food. Around noon, I was ready to start my day, I went to the front desk to ask for a map of the city. They asked me where I wanted to go? -I want to see the city. Then I was recommended to do a hop-on-hop-off bus tour of the city. I ran upstairs to grab my fleece jacket and put on my tennis shoes (warmer than flip flops) and went to the bus stop just in time. I boarded the double Decker bus, sat up top for optimal view, and took in the 3 hour tour of the city center, gardens, Table Mountain, Camps Bay and other deserted beaches (its winter), and finally back to the Waterfront where we started.
From my bus tour I went to an information office to arrange my airport shuttle for tomorrow (I'm going to Durban to do my Richter Fellowship study on the effectiveness of abstinence education in preventing the spread of AIDS- more about that below). Then I decided I was hungry, so I sat down at a Pancake House and decided against ostrich meat and a sausage of unknown origin and went with the chicken option. It was chicken and mushroom wrapped in a pancake- interesting. To help me warm up, I also had South African Rooibos tea- it is very good- I definitely recommend it- I know it can be found stateside. I had planned to walk to the city center from the waterfront (against the hotel travel desks instructions), but I got intimidated by the bustle of the city and decided to stick to the touristy waterfront. Just when I was starting to think there wasn't much to the waterfront I discovered a huge mall, which I happily wondered in for hours. It had multiple grocery stores, a movie theatre (no I did NOT see another movie), a market area, food court, hair salon, drug store, and generally lots to look at. As I've said, it's winter here, so it gets dark early, which made me not so adventurous and I turned in early.
*I can't wait for Sydnee to come back so I can properly enjoy this city. I think I over-estimated my independence.
Also, if you want to come to Cape Town- summer is probably better than winter because there are so many beaches to be enjoyed, but if you do come in summer then you don't get to see the whales from Antarctica (and maybe not the seals or penguins- not sure if they are seasonal animals). 2010 will be a crazy time, as Cape Town will host the World Cup- plan accordingly :).
*For the next three weeks I will be in Durban, living with a family, and trying to do some research, so I am not sure if I will be able to keep up the daily blogging, so don't get worried if you don't hear anything for several days!

July 25

After a restless night in the Prague Airport, I was the first to check in (5 am, I was already up) and I went to the gate to “lie down” and take a little nap before the flight left. My first leg was from Prague to Amsterdam, it was a quick hour long flight, with a disappointing breakfast- a ham sandwich (weird, and no coffee). The flight was a little delayed so I speed walked through the huge Amsterdam Airport (which I am very excited to spend more time at in my layovers to come) to get to my gate to leave for Cape Town. I was right on time for the boarding call. The flight was packed and the plane was huge. It left at 10 am and arrived in Cape Town 11 hours later. We flew over the entire continent of Africa- it was amazing. I had questioned KLM’s judgment on having an 11 hour flight during the day, but now I am so glad it was that way. From the Mediterranean above Africa to the southern part of Africa there was nothing but sand. Miles and miles of endless desert sand and every time I would look out the window there would be nothing, no sign of life. Another AWESOME part about the flight was that everyone had individual TVs with numerous movies, TV shows, games, flight tracker, music, and more. I watched several movies, played tetris, and thoroughly enjoyed my flying experience (even with a smelly Dutch teenage boy next to me).

July 24

Trial run on being alone.
Sydnee’s flight left early this morning, so after seeing her off (and being sad to see her go), I went back to sleep until the lady that owns the apartment woke me up and told me it was time to check out. I left my bag with her and headed out to walk parts of Prague we hadn’t seen yet, but after about an hour of navigating with my map I became content to wander down familiar streets without constantly trying to get my bearings. Sydnee and I have a joke about becoming an heir to the “Doner Kabob throne” and I think I made real headway when ordering my falafel gyro: the guy working behind the counter asked me if we were in Prague or Paradise because I must be an angel. I chuckled at his line and he repeated his question; I thanked him for my falafel and moved on.

