The Best of the Best...Europe 2008

1. Best Quote: "Why don't Dubai me a drink?" Logan

2. Best Abstract Artist: Piet Mondrian (various locations)

3. Best Rain: Austria while biking

4. Worst Rain: Dublin (incessant)

5. Best Olympic Moment: Tie: Usain Bolt's 100, 200, and relay records OR Yelena Isinbayeva's pole vault record

6. Hardest Climb: Austrian castle where they kept Richard the Lionheart

7. Worst Hostel: Budapest

8. Worst Bugs: Vilnius (flying ants and other sick things)

9. Best Book Bought: Body and Soul: Photography: Krakow

10. Best Ice Cream: Prague

11. Best Movie Popcorn: Vienna

12. Worst beer: any of that sick citrus beer...like Hoegarden

13. Best Hotel: Hotel Ibis, Budapest

14. Worst Number: 15, 000

15. Best Number: 15, 000

16. Saddest Day: August 24th--had to leave

17. Best Restaurant: Dada, Riga

18. Best Bus Drugs: Fu Manchu

19. Best Fries: Mannekin Pis, Amsterdam

20. Best Gift: Cog's or Collette's (to be based on reaction)

21. Best Beer: St. Norbert (dark), Prague

22. Least Surprising Surprise: Lost Luggage: Day 1, Dublin

23. Best Hostel: Traveller's House, Lisbon

24. Favourite Saint: St. Anthony

25. Best Coffee: Cafe Merced, Bilbao

26. Coolest Building: The Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao

27. Best Movie: The Dark Knight

28. Hottest Women: Riga, Latvia

29. Best Book Read: Dubliners by James Joyce

30. Best Drunk: With the English Boys in Lisbon

31. Worst Drunk: No such thing

32. Best Music Moment: "Bobby Jean", Bruce Springsteen, Lisbon

33. Best painting: "The Garden of Earthly Delights" by H. Bosch, Madrid, Spain

34. Worst painting: Anything by Lucio Fontana you talentless hack...

35. Best Dream: The one where one of my students has an affair with Billy Joel and I give her grief because he is obviously too old for her.

36. Worst Touristy Thing: The O Bus Tour in Lisbon

37. Best Touristy Thing: The Salt Mine in Krakow

38. Best Noise: The Hives

39. Worst Noise: The power saw outside my window at 330 AM, Madrid

40. Creepiest Art by a Super Famous Artist: El Greco

41. Worst Architectural Idea: Outside Glass elevators in Madrid at the Sofia Gallery

42. Best Chocolate: The Belgian Chocolate Shop in Trakai, Lithuania

43. Best Brother Moment: Building a Lego Building

44. Best Sister Moment: Engaged in Europe

45. Best Rock: Pena Palace Mountain

46. Best Pun: Buying Amber for Amber, Vilnius

47. Worst Movie: Indiana Jones and the Interdimensional Time Travellers

48. Best Irony: The Nazis helped to find the mass graves of those killed by the Communists in order to lay the blame on the Jews (somehow).

