Boogie Nights

Our final week in Europe, and the international portion of the trip, we danced. Never has so much sweat been shed onto dance floors in Germany and The Netherlands. Our second to last night in Berlin we met a friend of Maria's at a car dealership - not really expecting to dance. The showroom floor had several concept cars on display along with a space cleared out for a DJ and his accompanying saxophone player. At first it seemed like an odd pairing, but it worked really well. There were a handful of people on the dance floor, but were there as part of a pub crawl so left early. The four of us (Sara, Maria, Nicole, and I) took it upon ourselves to revive the dance crowd. Unfortunately, the Berlin dance community wasn't ready for us, especially Sara and I, and I think our intense style scared more people away than anything.That first night was just an unexpected warm up for the following night. We spent most of the day eating home cooked food and brushing up on our dance moves. Sara and Maria found an online database of verbal descriptions of popular dance moves. We took turns reading the descriptions while another acted out the dance and tried to guess the name of the dance move. The writing was pretty vague and some of the moves were new to me, but in general it was effective training. Before hitting the town we had some hair and make up prep time. Sara provided the hair assistance for the ladies and, for the first time ever, tried out some eye make up. Hot stuff, let me tell you. We destroyed the dance floor again, but, as with the previous night, I'm not sure Berlin was ready for us. I think we made it home around four or five AM. The sun was definitely on its way up.On Saturday we said our goodbye to Maria - an incredibly gracious host; thank you, again! - and drove across Germany to Amsterdam. The drive took a little longer than we expected and we didn't make it into the city until about 8:30pm. By the time we met up with Stephan at around 9 I thought the evening was about over - we were exhausted from two nights of dancing and a long car drive. But we wanted to catch up with Stephan and went out for some dinner. I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but the night wasn't over until 5:00am the next morning. We started with a few drinks at a bar, met up with Reinier, and then Stephan took us to a club. We weren't exactly dressed for the club, but Stephan knew the owner and was able to get us in the door. It wasn't the most packed dance floor I've ever seen, but it was probably the hottest and most humid. By the end of the morning we were soaked in sweat from head to tow. Most of the clubs in town were shutting down as we left and the streets were packed with people heading home from a night on the town. The primary mode of transportation in Amsterdam is bicycle - I have never seen so many bikes! - and it was pretty comical watching people try to unlock their bikes and ride home. The sun was just starting to paint the sky a light blue and the city looked incredible in the early light.The next day we rented bikes and rode around the town with Stephan. Just cruising through the streets and canals was entertaining. We did some sight seeing along the way and took a break or two at a coffee shop for some, uh, coffee. Beautiful weather and great scenery. We were hoping to meet up with one of Stephan's friends who had a boat to cruise through the canals, but it didn't pan out so we took a tourist boat cruise. Although growing up in and around Amsterdam, Stephan had never been on one before so it was kind of fun for him, too. It was interesting how much more we noticed from the perspective of the canal. Maybe because it forces you to look up - you see the buildings a lot better and can appreciate the incredibly cramped architecture (one of the buildings was only as wide as a single window). That night we met up with Stephan's girlfriend for dinner and that was about it. We were pretty worn out from the last few evenings and enjoyed a laid back night.Our last day in Amsterdam started out slowly, but ended up being one of the best days of our trip! For most of the morning and early afternoon we just biked around the city stopping at a flea market, cruising by the Heineken brewery, and a couple other sights. It seemed like it was going to be a fairly anticlimactic end to our trip. We planned to meet up with Stephan and Reinier, but we had no idea Reinier was going to offer to take us out to his family windmill! Just to give you a little background on how absurdly amazing this is: there are 60 million people in Holland; about 1000 windmills still standing; only 100 of them are privately owned (most are state owned for historical preservation or tourism); and, according to Reinier, maybe 10 people who can actually operate them. The Reinier Windmill is one of those ten windmills. It was originally constructed in the mid 1800's and purchased by Reinier's Grandfather shortly after World War Two. The family uses it mostly as a vacation house - the inside of the windmill feels a bit like a beach cabin - but have made a huge effort to renovate the structure. Windmills are used for two purposes: pumping water out of irrigation ditches (because Holland is below sea level), and grinding wheat. Reiniers windmill is used for pumping water and accomplishes this using a giant screw turned by the windmill. One of the major renovations the family has completed was replacing the original screw. The old screw, basically a large tree trunk with iron blades mounted along its length, was still on his property and was in remarkably good shape considering it was about 150 years old. Reinier also gave us a tour of the building in which we were able to see how the gears interlock and how to operate the massive sails. He also let me and Stephan climb up one of the sails - very cool view.The surrounding countryside was all farm land - it would have been nice just to walk around that area, let alone seeing the windmill. After the tour we setup a table and some chairs and enjoyed the scenery with a couple bottles of wine. As the sun set we jumped into the river nearby for a quick swim. Unbelievable evening and yet a perfect example of the incredible luck and amazing people we've met along the trip. If you're reading this, thank you both so much for everything! Stephan, especially, for letting us crash at your apartment. Truly, a perfect ending to our trip.The next morning, Tuesday, we were up at about 5AM to drive to Dusseldorf for our flight back to the US. At the airport we were shocked that it was actually coming to an end. Saying goodbye to Sara was really hard - we had such so much fun over the last few weeks and the end crept up on us so fast that I think it caught us off guard. Sara, as with the other friends and family that we have traveled with on this trip (both in America and abroad) are the real reason we have been able to enjoy our time on the road. Thank you, also, Sara for everything. We wouldn't have lasted as long as we did without having Germany to look forward to. Without any doubt, the time together with her was very special and a memory we will always treasure.(I tried to get a nice picture of Sara, but she wouldn't smile....so this is what you get!)The picture below was taken in Dusseldorf airport just before taking off. We wanted to document the bags that we carried since November. Especially note the bag Nicole has been traveling with - it holds everything that she has needed throughout the trip. Impressive, to say the least and, without a doubt, the smallest bag I've seen anyone traveling with on our trip

