A Special Thanks!!! – To Our Host Family

Although our African Adventures had come to an end, we will never ever forget our experience in Africa. Before we arrived we really did not know what to expect, but we soon felt right at home in a country just about as far away from home as we could be.

We just want to take the time to thank our host family in Harare! From day one until our last possible moment in Zimbabwe were given the royal family treatment as if we were family. For those of us who lost weight in Europe, we definitely were able to make up for the loss in Africa. And for those who gained weight in Europe, we continued to gain weight at an even more impressive rate in Africa!

The food was great, the company was awesome and the experience was unforgettable. We want to thank Bagthimami and Queen B for catering to the needs of six additional guys in a home only used to one. We also want to thank our driver, tour guide, and last, but not least friend/uncle Sanj Man for showing us one of the best times of our lives. Paras, we just want to say thanks for being you dude and how could we forget the original B too! Man do we ever miss her!

Thank You!

The Africtravelers

A Wrap on Africa: The Great Zimbabwe Ruins

As we made our way back to Harare, Sanj Man took us on a slight detour in order to expand our knowledge on Zimbabwe’s ancient origins. To do this we would be visiting The Great Zimbabwe Ruins. This can be considered the “Mayan Ruins” known to most Texans, located in Mexico.

At the ancient site, we were given a guided tour of the ruins which at one point was a decent sized city. As we made our way through the ruins our minds were filled with all sorts of interesting facts from the ancient times. We learned that the ancient kings of Zimbabwe used to have two hundred wives!! We also learned that they died young, very young. Just Kidding.

After our detour through The Great Zimbabwe Ruins we were on the home stretch back to Harare. Back in Harare some of us visited a Lion and Cheetah park. This was a drive through park with wildlife living amongst the road. Inside the lion cage were two female lions and one male. As we were exiting the enclosure, the female lions seemed to be hunting our vehicle. There was one on the side of the van and the other was behind the van. Luckily, we were able to get out without any problems. At this same park sometime earlier a Japanese woman had decided to get out of her car and take a picture with the lions sitting in the background, she unfortunately did not make it out safely and later died in a local hospital. Leaving the park, we were glad to have fulfilled our wishes to see lions, which we were unable to accomplish in Botswana.

A day or two after we arrived back in Harare, Jay and Shivan were taken to the aiport early one morning. They would be flying back through London before finally getting home to Dallas.

And then there were three…

That Friday the fun continued for those whose journey would continue to roll on. We decided to check out one of the few nightclubs in Harare. The night started at Sunrise, Sanj Man’s sports club hang out, where he and his buddies made sure our glasses were never empty. After we pre-partied there, we headed over to a club called “Glow.” It was definitely an interesting experience. Believe it or not the racial diversity was the most surprising part. There were people of all different kinds having a great time.

Over the next few days we spent time relaxing and making the rounds to different homes of Kinesh’s family and friends. We also found time to play nine holes of golf at one of the local country clubs. Kinesh and Sanj Man played with some friends of Sanj Man’s, while Ravi, Paras, and myself played with Mayur, one of Kinesh’s other cousins.

In no time at all, we found ourselves at the Harare Airport departing for ASIA, Bangkok, Thailand here we come!!!

The Africtravelers

Big African Air: Bungee Jumping!

After some much needed rest, we woke up and packed up all of our belongings. Today was the day we would be leaving Vic Falls.

Although we knew we were leaving Victoria Falls, we still had one more adventure in us. During the next hour we would all be making our final decisions as to whether or not we would be diving off the bridge connecting Zimbabwe and Zambia!

As we made our way to the bridge our nerves were on edge. After crossing the Zimbabwe border we walked for 10 minutes until we reached the bridge connecting the two sides of the massive gorge. As soon as we stepped foot onto the bridge it was definitely time for some of us to make our final decisions. Some of us were 100% certain sure that taking the plunge off the bridge was exactly what we wanted to do, while others were not so sure. Kinesh, Ravi, and Priya were definitely eager and ready to get a taste of some Big African Air. While Jay, Shivan, Paras, and myself were somewhat undecided. We are happy to say that ALL of us faced our fears and looked directly into the open air over Zimbabwe and dove off the 110+ meter bridge into the river gorge! (330+ feet) Ravi was the first to jump, followed by Kinesh, Shivan, Ryan, Priya, Paras, and Jay.

The view of the gorge and the river was incredible. Standing at the platform on the bridge and looking straight ahead into the open air was spectacular. From the platform you could see the edge of the gorge wrap around the rocky cliffs. Behind the bridge you could see the end of the falls as well as the massive amounts of mist levitating from the water.

The adrenaline rush we all experienced during our free fall will be difficult to top for the rest of our lives!

On our way out of the area we stopped at the larges Baobob tree in Zimbabwe. These trees are incredibly wide at the base, but they also begin to branch out extremely close to the ground. The rest of the day was spent driving back to Bulawayo where we would put up for the night.

The Africtravelers

Zambezi River: White Water Rafting & Sunset Cruise

The next morning we woke up and prepared ourselves for the day’s adventure. Our ride picked us up and we headed off to go white water rafting down the “Mighty Zambezi River.” Before we could go down to the river we had to do one thing first…sign our indemnity clauses! We also were able to polish our Bond-like skills by succeeding in using authentic fake Zimbabwe IDs of some of Kinesh’s relatives. The IDs gave us a huge discount on a lot of the adventures we went on. Once this was complete, and we had a little food and tea in our stomachs we were ready to rock ‘n roll.

At the top of the gorge we put on the top half of a wet suit, life jacket, helmet, and grabbed an oar. After some quick safety instructions and guidelines it was time to begin our trek down the side of the gorge. The gorge was incredibly steep and very deep as well. It was approximately ninety stories high, and at points during the descent we had to use ladders constructed from trees to get down. Once we reached the bottom of the gorge we followed our guide and jumped into our raft before heading downstream.

As we waited for other rafts to get situated and start their drift downstream we got acquainted with our guide, “Gift,” and with certain rafting rituals. We learned to follow every command our guide demanded us to perform, including jumping overboard into the river!