July 23

Bohemian bagel again for breakfast, International Church of Prague, movie popcorn for dinner, sitting in the square, watching tourists. As Sydnee’s last real day in Prague (and Europe), it was fairly uneventful and bittersweet.

July 22

Slept in, went to Bohemian Bagle for breakfast/lunch/American-fix (bagels and bottomless coffee). Here we ran into two guys we had befriended in Dubrovnik. We couldn't believe the coincidence, so we all ate together and caught up on the past two weeks. After bagels we went back by way of a famous clock in Prague that has special hourly chimes and saw the 12 disciples rotate through at 1pm. Near our room we found a place to do laundry- I love clean clothes! I also love showers and I was much in need of one after doing laundry. After showers, Syd and I walked from our room ALL the way to Mrs. Bonnie's hotel (we are on opposite sides of town and we usually metro there). We then had a very nice, very long dinner up on a hill by the castle with an excellent view of the whole city. While enjoying dinner we watched the city light up in chronological order (like Paris does).
Mrs. Bonnie leaves for a bike tour tomorrow, so we said goodbye after dinner and then Syd and I walked and metroed home.

July 21

Syd and I got to meet Mrs. Bonnie for breakfast again at her hotel and it was great!!! Then she went on to a manicure and Jewish Quarter Tour and we went back to our room (which feels like it has AC- wonderful!) and tried to decide what we wanted to do. We made appointments at a local gym for a $20 hour long massage and after enjoying our third massage of the week we went to another Lonely Planet Guidebook suggested Indian restaurant for lunch/dinner. It was in a less touristy, although pedestrian area and we walked around there for a while after eating. Then we walked up this "Paris" street where all the high designer fashions are and into the InterContinental Hotel (another 5star, but not that neat). After walking a while we met Mrs. Bonnie at the end of Charles bridge and joined her for dinner at a quaint Czech restaurant with loud, live Czech music.

July 20

After sleeping forever I got up and got ready and Sydnee and I walked to this coffee/internet cafe I had read about in the guidebook called Kava.Kava.Kava. (Sounds fun, right?) It was nice, then we attempted to walk around and see some sights, but guess what- it was record high temperatures- the hottest day in 145 years (seriously, that is what the news said)- and Sydnee and I realized that we weren't able to enjoy any of the buildings if it was too hot to cross the street to the unshaded side to be able to see them better, so we just went to the Four Seasons early (only about 45 minutes early) to meet Mrs. Bonnie for afternoon tea (it was about 3pm by this point). Tea was delightful! After that we all walked to a main pedestrian square where we went into a Moser crystal store and Sydnee bought a surprise for Blake (don't tell him if you talk to him!) We walked around a bit more and then caught a metro to a big IMAX/Cinema/Mall area, we checked that out, went to Charles Bridge, a big, crowded pedestrian bridge with a great view of the city, walked Mrs. Bonnie to her hotel, and then Syd and I went back to ours.

July 19

Last stop in Europe.
We slept alright on our overnight train, it was very cool (temperature). From the train station we went to Mrs. Bonnie's hotel (she is my old roommate, Margi's mom and she is travelling through Europe). We joined her for a wonderful breakfast and for a tour of the old town- castle, cathedral, etc. Our overnight train caught up to us around noon and we went back to the hotel- I showered, Syd napped. While Syd was waking from her nap and showering I tried to figure out where we would stay. We called a guuy we had met at the train station that morning and he got us a wonderful apartment room for five nights- only 1,500 crowns ($13 a night per person). From there we went for lunch/dinner at a great vegetarian/chill/swanky/inexpensive restaurant. Mine was great. Then we walked the "La Rambla" (as I like to call it) of Prague. I never got a nap and I have not yet recovered!