49. Best Day: Tie: Biking with Deanna and Hali; Eating Steak with Logan and Krista

50. Biggest Mistake: Not jumping off the bridge into the lake at Trakai Castle

From Amsterdam to Prague

So the end is near as I write this at the airport in London. Nice Internet set up here though, real keyboards and quick. We left Amsterdam in plenty of time and flew by Air Scandinavian to Copenhagen then on to Prague...very uneventful (and that's what you want when you fly). Got to Prague, waited for shuttle guy, and went to our apartment. It was a little grotty, but had lots of room and a great kitchen where we cooked bacon and eggs for breakfast everyday. Sista Krista not a big fan of the spiders in our building and all over Prague, but at least we had a good place to be. Prague was more expensive and more crowded than the last time I was here...it seems people have caught on to its coolness. The first day we simply wandered around and tried to acclimatize to a new city. We ate Italian that night. On the following day we went to Hradcany Castle (I call it Hard Candy Castle for obvious reasons). We did the whole castle tour (self-guided) which includes the cathedral, the castle history, the powder tower with military stuff, the cells and torture rooms, a basilica, and some art galleries that we skipped...it was a great big day. Sadly, we were not allowed to climb the cathedral tower for super pictures. We had lunch at the monastery and drank St. Norbert beer (the best beer of the trip..again) and had a great meal. We also went to Charles Bridge but it was jammed with tourists and construction so it was a little underwhelming for Krista and Logan I think. That night we went back to the old square for supper and settled on a place where I had an amazing steak, but Krista had a horrible fish meal and Logan's was terrible as well...Then we wandered aimlessly and paid too much for the beer we drank most everywhere until we settled into a decent place where we swilled Heineken...at some point we got hammered, momentarily lost and then went home. Needless to say we slept in the next day. This next day we went to an amazing art exhibit and saw some of the best modern art of the trip...I will explain more when I have the pamphlet handy...We then had a leisurely afternoon of shopping and chilling out. That night was our best night as we went to a steak house, had great steak, super friendly waitresses (the waiters in Prague have all been bastards), cheap Heineken, and all out great time...Wen then took a tram in the rain and a short walk home in a downpour..It was awesome...In fact the two super drenched rain days have been my favourites...one, with Hali and Deanna and one with Krista and Logan...On the last day of my trip I reorganized all my stuff, said goodbye to K and L, and took my shuttle to the airport. I arrived in London last night, waited 1 hour for a shuttle, had room service that was cheaper than the restaurant, but still 25 pounds, and watched movies. This morning I watched the Americans win the gold medal basketball game versus Spain...now its London to Toronto four 8 hours, a little wait then a 2 hour flight home...School starts in no time...I will arrive in Redvers at 300 and start meetings at 900...summer I miss you...

Live Sex Show...

So I left Brussels in the early AM...had the pleasure to watch this snooty traveller woman have a complete meltdown at the hotel because her cab was 1 minute late and she was going to be late for her bus to her airplane...hint; plan better, stupid...The train ride was all sleep filled...got to Amsterdam at 900AM and drank beer and hung out until Logan and Krista arrived...Once they got here we wandered around, checked out the"coffee" shops..whereby you look at a menu and buy whatever smoke you need...but no alcohol in coffee shops so I drank...coffee...Anyway, Krista and Logan had a monster travel day so they napped for three and I wandered around in the rain...After this we started our fun, fun night of drinking and such...Went for a great Spanish meal..I had paella, Krista had shrimp (shocking) and Logan had Garlic chicken..we had wine and bread and oil and it was excellent...we then went to a variety of bars and then to a live sex show...it opened with a stripper who dragged some dude on stage to pull a long ribbon from her nether regions, then the next stripper did some dancing and pulled a guy on stage, took off his shirt, layed him on the stage and stuck a marker in her wahoo dilly and wrote "the end" on his chest, for the finale some German looking dude in a cape and another stripper came on stage and had sex...the whole time NO CONDOM...crazy, but I think there are high standards and health inspections here anyway...the whole thing was theatrical rather than sexy...After this we went and found one of the few bars open past 2.00AM..so we drank as long as we could, had more food, and crashed...Love that my sister and Logan are here; but I miss my brohim...

Brussels...the town without internet

Hello: It has been a few days since my last entry because this computer is weak and there are zero Internet cafes downtown. Anyway, a few days ago I went to Autoworld, where I saw among other things, two Franklins, the Belgian royal Lincoln, the Shah of Iran's never-delivered car, a Rolls-Royce chassis whereby if you can afford one you get some fancy pants coach builder to finish the body. The museum holds 400 cars, all in working order and sequenced re: auto history. From there I went to the Military Museum and focused my visit on tanks...Jospeh Stalin II is huge...planes, MIGS are huge, and Napoleon because I knew I would be meeting my Waterloo via Bus W. On Friday I embarked on a walking tour of Brussels via the Comic Book Mural trek. The guide book said 2.5 hours, but I walked for 6 and only finished 3/4 of it. In that time I saw awesome murals including Tin tin, Asterix and Obelisk, Caroline Baldwin, and the Scorpion...Please see my facebook photos if interested. So Friday night I went to a fancy Korean place and ate like a king. Saturday I finished my walking tour, found a cool Ivory Coast mask at a jumble sale, watched Lightning Bolt break the 100 M, and planned my day in Waterloo. After a bus ride, I arrived in Waterloo and went to the Wellington Museum, then the Lion Monument (after lunch at the Boston Steakhouse), then the panorama, then I watched a film and a visual demonstration of the battle. Here's what I learned....Always guard your right flank and NEVER underestimate the Germans (in this case Blucher of Prussia). I then took a battlefield tour, but it was pouring so all we could actually see were the farmers moving about their fields. To sum up...Cars, Comic Books, War, and Tanks and Planes...standard boy stuff...perfect

