New York photos

Chrysler Building and Grand Central
Originally uploaded by Leden.

Great weather in New York and lots to photograph. Really liked the light in this one.

Cheers,
Dane

Still Alive!

In New York, loving it, and will catch up on posting once we get to Seattle later this week and can sit down at a computer for a little while.

AM

Long time no post!

I had no idea that our train heading east out of Switzerland signaled the end of accessable and easy-to-use internet! So, here's a summary of my highlights over the past few weeks...

Vienna--I was so sad to leave the town of Interlaken and the Swiss Alps that when we arrived in Vienna after our overnight trip to discover that Vienna is a large city that doesn't look as cobbled and romantic as it does in 'Before Sunrise,' I was a bit bummed. We did enjoy wandering the streets, and the 100 13-year-olds at our hostel all crammed into the common room for World Cup soccer games kept us on our toes. Surprisingly, we learned that five 'football'-obsessed Mexicans can be rowdier than all those hormonal teenagers!

Budapest--Pretty funny place, actually. I'm not sure what to make of it yet. My observations are:
*Women's fashion is stuck in the 80s. The iron curtain may have fallen, but Vogue Magazine must not have infiltrated yet.
*It takes 10-15 minutes longer to walk everywhere than it feels like it should. Haven't figured out why that is.
*Hungarians have no reason to be hungry, because the food is REALLY good (and cheap by western European standards). I had one of the most enjoyable meals of my life for about 5 Euro (AU$9) at a restaurant that is a throw-back to 1970s communist-era cafeterias: a thick bed of spicy potato wedges supporting grilled chicken and sauteed mushrooms topped with a wheel of brie, all stuck under the broiler just long enough for most the cheese to melt and ooze into the nooks and crannies and the top of the wheel to turn golden brown. Mmmmmm.....
*The locals can be sensitive about gas. The dude who lives in and runs the hostel we stayed in went on a very funny rant about how if the Europeans can make full, half, and no-gas water, why can't Coke make a half-gas product. I've been asked to deliver this request back to Coke-a-Cola Company on behalf of this very frustrated, but loyal, Coke customer.
*Don't bother asking a customer service rep to answer any question that isn't technically part of their job description to answer; excrutiating bureaucracy is another remnant of the communist era!
*Nothing beats a few hours in the thermal baths for much-needed relaxation. Furthermore, unlike at most public pools, you don't have to be suspicious of hot pockets or bubbles.

I've got lots to say about Prague, Cesky Krumlov, Krakow, Copenhagen and Odense as well, but time is running out (Our train departs Odense in just a few minutes).

Heritage note: Unfortunately, we were unable to get a hold of a family relative of mine here in Odense, but have really enjoyed our time in Denmark nevertheless. Like most Americans, my ancestry is a bit mixed (mostly English, Irish, Scotish, and Danish), but all of us on my mom's side of the family feel a special connection to the Danish strand, and it was great to be someplace in the world where I know at least part of my family comes from.

Cheers,
AM

Complete Travel Itinerary

Check out our updated and complete travel itinerary!

Canyoning in the Swiss Alps

Interlaken, Switzerland is a breathtakingly gorgeous mountain village nestled between two lakes with views up to the mighty Jungfrau mountain.



Interlaken is also the home of extreme sports in central Europe, and therefore a huge draw for adventure-seeking backpackers. Typical activities include paragliding, sky diving, river rafting, rock climbing, and canyoning. We hadn't planned on partaking in these oh-so-cool, but rather expensive pursuits but we just couldn't help ourselves when we realised that taking the train to the summit of the Jungfrau would cost just as much as going canyoning for 6 hours.

Canyoning involves scrambling, climbing, jumping, abseiling, and/or swimming down a slippery mountain river canyon. In Switzerland, make that a very cold mountain river canyon where every drop of water saturating your multi-layered wet suit was unmelted snow or a glacier just scant hours earlier.

We went down the Grimsel canyon and had an amazing time. My personal accomplishment was to blindly leap off an 8m cliff into a frigid waterfall without my glasses on (which may explain my painful landing). We're both still bearing the bruises a few days later but it was great to push our limits.

Proud of us!

DM