TravelStream™ news feed for member mudokki on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/mudokki en-us Copyright ©2010 TravelPod.com Tue, 26 Sep 2006 02:14:35 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/post-spain_2006/1158559920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/post-spain_2006/1158559920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/post-spain_2006/1158559920/tpod.html Tue, 26 Sep 2006 02:14:35 -0400 After living in Europe for almost five months what do you do? Go back to normal college life, but take off on some trips just to keep sane!

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Washington, District of Columbia, United States

CAPITAL BABY, details to come
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/post-spain_2006/1155708660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/post-spain_2006/1155708660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/post-spain_2006/1155708660/tpod.html Tue, 26 Sep 2006 02:11:42 -0400 After living in Europe for almost five months what do you do? Go back to normal college life, but take off on some trips just to keep sane!

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Greenbrae, California, United States

Went to see Gram. Details to come
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/post-spain_2006/1155708480/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/post-spain_2006/1155708480/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/post-spain_2006/1155708480/tpod.html Tue, 26 Sep 2006 02:09:40 -0400 After living in Europe for almost five months what do you do? Go back to normal college life, but take off on some trips just to keep sane!

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Novato, California, United States

Went to see Gram. Details to come
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/post-spain_2006/1159250700/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/post-spain_2006/1159250700/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/post-spain_2006/1159250700/tpod.html Tue, 26 Sep 2006 02:07:55 -0400 After living in Europe for almost five months what do you do? Go back to normal college life, but take off on some trips just to keep sane!

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Deland, Florida, United States

Being back at Stetson has been interesting....details to come
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/post-spain_2006/1159250580/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/post-spain_2006/1159250580/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/post-spain_2006/1159250580/tpod.html Tue, 26 Sep 2006 02:07:22 -0400 After living in Europe for almost five months what do you do? Go back to normal college life, but take off on some trips just to keep sane!

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Little Torch Key, Florida, United States

Another great send off from the tropical paradise to college! Details to come
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/post-spain_2006/1159250460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/post-spain_2006/1159250460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/post-spain_2006/1159250460/tpod.html Tue, 26 Sep 2006 02:06:57 -0400 After living in Europe for almost five months what do you do? Go back to normal college life, but take off on some trips just to keep sane!

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New York, New York, United States

Mindy and I went on a fantasy-like trip to NY city! Details to come
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/post-spain_2006/1150699980/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/post-spain_2006/1150699980/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/post-spain_2006/1150699980/tpod.html Tue, 26 Sep 2006 02:00:12 -0400 After living in Europe for almost five months what do you do? Go back to normal college life, but take off on some trips just to keep sane!

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Guanajuato, Mexico

Going back to Mexico was an incredibly experience. First, I got to see my best friend after more than six months of being apart. Second, I could reconect with fantastic people and a beautiful, lively place. I met up with old friends. So many people remembered me, and were excited to see me again. I also made some new friends. Enjoying the hot, salsa dancing, tequila and lime, laughs and kisses night life of Mexico was a great way to keep my mind off missing Spain.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/spain-2006/1149251880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/spain-2006/1149251880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/spain-2006/1149251880/tpod.html Mon, 05 Jun 2006 10:18:13 -0400 Voy a Espana! Four months, five Spanish classes, and hopefully lots of hot Spanish men and scrumptious cuisine that won't make me fat!

