Back in the Swing of things

I am now back in the swing of life after a wonderful trip to Berlin.  I am happy to say I am still alive and well.  My second date never did happen because she had to go visit her friend in the hospital the next night.  I am relieved that we have talked since then and she says that her friend is okay.

In Berlin I saw tons of stuff.  I travelled with Tove, Gustov (contact adults) and their 3 daughters and boyfriends of those daughters.  It was very fun and we relaxed and soaked up the wonderful sun, which we still do not get in Denmark.

In the picture above you see me with the just a few of the folks we hung out with.  Danish people will never change...
We did do our fair share of tourism.  We walked everywhere all over Berlin.  This is me at checkpoint charlie and it cost 2 euros to get my picture with these two random strangers, but I guess it was worth it.  Unfortunately Gustov is not the best photographer and most the photos of me are full body and really far away looking.
Artists at work.  I think this really represents Berlin and Europe really well.  In Europe is where the first real graffiti started with throw ups.  I am pretty sure this was legal though as he was pretty well set up and it was day time.  You can find graffiti all over Berlin.
These are the gates in Berlin and there are two sides.  At these gates there were lots of big concerts,  two while we were there.  I think it represents Berlin because there are these types of statues everywhere.
This statue was given from Denmark to Berlin... I think.  I should look that up I guess.

Well, in a way of saying it, I had a really good time in Berlin and would recommend Berlin over Amsterdam any day of the week.  There is no way you could see it all in even a month.  There is way way too much to see.  I have another 200 pictures and movies of this trip.

Randomness to report

I am currently in Berlin, but because I have not downloaded the pictures to my computer yet I will not write about Berlin really.  What I will write about however is a girl I met in Berlin.  Ah, yes, a very kind red head.  We stayed up, not by choice really, until 4:30am sitting by the river and drinking some drinks.  The reason we stayed up so late was because trains stop running at about 2 and start again at 4:30, so we missed the last train, but it is not such a bad thing.  We walked from the river back to my house and we stayed there until the train would come.

The lesson I learned from this, not all blind dates are bad.  Plus I will have good stories to tell of the german that I went on a date with in Berlin :)  Nothing spectacular happened, but it was very nice.

You know a date went well when you hug at the train station before she leaves while saying that you will see each other again soon.  Then walk away with a huge grin on your face.  Then before falling asleep that night writing an email to her letting her know that it was a good night and all.  Truly it was very relaxing :) I will see her again.

Amsterdam

Early this year I decided that there was no way I should go home without first partying in Amsterdam for a while.  Plans fell through many times, but alas, I knew I would eventually make it.  I travelled with my oldest host brother, Ivan.

I travelled by train for about 13 hours, starting the journey around 8pm, and luckily getting a nice ca

bin in the train to sleep in.  Six people sleep in each cabin so space is cramped.  I was very very sore upon wakening and actually throughout the whole trip my arms were hurting really badly.  But we got there ok, without getting lost, and found ourselves a nice little hotel.

This is what our street looked like.  In both directions there where numorus shops with all types of colorful items inside :S  Also there were lots of cheap restaurants and coffee shops (the Dutch type)  all around.  It was really an experience that I don't think I will soon forget.  This picture was taken out of our window.

We did many things in Amsterdam during our short 3 day trip.  This included seeing the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank house.  We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe and took many boat rides through the canals.  

Overall the trip was a success and nobody was killed nor injured except for my leg which took a beating from the paddle boat that we rented.  Not much of a story behind that.  If you guys have any questions please feel free to write a comment.  I know that I have not posted in a long time.  I will post again soon.