Ich bin ein Berliner!

Last Thursday we drove from Trochtelfingen to Innsbruck, Austria to do some hiking in the Alps. The drive itself was absolutely gorgeous - green rolling hills; postcard perfect towns with German regulation red roofs and a singular church towering above all other buildings at the middle of town; blue sky and warm spring sun; the clear waters of Lake Constance. We stopped for lunch in Freierburg and sat by the lake while enjoying the cool breeze. Unfortunately the weather turned a bit darker once in Austria and most of the two hour drive was on a freeway through tunnels up to 11 kilometers in length. By the time we reached Innsbruck a lightning storm and heavy rains were settling into the valley. It was too late to do any hiking anyways, so we walked around the town was one of the sites of the 1964 and 1976 winter Olympics and was nice to just walk around the streets.The next day we hiked up Hefelekar Mountain where we had a great view of the city below and about forty peaks on the horizon. We were going to take a cable car to the top, but tickets weren't on sale when we arrived due to maintenance. They weren't sure when it would be operating again so we started hiking up one of trails. Of course it was about ten minutes into the hike that we saw the first car pass overhead. We were glad, though, that we hiked because we were able to spend most of the day outside and get some exercise. The weather cooperated just long enough for us to hike up most of the way and then back down to our car. That evening we drove back to Germany and stayed in Uberlinger, a town located on the Northern coast of Lake Constance. The next morning we rented bikes and road along a really nice bike path along the water. The weather could not have been better and it was another really nice day of being outdoors and enjoying the scenery. During the ride we also stopped for some delicious Curry Wurst and Radler.

That night we drove back to Trochtelfingen and spent another evening downing beer and hanging out by the backyard fire. It was really nice to be back 'home' at the Heinz House. We probably should have gone to bed earlier and with fewer drinks because we were up painfully early the next morning to drive to Ulm for a church service and the baptism of Solveig's niece. Nicole and I were debating up to the last minute wether to go, but were glad we pushed through the early morning pain. The service was really pleasant - even though niether of us understood a word. After the baptism we walked around the city with Sara and her friend Maria (whom we are staying with in Berlin). Nicole and I walked up the Ulm Munster Cathedral - the tallest church in the world! 732 steps and several nutt to butt decisions later, we had an amazing view of the country side - including two cooling towers....Nuke Power!! After a couple hours at a cafe we met back up with Solveig's family and had the opportunity to hang out with all seven of the siblings. It was a fun afternoon with tons of eating. (By popular request, the beard is gone)The next day we were up early again to say goodbye to Solveig - she flew back to the states - and drive up to Berlin. The drive marked the final leg of my infamous Bangkok to Berlin over land goal - a mostly absurd but, I think, a unique and interesting accomplishment. It was a fairly uneventful trip along the Autobahn and arriving in Berlin wasn't as climactic as I envisioned. Similar to Bangkok, there wasn't really a definitive cityscape or moment where we really felt like we had arrived. Actually, and this may be more of a sign that it's been almost seven months since we were in the US, the city feels a lot like being in Seattle or Brooklyn. We spent the evening walking around a trendy cafe district near Maria's apartment apartment and settled on some amazing Lebanese food.The next day we visited some of the major tourist attractions while walking through the city. The city has an incredible amount of history - especially during the 20th century. I think our favorite stop that day was The Checkpoin Charlie Museum - an odd collection of posters, escape devices, and documentary videos from the duration of The Wall. One of the most impressive displays was a full size VW Bug demonstrating an escape comparment located under the engine block used to transport someone from East to West Berlin. It was incredible to see some of the lengths people went to in order to escape East Berlin. Walking along the remanents of the wall and going to the museum was a powerful experience. Hard to believe how recently it was taken down.