Stream of Consciousness With Rain

Here is what I wrote while it poured in Brussels: Got up...my flight does not exist...Phoned Expedia and they had no idea of any concerns in Brussels...Brussels Airlines website said dont come to airport...So I go and things were fine and I arrive in Brussels on time with luggage...thankful for the karma as i wade through thousands of bags left at the Brussels baggage area...Got a train in to town and then a cab to hotel...my room is huge and wet with the rain now...two beds, huge shower, mini bar, and my tram stop is outside my window:::score....So i took a tram downtown, found out that Brussels is a hill climbing city despite it not being a port...I am at a restaurant eating french onion soup (mine is better), tortellini, and swilling beer...my karma holds as it immediately starts pouring once i sit down...a hard rain is going to fall...and cold too and I think my jacket is in Poland...wow an umbrella just blew over and buddy saved the day...so after lunch I stumble into one of the nicest squares I have ever seen...and then one of the coolest little coffee shops all no trend but GREAT coffee...Then i climbed the hill, took a tram, and watched as some cute street girl got pestered by the cops and I thought maybe she could come with me:::Once home I bought 8 beer and some cheese for 6 bucks...upon getting back I watched the British Weakest Link and aside from the pure British Q's I got them all correct...therefore I am the strongest link so where is my 1360 pounds?...Badminton playing Asian girls are hot...Dharma is hot...and off to the Irish Pub I go.............On Thursday I took a bus tour of the city, went to autoworld, and the military museum...all in all a good couple of days...Tomorrow I am going on a walking tour of all the places in town with comic strip art:::Go Asterix, tintin and the Smurfs.....

Chocolate Stores = Air Conditioning...and other lessons learned.

Lost and Found

Found my Dublin key chains, but lost my sunglasses on my bike tour. Possibly during the rain getting a poncho...oh well. At least people get presents.

Vienna...The Most Relaxed Place in Europe

My God it´s laid back here. Everyone is so friendly. This little old lady, who speaks as much English as I do German, saw me standing by a park and told me which museums to go to and why in a completely excited-about-her-city manner. Later, I was double-checking my map at a tram stop and a young girl asked if I needed any help and I assured her I was good and then she asked me where I was from and we waited for the tram together. In other words, unlike many places in Europe, you don´t automatically have to have your guard up. Yesterday I went to the Leopold Museum for its great collection of Egon Schiele´s work. However, the rest of the exhibits were non-earth shattering. I also spent part of the morning going to the garbage processing plant. It is an amazing place in that it looks part art gallery part cool tower. Check my face book for pics. It´s interesting because it was build during the 70´s before people were really conscious of the environment. Furthermore, the tower itself reduced Vienna´s emissions by 30%. From there I tried to find an English book on Belgium (umm..nope). After this fruitless search I took a tram to the Hayden Theatre to see the new X-Files movie. Okay, but not ground-breaking. However, it was not the tripe that the Mummy was...Yetis indeed. There I picked up two free books...Frankenstein and a Henry Rollins book. You read them, register them online, and then leave them somewhere else for others to read...Cool. After the movie I read some of the Rollins book while drinking beer in some completely dead pub...my neighbourhood may be the safest in Vienna (though that also means that not much is going on it). The same could be said of my Hostel...very laid back, but where are the people. Oh well. I am off to Brussels tomorrow.

