11.16.2005

French Guys crack me up :) (I don't care what they say about this, I'm posting it anyway!) No, I'm not being disrespectful to the flag, this is called Trading Patches. We were goofing around. Anyway, this is one of my buddies from the Dancon that I met. We traded Patches, MRE's, Weapons (just to take a picture with) and emails. Apparently that may not be the last I ever hear from him. Labels: dancon, Europe, Picture Ban -Risawn: # 4:21 PM - |

10.12.2005

Ugly Americans Cadet Happy is Photoshopping me again. This time, mom is another one of my accomplices. I need to get a picture of me in the Black Forest. I got France in the background. It's the mountains in the background, you can see them over the mist. Now that's something to Photoshop! Ok, I don't hate France THAT much. I just don't agree with their politics. But apparently there are a lot of Europeans that don't like France either. Labels: Europe, Photomanipulation -Risawn: # 12:50 AM - |

10.11.2005

One Night in Zurich And that's all I have to say about that. . . Labels: Europe -Risawn: # 10:13 PM - |

Straight from the Horse's Mouth Somewhere in Innsbruck. . . Labels: Europe -Risawn: # 10:09 PM - |

Preparing for the DANCON Leave, just another way of preparing for a 25K road march. . . Was this a little excessive? Probably. Those double X chromosomes had to get me somewhere, I've never been a great packer. Labels: Army, dancon, Europe -Risawn: # 9:58 PM - |

It's All Part of the Experience, Clark So, I'm sitting here, waiting for my ride. Mom and I parted ways this afternoon, after a tearful goodbye when I informed her that I would see her in about three months, give or take a couple weeks. Getting from Mannheim to Ramstein had me getting the directions from somebody who either didn't know what she was talking about or doesn't like the military, one or the other. Hmm. Anyway, I'm in the PAX terminal now and they have, TADA! Free Wireless Internet! Keyboard is normal again! I don't have to think twice when I type something with a Y in it! So anyway, it looks like I made it alright to my destination, I'll let everyone back home know when I made it to the final location. Mom seemed to be in good spirits when we left, it was an experience that we have made many memories from, a good Mother Daughter Bonding moment. Spent the day in Heidleburg by the way. Checked out the ruined castle and did some shopping. I didn't manage to get a dump of mom's pictures from today, but I got some from my camera. Will share when I get to a more stable place. That, and I have to burn a CD and ship things home. Note: Never buy vitamins in another language unless you are certain you know how to consume them. That way, you aren't finding yourself foaming at the mouth when taking Vitamin C tablets you were supposed to dissolve in water. (I guess you just had to be there) Labels: Europe -Risawn: # 11:37 AM - |

10.10.2005

Hits and Misses So, our journey is coming to an end, and I´m sad. However, on a lighter note, mom and I have been looking back on our journez and realizing just how much fun we had, both the ups and downs. One of the coolest things about the trip is the people we have met, from all over the world, and sometimes even our own backyard. Hopefully I´ll be able to keep in contact with the ones I traded emails with. Unfortunately, Im horrible at keeping in contact with my minions so I don´t know how that will work. Today we visited the Black Forest, not just any forest, no, this is THE Black Forest. It was very beautiful, we rode a gondola to the top of the mountain and enjoyed the view. In fact, we saw France! We were debating on crossing the border just so that we could saz we´ve been to France but such was not to be. Overall, in after thought, we were thinking how we would do things differently if we could do the trip over again. Personally, I had a great time and had no regrets, well, other then Verona (we stopped at the Trainstation, debated on seeing the city, and found out that my Italian needs much help) so we just got back on the train and went to Innsbruck, which was beautiful. We loved Austria. Switzerland was verz prettz too, but very expensive, so we spent a day in Luzern and headed up to Frieburg for the evening. Tomorrow is our last day together before we call it goodbye for now. Hopefully I´ll see mom in about three months, if all goes well, but soon it will be back to the Cattle Drive for me. *sighs* Just before leave, I had decided that if Mom hadn´t come to Europe to meet me, I would have just gone home as I was getting pretty home sick. I´m so glad she could make it. And I´m proud of her, she survived everybody, I only almost killed her! Labels: Europe -Risawn: # 11:17 AM - |

10.08.2005

Amusement I was amused while in Hungary, when I ran into a series of figures that go inside of one another, you know what I'm talking about, right? Well, I couldn't recall the name of them, but anyway, I saw a series of them that I found very interesting. And follows the previous election very well. I went so far as to buy them even. thought I would share. A list of presidents going down from most recent to least recent. Except for one minor problem. Kerry was never president. . . Labels: Europe -Risawn: # 3:22 PM - |

Visited Countries, Updated Well, the trip is not quite over, but what the heck, might as well update this now. create your own visited country map or check our Venice travel guide I don't think we will check out any new countries now, we were almost going to visit Liechtenstein but we couldn't manage to cross the border, and we're running out of time. Currently, I'm taking residence in Switzerland, the hostel provides free wireless! WOOT!!! I have seriously come to appreciate the freedom wireless offers. Unfortunately, Switzerland doesn't offer the standard European outlet so I don't know how I'm going to charge my computer. Labels: Europe -Risawn: # 2:50 PM - |