Our rafting trip was to be a half day adventure, we would be completing rapids eleven through twenty-four. The full day trip includes all rapids, but this was unavailable for us due to the violent currents at rapid number nine!

Our journey took us through twists and turns with rapid names such as the washing machine, commercial suicide, the three ugly sisters, terminator, and the afternoon shower. All in all the three people who managed to get tossed out of the raft include Kinesh(2), Ravi(1), and Paras(1). Not that we were keeping count or anything! The leader of our raft (Priya a.k.a. Queen B), Jay, Shivan, and Ryan managed to ride out the all powerful Zambezi River.

When we reached the end of the rafting trip, we thought we thought all of our hard work had paid off. Unfortunately, the hard work had not yet come to an end! The ninety story gorge we had climbed down, now had to be climbed up!

When we FINALLY reached the top we were treated to a BBQ for lunch. Grilled meats included lion, zebra, and croc! Just kidding.

As soon as we returned to the Lokothula Lodge, the name for our hut-like colony, we were instructed that there was no time to shower before going on a spur of the moment Sunset Cruise! The cruise was just like any other sunset cruise. It had snacks and of course an all you can drink open bar! Not only did it include food and drinks, but we were able to observe more wildlife with an awesome African sunset.

The night was ended with a little more gambling…blackjack and roulette were the games of choice…gambling in Zimbabwe dollars doesn’t hit the wallet quite as hard as in the US!

The Africtravelers

Safari: Chobe National Park – Botswana

The next morning we woke up bright and early to catch a 7:30AM charted bus that would take the entire crew to the Zimbabwe Botswana border. The journey to the border took us approximately forty-five minutes. After crossing the border we boarded another bus that drove us 10 minutes into Botswana.

Before we knew it we had arrived at a lodge like structure fully equipped with hotel rooms and all. No sooner than we arrived, we made our way down a path that led us to a river boat tied up at the end of a dock. While walking along the path, we were spooked by a Black Mamba snake coiled around a tree limb. When we reached the end of the trail we all jumped on the boat and our two tour guides steered the boat out into the morning air of the Chobe River.

As we cruised along the river and approached multiple banks and river islands our minds were blown away by the sheer amount of wildlife that surrounded us on all sides. Just listing to the different kinds of animals we encountered does nothing to describe what we were lucky enough to witness with our own eyes, but the list follows anyway. The animals we came across included African elephants, hippos, crocodiles, numerous species of birds, lizards, water buffalo, impalas, other deer family creatures, and baboons, all in their natural habitat. One of the more spectacular sights we came across was a herd of about twenty elephants drinking water from the river. Amongst them were multiple young elephants, along with a baby elephant. The boat was also able to get us about twenty feet from a gigantic crocodile, fifteen feet in length, basking in the morning sun. Not only was the wildlife above ground, but near the river islands hippos were hovering at the surface of the water.

Around midday we headed back to the lodge where we had taken off from and headed up the path all in the name of LUNCH! The food was nothing to write home about, so we won’t. After lunch the entire crew climbed into two sport utility vehicles to continue our safari on land. We hopped in the open air vehicle, while the closed air vehicle was used for added protection for the little kids. The land safari took us off road into Chobe National Park. The land safari began by driving down the river bank where we observed more of the same animals we had encountered from the river boat. Animals that we added to our already impressive list were giraffes and zebras. The most memorable experience from the land safari was definitely when our vehicle was engulfed by a herd of elephants! The elephants were making their way up from the river bank when we got caught on the path, so we stopped for a closer look. The elephants were only ten to fifteen feet away from us! This was truly a thrilling experience that we will never forget.

Words just don’t do our adventures in Botswana justice…for a true sense you have to see the pictures. We still can’t believe it when we see them!

After crossing back into Zimbabwe we went back to the Kingdom Hotel/Casino where we had pizza for dinner and watched the World Cup Finals at the bar. For the record, Italy beat France.

On the agenda for the next day: white water rafting on the Zambezi River!

The Africtravelers

A Prestigious Wonder of the Natural World: Victoria Falls

After driving back into Zimbabwe, we headed for Bulawayo, a small city of Zimbabwe. On our way we crossed over the Tropic of Capricorn, the imaginary line that divides the equator and the South Pole. Once we arrived in Bulawayo we met up the members of Kinesh’s family that would be joining us on our way to the falls from Harare. We spent one night with Sanj Man friends before hitting the road yet again!

Fortunately, we only had four hours to go. It was early evening when we reached Victoria Falls. As soon as we arrived, we all shuffled out of the van and made our way down the ~2 kilometer path that went along the top of the opposite side of the waterfall cliff. As we walked along the path we were in awe at the sight, sound, smell, and feel of the falls. They seemed to stretch on forever! The sheer amount of water being thrown over the long stretch of the cliff was amazing. Victoria Falls easily put Niagra Falls to shame. The falls itself seemed to be situated in the middle of a desert. The mist from the falls bellowed like thick clouds of smoke into the beautiful African sky. With the falls on our left, palm trees on our right, and wildlife amongst us, we were all beside ourselves.

As we reached the end of the path, a bridge came into perfect view. This wasn’t just any bridge. It was the bridge that connects Zimbabwe to Zambia. To the untrained mind this bridge looked somewhat ordinary, but little did we know this bridge would hold a special place within all of us in the near future.

Our lodging at Victoria Falls resembled large dome huts with straw roofs and were fully equipped with a full kitchen and living room too. Our beds were environment friendly with mosquito nets, and we were well equipped with our deet powered bug sprays. The back wall of our large hut was a large zip open door made of a tent like material. We could only hope that wall would hold up against any dangerous wildlife in the area. The only wildlife encounter we had at our lodging was with a wild warthog that was waiting for us on our front porch one day.

That night we went to the Kingdom Hotel and Casino, which was most likely the only place for night entertainment in the area. Along with the hotel and Casino there was a small club inside. We all enjoyed a few drinks and fun before heading back to face another day in Africa!

The Africtravelers

Jo-Burg, South Africa (Little America)

In the morning we finished our first class breakfast, prepared by Bagthimami and Priya before loading our chariot, a green Mazda MPV. Because our huge backpacks would not fit into the van, we were given duffel bags that would allow all of our luggage to fit into one vehicle. Our journey into South Africa would take us around twelve hours. There was only one road that would take us south.

