BIG END..?

Remember that last scene from Crazy History of the World when Mel Brooks says...

I see a big end coming up... ?

Well, today is that big end... but not really, because once I get back I have to edit my pictures, and write my traveling through Italy.

In all, I was in: Berlin, Potsdam, Hamburg, Bremen, Hannover, Amsterdam, Bonn, Cologne, Stuttgart, Munich, Fussen, Prague, Vienna, Rome, Ostia Lido, Ostia Antica, Florence, Pissa, Venecia, Napoly, Sorrento, Pompeii, Herculeim, Maenza, Vatican City, and the city of Terminal 5 in London...

Met a lot of people, and made good friends... best of all I got to know my extended family better... when they were all in Canada, I was working all the time, so that Mario could take the time to spend with his family...

I really want to thank Mario and my Mom for their points, and my sister for her Hotel deals... and then Maru, Sabrina, Ida, Zia Pia, Sara, Gulia, the Antonellas and Ricardina... and of course all the guys... Stefano, Massimo, Claudio, Maurizio, Pascual & Eligio... You'll be in my heart for ever..!

I'll have to check how many Gb of pictures... but I'm sure I took over 5K pictures.

Maru & Ida... THANKS a million..!

Oh, I fell in love with the kids... Filipo is like Tyler... a little devil..! Gini is such an adult child, Kiara is a doll, and the Gemili... wow... it's Mario all over again..! I can't wait to meet the one that is on the way..!

Right now, I am in the BA's North Lounge at Terminal 5 in London's LHR... wow the lounge is bigger than the Regina International Airport..! and BA has two of them here...!

Anyway, I am about to take a nap, and come back to this blog a little later... ciao tuttie, c'e videamos dopo

2.11.4 - Vienna 4

Vienna - Day Four
I didn't do much today, I am exhausted of all this travelling...I need to slow down some.
I did pack my backpack, had breakfast and checked out of the Marriott.

I did some last minute shopping at the touristy area close to the Opera, and then took the train to the CAT station (City Airport Train) and the ticket agent spoke perfect Spanish...
Since I had the Vienna Card, I only paid half price for the CAT ticket.It takes 15 min to get to the airport from the CAT station, and it drops you at the gates.

Seems like EVERYTHING is having some work done... the airport is also having some renovations made.
Airberlin / Niki is the same company, and they are on a different terminal, just like it is at San Jose International Airport.

Anyway, no problem checking in, by the way, it is very nice to see good looking women in airline uniforms... seems like you have to be young and good looking to work in the airline industry here in Europe.

While I was waiting at the gate to take the bus to the plane... there were two small children running around... very cute too, one spoke English and the other spoke German... and they had no problem playing with each other...

The flight was short and... wait, why am I talking about the plane when this is supposed to be about the city...

OK VIENNA - RECAP
The city is big and beautiful, but it looks crowded...
There are way too many big and I mean BIG buildings one on top of each other.

If you are going to tour around Eastern Europe, start here and then go to Prague... otherwise you'll be too tired to see this city.

Come in the Fall, and come for four or five days...
It's supposed to be THE greenest city of Eastern Europe, so not a good thing to visit in the Winter, the flowers, monuments and fountains were all covered... so I couldn't see much.

Reasons to come in the fall; everything is here...
the Symphony is in town and playing...
the Boys Choirs is performing everywhere and not only on Sundays at the 9:00 hrs mas...
the Spanish Riding School is in town and not touring...
the flowers are gorgeous, the trees are in bloom, the fountains are open, and the monuments uncover...
Oh, and Everyone is at the Island between the old and new Danube Rivers;
there are festivals, big parties, beergardens, and the weather is supposed to be great too...

by the way, how original are the people here, old Danube River, the Danube River, and the Danube Canal...

Makes sure when you come you go to the Operas...
you can go an hour or an hour and a half before the performance starts, and get same day tickets usually for 30% off, or if you want to pay 3€ or 4€ only, you can get on line (also 60-90 min before hand) for the standing tickets.
I did that on the second night and I had better view of the performance than the night before; besides, you are going to be on your feet all the time while on vacation, so why not do it at the opera.
The Staatsoper has shows Tues-Sun at 19:00 hrs and everyday is a different opera..!most of the musicians that play there have been or are playing with the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra too.
Oh, one more thing... there are men dressed in costumes walking everywhere touristy, selling you tickets to their show... don't go there... just do the same day tickets or the standing tickets... way cheaper..!
If you get the Vienna Card, which I recommend you do at almost every city you visit.... you can get on the trams and go from place to place, plus you can see more of the city... don't take the u/s bahn, although much faster, you'll spend all the time underground.
There are a few festivals other times of the year...
Vienna Festival - mid May to mid June
Vienna Spring Marathon - April/ May, there are tons of people all over the World, and parties everywhere too
Summer's Music Festival
Opera and Film Festivals
and the Christmas Market - from November to Christmas Eve

2.11.1 - Vienna 1

Vienna - Day 1

I arrived to Vienna at 6:30 hrs and headed to the hotel right way.
The room was avialable and I had a chance to take a nap, a shower and have breakfast before I headed out.

Then I took the S-Bahn to the Opera, and then headed to the Tourist Office.
There they told me everything I needed to see...

I was able to get into a tour of the Opera House, and get tickets to a show at the VolksOpera House.

I have to get back to this later, because I can't find my notes.

2.10.5 - Prague 5

Prague - Day 5

Went to pick up my laundry
Did more shopping
Gave Petr somethings to ship home
Went to the top of the Atomic Clock
Went with Petr to the Church of Bones

Then came to the old hotel to crash in their computer room while the photos upload, my train leaves at 1am

I heard my dad got his US Residency back too

PRAGUE RECAP:
LOVE the city...
Stay for a week... and stay in the hotel where I stayed... great location, great staff
Take the 6 hour tour... and then spend one day up by the castle, make sure you are there at noon, when the big changing of the guard takes place.
Take the night cruise tour... and / or take the night walking tour... the buildings look great at night too
There is no Red Light District here... and no street walkers, although prostitution is legal, but indoors - not that I know... actually a coworker of my sister told me so.
Go to the church of bones... creepy!
Go to the place where Clinton played the sax.
Go on top of the atomic clock
Make sure you do comeback, again and again..!

2.10.4 - Prague 4

Prague - Day 4

Did Laundry...
Went to the other side of the city to see how it is outside the tourist side.
Coming back I saw the two Mexican girls that I met at the tour... they were heading to the train station.

Did more shopping..! Freaking boys, you have no idea how hard it was to find that German Jersey in Prague..!


