Blog Log: The Carolinas (Part III)

Raleigh (12/31/12)

After some drama about who would make the effort to get out to the Richardses' for New Years (see photo below) we descended on their humble home in time for dinner and the putting of the children to bed/floor.  The latter was trickier than might be expected as various social norms were breached in our children's minds--namely, Rose learning that night that little children do indeed sleep on beds, and Rae learning (probably scared out of her mind by a Rose sneeze or a sniffle or something) that little children sometimes sleep in the same room as you--sometimes on the floor.  Another difficulty later arose when we heard some rapid-fire stomps on the carpet from the floor above and soon learned that Wally, in need of some nighttime potty relief and unsure of its whereabouts took to lying on his back and pounding his feet on the floor.  Luckily that crisis was averted.

The Lamberts' waffling and the Lewises' dedication to their bloodline had them both in the doghouse.

So with the kids soundly asleep we all sat down to some food (once again graciously provided by the Richards) and good company.  The menu was a Martha Stewart grilled cheese sandwich bar, chips and dips, fizzy drinks (along with a bevy of familiar sounding sodas with the unfortunate appellation of "zero"), and an assortment of macaroons from a Charleston confectionery.  During dinner we shared some of our experiences in Charleston, and the Richardses (recently returned from a trip there of their own) joined in with some of their own experiences.  Then we started to rekindle an old contest that stems from Emily's and my one-upsmanship of our various travels abroad.  We would share a factoid about Charleston, and then the Richards would share one.  And then we and then they, and so on, with the factoids gradually becoming more obscure, and neither couple willing to let the other have the last contribution to the discussion.  All the while the Lamberts looking more and more likely to go take a pre-midnight power-nap while we finished our silly game.

Dinner behind us, we made our way to the living room and the evening took a nostalgic turn when Todd (not known to be at all sentimental) surprised us all by producing a college memory book (with a slight nod to Paul and Verlan) and a childhood memory book (with a slight nod to me).  (I think Emily must have put these books together.)  We had a good laugh looking through the Paul/Todd homoerotic years and reminiscing about such college staples as the 'Blind Date' TV show--Paul and Todd were impressed that I could remember the theme song (the catchy bass line); the ladies were not.  Then we took a look at some pictures of Todd and me as kids which were funny for several reasons, but the unexpected reason was because I seemed to have my shirt off in over half the pictures--I have no memory of my exhibitionist phase.

Then we watched some YouTube clips before taking a break to enjoy some delicious egg nog--of which everyone partook, even if only through a 5/95 nog/milk ratio (Joelle).  Then we realized we only had about 40 seconds left (according to Ryan Seacrest Eastern standard time) to crack open the Martinelli's and pour 6 glasses.  Luckily we made it in time and were able to celebrate with Ryan, Bobby Brown, and Gangham Style right there in the living room with us.

What would New Year's Eve be without you, Ryan

Soon after, we all went to bed but in our case were awoken by a crying child at 5:00am so we decided to just dart like thieves in the night and get a head start on our drive back home.  We silently crept through the house and left only memories... and a blanket and a stuffed animal.

Appendix

YouTube clips:
DEA Agent Shoots Foot
Pinky the Cat
Boston Fan Bon Jovi

Blog Log: The Carolinas (Part II)

Charleston (12/29/12 - 12/31/12)

We arrived in time to take a quick stroll in the beautiful White Point Garden park (pretty cold and windy unfortunately) before heading off to beat the evening crowd for dinner at Glass Onion ($$; *****).  We then made our way to our hotel at the centrally located Comfort Inn ($80/night thanks to Priceline).

The next morning we went to church before brunching at the popular (1-hr long wait) Hominy Grill ($$; ****) where we had shrimp & grits, biscuits & gravy, eggs & cheese, fresh-squeezed orange juice, and ginger nut bread.  Then we spent the whole afternoon in the Boone Hall Plantation which was actually very cool, though a little hard to manage--what with the cold winds and our youngsters in tow--touring through antique houses and such.  The plantation was actually the site of the recent blessed union between Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, and is also home to the famous spot where the hunky Ryan Gosling jumped into the river on 'The Notebook'.