Yesterday we took a break from tourism. Sara and Nicole went out in the town for some shopping while I accomplished the miraculous feat of taking a shower. That night we met up with several of Sara's friends - she seems to have inherited an international version of my mom's ability to know people everywhere - at a resturaunt and then some drinks. Today we spent about six hours in the German History Museum. It was a very well presented collection of over 2000 years of historical artifacts and correspoding explanations. More than half the exhibition was 20th century, but it was nice to learn about pre-20th century as well. We'll be in Berlin for another two days and then we're going to drive over to Amsterdam to meet up with Stephan and Reinier again. It will be an entirely wholesome weekend of family fun.

Trochtelfingen

(this blog features guest commentary from Sara)
Our bus ride to Germany ended up relatively painless. The bus was not very full, so we were able to stretch out and get some sleep overnight. . . which ended up being a good thing, because we had a full day ahead of us! Sara and Solveig picked us up at the bus station (which seemed like a great luxury after months of arriving in a new place and immediately trying to navigate public transport). As it turns out, we arrived in Stuttgart the same day the local soccer team, VFB Stuttgart was playing for the German national championship. There was a closed off area and a viewing screen in the Schlossplatz- in the same style as what you saw on TV for the world cup. So, after lunch at a sidewalk cafe (and the corresponding Euro sticker shock) we headed to the square to watch the game. At first it seemed like a really sweet set up; a sunny day, cold beer, and an enthusiastic crowd. But, it turned out there was a little too much enthusiasm- the city planned for 20,000 people in the downtown area for the game and 100,000 showed up. It was too much for us, so we left before the game even started- although fighting our way out of the crowd was a feat in itself which took a good 45 minutes. (Sara says: for a while it looked like we would never make it to freedom, and then Solveig came up with the brilliant plan to huddle behind a huge German man who seemed to be making good progress. He just took very slow, steady steps, and he was so big no one could push him out of the way. He didn't notice us behind him until we got out of the crowd, but we thanked him profusely for leading us to safety)After the VFB experience we headed back to Solveig's home town of Trochtelfingen, to the Heinz house. Trochtelfingen is a picturesque German town in the Swabian Alps complete with narrow stone streets, old wooden buildings, red rooves, and of course a brewery. The Heinz house itself is an oasis of wonderful hospitality. It has been such a nice, relaxing place for us to wind down our trip. The first night we were there they had a 'Cultural Symposium' party. Five of the seven kids, the parents, and three freinds of the family came over to the house to barbeque. After the barbeque, during which a lot of beer was consumed, all of us squeezed into The Winzig, a small wooden fort in the backyard (Sara says: the fort was originally built when the Heinz offspring were just kids... but they have maintained, and added on to the fort and they still use it for birthday parties and the cultural symposium). The inside is setup like a bar, but its only about four feet tall, so it gets pretty tight - especially with fifteen people inside. In the past the family has done these symposiums but with a specific focus; one time an art exhibit and another a poetry recital. This time it was an open symposium so there were songs, stories, and an interpretive dance among other things. Fifteen people ranging in age from 20 to 60 crammed into a children's fort, singing songs, and drinking beer. A fun night to say the least and our first indication that this family was a little be different than most. (Sara says: Andrew was the one who provided the AMAZING interpretive dance - one to represent each country, or part of the world they have visited so far. It was truly spectacular and he became an instant Heinz family favorite afterwards. One of Solveig's brother even ran over and gave him a hug after he was done. If you see him when he get's back, you should definitely ask for a repeat performance)In addition to German beer, we have also had the opportunity to sample some home cooked traditional Swabian Food. (Note from Sara: both Andrew and Nicole were too lazy to finish this blog so I am doing it for them. From now on everything is from yours truly). Two particularly Swabian dishes have been Spätzle (home made noodles) and Knödel (a kind of mashed potato ball). Andrew and Nicole actually helped Solveig's mom make Spätzle, and she thought they were very cute. We have also had quite a few bbq meals around the fire pit in the backyard.Andrew and Nicole were pretty exhausted when they got here. I think they really appreciated the opportunity to just hang out with a family in a home and not have to be on the move all the time. It's actually been difficult for me to get them out of the house! I don't mind at all because the Heinz Disneyland (as I like to call it) is one of my favorite places in the world. We have managed to take a few day trips though - one afternoon wandering around Trochtelfingen. Solveig gave us a tour, and we stopped in a beer garden for a Radler (a summer time drink of beer mixed with sprite - it sounds wierd but it is delicious).Yesterday we went to Tübingen, a beautiful city and home to one of the oldest universities in Germany. It is a great city for just wandering - complete with winding stone streets, and a hilltop castle with an incredible view - and that is mostly what we did. After another beer garden Radler we rented a paddleboat and took a tour around the river. The weather was beautiful and since Andrew did most of the peddling we had a nice relaxing ride. We even stopped under the branches of a weeping willow for some Little Mermaid moments ;)Today we are heading out for Austria to do some hiking in the Alps. I'm having a hard time convincing Andrew and Nicole to leave the Heinz Disneyland, but I would feel remiss if I didn't take these two nature lovers to the Alps while they are here. I can't say I blame them though. The Heinz home and family are truly beyond words. Andrew also has a very intense table Fussball competition going on with Solveig's dad (don't tell him I told you, but as Reiner said, Andrew was: 'taken to town and stomped!' in the first bout), so we will definitely be coming back here for another few nights before we head for Berlin.

