Austria, Prague and Hungary, oh my!!!

I've been open-minded enough to have unusual food and have ended up enjoying Moroccan sacrificial lamb and goulash, but this morning for breakfast I was so excited at an alternative to the typical European "bread-fast"- I was going to have an Austrian omelet!! I ordered it, but requested "no ham". (If you've ever been to Europe you will notice 3 main ingredients, much like the rice, beans and tortillas of Mexican food. Here the big 3 are bread, ham and egg...in EVERYTHING! There is the occasional exception of tuna-even on pizza. Here nothing is sacred.) Instead of ham, the young man put pork and bacon...and cheese...and then salted it. How is it possible that with the way they eat in Europe that they still live longer than we do in America?!?! Is stress really that lethal? It must be because they eat a lot of unhealthy stuff here. What do Muslims eat? Ever since the issues in France with the burkas in school, I've noticed a lot more traditional Muslims in other countries I've been to.
I think the lack of stress is a trickle down thing as well. The way they are with their children is really admirable. They have a laissez-fair approach to the role of parenting. There is a cause and effect to the choices that the children make and parents don't get involved in its relationship. Because of this the children are in more control of themselves and regulate themselves. Here is testimony to that fact: I've seen one temper tantrum during my trip and it was by a boy from England.
-How can a shower bring you back from the dead??? I'm not sure how, but it did!!
-It's amazing the transformation your body goes through when you're traveling- gain weight, lose weight, gain muscle, you can see the little purple veins in your feet from walking, your skin changes from the food you are eating, your hair changes from the water you are washing it with
-I'm realizing it isn't so much about the places you go...how many castles/cathedrals/collections of shiny thing can one person go see? I'm finding it's more about the company you keep in the places you DO go. You may take all kinds of pictures, but the relationships you build, the time you invest along the way, the laughs and the tears shared with people that at on point were mere strangers. The backpackers that I have met seem to understand this. They have learned to enjoy the moment for what it is and not live in a state of perpetual anticipation of the future. It seem as though many of us are trying to speed life up, slow it down or pause it and hold on to something that is forever changing. I'm learning to enjoy the moment, not force situations and realizing that I may not always know the best way...and for a teacher that is a huge hurdle to overcome. I don't know it all, but I'm a fast learner, an even better listener and hungry for knowledge.
-It's funny how when people are speaking a language you don't understand you are sure they are talking about very important things...they aren't. Trust me on this one. I was a bit concerned because as the announcements for the train come on the overhead speaker, the conductor speaks in German for a good 4 minutes. When he is finished he says, in English, "We will be arriving in blah, blah station in 2 minutes". You get a little worried because you don't know what you have missed. Well, I finally had someone translate what they were saying and it was about the color of the train seats, about the orientation of the 1st and second class cars and how this train differs from others because of these particular features. I liked it better when I had no idea what he was talking about:) At least I could make up something interesting.
-I've been learning about the controversy surrounding Nestle and how they refuse to switch to conflict free/non-child labor obtained chocolate because of the profit margin they would lose. I'm amazed we haven't heard about this in the U.S.
-I've noticed stages that I've gone through as I've been traveling...right now I'm burnt out. I really think the heat and humidity has A LOT to do with it though and I'm optimistic.
-Today I leave from Budapest to Croatia. I leave here highly indebted to this country for reminding me of humility...not for the reasons you may think either. While skyping friends in Prague I unplugged my computer to get better sound by the window. In the midst of the emotion I forgot my computer charger in Czech Republic and didn't realize it until I was here. I have always been the hardest on myself and this case was no exception. As I was walking downtown trying to blow off some steam, I heard a woman next to me talking to her friend, mimicking the same conversation I was hearing in my head. "I didn't even realize until I was here...I'm so upset with myself", she was saying. "I can't believe I left my passport under my pillow in the hotel." I stopped in my tracks. At that moment I realized just how much worse off I could be. I officially dropped it, forgave myself and used my words to find an alternative. As it turned out, there was an Apple Store (called "istyle" here) within walking distance from where I was staying. Again, life was gentle with me and I'm grateful.
-Tip of the week: When washing out your clothes in the sink, DON'T look at the color of the water that is running off of them!!
-I'm so pleased that I've been able to share desserts. We in America may have big everything, but we have nothing on Europe's desserts. When I've gone out to eat and ordered dessert I've never been able to get even halfway through it, but the restaurants here have no concept of "doggie bag" and even if they did, desserts don't keep. So I've taken up offering the rest to a neighbor. I explain that the dessert is wonderful, but that I can't possibly finish and if they would like it they are more than welcome to it. You know what...they take it!! That makes me so happy. I'm really a sharer at heart and to see others enjoy what I've enjoyed makes the experience that much richer:) How wonderful!!