The famous Oak Avenue with 88 oak trees lining the entryway to the mansion.

That evening we got a bunch of sides to takeout from Barbara Jean's ($; ***) and ate it at our hotel.  The patrons at the takeout bar were eager to make small talk with me and demonstrate how silly & drunk they were.  I responded by acting nice and courteous.  They probably laughed at my foreignness once I left.

The following morning--our last day in Charleston--we hopped on a carriage to be treated to a 1-hour tour by mule of one of three randomly selected (to avoid carriage congestion in the small streets) routes of the city.  We got lucky by getting the "waterfront" route, where we got to see such things as a dueling alley (where Andrew Jackson was known to get into trouble), some fascinating home architecture [$1- to $10-million homes with such features as ornate piazzas (or porches), pastel stucco facades (to conceal the stigmatized brick construction), and manual cranks used to restore toppled walls after an earthquake], some historic churches, and original cannonballs from the civil war siege.

Then we grabbed lunch at Husk ($$$; ****), which was delicious. I can't say enough about the ease of finding a good, decently priced, Southern restaurant in Charleston.

Before our afternoon departure we made sure to stop in at the Calhoun mansion--an impressive 24,000 sf mansion we had taken note of during our carriage tour.  This place was incredible, and lavishly decorated with original artwork galore.  But, unfortunately, I only got to see the front room of the place because as the tour guide was in the middle of his presentation Eli started crying and then Rae kept repeating that she wanted a drink, and the tour guide had had enough and he asked his assistant to return my ticket stubs to me and demanded that I choose the child that I wanted to escort out of the tour and get my refund at the ticket counter.  I grabbed Rae and headed for the exit and said "thank you" (I have no idea why) on my way out.

Two Meeting Street.  This house was a wedding present from the owner of the Calhoun Mansion just down the street. 

Then we grabbed some little trinkets and desserts before departing "The Holy City" and heading back to Raleigh for a New Year's Eve celebration.

Blog Log: The Carolinas (Part I)

In the spirit of the Cross-Country Blog Log of Jan-2008 (http://twainfectas.blogspot.com/2008_01_01_archive.html) I am taking this opportunity to log the events of the recent (and mostly impromptu) trip that took us to North and South Carolina for the 2012/2013 New Years break.

Raleigh (12/28/12)
With Val heading to the Seven Corners Cafe Rio to pick up the Richardses' order [Two steak salads, no beans, extra rice three ranch dressings (1 extra)] and me watching Rae and baby Eli at the park [tasked with achieving the delicate balance of exhaustion for the one and tranquility (through the use of striclty mandated constant stroller motion] for the other], we rendezvoused at 2:15pm and set off for the 4-hour drive to Raleigh.  We had hoped that this early workday departure would allow us to just cruise down I-95 S, but quickly came to find that demand for Raleigh sleepovers must peak around this time of year, and we were delayed by a full 2 hours--even in the HOV lane.  

Rejuvenated by a bag of Munchies (which has replaced Chili Cheese Fritos as my new road-trip go-to) and a bottle of Cherry Coke we pressed on and arrived at the Richardses in Raleigh at about 8:15pm.  We all enjoyed some only slightly stale Cafe Rio--with Todd subbing in for Patty circa 1994 and scolding me for only eating about half of my salad--and followed it up by watching some 'Comedians Getting Coffee [sic]' and enjoying some Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream--a staple of the Todd and Pace late 80's / early 90's diet.

Currently ranked #1

I'll also add that the group thought it was funny that, during our short stay, I played the role of Todd by causing Rae to get splattered directly in the eye by a spicy salsa take-out container mishandle, and later, by toppling over their son Parker's favorite snowglobe; which, in my defense, was perilously perched atop a small pile of night-time kids books.  When I came downstairs to fess up to the latter Todd and Emily didn't grasp the extent of the breakage of the snowglobe; believing that when I said "broken," I meant that it didn't properly wind or something.  I ashamedly clarified that it was "really broken", and again, "like, the glass is destroyed and the liquid stuff is on the carpet."