10.06.2005

Minions to the Rescue indeed! Murray (my agent) got pictures of my travels where I met my first minion (minion Ted) in Vienna and posted about it. Aack, sorry I've had issues finding computers that let me download anything!!! Yes, this was the first time I had ever met a Minion, meaning somebody who follows my blog on account of my lack of sorriness. We had good fun with the musical toilets! My minions wouldn't fit if they weren't a little weird. . . Meanwhile, am currently in Venice. Venice is awesome. Already we've gone on a Gondolo ride and I got attacked by pigeons. They must have known my plot to grab one and squeeze it. Urm, meanwhile. . . let me start over again. I got to Frankfurt two days before mom did and hung around for a wee bit. Frankfurt isn't very touristy, but the Romerburg district is pretty cool. We hopped the train to Salzburg. . . which we absolutely LOVED!!! We spent a good several days during Salzburg singing show tunes from the Sound of Music. Then we went on a tour of the Salzburg saltmines. I was so tempted to take home this dashing outfit. Mom says the same. We got in a few of the surrounding countryside and saw a lot of the Alps. The Alps = Very Cool Experience. I love mountains. So far, Salzburg may be our favorite place, as is evident by the fact that we stayed there for a few days. Next up, Munich! With Beer and Hoodies for All! During my experience, I got attacked by a Boarhog. Mom even got in on the fun. We now have a special place in our hearts for Lowenbrau beer. The giant beer carts and the draft horses (bringing a whole new meaning to the word). . . too cool! um, anyway, back to Salzburg!!! We made our way to the Ice Caves of Salzburgs (between the driver making us sick and the car sounding like it was about to fall apart, well worth it!) Oh, and don't forget Hohensalzburg (other wise known as the fortress) Half of the fun is meeting friends from around the world who are touring Europe too. I met these guys (from Isreal, Australia, and Iowa, respectively) who were at the same hostel as we were. much fun. You can see our hostel from here! Me and mom took a tour of Salzburg in a Horse Drawn Carriage. The horses are Hungarian Lippizzaners, names are The Titan and Billy the Kid. This is our friend, we suspect he is the Ghost of Christmas Future. I think I'll just call him Dr. Death. We also made our way up to the Eagle's nest, also known as Hitler's private get away. Unfortunately for Hitler, being up that high gave him Vertigo. HAH! The view is beautiful. It was actually an interesting time to be up on the mountain. All in the valley at around 11:30 sirens started going off. One of the guys touring up there looked around asking where the Bombers were. It freaked us out a bit. Turns out they test the sirens once a year, and October 1st is the day they do it. Just the time we were up in the mountain thinking the world was going to end. Well, mom did anyway. . . After Salzburg was Vienna. We went to the Lipizanner museum (and I just realized I can't spell Lipizanner) and wanted to see the horses but they weren't performing or even training the days we were there. So we had to make a pass on them. *sob* Anyway, we did get the chance to see Egon Schiele at the Leopold, who happens to be one of my favorite artists, though luck be have it, they only had a few paintings up by him as the rest of the exhibit was down for some reason. We got double tickets to see the Modern Art museum as well, unfortunatley for us, they had a prominant exhibit by Bruce Naeman, who specializes in blood, sharp objects and dead things. Not pleasant. An extra minus, or so Ted said. Speaking of which, as I mentioned earlier, Ted the minion lives in Vienna, and had even given me lots of fun things via Amazon, which I later learned was a no go. Oops. Oh well. I am short. I saw this Republican Mascot and I knew I had to cuddle with it. While we were in Vienna, we saw an Opera! Just to say we saw an Opera in Vienna! Because we are cool like that. Standing room tickets were 2 Euro, the opera was Il Barbarie el Sevil, or something, because I just butchered the italian of the name, but known in English as the Barbar of Seville. I saw Figaro performed Live in an Opera! So freakin' Awesome! We took off after about an hour because we had been walking around all day and could only stand for so much longer. After Vienna? Budapest!!! First night, we ate at a traditional Hungarian restaurant complete with Live Gypsy music. the next day, we did a lot of walking around. The parliment in the background of this picture is so freagin' cool. We also caught the train out to Szentendre, don't ask me how to pronounce that, and we did a bit of sightseeing and shopping out there. (yes, I'm in a lot of these pictures, its hard to get mom to pose for them. See my T-shirt? Running joke in Austria, a lot of people find their way there and ask where the Kangaroos are. Stupid gag I saw that made me laugh. Cheap thrill. Bunny with a gun. hehe. When we were in Buda, under the Castle District is a Labrynth. It was freakin' sweet! Which brings us to the Present. Venice!!! Which we came by Night Train. . . this is me looking like a dead animal, or so mom said. Touring Venice included a Gondola ride. Which brings us to the present. We are busy washing the much needed laundry and spending a lot of money drying them, and I'm blogging in the internet cafe to bring everyone up to speed. Mostly the family who keeps complaining that they don't get to see enough pictures. Well, there you are! More pictures here. Feel free to surf through them! Labels: Europe -Risawn: # 9:44 AM - |

10.04.2005

Moving on. . . So, Vienna's come and gone and we spent the day in Budapest. And I still don't have a means of uploading pictures. Grumble. I'll likely do a more in depth commentary when I get those pictures uploaded, in the meantime, Europe has been great! I don't want to go back to Kosovo. Tomorrow is another day in Budapest, then we're moving on. I've acquired quite the Tshirt collection. Postcards and Tshirts, that's my thing. Pictures will come, I promise! Labels: Europe -Risawn: # 2:30 PM - |