July 18

Jewish Quarters and the Pope is from Krakow.
Krakow used to house thousands of Jews until World War II, now less than 100 Jews live here. Kameriz, the Jewish Quarter, is a reminder of the Nazi horror, as buildings still remain empty. After walking through that area and seeing Schindler's Factory (from Schindler's List) we went to the Krakow Galleria, similar to Auburn's Colonial Mall, but with a movie theatre. We actually watched "She's the Man"- a stupid, silly movie. Then we went back to the hostel, checked out, and went to ANOTHER movie, Tsotsi, an academy award winning South African movie. Apparently, whatever language is spoken in South Africa is not understandable to the American English speaker and Polish subtitles did not help! Hopefully the movie will nave no similarities to my experience in South Africa. Dinner was a huge, thick piece of pizza, and then we went to the train station. Right now we are in a sleeping compartment by ourselves. Pray it will stay that way the whole way to Prague.

July 17

Our overnight train wasn't so bad, especially after the young German student left at 11pm and we had the coachette to ourselves and were able to lay down. we arrived at the Krakow train station at 5:45 am, bought a ticket on to Prague for the next night, and walked to our hostel. we were so early we had to wait an our for breakfast, but Syd used the computer and I napped on the couch. After carb loading at breakfast, we walked to Wawel Castle and took a tour through, to the cathedral, tombs, and state rooms. The castle and grounds were very beautiful. After that we went back to our hostel and were able to get in our beds (they were occupied when we arrived). I showered and then napped. After a much needed rest and a sub-par doner kabab we walked around the city square. It is the largest medieval square in Europe. Krakow seemed very touristy this afternoon, despite its few attractions. Syd and I ran out of things to do, since we are speedy site-see-ers with much practice, so we watched (my favorite) a street performance (this time break dancing), people, and found dinner before we called it a night.

July 16

Glorious Day!
Sydnee and I found the International Baptist Church of Budapest, which met in a high school. The preacher was a southern baptist preacher from south Georgia. It was so wonderful to go to church- sing great praise music and hear a challenging sermon. I was very thankful for our morning there.
After Asian (again!) for lunch we went for a walk (most places are closed on Sunday in Budapest- however the Chain Bridge is open for pedestrian and vendors only) and used the internet at a bike shop. From there we got our packs to head to the train station to catch an overnight train to Krakow, Poland! We compiled our remaining Forint and had just enough change (with the help of 15- from a departing traveller) to get two McDonalds ice creams and a snickers bar (great dinner, huh?) Then we attempted to catch our train and had to search one long unmarked row of train cabins to find our train before it left. Third time's the charm.

July 15

After breakfast in our apartment, we went to a long pedestrian-only shopping street called Vaci Ucta. We walked around there a while and window shopped. We also stopped at a fabulous coffeehouse called Gerbauds. We were serenated by street performers as I sipped on my cappaccino. Then we headed to leafy Andrassy street. It is tree-lined and beautiful. We walked along, passing by the beautiful Hungarian Opera House. Then we went to the House of Terror, a museum in what was once the headquarters of the dreaded AVH secret police. It focuses on the crimes and atrocities committed by Hungary's fascist and Stalinist regimes. We really enjoyed it, but it could have used more English subtitles. Continuing on Andrassy, we went to Hero's Park. It also contains some beautiful, magnificent monuments and buildings. The park also has an amusement park/circus which is similiar to the Miracle Strip in Panama City.
From Hero's Park we walked to this Thai Massage place. Massages and Baths are the thing to do in Budapest- cheap and great! I know it is funny to be getting a thai massage in Budapest, since I will be going to Thailand, but it was a good option for us. I had never had a Thai Massage before- it was not very relaxing, but I did enjoy it. The masseure stretches and contorts your body and pops all your joints (I know- sound maybe like torture, but actually you feel very loose afterwards). We had eaten at an Indian restaurant for lunch, so we decided to end our tour of Asia in Budapest by having Chinese for dinner.