Polska is Sweetskie

The morning after the Viking-Rock concert we took a bus from Tallinn to Warsaw, Poland. We arrived too late to really see much of the city, but what we saw of the countryside while passing through Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland was really nice. We spent our first day in Warsaw just walking through the city, hanging out in the parks, and eating. Nothing too spectacular, but it was nice to be able order food in English. I think we ate kebabs for every lunch and dinner while in Warsaw. The kebabs had, of course, a Polish flare and included cole slaw and a giant pickle along with the usual tomatoes, cucumber, and lamb. It was actually a good combo and the price was right due to the abundant competition. Some parts of town literally had three or four kebab stands lined up next to each other. The parks were perfect for people watching and the old town was a charming place to see a little of the history. The entire city was levelled during World War II, but it has been complete reconstructed to look as it did before the war.

On our second day we went to the Warsaw Uprising Museum. Dedicated to the people of Poland who fought against the German occupiers, it contained several war relics and information about their battle for independence. It portrayed their fight for freedom against the German Army as well as the eventual loss to Soviet Russia. Both the Occupation Museum in Tallinn and the Warsaw Uprising Museum demonstrated the dogged determination of the people of an occupied nation. The hostel in Warsaw filled up on Monday, so we were forced to train down to Krakow a day early. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Krakow is touted as "the new Prague" and is an incredibly backpacker-friendly city. We're staying in possibly the nicest hostel to date and the staff is unbelievably helpful. Along with nice accommodation, the city - especially in the old town - and surrounding area is full of rich history.Yesterday we visited Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum. It was an emotionally difficult day and seeing those places first hand was overwhelming. For me the most powerful display was a shelf of two tons of hair - approximated to have been removed from at least 40,000 women after they were gassed. The hair was used as a supplement for clothing or other fabric production. Also displayed in the room was a roll of cloth that you could clearly see included hair. We were also shown the average living area for the prisoners. Even seeing the berthing, it was impossible to imagine how crowded it must have been. Something like 800 people were crammed into prefabricated barns originally designed to house 52 horses. Afterwards we were totally exhausted - it was pretty much all we did that day.Today we walked around the old town, Warwel Castle, and the Jewish District. Unfortunately the weather isn't cooperating and the cold drizzle (home sweet home) has driven us inside. We decided to come to Poland mostly a geographically convenient break between St Petersburg and Stuttgart, but it has become one of our favorite stops despite the so-so weather. There is something about Krakow, especially- green parks, beautiful buildings, interesting history, tons of young people- I can't say what exactly it is that gives the city such a nice feel. We will be here in Krakow for another day and a half and then take our final bus ride to Stuttgart to meet up with Sara! Having some problems uploading pictures at the moment. I'll try to get more up soon.