Vienna, Salburg and off to Munich tomorrow

-Monte Carlo/Monaco can keep their Ferrarris, I want a Vespa from Santa
-Another unexpected delay in the transportation plans, but no a problem. It just meant I got 2 more days in Nice...I cant complain. I've learned not to get attached to travel plans.
-Originally I had planned to go to Geneva, Switzerland, but I need to visit another expensive European "economic center" like a hole in the head. I've opted instead to forgo Switzerland and go straight to Vienna via overnight couchette. I have great memories of Vienna from when I lived in Europe 9 years ago on a study abroad, but I'm noticing that the European Union does something to its member countries...most notibly, make them unbearingly expensive. Since the majority of my trip so far has been to the more developed Western European countries AND the dollar is so weak right now, I'm really feeling the squeeze in my wallet. I had a great conversation in the train with a member of the foreign legion who gave me several great points and suggestions for my journey. He pointed out that as I move in the route that I have planned the cost of living is going to go down considerably. I'm moving eastbound around the world so Europe will be the most expensive place I will be. I decided at that point to let it go. If this is the steepest it will get then I will enjoy where I am when I am there and be happy to cut corners where I can. I'm not going to undermine the quality of my travels for the sake of a few euros. This may not sound like a big deal to you, but it is a huge burden off of my shoulders and I'm glad I'm back in the moment.
- I've noticed a huge difference in the authenticity of touch here as well. In general, Europeans are much more unaware of their personal space (see the loss of "my last creature comfort" in previous entry). In the metro nothing is sacred, you are inundated with hands and smells, but it's never intrusive. As much as you are positive you are going to be trampled at any minute, they skim you without contact (mainly in Morocco) or gently bump you without so much as an "excuse me" (mainly Spain and France). For as much physical contact as experienced from strangers, you can see why transactions in the stores caught me off guard: hands never touch during purchases. When you are buying something, your money goes in the dish to pay for it, it is picked up by the teller, your change put back in the dish and you pick it up. I remember days at home when the only physical contact I got with another person was when I would go to buy something and our hands would touch...how sad is that. Here I kiss strangers on the cheeks when I say goodbye. I hold hands with people I've known a day...and it seems so natural.
-The Austrians are very nice and look to me like Americanized Germans. They are taller, have darker hair and Everyone has piercing and tattoos...I mean like they look like they fought a tackle-box and lost.
-I like the German influence on the schedules. Everything runs on time!! No problems with transportation and there seems to be a continuity to the system. I'm going to get used to it though. From what I hear Italian train are just about the worst and without different classes in the cars, there goes the ace up my sleeve.
-I've never seen the kind of humidity that I did today. It was even worse than Madrid's weather, but it held out until I was at dinner before it started pouring buckets of water from the sky. Weird thunder and lightening storm followed and I got to witness the "threads" of diagonal rain that Salzburg is so famous for.
-It doesn't smell like honey, jasmine, wood, playdoh and salt water the way that Corsica did, but the smell of pennies in the air indicating rain to break the humidity will be just fine with me:)

