Overnight trains DO suck

The bed was tiny, it was hot, the train kept jerking back and forth whenever we stopped and we got woken up twice for passport checks. Needless to say I was very tired when we got to Budapest. Luckily though a record heat wave was just beginning which made me feel great. It may have been hot, but at least the hostel didn't have any fans or A/C. Good times. Budapest itself is beautiful. Did a walking tour which, reluctant as I was to learn anything in such heat, was very interesting. They have a lot of cool outdoors bars and clubs too. When it was too hot to walk around, we went to a water park which was a blast.
The train to Vienna was also pretty rough with the A/C cutting out very early into the ride...and the windows were all locked. What's up with that?
Vienna was really nice. Went to a very cool museum called the Haus der muzik (house of music) which had interesting exhibits on the big Austrian composers and then more interactive stuff dealing with the physics of music and how we perceive sounds. One room mimmicked what it was like to be in the womb, what it would have sounded like anyway...there was no amneotic fluid. Another part let you virtually conduct an orchestra with a remote control baton. If you went to fast or slow, they got upset and started yelling at you. I think they need to calibrate the thing a little better.
Met a local in Vienna who took me to this cool nature preserve 30 mins outside of the city. which was a great way to beat the heat.
From Vienna I headed to Salzburg, home of the Sound of Music. The city is stunning...no surprise they used it so much in the film. After watching the daily screening of the movie at my hostel I actually went on the Sound of Music tour which was a bit cheesy, but fun. Saw all the big spots.
Went out that night (it was a Monday) and the nightlife was surprisingly good. Felt terrible the next day, and even though it was raining, decided to go to the world largest ice caves. Helpful hint, don't stand in the rain for an hour before going into an ice cave. If you do go...bring lots of warm stuff...like gloves, hat and scarf. I was a little unprepared...but not as much as my aussie friend who wore flip flops. He couldn't even go in it was so cold.
Got to Munich yesterday which is also a beautiful place and decided to lie out in the big park by the river. This happens to be the spot were the Germans like to sunbathe naked. Definitely the old men anyway. Didn't see too many fraulines. Oh well. Off to do a bike tour of the city now and maybe a beer garden pub crawl tonight. I think Innsbruck will be my next stop after this. Adios.

Post Prague

After the Czech Republic I took a very long and fairly uncomfortable train ride to Krakow which I really enjoyed. Much more laid back than Prague and just as beautiful in my opinion. Plus, the people I interacted with were much nicer, to me anyways. Perhaps the waiters and such in Prague were less than friendly from dealing with hundreds of tourists each day. That being said, they did chose jobs that put them in that position.
My first day in Krakow I went to Auschwitz which was very intense. Definitely not an enjoyable excursion but necessary. Afterwards my friend Aaron sent me this article http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/12/world/europe/12krakow.html?ex=1184990400&en=7affd2b7da037b54&ei=5070&emc=eta1
which brightened my mood some.
Next day I walked around the main square, Wawel Castle and the old Jewish district. All very nice. The nightlife is great too with tons of cool subterranean bars and clubs.
Tonight I take an overnight train to Budapest. It will probably suck, but hey, it's an adventure.
Over and out.

Brief Update

After Amsterdam I hopped on a train for Berlin. Should have been a straight shot but because of "problems with the engine" (aka German conductors were on strike) we had to switch trains a few times. Not all bad as I met some cool people in the process.
Berlin was great. Tons of interesting architecture, museums and the nightlife was excellent. Went to a sand sculpture exhibit which was very cool and did a pub crawl at night which was a blast. One bar we went to was 7 stories, had graffiti everywhere with art galleries on the top floors.
From Berlin went to Dresden which was a nice mix of old (beautiful castle) and new (trendy shops and cool bars). Saw a Chilean band, Chico Trujillo, which brought back good memories of my time in Chile.
Now I'm in Prague which is very beautiful. Too bad there are SO many tourists and the weather is rainy. Oh well. From here it's off to Krakow, Budapest or Vienna. Not sure yet.

Too much to post

So I'm obviously not doing a good job of keeping up to date with my travels on the blog. Not sure if anyone reads it anyway...but here are some highlights. Post a comment if you do.
Norway: There are tons of trampolines in Norway. I mean, I saw them everywhere. I think that's how they deal wth the depressing long winters. Also, tons of people wear UCLA clothing in Norway and Sweden. Not sure why.
Sweden: Went to a big DJ competition. Lots of fun. Celebrated mid-summer (huge celebration in Scandinavia) in Halmstad with some friends I met in Costa Rica. Lots of drinking.
Copenhagen: Took a canal tour, very nice, and rode the rides at Tivoli, a really old amusement park.
Hamburg: The weather was windy and rainy but met some cool people in my hostel and we went to some very interesting art and photo galleries. I also met this girl who is a modern dancer. She was my first real model (I'm trying to find a good place to upload photos) and that night I went to her dance performance. They had 9 huge shipping boxes stacked on top of each other Hollywood Squares style, with a different dancer in each one. The show was great though I didn't reall understand the German.
Nijmegen: (Holland) Met up with the Dutch Dental students who I met in Norway and went to their dental school party. Lots of fun followed by drunk bike riding home.
Amsterdam: Really beautiful city. Sensory Overload. Red light district is surreal. When I walked into my hostel room at 5pm some people were taking a nap. One guy asked me what time it was, so I told him. Just then someone else asked, "What day is it?" - I think that neatly summarizes Amsterdam. After 3 nights I was definitely ready to move on to Berlin. Seems really nice but it's cold and rainy. Guess I'll be hitting the museums today.
Until next time...