After an excellent night's sleep on their state-of-the-art blow-up mattress we awoke to celebrate Emily's birthday by eating the Panera spread that Todd put out for everyone and by taking turns enjoying Todd's recent wiring of a blue-tooth operated shower stereo system.  Then we made for Charleston...

An Ode to Lake Powell

Now that I have lived on the East coast for the past 3.5 years or so I'm better able to step back from a lot of the things I used to do/eat/not do/not eat/etc and reassess how cool/uncool they are/were.

Lake Powell is one thing that I can clearly categorize as cool.  Not that I didn't already know that, but that classification has been solidified now that I juxtapose it with some of the dinky and crowded lakes and parks on this side of the country.

They just don't look like this in the East

Some of the landscapes and mountains out West are majestic, expansive, and awe-inspiring in a way that other parts of the world simply are not.  After we landed in PHX, the next morning we made the 4- to 5-hr drive to the lake to launch the houseboat and ski boat.  We happened to have checked out a book on CD from the library and the book was 'No Country For Old Men'.  It turned out to be perfect material for my drive across the desert.  As the narrator painted a picture of the scene with words like bajada and caldera and brush I didn't have to use my imagination much to envision it--I was already there.  It became very apparent to me why you have authors like McCarthy and Stegner who were so inspired by the scenery that they incorporated it heavily into their writing.

Even the drive up there is nice

The basic outline of these trips is we get a houseboat and we drive it up the lake 20 miles or so and scout out a nice beach where we can tie down anchors.  Then you stay put for a week or so and you take out your ski boat several times a day for waterskiing, wakeboarding, wake surfing, tubing.  You also take a trip or two up the lake to explore the canyons, swim, cliff dive, fill up on gas.  Back at the houseboat you do your meals and you can watch movies, play guitar, canoe, have dance parties, etc.  If you don't have fun then there's something wrong with you.

Our camp at dusk

Here are some fun factoids about the lake:

• Lake Powell has over 2,000 miles of shoreline which is more than the combined states on the Pacific Coast. It is 400 feet deep, 186 miles long and has a water storage capacity of 27,000,000 acre feet of water.
• Over 3,000,000 people visit Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon National Recreation area every year. The average length of stay of 4.5 days is the longest stay of any federal park.
• Lake Powell was formed when the Glen Canyon Dam was completed on the Colorado River in 1963. Lake Powell took 17 years to reach "full pool" in 1980.
• Glen Canyon Dam provides essential water storage and electric power to small rural electric co-ops, Native American reservations and towns throughout Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico.  The power plant has eight generators with a combined capacity of close to 1.3 million kilowatts.
• Lake Powell was named in honor of Civil War veteran John Wesley Powell who led an expedition in wooden boats down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon in 1869.
• Rainbow Bridge, the largest natural bridge on earth, is the most famous site on Lake Powell. 

   

Spain & Spore

The Mrs. and I recently returned from a tricontinental adventure whose official itinerary looked something like this: DC, Phoenix, DC, Heathrow, Gatwick, Malaga, Gatwick, Heathrow, Singapore, Frankfurt, Chicago, DC. Fortunately, many of those plane rides were spent sprawled out across 3, sometimes 5, seats, and one leg in first class, and two legs aboard Singapore Air where you can watch dozens of current on-demand movies and enjoy several other travel perks, like a cup holder that is attached to the bottom of the pull-down tray so you don't need to pull down the whole tray to access it.

We arrived in Spain on Monday after the wedding in Arizona. Our home base was in Benalmadena (near Malaga) and from there we would venture out to the nearby cities and destinations in our bright orange Kia Picanto rental car. We spent one day in Malaga, one day in Granada, one day in Tarifa, and two days in Sevilla.

The Alhambra in Granada was quite spectacular. It was a Moorish castle conquered by the Spaniards in 1492 and retooled as a Catholic site. The Moores were very anti-ostentatious and designed their palaces such that the outside was an unimpressive block with four plain walls, but the inside was ornate and incredibly colorful and detailed. It would have been nice to see the Alhambra in its heyday. After a long day of walking, we went into the nearby town (Albaicin) and patronized the Arab baths.