St. Petersburg to Warsaw

The last few days have been a busy combination of celebrating, sight seeing, and traveling. The State Hermitage Museum was the most overwhelming tourist attraction that we've visited on the trip so far; the day spent getting lost in the myriad halls of paintings, sculptures, and artifacts was truly mind boggling. We mostly viewed oil paintings by just about every famous artists imaginable: Picasso, Van Gogh, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Renoir, and Monet just to name a few. It was too much to see in one day and we barely did the place justice, but obviously still worth every minute. Marilyn, Nicole decided she'll have to come back to St. Petersburg with you sometime to do the place justice!

Our last full day in Russia was May 9th, a huge holiday for Russians and celebration of their victory over Germany in 1945. We got up early hoping to see a parade of tanks and missile launchers, but all we found was a slightly busier than usual street and dismally wet weather. After camping out in a cafe near Nevsky street for a couple hours we gave up on our hopes of seeing a parade and returned to the hostel to rest up for the evening. We new for sure that there would be fireworks at night and hoped that more people would be out celebrating at that point. So we picked up some Oxotaca beers (2L plastic bottles of 8% alc/vol sludge...we affectionately pronounced it Exotica) and threw a small party in the hostel with Reinier, Stephan, Ron, and Sam (Ron and Sam are officers stationed in Japan that were on leave). Swigging down the Exotica, it didn't take long for us to be confident that we were going to have a good time that night regardless of the situation on the streets. So we piled out into the streets after some fine dining at a Carl's Jr. across the street...yeah, we're not in Asia anymore.

Nevsky street was crazy. I've honestly never seen that many people mobbed into a city street before. From what I've seen on TV it is reminiscent of New Year's Eve in New York City, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were even more than that. It took about 45 minutes to walk from our hostel to the Neva River, just next to The Hermitage. As far as we could see, both sides of the river were packed with people and car traffic was completely stopped. Being at almost 60 degrees North, the sun didn't set until after 10 PM and the fireworks didn't start until about 11. The crowd comprised of mostly young people and were predictably drunk and rowdy. Several people were trying to scramble up a nearby tree for a better view and the police tried, unsuccessfully, to stop them. The fireworks were nice, but nothing spectacular. It was mostly just fun being in a big crowd of excited people. After the fireworks almost everyone started walking back down Nevsky street; waving flags and singing songs sort of like a soccer match chant. The street was packed shoulder to shoulder all the way across and the column of people seemed to stretch on as far as we could see. It was one of those mob scenes where the line between riot and celebration was paper thin - the sound of glass bottles breaking, people climbing up light poles to steal flags, small scuffles, the dull roar of a crowd, and public urination. All the necessary elements of mild chaos and a hell of a good time.

The next morning we woke up early, and a bit hung over, to catch a bus to Tallinn, Estonia (yes, two n's). Fortunately, it was only a six hour bus ride and comfortable enough to sleep for most of the trip. Estonia ranks 2nd or 3rd in our list of random places we've been while traveling. I don't think I knew it existed before we started planning our way out of Russia a few weeks ago, but I'm not exactly a geographical wizard. It turned out to be a pleasant stop on our way to Germany. Even more European than St. Petersburg, the Medieval old town is a UNESCO World Heritage site and home to St. Olav's Church (the tallest building in the World from 1549 to 1625). It's an attractive and interesting city with a tumultuous history. We spent most of the one day we were there in the Occupation Museum - an account of Soviet, then German and then Soviet (again) occupation during the better part of the 20th century.We noticed during the day that a stage being setup in the old town square early in the day and I made a point of returning later that night, a Friday, to see if there was any free music. The concert was one of the most hilarious live shows I've ever seen. I would call it, for lack of a better term, Viking-Metal-Rock. The smoke machine had just started pumping out its first few puffs when I arrived and there was some pre-show music playing along with a bit of green lighting. There was a small, but lively crowd of about 200 people packed up to the stage - a strange mix of tourists and rock enthusiasts. Nothing very interesting. The bass player walked out first and the crowd let out the usual mildly approving screams that a bass player usually gets. He picked up his bass and started playing some a few notes. The lead singer and drummer walked out next - more screams. It was at this point that I noticed that they were wearing tunics and chain mail. All three had long blond hair and the the lead guitar had some nice mutton chop side burns and a handlebar moustache. The three of them started playing a slow intro riff and I had seen just about enough when the fourth member of the band strutted onto stage, also wearing a tunic but no chain mail, with his electric bagpipe! That's when the crowed went ballistic and I noticed two men dancing in full mascot-like-costumes: one a giant orange fox and the other a man sized bunny rabbit. It was as if Spinal Tap, Rammstein, and a Viking had four children and they formed a band. Amazing. The bagpipe player also played a recorder and a lap harp and if you can rock those three things I think you can rock anything. It's hard to pick a favorite song, but they had an amazing Gregorian chant intro followed by early Metallica-esque thrash metal that I think takes the cake. All that combined with guteral Eastern European lyrics and rolled r's and was too good to be true.