Leaving the "Crazy Woman" for $6 tea

Barcelona got me. In all her brilliance, in her fountains that endlessly spew water synced to Disney music, in her museums that have dizzying layouts...she got me. I've extended my stay here and will be staying at my friend Elsa's house. This is the same Elsa that I met in Bordeaux who moved out to Barcelona about 3 weeks ago. Things are going well and I'm feeling better though not 100% in the least. But I do feel well enough to go explore Barcelona the way it should be explored.
When speaking with a Romanian waitress the other day she and I were discussing the Spanish dichotomy: those who love Madrid tend to dislike Barcelona and vice versa. Admitting that I had found myself to belong to the party of the lovers of Barcelona she disclosed the same with a laugh. I shared with her how I had extended my stay and still didn't feel ready to leave. At this she said not to worry because Barcelona is "like a crazy woman". With a puzzled look on my face I'm sure, I ran over the words in my mind again to be sure I had the translation correct. At this she switched to English. "Barcelona is like a crazy woman" she said, "because although you may leave her...you always come back". I love that!! And I know it to be true with everything in me. The advantage to staying in hostels are being told the sites to avoid and short cuts through the system, but it also comes with the story of the individual sharing the pointers. I've met half a dozen people who either came to Barcelona to visit and never left or swore to some back after a visit and are on the return journey or were backpacking and have been in Barcelona since a date they can no longer recall. In the bar where the Romanian girl works there is a saying on the wall that reads "So close to the port you forget the date". I've fallen head over heels with Barcelona and I vow to come back to retrieve my heart.
Today is the day it happened...I'll never forget it. I prepared for a full day of travel (at times it looked as if it would be even more...) on the train from Barcelona to Nice on France's Independence day. The French train system is unreliable to begin with, but you put a holiday in there and all bets are off. I could only buy the train ticket to get from Barcelona to Montpellier, but would have to buy my ticket to get from Montpellier to Nice when I arrived in that station. While standing in line to purchase the ticket the attendant told me that the train was "full"...the trains here are always "full", but interestingly enough have MANY empty seats. The complicated part is to find the conductor in the 3 minutes the train is in the station and tell him (in broken French) the situation and that you MUST be on this train and have him agree to print you a reserved ticket before you board the train. If, God forbid, the fates should never meet and you take off in the train and are caught without a ticket, or a promise of one, you can be fined and kicked off the train. Nothing like a little crisis, sleep deprivation and a heavy pack on your back to heighten the language skills. I can now dance the European language samba! Today I've skipped between French, Spanish and English so much that I'm convinced that I could get my point across no matter the country.
It seems difficult to put into words, but today I feel more fortunate than I have in a long time. I'm not quite sure why, but suffice to say that today I became a true international traveller. I began my day early, hunted a hostel directly in front of the train station to give myself as much time as possible to sleep the night before and by chance found myself in a train car with the most attractive man I've seen since I've been here. It's strange how life works with it's twisted humor utilizing hormones to aide in playing out it's dramas and we, as pawns, slaves to our emotions, pick up the play cues and dance the dance. We've all done it, but in this case it was done with eyes, in conversation and at the discovery of separate destinations, futile attempts were made to alter what had already been written: we had now and that was to be enjoyed. What greater a lesson, what sweeter a way in which to be reminded of it.

I just finished two books while sipping my cup of $6 tea...I don't know how much more of this I can afford. Anyway, the first book is "Paris to the Moon" and the second is "The Lost Stradivarius" by Faulkner. Both were good, but the quotes I share with you are from the former.
"Most Americans draw their identities from the things they buy, while the French draw theirs from the things they do. What we think of as French rudeness and what they think of as American arrogance arise from this difference...For us, an elevator operator is only a tourist's way of getting to the top of the Eiffel Tower. For the French, a tourist is only an elevator operator's way opportunity to practice his metier in a suitably impressive setting."

"Loss, like distance, gives permission for romance."

"The hardest thing to convey is how lovely it all is and how that loveliness seems all you need. The ghosts that haunted you in New York or Pittsburgh will haunt you anywhere you go because they are your ghosts and the house they haunt is you. But they become disconcerted, shaken, confused for half a minute and in that moment in a December at four o'clock when you are walking from the bus stop to the Rue Saint Dominique and the lights are twinkling across the river [...] you feel as if you have escaped your ghosts if only because, being you, they are transfixed too looking at the lights in the trees on the other bank which they haven't seen before either."

"Suis-moi je te fuis, fuis-moi je te suis." (Come to me I'll run away, runaway and I'll come to you)

From Spain and skin to Morocco and sobriety...

From Malaga to Algaciris on an unforgettable train ride, then from Algeciris on a ferry to Tangier, Morocco. I'm traveling with 2 girls I met in Spain on holiday from Great Britain and we get along well. Got to Morocco last night late and spent the day walking around the city experiencing the culture. Women walk around covered from head to toe in sweltering, humid heat that has storekeepers seated in the shade. I was fortunate enough to have spoken to another girl at the last hostel who had just come from Morocco and I hadn't realized how close I was to cutting it out of my trip...worse, for really no reason at all other than I was buying into the preconceived ideas about what I though Morocco would be like. I had something along the lines of T.J. with a gypsy vibe and people looking to rip me off at any opportunity. She told me that, and I quote, "Casablanca [Morocco] changed my life." She went on about how kind the people were and how she had thought, before she had gone there, that everyone in Morocco was a thief and that her friends had cautioned her to be careful. I'm so glad I talked with her before I decided to kill of my trip here. Culturally speaking, I prepared accordingly (buying a small ring to wear as a wedding band and brought a balaclava with me to wear), but most important I believe is I chose to be aware, not make stupid choices that put me in compromising situations and above all to give