I Love Hali and Deanna...Rain Bringers

On August 8th I travelled to Vienna (my train ride was uneventful except for the poop-sprayed walls in the bathroom in the 8th class car...thankfully I was in second class). I arrived in Vienna at noon, took a subway and a tram to my hotel, dropped off my stuff and headed to the Stephensplatz to meet with Hali and her friend Deanna. I was not late as I was on Europe time (despite what Hali may say). Once there we walked to a restaurant, drank beer and chatted. Awesome, people I know plus stories that were fun...perfect. After this we went to freshen up (as they say) and we met back at the Stephensplatz...by this time it was pouring rain. As it was Hali's birthday we went for ice cream and I had (no surprise) beer. We knew the next day's bike tour was going to be long so we called it an early night. The next day we met up at 8:30 and went on the most amazing bike tour of the wine country of Austria. We took a tram, then a train, then another train to arrive in a small town in the rural heart of Austria. As soon as we got there we got to taste wine (4 different varieties of white), learn about the process of making and drinking it, and then we collected our bikes. We biked for about 15 minutes and arrived in Wauchia (I think) where we tasted free chocolate and schnapps...then likor and jams and chutneys. Awesome. I bought some schnapps and some curry chutney...which I may just finish off tonight. From here we left the village to continue our bike tour and we got caught in a torrential downpour...So, lets recap..Bike AND rain = LOVE...I love biking in the rain and everyone was soaked when we arrived at our next wine tasting and lunch. We had three more types of wine and our super guide Gretal (her nickname as it turns out) cooked us lunch of pork, brats, and bacon wrapped-brats (plus there was salad, but really it was salad). From there we biked to the Danube River, played some beach volleyball, swam in the river, and then headed back to the village. Once there we climbed a serious hill to see the ruins of the castle of where the Austrians kept Richard the Lionheart for two years during the Crusades. The view was breathtaking )literally and figuratively. After we climbed down, we jumped on our bikes and returned them to the nice bike people. As we walked to the train pick up site, Gretal informed us that she bought us a bunch of wine to drink...nice. So we did. She was a great tour guide and the whole day cost a measly 49 euros. I got a rock (from the castle) and watched the Denver boys flatten florints with the train. Upon our arrival home we went to a Gretal recommended Italian restaurant. I had tortellini soup and diavolo pizza. From there I said good bye to Hali and Deanna (as they were heading to Venice the next day) and went back to my hostel. All in all, one of the best days of the summer...Have a good time in Italy ladies.

Things I Liked in the Buda and the Pest

1. Coca-Cola from a glass bottle.
2. Handmade weird voodoo dolls for 2 euros.
3. Rockabilly.
4. Memento\Statue Park--Ironic Much?
5. Hotel Ibis...mmmm, breakfast and air conditioning.
6. I play the corner like Ripkin.
7. Body and Soul...the book that took my body and soul to get. Turns out it cost me 40 beer from the local cornerstore...
8. My baby bottle of Hugo Boss.
9. BP shirts.
10. Too much to do, can't wait to bo back

A Quick Note

I am staying in Vienna until the 13th. May go to Brussels until the 18th and then head to Amsterdam to meet up with Krista and Logan. More to follow, but I need to write it out first as I have not being updating my journal of late.

