Madrid, Spain

Besides the weather being 90 plus degrees everyday, and my sun burn that i got waiting in the sun at the Frankfurt (Hahn) Airport for my flight to Madrid, my trip was perfect. I'll start off by saying "Thank You" to Sara and her family, without them the trip would not have been nearly as enjoyable. 

I saw so many wonderful and interesting things; art, people, fountains, buildings, etc. I love the city parks in Madrid. They feel very safe and are well kept, they are massive too. I loved the food; from her mother's homemade croquettes and gazpacho, to the fine dining in chinese and arabic restaurants. The highlight of the trip was possibly my surprise that Sara and her mother arranged for us on Monday morning. It was my fifth day in Madrid, and if there was anything i felt could have made my trip more enjoyable and refreshing it was a cold pool. We arrived at Medina Mayrit at 10 am, this was the perfect way to start the day. i had no idea what we were doing or where we were going, Sara had brought my swim trunks, she totally surprised me. Even when we were in the lobby, i still didn't know what i would be doing. it wasn't until i got changed and walked down stairs to see three separate baths all at different temperatures, hot, warm, cold. A stream room, a relaxing tea room, and two different massage rooms, exfoliating and relaxing. i had a huge grin on my face, i had never had a professional massage or been to an actual spa. It was so nice, i loved jumping from the cold pool to the hot pool, or the steam room to the cold pool and then back. I loved the pools, i was so refreshed and relaxed. Then after an hour and a half in pools and steam room, a masseuse comes and asks us if we are ready for our massages. 

the end of a lifestyle

 this is the end... I definitely want to come back to europe soon, every night i meet friendly people that invite me to their houses in other countries, i want to take advantage of that some time. I can't believe that i am going to be home in three days. The truth is i don't want to be, i miss things about my home, but i feel so settled in living here. and don't want to say good bye to my friends and my new city just yet. Well, there is nothing i can do about that though, i am coming home and i am excited for it. It is going to feel weird for awhile, i will miss my routine here.

I'm MELT-ing

Bret's Friday Night

My Saturday Night

The advertisements for the MELT Festival had people and objects dripping as if they were melting, but after experiencing the festival for myself i think they were foreshadowing how rainy it would be. If i were the wicked witch from the Wizard of Oz than i would have been melting, but instead i was dripping, muddy, and drunk. Bret had said the way to enjoy the festival environment was to be intoxicated. Friday night Bret was very intoxicated, and i spent most of the night documenting his unusual and hilarious behaviors with my camera. After witnessing his and everyone else's drunken antics i decided that Saturday night was my turn. Thankfully Bret took photos at the start of the night when it was still light out, because i didn't remember being there at that time, i also didn't remember the 15 minute walk to the venue, but i do remember talking to some drunk german guy about Aerosmith during the trek. On Sunday, Bret and i had decided we each had our fun and we would not drink for the Sunday show, which was basically Hot Chip and Bjork. Overall the festival experience was a blast, i am happy Bret and i did it. The crowd was a bit weird, by the way everyone was dressed you couldn't tell who was in a band or not. It looked like a costume party. Bret and i stood-out because we didn't look like Rod Stewart. 

The Lowlights: 

The weather. The Bugs. Hotchip's sound was bad, so the performance was crumby. Hercules and Love Affair was a no show. The best stage was the muddiest, and the Australians we encountered were awful.

The Highlights: 

The Food/Drink- we brought the perfect amount, and the stands at the venue were tasty and affordable.

DJs- Mathias Kaden, Ellen Allien, Cobblestone Jazz.

Bands- Booka Shade(I caught the Drumstick), Zoot Woman, The Whitest Boy Alive, Bjork, Roisin Murphy, Robyn. There was also a bunch of DJ's and bands that i enjoyed, but have no idea who it was because of the mixed up schedule.

Gear- Brought a tent, two sleeping bags, and the perfect amount of clothes, the second pair of pants was great. 

I had a great time at MELT, but once again, it feels great to be back in Berlin. 

