Now Thats A First

I went to Brussles to see a good friend from that I played rugby with in the US and his wife who moved there a few months ago for work. I left Paris for Brussels around eleven in the morning on the speed train expecting to arrive an hour and a half later. the weather was kinda nasty but nothing too extreme, a little rain and a little wind. around me sat 2 other backpackers, one from the UK and another from Argentina. Two really sweet girls that i hit it off with very quickly. about 30 minutes away from our destination the train started to slow and came to a halt in the middle of the track with an anouncment that came in four languages stating that the train had stopped... odviously... and that we had a delay of 30 minutes.... no big deal, if everything on my trip went to plan i wouldnt have had nearly as much fun as i am having. but 30 minutes passed and another anouncment came on saying the delay was closer to 2 hours.... nice. then all one of the train opperaters walked through the train speaking in very fast french and everyone seemed pretty angry all of a sudden and we were frantically looking for some to translate what was happening. so through three people we finally got the message that the train had been cancled due to flooding on the tracks and we would have to get off at the next station and take busses into brussels. well we get to the next station and there are no busses but we must go to another terminal and get on city trains one stop and a train there would take us the rest of the way. so one stop later we had 2 more companions, a guy from Chicago and a guy from Amsterdam. so now 5 strong we get off only to be caught in mass confusion in too many different languages to get any information... As we looked for someone to ask what was going on a sweet looking girl came over to us and asked if we were trying to get to brussels, we frantically said yes and she said we must get back on the train and go for a few more stops. now six people strong we got back on the train and found nice seats to take the 30 minute train to another city so that we could finally make it to brussels. we all started to talk and found out that our new companion was a north carolina girl from hikory and that we actually knew some of the same people... small world, i know. so we finally made it to the correct stop and caught the correct train to brussels, our one and a half hour journey turned into 5 hours but in the process we gained a lot more friends and once i found my way in brussels i met up with two of the train crew and we saw all the sights together... that was a first for me. But getting into brussels my friend Va'a and his wife Shinobu picked me up from the train station and with a great sigh of relief i sat in there car happy to not worry where i was or if i was ever going to make it to my destination. for the next few days i saw the beautiful sights of brussels with Va'a, his wife, and my new friends from the train, i tried alot of the belgium specialties including chocolate, beer, waffels, fries, and mussels. I also had the privalege to go to rugby practice in brussels and get smashed by some really great guys that really know their rugby. As the week came to a close we decided to go to Bruges for a day and saw the belfry, alot of the great shops, and the same places that are in the colin ferrel movie "In Bruges".
Early on friday morning i jumped back on the train and headed back to Berlin to hang out with the great friends ive made there. so far weve all been out to the bar together, made nice dinners together, and went dancing together. This past weekend we decided we wanted to go to the hottest club in Berlin called Berghain but saturday night we were just too tired so like any normal people would do we thought it would be perfect to get up on sunday morning and go to the club... at 7:30 in the morning... so we did... we got up at 7:30, got ready, had screwdrivers for breakfast and got to the club around 10 to a pounding beat that you could feel from outside and people actually in line... i knew this was gonna be fun. we got to the door and the bouncers looked at us and he was actually contemplaititng not letting us in.... on a sunday morning.... but we made it in and  started with a few energy drinks to wake us up and began dancing for the next 8 hours to some pounding electro. i saw things i hope to never see again in that place, guys in bondage outfits, girls with shaved heads, and too many other things that im trying to force from my brain. but it was an amazing time and ill never forget it.

Definately a few firsts and i hope a few more soon

My French Connection

My good friend from the rugby team in Switzerland came to me a few weeks ago and asked me if i wanted to go to Paris, i said of course and he found me a place to stay with a friend of his that lives and studies in Paris. I was emersed in culture, history, art and much more. I had 4 great friends that showed me the city with great knowledge of its inner workings and history. I saw priceless works of art from Van Gough and Monet, the wonder that is the Eifel Tower, the Arc de Triumph, and countless other priceless and beautiful pieces of art and history. This city is is a beehive of activity and movement, similar to New York with its tourists and busy nature. The friends that showed me the city were two friends from the rugby team and their girlfriends so i was playing the role of the fifth wheel pretty well which they didnt seem to mind and were quite willing to have me tag along. I walked the city for five to ten hours a day and loved every second of it. seeing the shops with things too expensive to buy, the cafè's too expensive to eat in, and the sights too expensive to experience i found it all very charming and didnt mind one bit not having the money. This trip has taught me that there are things better in life than what can be bought with money and that I cannot live for work but rather work to live so that i can experience life to the fullest and take in all of its wonders, because without life, life is not worth living. I worry sometimes what i will do when i get home but then i see the friends ive made here and remember my friends at home, I dont worry anymore because i know that i will never want for anything as long as my friends and family are at my side. One thing i have thought of alot in Paris is what i value and what i will take from this experience, ive decided that i have a passion for passion. what better place to come to this realization than in Paris, the city of love. I thought of my friends and family and what i see in them that attracts me and i came to see that they all have one thing in common, Passion. Passion for life, work, sport, learning, and countless other facets of living. If anyone knows me they know that i am a passionate person and live with happiness and excitement. sure there are parts of life that are less than desireable but as the saying goes, 'this to shall pass'. I am a firm believer in the power of a smile and I think that others pull energy and happiness from the energy and happiness of a smile so even when things get hard or are not so fun I always try to smile so that others can see in me that there will always be better times ahead and more smiles to come.

Brussles on Sunday...

Hopefully more break throughs and a few more beers

I Eat, I Drink, I Berlin

Berlin, the City, the State, the home of stark division, terrible war crimes, unspeakable horrors of the past and now the land of reunification, rebuilding, litterally and figuratevly, and some of the best times ive had in my entire life. The party never stops here in Berlin and i too have a hard time slowing down. Worth every penny, every second of lost sleep, every ounce of my energy, this place is amazing. Seeing the unforgetable sites and sounds of this place i was truely blown away by its people. Acceptance and excitment exudes from every corner, the people come out in their strange clothes, different backgrounds and languages, and their interesting lifestyle choices to make this place what it is. Berlin. i may have heard "Thats Berlin" 100 times but thats all you can say about this place... Thats Berlin. I arrived to meet a friend of a friend at the train station after a full 12 hours of train travel and proceded to make it back to her place in time to crash like a ton of bricks and sleep like a baby. the next day it was a free walking tour by a guy from Atlanta, GA which was awesome and yes i said free. He worked souley on tips and was very informed of the history and the fun tings to do in the city. afterwards me and my Berliner, (her name is Norina and is super sweet) went to a few other places not on the tour and met up with some friends and proceeded to get completely wasted, get denied from a trendy night club, get lost in east Berlin, find my way back to my group and finally get to sleep around 8 in the morning which i call an epic night in anyones book. The next day we proceeded to coordinate a massive taco night with new friends we met the night before and old friends of Norinas. Epic success if i say so myself... introducing Germans to Tacos was the highlight of the day. then some friends came in from Switzerland for some more siteseeing and some more touristy photos... cause im a tourist... and a nice sushi dinner at a really cheap but really good sushi place. the next day, a walk in the park and some of the best fast food from two of the really famous street vendors, Curry 36 and Mustafa Kebap, Amazing. And then a huge dinner with a shnitzel the size of my head. And all of this with a few drinks and a few more friends, im happy, alive, full, kinda drunk, and enjoying every second of Berlin.Im sure im forgetting alot of the action but as i said... "Thats Berlin"

Paris next week...

Hopefully more of the same...