Along the way we witnessed people on the sides of the road waiting for someone, anyone that would lend them a ride. Other sites include buses that we would every once in a while speed passed. The buses were filled beyond capacity and their luggage was stacked five feet, sometimes higher beyond the roof top. Driving such a long distance required us to fill our gas tank at almost every chance we got. We stopped at countless stations that had run out of “petrol,” leaving us to move onto the next station. On top of not knowing whether the station had petrol for us to fill with, Sanj Man would have to pay for our gas with straight cash. The economic situation of Zimbabwe required that cash be used for everything.

Unfortunately, the official exchange rate of the country was one US dollar to somewhere around one hundred thousand Zimbabwe dollars. The unofficial exchange rate was more along the lines of one US dollar to four hundred thousand Zimbabwe dollars! Either way when it was time to pay for the gas, two bricks of Zimbabwe dollars were pulled from a bag in the back of the van, each brick had a height of about seven inches!!

Crossing into South Africa from Zimbabwe was definitely an experience to say the least. One word that can be used to summarize the situation best would be…TENSE. As Americans, and more specifically Texans, the situation at this border crossing seemed to parallel the current situation found at the Texas and Mexico border. The only difference is that we were the Mexicans. The entire area seemed to appear out of the desert. With the assistance of Sanj Man, we cleared the border crossing as smoothly as can be expected.

As we approached an area of greater population density, the difference between Zimbabwe and South Africa was blatantly apparent. The closer we got to civilization, the more in shock we were as the sparse streets of Zimbabwe turned into what appeared to be a Little America. The two way road that took us through Zimbabwe turned into a six lane divided highway that led us into a road system mirroring roads we have come to know from the US.

On our way into Jo-Burg we stopped in a city just north of our destination, Pretoria. In Pretoria we enjoyed dinner at a restaurant where Sanj Man is a silent owner. After dinner we made our way to downtown Johannesburg where we found our hotel and settled in for the night.

With the sun shining on the South African lands, our speculations from the night before were proven. Surrounding us in all directions were extremely modern buildings that could easily rival those of America. Not only were they modern, but they looked as if they were brand new. Although we knew that not all of South Africa could be this way, it sure felt like it.

The next day was spent touring Jo-Burg. Sites included the downtown area, Nelson Mandela Square, and parliament. The downtown area was just like any other downtown area during the late morning hours of a weekday. Nelson Mandela square was an area surrounding by a high class shopping mall. While in the area we ate breakfast a place called Mugg & Bean before taking our picture with Mr. Mandela himself. We then headed in the direction of Pretoria’s parliament buildings. The buildings were located at the top of a hill and had a great view of the surrounding area as well as very well manicured landscaping. As the late afternoon approached we decided to catch a few drinks in an area near a college campus. The rest of that night was spent visiting a mall with a uniquely designed roof that resembled a circus tent structure. Dinner that night dinner was at an Italian restaurant called Chiao Baby.

The next two nights in Jo-Burg were spent at two local casinos, Monte Casino and Emperor’s Casino. While at Emperor’s Casino we were able to catch a “Vegas” style show complete with feathered dancers and the like. Some of us even managed to scoop quite a few free drinks from the complimentary service in the high roller’s gambling room. In case you’re wondering the high roller was The Sanj Man and the name of his game roulette! The only big winner that night was Kinesh, he made out with the equivalent of approximately $500 US in South African Rands!

Although Johannesburg is considered one of the most unsafe places in the world, if not the most dangerous, we did not encounter any unpleasant experiences. However, we didn’t exactly steer ourselves down any back alley’s or venture into the unknown.

Our stay in South Africa had come to an end, but the best was yet to come! Victoria Falls here we come!

The Africtravelers

Harare, Zimbabwe: The First Days

As we departed from London Heathrow Airport on our way to Zim land we caught the England vs. Portugal futbol match on a flat screen TV, surrounded by English futbol enthusiasts. There were a few Portugal fans making their presence known, but luckily the overwhelmingly English crowd was able to keep their cool. As the seconds wound down on this crucial match, the clock was also ticking on the departure of our plane! No sooner than England lost, we began our brisk walk to our gate and found ourselves right on time for our British Airways flight.

After our long flight, we (except Kinesh) landed in a foreign world completely unknown to us. Not knowing what to expect we made our way through the airport, just like any other airport in the world. As we waited in line to go through customs we were all tired and excited at the same time. Before we knew it Kinesh’s Uncle, Sanj Man, Kinesh’s Aunt/Cousin, Priya, and his Uncle/Cousin, Paras found us in line and directed us straight to the front of the line. Priya and Paras had come from Canada to visit their family in Africa. As we stepped into position at the front of the customs line, that had not even opened, the former leader of the line boasted, “The line starts back there.” We happily turned to him and said, “Yeah, we know. We’re with her.” That’s right our paperwork was being handled in VIP fashion by the customs agent director. Later we were made aware that one of Kinesh’s uncles is the leader of the Civil Aviation board for Zimbabwe. That might have had a little something to do with it. After being whisked through customs, Priya and Paras wheeled our enormous back packs to us and we made our way to Sanj Man’s house.

On our way to the house, Sanj Man gave us a driving tour of downtown Harare. During our tour we learned about the current economic conditions of the country and about how the city once used to somewhat thrive. Some parts of the downtown area seemed nice and well built, while others seemed run down and almost abandoned. The number of people walking into and within the city was astonishing. As we drove through the area, our eyes were opened to an entirely different world. Upon arrival to our home far away from home, we desired nothing more then to sleep and eat too. Luckily for us, Sanj Man’s wife, Bagthimami always had food ready for us at every major meal and anytime our stomachs beckoned.

We slept for three hours that midday before heading out to a family friend’s home for dinner. Dinner consisted of homemade pizzas, fresh garlic bread, paneer, and of course a good stock of alcohol. From the time we got there the power had already been out for some time. The power situation was definitely interesting. The area was undergoing staged power outages. They were staged due to the fact that the demand for power is too great for the current power resources. To resolve this issue the government had decided that the best thing to do would be to shut off specific grids at planned times during the day. In this instance “Planned” is being used in a very loose sense of the word. That night, the power did not work in our favor. Our dinner was driven over to another home in a different grid and promptly returned for us to devour!