Coke and Communism...Together Again

Eww...a horrible day (initially). The subway troll gave me grief claiming my Budapest Card was "altered" yeah like I think that far in advance...So anyway, once that is cleared up I take a tram, a subway, and a bus to Castle Hill to buy stuff for peeps and see the military museum. After searching for the museum for 1/2 hour I am informed that its closed hence why I did not see its entrance...So I go for coffee at Cafe Miro and notice a green statue (tarnished bronze always looks this way) and I noticed that the horse's balls are a shiny bronze...do people rub them for luck a la Florence and Riga or is there a HORSE PERVERT loose? After this I go back to the hotel to drop stuff off so I can go to a museum on the far side of Budapest to buy a book (if Derek Blerot reads this story he will punch me in the head, but he's mostly completely computer illiterate so I should be safe). Anyway, a 30 minute tram ride, get book, no cash, use interac, NOT..so go to a bank to get money...NOPE...phone CIBC, phone card dies...others are at the hotel. Therefore, i tram/subway back to the hotel and phone CIBC and screw up my password and proceed to answer 6 billion questions about my life....turns out it was a SECURITY CHECK..yeah thanx some robber is buying a book on photographs...I think not. So back to tram/subway et al, buy book, realize its 10 pounds and shake my head...SO now the day gets good as I head to the Communist Statue Park...Classic...The highlights...the irony of over priced Stalin candles, Lenin coffee cups, funny t-shirts, and the last breath of communism in a can being hawked at the shop...So I bought some postcards (cheap) and a COKE ZERO (over priced) and chortled over the whole situation...I even got to listen to some Soviet music via an old radio that I took an audio video of...My day finished with an Italian meal of gnocchi, wine, and ice cream...Vienna tomorrow..Hali's birthday...and yes, expect some drunken stupidity as I come in contact with people again...Also, the subway tramp that I give money to in the morning gets the last of my coins...And possible a book of photographs...Why couldn't I just collect stamp chunks?

Budapest...Day 2

So...There I am minding my own business when all of sudden the ugliness that is racism rears its ugly head. I am on the shuttle into Budapest and I start talking with this couple from Edmonton. I tell them about of stories and a few lies and then about the murder in Manitoba. And their genius response, "So, was it an Indian who did it?" Being the demure motherfucker than I am I just explained to them what I knew and then later thought about how I would spit on them from a tower given the chance. Jesus, people suck. However, Budapest is AWESOME (the Mellow Mood Hostel not included). Castle Hill and the two museums I went to were first rate, but I must admit today was even better. Took the subway to the House of Parliament (an amazing building and the largest in Budapest). Had a nice, brief tour, then had lunch (gyros from a Greek place)and then took the subway to Heroes Square...sick....one of the greatest squares I have ever seen. Went to a photograph exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts and debated buying the book....it weighs 800 pounds...obviously, I will be going back tomorrow to buy it...Then I went to St. Stephens Basilica and climbed up to the tower and took pictures and spit on Albertans. After that I tried to go to Monument park where they have all of these torn down communist statues, but the bus was not running..so I will go tomorrow...As such I wandered around, found a rockabilly store, bought someone cool something cool, and drank 3 7.5% super dark Hungarian beer....I love my job....too bad it starts in less than 20 days....oh well, I will have plenty to read..The only thing I have read all summer is Dubliners by Joyce, some travel guides and the odd newspaper...

Travel Day and the Grotty Hostel

So yesterday I got up too early for my travel day and was out of synch all day. Walked to my bus, got on, got to the airport, and sat at the international terminal for an hour, then realized...Krakow to Warsaw, I bet that;s domestic. Sure enough, so I have to walk over to the other terminal, but get turned around and end up going the wrong way (only time all trip my sense of direction has let me down). Anyway, get there, and wait...only to have a rain delay...then a bumpy ride into Krakow...However, we arrived on time and left for Budapest on time so things we getting better. Got to the airport and got a shuttle right to my hostel (best 20.00 bucks of the trip maybe)...Then it takes me an hour (literally) to check into the grottiest place ever...So I slept there (sort of) and said, screw this and got up early, took the subway into town, and got a pleasant three star hotel for 25.00 a night more than my hostel...lets see, towels check, bedsheets check, toilet paper check, pillows check, Internet check, a quality base in Budapest check....fuck that other place...Anyway, I climbed up to Castle Hill, took in a couple of museums (as it was raining) and came back here to regroup...more to follow.