July 14

Buda
Today Sydnee and I walked to one of the many Hungarian baths. It was in the north part of Buda (Budapest is two cities- hilly, old Buda, Danube River divides it from flat, cosmopolitan Pest). We got a local's experience! We went to all these thermal baths that are set to various temperatures. Here- modesty doesn't translate into Hungarian, so it was great that Fridays are women only at the spa. From the baths we got a 30 minute massage (for only $15), which was amazing! Then we walked Buda through the Castle District and to the most famous and touristy bath/hotel, the Gellert.
From Buda we went to the Market (which was less clean than Spain's) in south Pest. Budapest is the most stately and grand city Syd or I have ever seen. Every building is magnificent, you can really imagine the splendour of the city in its prime.
I have been meaning to talk about the Hungarian language, it is an "orphan" language, only distantly related to Finnish, so not a romance or germanic language. It is pretty much impossible to try to guess the meaning of words like you can in German or Spanish, so it is good practice for the Arabic or Asain languages we will encounter. Young people usually speak some English, but the older generations speak German if they know another language (once again, fun to try out my Deutsch).

July 13

Guest Author: Sydnee shares about our day at Herend, Hungary
Being in the whole "camp" mode, we got an early start to the bus station. We stopped for breakfast which turned out to be rye bread. Tip... when in Hungary, go for the light brown bread, not the darker! We loaded a bus that had been around since probably 1940 and were off to Herend, Hungary. I was really anxious about the trip having my only information coming from the web site. We arrived to a town that appeared to house the "Chinette" manufactory, not the world renowned Herend china! At this point I was really nervous that I had dragged us 2 hours from the lake and another 3 from our ulimate destination, Budapest. However, when I saw the wooden sign, my fears were releived and we headed to the factory. It was really amazing! We saw first hand the casting, buidling, and painting of the china. The journey totally proved itself worthy. The guidebook lead us to believe that the prices were 50% less than the states, but that certainly was not the case, altough I now have a better understanding of the demanding high prices. The guide was describing one table setting that took 3 months to complete! Post factory tour, we ate at an authentic Hungarian restraunt where we were happy to have a chicken option. After lunch we headed to the bus station for Budapest. It started raining as it does here in the afternoons too, and we were pretty tired after a long day of travel. After much hostel hunting, we settled on yet another "zimmer."

July 12

*to any daily readers out there, sorry for the delay, we've been busy!
After our bus ride where we did manage to get a few hours of sleep, we put our packs in a locker and set out to see Zagreb before we took an afternoon train to Hungary.
As our guide book said, "Zagreb is not very impressive at first glance." We couldn't have agreed more, but our walk to the major buildings was worth doing. Our real goal of the day was to try "struki"- a traditional Croatian dish that Zagreb is famous for. We found a great 5 star hotel to taste struki (described in our book as boiled cheesecake). We split a serving which was very rich, but not very sweet. We were glad to have tried it, but don't think we need any again. Upon leaving the hotel there was a police escort with the Prime Minister of Germany's, Gerhard Schroeder's fourth wife, Doris. We (of course) didn't know who she was by looks, but on our way out I asked the German equivalent of a Secret Service Agent what was going. We was more than happy to tell us all the answers we were looking for and wanted to know where he could find us tonight... (no thanks).
After our day in Zagreb we got on a train to take us to Lake Balaton, known as the Hungarian See, it is 77 km long, the biggest in central Europe. We stopped in a crazy lake town called Siofok. Leaving the station we headed to the lake to find a "zimmer" to crash in. Syd refers to our room as Camp Balaton because it is like staying in camp cabins- screened-in windows, bugs, by a lake, etc.
As we left Croatia I tried to gather some observations of the country:
*Pizza is everywhere and one of the few decent (budget) food options
*the coastal towns are very different from Zagreb
*Many (thousands) of Croatian Americans return to the coast each summer (many of their parents moved to America in the past 10-15 years)
*It rains every afternoon, but blows over quickly
*This could be our own observation, but bug bites are hard to avoid.