Somewhere during the first day or two of our visit we made our way to “The Round House.” This was actually a round house that has been in Kinesh’s family for many years. There, we were introduced to a lot of Kinesh’s family members including more Uncles, Aunts, Grandparents, Cousins etc.

In preparation for our upcoming road trip, our clothes were hand washed and hung dried, not to mention perfectly ironed by the house maid…Barbara. Not only were pants and shirts ironed, but so was everything else, down to our underwear and socks too! “Barbara” soon became the household name used to describe every house maid encountered from that point on. Not only was the term used to describe the local house maids, Priya soon became known as “Queen B,” as she helped to serve not only the five of us, but her cousin Paras too.

That night we went to sleep knowing that we needed our rest. The next day we would be hitting the road and heading south to Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Africtravelers

Paris/London(Luton) - There and Back Again

In Paris we arrived back at the same train station as the first time around feeling much more experienced than before. Little did we know, but the hotel we had booked turned out to be in the Little India of Paris. This was an entire area that resembled India, to those who have been. After putting our packs away we ventured out into the district and enjoyed some delicious South Indian food.

That night we chose to stay in and watch the France futbol game in our hotel room. Afterwards we reflected on our travels to date over a few bottles of wine. The next day we ate at Michelangelo’s…where we had eaten during our first stay in Paris and then caught our chunnel train to London.

While in London we once again crashed the apartments of our Luton medical school friends. Our time in London can for the most part be summarized by the word…debauchery. We partied for three straight nights each one ending with the sun rising! Night one we went out in downtown Luton. Night two we went to St. Albans where we partied at a mansion turned nightclub called Batchwood, where Kanye West had once performed. Last but most certainly not least, night three was spent at the White House…where it had all started. One of the days we managed to go back to Papa J’s to enjoy some more eclectic Indian cuisine.

It was finally time to go to Zimbabwe, Africa…3rd world here we come…

The Eurotravelers

Amsterdam a.k.a. "Sin City"

From Berlin our next stop took us to the Netherlands. Upon arriving at the train station in Amsterdam our first mission was to find the Marriot Courtyard Hotel that we would be staying at. In case you are wondering that is no typo...we in fact had no choice due to the high demand for living arrangements to book a Marriot Hotel. Sometimes you just have to take what you can get! After obtaining the directions to our hotel we decided to eat at a downtown pizza/pasta joint located right off of the main tourist drag not far from the main train station. After we ate we headed for the hotel by taking a train and then utilizing the hotel bus. We spent that night relaxing in our hotel, after sneaking five people in our room...when the maximum occupancy was suppose to be four!

The next day we packed up our belongings, ate lunch at the Amsterdam airport, and headed back into town where we would be spending the next two nights. As soon as we checked in and got situated at our new hostel we decided to take in the Heineken Experience! This was an old brewery turned into a tourist attraction to educate people on how beer is brewed. It also contained the first two pubs in the area. As part of the entrance fee we were given three tokens that we could trade in for beer at the pubs along the brewery tour. At the first pub we were immediately amazed by the taste of the beer. It was undoubtedly the best Heineken beer any of us had ever had! Unfortunately we could only use one token at the first pub, so we quickly headed for the second pub located at the end of the tour. Along the way we managed to send video/picture emails to our folks back home using kiosks connected to the Internet. We also spent some time at other various activities along the way.

When we reached the final bar, each of us had two tokens remaining. Before visiting the former brewery we were told that you could get more beer if you went at the end of the day. Fortunately for us it was the end of the day and the bartenders either didn't care or had too much to drink during the day. Our table was full of glasses...both empty and full. :)
In the evening we managed to take in a futbol game at a local pub located in the famous Red Light District. That night we toured the RLD where we were taken back by red glow that beamed through the doors and windows that lined the downtown streets.

On the third day of our visit we decided to take in one of the major attraction in Amsterdam...The Anne Frank Museum. While we were in line we met some businessmen from Texas! In our conversation we all reminisced about ice tea and Tex-Mex food! During the tour we expanded our knowledge of the heartbreaking story and about leading a lifestyle in hiding. The tour was simply perfectly set-up. The tour took us throughout the house pointing out various characteristics about the rooms and people at the same time. The Anne Frank story brilliantly highlights commitment and compassion with a sad ending.

After we arrived back at our hostel we left in search of another place to watch some more futbol. After the game we walked back to the main area near our hostel called "Leidsplatz" and ate at a Mexican restaurant! We all had NACHOS!! After dinner we continued to overstuff ourselves with some Belgium waffles drenched in the syrup of choice with a side of ice cream. It was shockingly sweet!

Our stay in Amsterdam had come to an end. The next day we headed back to Paris for one night to catch our chunnel train to London...

The Eurotravelers

Back to Deutschland and on to Bearlin

Our trek to Berlin got off to a bit of an unpleasant start. As soon as we boarded the train our sense of relief and thoughts of sleep quickly faded as we came across our already occupied seats! We knew with a little bit of authority we could have forced the trespassers out of our way, but we calmly settled for regular seats instead of a full cabin as we had expected. Soon after we settled ourselves we realized our train ride from Prague to Berlin would be an unairconditioned one! It's not Texas hot, but it sure as hell was humid enough to make for a miserable 5 to 6 hours that we would like to forget! Not only was it hot, but each and every one of us became subject to complete bag checks, although not many of the passengers were checked, we knew that the precautions were necessary due to the heightened security of the World Cup.

As we rolled into the brand new main Berlin train station called "Haupthbanhof" we were amazed by not only the size of the station, but the luxuriosness as well. The train station seemed to be about three stories high. The station was extremely well equipped with two separate floors of various eateries. We chose to eat lunch in the station. Some of us filled ourselves with currywurst and pommes (fries), while others had Pizza Hut. The Germans provided our entertainment during lunch by achieving a victory during our lunch break. We witnessed their success on food court plasma televisions. Go Deutschland!