10.01.2005

Attention, Mom's a Goober, in case you didn't know So. . . came from Salzburg, which me and Mom loved, and am currently in Vienna. We got out of the train station, and coming from Salzburg, which feels completely safe even at midnight, we found it just a little bit eerie walking down the street here. I'm not entirely comfortable with this part of the town, but then again, we got here while it was still dark out. Today was awesome, we went up to the Eagle's Nest and saw a great view of the Bavarian Alps from up there. Pictures to come. . . someday. Afterward, we came back down to Buchtesgarten Germany before making our way back to Salzburg. We have crossed the German/Austrian Border every day since Tuesday. Back in Salzburg, mom and I decided to just tour Salzburg, though they have horse drawn carriages and I wanted to tour on them bad. We did spend a lot of money in Salzburg and here on out we'll probably need to conserve a little better. I better hold mom in check. We had a few moments of frustration today though. Including a chocolate shop that sells chocolate with a little extra ingredient that mom didn't realize every chocolate in the store had in it. After spending some money buying chocolate to send home to everybody, we decided to try it on the train coming to Vienna and I just about yakked. Good thing we didn't send it home, not something you feed kids if you know what I mean. I suggested to mom that maybe she should take it home and sell it on Ebay. But I think there is an alcohol policy which includes chocolate liquer. Then we got on the bus, I was certain we had to cross the street but it was all "oh, that's the bus, it says Hauptbahnhof, quick, let's just get on it!' that was going the wrong way and took us out of town to the stadium instead of the Hauptbahnhof, which is where we wanted to go, so a bus trip that would have normally taken about ten minutes took over an hour. Frustration insued. GRRR!!! But the funniest thing about Salzburg is their sports mascot. They have a football team and a hockey team known as the Red Bulls. Like the drink. In fact, they are named after the drink, as the drink comes from, you guessed it, Salzburg Austria. The thing that frustrates me the most about Hostels here so far, except for the Hostel in Frankfurt, is the lack of outlets in these places! What's the deal? Frankfurt's location wasn't the greatest, but so far I think they were my favorite Hostel of the three. That, and the free wireless internet service. I want to see if there is free wireless in Vienna. Maybe not. Info on Vienna to come tomorrow. With more details of the trip so far. And Pictures! Yay pictures! Labels: Europe -Risawn: # 2:35 PM - |

9.30.2005

Quick note on Salzburg Mom and I went up to the Ice Caves and saw Hohensalzburg yesterday. Today its the eagles nest and last minute shopping in Aldstadt Salzburg before we catch the train to our next destination. Were hoping that the wireless internet is better. If it is, well be showing pictures for Friends and Family so the extreme envy can sink in. Today should be good fun :) Hopefully more tonight. This is still a German Keyboard and though I slip up, Ive been doing better. Unfortunately I dont know where the comma is. Hence my grammer. Labels: Europe -Risawn: # 10:22 PM - |

9.29.2005

Prost! Well, another german keyboard, Ill make a stronger effort to actually type correctly. Me and Mom connected in Frankfurt with little problem, except for me getting on the wrong S-bahn to meet her. Stayed in Frankfurt for a few hours and then zipped on down to Salzburg and spent all yesterday touring about seeing the Saltmines and getting reacquainted with the movie Sound of Music. Today we went to Munich and celebrated Oktoberfest. Much fun! Beer tents were cool, so were the horses. Pictures to come ASAP. Internet, however, is expensive. As is evident by the extremely short post and lack of updates. Better luck in Vienna! Labels: Europe -Risawn: # 12:26 PM - |

9.26.2005

Two Nights in Frankfurt Well, another day in Frankfurt. I slept in a little longer then I wanted to and got going at around Nine, which proved to be Ok as most stores don't open until 10 anyway. I stepped out into the street, and decided to just start walking. So walk I did. Frankfurt am Main got the crap bombed out of it during World War II so when they started rebuilding it, it became a more modern city then most European cities. Its the banking capital of Germany, the Euro is even minted here. As a joke, some people call it 'Main'hattan, as there is a definite skyline filled with sky scrapers here. It is actually a very nice city, but it doesn't attract the tourists like some other German cities do. So it really doesn't cater to tourists as much as, say, Munich does. But that's ok, I went ahead, walked around, and just enjoyed myself as I familiarized myself with the city. Oh, and I found an Art Store! I was in bliss for the five minutes I strolled around. I found that I couldn't hang around for to long or else I would spend a lot of money and then be at a loss of how to ship the stuff home. But it felt nice to be in my element once again! If only for a little while. *sigh* Meanwhile, I walked around, bought a pretzel and ate it walking (typical American thing to do), familiarized myself with city, saw the Zeilgallarie (which is a really interesting Mall) and walked around that, walked a lot more, and ended up at the Frankfurt Zoo. Hmm. Animals. I bought a ticket and checked out Europe's oldest zoo for a couple hours. Some of the animals, being kept in a zoo all of the time and annoyed by the shrieking kids visiting on a field trip from school, were hiding out in their respective cages and I couldn't see them. But I was still over all impressed. I especially liked the Nocturnal Exhibit where night is simulated. I found the Bushbabies to be particularly cute. One of them hopped right at me and just stared at me for a few minutes. I stared back. Its eyes were HUGE!!! They were also really playful, jumping around as if they were showing off. I want one. Anyway, I took gobs of pictures at the zoo of all the furry little critters, and some that weren't so furry, when I found that I had traversed the zoo and was ready to see something else. I was at one part of the city and needed to get to another part so I grabbed a cab and asked about the Mathematic Museum I had read about (and I was certain it was located in Frankfurt). The cab driver didn't know what I was talking about and it isn't located on any maps so maybe I was indeed mistaken. *sigh* I read about the Natural History museum and inquired upon that. The cab driver agreed to take me there and as he did so he showed me some other parts of the city and made recommendations on where to go, as most of the museums are in one section of the city, with an exception of the Natural History Museum. I decided to save those for when mom gets here, and it turns out that this was a good choice. Those are all closed on Mondays. Well, I bought a ticket to the Natural History museum (known as the Senckenberg)and for some reason took an immediate left. Which brought me to a whole lot of animals, many of which I had already seen. Except those were alive. These were stuffed. Kind of morbid if you think about it. Hmm, maybe the Natural History museum wasn't such a good idea? Well, actually after wandering around in it a bit more, I did enjoy myself as they had an excellent dinosaur bone exhibit and I have had an infatuation with dinosaurs since I was a child. Overall, the museum was very impressive, I really liked their stuff bird display and I was looking for an example of the Peregine Falcon as it is one of my favorite birds but alas, they didn't have one. Had just about everything else though. I had been recommended to check out the Palmengarten as well, but when I got to it, it appeared closed. This might be because I was trying to access it through an area that actually wasn't an entrance but I didn't know this and decided that my feet were starting to get sore and walked back to my Hostel. Where I discovered I have a roommate from Japan! Even though I'm in a dorm with five beds, I was the only person in there last night. She had just finished traveling most of the big cities of Europe for the last month and she's going home tomorrow. I'm just starting off and discovered that she had gone to a few places I was going to and I asked her about them. I haven't really mentioned to anybody my military experience, that is something I have been recommended to keep quiet about. Anyway, I took it easy for the evening, figuring out how the European Rail system works and having some Thai for dinner. (yeah, I'm in Germany and everything, but you know how often I get to have Thai? I have to go to KFOR Main!) I think I got the finer details of the trip planned out with room for flexibility. Except for I've been told to get advertisements and things about Volkswagens in German. I did mention all of the men in my life are Volkswagen Nuts right? It would have been nice to know this detail when I went to the IAA fair on Sunday, because they had a quarter of one of the halls dedicated to Volkswagens. I could have gotten gobs of stuff! Oh well. I called home and found that my mom had indeed taken off in her plane just fine. I will confirm that she made it tomorrow. Since she will be getting here when everyone else is asleep, maybe we should just give a quick blog update and leave it at that? I'll get pictures up soon. Labels: Europe -Risawn: # 1:21 PM - |