The next day was spent entirely on a bus from Tallinn to Warsaw, Poland. Nothing exciting to report there, except that Poland is surprisingly reminiscent of Western Pennsylvania. On the whole, our time in Poland has been great. The weather is nice and it feels just like Spring at home. Nicole is out doing some shopping - throroughly enjoying the reasonably priced clothing stores. We'll probably spend another day in Warsaw and then head down to Krakow for a couple days before meeting Sara in Stuttgart this weekend! More pictures soon.

Mother Russia

The Trans-Siberian ended up being an okay ride, if a little bit anti-climactic. Siberia IS really beautiful, but the part we saw is pretty much birch forests and wooden houses. . . for three full days. Interesting variety came from the change in seasons as we traveled north and south- some places where still covered in snow while others where quite green with even an occasional patch of flowers (that was exciting).

Monotony aside, there where a few definite highlights. The first day we shared the room with a Major in the Russian Army who is a tank commander. He was friendly and willing to try to communicate with us (he spoke a little English and we have a Russian phrase book). He introduced us to pine nuts eaten out of shell like sunflower seeds, and was generally a really good roommate. The language barrier was frustrating, though. We where so interested in hearing what he had to say, and he seemed interested in us, too- but the scope of conversation was sadly limited by the language.The language barrier continued to be a frustration for the rest of the trip. We ended up taking a local Russian train, which meant a lot of Russians. It was cool, but we wanted to talk to them and there was no way. I interacted most with a little girl from the cabin next door. It took her a little while to get up the courage to talk to me, and probably a full day for her to understand that I didn't speak Russian. But after that she came by a lot just to look (she especially liked watching me play solitaire). She also taught me the names of all the barnyard animals in one of her books in Russian (which I promptly forgot).

Some of the best monotony breakers where the vendors outside the train when we stopped. Women selling a wide variety of interesting food and drinks swarmed the trains with boiled potatoes, whole smoked fish, dumplings, bread, coleslaw, beer, pine nuts, and quite a few things that I could not identify. But it was fun to look, and to supplement our diet of cup-o-noodles.

After four days, we finally reached the big city bravado of Moscow, quite a change from the stiletto heels and mullets of Irkutsk (Scott, if you do ever make it to Baikal you won't need to spend much time in Irkutsk- Dostoevsky in exile and wooden houses aside it is pretty much just like the Big Town). An incredible city, but, unfortunately, also one of the most expensive in the world. We paid way to much for our hostel and, consequently, booked an onward ticket to St. Petersburg after only one day. We were still able to see most of the major attractions including St. Basil's Cathedral, Red Square, The Kremlin Armoury, and the Subway Stations. It may sound strange to list the subway as a major attraction, but it was amazing. Elaborate mosaics of Lenin and Soviet era workers line the ceiling of almost all of the major stations. It is easily the most ornate subway I've ever scene and also one of the most effective.We previously mentioned May 1 as a big holiday, but Russia is also in the midst of preparing for the 9th of May - celebrating it's victory over Germany in World War II. It's sort of a combination of Veterans Day and 4th of July. Statues of famous veterans crushing swastikas are all over both Moscow and St. Petersburg. It is understandably a major event considering the massive loss of life during the war (over 23 million as compared to 400,000 Americans). St. Petersburg was under siege for 900 days ; over 1 million people died of starvation. There is also a lot of news related to the Estonia-Russia conflict inflamed by a war memorial being moved out of the Estonian capital city of Tallinn - the Estonians say because it reminds them of Soviet occupation. The timing, however, has led to riots in Tallinn and Moscow as well as most companies in Russia banning Estonian made products.We arrived in St. Petersburg yesterday morning and have thoroughly enjoyed the European vibe of the city. We've spent most of the time walking up and down Nevsky Boulevard and have visited St. Isaac's Cathedral, Peter and Paul Fortress, and The Church of the Savior on Blood. Tomorrow we're going to The Hermitage. So much to do! We plan to stay until the 10th, both to see the rest of the city and to experience the 9th of May festivities. We met up with Stephan and Reinier again - the picture below was taken today in front of the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

Springtime in Siberia

We left Ulan Bator on the 26th on an overnight train to Irkutsk, Russia. We where able to share a compartment with our Dutch travel companions from Mongolia, Stephan and Reinier, which made for a fun trip. A few bottles of Mongolian and Chinese beer and a deck of cards helped the first night pass quickly and painlessly. We did stop for about five hours at the Russian border, but since we didn't have to leave our compartment (excpet for it to be searched), it wasn't much of a hassle.