Tarifa itself was not a very fun town (a little too dingy and stale for my taste) but driving up and down the coast, and traversing the shoreline were a real treat.

Sevilla was quite a romantic city, and it felt much more bustling and classic European than the other Andalucian cities we visited. We stayed in a really cool hotel with a rooftop terrace right next to the bell tower of La Giralda. It was nice walking the bridge at night, despite the dopers and the drunks that were out in plain sight. We also caught some Flamenco dancing while we were in town. When the male dancer came out in his fancy get-up I predicted, correctly, that his coat wouldn't last more than ten minutes. I was pleased with prophetic satisfaction when he slung it off dramatically in the middle of his routine, but I was displeased when I heard Val B. perk up in admiration of his nice chest and seductive maneuvers. I quickly reassured her that I could do that if I wanted to.

After Spain, we made our way towards Singapore. We were there for about 6 days and much of our time was spent either making preparations for the wedding banquet, taking wedding pictures, or actually banqueting. Fortunately, we were able to do a lot of fun things in between all of that and once it was all over. We went out for delicious food it seemed at least twice a day. I ate lots of spicy noodle dishes, sea food, tropical fruits, rice, frog porridge, curries, you name it. The weather was constantly warm and humid but the abundance of bright-colored flora and foliage made it worth it. The modernization and orderliness of the city were quite impressive. I say orderly, but then again, there were monkeys rummaging the streets. I mean, how orderly can that be?

Mr. and Mrs. Twainfecta - the view of Malaga from the Alcazaba (pronounced: Alcathaba)

The Alhambra in Granada. Surprisingly, the water looks cleaner through the camera than it did in real life.

Mediterranean coast in Tarifa. So close to Africa, yet so far away (80 euros/person)

The Cathedral of Seville and La Giralda

Cool trees in Singapore; these are behind Casuarina Curry--a favorite eating spot for breakfast.

Cross Country Morale Chart

Cross-Country Blog Log: That Ol' Highway's A Callin' (Part III)

Raleigh

Now second guessing our plans to hit the beaches up the coast (Charleston, SC, and Outer Banks, NC), we were hit with heavy indecision. Des proposed a more direct route through Raleigh, NC, but neither of us could think of anything worth seeing there. After deliberating for about 25 frustrating minutes like a couple that wants to break up but nobody can say anything decisive enough to make it happen, I gave in to Desi saying, "Raleigh it is... I know it's what you wanted". Meanwhile, the stressful delay and the uncertainty that lay ahead was taking its toll on our morale (as clearly shown on the Pace and Des Morale chart) but we quickly countered with several consecutive episodes of 24 (season 3) that catapulted us back to healthy morale levels. By the time we got into Raleigh our suspicions had been confirmed and there truly was nothing to see. We ate at the Olive Garden and made our way over to our 2-tv, cabin hotel. Through the miracle of WiFi we were able to download Radiohead's 'In Rainbows CD2' which was the ultimate godsend. Then we turned on the tube and watched 'Romeo Must Die' with Jet Li, which had just the right mix of cheesy villains, quirky fight scenes, a fairly complicated plot, and a funny black guy, that my dad would have totally been glued to the tv with this one.

Before departing Raleigh we figured we owed it to the town to at least stop by UNC and Duke since we were so close. UNC was pretty cool I guess but we couldn't find anything (Dean Smith Center, some sort of bookstore, a food court) and there was no place to park. We ended up just kind of repeating the same figure-8 formation through the campus roads, never really seeing anything new but sure we would stumble into something. Eventually we did stumble into something: The Planetarium. This was even lamer than you might expect. There was not a single tour guide or fellow observer. We ran into a couple of construction workers and a half-asleep cashier and decided to book it before any pamphlets or questionnaires were forced upon us. The decision not to continue on and see Duke University ended up being one of the highlights of our time in Raleigh.