July 11

Mama no shoppin.
'Mama' had a rough morning because one of her tennants some how soaked a bed through the mattress and she was just in a fit all morning. She hadn't shopped for breakfast, so she pulled out some things lying around the kitchen, Sydnee (and I to a lesser extent) were starting to get a pretty grossed out by the lack of cleanliness in this house. There are cats everywhere (mom- I didn't have any problems with my allergies) and during breakfast Mama and this man that lives in the house (son, husband, brother- not sure) brought 4 little baby chicks into the kitchen. Sydnee and I both do not like animals and this action was more than we could handle. Mama also told us we had to be out of our room by 10 am, but that we could use the downstairs shower since we weren't leaving Dubrovnik until 9 pm (the man didn't like this and kept trying to tell us that if we were in a hotel we would have to check out at a certain time, at least we think that was what he was trying to communicate).
We put on our bathing suits and cleared out of our room. We went to the ocean for a couple of hours, the library (for their internet), split a pizza for a late lunch, and tried to make some decisions about our travel plans from Dubrovnik.
We went back to Mama's house for showers (quickly before the man kicked us out). As we were about to start our treck to the bus station (more on that later) a serious storm started brewing. A few blocks into our walk we saw people stopped in the street staring up at the mountain where lightening had set a patch of grass on fire. The fire would shortly be put out, because just as we ducked into an awning, all "hail" broke loose- literally. A torrential rainstorm poured down, hail and all. We waited it out (only about 20 minutes) and then continued to walk to the station. On our way, soaking wet by the way, we saw that the streets were flooded (until they drained into the ocean)- at least 3/4ths of the way up the car tires and we had to tromp through. We were laughing and squeeling the whole time, of course, though.
Now I have to eat my words about the overnight bus thing. Our best option to get from Dubrovnik to Zagreb was an 11 hour overnight bus, so we had to go with it. Sydnee and I had been dreading it all day, although I think we had forgotten the full extent of the misery from our last overnight bus. This time we both took sleeping pills, our sleeping bags, in addition with our neck pillows and eye masks. However- this bus ride was nothing like our last- we were on a very nice, huge double decker bus. Sydnee and I were both able to lay down completely and the ride was as good as any overnight bus trip can be (better even than I thought possible).



Our five minutes in Bosnia.

July 10

PEDIKURS and FIREWORKS
Sydnee and I had breakfast with 'Mama' and then went to our beach spot to try to lay out and hopefully fall asleep again- we were tired from the night before!
We didn't fall back asleep, but we did swim and jump off rocks for a while. Then the moment came that we had been waiting for- Pedicures. After all our walking in flip flops for weeks our feet had gotten pretty gross! The pedicure was pretty similiar to ones in America and the people working didn't really speak english.
After that we walked around the Old Town and found a library to use for some internet time. By that time we opted for an early dinner at Fresh- the wrap place and went back to the house to take showers.
Sydnee was pretty tired so she stayed in, but I followed an Aussie girl into town for this huge festival (what else?). We met up with the other Aussie guys from the past nights and went to the pier to watch the fireworks- it was no 4th of July, but still pretty impressive. I was grateful to have the Aussie guys be real gentlemen and walk me home after the night was over.

July 9

More great suggestions.
After Mama's breakfast we set out to find the beach. On our way we ran into a Canadian guy who showed us this really secluded rocky ledge where we could lay out and swim. It had an amaying view and we enjoyed swimming there. When we got ready for lunch we walked into old town. After lunch we went to find another of Nick's suggestions- Cold Drinks- it is a outdoor cafe bar that overlooks the water and has great areas to lay out and swim as well. The water is really deep by the edge even, so people were jumping off ledges of all heights. Of course, I had to jump too (wait until you see the pictures). After that great afternoon (where we happened to run into the Princeton guys) we walked back to our room. On the walk back we ran into the Aussie guys and made plans with them to do a repeat of the night before for the World Cup Championship. After getting ready to go out we met the guys at Fresh this time and watched the game and headed to the Latino Club again. It was such a perfect day!

