Norway!!!

Welcome to Norway. Land of Vikings. Land of nature. Land of Fjords. Just what the heck is a fjord anyway, you ask? Don't worry, we'll get to that in a bit. For now let's settle in and enjoy our tour.

Our journey began with a late flight into the western city of Bergen. Meeting up with a friend (Henri in my case) and bedding down at her family's house prepared us for the adventures that were to come.

The next morning began with a walk through downtown Bergen and featured a tour of its famed fish market and Hanseatic Bryggen (Bryggen is Norwegian for wharf). The lovely architecture here is featured on just about every postcard in the city.


A trip up Mount Floyen soon followed. A funicular lifted us quickly to the top where a spectacular view of the city and ice cream awaited. Photo opportunities abound.

Henri and I

Nice backdrop eh?

The evening ended with a tasty meal whose contents I can not identify but was described to me as "a typical Norwegian meal" and "I'm surprised you ate that".


The next morning was raining and foggy. We went for a walk in the woods. It turned out to be a good plan as the forest was beautiful and alive in the cool morning mist. The pictures weren't what i'd hoped for but i'd say this one looks pretty cool :)


After having a veritable mountain of shrimp the evening before, we began day 3 by heading out to see the fabled fjords. As i'm sure curiosity is killing you, i'll explain that a fjord is a deep, fairly narrow valley carved from the ocean inland by glaciers. These valleys are filled with water and can be 0ver 100 miles long and thousands of feet deep. Almost like an ultra-deep, salt water river stretching far inland. The fishing in these is excellent and the views are better. I was taken to several including one of the biggest and most famous ones, Hardangerfjord. Pictures below

Hardangerfjord

The end of a fjord

That evening as my time ran short, I had a smorgasbord of homecooked Norwegian Salmon and other assorted fish in front of a beautiful sunset. A great ending to a great trip :)

And on a random note; dude, you need to mow your roof!

Breaking News Bulletin

Breaking news from Prague.

Sources close to the star have confirmed that the world renowned Luke Brazell will be staying in the US for between 1-2 months starting August 18th. This news contradicts earlier reports of a 2-3 week stay but the AP has been able to confirm the latest report's authenticity. We aren't sure of the exact reason for the extended stay but rumors abound that a delay in the visa process is the primary cause. Regardless of the reason, the result stands as both good news for Brazell, who has been gone for sometime and is said to be missing his friends and family, and also for anyone who wishes to see him during his American sojourn.

To repeat, Luke Brazell will now be staying in the US for 1-2 months starting August 18th.

One last European Hoorah

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter. The 4 distinct seasons of Prague

Today we begin with the good news first. I have two weeks to go in Prague and I'm really trying to get the most out of the time I have left. My more relaxed summer schedule has definitely helped (working one day a week will do that). The nature pictures posted here have all been taken in the last week or so.

On the other hand, I've been invited by a good friend of both Rachel and myself, Henri, to come visit Norway before I return home (note this is not bad news. there is no bad news). She and her family have very graciously offered to let me stay with them for a couples days and even went so far as to volunteer to show me many around. Needless to say i'm ecstatic about this opportunity. One last big trip before I head out sounds like a perfect ending to my European sojourn. And even better, they live on the west coast of the country, near many of Norway's famous Fjords. Hopefully i'll get to see a few of them while I'm there :D

And now its time to have a Mexican food dinner (that I made, so it actually tastes like Mexican food) and then meet a group of friends for ping-pong and pool to celebrate my birthday tonight :D Pictures from Norway in a week!

Almost looks like a way into Narnia

This picture reminds me of our old house in waco and the creek in our backyard

Rain over Sarka park

Sunrise at 4:20am

The last rays of sunset

Visiting Texas in August (or "why yes I am insane")

I'll keep this update short and sweet. This are going well here. I've had several friends crash at my place the last few days, the weather has been cooler lately and Prague continues to be a wonderful place to live. And as I'm sure you can tell from these pictures, there is no problem having fun with the other expats when we get together.

The game funnybone produces some interesting positions

The bigger news in case didn't know, is that I will be leaving Prague and returning to Texas for two or three weeks on August 18th. I need to apply for my new visa in the US. The best part is that I get to see all of you (I assume anyone who's put up with reading this is either a friend or family member). Just don't get between me and dr pepper and/or mexican food while I'm back!

For now, here is something cool to see. Follow this link to view a video I shot high in the Alps. It does a slightly better job of helping you understand exactly what I saw up there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95dhwBVnhXc

Elysium (part two)

Gimmelwald (the town of 100 people that I stayed in) and I posing together

Be forewarned, this post will be heavy on the pictures because well .... duh!

The third day saw me leaving my enchanting lakefront lodge and heading towards the breathtaking Mountain Hostel in Gimmelwald. Along the way I stopped to admire deep valleys, high peaks and a series of both outdoor and indoor waterfalls. The indoor one was a group of waterfalls inside a cave. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Yes those glowing colors really are what it looked like

From there I took the cable car up to the town of Murren, that sits a little above Gimmelwald. At this point the phrase breathtaking became literal. It was so magnificent that I could (and did) forget to breath a few times. Trying to understand what I saw from the pictures below is like trying to appreciate Beethoven's 5th from only two notes. However I still suggest looking at them because even those two notes are still part of a masterpiece (the artist being God in this case)

Gimmelwald

After finally managing to shut my mouth (a process that many of you know can take quite a long time), I proceed to make me way to my hostel (pictured below). This was easily my favorite hostel anywhere. It had an open friendly atmosphere inside that reminded me of a gathering of old friends, not a bunch of random strangers. Within minutes I'd joined several conversations and had a host of new friends. Everyone who stayed there shared an adventurous spirit and a love of nature with non of the fratboy mentality that invades so many city hostels.

To top off an already wonderful day, around 9 someone came in and reported that a polka festival was happening in a tent in the village. A group of us decided to head over and we were treated to charming music with good drinks and a wonderful ambiance. As an added bonus, part of a traveling girls choir was with us and they performed the national anthem in honor of Independence Day (and it was a GOOD performance). I definitely fell asleep with a smile on my face.

The Mountain Hostel

Three accordions and yodeling. What more could you need at a party??

The next morning began bright and early at 6:30am. I and a group of girls from the previous night had decided to go to the revolving restaurant on top of the mountain near us if it was clear that morning. It was and we did. However there was one teeny tiny problem. While it certainly was clear at the bottom, the top was literally in the clouds when we arrived. The temporary breaks in the clouds we got revealed a gorgeous panorama around us. Sadly they were few and far between. To pass the time, we went to (and I am not making this name up) the "Touristorama" to watch clips from the James Bond movie that was shot there.

After a few hours of intermittent napping and going Mystery Science Theater on the film clips, we finally gave up and headed back down to do some hiking. Honestly though, when hiking in the Swiss Alps is your backup plan, you're doing ok. And so another day ended with blissful exhaustion :)

Murren at sunrise

See, I told you I wasn't making it up!

My final day began with the usual stunning views and proceeded into a scenic little hike through a nearby canyon. My friend Heidi from the previous two days decided to join me and we had a great time exploring and talking. She then made the extraordinarily kind offer to drive me back to Prague (rather than have to take the bus). In exchange I offered her a free place to sleep on the couch and the tour of a city she'd always wanted to visit. We did just that with two details of note along the way.

The view out of the bathroom window at the hostel

The first was that Interlaken had a grocery coop that had real, normal Dr. Pepper. Most of you are aware that I have some small affinity for this drink. And it had been a while since I'd had DP but I decided to show restraint. I only bought 14 bottles.

I'm a happy guy :)

The second item is that on our way to CZ, we passed through Germany on the Autobahn. Heidi was kind enough to let me drive the Mercedes she had rented there. I won't go into details except to say that driving that fast legally is unbearably awesome!!

Switzerland (pronounced "heaven")

From the left: The Eiger, the Monch, and the Jungfrau

Before I begin this update, let me preface this by saying that no words or pictures can even begin to convey the beauty that I witnessed in my week in the Swiss Alps. With that out of the way, lets get started :)

Being the crazy person that I am, I decided to take the overnight bus to Interlaken and then go Canyoning that afternoon. This is crazy because you must sleep on the bus (and without a window seat this it tough) and because they stopped every two hours and turned on the lights for 20 minutes (which at 2 and 4am is NOT fun). Fortunately I made it through surprisingly well rested and ready for the day.


After exploring the city during the morning and just soaking up the swiss atmosphere it was off to canyoning. What is canyoning you ask? In short, its this...

Rappelling 160 ft straight down a cliff

Free jumping up to 30ft into shallow pools

Sliding down natural rock formations into pools and my personal favorite pictured here, zip-lining!

The whole thing took a couple of hours and was an absolute blast. And I only nearly killed myself twice!! It helped me make some new friends and got me into the right frame of mind to enjoy the Alps. The evening ended with me arriving at my lakefront hostel and learning that I had a room to myself :) Perfect end to a great day!

Day two began with the view you see above. It led into some relaxed exploring of the little town I was staying in before heading to meet some of my canyoning friends for a late lunch at a place Harder Kulm that overlooks both Interlaken and the mountains south of it. The top picture from this post was taken there. More follow below. The day ended with a lovely walk and some great ice cream :)

To keep this from becoming too long and boring (too late I know), i'll put the rest in an update tomorrow ;)

I had previously only seen water this color in Alaska (the color is the result of the lakes being glacier fed)

My friend Bena and I in front of a serious view of one of the two lakes that flank Interlaken

This is the other one

Preparing for craziness

You know those perfect evenings? The ones filled with cool summer evening breezes, birds singing, Louis Armstrong jazz playing and brilliantly colored sunsets? Well I just had one of those. And personally, I think evening like that can do more to restore your spirit than whole weeks on vacation.

This one came at just the perfect time. My next two weeks will be wonderfully chaotic. First is a going away party most of sunday for two of my friends. Then I work all day monday before meeting my friend Maria at the airport. She's coming over from the UK for two days to see Prague for the first time and I volunteered to be the tour guide :)


She leaves wednesday afternoon after which i'm going straight to work and then to a tennis match that evening with a very good player I met. The next morning I work for the last time in Kutna Hora (sadness) and then that night at 9pm I catch the overnight bus to switzerland. 5 days and 4 nights of breathtaking scenery will hopefully ensue :D

And to finish it off, I return wednesday the 7th at 5:30am and teach from 7:30-6 that day. I'm probably a little crazy but its all so fun that I can't pass any of it up. I can rest when i'm old. Besides, after that I have about 1/3 my current amount of work and a month and a half here with virtually no solid plans except explore and enjoy.

It's gonna be a good summer :)