Our Nation's Capital

Made the final ascent and arrived at our destination in Arlington at about 8:00 p.m. My new place came with only about a 10-inch tv and we wanted to watch the Suns game at 10:30 so we decided to head out to Jeff's house in Baltimore. This 45-minute drive ended up taking about 2 hours due to some factors on which I won't go into detail--suffice it to say Des did some great navigating up until this point. Fortunately, we were still able to catch the 2nd half and then we slept over and enjoyed some delicious variations of Frosted Flakes in the morning before heading back. The journey officially came to a close when I dropped Des off at the airport on Sunday morning. Now I'm just doing my best to adjust to late work nights, $18/day parking fees, chilly weather, and life in the land of "dudes and chicks" (D.C.).


*Trip Stats:
Total Drive Time: 46:30
Avg MPH: 65
MPG: 31

Cross-Country Blog Log: That Ol' Highway's A Callin' (Part II)

New Orleans


Survived the drive from SA to NO thanks to some intense calisthenic exercises, tandem style. Arrived at the Marriott hotel around 9:00 pm; still plenty of time to get our NOLA New Year's groove on. Was almost tempted to stay in for the night since this hotel had FREE WI-FI!! Made our way into the French Quarter around 9:30 and after parking about a mile away, suddenly found ourselves in the vortex of sin: Bourbon St. But the drunkards and the thumpers were actually really amusing and energetic, and there were some really cool live jazz bands blaring through the cafe windows. Then we waited in line for a while to get in the Cafe Chartres where we had jambalaya, fried shrimp, and spicy hush puppies. Counted down the final 10 seconds on St. Peter + Decatur St. near Jackson Park and then watched a fireworks display by the bridge. It was a lot of fun. Desi did his best to let everyone know that "2007 sucks". Like most parties involving alcohol this one left its fair share of teary-eyed damsels in its wake and we witnessed at least one awesome heated argument between a couple. It left me curious, do these guys chose to drop relationship bombs on their girlfriends immediately following the start of the new year. Shouldn't there be like at least a 2-hour grace period in which neither party shall be allowed to deliver any serious relationship blows? Anyways, I enjoyed myself.

Pensacola


Made our way through Mobile, AL without getting the Memphis blues--team morale was still at a favorable level. Arrived at Pensacola around 3:00 pm and couldn't decide where to dine. There was a Mexican place called La Hacienda which supposedly had "the only salsa in town" so we had to determine if we wanted any salsa for lunch. We stopped at a Gulf of Mexico beach park to weigh our options and scope out the coast. We were approached by this bum in the first two places we parked so we got back in the car and looked for a spot that was a little more remote. We got close to the water and it was freezing and windy. We walked closer to the ledge and I asked Des what it would take him to go swimming in it. He answered $100. I countered with 2 gift cards valued at $90.10 (after activation fees) and he accepted. I couldn't stop laughing at the thought of it and then he was suddenly completely submerged. As he raced back to get out of the water another bum rode by on his bike and declared that Des's manliness exceeded that of his own (in not so many words). Once that little adventure was over, we had burned enough time that Outback would now be open for dinner. Once they opened the doors we rushed in to beat the senior couple and enjoyed a delicious meal before pressing on to Jacksonville.

Jacksonville


Stayed at an oceanfront Marriott Fairfield on the cheap. It was OK. The hot tub in the morning was nice except for the chilly wind which prompted us to cut our dry off short and just run inside the hotel still sopping wet. Once showered and checked out we walked over to the beach and endured it for about 10 minutes until a blistering cold gust of wind picked up. So this is why people don't go to the beach in the winter... My source has just informed me that Florida is experiencing its lowest temperatures since 1928. Yikes.