9.25.2005

German Kezboards and Autoshows. So, I went out into the world, and just came back from mz time in Frankfurt. That cool internet service I told zou about_ Well, itäs down. And Iäm on a funkz kezboard that exchanges z and yäs and everz time I trz to put in a comma, I get an A with an Umlaut. The noveltz of it makes me just want to tzpe as I normallz would and see how much this will drive me nuts__ Oh zeah, question marks are now underscores like just demonstrated. Enough alreadz. Anzwaz, I kind of went for a stroll to see what is out there and I made mz waz to the Messe of Frankfurt, and ran into something that was pure testosterone. Something known as the International Automobile Außtellung. I didnät know how long this thing had been going on, but apparentlz todaz was the last daz. Automobiles from everz car maker imaginable. Including quite a few I had never heard before. For a Euro thez let me in, which I thought was a prettz good deal. crayz, I just couldnät help but think that mz dad would have loved to see this. Pictures to come. When I get mz normal computer up. Ate dinner at a little bakerz in the Hauptbahnhof, it was good. All the food Iäve eaten here has so far been excellent. This morning, I was in Weisbaden (I drove there in the rental and kind of landed somewhere completedlz bz accident) and had a breakfast buffet at this little cafe called Alex. I donät think Iäve ever had a crescent roll that tasted like that before. It was delicious! However, surprisinglz, I havenät been gorging mzself. Anzwaz, I think Iäve had enough of the kezboard and now I have to find a waz to call mz mom and remind her to bring a change of sheets for the hostels, one for me and one for her. I wish I would have known that before I got here *sighs* The kezboard has an Essyeht! Known as ß. I donät think Iäll tzpe as I normallz would when on these computers anzmore however. Labels: Europe -Risawn: # 11:47 AM - |

In Germany Again. . . So, Leave Officially starts today, but my orders say Friday. Or something. I think I'll get that worked out soon. Currently, I'm in Frankfurt staying at a local Hostel which is really cheap, but for a reason. I'm new to this method of traveling but I think I can handle it. Mom will be joining me in a few days so for a little while I'll be flying Solo. I rented a car today (they gave me a BMW!) and realized that car rentals are not necessary if you stay in Frankfurt. In fact, cars are more a Pain in the Fourth then they help. That, and it helps if you know your way around the area, which I don't, and I spent a lot of time driving around. And Gas is expensive, see, I know you all know Gas is expensive, but for the last eight months I haven't had to pay for gas. So I didn't realize exactly HOW expensive. The infamous Autobahn quickly lost its luster. I turned the car in and found that my Hostel is conveniantly close to the Hauftbonhof, which is German for Train Station. I also stayed at Rhein-mein Air Base last night, which was interesting as its slated to close in like a week or so. In other words, the place is dead. Anyway, found a source of internet for dirt cheap (actually, completely free :) that I think I'll use to update over the next few days. Tonight, I'm going to find a place to eat, explore a bit, work out exactly what I want to see tomorrow, and call mom. Yeah, that should do it. Life is good now that I'm away from Kosovo for the next two or so weeks. Labels: Europe -Risawn: # 8:42 AM - |

9.20.2005

ATTN: James, Brian and Jared For the Volkswagen Lovers of my life, while I was touring the Kaiserslaughtern area, I saw this and knew what I had to do. I had to take a picture of it. So I sweet talked my NCOIC into stopping and getting a picture with it (it's between Ramstein and Landstuhl, as in the German Villages, not the military bases, though I guess you could say it was there too.) He didn't seem to be entirely thrilled, especially on account that it was raining, but being the last day of us being in Germany, I basically told him that I didn't care what else we did, just so long as we stop and see the Volkswagen. I seemed to have convinced him because we ended up going out of our way later to get some pictures. Indeed brings an all new meaning to the name of the Volkswagen Beetle. Getting the good Sergeant to actually take a picture of me with the Bug was akin to pulling his teeth, so I'm grateful to have managed to get him to take one picture, though not a very good one granted. Yes, when I saw this bug I immediately thought of my kin. I knew they would appreciate. Labels: Europe -Risawn: # 10:29 AM - |