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Vienna, Austria

We got to Vienna around 12:30pm. We asked some locals when the trams stopped for the night, and they told us they were already closed. When we walked outside we saw a tram go by, so it seemed like they were still open. I voted that we take a taxi. It was already late, we didn´t know what time our hostle office closed, and it was really freakin cold. There is a long explanation why, that I´ll skip, but we ended up on a tram headed to the hostel for about two minutes before the tram stopped and everyone got out. I told everone that I thought we were supposed to get out, that it seemed to be the last stop, but we stayed on. I just knew what was going to happen next, and sure enough, the next thing we knew we were headed to where they part the trams at night. The workers laughed so hard when they realized that the tram still had dumb foriegn kids on it. They let us out and we walked till we found a taxi to take us the rest of the way.
The next morning we used the hostel´s travel guides to figure out what we wanted to do that day. After a little while my patients wore thin, but my friend Sarah kept saying somthing would jump out at us, there would be something special that we didn´t realize was in Austria. The only thing I thought was going to jump out was my stomach, and walk to the cafe to get breakfast on its own. Sure enough, moments later, Sarah asked, -Does anyone know of the painting "The Kiss"? I just about jumped out of my skin.
See, my mom had given me a book of poetry when I was little that had that painting as the cover. Ever since I had fallen in love with it, and always wanted to see it. I started buying an extra postcard of all my favorite paintings I have seen here and keeping it for myself, and once I saw that postcard in a museum in Spain. I asked everyone where the painting was kept and nobody knew. I bought the postcard anyway...well, God knew I would see it. It was at the museum in Austria. We saw "The Kiss" and some other great stuff by Klimp, some Van Gogh and Monet, not exactly their most famous stuff, but nice.
Then we walked to the older part of town called the Ring. At one point I told everyone I thought a starbucks should be nearby, and sure enough it was around the corner. :) I really think I have a sixth sense.
We walked around, saw a church, did some shopping and headed to the train station. After a nice dinner on the train we slepted until we got to Prague. We got to our last hostle late at night, and woke up the little old ladies that own it. There were very nice about it, told us when breakfast was in the morning and warned us of the British boys that would be loud in the morning. It was the perfect ending to a great trip.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/spain-2006/1148733420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/spain-2006/1148733420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/spain-2006/1148733420/tpod.html Mon, 05 Jun 2006 09:55:06 -0400 Voy a Espana! Four months, five Spanish classes, and hopefully lots of hot Spanish men and scrumptious cuisine that won't make me fat!