Cross-Country Blog Log: That Ol' Highway's A Callin' (Part I)

Tucson (12/29/07)

Official departure from the Creighton & Melissa B. residence (formally that of Li Farn Tang) at 7:15 p.m. We raced to get to Mark & Mika L's house before 10:00 pm so we could enjoy some delicious Sonoran hot dogs. Unfortunately, we were too late and the stand had closed early as we're now in the cold months. But Mark invoked his internal map of Mexican hot dog stands around town and we followed his backup routes. The 2nd stand was closed too but we struck it rich on the 3rd. The three of us marked twain on the spicy dogs and went back to the house to chat and watch Star Wars III (my favorite of the 2 trilogies). We liked the line where Anakin tells Padme, "our love won't save you, only my new powers can do that." We stayed the night there and Mika most graciously offered us waffles and eggs before we darted off to 8:30 church. She also gave us chocolate-covered twig snacks (the equivalent of lamus bread to the hobbits) and spicy japanese trail mix which didn't taste half as good as it normally does (don't buy 片仮名 brand). A great start to the trip and props to the Mark & Mika B&B establishment.

We left sacrament meeting a few minutes early so we could beat the big church rush, and so Des could practice on the clutch in the parking lot. We stopped for gas at a heavily advertised (a comical amount of billboards) fireworks store. Tempted to buy some $25 leather jackets and genuine moccasins but ended up resisting. I used the stinky torture chamber of a restroom and opted not to wash my hands believing that in the end the trade off of exiting the bathroom sooner would result in less total germs. We're assuming this gas station was somewhere in New Mexico... You do have to pass through NM to get to Texas right?

Lunched in El Paso at the Outback. As was to be expected the food was delicious, but Des was infuriated by the exorbitant amount of ice cubes hogging up precious coke-glass volume. This was appropriately accounted for in the tip.

After 11 hrs 50 min of straight-shot, foot-free cruise-control driving we arrived at the $100/night dump of a Motel 6.


San Antonio (12/30/07)

Enjoyed some local breakfast cuisine at the McDonald's and patronized the attached "Red Box" DVD vending machine (these $1 rental machines are ideal for brothers [or sisters] on road trips as you can return them at most McD's around the country). Then we drove into town on Houston St. and parked somewhere near the Alamo. The Alamo wasn't all that impressive in stature or anything but it was fun to walk around and read some snippets of the history of Travis and Santa Anna and Bowie and all that. The weather was ideal too (almost a lack of weather) which made it very enjoyable.

After taking in the sights of the Alamo we crossed the street to a place of historical significance which rivals, nay trumps the significance of the Alamo: The Guiness Book of World Records museum. Here we learned about the smallest dog ever, the most drum beats in a minute, and tons of other useless records. I will say I was disappointed not to see a display of probably the most famous GBWR character, the man with the longest finger nails.

Then we just walked around for a bit until we stumbled upon the "Riverwalk". This was much cooler than anticipated. It meanders all over the place and there are lots of cool, breezy cafes and eateries along the banks of the shaded river. We got some pizza and Orange Juliuses and just enjoyed ourselves for a good while before running back to the car to beat the parking meter and be on our way to New Orleans. Despite the negative connotation from the Spurs, San Antonio was much better than we both expected.

Drive or Fly?

The house where I'm moving to in Crystal City, VA

Greetings. And happy holidays. After 3 months of roughing it the house at 8300 finally got internet from the putzes at Cox Communications. Unfortunately, I'll have only exactly 3 days to enjoy it--I'm moving to DC for a job with The Carlyle Group starting Jan 7 and the movers are coming to pick up my stuff on Dec. 20th. (Please note, this lack of household internet has been a key reason for Trifecta's and my recent blogging inactivity--Trifecta was even inspired to write a post about it titled, "Facts about not wanting to write on your blog cause you don't have internet", but this never panned out due to deterrents previously mentioned.

So now I'm faced with a difficult decision of driving or flying and I'm looking for advice from the readers. I've had some people say it's the chance of a lifetime to drive across country on somebody else's dime (I have a relocation allowance) and then I've had other people tell me a drive that long would be "torture" and "idiotic". Let me paint the picture:

1. I can fly out on Jan 3 ($500) and have my car shipped up ($1900) for a grand total of $2400.
   
2. I can drive across the country with my brother Des B. for the cost of gas ($50 x 9 gal = $450) + Motel ($100 x 4 nights = $400) + Food ($60 x 5 days = $300) + Flight back for Des B ($500) for a grand total of roughly $1650.