9.19.2005

Blog Stuff So, the regulation has just came out, and they are really cracking down on the blogs. Along the lines of trying to keep information from leaking out to where our enemies can retrieve it. Which is one of the problems I have been having with the unit website, which I told the CSM. I'll admit that at times when I had a spare moment, I would update from my office but that must cease and disist. Meaning I have to depend soully on my laptop and its lackluster internet service. You know how difficult it is to talk like a pirate??? And you know how much my internet provider sucks??? Also, I left my heart in Germany over the last week. Fortunately, I get to go back in a few days to retrieve it. Squeee! Labels: Blogging, Europe -Risawn: # 10:38 PM - |

9.18.2005

When I was in Germany, I discovered that I can't wait to have my mom with me when I see Europe. I discovered this on account of two things. One, I was in Germany with my NCOIC and he had the rental car in his name. And he liked to be in his room to watch Football games and what not, leaving me to pick my nose and twiddle my thumbs. Don't get me wrong, SSG D is a good guy and all, and we went and saw Kaiserslaughtern and Landstuhl and I found those two German Towns to be very interesting. He just liked to call it early on some days. See, he even said this. He's old, I'm young. And asking him to take a picture for you is like asking somebody to have their teeth voluntarily pulled. I think we could have remedied the whole issue by having me get the rental car in my name, but alas, it wasn't the case. Meanwhile, Germany was beautiful and when we were out and about I sincerely enjoyed myself, and thought about how much fun I was going to have and how much my mom was going to enjoy this. When I mentioned this to SSG D, he said I should. . . I didn't finish this post, and if I were to rewrite it, I wouldn't be so kind to SSG D Labels: Europe, SSGDipshit -Risawn: # 5:02 AM - |

Bulgaria, Take Three Continuing on in the pace of the hit and miss discussion of Bulgaria, Sunday is kind of a slow day for Bulgarians, after doing a bit of shopping, we tried to find something more to do and ended up going back to the hotel early, where we got ready for that evening and then went to eat dinner. Um, Sunday Night was actually kind of blah. And unfortunately, all of the clubs tend to be closed, at least that's what I was told. So we had to find something else to do. Which honestly, I wasn't to happy about because we ended up going back to the same place we went the night before. I mentioned something along the lines of 'why didn't we go to the club Yesterday and come here today instead?' Oh well. It seemed that the evenings were not the highlight of my trip. Monday, we slept in longer then I would have normally wished, but I expressed an interest in walking around and seeing Sofia except for I was with three guys who didn't want to. Hmm. . . Anyway, Lunch was on everyone's minds and somebody suggested Indian. We went to an Indian place but alas, well, due to the holiday, it was closed. Balderdash. We went to the Rio instead, and ended up being the only people in the restaraunt. So we had some Brazilian food at the Rio. Apparently, the best time to eat at the Rio is in the evening, as like the Bulgarian restaraunt, they have dancers too. The Rio was a cool place, it was all made up in a Brazilian style, if I get another chance to go back to Bulgaria, I want to make an effort to go there again, in the evening. Anyway, after the Rio, somebody suggested a flea market, that they have on most days in front of an old church. Now I can spend all day at a Flea Market, or so I discovered. There was a lot of old world war two memoriabilia and what not. And Bulgaria is not far from Russia so there is a lot of Russian influence. I collect foreign money so I got some coins and what not along with an old compass from the German Olympic games in 1936. Afterwards, I found out it was a reproduction, but it is still kinda cool. This was the Flea Market for the most part. Just a bunch of old antiques and so on. I saw this old sword and I so wanted to buy it. But Sword and Fire Arm Purchases is considered a violation of General Order Number One, and comes with some stiff penalties. *sighs* There were some cool knives too. I bought this hat. I couldn't resist. It was so fuzzy. The flaps aren't normally down but the picture was snapped then so. . . This guy makes art from mechanical parts, like clocks and stuff. His stuff was so cool that i had to get a picture with him. I wanted the scorpion I'm holding but didn't end up getting it. Across from the flea market which sold all sorts of nicknacks and antiques was a lion. Without realizing it, I did something I shouldn't have. Apparently this picture could get me arrested in Bulgaria. So to Bulgaria, I'm sorry. I love your lion and I meant no disrespect. I'm just a stupid american that likes to crawl on things I guess. That night, we went to the Indian Restaraunt. Which was very spicy. But good. I loved my soup. Should have gotten more of that. It was at this time I explained my idea of NOT going back to the place where we had been going for the past two nights and actually told Nate that I wanted to kind of have a little more alone time with him. Unfortunately, because of the forementioned Bulgarian Holiday, there wasn't much we could go, so we ended up going Bowling. I think I scored like a 75 in one game and a 60 in the other. Yeah, I really can't bowl. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel which has a Casino within it. No I didn't take any pictures because cameras are not allowed within the Casino. But anyway, I'm not much of a gambler, but they had a little show at midnight with some dancers and me and Nate went and saw that. It was actually pretty interesting and I enjoyed that. Anyway, Nate wanted to gamble a bit, and that part of General Order Number One was lifted so I watched Nate play a little Poker and Black Jack. Eventually, out of sheer boredom, I decided to play about 50 Lev in Black Jack, and when it was gone, it was gone. Unfortunately, because of that pesky holiday closing the museums and what not, (Nate wanted to go to a Tank Museum but it was closed), we didn't really get to do everything we wanted to do. I felt like we spent to much time sleeping in and i wanted to do more during the day and just walk around. I might get another shot at Bulgaria, but it will be tight, I'll have to squeeze it in between Leave and BNCOC (Sergeant School) and that gives me a two week window. I think I'll get my feel of Museums and walking around when I go to Europe with my mom so I think this was my shot at Bulgaria. Maybe I didn't have as much fun as I wanted to, but I still had fun. Who knows, in a few years I might go back there. Labels: Bulgaria, Europe -Risawn: # 4:24 AM - |