Met with Petr
Went to get the freshest beer in town
Went to the place where the first Pilsner Urquell was served
Went to the Jazz place where Bill Clinton played his sax
Went back to the first pub, ate... and got hammered with Petr.

2.10.3 - Prague 3

Prague - Day 3

What a day today, it wasnt cold, it wasnt hot, it was just perfect..!

What a grea city this is...
breakfast all to myself...

9:20 hrs - 17:00 hrs Tour

didn't made my room, because i didnt ask for it

shipped some postcards...

Talked to Petr...

Two new friends from Mexico...
Dinner with them, dancing with them...
asked about drugs on the street

2.10.2 - Prague 2

Prague - Day 2 (first full day)

I had an OK breakfast... the eggs were cold tho.

As soon as I was done with breakfast, I checked out of the hotel... left my backpack there and went out for a walk.

My first stop was a cyber cafe... I had to download 1.5 Gb worth of pictures.

Then, map on hand, I walked all over the place... made it to the National Museum, then to the Atomic Clock, from what I've heard from the Italian Tourist Guide, is that the building was damaged during the war, but not the tower nor the clock... and in all this time, it had to be fixed just once.

Then I made it to the Tourist Information Office... the one at the train station was closed last night remember..?

The lady had no idea about anything, very different from Germany.

So, I decided to walk some more and see what I like...

I came up to this road, just after the Market Place area... and I see this very nice hotel...
I walked in, asked how much the rooms were for a night... and a very pretty woman said... 70€ with breakfast... and I said, that I have been paying much less at the Marriott's in Germany... so she said how about 50€ a night, with breakfast, free wi-fi, and a double room instead of a single..? deal, I said.

I went up, took all my crap out of my camera backpack, and headed downstairs to ask about a tour of the city.
She helped me find one... she called 3 companies and they were sold out... but she found a 4th one, and they had plenty of room on their English tour... included buffet style dinner, a free drink, pick up and drop off at your hotel... and the bus and boat tour.

So, I had time to go out, walk some more, and then go pick up my backpack... that has no more room for anything... I have to ship some stuff to my sister...
And maybe give some clothes to the poor here.

And now, time for the night tour...
The bus tour was OK, the boat tour was not bad, the food was good, and there I met this couple from Pennsylvania...
He works with the military somehow... and she travels all over the World, they are not married to each other, and they have kids my age... oh, and she told me to go to Budapest for sure..!

Then, I came to the hotel room and decided to take a walk on this beautiful city at night...
Tons of people were still on the streets... I was following a group of 15-20 Italians, that were singling and dancing on the streets... then I stopped and took lots of pictures... walked all over the place again...

They have this cabaret promoters on the street, they invite you to their cabaret for 300€ and a free drink, then you tell them no, and they say, how about 200€ and 5 drinks... and you say no, and their final offer is 200€ and all the drinks you want... and I told them I wasn't drinking because I have to be up at 8:00 hrs and then they said... but you can see the show, and then ask the girls for sex... Still, I have to be up by 8:00 hrs, so here I am at 1:00 hrs, typing my blog. No shows, no alcohol, no girls for me tonight..!

On that note...
Good night, tomorrow morning I am taking a 6 hr walking tour starting at 9:30 hrs.

By the way...
this city is like a Hollywood back lot... but for reals..!
Wait till you see the night pictures..!

2.7.2 - Stuttgart 2

Stuttgart - Day 2

You have no idea how difficult it is to type in a Czech keyboard..!

I know, I know... you are thinking, he is writing about Stuttgart and talking about a keyboard in Czech Rep... well, yes, I didn't have access to Internet nor the time to write on my blog until tonight.

OK, back to Stuttgart...
I got up and I had breakfast at the hotel... loaded my plate with some fruit and then I went back for a plate of ham, cheese, and tomatoes, and one plate of the scramble eggs... and them put them together...
I also took an extra banana for the road... with all this walking that I've been doing, my legs are killing me..!

Since I didn't have much time, I took the bus to the Mercedes Arena, which is the football stadium that is right next to the Benz Museum, and next to the Porsche Arena, where they play hockey and have concerts.

So I headed to the all-in-one office... fan store, ticket office, and tour office...
I stood in line and finally got to ask a lady about tours, and she said that because it's the day before the game, that the league denies access to anyone but workers and players into the stadium for security reasons.

So, I wanted to cry... seriously... made it all the way to Stuttgart to see this awesome stadium and I couldn't get in...! Well, at least I will be at the 2006 World Cup Final Stadium tomorrow, right.. right..!

So I walked through the store trying to figure out what to get STUTT from STUTTgart... and what else... a shot glass... to add to his collection.

As I was getting ready to pay with my credit card, and the guy told me that there has to be a 15,00€ minimum and I say, OK, I have some cash... he asked me where I was from and I told him Mexico, and then he showed me a scarf that had the names and numbers of both Mexican players that used to play with Stuttgart.... Osorio and Prado... now, only Osorio plays there.

So, I asked him if I could have it for 50 percent off because it only one player now, and he said no, but I could give you 20 percent off, OK deal...

Anyway, I walked around the stadium, as it was starting to snow too, found one gate open, but I didn't want to go in... I also saw a worker exit and leave another gate open... and I still didn't go in.
Then there was the Champions League Office... all the lights were off, but the doors were wide open, so I walked in... I walked all over the office, it was cool, they had tens of plastic bags with jerseys, and shorts, and I guess it was a water bottle and some other stuff... I didn't want to go through it... but I did want to take one... then I walked through the back of the office, and there was one lady typing her life away, she had her back to the door, and didn't even see me walk by.
So I kept walking and made it to another bags, and the temptation was there again... but as it is, I don't have room for a new tooth brush in my backpack, so, a whole gift bag would have been impossible to fit..!

As I was leaving the front door, I saw the team bus drive by, so I ran towards the gate... but I wasn't able to catch them... plus they park the bus under the stadium and there is now way I could even see Osorio...

I was running out of time, so I went across the street to the Benz Museum.

What a building... these car guys know how to make buildings too..!

I didn't walk through the exhibitions, I ran through them... I was running out of time.

I made it in record time... and was able to walk pass the stadium

And the players where not practicing yet, some officials, were checking the nets, and stuff, but no players on the field yet, so I took the bus back to the hotel, grabbed my bag, and headed to the train station... time to leave Stuttgart, follow the Rhein River and cross to Munich.


STUTTGART RECAP:
If you like cars, this is the place for you..!
with Porsche and the Mercedes Museums in the city, and Audi not too far, you can't go wrong.
The city is very big, you can't see very much in a short vacation.
The Football stadium looks nice from outside, make sure you come a couple of day before or after a game, so that you can take the tour, but it has to be while the season is going on, otherwise they stop the tours, and work on the remodeling or up keeping of the facilities.
From what I read on the city info brochure, there are a lot of more museums, and great parks, but I didn't have the time, the energy nor the weather to enjoy those.
Of course, you have to see it's churches and the City Hall..!