Flea Market: Geneva, Switzerland

Geneva is known as a very rich and expensive city...but i couldn't help but love the cheap things the most. I had one of the best Kebabs ever, eat plenty of cheap delicious cheese and chocolate, and found some treasure at the second hand stores and flea markets.

Bret ended up leaving with three swatch watches, which is weird considering he doesn't wear watches. I found some nice gifts and some great goodies for myself. These Sorayama prints are collectible classics. I was super happy to get my hands on them. Sorry Mom, i don't think you will like them.

Polish Food

Yummy "Golonka"

I had high hopes for polish food and for the most part it was a major let down, and some what my fault. The only Polish food i had tasted prior to actually being there was a home cooked meal a friends mom made for me from a here polish mothers secret recipe, it was delicious, amazing even, i loved everything i tried, so when i had the opportunity to go to Poland i was looking forward to resurfacing these flavors my palette had yearned for for so long. The best traditional polish food i had was "Golonka" Which is a Pigs Thigh, very juicy and delicious. The perogis were okay, but i eventually overdosed on them when a friend and i ordered a 30 piece platter of meat perogis that were terrible, my friend ate 3, i ate 27 of them, i guess i felt obligated to finish them. The next two days i was misserable and literally only had two meals. The last thing i wanted to do was eat. Also for some reason, i had developed a craving for a smoothie, i learned that they are not easy to come by in Poland. The ongoing joke of me trying to find a smoothie was rather funny, especially when we went to a bar that had strongly recommendation trying their smoothies. I ordered it and the waitress came back 10 minutes later to let me know that they can't make it, i asked why? was it because they were out of the ingredients? No, she said the person that knows how to make them had gone home. This was way to funny, it is so simple, yet they don't seem to understand the concept. The funniest part is that it is on the first page of the menu as a strongly recommended drink, and we ordered before 10 pm, but it still couldn't be done. I look forward to making some killer smoothies in my parents new kitchen. I miss you Vita-Mix.

Joke:

How many Polish people does it take to make a Smoothie?

Zero, they don't know how. The guy who makes the Smoothies is American and he went home for the night.

Hostels in Krakow.

We were in Krakow for a week, and for the most part everyday was a blast. I met Bret's friends and we made some new ones as well. The first two nights we slept in a hostel which wouldn't be my first choice of sleeping arrangements but it was the best we could do. I didn't think it was too bad, the people working there were nice, the dorm-mates were polite and some were especially entertaining. The only problem was the location. It was right on the main Market Square, where everything goes on and the noise never stops, and when you are staying in a hot room with 8 backpackers, it is not a good idea to close the window. The most annoying thing was the sound check for some festival in the square the next day that went on until 2:30 am, then from 3-5 am the loud Australian and British tourists shouting, and singing, "Wodka, Wodka, ooohhh Wodka!" I'm not sure why this was the case, but every night there we heard this chant going on into the wee-hours of the night. So the hostel wasn't the best experience and you can imagine how Bret felt sleeping and being around a bunch of Backpacking Frat Guys and Sorority Girls that were literally saying, "Oh, yeah just like in Euro Trip...i love that movie." Ironically one of our Dorm-mates was from LAKE OSWEGO, OR. and is a tennis coach at Gonzaga now, he seemed to be about 27, but acted 17. Damn spoiled Lake Oswego kids, he went to LO by the way, not Lakeridge. 

The highlight of the hostel was this gnarly 44 year old British Rocker who essentially knew nothing about music bands, other than AC/DC and i am assuming Motorhead since he was wearing their t-shirt. Someone would mention a band to him, for example Pink Floyd and he would ponder the name and say," Yeah? Pink Floyd...i've 'Erd of 'em...but never rrreally got around to 'em." or Metallica, " Yeah, sure Metallica, 'Erd of 'em, but never rrreally got into 'em." This went on for over an hour, this kid would ask him about pretty much any band that has sold t-shirts at Target, i mean very popular and well-known bands and he would have the same response for all of them; The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones, Johnny Cash, etc. Bret and i got a great laugh out of this, and have now developed a new character, which our British flat-mates rather enjoy as well. We are all constantly looking for times that we can use our new phrase. I asked Steve if he ended up going to the Club and he replied, "Yeah, i was meaning to, but never really got around to it." And the more we do it the more exaggerated the accent seems to get, it is quite funny. 