Upon arrival to our hostel we were welcomed by the great environment of the main common area. After spending some much needed time relaxing we found our way back to the main street, near where we were staying, and ate at a Doner/Falafel joint that lined the street. Little did we know that we would find ourselves chowing down at the same place three times during our stay in Berlin. The Chicken Doner/Falafel was perfect for us, not only was it cheap...it was filling too!


That night we found ourselves exploring the famous Mitte area of Berlin. This area is home to many bars and pubs. We have found that here, most bars and pubs are a little too similar to restaurants in the United States. After wandering around the area for a bit, we unexpectedly ran into some Mavericks fans! They were easily spotted in their true green Dirk Nowitzki jerseys. After conversing with them for a while, we decided as a group to meet back up at the same location to find a place to watch game 6 of the Dallas vs. Miami Championship series. After we split, our group headed to an area of Berlin called Eberswalder. This was supposed to be an area where we could find more people our age. After seeing and not liking the area, we headed back to meet up our newfound friends.

After meeting our friends we found out that they had struck a deal with a near by Irish Pub to allow us to watch the game, as long as our entire group could buy 200 Euros worth of drinks. Not to worry parents, this was a reasonable amount according to the size of our group! Although the game didn't turn out the way we wanted, we did take away some new chants and cheers we learned from our Maverick buddies. These include such titles as, "Jager Bomb" and "Dirk Nowitzki."

The following day we woke up, got ready and headed down to the local Doner/Falafel joint. Our Turkish buddy (the worker) was happy to see us! We then made our way to the Berlin Fan Fest area. There we were fortunate enough to catch the end of one of the Portugal games on one out of roughly 10 huge screen TVs! Most of us were hungry again. For this meal Joel and Kinesh enjoyed some Goulash...Mmmm. It actually turned out to resemble more of a Beef Stroganoff than any other Goulash we had imagined. Jay and Ravi chowed down on some currywurst. That night we relaxed in our hostel just hangin' around.

The next day really began with our lunch at a local Indian Restaurant close to the train station near our hostel. Unfortunately it wasn't that good...example dishes include Chicken Tikka, Biryani, Mattar Paneer and Chicken Curry.

After lunch we slowly made our way to the East Side Gallery to witness the longest stretch remaining of the Berlin Wall. It was approximately 1200 meters long and full of graffiti. The main thing we noticed was the dramatic shift moving from West Berlin into East Berlin. The East Side Gallery area was a lot more ghetto than the West side of the city.

After we reached home it was unfortunately time to say our goodbyes to another one of our fellow travellers. As soon as we got home Joel loaded his backpack and headed for the Berlin airport. And then there were five...

As soon as Joel left we began looking for a place to watch the USA vs. Ghana game. We found a place and watched the referees lose the game for us. Almost the same experience as from the end of the Mavericks game. :(

The next day we took The New Berlin Tour. It was a donation only tour. The tour had been recommended by a lot of sources. The tour was great we saw such sights as the Holocaust Memorial, the site of Hitler's old bunker, the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Wall, and one of the three remaining Nazi buildings still around. Today it is the tax building. We also saw an area filled with painted bears. They turned out to be bears for each of the memebering countries of the United Nations. In the middle was a memorial for "The burning of the books." This memorial was a simulation of bookcases viewed through glass beneath the ground.

The New Berlin tour went straight into The New Berlin Pub Crawl. The tour was strategically ended with a free beer. The crawl took us through the Mitte Area once again, except this time we were led to the bars with differing atmospheres. They ranged from a bar with beaches to a half inside half outside dancing club.

Our extended journey through Deutschland had come to an end...Amsterdam here we come...

The Eurotravelers

Beautiful Praha (Prague)

After the crazy beer gardens and fan fests in Munich we were ready for something different in Prague. We left Munich at 11:30pm on a sleeper train on June 17th. It was an overnight train that would bring us to Prague at about 9am. One thing we didn't realize was that the Czech Republic isn't included on the list of countries valid with the Eurail pass. Fortunately, after the conductor woke us up at 4am to explain this to us he let us buy a ticket from the border to Prague on the train.

When we arrived in Prague we realized that our beds wouldn't be ready until 2pm at the Skoloska Youth Hostel (which has an excellent location, by the way). We had several hours to kill and we hadn't planned anything for that time. Realizing that we were behind on our laundry, we decided to make the morning one of cleaning and catching up on chores from the craziness of travelling between multiple cities during the last week. During our errands we discovered the main plaza of Prague is next to the National Museum, and is also the starting points of the many tours that are available for the city. We found a guide who showed us some information for a 4 hour walking tour the next day. We decided that we would take the day easy and do some touring the next day. We also found a few bars that might be playing the Dallas Mavericks game at around 2:30am and we decided we would try to come back late that night if possible.

After figuring out our clothing situation and getting some maps and other practical information, we grabbed some food and checked back into our hostel. One thing that is really great about Prague is that it is dirt cheap compared to most western european cities (The Czech Republic is actually central/eastern Europe, and not western). Our hostel was a cheap 11 euros per night per person, less than half the cost of the next cheapest place we have stayed at.

After dinner, we went out to get a few drinks. Once again, we were pleasantly surprised by the price of beer: in most cases only 1 euro for a half liter (that's more than a pint!) of quality czech or german beer. Prague is definitely the place for a group of students!

We tried to return to the bars that promised us the Maverick's game on the channel Sky 2, but found that all of them lied to us earlier to get us in to drink...so we decided to skip out and head home to get some much needed sleep.

The next day we got up and went on the 4 hour walking tour of Prague. Prague is really a city at the crossroads of European history...once conquered by the French, once a democratic republic, once occupied by Hitler and the Nazi's, once occupied by communist Russia...and now back to a republic (with a ever -becoming communist party still in existence). In fact, communism was so recently prevalent (as recent as 1989), that many people are still coping with the transition to a democractic government. Older people who never had to worry about healthcare and other public services under communism have found it tough to change to a life where they must work for these things on their own.