• Day 1 (Dec 30): Phoenix to San Antonio
• Day 2 (New Years Eve): New Orleans
• Day 3 (Jan 1): Pensacola, FL, and Charleston, SC
• Day 4 (Jan 2): Outer Banks, NC
  
• Day 5 (Jan 3): Washington DC

What do you recommend? What are my oversights? What are your PR's for distances traveled? I have to decide by Wednesday 12/17.

Twainfecta's Log: Part III (Berlin and Back Again)

Before arriving in Berlin we had a brief tour of the former bombed out city of Dresden. I should mention that two important events transpired on the bus ride from Prague to Dresden. 1) We pulled into a gas station in the back where the big rigs go and saw a German trucker going cowboy style in the parking lot. We parked in the spot behind him and had a good laugh. But then, as if straight out of a National Lampoon's movie, another bus packed with Chinese tourists drove in and took the parking spot in front of the trucker. I could tell they had an even bigger laugh than we did. 2) I broke out of a Tetris funk once we crossed the Germany border and set a new record for consecutive times beating Level 9 High 5. In Dresden I picked up the indispensable German phrase, svi veiner bitte (literally, "two hotdogs please" but understood in the local tongue at the braut stands as "the really long hotdog folded in half and placed inside a french roll"). It was cool to see the buildings in Dresden how they had just used recycled limestone left over from the bombings in their rebuilding process.

Berlin - Here we finally got set up in a proper hotel, complete with bidet and sauna. It also had a flat-screen TV ideal for watching MTV Germany's top 20 including a Tommy Reeve video who everyone kept saying looks like a sexier version of me. Walking around Unter den Linden street was pretty nice. It leads to the university square where the Nazis burned the thousands of books, and to the Berlin Schloss castle along the River Spree, and eventually to the famous TV tower and Alexanderplatz. The shopping was meant to be like Rodeo Dr. or something but I wasn't all that impressed. I guess the fact that the dollar is sucking it up these days made it hard for me to make good overseas purchases (the only souvenirs I ended up hauling back were a Manchester United hat, an extended shoe horn at the All-A-Euro store, and a free pen from the hotel). We also took a tour of Potsdam and saw Frederick the Great's summer Sans Souci palace, as well as the Cecilienhof where Stalin, Churchill, and Truman met to decide the fate of post-war Germany. Touring the Berlin Wall was cooler than I expected. The countless murals spread out all over the wall are surprisingly decorative for such a somber, morose site.

The flights back were a drag, as they always are--a missed connection in JFK and a 3-hour delay on the runway. But it's good to be back. "We are American, because you're in America, okay. Greatest country on the planet."

Miscellaneous Highlights:

• We lose sight of Desi in his forest-green outfit

• Exact Change: The Berlin Miracle(s) - When it came time to shed our Euros I went into a market with all my remaining change (E3.77) and picked up 2 bags of Gold Fischli, a Cherry Coke, and some Yoghurt Fruchtbonbons. When I got to the cashier she said E3.77. Later, at the airport, we all chipped in with our bills and coins and bought a communal Burger King order. We each put in our order and took our E10.56 to the counter. The total came out to...E10.56.

Favorite Albums of the Trip:

• Sonic Youth Rather Ripped
• Liars Drum's Not Dead
• Bob Dylan The Times They Are A Changin'
• Arctic Monkeys Favourite Worst Nightmare
• Elvis Costello My Aim Is True

Twainfecta's Log: Part II (Salzburg - Prague)

Salzburg – If you’re a ‘Sound of Music’ fan at all, this is the place for you. Here we cruised the lush gardens and sparkling fountains of the Schloss Mirabell, and strolled through the very cemetery where the Von Traps made their quick escape. Lah Dee Dah. In all actuality, though, Salzburg was very cool, and not just for the thespian types. We got to see the birthplace of Mozart and one of his houses, though apparently he despised Salzburg, feeling that the residents didn’t appreciate him and that the town couldn’t even provide a decent opera house, so he took the first train to Vienna, so to speak. Strolling the banks of the Salzbach River and taking the scenic €2 elevator ride by way of the 5-story parking garage (even though I could have ridden it for free since I snuck past the gate with a pack of Chinese tourists but then let my conscience get the better of me) gave me a good sense of the picturesque layout of the city and its impressive baroque architecture.