9.16.2005

Bulgaria, Take Two So, I left off with the Bulgarian Eatery didn't I? Well, actually let me back track for just a moment. In the Bulgarian Black Market (I'm not sure if this is a real black market or not, but that's what they call it), they had a video store with some movie posters in Bulgarian. I couldn't resist taking a snap shot of it. Kill Bill, in Syrilic. Too Cool. Anyway, back to the Bulgarian Restaraunt. We ordered our food and around 9 PM they started a show with traditional Bulgarian Dancers. I took some pictures and some video, but they didn't all come out like I wanted them to. It was basically a group of four men and four women that would go and change into different costumes between dances, all of them in a traditional Bulgarian style. I thought they were quite cool looking and really enjoyed the show, which lasted for about an hour. My favorite part, however, was the three guys in masks. I'm not sure what the story behind these guys were, but they looked kind of scary and they had sticks they were swinging about. I think I need to do some research on the history of these guys. Anyway, they go into the crowd and pick out an unsuspecting individual and draw them out onto the dance floor, lie them on a blanket, and then incoorporate this individual into the dance by jumping over them, pretending to smack their staffs on them, and what not. The person, meanwhile, just lies there. Yeah, that was kind of fun. See, Cipi the Cab Driver talked to the dancers and had them take me out of the audience. So, while we were watching the dance and digesting our food, I got probably the best picture of me and Nate since we've been going out. Of course, now we're just friends, but still, I thought the picture looked pretty good. We left the restaraunt at about 1030 and had to find something to do for a Saturday night. I wanted to hit the clubs, but Bulgaria is kind of strange in that nobody really shows up to the clubs until around midnight, but the clubs stay open all night. Well, we had to blow some time, and unfortunately for me, I was with three guys. They decided to go to a place that really didn't cater to women. Read that as you will. We were only supposed to stay there for about an hour or so but for some reason, when your with three guys who are drinking and you aren't, they seem to forget about the idea of going to the Club. So, well, we didn't go to the club that night. And because of this odd Bulgarian Holiday that had everything closed, supposedly, I didn't get to go to a dance club the entire time we were there. The weekend was going well until we hit Saturday night. *sigh* On to Sunday. Sunday consisted of us waking up rather later then I would have wished. We met up with Cipi and decided where we wanted to eat. Somebody suggested Indian, and so Cipi took us to an Indian Restaurant that was alas, closed. So we had Japanese instead. That was a lot of food, for not a lot of money. That's one of the beautiful things about Bulgaria. Then we hit the Gocarts. I couldn't resist going Go Carting when we heard about the fact that they had Go Carts in Bulgaria. We drove those things around the course for about thirty minutes. I didn't flip it or anything, but my Battle Buddies kind of whooped me on the course. But that's ok, I still had fun. Anyway, I really wanted to go shopping for souveniers so we found a place that was open. Underground Malls are apparently really common in Europe. At least in Bulgaria. We went to one and I bought a few things for the family and what not. Anyway, on the way out there was a guy with two guinea pigs with a sign that said something along the lines of Picture - 1 Lev. I saw the Guinea Pigs and being a sucker for small furry critters, I wanted a picture. Well, actually, the guy who didn't speak English, actually had the Guinea pig pull out your fortune out of a bunch of slips of paper for a Lev. Since the slip of paper was in Bulgarian, I didn't really understand what it said, but I still got a picture with the Guinea Pig. Guinea Pigs are kinda cute :) Labels: Bulgaria, Europe -Risawn: # 11:42 PM - |

9.14.2005

Bulgaria take One So, I thought I would finally get around to telling you about my Bulgaria trip. It started at 1 in the morning. We had kind of crashed after ordering a pizza and chilling in the SEAHuts waiting for the time when the bus would arrive. Well, what do you know? It was late. The busride consisted of me sleeping on the back seat with the edge driving into my spine. It wasn't very comfortable. So anyway, Bulgaria is considered an FMPP event, meaning Force Management Pass Program. Its different from my previous Greece Trips in that Greece had an itenerary where Bulgaria they just drop you off at a hotel and you are on your own until you are due back. The Hotel they dropped us off is a very nice one in Bulgaria, but I won't tell you where because that is part of the reason why we got our last Bulgarian Trip canceled. Dad Nab It All. So we got our briefings, checked into our room, and then we were off. Because Bulgaria is a little, well, nuts when it comes to driving on the road, you are not allowed to rent a car. In fact, you are not allowed to take any public transportation unless it is a cab due to Pick Pockets. You can get a cab in two ways. Just pay a taxi to take you where you want to go and be done with it, or you can buy a driver for three days and he will be your chaufer, translater, and tour guide. We went ahead and four of us together got a cab driver named Cipi, prounounced C.P. We had to decide on where to go and so we decided after that drive, we'd get lunch first. We ate at a place called Happy's, which is kind of like the Bulgarian version of Hooters. Sort of. Um, I was with three guys by the way, to include Nate, as we were dating at the time, right? The food was good, and then we had to figure out what else to do. See, we ran into a problem on the particulary weekend we decided to go to Bulgaria. Bulgaria declared a national holiday for that weekend and nothing was open. Well, we all wanted to shoot some guns, so we went to a firing range and shot some pistols. I showed you a picture from this before :) Alright you gun nuts, name all of various fire arms located on this table. We could fire all of the firearms the range provided, we were just responsible for paying for the ammo. It was a little expensive, but much fun. Unfortunately, the shot gun jammed up pretty good before I got a chance to fire it. :( Fortunately, I got one of those at home that I can fire for a lot less. :) Another Not Sorry Pose, with a Russian Pistol that packs a nice solid punch. BTW, that is a Rooster Teeth Shirt, makers of the Popular Web Series, Red Vs Blue. this is Cipi, who looks like a Hitman for the Bulgarian Mafia. We had a lot of fun with him. He drives like a Maniac, or rather a Bulgarian Cabby. We then went to the Sofia Black Market and checked out clothes for the night. Or rather, we did that BEFORE we went shooting, but I didn't take pictures. It was like a flea Market, except everything was new. And rather cheap. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel, freshened up a bit, and decided on where to go eat for dinner. Dinner was a blast, at a traditional Bulgarian Restaraunt complete with dancers. I will tell you all about it later, as I'm going to have to go back to class now. Labels: Bulgaria, Europe -Risawn: # 3:08 AM - |