Throughout all the years; however, it is amazing to see how things have molded. The city is very old, with architecture dating from all the periods of history that precede it. The famous Charles Bridge is a beautiful sight to see as it connects the two halves of Prague between 2 valleys and the main river. Towering above the entire city is the Prague castle and cathedral. More recently, the Petrin tower (an almost replica of the Eiffel tower) sits high atop the hills and is the tallest structure in Prague. We were able to go by several museums and cemeteries built for the Jews. Prague has a Jewish Ghetto that was once the district for thousands of Jews..who later were persecuted and killed through the Holocaust. The famous astronomical clock in Prague has a 'show' every hour...similar to a cookoo clock where little puppets come out of trap doors on the clock. One of the more interesting things is that this clock was the first clock in Europe to have both hour and minute dials, as well as the astronomical dials, all in one clock.

Our second night in Prague we met some friends of Joel from Georgetown University. We hung out with them and hit up some bars to experience more of the nightlife there. Nothing like making use of the cheap drinks!

Prague is a great city. Unlike many European cities, it isn't as cramped as it may seem..the plazas are large and spread out, and the streets are vibrant with people all the time. It isn't a depressing city like some eastern european cities...it is full of tourists as well as locals who shop at all the designer malls. And this is definitely a city of history and intrigue: Prague is considered Europe's most haunted city.

That's all for now...we leave for Berlin and the world cup games on the 20th.

Cheers,

Eurotravellers.

Straight from the World Cup...

We arrived in Munich from Venice in the evening. As soon as we set foot outside of our train we felt the World Cup fever. There were tons of fans returning from the game, or fan fest in the station with painted faces and flags draping them, and chanting for their country. We finally located our hostel which was just a few blocks down from the main train station. We were all anxious to try some of the authentic German Bratwurst, so we found an authentic looking stall and tried some curry wurst. It was basically a bratwurst with some curry tasting mustard and ketchup.

After that we decided to go to a place where all the World Cup action was happening: an old fashioned German Biergarten (Beer Garden). The name of the place was Hafbrauhaus. From the outside, it appeared to be a small little place with a small bar and one room. When we went inside however, there was about 4 huge rooms and bars lined the walls. It's difficult to describe the ambiance in there, but we will try to post pictures (this hostel won't let us post pictures, sorry). Anyways, to try and describe it a little, there are basically just rows and rows of benches full of people with beer mugs. These aren't normal beer mugs mind you, they are one liter mugs. In Germany, you can only buy beer in either a .5L or 1 Liter mugs. Also, the people don't really sit down, over half of the people were standing on the benches screaming there country's favorite futbol chants. They were all wearing jerseys or flags, and had their faces painted. Some even have mohawks that were painted with their country's colors. It was truly a sight to see. No where else have I seen the world in a nutshell like that.

We managed to find a group of Americans and started our own chants in the corner like, "USA USA USA!" When we realized this wasn't too creative we started singing some other American songs. It was pretty funny because everyone there pretty much hated us and showed no respect because the U.S. isn't viewed as a futbol country. Also, we were really outnumbered by other countries. It was really an experience though and by the end of the night we were wishing we had another night in Munich. After the biergarten we went to a club called Americanos with some of the other Americans and shared a few drinks with them.

The following morning we journeyed out to the World Cup fan fest area. This is the area where they have a huge 50ft screen where super fans who don't have tickets watch their team. We first watched the Czech vs. Ghana game and it was pretty wild. After that was over we picked up some bratwursts and German Weisz beer. This beer is lighter colored and is a bit sweeter. We then headed back to the screen area to watch the U.S. vs. Italy. We ended up finding the same American guys we hung out with the night before and picked a spot close to the screen up front. Once again, we were grossly outnumbered by the Italian fans. We watched the complete 1st half there and unfortunately had to leave to catch our sleeper train to Prague. Luckily, we caught the last 15 minutes at the train station. All in all Munich was a experience we will never forget with all of the World Cup fan fair that surrounded us. There is no other sporting event that compares to this. We couldn't wait to get back to Berlin to experience World Cup Fever again! Until next time...one love.

The Eurotravelers

Ciaò Bella from Roma

We are now at our second stop in Italia…the beautiful city of Rome, or Roma as the natives say. We arrived here on June 12th from Florence. As soon as we stepped out, we were greeted by the warm Mediterranean air, which had a comfy temperature of roughly 80 degrees. We found our hostel at approximately 2:00 and decided we had better start the sight seeing off right away.

Our first stop was the immaculate Coliseum. This giant building was built around 80 a.d. and was used as a stadium for gladiator sports. It was kind of sad seeing the building because one can only imagine the full grandeur it once had before all of its outer marble had been stripped off to construct various building in the Vatican. We decided to take a guided tour to learn more of the history behind the Coliseum. While we were there we met some ladies who were organizing a pub crawl, so we kept that in the back of our mind all day.

From there it was already evening so we decided to get ready for the pub crawl and we head back to our hostel. Our hostel was conveniently located right next to Termini, the main train station in Rome. One funny thing we have observed about the train rides is that no one pays for them. They all simply board the train and get off whenever they please. There is no designated area to check tickets or anything…hey I’m not complaining! We met near a famous fountain and from there departed for a bar where we were given unlimited drinks for one hour. Throughout the night we hit four different bars and met tons of people from across Europe and the U.S. It was a great taste of Rome’s nightlife, but a lot of walking!

The next day we decided to go to Vatican as soon as we woke up, which unfortunately was really late…when we arrived at Vatican the Sistine Chapel/Museum was close. Luckily we were still able to view St. Peters Basilica. The basilica itself is huge and once you step foot inside it is truly a serene experience. Priests are chanting in pure Latin and there are numerous artworks and sculptures around you.

From there we visited the Spanish steps, which were constructed by a Spanish architect. This area is basically a big square full of fountains, street shops, street acts, restaurants and gellaterias, ice cream shops. It had a great ambiance full of Italian life and spirit. From there we walked to the majestic Trevi Fountain, where they say if you throw a coin in, you will one day visit Rome again. Needless to say we all threw in coins.

After all that walking we found a nice authentic Italian restaurant right around the corner from the fountain. This was a typical family style restaurant you would think of—we had 4 courses: appetizer, first course, second course, and dessert. We were stuffed…the meal took about 2 hours in its entirety. After that, since we received fruit salad for our dessert, we decided to indulge ourselves in some world famous Italian gelato. It was pretty much heaven in your mouth…best ice cream we have ever had! After relaxing for a bit we made the walk home and hit the sack.