July 8

Korcula to Dubrovnik
Sydnee and I got up this morning and discovered abandoned Museli in the apartment where we are staying's kitchen, left by some travellers from the day before. We ate the cereal and set out to see Korcula. It was a beautiful morning, it had rained the night before, so it was very pleasant outside. The town is pretty small; its claim to fame is Marco Polo's birthplace. We visited a small museum in his honor and wondered what Korculain decided to make sure their town had a claim on Marco's birthplace.
We boarded a bus to Dubrovnik that afternoon. Luckily we arrived safetly in Dubrovnik, despite the very narrow winding streets that cut into the mountains and despite the fact that at one of the stops the bus driver drank a beer before entering the city. While on the bus we made friends with two Aussies and two guys from Princeton. As we were getting off the bus we were attacked once again by aggressive Zimmer-Room offers. This was THE most aggressive crowd yet and Sydnee and I couldn't take it so we ran away from them and headed to a house that a friend of mine from school, Nick, recommended (we were trailed by one lady for 10 minutes). Once we arrived at "Mama's" house, Mama hugged and kissed us and showed us to our room. We are so glad that Nick's suggestion came through for us. We put our bags down and walked back into the Old Town. After dinner at Fresh (a place started in Korcula that we discovered- wonderful wraps and smoothies) we bumped into one of the Aussie's and he told us where everyone was watching the third place World Cup match. We went to the Irish pub and joined our friends from the bus. They were such nice guys to hang out with and we enjoyed our night out with them and the pub and then at Club Latino.

July 7

Kayaks, Kastles, and Korcula
Sydnee and I had a big morning today! We rented real kayaks (not just sea kayaks, but the kind where you wear skirts and your legs are inside, pedals control the rudder) from a company here in Hvar. We spent all morning paddling across the ocean to another island and then floating/paddling back. It was a great workout, fun to be braving the waves, but a little scary when a big boat would wiz past us (sending waves our way in their wake).
After a morning of kayaking we walked up to a castle that is just a 20 minute walk up a hill behind the town. It had an amazing view of the town, the ocean, the boats, and other little islands off the coast.
From the castle we checked out of our great room and went to a popular bar/chill out place with cozy couches and views of the promenade and sea. We waited there until it was time to board a ferry to another island, Korcula. As we were walking down the plank we had our game plan in mind on how to counter the bombardment of Zimmer-Sobe-Room offers. We would only accept offers on our terms- private room, 90 Kuna (less than $18), less than two minute walk, and breakfast. We bargained successfully and we are staying in a great apartment for the night.

Pictures that wouldn't fit on July 27, 28, and 29

Pretty fruits at the Market in Barcelona(?)

Arc de Triomph in Barcelona

The Wörthersee in Klagenfurt

The festival in Klagenfurt

Welcome to Croatia (I think)

July 6

More of the same.
Laying out, vegging, I had to replace my broken sunglasses, tried to be a stowaway on one of the yachts, the usual on a vacation at the beach.

July 5

Another busy day!
Today we layed out all morning and afternoon. As is typical with me on my first full day of laying out I like to test the sun to see how strong it is, so I have a little color, but I am not totally burned thanks to the base tan I got while I was home before the trip. The water here is so blue and clear, we borrowed some guy's float laying out by us to lay in the water and watch little fish swim underneath us.
We did a repeat of last night- joining our Irish friend, Johnny (and a Scottish couple this time), to cheer on our team of choice (Portugal for Syd and me, France for Johnny).
All that laying out in the sun can wear you out, so after the game we called it a night.

4th of July

A VERY BUSY DAY
Today was so busy, we woke up, went grocery shopping, had breakfast, did laundry, and layed out all afternoon. We could harldy catch our breath. (I'm joking!)
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!
Sydnee and I celebrated our fouth of July by joining the other tourists at this outdoor cafe and watching the Italian v. Germany World Cup game. This city is a big Italian vacation destination, because it is so close, so any Germany fans were greatly out numbered. The place was pretty crowded and we joined some Mexicans and an Irish guy to watch the game with. Sydnee studied abroad in Dublin, Ireland and agrees that the Irish are very ''southern.'' Since Italy won, the crowd was going crazy, singing their songs and cheering.
Sydnee and I had to make our own firework noises, because that holiday was somhow overlooked here.