9.13.2005

Deutschland, cont. . . So, like I said earlier, I'm currently in Germany, which honestly is not a bad place to be. In fact, being here is a huge difference from being in Hohenfels earlier this year. I'm sure Hohenfels isn't a bad place, but it kind of takes away from the novelty of being in Europe when you have to trudge about a block and a half through two feet of snow to use the bathroom, and the food literally tastes like cardboard. Well, right now I'm in Kaiserslaughtern (er, I'll have to doublecheck the spelling on that) and I'm enjoying the pleasant drive from the inn at which I'm staying to Landstuhl. The drive is beautiful and I've actually quite fallen in love with the country as the leaves are starting to turn and the German villages tucked away within the valleys. Sometimes when we're driving back, it almost feels like home again, driving through the cascade mountains to get to Seattle or even the scenic drive through Northern Idaho and Western Montana. And with the drivers driving a bit saner then those in the Balkans, as Kosovo looks nothing like the States. Though the German Autobahn often provides the opportunity to show us how well its known for having no real speed limit (well, technically it does, but it isn't really enforced.) I kind of spent a few hours planning a bit more on the trip I'm taking for R&R, and I really can't wait to see my mom and explore more of Europe with her. And being here is also making me wish to go Active Duty and find a way to get stationed here. I'm pretty envious of the people that are here currently. Maybe I don't agree with Germany politically, but it is really a beautiful country. Labels: Europe, Vacation, World -Risawn: # 3:48 AM - |

9.11.2005

Deutschland Yay, I'm in Germany. The internet here is iffy. And expensive, by the minute type pricing. So this week Updating will be sporadic, if it happens at all. Things might be cheaper via library or what not. To keep you all entertained in the meantime, here is a picture, of me, in Bulgaria. At the shooting range. If all else fails, see you next week! Labels: Bulgaria, Europe, Guns, Pictures, Vacation, World -Risawn: # 7:35 AM - |

8.31.2005

September's Going to be Nuts! Well, without giving away dates and timelines, September for me, well, it'll just be plain nutso! I was supposed to go to Bulgaria at the end of July/beginning of August but since that got blown completely out of the water, I had to settle on going at a later date. Well, that later date has come when Nate (aka The Boy) came around asking me if I could go *enter date here*. I'm looking at that date and what else is supposed to happen this month and asked if he couldn't change his. Nope, no can do. So I'm going to Bulgaria at the beginning of September *will be sure to post all about that adventure here, hopefully in a timely manner!* So, what else was planned for this month? Well, this was something that we weren't entirely certain on, but there is a Preventive Medicine Refresher Course going on in Germany for one week (read = the training we should have gotten before we came here) which will undoubtedly help me as I am not the greatest 91S in the world nor do I pretend to be. Well, I just got my TDY orders confirming that indeed this train-up is a Go. So I will be back in Kosovo, working like a dog when that is all said and done, and what do you know? I leave on Leave toward the end of September. Leave will once again be in glorious Germany, where I will meet up with my mom (who can't help but tell me every time I talk to her how excited she is about this, and I'm in the same boat with her!) and we will head south to Austria, Switzerland, Italy and *possibly* Hungary. I think we should also hit Liechtenstien too because nobody thinks about Liechtenstein, and we could go there on a day trip on our way to Switzerland! So, anyway, my leave will indeed seep into October, where I'll come back here from my exhaustive vacation that I will undoubtedly need a vacation from, but anyway, September is going to be nuts and quite possibly slow on the Blogging Front due to lack of time to actually post about it. Well, I'll let you know more as the month progresses. Labels: Bulgaria, Europe, Vacation -Risawn: # 5:04 AM - |

