The Islands of Greece

Alright everyone, since you've last heard from me, I've been running around some Greek islands. Relaxing on beaches,



and going on Bike trips on Naxos (yeah, I stole Jamie's signature bike photo, sue me).




Checking out cool views,



and beautiful sunsets on Santorini.



And visiting ancient ruins on Crete.



All told, Greek islands are sweet, and September is prime visiting time: hotels are cheaper, there are WAY less people, and the weather is gorgeous. Tomorrow, I'm doing an epic hike through some massive gorge, and then it's back to mainland Greece for some more ruinific sightseeing.

Bye for now, my loyal followers.

Those pictures have come

Alight, so just so you all know, I spent an afternoon on Bologna, a really hip University town, with miles upon miles of covered shopping streets. I also happened to be in town during their Jazz Festival, so I got to kill a few hours listening to some pretty decent bands play.



Here is a picture of Bologna's two (severly) leaning towers (eat your heart out, Pisa).

From there, I went to Brindisi (you can see a really cool war memorial in the distance),



and boarded my ferry (that's a really big boat to you Albertans) to the land of Greece.

In Athens, I got this pass (for a mere 6 euros, thank you student ID) that let me into all the major archeological sites around Athens, including (but not limited to): the Ancient Agora, the Roman Agora, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, and, of course, the Acropolis. Some essential Athens pictures include:

The Acropolis



A huge temple on the Acroplis

The Temple of the Olympian Zeus (or what's left of it)



A turtle I found amongst some ruins.

A really epic random building



An old temple in the Ancient Agora

Today I spent almost entirely at the National Archeological Museum (which was really well done) and I got my ferry ticket to the Greek Islands. I depart tomorrow morning to the island of Naxos. Since I don't know how widely available internet is out there, you may not hear from me for a few days. Don't worry, I'll get back in one piece. For now, I'm off to find some eats.

Athens

Alright, so I just want to let you all know that after a ferry trip, and three train rides, I've finally arrived in Athens, safe and sound.

This city is pretty cool (I'll get out some pictures later), it's a little packed, but the Acropolis was worth the trip. It's pretty neat seeing random old ruins all over the place, and many of hem are just massive things. Pictures to come, I promise.

From Mountains to Lagoons

Hello all, since my last post I visited sunny Innsbruck. Turns out, it was raining, cold and miserable, so I didn't hang around too long. Instead I caught a train to Lucerne, a pretty little mountain town right on a lake.

After one night there, I headed further into the Alps, to the small Hamlet of Gimmelwald. There's really nothing in the town itself except for a myriad of hiking trails, and quite a few mountain cows. I spent a couple of days there, hiking around the area and having a blast in the hostel. I met a couple of girls from Seattle, a guy from Kansas City and a bunch of folks from Australia. Good times were had by all.

Yesterday, I caught a train into Venice, where you can find me now. It's a pretty city, and it's neat how they do everything with boats, but I wouldn't want to spend more than a couple of days here: there's really not a whole lot to do, and my hostel isn't too great.

Anyway, tomorrow I start my long journey to Greece, so I'm not sure when you'll hear from me next. I hope you're all doing all right and not having too much fun without me.

The much anticipated photo update

Alright, so you"ve all been waiting for it and here it is: pictures of Vienna, Buda, Croatia, Salzburg and Munich. Since I can only upload so much, there won"t be a LOT of photos, but you should get the idea.

Anyway, let"s start with Vienna:

And now, on to Budapest:

And beautiful Croaita:



Our favourite swimming hole

The old town of Dubrovnik



Cliff Jumping (I know the picture is sideways, but I can"t rotate it just now)

Although we only spent an evening there, Salzburg was quite nice. Lots of cool old buildings and a huge castle perched way up high on a hilltop. What really made it cool, though, was this improved choir concert we witnessed. Adam and I were just wandering around when this group of kids just up and start singing. They were very good, and the accoustics in the plaza we were in were excellent. Just a really cool experience.

We also spent a day in Berchestgarden, the location of Hitler"s Eagle"s Nest. The trip up was stunning: you get on this bus bus which gets onto this narrow, one-lane road, with sheer cliff face on either side of you. The views are fantastic.

Once at the top, you get onto a 124m elevator which brings you straight into the Eagle"s Nest proper. From there, Adam and I went on a bit of a hike for some more spectacular views.

Afterwards, we went for a dip in the beautiful alpine lake of Konigssee. It was beautiful, and the water wasn"t even that bad. Plus, we were two of only a handful of people on the whole lake, talk about serene.



A rare picture of me

On to Munich. Munich is a cool city, and I mean that literally: it"s been freezing ever since I got here. Still, the museums here are outstanding, and I went on the New Munich Tour, which was VERY well done. Here are a couple of cool buildings.

Adam and I spent a whole day at the Deutches Museum, which focuses on technology and science. Here is just one example of hundreds of cool things we saw there. As you can see, the plane is all cut away, as is everything in this museum. It"s neat, because you can actually see how everything works. Plus, a lot of the stuff actually does work, and if you"re in the right place at the right time, you can see them run it.



We followed this up with some 1 liter beers at the world famous Haufbrauhaus.

Last night, Adam left on the night train to Paris, trying to make his way to Manchester. There was apparently a fire in the Chunnel last night, and it"s closed until Monday, so let"s hope he finds some other way back to the island in time for his flight.

Today, I hit up a couple of museums: one about Puppets, Walt Disney and the hisotry of Munich, the other about Architecture, Design anf Modern Art. Both were very well done. Probably the coolest things I saw, though, was this (sideways picture, I know) carnival game called "Smash Hitler", and this really sleek Mercedes Benz.

Until next time, take care, all you folks back home.