2.7.1 - Stuttgart 1

Stuttgart - Day 1

So I made it to Stuttgart around 15:00 hrs. and went strait to the Tourist Office.
They told me how to get to the Museums, the Stadium, and the Hotel.

I left my backpack in a locker at the train station... just took my over night bag, and the bathroom stuff with me.

I had enough time to do one thing...
Instead of doing the football stadium, I picked the Porsche Museum, because both Mercedes and the Stadium are next to each other and very close to the hotel, so I could do that on day two.

So, I headed to the brand new Porsche Museum.
Three or four floors with the history of their cars, their engines, and their racing careers...
I guess it was media night too, because there were about 4 crews video taping.
At times it was difficult to see the cars, because you had to wait until the video crew finished their shot.

Anyway, after the museum, I went back to the hotel to crash for a little and then go out... I got a call from my mom, and we chatted for a while.
After that I was too tired to do anything, so I took a nice bubble bad, drank a can of Bacardi and Cola, and called it a night.

2.6.1 - Bonn 1

Bonn - Day 1 (a few hours)

I really can't tell you much about Bonn.

It takes no time to go from Cologne to Bonn.
But since it was Carnival, EVERYTHING was closed, and EVERYONE was in Cologne, Seriously...
I went to the Tourist Information and they were open for 2 hrs, and they had signs that say, go to Cologne today...

I did manage to walk around the town, and see (from outside) Beethoven's House. I also saw some very nice streets, and some castle ruins. And the University... which is a loooooooong building..!

From what I heard they also have a nice Football Arena.

BONN SUMMARY:
Go for one day.
Walk around the main plaza, see Beethoven's House, and the Football Arena, and then go away, there isn't really much to do there... go take a ride alone the Rhine... it's so much better..!

2.5.2 - Cologne 2

Cologne - Day 2... but just a few hours.

I didn't sleep much, my train was leaving very early in the morning.
I did go to a very traditional Beer House last night and sang, dance and drank beer.

Once I got to the train station this morning, a band with about 80 people was starting to get ready to start the Carnival.

I had a chance to meet the Princes of the Carnival, and the King of the Carnival.

I took some pictures of the band, they sounded great too.

And then boarded the train to Bonn.


COLOGNE SUMMARY:
Go for three days... and make sure it is during the Carnival..!
The Carnival starts the Thursday before Ash Wednesday.
You have to see the impressive Kolner Dom.
- It's BIG..!
- It was started in 1248 and finished in 1880
- It has the 3 Wise Men's Remains
- It has twin impressive spires that are 157m high
- You have to climb the 509 steps to get to the top..!
Go to the Chocolate Museum, and have a hot chocolate at the end of your visit
Visit the Olympia Museum
And the Football Stadium
But since you are going to go during the Carnival, make sure you see the Parade of Women, it starts at 11:11 on Thursday.
And go drink beer and sing traditional German songs..!

2.5.1 - Cologne 1

Cologne - Day 1

Today I took the train from Amsterdam to Cologne, for some reason we had to take a different rout, we didn't stop in Dressen or other few cities that were scheduled.

We made it to Köln, Koeln, or Cologne, how ever you want to call it.
The train station is being renovated, to it's a mess.

But as soon as you leave the station, you can not miss the Kölner Dom (the Cathedral) it is IMPRESSIVE... it was started in 1248 and they finished it on 1880. It has two tower, 475 feet high, 509 steps, ascent 332 feet, and takes about 30 min to walk up to the top of the towers. And I went all the way up. The Cathedral also has 7 Chapels inside and you'll just have to see the pictures... the place is very impressive.

After I went up and down... I went to the Chocolate Museum... we all know that Cacao was shipped to Europe from Mexico after Cristobal Colon traveled back and forth. But did you all know that Vanilla is also a Mexican product...
I didn't know that... now I know... and knowing is half the battle, J.I. Joe

After I walked another museum, and went up and down 1018 steps... I walked through the streets of Cologne, I made it to the "New Market" I would say it's about 5 sq blocks of stores.

Oh, tomorrow is the beginning of Carnival... so everyone and their mother is coming to Cologne... and good thing I did go to the museums today, because everything is closed tomorrow.

I'm not writing much tonight, because I am going to head out and party with the Carnival People.

So, tomorrow, Bonn in the morning, just to see Beethoven's home and then I'll leave for Stuttgart.

See you all soon..!

OK... I'm back
It's 3am and I just got back from spending the night at Kulisse... a very cool bar packed with 30somethings that are here for Carnival.
Beer was expensive tho... 3,00€ for a glass of Sünner Kölsch draft.
And of course, I stopped by McDonald's for 1,00€ cheeseburgers

And now, shower, bed, and then up by 6:30 hrs, because my train leaves at 7:45 to Bonn

2.4.1 - Amsterdam 1

Amsterdam - Day 1

I made it to Amsterdam Airport Station just after 17:30 hrs.
And I headed to the Tourist Information Office right away.

I purchased the I AmSterdam Card for 48 hrs.
I got free trains, some free museums, a free ride on the cruises, free coffee, free burger, and 25% on some restaurants...

Anyway, I headed to my hotel, which my sister found me a great rate at the Marriott Airport... the shuttle ride from the airport takes 15 min, and it's 5,00€ each time you take it.

Anyway, the room is great, and big, and they have a cool wireless keyboard that you can use as a remote for the tele, or to log online.

After I had unpacked, I decided to go downstairs to use the Wi-Fi from the lobby... and I started to get hungry so I went to the bowling alley next door and had some chicken fingers, fries, and a beer... my goodness, I bowled like crap!!!
I kept missing my mark, and my bowl was only knocking down three pins... I think I bowled a 54 on my first game.

I finally started to warm up, and finally got a strike... and I got a cheer from the group of kids that were sitting behind me... Two very good looking women... one blond, one brunette, both green eyes, and beautiful faces... oh, yeah, I think there were six other guys there too.
As my time was running out, they announced that time was up, so the blond girl came and asked me if she could throw the last ball for me... and I say, you can do anything you want to... I did have to games of 160 and 163 by the way.

I went to get one more beer and one of the guys asked me if I would like to joined their table, and to sit next to the blond.
So I did... the brunette was 20 and the blond 22, who was flirting pretty good, but I felt way too old...

Anyway, we closed down the bowling alley, we traded names and emails, but I don't think I will ever hear back from them at all.

Well, that was the end of day one in Amsterdam...
Tomorrow, I'll take some tours..!