The next morning turned out to be a beautiful. The train was quiet (as most of the other passengers hit the vodka a little harder than we hit the beer and where sleeping in). It was a sunny spring day with bright blue skies, and we
had an incredible view of still frozen Lake Baikal. Add in some birtch forests, picturesque wooden houses with colorful windows, and snow covered mountains, and it was everything romantic I imangined about the Trans-Siberian. You could almost hear some sweeping score from Dr. Zvago in the background.

The obese vodka smelling Russian men who stood continuosly in the passageway (one of whom tried to pick my pocket- either that or he was copping a cheap feel, I'm not sure which is worse) took away from the romance a little bit, but I guess they added character in thier own way. It was a great ride.

We arrived in Irkutsk the following afternoon. Our first European/western style city in five months. I was ready to leave Asia, but I found myself missing it almost immediately once we got here. Wierd. I guess you don't know what you've got until it's gone.

Of our three days in Irkutsk, we spent a solid day and a half just trying to buy onward train tickets and get our visa registered. The train tickets where complicated by International Worker's Day on May 1. It is a pretty big deal here- a 4 day weekend and lots of people traveling. So we didn't get the train that we wanted and we had to pay more for it.

The holiday also made it harder for us to get our visa registered. Actually, the whole process is pretty bizzare. For some reason in Russia not only do you have to get a visa, but you have to get it registered within three working days and then every place you stay for more than 3 days. Since we are staying at a flat that doesn't register visas, here is the process: Go to a main hotel and wait for a blond lady named Olga to be at the desk. When she is there (and only if she is there), you can tell here that Jack sent you and give her the card, and she will register your visa (for a fee, of course). No other hotels (that we've found anyway) will register your visa unless you're staying there. Unfortunately Olga is not working over the holiday and all the travel agencies in town (which is 2)are closed for the holiday. So, after two days wasted dealing with all the B.S. we gave up. We'll do it in Moscow and hopefully they'll understand about the holiday. Otherwise you'll get to read and intersting blog on what it's like to be detained at the Russian border.

We also made a trip to Lake Baikal- which had actually melted in the two days since we had seen it on the train due to a spring rain. We had a delicious lunch of smoked fish and walked around. Lake Baikal is a fascinating place. It is the largest body of fresh water in the world (more than all the great lakes combined), and it will supposedly become the next ocean as the techtonic plates divide. It has a host of flora and fauna which are found nowhere else in the world, although we didn't see much of it due to the time of year.

Irkutsk itself is not famous for much. It was a trading post due to its fortuitous position on the southern tip of the lake, and a lot of exiles from the Decembrist Movement where sent there in the 1800s. It also has a lot more of those old wooden houses which are still used. They mostly have wood burning stoves and a well outside due to no internal plumbing. Yikes! Going outside to get water in the middle of winter here does not sound that sweet. And of couse, Irkustk is it's own country on the Risk board.

After an intersting and frustrating few days we are about to go check out of our hotel and get the 87 hour train to Moscow (also likely to be both intersting and frustrating). Due to the holiday it would actually have been cheaper to fly to Moscow. But my husband, who I love more than anything in the world, thinks that it would be giving up. Hmmmm. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I think I'll know better when we arrive in Moscow at 4AM four days from now.