Cesky Krumlov – A brief stopover en route to Prague, the Cesky offered mediocre seafood, speedo-donning Czechs in river rafts, an overabundance of specialty souvenir shops, and “trash ice” (their translation of shaved ice). But for all its inconveniences, C.K. was quaint beyond belief (rivaling Intercourse, PA), and the cool weather, the flowing river, and the surrounding castles and cottages just took you instantly back in time…and you didn’t want to leave. After trekking up the steep trail to catch a superb view of the city, Crato decided he didn’t feel like walking back down so he offered Des 20 krohn to piggy back him all the way down (fooling Des with the 20:1 USD exchange rate). Interestingly enough, Crato was the one who sustained injuries in the treacherous ride.

Prague – This had to be my favorite city of the whole trip. The St. Vitus Cathedral had an incredibly ornate exterior and an even more detailed interior with stained glass windows made out of 20-some-odd thousand pieces of glass. The walk down Charles Bridge was “a walk to remember” with its countless catholic statues and adornments. This was one of those places where I could just lean up against a wall with the right book and relax for hours. The astronomical clock in the city square added a nice touch and the looming threat of being pick-pocketed by the Gypsies at any given moment made it all the more exciting [I tried to reach for Sue’s purse here posing as a Gypsy but she wouldn’t have any of it. I quickly regretted trying]. One of the nights we dined at a nice restaurant with a view of the city, and a nice piano and keyboard. Our waiter, a young Czech fellow, started doodling around on the little Casio keyboard (I think I recognized the sound loop as Samba 27). He was just one-fingering it and trying to jam out. No one wanted to look at him, thinking it might cause embarrassment or something, but Des and I peeked over and when we made eye contact he did one of those neck-shrug and grin things. Other than that he was a total pro. Once the regular pianist came in and finished his set, my mom took the reins and Dvoraked all over his face with Symphony #9 (From the New World). Though he did come back and counter with the Loveboat Theme.

Miscellaneous Highlights:

• Getting really close to buying male capris

• Remote Control PPV mishaps by not one, but two of my brothers


• Saw Mozart's 'Don Giovanni' at the Prague Estates Theatre


• Toured the old Prague Jewish Quarter (pre-WWII population: 120,000, post: 20,000)


• Crato fits his head through the other side of a castle wall

Twainfecta's Log: Part I (Munich - Linderhof)

Now that I’m back from Europe and no longer disoriented by European time zones, I can get back to my favorite pre-Europe activity: blogging it up.

Countries: Germany, Austria, Czech Republic
Dates: July 17 – July 28, 2007
Members: 7 Barkers + Sue, Miguel & Josefina, Derek (guide), Alex (driver)

Munich - There's one glaring memory from our 2 days stay here and that is Courteney fainting in the town square in Marienplatz. Luckily she was able to break her fall with her forehead right on the cement sidewalk. One of the most painful things I've ever witnessed. Fortunately, she ended up OK and may even have some recollection of the rest of the trip. We also saw BMW headquarters and the Olympic Stadium.

Went on a lovely drive up the Bavarian Alps where we stopped in Oberamergau and had possibly the worst meal of my life. 4 courses. Started with Vegetable soup (predominantly spinach I think), then vinegar-cured vegetables, then some sort of roasted lamb that was so salty it reminded me of the times I mistook the salt for the sugar when piling it on my cereal. This is where Crato learned the "No thank you. Thank you." phrase with the accompanying hand gestures. It would come in handy throughout the rest of the trip. We also spotted a fly in one of the drinks so the waitress took it in the back room, spooned out the fly, and then returned the glass. My dad assured us this is not the typical German dining experience.

From Oberamergau we continued on to the Linderhof Castle, the hideaway summer palace of Mad King Ludwig. Here we got to walk through the floral tunnels (a la Secret Garden movie), and cool down in Ludwig's domesticated cave where he chilled in his little pond boat and listened to Wagner symphonies.