2.2.2 - Bremen 2

Bremen - Day 2

It was snowing as I got up... took my time taking a shower, shaved and packed all my stuff, it was nice not to have roommates.

I left my bag in the room, and went for a short walk in town.
I walked through the Market that was setting in front of the Rathaus (City Hall) took pictures of the nice Plazas, and then I took pictures of the famous Musicians of Bremen. Then I walk to Dom St. Petri, the town's Cathedral... All I can say is WOW..! I wanted to spend a day inside... It is beyond gorgeous... of course, I didn't find a Cyber Cafe in town that could read SD Cards, so, I had 14 pictures left as I got ready to do my stroll in town... I have to come back to Bremen. There are a few carnivals, fairs a year, and from what I've heard you shouldn't miss them.
And I could take a whole SD Card worth of pictures inside that Church..!

I was running out of time by the time I walked all over the town...
So I headed back to get my bags and take the tram to the train station.

Again, I was 30 min way too early for my next trip.


BREMEN RECAP:

Come for a weekend (Thursday, if possible, through Sunday)
Go to the Beck's Tour
Skip the Football Stadium, unless your team is playing
Spend one entire morning inside the Dom
Go shopping, or at least walk through the two shopping areas... one on the way to the main village from the train station, and the other next to the downtown village.
Visit the old buildings
Go see the Windmill
If you are there in the Summer, take a boat trip
Stay in the middle of town, it's very pretty, or get a bed and breakfast.

2.2.1 - Bremen 1

Bremen - Day 1

I didn´t really sleep last night...

I had too much fun, and I was still hyper for watching three international football (soccer) matches.

I got up, took a loooong shower, packed, and had breakfast.
After that, I headed over to the train station, that was less than a two minute walk.

Made it to the terminal WAY early, there was a beautiful woman standing there by herself and I wanted to ask the to be part of my "un beso en..." but I was too chicken to ask her, and by the time I was going to, she got on the train that was leaving the other way.

Once I made it to Bremen, I went directly to the Information Centre... this lady helped me get all the info I needed about the Beck´s Tour, and a couple of hotels to stay for the night... and how to get to the football stadium...
I left my backpack in a locker room there, and took the small day trip bag with my camera and things just in case it got colder...

The first place I went to was the Football Stadium, I took one of the trains through this nice area, and then walked for about 4 blocks to the stadium, once in the main office, I asked about the tours. There were no tours in English that day, and that tours are only given by reservation... But they told me that there was a big school tour of 30 or so students and a couple of teachers, that I should ask one of the tour guides If I could join in. So I made it to the VIP entrance, where the tours start.
There was a group of about 15 kids and one German Speaking Tour that spoke NO English... or very little tho.

I asked them if I could join their tour, even though I didn´t spoke the language, and the teacher said he didn´t mind... I didn´t pay anything either...

Took the tour, I did understand very little, the guide was old, and was pretty bad as a tour guide, he was all over the place... it sounded like he didn´t have a clue.

The stadium was under renovation, they are adding two new sections on the sidelines. The stadium is pretty small, and does not even come close to the one in Hamburg.

It was freezing cold too..!
Oh, there was one student that was very interested in learning Spanish, so I told him how to say, "angelito mio, te quiero mucho", something he wanted to tell his girlfriend on Valentine´s day.

The tour ended, and I had just enough time to make it to the opposite side of town and go to Beck´s for their tour. Which by the way, the lady at the Tourist Centre said there were no tours in English in the Winter, except on Saturdays at 14:00 hrs.

So after the stadium tour, I called Beck´s, they said they had a booking for a big tour at 15:30 hrs, I figured it was the same kids...

I made it all the way across town in less than 20 min. So I was a good 45 min ahead of the start of the tour, the lady told me to come back, so I went to eat something in downtown...

Since it´s a port, I went for fish and chips, and coffee... Wow... 5,00€
and they were good too!

*******
OK, so I lost my Internet connection and I lost half of this post... so I have to read it and see where I left off... but it´s already 2:30 hrs, and I have to be up early tomorrow, so I´m going to come back to this later...
*******

2.1.3 - Hamburg 3

Loved the City... I can only imagine this place in the Summer..!

Today was a great day in the beautiful city of Hamburg.

(sorry if you see more mistakes than usual, there is no English Spellcheck, and the keyboard is in German)

The sun was about and it was a little warm.
I had a good shower, good breakfast and headed out the see Hamburg.

As I got to the top of the double decker bus to take the tour, I saw Vanessa, the girl that sold me the ticket for this tour the day before. She is now my facebook friens... she is training to do the tours by summer time. Can you believe that she takes a 45 min train to work everyday?!?!
Anyway, she sat next to me at the front of the bus, and she was giving me my own private tour in English, as the regular tour guide was going on and on in German.

Once we went all the way around I stopped at the tour busses´ office and Vanessa asked to if the Red District tour was going to be giving in English tonight... NOPE... oh well, I had a better night anyway..!

I walked through the docks, ate a fish burger, next to the water..!

The I walked towards the newer part of the city... a massive construction project that should be finished by 2025..! The area is called Harbor City... they even have plans to build a university... is it aN University since it´s a vowel, or is it A University because it sounds better..? hmmmm

On my way to the Harbor City, I took pictures of the Sisters... there was a big fire back in the 19th Century, and three homes were left standing... they are called the three sisters, and they are one of the oldest constructions in the city.

I wlked through the great St. Nicho Church... well, what is left of it after WWII

Walking through the small streets, under the shadows of the buildings, I was getting cold, so I stopped at La Bodega! a Spanish Tapa place, where the waitress is from Mexico... The owner, Benito, was running around like Mario does, but this place is no bigger than my hotel room... but back to La Bodega later...

Walking some more, I make it to the City Hall... das Rauths... OH MY GOD... if you like the front.. you´ll love the interir patios... iron and stone lions guard the arches to the patio, there is a pardon my french... KICK ASS fountain in the middle of the patio, that happens to be bigger than many platz!

Then I walked in, usually, you can go into the chambers, but for some particular reason, not today... but I did go into the bar and the dinning halls...!
Wow... can you say King Arthur times..? long tables, a big fireplace at the end of the tables, great pictures on the walls... and so on... you´ll see the pictures, eventually.

After that, I listned to the classic violinist that play by the plaza year round.
The city is very small, you can walk through it in no time, but there are lots of little streets worth going in and out to take pictures.

Now, I´m on my way to the HSV Official Store, I looked around and then ask if there are guided tours of the areana, and they said yes, but the last one starts in 18 min (17:00 hrs)... and I also asked where I could watch the Germany / Norway game, and they told me to go to an Irih Pub, two blocks away... ok fine... so much for being with Germans on a game...!