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Prague, Czech Republic

We enjoyed breakfast the next morning with the old man, his labrador, and some odd sliced meats and cheeses. Conversation was a challenge. It mostly consisted of the man explaining to us that his labrador was one of only two in Prague that have a black mark. I really just think the puppy got under the family car one day and was annointed with a little oil and hasn´t been washed since, but that would be even odder than the plain yellow lab being born with a pitch black spot on his back. Joe and I said goodbye to the little old man and his wife. He kept saying "little time, little time" and shaking his head, while his rosy cheeked wife just smiled and nodded. We returned the gigantic key, put on our shoes and walked down the road. Once we arrived in the center of town, it was obvious why so many people had told us how beautiful the city is. The both antique and modern buildings surround you as your cross the bridge and enter the center of town. Our first stop was the hostel, and the next was the train station. Being the first two of the group to arrive, we needed to do some research for the rest of the trip. We started walking to the train station, passed the National Gallery, and the center strip, of course not lacking a McDonalds. At the train station we gathered information about trains to Berlin, Vienna, and Budapest, deciding that Vienna would be the most resonable. From the train station we didn´t really know how to get to the Old Town so we just started walking in the general directions. All of a sudden we were walking on some freeway and I was telling Joe it was the last time he led the way. We made it to the Old Town. First we saw the Powder Tower (where they used to store gun powder). We climb all the way up to the top to see a great view of the city. I always wonder while I´m half way up tiny stairs in too small of space, why I climb those things, but the view is always worth it. I always wonder if they tell fat people they can´t go inside, or if they just let them get half way up and stuck in the middle of a small passageway.
We walked down to the center square, where we saw a huge crowed forming. We gathered around the large clock they were stairing at, hopeing to see something amazing. Well, at the strike of the hour a little doll on the clock dings a small bell. The amazing part is everyone cheers like at a futbol game. I must have missed something. After the thrilling clock we rushed back to the hostel to meet up with Monica. We grabbed her, went to lunch, and then headed to the Old Town again. On the way there, Monica had to use the bathroom. We stopped at a tea room and stayed for two hours. Of course it wasn´t just any tea room. It was an exotic tea room where we sat on the floor and were handed a bible of teas to chose from.Monica had an ice tea that foamed like a beer, I had a Czech tea with rose hips in it, and Joe had a Vietnamese tea that was listed as "the best tea in 1993." He decided later that it must have been the best tea in Vietnam, and it must have been a bad year for there tea. I love tea, but I had to admit it smelled like dung, and didn´t taste much better until Joe put half the bowl of sugar in it. I couldn´t just have on cup, so I decided to try a tea from South America too. It is called Maté, served in a gourd and it is suppose to really keep you going. Well, I was begging for a nap earlier, but after the tea I was ready to go. From there we walked all over the town till Sarah arrived.
We went out to dinner finally all together.
The next day we headed toward the castle. We spent most of the day walking there. It isn´t a really long walk, but we spent time on the old bridge, shopping and listening to musicians. When we finally made it to the castle entrance we looked at the stairs to get there, and decided to relax at "the best little cafe in prague" before we made the climb. When we decided to go there were a group of guys preparing to have a race up the stairs. One of them was Spanish and one was from England. We cheered on Spain until they both just stopped one flight away from the top. The castle was a little disapointing. Really, we really don´t think it should be called a castle. Its more of a palace with a church in the middle. That night we began our outing with a show. I´m sure many of you don´t know that one of the most popular things to do in Prague is go to Blacklight Theatre. Oh yes, that´s what we did. We went to see "Wow" a blacklight show and a man who goes to sleep and his inner child comes out in his dreams...hence the crazy blacklight. Trust me it is as cheezy as it sounds. Afterwards we went to dinner at a place called Joe´s Cafe ironically. It was a really nice bar and resturant that had a salsa band playing that night. After dinner we kept the party going till in a little Czech club down the road. We stayed out almost all night, got back to the hostel, and read on the door of our room the notice that said check out was at 9am. After about 3 hours of sleep we were back on the streets of Europe.
The next day we went to the Jewish Quarter before heading to Vienna. The most interesting thing there was the cemetary. Since the Jews didn´t have much land they could only have one cemetary, but as more and more Jews were transferred from Germany and many died on the way, they had to keep raising the cemetary. More than three times they took all the tombstones down, put on more dirts, buried more people and put all the tombstones back. Now the land is all different levels and tombstones are all ontop of each other. It is quite the site. There is one stone monument that has become a place where people write down prayers and stick them in the crevices of the monument. Joe accused me of writing a whole scroll, but you know you can never pray too much. Then we put them in the crevices where they´ll be till they fall out and get thrown away by the janitors...But God will remember. :)
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/spain-2006/1148646900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/spain-2006/1148646900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mudokki/spain-2006/1148646900/tpod.html Fri, 02 Jun 2006 09:13:20 -0400 Voy a Espana! Four months, five Spanish classes, and hopefully lots of hot Spanish men and scrumptious cuisine that won't make me fat!