The following morning, Anand left back to the states L…and then there were six. We decided to visit the rest of the Vatican we didn’t get to see. When we arrived the line was about half a mile long and we were to say the least, a bit discouraged. However, we decided to get in line and luckily we arrived at the gates to Vatican Museum in about an hour. We scoured what seemed to us as miles and miles of sculptures and artworks from the likes of Michelangelo and Raphael. After about 2 hours we arrived at the crown jewel…the Sistine Chapel. The ceiling was painted by none other than Michelangelo…they said no pictures but a few of us managed to sneak a quick video of the chapel which was truly breathtaking.

Our final sightseeing stop led us to the Pantheon. This architectural marvel was built even before the Coliseum. It was said to be Michelangelo’s favorite building in Roma. The top has an opening, but it is said that when it rains, the building is made in such a way that the rain evaporates before it hits the ground. Don’t ask us how this is possible, the experts are still trying to figure it out.

On the way home we stopped by for some authentic Italian pizza, which blows away pizza hut or domino’s. It’s also waaaay cheaper at one euro per slice, and they even make some pizza without cheese. Well, that’s Roma in a nutshell, tomorrow we leave for our final stop in Italy, Venice. Sorry for the lack of pictures, these internet cafe’s won’t let you upload pictures and if they do, it is a hefty charge. We promise to barrage you with pictures as soon as we can! Until next time…Ciaò.

The Eurotravelers

Straight from the Home of the Rich and Famous

Well here we are, in the beautiful French Riviera...Home to many Hollywood stars, ambassadors, and countless other affluent dignitaries from across the globe. We arrived here late yesterday night and checked into a happening hostel at the top of Nice. Basically, the French Riviera is made of of three main parts. Nice, which is the main point, Cannes which is to the west, and Monaco which is to the east.

This morning we wanted to accomplish three things, go the the chateaux atop of a mountain overlooking the entirety of Nice city as well as the ocean front. We also wanted to the Cannes ( home of the Cannes film festival), and Monaco (where the world famous Monte Carlo Casino is).

This morning we showered, ate breakfast at the hostel and headed directly to the Nice train station to book our eurail seats for the rest of Europe. The way the eurail works is that even if you have a eurail pass, you still have to make reservations for each leg of the trip, which costs anywhere from 3 euros to 24 euros. For example today we booked trains to Florence, Rome, Venice, Munich, and Prague.

After this was done we were already running a bit late and decided to walk the Nice beach all the way to the foot of the chateaux hill. The Nice beach had beautiful water and many tourists, however one downfall was that the entire beach was rocks instead of sand which made it uncomfortable to walk. Nevertheless it was great scenery. We also stopped by at a local French Bakery to indulge in some typical French baguettes.

We then climbed numerous hills to reach the beautiful chateaux. This area used to be occupied by an ancient chateaux, but today it is just a ruin which has been converted into a modern day chateaux complete with a waterfall. Form this point you can see the entire city of Nice and its beaches of stunningly blue water.

From here we took a two hour bus ride to Cannes, which we heard had the best beaches in the area. These beaches were pristine and comprised of sand rather than rocks, so needless to say we were anxious to see these beaches. Once we got there, the sun was a bit overed and most people had left so it wasn't as exciting as we had imagined. However we did walk past numerous Bentley's and Ferrarri's as we walked by the Ritz Carleton hotel overlooking the beach. The shops were all psh and expensive and yachts littered the port--this was truly the home of the rich and famous!

We caught the 9 pooh bullet train back to Nice and after much debate decided Monte Carlo was not going to happen. Since it was about an hour away and the last train was at 5 am we would have to spend the entire night there, we decided against it. This was one of the first times on our trip something we really wanted to see didn't work into the plans. For those of you who don't know, Monte Carlo is like the Vegas of the world and is completely high stakes gambling..So maybe its a good thing we didn't go :)

As our time in France draws to a close, we turn our attention towards Italy (we depart to Florence tomorrow at 10 am.) Finally, we are all hoping for some delicious food because so far food in England, France, and Spain has been quite bland.

One final note...GO MAVS..I am jealous of all of you who get to watch the games...keep us posted! Until next time...keep checking the blogs. Thanks!

-The Eurotravelers

Bienvenido a Espagne y Ibiza

First off, we would like to apologize for not writing a post for several days. We were limited in our internet access at our hostel in Barcelona due to long waits, and we had packed agendas leaving us little time to really write something worthwhile. However, here we are and here's the recap:

We arrived in Barcelona after a 13 hour train ride from Paris. We had two options when going - a direct train leaving at 9pm on the 3rd and arriving at about 9:30am on the 4th, or to take a slightly slower train with one stop in Port Bou, Spain. Since both options involved a couchette (a train with beds instead of seats), we opted for the least expensive. Despite the fact that we have Eurail passes enabling us to travel free, there is a fee when making reservations for space on trains here. The fee ranges wildly depending on the type of train and which city your going to. A lot of trains require reservations...such as the sleeper train we took to Barcelona. We opted for the cheapter route with one stop at about 24 euros per person (about us much as spending a night in a Hostel) versus the direct train which was a whopping 60 euros. Factoring the exchange rate, it gets quite pricey!
We arrived in Barcelona at about 11am after sleeping the night through on the train. The cabins are very small...they fit about 6 beds on 3 bunks in a small area..but they are certainly more comfortable than regular seats. We found our way using the metro station (subway) to our hostel: Centric Point.
The hostel was awesome. Very spacious, great common room with free internet access (albiet very busy). The hostel was very clean and the staff friendly. We immediately got settled in, took showers, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and went to the beach.

The main street in Barcelona is Las Ramblas. It runs from the Placa del Catalunya (the main plaza) all the way to the Mediterranean sea. There, you can find shopping, bars, restaurants, and the beach. The beach there is nice..a lot of people come out during the daytime and its really nice weather.