July 3

7am wake up call we didn't ask for.
This morning at 7am "Old Man Zimmer" (the person we rented our room from- we named him) burst into our room telling us we needed to be out by 8am- needless to say we were quite surprised. We took our showers and got out of there.
What would it be like to walk around all day with out backpacks on?
After our early departure we walked around some (had breakfast, Sydnee hunted for sunglasses), used the free internet at the local library, sat at lunch for a while and then got on a ferry to the island of Hvar.
Walking off the plank of the ferry, we were bombarded by offers of "Sobe, Zimmer, Room, Apartmenti" from old women who rent out rooms in their houses (it seemed like a pretty competitive sport). We spotted a young girl with a hostel sign and decided to follow her. Once in the hostel we realized we would be in a co-ed room and paying 20 Kuna more than a private room. We thought we would just stay there a night and find better accomedations but after walking around the town we found an awesome room with bathroom, balcony, and refrigerator. It is great and very centrally located! We got out of our hostel arrangement and will be here for 4 nights. It will be so great to be able to chill at the beach and our balcony overlooks the ocean and is a beautiful view. We couldn't have asked for anything better.
We have met so many people here already. It is a very European vacation destination. Syd and I are beyond ourselves excited to stay put a few days in this great place.

July 1 AND 2

The longest "day" ever.
After breakfast in our hostel in Ljubljana, we walked through town and saw the largest outdoor market I have ever seen, it took up blocks and blocks of the city. Also, there were tons of street performers- bands, parades, dressed-up characters, I was even called from the crowd to hold up a curtain for a puppet show (at least what I saw was a puppet show, since it was all in Slovene, they could have been saying anything). When my 15 minutes of fame was up in Ljubljana, we checked out of the hostel and went to the train station to go to Rejika, two and a half hours away. Once in Rejika, Croatia, we discovered there weren't any cheap accomodations or much to do/see there and we decided to go ahead and take an overnight BUS to Split (which is further down the Croatian coast and close to the islands we want to visit). We had about 5 hours in Rejika before our bus left, so we joined the town at an outdoor cafe, which had set up a big screen TV for the England v. Portugal and France v. Brazil World Cup games. We enjoyed watching that until we had to board our bus.
At 10:30 pm we got on the bus. Armed with my blow-up neck pillow, earplugs, and eye mask, I headed to my seat in the very back row, far left by the window. Sydnee was next to me, then an open seat, then 2 more people. I attempted to get comfortable sitting up, pinned in by Sydnee and the reclined seat in front of me, but I got clostrophobic instead and opted to stare out the window. About an hour into the trip, the two seats by Sydnee opened up so she was able to lay down. That was when I decided to crawl over her and find two seats to myself farther up the bus (thank goodness it was not full, I can't even imagine the torture of that). About midnight, I managed to move myself into two seats mid way up the bus. From then until 2 am I attempted to get comfortable by trying out 650 different positions. Finally, I decided #139- back to the window, seat reclined, legs straight out, leaning against the window and reclined seat- was the most comfortable option. Close second was position #451- lay down across both seats, head by the window, feet resting on seat across from you (must make sure not to bother isle-mate), arm rest can be a problem. I could also discribe all the super uncomfortable things I tried, but this is already pretty boring.
*If you ever have to take an overnight bus, these are the two positions I recommend. If you have ANY other option rather than take the bus, I say go with that other option.
6 am the next morning, we stumbled off the bus into the waiting arms of an old couple wanting to rent us a room in their home. The thought of searching for a better deal was out of the question, so we happily followed them to their apartment and crashed into our comfortable beds. Around noon we managed to wake up long enough to walk around town, eat breakfast/lunch/dinner and see the beach. We took another nap in the heat of late afternoon (it reminded me of Kamp) and ventured out again that night. Today was the perfect day to sleep through, though, because most stores and the tourist offices are closed on Sunday.