Any who, I figured, 19 on the train, 20 walking to the gate.. nope... TAXI!!!
I´ll give you a 5,00€ tip if you make it to the door of the arena office before 17:00 hrs, deal..? deal..!

So we go, and go, and go, and go... so much for a small city, I guess when you have to follow the road signs, the speed, and go through rush hour traffic, it´s a complete different beast... Hey, we made it 4 mins after 5pm, for those that can not read military time. So, he only got a 2,00€ tip... sorry dude..! and he left me at the wrong gate too.

At this time, I´m thinking, I just waited good money on a taxi ride to no were...
But I made it to the Museum entrance, and a man aid yes, but the tour is 10 min late... it has three people in it, but I till have to open a gate for them, let me call the tour guide... so, he did, and I joined in progress... he actually spoke English to me, and made the tour both in German and in English... Anyway the tour was fantastic, and at the end, they take us to the Museum, which, I didn´t purchase tickets for... so the other three guy went ahead... and as I was getting ready to leave, the guide said... well, since you came all the way from Mexico and are taking all these tour of the stadiums, I am going to treat you myself to the Museum, so I didn´t pay for that... totally worth the taxi ride...

If you go to the HSV Arena, make sure you get Norbert as your guide..!
He even took pictures of me with my camera so that I didn´t just have selfies.

By this time, it´s getting close to game time, so I take the train back to downtown, not many people there anymore, but I did take some nice pictures of the City Hall at night.

And walked towards the Irish Pub... guess what..? it´s the pub across from La Bodega... I checked the place out, and there is hardly any one there... so I figured I should just get back to the Spanish place, there I can talk soccer with someone in Spanish.

I get the menu, from "mi paisana" and I didn´t find anything that got my attention, like when I was there ealier and the owner was talking to a regular and he was making him a platter of Queso y Jamon Cerrano... so I asked Benito, of I could have that and a beer and he said sure... you´ve been in Hamburg for a day and here twice, so I´ll do this for you...

Anyway there were some Germans speaking Spanish, well trying to... Señora... mas cerveza porfavor...!

And then I hear this other woman speaking perfect Spanish... and she is cheering for Norway... she is a real Viking... she lived in Mexico City, then Spain, is dating a Captain and sailed all over the World and are new to Hamburg... Heidi... and I´´m sorry, I don´t remember his name... but he were very nice too... a little quiet, just like me, but nice... just like me..! hehehehe

Anyway, I cheered the only goal of the game with them... I was thinking of Stuart... Norway and Germany, hmmmm?!!

At half time, I asked for my bill so I could go across the street and watch it with the German now... got the bill... 15,00€ for the beer and the ham/cheese plate... dude it was worth the price..! plus they gave me an shot of rompope on the house, when they gave me my bill.

I did the double kiss good buy with Heidi and headed to Flanagan's... wow... what a terrible decision... the place was full of smoke, drunk Irish guys, had the Ireland game on half of the televisions, and on the loud speakers... so, what did I do, I went back to La Bodega..! hehehehehe

"Joder..! ya estas de regreso" said Benito... I told him how bad the place was, and that my blood was calling..!

I ordered a glass of house wine, red, from Spain of course..!
The Vikings were still there, as were the Germans that wanted to speak Spanish...
whom by the way said something about being German like Hitler, and it was a little freaky... his friend controlled him right away... he was fine... this 50 something was trying to flirt with Heidi, it was very funny actually... Before he left, he offered to buy us three a drink, so I got a beer again, the wine, sorry Benito, wasn´t that good.

Heidi and her best friend, as she put it, were very nice, and we chatter for a while... she was telling that she speaks more Spanish there in Hamburg than she did in this small Scandinavian Village in Spain.... oh, she has a friend that works in the Television industry back home, she told me that I should go up there and maybe stay with her... and if I couldn´t stay with her for some reason, that her friend would make sure I had a place to stay... and her friend speaks Spanish too..!
I might just take her up..!

The game ended, Norway won 1-0 over Germany and the Viking were happy... but ready to leave... so "mi paisana" gave them a shot of rompope before they left... and Benito gave me one too so that I coul cheer with them...

So now, Benito finds the Spain vs England game...
Spain still have a strong team... they could be the team to beat at WC.

Anyway, I had one more beer, and watch the game with the Spaniards... 2-0 England lost..! I was ready to pay, and Benito say not to worry about it..! Two beers, one glass of wine and two rompopes later... free... experience in La Bodega... Priceless!!!

Oh, guess what, it´after midnight, the S/U bahn have stopped running... so Benito drives me the train station... now I´m only two blockes from my hotel..!
No wonder it´s a happening spot..! Benito is to La Bodega, as Mario is to the Red Lion..!

If I´m ever in Hamburg, which I would love to, I really like this city... I´ll be at La Bodega, daily for sure...

Now, I walked to my hotel... there are some "social workers" on the street, I guess there are everywhere at 1:00 hrs.

So, I know I can´t get the Mexico vs USA game on tele, and I can´t get it on my iTouch, so I used the computer at the business centre at my hotel... but they don´t have the speakers... so I am trying to find an online radio station that carries the game... while I watch the game on Justin.tv with no audio...

Have you ever watch a game online at 3:00 hrs... with no audio... not the same..!
oh, I am drinking a Bacardi and Cola, on a can as I watch the game.

Well, long story short... I´m sure Mexico will have a new coach before the end of the week..!

and now... time for me to go to bed... I have a train to catch at 9:18 hrs... and I still have to pack, shower, shave, and have breakfast..!

Tomorrow... Bremen, football stadium, Beck´s and Musical Animals...

Tschuss everyone...!
- I LOVE Hamburg!!!

2.1.2 - Hamburg 2

Ok, I'm back in my room, it's 21:30 hrs

I slept like a baby last night... I had the TV on all night long too!

I heard my alarm go on al 9:00, and I got up and opened the curtains... Wow! it snowed last night, a lot!
Oh well, shower time, Yes!
No! I left my shampoo bottle at Corsi's
But no big deal, the shower has an all purpose shower gel.

After the shower I was cutting the hair around my ears and my sideburns, I felt like I was inside a spy movie, they always cut their hair by the sink in an European hotel.

Breakfast was good too, scramble eggs, orange juice, coffee and bread.
Oh, their laundry services are not operational yet, hmm!
While having lunch, I checked the local forums... there is a brunch get together today, at a coffee place next to the main canal.
So I walked half way through Hamburg, and made it on time after asking for directions a few times.
Two long tables of women with babies, I should have read the early postings of the forum topic... It's the new mom's meeting, so Not me!