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Prague, Czech Republic

I should have known this trip was going to be a real adventure right from the beginning. Joe, Sara, Monica and myself were all scheduled to arrive in Prague at different times, even on different days. Joe and I were arriving the night of May 26th and the others were coming May 27th. When Joe and I booked our hostel the deciding factors were availability (because we booked it about a day before we left), breakfast was included, and the hostel had its own restaurant next door so that when Joe got there late we could get something quick to eat for dinner. There are a few things I learned on this trip and one is that when everything goes smoothly, you have less good stories to tell later. Well, what actually happened that night makes a much better story than we had planned.
I got to Prague around 6pm, retrieved my luggage and grabbed a taxi. I was surprised that the taxi driver was wearing a nice suit and the taxi still had its new car smell. The drive toward the city was really beautiful. Even though it was rainy and cold the countryside was so green and charming I loved it immediately. I knew we had picked the right place when the car stopped in front of a charming little building with a big sign that said restaurant on one side and pension on the other. I walked in and told the lady my name. She replied, "Oh, we're full, so we've moved you to another pension." My first question was "Where?" It was raining and my taxi was gone so when she told me it was just down the road I think she could see I wasn't too happy. Then she told me to sit and she would have someone come and get me.
A little old man who hardly spoke English picked me up in his car. We drove about four blocks and he parked outside of a house. "Here, come" he said as he got my bag and opened the little gate covered in ivy. We walked into the house. A large, rosy-cheeked woman came out to me speaking all sorts of Czech. I felt like a long lost cousin coming to stay. The old man handed me slippers so I took off my shoes, put on the huge slippers that felt like skis and followed the man upstairs. He took me to the attic where there were too large rooms, a small kitchen, and a bathroom. He showed me all around the attic and handed me keys. One was for the gate outside and one that looked like something out of medieval times was for opening the front door. It was late by the time my orientation was over and I had put my stuff in one of the rooms. Joe's flight was all messed up so by 10pm I really didn't think he was coming. I didn't want to walk to the other hostel by myself, and there didn't seem to be anywhere else to eat nearby so I found a smashed muffin in my purse and decided that was dinner. I sat in my warm bed of down blankets and pillows and wrote in my journal.
Right when I was about to go to sleep I heard people walking upstairs and Joe's voice. I was so excited I ran out to meet him. Just like the old man had given me a lesson on how to use the kitchen, he gave Joe an equally lengthy lesson on how to navigate through the city. When he was done Joe and I asked if there was any restaurant still open nearby. The man said that most close at 11pm, but he would drive us to one and see if they were still serving. I didn't want this old man to have to drive us anywhere at eleven at night, but we were starving so we took his offer. By the time we had reminded each other to remember the route home we were there. In the middle of suburbia there were a restaurant and a bar. The restaurant was completely shut down, but there was still a light on outside the bar. The old man tried the door, and it was locked. He then used the intercom to beg that they let us in. Through a ramble of Czech all we could understand was "Americans" which I'm sure was followed with please feed them something. Suddenly, we heard a buzz and the door was open. We walked down the stairs to the basement of the building. At the end of the stairs one of the planks of wood had been replaced with glass, forming a type of terrarium. Joe and I looked inside and saw a live snake. We turned the corner to see a little bar and a few tables. On one wall was an entire wolf skinned and on the other the skull of a deer still adorned with antlers. One of the waiters pointed to a cave area with a large stone table surrounded by stone benches covered in sheepskin. That was our table. We opened the menus and realized they were completely in Czech, turned to the old man with puzzled faces, and hoped that he knew the English word for chicken. He explained to us that they were going to give us their special, and asked if we knew how to get home. The old man tried to give us directions, but since we didn't understand and it seemed so close we assured him we could find our way back.
Dinner was quite good. They gave us chicken wings in a sweet sauce, and a mountain of bread. We sat and watched the waiter take shots of vodka, drink pints of beer, and serve customers occasionally. It was late by the time we left. No one was still in the bar. We headed out into the cold, and started down the street. It wasn't long till we realized that everything looked the same and we had no clue how to get home. We tried to hale a taxi. Not many passed by and we couldn't remember the street name to be able to tell them where to take us. We knew if we saw it we would know it, but trying to pronounce something like Czechakucanka was impossible so we decided to go back to the bar and get help. We didn't even know if they would let us in, but we pushed the intercom, said we were lost, and it buzzed. We walked downstairs and there were the waiters with some girls drinking some more. Thankfully, one of the girls spoke some engligh. We tried to pronounce the street, but couldn't. They called a taxi to see if they knew where our other hostel was, because we could get from there to our house, but they didn't know it. Just when we were about to take them up on the offer to stay and have a drink, Joe remembered that he had the receipt in his pocket that had the street name on it. They called a friend and had him mapquest it, then gave us directions. They were such nice people we thought about staying. One of the guys was pretty cute and we thought that maybe he was talking to one of the girls about me at one point....either way it was late and we needed to get some rest. Besides, the girls were drinking absinthe like it was Baileys, and the boys just kept taking shots of vodka. We decided they were partying a little too hard for us. We said goodnight and walked to our hostel, which was only one street away.
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