PS. The Dublin Key chains some of you thought were getting have disappeared...I think with my coat...wherever that is...first lost stuff of the trip (not including my soap holder)

Last Morning Krakow

So I climbed a 2 km hill last night to climb a ceremonial mound but it was closed. So I climbed back down and got on the tram and went to the city centre. As I was walking, I said to myself, "Man, I could use a burger." and VOILA! McDonald's...and it was the best damn Double Royale with Cheese EVER...maybe I was just hungry for something other than perogies and koubalsa, but it was a solid choice. Picked up some final presents for people and then watched fireworks and crashed. Today I fly to Budapest via Warsaw. I hope to be at my hostel sorting things out by 8.00PM. And then to bridge to yell Buda, then Pest...Sadly, school starts in 21 days...c'est la vie.

My Black and Pink Wheels

So I rented a bike today as the planned bike tour was cancelled for some reason. It was black and pink with swept back handle bars and big, fat tires. Awesome, except its no mountain bike. However, I biked around Krakow for four hours and did not even realize it was 32 degrees out...until I stopped of course and I would sweat profusely (aka like a pig). Ended up in the Jewish District of Kazimierz (named after Kazamierz the Great who basically founded Krakow..or Cracovia as they call it here). Also went to the City Engineering Museum (motor bikes and Polish cars). Had perogies for lunch, bought presents, phoned Cog and the 1984 Reunion people, gave money to the coolest busker in the whole city, took a video of my favourite water fountain, and had a generally perfect day. Now I must shower and then prepare for tomorrow's trip to Budapest.

Now the Days are Rushing By...

Here is what I wrote in my diary for July 31..."Got a bloody nose, ate too much times 2 and went to Auschwitz."...Obviously that is a bit understated. Auschwitz is devastating, but I had a general idea what to expect. However, there are three images I can try to share with you that me in awe of mans inhumanity as well as his humanity. The most powerful image in the whole place is the room full of hair cut from he women. There are literally thousands of braids and pony tails cut and piled up. About as sick as anything needs to be. The second image was of one of the latrines...try to picture a long concrete block with 50 holes made in it for going to the bathroom, now consider you have to do that with 200 other people, and with no toilet paper. The last, lasting image for me was the group of Israeli soldiers on a tour at Auschwitz. They were obviously there on a sort of pilgrimage, but the one soldier with tears in eyes really brought home the importance of Auschwitz as a museum. In other news I finally figured out how to make a phone call from Poland...though it took about an hour. The trick, buy your phone cards here..not before you leave. I have gone to the same restaurant twice and hat beet root soup and perogies and I can barely move afterwards. Saw one of only three of da Vinci oil paintings "Lady with Ermine" Quite impressive actually. Also, saw my favourite statue "Grunwald" that celebrates the Polish/Lithuanian victory over Tutonic forces at the Battle Grunwald. So on August 1 I went to Wawel Castle and visited the state apartments (lame); the royal apartments (cool); the armoury and treasury (cool, but I have seen a lot of weaponry already this trip) and the Cathedral which has 18 unreal chapels in a variety of styles..baroque, renaissance, medieval et al. I also climbed the bell tower and saw an 11 tonne bell and got a great view of the city. Later, I went to St. Mary's Cathedral which must rate in the top ten of all cathedrals in the world. The stained glass is worth the visit alone and the altar is a masterpiece that took 12 years to complete. So last night and sort of all afternoon yesterday, I got predictably drunk in a random sort of way. Picked up four dark beer from my ma and pop store (she recognizes me now) and hung and read. I gave one beer to an old Danish man who could not speak English. Then I realized that I wanted more beer because the Irish girls and I were going to watch "Pulp Fiction" They hated it (I think) but I loved it (as usual). So, today I went to the Salt Mine. It was incredible and an UNESCO heritage site for a reason. They were using it as an actual salt mine up to 10 years ago. It is filled with lakes, chapels, and sculptures and rooms all carved out of salt. You descend 800 steps to get near the bottom...thankfully, there is a super-small lift that whisks you back up to the top. Ah yeah, this morning I was awakened by the sound of power tools (saws again) at 6:30, so I napped this afternoon from 3-8 and then went for supper. Tomorrow I will finally take my bike tour of the city. On Monday I head to Budapest. Can't wait to get to one side of the bridge and yell BUDA and then run to the other side and yell PEST...I wonder how long it will take before someone tells me to shut up.