Anyway, I kept walking around, and then I found The Nivea Store, the original, so I went in, the lady that asked me if I needed any help has a daughter that just came back from studying in Vancouver for 5 months.
So I bought a Nivea shampoo for men, and a new anti-transporant because I was running low. I wanted to get a travel size of the men's hand lotion but they don't have it. anyway, I had an expersso at Nivea Cafe, and the lady that was helping me before, came back with a bag full of samples, how cool is that?!

My next stop according to "the lonely planet" was to take the tour of the Alster Lake on a boat, but i still had 90 min to kill before the next tour, so I bought a Hamburg Card... you ride the public transportation with that card, plus you get discounts at museums, tours, and some restaurants. And then I took the subway to the football stadium.

The train ride was 20 min and then you have to take a bus that comes every 10 min, or walk for 20 min to get to the stadium. As soon as I found that out, I got back on the train and headed back to the pier. The tour was boarding already, but the 50 min (8,00€) tour was lame!
No explanation, no description, no pointing out of spotd, nothing! well, a very cute captain tho!
Oh, and bacause it's winter, the canals are not open, so we just went around the lake :(

Then I walked, and walked some more, made it to the other side of town. Big container boats going in and out of the piers there too.
And across the canal, there is the big theatre were they have the show "the king is the lion" or as we know it, "the lion king"
I was very very very tempted in watching the show, especially since the last minute tickets were half price.
But I've already seen that show, on Broadway, none the less!
That same ticket box office is the Tourist Information Center. And I asked about walking tours, None!
about Pub Crawls, None! about night tours, None!
Get the idea? This City is open to tourists from April 1 to Oct 31
There are Red District Tour on Fridays and Saturday nights, but in German, and I'm not here on Friday nor Saturday.
I did however, buy a ticket to a city tour on those double decker buses for tomorrow, that way I can get on and off through out the day.
18 stops, 30 min between busses, and one of the stops is around my hotel, not bad at all eh? well, we'll see about it tomorrow.

Well, I was close to St. Pauli (remember the Beatles?) there is a Beatles Platz there, it's in the middle of Reeperbahn St. the biggest Red District outside Amsterdam. Pretty quiet at that time, they open for business much later, hey, a restaurant called Vic's, I guess I'm eating there! Italian place, their pasta was not even close to any pasta at any of the Corsi's.

It started to snow very hard, time to head back to the hotel anyway.

On my way to the hotel, I stopped at a sports store and got two rain covers for the backpacks. I wanted to go across the street to Saturn and get a rain gear for my camera and one of those monkey grip tripods, but they close at 21:00 hrs.

I'm cold, I'm wet, I need a warm shower and a beer!
The little store at the corner has Bacardi and Cola in a can, guess what I'm drinking as I type this?

By the way, the Red District didn't have any social workers on the streets!

I should stop now, the iTouch is getting low in battery, I need to take a warm shower anyway.
I'll email and chat on line once I get off the shower.

There is a football game on now !

PS
I forgot to mention yesterday, that on the way to Hamburg, I was listening to some old songs... some made me think of Veronica Rodriguez, Verenice Rod., y Maricela "Mariposa", Leticia Cisneros y Maria Cecilia Hinestroza.

Good night everyone!

2.1.1 - Hamburg 1

I left Berlin Monday afternoon.
I wanted to meet a girl name Heidi that was helpfull on the travel forums, but it never happened.

Anyway, made it to the bus stop and had to email my confirmation to the hotel next door so that they could print a copy for me to give to the bus driver.
There were about 10 ppl traveling on this double decker bus.
I sat at the top, front row, driver side.
It was a 3.5 hr drive. Who knew there was agriculture in this area? But between Berlin and Hamburg looks like the trip between Alberta and Ontario, fields and fields of grain.

Once we made it to Hamburg ZOB (the bus terminal) I found out that the hotel I had booked was just a few blocks south. Oh my!
I found the street and walked half a block to get to the hotel, and I was asked if I was looking for a date about 4 times.
I'm glad I didn't put a deposit on that room.

I walked towards my second choice of hotels, half way there, there was a big Gallery (mall) and a few good hotels. I saw a couple if business people checking in at this one hotel, so I asked if they had a single room, they gave me a key and said to check it out.
It's perfect!
Has a twin bed, a night table, a desk, a television, a wardrobe with a key, and a sink. Plus a Full bathroom, with a shower! and laundry service. By the way, Jack's bathroom is bigger, but it's all good. Oh, for those of you that "don't know Jack" it's the 36 foot beast that my aunt Marisa and I drive from Calgary to Toronto two falls ago. All these, plus wifi and breakfast for 45€ (w/ taxes)

Time to watch some tele, and recharge my iTouch, but not before I send some emails.

Ok I'm back...
My mom called me here at the hotel.
Anyway, there was an Irish Pub across the street and I went to eat and have a beer.
But now in my room, watching A1 (antenna one television channel) they have ads that sell you porn for your phone!
And the show I was watching was the equivalent of Grace Anatomy and now a football game.

After writting here, I'm going to bed.

Episode II starts tomorrow

I'm very sad to inform you all that I'm leaving Berlin tomorrow in the afternoon.

I had a wonderful time this three weeks. Sabrina, Maru and Maurizio have been THE BEST Hosts ever!

I feel bad that I took over Mari's room, and that they were doing my laundry too. This hasn't happened since 1991 !

All I can say to them is
Danka aus alles!

But the next 25 days will go by very fast.
Hamburg is the first of 11 cities!

Auf Weiddrsehen Berlin
I will comeback to post pictures and more entries as I get access to a real computer, not this itouch!

New project

I know I haven't been too active here, but I've been going to a lot of museums and galleries here in Berlin.
Last Thursday I went to Crosspoint Charlie and saw the picture of the USA soldier kissing the lady ok the streets after the War ended, that reminded me of a project I tried to get going while i was in Mexico a couple of years ago.

By the end of my trip I will hope to have enough material to put a good show back in Vancouver,
I can only tell you the tittle: Un Beso En... ( a kiss in...)

So far I have material from Mexico, Dallas and Portland.

I'm going to be taking pictures in Berlin (hopefully, because I didn't plan ahead of time) Hamburg, Bremen, Hannover, Amsterdam, Bonn, maybe Cologne (since I only have one hour there) Stuttgart, Munich, Prague, Vienna, and then the cities in Italy.

I'll hope to have permision from the participants to have a little bio from them and post them here and on the photo information when I put the show.

Technology!

I had been writting for about an hour and as soon as I clicked on post, there was no Internet connection and I lost my blog!