We had some great Sangria at the beach - basically a Spanish red wine mixed with fruits and sprite or tonic water. We stayed there all afternoon and ended up getting a little more darker than expected! We stayed there until evening/sunset and went to a beachside restaurant that was recommended to us by a local called El Rey de Gamba. We ate a traditional Spanish dish: Paella. Basically, its rice, seafood, and chicken mixed together and steam cooked with spices and Spanish flavors. Really good stuff! A typical Paella dish cost about 10 euros, and comes with a sizable portion of food.

Afterwards, we went back to the Hostel and got ready to go out. We ended up going to a place called 'Catwalk', a club located right next to the beach. Something interesting here is most clubs in Europe give you 1 free drink with admission, making a cover charge much more worthwhile. The club was absolutely AMAZING. Huge, probably about 2000 people there...with 2 floors with 2 different DJ's spinning beats. Beautiful Spanish women everywhere!! I think I'm gonna have to come back to Spain soon.

We slept late the next morning and went to the Placa del Catalunya after lunch about 1pm. For lunch, we ate Tapas (Spanish for 'appetizers'). Here, tapas are eaten as a meal...you simply pick which appetizers you like and they bring them in small portions for everyone to try. Great stuff! Here, we hopped on a tour bus which took us all around Barcelona in about 3 hours. Barcelona is very proud of their architecture...especially buildings made by a Spanish architect Gaudi. The 'Sangria Familiar' is a cathedral made in the old Spanish style by this guy...quite amazing to see in person. We also visited the F.C. Barcelona football (soccer) stadium, the parlaiment, and the surrounding valley that Barcelona is enclosed in. Overall, for 19 euros the tour was worth it..we finished all of our sightseeing in one big swoop.

Later that evening, we were all tired and tried to sleep more as we had a 6am flight to Ibiza (an island in the Balearic area off the coast of Spain..still considered part of Spain) the next morning. Ibiza is considered by many as the #1 party spot in the world. Famous celebrities frequent the island all year round, especially during the late summer months. We picked a great time to come as it is the beginning of the party season there and we came on a day that had an 'opening party' for the club El Divino. Besides having a great nightlife, Ibiza is known for its great beaches and water sports during the day. We spent the entire day on the beach lounging in the beautiful sunny weather. We ended up napping for about 4 hours!! Great way to be on vacation, no??

Afterwards, we headed to the bar district to grab a few drinks and pick up tickets for the nighttime festivities. We were able to bargain down several vendors to selling us tickets to the club for only 10 euros each (versus 40-50 on a normal basis..quite a savings!!). You can also bargain for drink specials there - great thing about Spain!

The party was awesome. The club was right on the beach so you could walk outside and feel the fresh sea breeze. Tons of people were there and everyone was dancing crazy to trance/techno music...great atmosphere...I can see why they call it the party capital of the world. We ended up staying there the entire night (until about 6am), then caught a flight back to Barcelona that same day. As soon as we got back we were all very tired so we slept.

Our last night in Barcelona we ended up meeting a lot of people staying at our Hostel from all over...US states like Florida, Colorado, DC, etc. as well as people from Holland, Amsterdam, London, Paraguay, and more. Barcelona truly is host to an international crowd of travellers!

On the morning of the 8th, we were supposed to catch an 8:45 train to Nice, France, concluding our stay in Spain. Unfortunately, our cab drivers took us to the wrong station and we ended up missing our reserved trains. After quickly consulting the ticket office, we were able to change our reservations without penalty to an 11:20am train. Unfortunately, this train takes about 4 hours longer than the first one...so we arrived in Nice after switching 3 different trains in France at about 11pm. Too late to do anything...we simply went to the Hostel: Saint Villa de Exiupery and checked in...and here I am writing to you from their free internet access!

Nice is considered the 'capital' of the French Riviera...the Riviera also home to the city of Cannes (heard of the Cannes film festival? It's here..) and Monaco (home of the world famous Monte Cristo casino. This whole area thrives on glitz and ritzyness (our cab to the hostel was a recent model top end Mercedes!). Both areas are within 30 minutes of Nice. We are here for 1 more night...so tommorow we plan on exploring the beaches, castles, chateaux's, casinos, etc. It will be a busy day indeed.

In general, our trip has been amazing already. We've learned that in order to keep costs in line as much as possible (as well as our health), that we should look for grocery stores wherever we are. We've done this several times already and are able to make our own meal of sandwiches, chips, and a bottle of water for around 3 euros each (great deal compared to the standard 6-10 euros for a meal around here). Also, we've gotten used to walking EVERYWHERE. We probably walk about 5 miles a day, if not more depending on the city. I suppose its good for us!

Anyway, It's about 2:30am right now and we're all tired from a full day of travelling....off to bed!
Hope everyone is keeping well!

Cheers,
Eurotravellers

Bonjour de Paris!

Hello everybody, we're writing from Paris this time. We've been here for 2 nights now and we've had quite a wild time. We were able to visit several famous sights in Paris including the Eiffel Tower, Sacre Cuer, The Louvre, The Pantheon, Palais de Invalides, Notre Dame Cathedral, and the Arch de Triomphe. We walked mostly everywhere and also saw the many districts of Paris (which interestingly enough, are numbered and spiral outwards from the Louvre in their layout).

The weather here has been phenomenal (a few cloudy mornings, but not bad). Much better than London. We've had a great opportunity this time to meet a lot of people from all over - there are a surprisingly large number of people from America that live here for 6-7 months for fun. The nightlife here is not that great. We've found that people in Paris are either very trendy and somewhat uptight, or very chilled out and simply don't want to be bothered. Either way, what can you expect - they're all French.

Otherwise, our hotel here was pretty good - Hotel De Medoc - it's located very close to the main train station Gare Du Nord. We have easy metro access to anywhere in Paris and thus moving around has been easy. This is a quick post as we are leaving in a few hours to Barcelona. Hopefully we have some more time there to write a proper post and some good descriptions of what we've seen. Here are a few photos from our travels so far (we have many more, but we have limited time at these internet cafe's!):

Arrived at London Gatwick

Outside the London National Gallery

At Yate's Pub in Luton

Outside the Eiffel Tower in Paris

At a street-side Parisian Cafe in front of the River Seine