After discussions with people in the countries I've been to I'm beginning to see a pattern emerge in American behavior and the way in which we are perceived by the rest of the world. With sincerity and honest curiosity they've asked me why it is than whenever you talk to an American it's always "the worst time they've ever had" or "the best place they've ever been to"? False intensity and lack of authenticity is what we are known for. As I move from country to country I've noticed that what I once called my "personal space" (or rather the relinquishing of it as my last creature comfort), is not really caused by a lack of personal space at all. It's actually a lot of people living in a very small space. We have a cultural norm that is unspoken, but agreed upon in America of what I've coined as "timely chaos". We have a schedule that we adhere to and are very attached to its implementation despite what others may have on their agendas. We never intentionally move in a slow fashion to prevent others from accomplishing what they need to do...right? But when someone isn't moving at a rapid pace and it is directly affecting you, you are SURE that they are deliberately standing between you and where you need to be/what you need to get done/success. This is stressful and makes us tightly wound...and this, my friends, is why everyone else in the world smokes, drinks and parties until 6 a.m. and we as Americans still die first. Try being in a hurry in the countries I've been to...actually don't. It doesn't work. You get frustrated...until you're not anymore and you come back to reality and see that NOTHING was changed by your stress/anger/frustration. Eventually, you learn that you're eventually going to get where you need to be whenever that may be, but for now you are where you are, so have a beer/mojito/cappuccino and enjoy the moment because it is the best part of right now:)
I'm currently in Casablanca, considered to be the "economic center of Morocco"...funny. I only think they call it that because it's a little less chaotic than Marrakech and Tanger.
"Spinning is its own reward; there wouldn't be carousels if weren't so."

Sevilla and Malaga

Well, I didn't think it could be done, but Spain has managed to top itself. Up until now, Sevilla was my favorite city of my travels, but Malaga has been able to keep the best part of Spain, (insert siestas and names of drinks here), and add the beach to the whole experience!! The people are friendly and even though most of them don't speak English they will work with you and try to get you what you need. That's another interesting point worth mentioning: they may not speak English, but they have no problem singing along to American music. The best was my cab driver singing along to Blondie after we were forced to draw pictures when the language barrier became such a problem...Ha!! Everywhere I go I hear American music...In a way I think it's sad. Music is such a huge part of culture that to give it up for the likes of Brittany Spears or T-Pain it seems a shame.
I didn't realize I hadn't explained what the drinks were that I was raving about. Caipirinhas are like mojitos, but have lemons as well as limes, without mint and are made with Brazilian sugar cane rum. Tinta de veranos is my recent favorite and literally translated means the "color of summer". It's similar to sangria, but not as sweet and stronger. It's made with iced red wine and a kind of carbonated lemonade...my description doesn't do it justice. I don't know what I'm gonna do with all these new habits when I get home.
I spent the past 4 days in Sevilla and Malaga and I have to say these are my two favorite cities in my travels to date. Although Madrid is a major city in Spain it has the impersonal feel of well, a big city. Sevilla is the fourth largest city in Spain, but hasn't lost it's small town feel. I'm taking well to the siestas in the afternoons. (Any country that can incorporate nap time and getting drunk at lunch into their cultural customs has my vote!) I'm having a blast and thinking of all of you. I miss you and want you to know you are here with me.
I finished "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and cried at the end...great book. I'm now reading "The Great Gatsby":)
My favorite quote from the book...so far:
"It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of reassurance in it that you may come across maybe four or five times in life. It faced, or seemed to face, the whole external world for an instant and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood; believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself and assured you it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey."

Madrid with no voice:(

Having grown up in California I'm comfortable enough with my Spanish to get by. However...in Madrid not only do they speak another language, but they speak it differently than I've ever heard Spanish spoken before. The "sss" sound in words like gracias and Barcelona are pronounced "th", so the words sound like "grathias" and "Barthelona". Fortunately I was prepared for it, but it still takes some getting used to.
Between opening their shops late (usually around 11am) and taking a siesta in the afternoon from around 2-5pm, it's hard to imagine that, on average, the people of Spain get an hour less of sleep than any other European country, but trust me on this one.
Today is my last day here in Madrid and aside from a few delays with the trains, (which I now account for in my estimations of travel time), my arrival was without incident. The greatest adjustment has been from the crisp chill of France's 60F to the body draining humidity of Madrid's 106F! Still trying to figure out what is going on, my body shut down and I've gotten sick...these things happen and I suppose it's all part of the experience right? Either way it got me to stop and take in what is going on around me rather than running from museum to historical sight like I've been doing in the cities up until this point. If it wasn't me getting sick that slowed me down, it would have been the heat.
I've been able to meet more people and to catch up on some of the audio books I've been wanting to read. Currently, I'm reading "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and feel like I'm still experiencing the country/city because the book takes place in Madrid. I've included my favorite quote so far below. I'm sorry this entry will be brief because I'm really not feeling very well.