Mongolia

Today I'm writing from Ulaan Baatar - supposedly the coldest capital city in the world. Although Nicole had some desire to ride horses in Mongolia, we didn't really have any firm plns upon arrival. Within a couple hours, however, we were signed up to take a five day journey into the middle of the country with two Dutch travelers. Didn't get much of a chance to see the city on our first day since we spent most of it preparing for the trip. Generally speaking, though, the city is fairly dismal. Most of the buildings are run down and the roads are in bad shape. Although there are some people in the city that wear tranditional mongolian clothes, most of the people are noticeably stylish - much more coordinated (in the Western since at least) than we've seen in the rest of Asia. As I said, we didn't spend too much time walking around - especially after we talked to two different people at our guesthouse who had been robbed.The next morning we piled into the van with Stephan, Reinier, Dava (our translator), and our driver (can't remember his name). The van was Russian made, specifically chosen because it breaks down frequently. Well, not exactly. It does break down a lot, but it's easy to fix so they guesthouse prefers the Russian vans over the popular Japanese vans which are 'impossible' to fix. We soon learned first hand about fixing Russian vehicles after the driver pulled over to repair a leaking gasket on the oil sump 50km into the drive. Our driver, 'one of the best mechanics around,' cut a new gasket out of a used innertube and we were back on the road in minutes. I use the word 'road,' loosely. Pavement is used occasionally, but rarely serviced. Actually, driving off of the paved road was a smoother ride most of the time. As a result, the 'road' is wherever the driver decides to go. Which, when you're driving in an old Russian military van, is pretty much anywhere. We were prepared for long days of driving, but the bullride it turned out to be was much more punishing than either of us expected. Average speed for the trip was probably around 15 mph.The first day of driving put us firmly in the middle of nowhere - one of many Mongolian steppes. We arrived at the first homestay, a cluster of three gers, around 8 pm and the family prepared a beef-noodle dinner while we settled into our first night in a ger - Mongolian for yurt. The simple dome structure is a really cozy sleeping area, but the complete lack of electricity and running water wouldn't be very comfortable for long term living. In the middle of all the gers we stayed in was a wood stove for heating and cooking, as well as two support posts. The center of the ger is sacred and should not be crossed - we were asked to always walk around the ger in the clockwise direction. At the center of the roof is a whole for smoke to escape and represents the Sun and Moon. Entrances to the ger always face South and a small Tibetan Buddhist shrine was usually set up in inside on the North wall. To pay respect to the shrine we were told to sleep with our heads towards the shrine and our feet towards the door. Aside from learning about the ger, we also spent a good amount of time star gazing - probably the most stars we've been able to see since being at sea.The second day of driving was even longer and more violent than the first, but we survived. The second nights accomodations were similar to the first, except that the family didn't expect our van so they let us stay in they're ger. Kind of awkward to feel like we were kicking someone out of their own house, but they didn't seem to mind. That day was Stefan's birthday so we threw a ger-party with as many people as we could round up. The party consisted of, at various times, Mongolians, French, Americans, Dutch, Belgians, beer, and vodka. The Mongolian beer we bought came in 2L plastic bottles - looked a like a giant water bottle except brown. Although it looked a little scary it turned out to be the best beer I think we've had in Asia. Adding to the ambiance, we drank out of small bowls since the Mongolian families didn't have any cups. The family avoided the party for the most part, but occasionaly they'd pop in with a big grin on their face and say,"Vodka?" We were more than happy to share.Perhaps needless to say, we slept in the next morning. The weather took a decidely nasty turn for the worse and we were hesitant to ride horses in the morning. By about ten we mustered up the courage to brave the cold, but only after we piled on as many layers as possible. We were loaned some traditional Mongolian dels, but it was still bitterly cold - especially for our hands and feet. The hourse ride was initally a bit of a disspointment. The horses were pretty old and uninterested in moving. In fact, Reinier decided to walk and was actually faster on foot than we were on the horses. From the camp we rode about an hour to White Lake - frozen solid and, it seemed, even colder. It was kind of fun to walk around on the lake, but it was hard to enjoy the moment. Fed up with riding, we convinced the horse guide to let us walk the horses back to the camp. Walking the horses was really more like dragging the horses and after about half an hour the guide convinced us to get back on the horses. He figured out that we were sick of the cold and helped us motivate the horses up to a trot by smacking them in the ass with a thick rope. Trotting was much faster and a more fun, although a jarring, ride. After lunch break hudled around the stove and a short nap it was warm enough to hike out to a nearby volcano. The weather had cleared up enough to enjoy some impressive views of the country.Fortunately the next days drive was relatively short and it was much easier to enjoy the scenery. It's berthing season right now, so we got to see full sized and baby goats, yaks, and horses. That night a Mongolian throat singer gave us a personal performance in our ger. The singer played three different traditional instruments while singing: a morin khurr (horse fiddle), a short harp, and a flute (obviously didn't sing while playing this one). The perfomance was really impressive - the songs were mostly about various animals and Ghengis Khan (a popular guy in this country).Our final day was a short ride back to Ulaan Baatar. Along the way we stopped at a small sand dune ('mini Gobi') and the original capital of Mongolia - now a temple. We've seen a lot of Buddhist temples, but the imagery in this one was much more violent than anything to date. Interesting contrast to the rest of Asia. Today we bought train tickets to Irkutsk for tommorrow afternoon so we'll be in Russia by Friday.