It was a parenthesis about my day today.
I will do bullet points now, and rewrite it tomorrow

7am wake up call
35 kms from Olympics
Biggerst counterfeiter operation in the world
Not many buildings survived
Coldest day yet, and I had two and three layers, not one of thin cotton
Only one on the tour, thought about it and finally did it after a week of not wanting to

Saw the movie "the counterfeiter / die falscher"

Do look for more about this place online

Lighter note,
I've successfully made tostadas for The German Corsi's
And the biggest mess in the kitchen so far ;)

Bad news from the home front, and I listened to a podcast of someone I used to work with in Radio Unica

Ok, time to log off this site and look for the Mexico/Sweden game

Tschuss

Berlin - Day Acht (8)

On this day:

Didn't sleep again last night
A kid upstairs started to cry at 6am
For those of you that know me, won't believe, that I took an 8 min shower (bath, actually)
I know the train sytem backwards & forwards, and I now own a 7-day pass.
I stopped by the Canadian Embassy, still don't know where the Mexican Embassy is at.
Went to the Olympic Stadium and took an audio tour. I was freezing my @$$ off..! Zoo much that my eyes hurt.
Lost my Canada/Mexico pin
Met two Argentineans that are traveling in Europe too

Berlin - Day Sechs (6)

On this day:

I planned my day trips around town
Reloaded my iTouch with more applications, but still no music or the movies I had
Bathroom dilema
Ate Turkish food
Dang it's COLD!

Berlin - Day Funf (5)

On this day...

Free tour of Berlin
Lost my iTouch info
got lost on the tain station
- did ask for directions in German
my Credit Cards are not working..!
bought flowers for Maru.

Berlin - Day Vier (4)

I got up way too late, I won't be able to make it to the meeting place on time to take the tour, but it gives me time to write again. Until it's time for he next tour. Oh wait, today is President Obama's Inauguration, if I were to take the tour, I'll miss history in the making.

Maru and Sabrina are long gone, Maurizio is playing on the computer with iTunes, he has the day off today.
I'm having coffee, reading the paper, looking up some phrases in German, and then taking a bath.

I will tell you about this Corsi family. Maurizio runs to restaurants in a hotel, Maru just returned to work for a non profit organization that works with handicapped people, and Sabrina is in University doing a post-study in social studies. Well, at least these is what I understood from my broken German.

They live in on the 2nd floor (3rd if you count the main floor) the house is full of colour on the walls. As you come in, there is the furnace hanging to the left, and the electric meter and fuse box on your right. The wall is light purple, and the floor is wood panels.
There is a bench, a mirror and a printer on a table with casters.

The first door to the right is Sabrina's room. That is a big room, I think it's supposed tone the dinning room.
There she has a computer desk, a table with her perfumes and pictures, a bookcase, a closet unit that is falling apart (the replacement one will be delivered between 7am and 5pm, sounds like Mexico) a futon and the rack where the clothes are left to dry. The walks are light blue there, and there are double doors that go to the living room. Maru is sleeping there on an inflatable mattress while I visit them.

The next door to the right on the hallway takes you to the living room. This room has yellow walls, and it's a little wider than Sabrina's. Oh, both have windows to the street.
The living room has a gorgeous old stove, a small dinning table, the entertainment unit, two chairs, a sofa and a coffee table. Everything in this house is IKEA.
The ceiling is about three meters tall, and the windows are huge! In order to keep the cold out, there are two sets of windows back-to-back. Maurizio is sleeping in the sofa.

I will continue writing tonight... as soon as I reload my iTouch with the right information... for some reason, it reset itself..!

Things I need to write about:
- the rest of the house
- the trip to the Polatser Platz to buy shoes for Maurizio
- Obama's Inauguration
- my German Lessons via YouTube.

Berlin - Day Drie (3)

Berlin, Monday, Jan. 17, 2009

It's the beginning of the week, and things are different today.
Mary is up at 5am and Sari is up at 6am.
Maru heads to the doctor for another transfusion for her cancer treatment. Sabri heads to school, which happens to be about an hour away from home.
Maurizio gets up a little later and heads to work, but not before showing me to lock the front door because the cat knows how to open doors.
He also showed me how to work the television remotes, he comes from Mario's side of the family when it comes to remotes, hehe.

I was freezing my a.. butt, so I drank more coffee and actually decides not to do anything but work on my blog, find some tours for areas close to Berlin, and to purchase my traveler's insurance.
I finally finished my blogs from the previous days, and took a long hot bath. As I was getting dress, Maru came back from the doctor, and Sabri from school soon after her. I did the dishes and Maru took a bath.
They asked me if I went anywhere and I told them I had intentions of going to take pictures of the bunker and the Pallatz, but I was too cold to go outside.
I believe I am still jet lagged, I keep getting sleepy around 6pm and I am wide awake by 4am.
Anyway, we chatted a little, the smoked by the table in the kitchen, and then Sabri sat by the computer to do more research for her project, Maru and I sat by the television.
What happened later? No idea, I was sleeping, hehe
I walk up and it was time to eat. Maru made "Ganso" (goose) and potatoes, a very traditional German food during Christmas.
After dinner we talked politics, oh yeah, very big in this family. After that, Sabri went back to the research, Maru to the television, I did the dishes, and Maurizio put them away.
Then it was time to relax and watch the tube.
Maru was watching a movie, she told us want we had missed (by the way, shows don't start at the top prat the bottom of the hour, they start at :15 or :45) so we watch the movie. Well, non of us actually saw it all, we all slept for a moment or two.
After the movie, I excused myself and went to bed... This time I plan to sleep the whole night.
So much for that..!
More on tomorrow's blog.
Tschüss!

Berlin - Day Zwei (2)

It's 9:45am and last night I didn't sleep at all. I was just about to fall asleep when my second wind got a hold of me. I started to play with the iTouch and found and application, "Hear Planet", that would give you talking tours of areas close to you. For example, as we walked to Patty's house last night, we walked through The Pallast apartment complex, built on top and named after The Sports Pallast Built in 1910, the Sports Pallast was the first, and biggest indoor winter sports stadium. It later became a gathering place for political parties and later destroyed during WWII.

After playing with that application I added an IM one, and then downloaded some podcast of "Discover Germany - My..." a DW television series, well, just the ones from Berlin for now. By then it was close to 5am, and I watched "Flawless" with Debby Moore. Maru was up, and cleaning the kitchen by 8:30am. I managed to rolled around the bed till 9:30am and came out to have a coffee and write the beginning of this entry directly into Dasher, unlike yesterday's entry that I did as "notes" in the iTouch and eventually will transcribe here.

Fifteen after ten now, Maru is taking a bath, the laundry machine is going and no other sign of life in the house except for the Katze.
Oh, and I now can say... Hassen sie eine gute nacht?