"And for her everything was red, orange, gold-red from the sun on the closed eyes and it was all that color, all of it. The filling, the possessing, the having, all of that color, all in a blindness of that color. For him it was a dark passage that led to no where, then to no where, then again to no where, once again to no where, always and forever to no where. Heavy on the elbows on the earth to no where. Dark, never any end to no where. Hung on all time always to unknowing no where. This time and again for always to no where. Now, not to be born once again, always and to no where. Now beyond all, bearing up, up, up and into no where. Suddenly, scaldingly, holdingly all no where gone and time absolutely still and they were both there, time having stopped. And he felt the earth move out and away from under them. Then he was lying on his side, his head deep in the heather smelling it and the smell of the roots and the earth and the sun came through it..." For Whom the Bell Tolls

Oostende, the train and Bordeaux

Things I will never take for granted again:
Non-smoking restaurants/bars/clubs
Gum-my kingdom for a piece of gum
English being spoken freely and without stigma
Elevators
Free toilets
Deodorant!!!!
Breakfast
Moderately sized sea gulls

Things I think we should adopt from the Europeans:
PDA
Husbands and wives that hold hands
Sunsets at 10pm
escalators that are still until you step on them
Chocolate that melts in your fingers and tastes like sin
Sincerity
Flowers for the sake of beauty
Affordable flowers
Mojitos made with real mint leaves and limes
Meals that are enjoyed and last over an hour
Leave it to me to find the LA Jolla of Europe! Oostende is very resort-ish with it's sandy beaches, boardwalk and ginormous sea gulls. I've gotta tell you, I was really looking forward to this place... It's a good thing too because I'm here an extra day due to the train being full. I've had a love-hate relationship with the train system since I got here. With the global pass I have you are supposed to be able to travel unlimited to 21 different countries in Eastern and Western Europe for 3 months without a problem. For this "convienice" you pay a hefty sum for the pass, but they failed to mention that there are additional reservation fees, couchette/overnight fees and fees for fast trains. In the pecking order of priorities, apparently, a place to sleep falls second to transportation to the location. I was supposed to be in Bordeaux this afternoon, but because of lack of train service and electrical problems I'm now booked at two different hostels for tonight...I'm on vacation, traveling and as much as I may complain about the inconvience, I'm not really put out except for a few euro as a deposit, but I wonder what the locals who depend on these trains as their primary mode of transportation do when the train just doesn't show up. What do they tell their bosses, their family/friends? It's quite a shift from the metro system of London or Paris that even I can navigate. That's another thing-no out of country booking! So because I'm going from Oostede (Belgium) to Bordeaux (France) I can book here, except the train is full and they said I should have booked ahead. So I decided to book ahead for the NEXT leg of my trip, from Bordeaux to Madrid, but because it's not a TGV train they can't do it...geez. When I explained the circular argument to the woman booking the trains she laughed because it's hard to deny the ridiculousness of it. She then asked if she could give me a piece of advise: she said to relax, that I'll get there and I'll have fun doing it because I look like the "adventurous type". (Lack of showers will make anyone look adventurous...Ha!) She is right though. Part of this trip is to distinguish what I have control over and what I don't. I'm here in Oostende, on the beach, drinking mojjitos for another day...what better place to be than here?? :)
Arrived in Bordeaux last night at midnight and got some rest. I met two girls in my room, one from France and one from Russia. Elsa, the one from France, is on her way to Barcelona right now after we had coffee and talked politics. (I've missed conversation!!) I'm going to meet her in Barcelona on the 7th of July when I'll be going to Spain. Natasha, the Russian girl and I are meeting in about 20 minutes at the Place de la Bourse for lunch. She and I talked in the dark last night about educaion and business while laying in our bunk beds. I'm finding traveling is one part summer camp and one part fear factor...
On the train ride here I listened to the audio book "Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe" by Bill Bryson and my fellow drivers must have thought I was a lunatic because I was laughing out loud at some of the stories he was sharing about. He wrote (or dictated from his book in this case) something that seemed to capture in words the experience of traveling this way.

"I love the idea that you can never be sure of anything in Europe...but that's the glory of foreign travel as far as I'm concerned. I can't think of anything that excites a greater sense of child-like wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly, you are five years old again. You can't read anything, you have only the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can't even reliably cross the street without endangering your life. You whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses."