TravelStream™ news feed for member kevnjac on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/kevnjac en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Fri, 01 Aug 2008 11:43:59 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kevnjac/1/1217170500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kevnjac/1/1217170500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kevnjac/1/1217170500/tpod.html Fri, 01 Aug 2008 11:43:59 -0400 Summer of Adventure

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Triberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Today Uncle Mike took Kevin and I to the Black Forest. The Black Forest in one of the best known regions on Germany. It is 125 miles long and almost 40 miles wide. We headed to Triberg which is one of the most representative cities of the Black Forest region. Of course when we got into Triberg it started RAINING!!!! Did we bring our umbrellas.... NOPE!  Here we saw one of the largest clock producers in the area. The Houses of 100 Clocks. In the Black forest, cuckoo clocks are world famous. Then we headed up to see the magnificent waterfalls in the area.  After getting soaked, we headed into a local restaurant to have Black Forest cake. So as we are sitting there enjoying so Goulash soup, the sun comes out. Of course it does! So we got a slice of Black Forest cake which is basically chocolate cake soaked in cherry schnapps and covered in cherries and cream. We also had some warm apple strudel with ice cream. After our snack, we headed back to the house to rest up and get warm.
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Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

We have been enjoying ourselves here in Germany. We have been able to go on base and get American products. I think Kevin has now eaten the entire bag of Doritos. We haven't really done a lot during the days expect watch movies on the big HD TV, but it has been a relaxing time before our trip to London, Dublin, and Paris and before our trip home to start school again. Tomorrow we are going on a Rhine River cruise. Look forward to many pictures of castle courtesy of Kevin Lawson, the picture happy traveler. More soon!
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Cochem, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Tonight, Kevin and I went to the Reichsburg Castle for a Medieval Dinner and Tour. The Reichsburg Castle is in the Mosel Valley in the little town of Cochem. This castle's history dates back to 1000 A.D. and local legend claims it to be the castle of Sleeping Beauty. We stopped and along the way to take some gorgeous pictures of the Mosel Valley and of the castle. We also had some free time to spend in the town of Cochem. This little town is exactly what you would picture a little German town to look like. And of course, right when are about to head up the hill to the castle. It starts to pour down rain. Did we bring our umbrellas you ask? Ha ha of course not! So we hiked up the hill in a thunder storm and were completely drenched. After our tour of the castle. We went into the Knights Hall for a medieval style dinner. Dinner started out with vegetables with dip. Then rye bread with bacon lard. We also had beef soup w/peas and a turkey leg for the main course. There were grapes and cheese for dessert, as well as wine and schnapps. The best part about the whole meal was the fact that there were no napkins or silverware. You had to eat with your hands, which made the soup interesting to eat, and the servants came around with buckets of water to wash your hands in. Of course the problem with that was that everyone before you had also washed there hands in it. There was a lord and lady of the castle and at the end were the Knight Games in which two men competed for the lady of the house and to be knighted. This was on of the best times we have had so far with the exception of the lady next to me spilling her wine all over Kevin and I.  Tomorrow we are heading to the Black Forest with Mike. Can't wait for Kevin to try some Black Forest cake!
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Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Hello all! We made it to Germany!! After a long trek in Barcelona of taking the metro and train with our heavy bags, we made it to the airport and to Germany in a mere two hours. My uncle Mike picked us up in Frankfurt and drove us to meet his friends Claus and Rosa for some traditional schnitzel. Schnitzel is essentially breaded pork. We had jagerschnitzel which is a schnitzel with a mushroom gravy. Kevin also had his first taste of German beer. I even drank a whole beer and I don't drink beer. After dinner we went over to Claus' for some schnapps. Schnapps here isn't like the schnapps at home. It is 40% alcohol and is flavored but it is used to settle the stomach after dinner. Claus was impressed cause he assumed I would make a face or not take the whole shot but I took it with no problem and he about feel over with surprise. We also had to share a liter of beer. It was in this huge mug and we each took turns attempting to drink as much as possible at once. Kevin really enjoyed this and has vowed that he will finish a whole liter of beer by himself before the end of the trip.Our trip to Switzerland, Austria, and Lichtenstein got canceled so we are going to do a medieval castle tour and dinner instead on Saturday and Uncle Mike is taking us to the Black Forest on Sunday. Pictures soon to come!!!!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kevnjac/1/1212504060/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kevnjac/1/1212504060/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/kevnjac/1/1212504060/tpod.html Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:46:32 -0400 Summer of Adventure

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Topeka, Kansas, United States

Off to Europe!!!
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Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain and Canary Islands

Today is a sad yet happy day. Kevin and I are packing our bags and heading to my uncle's house in Kaiserslatuern, Germany. We are leaving the program a week early so we can spend a little more time with my uncle. Our internships are pretty flexible and we feel like we have gotten everything we came for here in Barcelona. We have learned a lot about ourselves and each other and we are ready to go see the rest of Europe and come home.  So, they next time we will update the blog, we will be in Germany! Adios until then!
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Andorra, Andorra

Yesterday, Kevin and I went river trekking in the Pyrenees mountains. The Pyrenees are a range of mountains in southwest Europe that form a natural border between France and Spain . They separate the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of continental Europe, and extend for about 430 km (267 mi) from the Bay of Biscay (Cap Higuer) to the Mediterranean Sea (Cap de Creus). We hiking in the mountains along side a river. Kevin and I took the Advanced level and we had many steep, rocky inclines to dominate. When we reached the top, we were at a waterfall. Kevin and I jumped off a cliff into the pool of water below the waterfall. The water was freezing!!!! Once you hit the water it felt like a thousand knives stabbing you everywhere. You could hardly breathe and when you finally swam your way to shore, your muscles were shaking so bad, you had to wait a couple seconds before you could try to climb back up to the land. It was one of the coolest experiences we have had so far. We are so glad we did it and it will definitely be an adventure we will never forget. The view of the mountains were breathtaking and I think this was probably our favorite excursion yet. (P.S. We should have a picture of us jumping off the cliff later this week. Someone else took the picture with their camera. As soon as I get it up I will let you all know.) After our workout, we headed to Andorra for an authentic Catalan lunch in a manor house. We had a 3 course meal of salad, meat and cheeses, lamb, chicken, sausage, potatoes, and creme brulee for dessert. We had unlimited wine and water and after dinner we had cava, which is the national drink of Spain. Cava is basically sparkling wine, or champagne. After our calorie fest, we headed back to the bus for Barcelona and a really, really long nap.
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Barcelona, Spain and Canary Islands

So today, Kevin and I went to the Barcelona Football (Soccer) Stadium a.k.a. Camp Nou. We went to the Picasso museum yesterday but we weren't allowed to take pictures so we don't have any to put up. We do, however, have TONS of pictures of the football stadium. We got to tour the stadium on every level including the press box. We got to see the press room where they interview players and we also go to see the President's level where everything was luxury to the fullest. There was also a museum about the club from the start of the football to the modern day club. There were a ton of memorabilia and trophies. They were also setting up for the Bruce Springsteen concert so we got to see them build up the stage. Kevin was in heaven and he looked so cute in his little FC Barcelona jersey.
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Carcassonne, Languedoc-Roussillon, France

This weekend Kevin and I went to the South of France to a town called Carcassonne. It is separated into the fortified <i>Cité de Carcassonne and the more expansive lower city, the <i>ville basse. La Cité, as in Cité Medieval, lies on the right bank of the River Aude. Work began on this site in the early 1120's. This is a magnificent example of a medieval walled in fortress. It is featured on UNESCO's World Heritage list. It has 52 towers, 2 rings of town walls, and 3 km of battlements. It quite simply looks like a fairy tale version of a medieval castle. This was an amazing place to visit and Kevin took sooooo many pictures. Here are just a few to showcase. We had an amazing time at the medival castle and that night the town of Carcassonne was having some sort of festival, so Kevin and I trekked into the lower city and found a little town square with a concert going on. So we found a little cafe and shared a bottle of wine and listened to the music. It was truly a great way to experience the south of France.
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Figures, France

On our way back from Carcassonne, we stopped in Figueres,&nbsp;France to visit the Salvador Dali museum. Dali was a surrealist so a lot of his works are strange and off the wall. Kevin didn't really get it but I thought it was very intersting thanks to my art history class. Take a look for yourself and decide what you think.
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