The next few nights we stayed with friends and had a more peaceful experience, but we were eventually forced into having to find a hostel for one night in between and through a recommendation of friends we ended up staying at the Stranger, Hostel and Bar. The moment we walked into our dorm room we knew we would hate it, first of all it was a total mess, everyones crap all over the place, it was 11 pm and no one was around meaning they would be showing up later and waking us up, and the worst part was there were several porno-magazines scattered throughout the hostel. Bret and i quickly returned to the front desk and requested are money back. We didn't want to live with Horny Frat Guys. The employees didn't understand why we wanted to leave, they are 20-something Polish girls, that loved the idea of Horny Australian and British Dudes. We explained to them that it was not at all our style and we were very uncomfortable. Rather then leaving they suggested we stay in a different dorm room that had only one older woman sleeping there, this turned out to be much nicer and quieter, so it wasn't so bad. We don't know why they try to put as many people in one room as they can, there were tons of empty rooms and they throw us in the Animal House. When we checked out i noticed the book exchange near the front desk, it was littered with sticky Men's Magazines, this place was guilty of supplying this stuff to there guests and they were proud of it. We were very happy to be out of there. 

So, maybe the Hostel wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep, or the cleanest place (though, other than Montreal, we did have the best showers in the hostels)but in the end, it certainly was the most entertaining, and i am happy I finally "got around to it."

Bad Eats in Berlin

Berlin should not be known for its indian restaurants, other than the fact that there are tons of them and none of them seem to be that good. Everything is very safe and mild and full of yogurt. Bret and i have been very disappointed with the three experiences we have had with indian food. It is typically over priced and overrated. 

Another food let down are the bakeries, there is a bakery every two blocks and very few of them are good. They are nothing like the french bakeries i experienced in Montreal. The bakeries in Berlin seem to not have very many sweet treats, which for me is unacceptable. I would say that the thing that i miss most about american style food would be breakfast. Here breakfast gets very little attention. There are no diners with 24-hr pancakes, eggs, waffles, french toast, bacon, sausage, etc. Breakfast here is usually a small plate with bread, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce and salami, and is typically meant for two people to split. I am not saying this is bad, but where i come from we call this an unmade sandwich. 

One more thing, Germany is supposed to be known for great cakes right? Then why can't i find any?

Good Eats in Berlin

I have been in Berlin almost a month now and there seems to be so much to explore still. I have been going out almost every night of the week and discovering a new and exciting place each time. Bret and i have developed a group of restaurants we frequent regularly, and after a recent disaster with a home cooked meal, we  have decided to stick to eating out. Our two favorites are Nil and Spatzel Express.  Both ofter very different tastes, and uncommon flavors, and both serve up plenty of food for under 4 Euros (aproxamately $5-$6). Nil is a Sudanese restaurant that specializes in Pita sandwhiches, which are great for the go, but if you ask for it on a plate it seems like you get a bit more food. My two favorites are the Tiymays? which are a Sudanese sytle Falafel (the best falafel i have ever had), they are accompanied with a small green salad, Aswad, Fohl or Mish and Potates, also a choice of peanut sauce  or yogurt, all of the ingedients are freshly made there. Nil Chicken is the next favorite, it is served with the same options, but with curry seasoned chicken in place of the falafel. The Falafel is 2 Euros and the Chicken is 3 Euros. You can't beat that...or can you. 