Time to finish writing about yesterday, and take a bath. Tschüss..!

Berlin - Day Eins (1)

It's a chilled Saturday morning...
Boy, is it ever hard to type in a German keyboard..!

I'm going to type it on the iTouch and then transfer the note here...
Please stand-by, having technical difficulties,
Hehehe


Europe - Day one
Berlin, day one.
It's a cool Saturday morning.
I had a good night rest. The Corsis sleep in, while I am up reading the Spanish/German dictionary (worterbuch - book of words) first word i looked up was snore (schnarchen) i wanted to ask if i snored too laud (laut) and then I read the Lonely Planet's intro to Germany and the whole section of Berlin. So much to see, so much history to take in.
Signs of life are heard at 9ish when lovely Maru wakes up and takes a bath, no shower in das Corsi Hauss.
Maurissio is next to wake up sometime around 10:30am, followed by Sabri at 11ish. I see they are nothing like Marioto.
I've unpacked, well, moved my stuff from one backpack to another, and the bathroom stuff out.
So far, I've learned two new words, breakfast = , and pepata (sp) that I don't know what it is yet, but is some kind of fruit (now I know it's dragon fruit) - Coffee is good, pressed and strong, and just one spoon of sugar. I can get used to this!

By this time I've taken a bath, might take a while getting use to this after I'm used to my 18min showers and very hot water.
Now Maru and I start our walk to the S-train station towards East Berlin. The train station is very similar to the ones in Mexico, wide halls, and ads on the walls full of graffiti.
Alexander plaza is our first stop. Big as plaza with stores every where, a street car stop and the famous TV Tower. To my surprise, there was a Starbucks, a Burger King and a KFC which made me dislike the New World some.
Maru was great, she spoke in very simple German, used hand signs and even some English. I understood 70% and guessed the rest.
We walked fast, and for ever. She showed me gorgeous streets that looked like old movie sets. We walked alone side where the Berlin Wall was, there is a stone line that traces the Wall, in some areas there are some pieces still standing and there is a small memorial for a few people that were killed trying to cross the wall. The streets were icy, the weather was cold and the wind was blowing, but the City was very much alive, and the people seemed warm. Graffiti is everywhere! and I mean Everywhere! There is mo trash, but the streets are not clean, cigarette butts everywhere. I even saw a dead rat.
Berlin is big into cultural things, they have an area called museum island. New Art, Old Art, film, Egyptian, anthropology, film, history, Holocaust and film museums are there. Some are in old buildings and some are still being done.
The Opera House was gorgeous, the square where the embassies are, are all less then 5 yrs old, the arch of ... is on my birthday's plaza - march 18
Not too far from there is the Berline Dom, a gorgeous cathedral. I think I need to find a new word besides Gorgeous, but everything is gorgeous here.
I'm going to bed now, but I will comeback to finish this first day.

Ok, back to day one...
Mary and I managed to have a great tour of East Berlin and made it back on time to go with Sabri to Patty's home for dinner. Patty is Sabri's friend from Napoli.
On our walk there Sabri showed me an old bunker that still standing and around the bunker they built a "luxury apartment complex" that was never luxurious, to the contrary, it's low income family condos called Pallast. This area has a lot of history. In 1910, the Germans built a huge (and first of it's kind) indoor winter game stadium - das SportsPalast. They used to play hockey there. Years later it became the gathering place for political party rallies, Hitler made a few speeches there. It was also the site for the four nations headquarters. After WWII, it was recondition and once again was a sports centre, concert arena and convention place, but the bad economics forced them to destroy it and build the apartment complex.

Back to Patty's home... she had a full house. I drank one Budweiser, The original Czech beer, and we all ate Gernitzels.
After the dinner party, we walked to the train station and went to a coffee place, where Sabrina had a meeting to work on her group project. We walked in front of a Mexican Cantina, and of course I took a picture.

After the meeting we came straight home. I was going to go to a party, but I'm still jet lagged.

Once we made it home, i checked my emails, and I was able to connect the iTouch to the net, no more writing notes, emailing them, and copy/paste to the blogger.

Time to call it a night, the iTouch battery is a little low.

Guten Nacht!.

Getting ready for the trip..!

Hello everyone...
Welcome to my 2009 European Vacation

I am a couple of days away from travelling to Europe for the first time.
If you ever been to Europe I would love your input, by the way.

I talked to Sabrina Corsi today (she is my step cousin) and she is going to be picking me up at the airport on Friday night.

I have my backpack ready...
well, technically, it's Gio's (my step brother's) backpack... it's a perfect size, and that bag has been to Europe a couple of times before.

I packed a pair of jeans, a pair of black pants, and a pair of khakis, six shirts, one sweater, a toque (Canadian for Bennie Hat), undies and socks. I am also taking one pair of walking shoes and one pair of rain/snow shoes... and my toiletries...

On a small carry-on, I have my camera, a book, some travelling books, and the charges for the camera battery and my iTouch.

I think I might be taking too much stuff, but after all, I am going to be there 3 months...

Where am I going..?
I truly, don't know...
I know I will be landing in Berlin, and eventually I will make my way down to Ostia, but I am taking one day at a time... one City at a time... in all it's going to be an experience of a lifetime in only three months.

My expectations..?
NONE..!
Just to take it all in... go with an open mind, and an empty memory stick for my camera.

What do I want to see..?
ALL..!
I want to see historic places... where the old Berlin Wall used to be, a concentration camp, where Hitler was found, where important people where born, where Civilization was born, the Vatican... well, castles, farms, everywhere where tourists go...
Know that I have family there, I also want to go to places where locals go, and see art, culture, nightlife, nature, architecture, beauty, football stadiums.

Countries that I will visit..?
Germany for sure...
I will start in Berlin, eventually go to Stuttgart, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfort, and more.
Holland, it's a maybe.
Czech, Austria, Switzerland are a sure..!
and Italy for sure..!
I will start from the North West and make my way to Rome, after a few weeks, I will continue South and then East and eventually head up North through the East side of Italy.

Oh, a couple of more thing...
Some of you already know that I am an official volunteer for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, and I am sorry that I will be missing my first assignment (the Jr Curling Championships)
And my 38th birthday (March 18th) - for that, I want to be at a special place that day...
In the middle of San Marco's Square, at the top of the Swiss Alps, or even Euro Disney hehehe..!
But where ever I will happen to be, I will have a shot of Tequila and smoke a cigar.

Well, this was only an introduction for my 2009 European Vacation...
I'm not traveling with family, so I wont be in the same predicaments as Chevy Chase...
Nor will I be travelling with friends, so I don't care if Scotty knows or not..! hehehe

Auf Wiedersehen for now...