Spatzle Express maybe does beat it. The small portions cost less than 4 Euros, and include a small salad. Believe me, the small portion is enough. Bret's favorite is the Kasespatzle, which is spatzle covered in delicious melted cheese. I myself haven't determined a favorite. Spatzle has a very simple menu with four categories, with that being said i usually don't know what i am ordering, but i have no fear, because so far everything has been delicious. I know that Bret and I are going to miss eating spatzle 4 times a week. 

There is one more place that we want to add to the rotatiation, but it is aboud 7 Euros a dish and a bit out of the way, however i think we will still try to enjoy it once a week. The restaurant is Monsieur Vuong, it is an Indochina Cafe. They have 6-8 fresh dishes to chose from in a day and all of them are winners. The food and tea have a very authentic Vietnamese taste due to the freshness of everything. I want to try everything there, and i just found out that the menu changes every two days. Sounds like i can develop a schedule than. 

 

Bret with Kasespatzle and Linsen mit Spatzle und Wiener Wurstchen.... Monsieur Vuong

Bret

Au revoir Montreal

My last day in Montreal and i still had a bunch i wanted to do, i met up with my new friend Eliane Prefontaine, she is a 22 year old that i met at Mutek two days before, i think we were one of five people that were in their early twenties at the event, most people seemed much older. The first night i met her, she was with her friend Nancy who is 33. Bret and i hung out with them the rest of the night. On my last day i met up with Eliane again and her friend Manue. They gave me a tour of the city that most tourists don't get. It was like a Belmont or Hawthorne area of Montreal, really fun. You are allowed  to have alcohol in city parks as long as you have food, so i bought a famous montreal bagel (which is more like a pretzel) and we all split a bottle of wine. It was a beautiful day, maybe the nicest one of my stay. We went back to Manue apartment and her and Eliane made dinner (very delicious pasta meal) and played some live music for me afterwards. Eliane plays piano and sings and Manue plays the cello. They played their original songs, they were great i have them stuck in my head still. It felt so cool to be with locals and just hanging out and trusting eachother as if we had known eachother for years. Most of the time i didn't even know what they were saying but i was still able to enjoy the experience because it was so different and comfortable and exciting at the same time. I look forward to trying to make some friends like Eliane and Manue in Berlin and wherever else i go, and i look forward to going back to Montreal next year for Mutek and reconnecting with my friends. 

I think it is safe to say that i loved Montreal and Bret and i both agreed that it was hard to leave it behind. It was well worth the stop. It is a great transition city from america to europe, because it is english and french speaking and has new modern american style city and also old port montreal which is cobblestone roads and very european. Definitely one of my favorite places i have been.

MUTEK finale!

 I Love Montreal, if i could have found a pin or sticker or shirt that said I "heart" Montreal i may have even purchased it. The Mutek festival was fun, discovered some new artists and saw some i have been wanting to see. The last day was an outdoor picnic festival and it was raining but musically it was by far the best day so the rain didn't make a difference. Bret and i we pretty much the first ones on the island were the event was held, we got there at 2pm and danced until 11:30 pm. It was a great way to end the festival, after that we went to an exclusive after party with Matt, Genevieve, Phillip, and our new friend Ermand. He is a character designer for Mortal Kombat and he also does the voice over work, "Finish Him, Fatality" etc. He was super nice and fun to be around because his voice is so radio and commercial sounding, almost as if there isn't much emotion behind it, it's strange. The afterparty was fun but short-lived, a bunch of canadian cops broke it up after we were there for a couple hours, i did hear a new track i like by Mike Dunn, titled- "Phreaky MF" i encourage anyone to check it out, it is a fun dance track. One last thing about the festival, the outdoor venue was cool with a great view of the city, the biodome, and crazy metal sculptures which I predicted a drunk festival goer would  climb.  

Notice the Billy Elliot dance move @ 1o sec. Bret and I crack up every time. 

St. Andre?...we belong in Montreal

Being in Montreal is such a relief. The apartment is amazing, literally in the middle of the city, everything is within walking distance. Our place is roomy, clean, comfortable, and affordable, we are feeling pretty lucky to land it. In fact i am feeling so lucky that i may even take a trip to the Casino in Montreal, i have always wanted to play the slots. Our apartment has a rooftop terrace, the view from above is amazing. I have been really enjoying Montreal, by far one of my favorite cities, i wish i knew french, though i suppose if i wanted to learn it Montreal would be the place to be. The city is trendy and safe, but has so many different options. Any type of restaurant, a subway system, a waterfront, Tons of Shopping, Old European Style, Modern Style, Museums, Diversity, Festivals, Islands, a Casino, Art Spots, Theme Parks, City Parks, etc, etc... Montreal is a fun city. 

I should have brought a Pedometer on this trip, i have walked 50 miles by now. 

The people have been very pleasant, most of them say my name better than i do. I look forward to my week here and plan on making it back sometime. Mom would love this place. 

Plus hanging out with Matt and Genevieve has been a blast. Last Night Matt and i had a late night craving and ate some hot dogs; "Toastie" Michigan style...I would be surprised if anyone knows what that means. I don't even think people from Michigan know about it. 

TA

NYC Best Pizza

I had pizza everyday in NYC and it wasn't easy to find my spots. I was picky, my rule was if they would hire me than i don't want to eat there. I went to a couple small pizzarias and a gourmet place that had won NY best Gourmet Pizza award a few times. So after having a small variety i have picked a winner.

First off none of them were better than PRI. Those granola eaters sure know how to throw a Pie. 

The Winner is...Vinnie's Pizzeria. As they put it, "The Slice is Right." The Pizza was delicious and a huge varity of flavors. Unique toppings, even more than PRI and they had Veggie and Vegan options. The Cheese slice was great and Eggplant Parmesan was even better. Plus the staff had personallity, if your in Brooklyn you gotta hit up Vinnie's. 

By the way, they had the best trash can i have ever seen.

Big City, Big Adventures, Big Laughs

New York is the setting. Finding the best pizza slice is the plot. Bret, Sam and myself are the stars.

My first day in New York was like a movie. We were walking through the city with big eyes and bigger appetites. The three of us felt like Ferris Buehler type characters. It is hard to be in New York City for the first time and not feel like you are in a movie. I was expecting to see actors everywhere, because the NYC i know is the one from TV and Movies. I had a great two days in New York, the apartment we stayed in was the size of a queen bed, and i had no desire to set foot in the shower, even though i was sweaty and sticky from the thick humid 90 degree air. The smells in the city were overwhelming; the subway, the pizza joints, the cigarettes, the exhaust, and don't forget Chinatown. But perhaps the worst smell of the trip so far was the restrooms on the 11 hour train ride from NY to Montreal. 

Imagine the urine of someone whose diet consists entirely of canned Tuna. It was bad. One of the worst of all-time, i put it on my list of top five terrible smells. 

Back to NYC, perhaps the best part was just hanging out with Bret and Sam. The food was good, the people were interesting, the smells were terrible, but the company was hilarious, we had one-another laughing at everything. We would sit on the Corner of N 7th in Brooklyn at the N7 Market and just comment on everything around us. Definitely a; "you had to be there" situation. I will share more pictures later.

TA

Packing--what will make the cut?

I have been packing for the last three days and intend on continuing for the next two. I have never had to pack for a two month trip before, what do i bring: pants, shoes, shirts, shorts, glasses, underwear, toiletries. How much of each do i need? This must be easier for someone who doesn't like there clothes as much as i do...i keep finding myself taking t-shirts because i made them, or because i wear them often or haven't worn them lately. I need to hold try-outs. I am going to have to make a cut take my best stuff, the Varsity Squad of my garments. I will post a final list of the Varsity Squad, hopefully by tonight. I might have to swing a few JV...you never know when something might get damaged.

Current Song- Basementgroves by Arohan
I have been listening to Arohan quite a bit lately, i find his 7+ minute songs become hypnotic. I am able to have them on all the time, sometimes for ambient noise, but mostly for great dance tunes.

TA