7.07.2005

I support Labels: Current Events, Europe -Risawn: # 10:57 PM - |

7.04.2005

The Fourth in Kosovo So, another holiday in Kosovo has come and gone. And I am now back at work. It was nice to get a two day weekend for once (we work on Saturdays) but not entirely. Monday started with a Formation to Celebrate the independence of our great nation, which also had dignitaries from Kosovo and some of our other multi-national allies who attended. Fortunately, the last couple of days have been overcast, unlike the hot Tattooine type cloudless skies that have been beating down on us for the last month or so. Still, the formation was the last place many people wanted to be. Most people expected to have the day off, so that just means a chance to sleep in. You don't know how much this little luxury means to a lot of people. Anyway, in the middle of the Star Spangled Banner, a formation of Apaches flew over our head, Eight in all, five in the lead and three in the rear and did a cool little formation thing. Wish I had my camera, but alas, I was in formation. The rest of the day, I was a bum. Meaning I didn't do a whole lot of anything. I wanted to play with fire works but we are in a combat zone known to many as Kosovo. No fireworks for us. I came up with a great idea of firing tracers up into the sky all at once, but that would have probably not been a good idea. *note sarcasm* One of my friends suggested this to get my firework fix. I did a lot of clicks to get a grand finale going a couple of times, so I'll take what I can get. You know, you take for granted things like Fireworks on the Fourth Of July until you are in a place where you can't see them. And to think in the past, I got into my Bum phase and just wrote off the whole firework experience so I could do something less important. They had a lot of activities going on all weekend, I wanted to get in on a few of them, but I had a PT test on Sunday where I strained my leg running that 2 miles, and now I'm having difficulty moving. But the sacrifice was worth it, I passed the PT test and now have to heal my leg so I can shave two minutes or so off my run. I already improved my situps by 18. And then it rained all Sunday and most of the activities got canceled. And somebody threw a grenade in Pristina and now all unneccessary missions have been canceled until further notice. Yesterday was actually a really pretty day, overcast which helped things cool down and it looked like it wanted to rain, but refrained. The Multi-Nationals came and competed against us, we had a Tug-o-war competition and the Greeks kicked our butts. It was rather funny watching them wave their flag around and chant "Hellas! Hellas!" over and over again as they creamed all of the competetion. And they kicked butt in Soccer too. Yes, nothing like celebrating Independence day like getting your butt kicked by people in other nations. Hah. A few British soldiers even showed up. We asked them if they were celebrating the Fourth of July with us. The irony was a little, well, Ironic. We chatted with them for a little while, they were pretty cool and all, and we even offered to buy them some drinks (non alcoholic of course, seeing that Bondsteel is a no drinking zone). All but one declined. Then of course, I called home and talked with my family for a while. That felt good. After a while, since phone calls are limited, I went to my room and chatted via Yahoo IM. A few technical difficulties later, I was forced to go to bed finally, as I had to get up early for work. Today. I realized how much I really miss the states. It will be good to be home, but in the meantime, I'm enjoying myself here as best as I can. Labels: Army, Europe, holidays, Kosovo, Life -Risawn: # 10:53 PM - |

6.07.2005

The Current Goods Quick update on the latest. . . I finally, sort of, have the unit website up. See, its still missing most of its content, but I'm hoping to get that rectified ASAP. The Unit website is located here. Task Force Medical Falcon XI Now I have to get on the various sections' cases and get them to send me stuff so its not a barren website that only says 'Under Construction' everywhere you go. So that's the current big task I'm having at the moment. I also temporarily lost my sanity and signed up to participate in a Half Marathon over at the Finnish Camp (or was it the Fins who were sponsoring the 70 K road march? I forget which), however I haven't really trained for it and on Sunday I was playing sand volleyball and somehow I tore my left calf muscle and I'm thinking about going to Sick Call this morning to get that checked out, as well as this weird Nausea I've been having. I'm still doing Kajukenbo, in fact, thats the most successful endeavour I've undertaken while I've been here. But when I was working out yesterday, I hurt my calf even more. So I think the Half Marathon is a No Go. I'll talk to CPT H about it this morning after Sick Call. I wanted to do it too. So that means I have to get in on the next Dannish Road march if I want to do something kind of Psycho while I'm here, mostly just to say that I did it. I really want to do a Road March. Meanwhile, the French Army is doing an exercise in our Sector and are camped out here in South Bondsteel so we've been seeing the French everywhere. The Germans were here a few months ago doing something similar. I'm tempted to say Bonjour to them, like I was saying 'Guten Morgen' to the Germans, as that is the extent of my French Language speaking skills, but they've been beating me to it by saying 'Hi' first. I'm not sure if they're trying to get away from the French Hate Americans abotu as much as the Americans hate French Stereotype or if they are having girl withdrawals (because crap, everyone seems nice to me when they first meet me here) or maybe they really aren't the French that everyone makes them out to be. For crying out loud, they are in the military so that does say something!?! So I vow to say 'Bonjour' to them first today and take them by surprise. Most French don't expect Americans to start speaking to them in their native tongue. Right after I go see a doc about my leg. Labels: Europe, health, hobbies -Risawn: # 10:14 PM - |

5.31.2005

Greece, Day Four: Amphipolis and Asprovalta I guess I should finish up the whole Greece Trip thing, shouldn't I? Day Four consisted of leaving our beloved hotel. We packed up and had to be out in the busses by 0900. We were heading back to Kosovo, but we were going to get the opportunity to stop at two places on the way. The first was Amphipolis, where we got to stop by and see another Museum. This was just a quick stop, it wasn't a very big museum, we walked through it in about 15 minutes easily. Golden leaf thingees the olympians wear! Gold is a big thing in Macedonia, at least way back when it was. My camera was still acting up, so I didn't get a lot of choice pictures within the museum, that and we had to take pictures without the flash, and this particular camera has to be held perfectly still or it will blur. Anyway, the next stop after the museum was was what is called a Hellenic House. This was escavated recently and the paint on the wall is still visible. This house dates back to 300 BC, which is amazing! Yes, we got a lot of ruins, this one had us crawling around on the walls to prevent ourselves from stepping on the tile. Unlike the previous days, this day was kind of dreary and wet, but the scenic view was still splendiferous. I decided to sit on these steps and had somebody take my picture wiht the background of Greece only to have a bug fly into my eye while they were taking my picture. And even more ruins. Some people were kind of feeling like the old rocks were getting old, but I enjoyed touring them. I never thought I would get this opportunity so I was all over it! There are a lot of poppies here. I thought they were perty. The great wall of Amphipolis was built way back during the time of Alexander the Great. This wall surrounded the city and was, well, it was big. So I couldn't resist the kodak moment and got my mug taken sitting on it. And to give you a perspective of the sheer size of this thing. It is big. We weren't here for long touring the Wall of Amphipolis, but we did take the opportunity to climb all over it. I leave you with something you may or may not have seen or heard of before. The Lion of Amphipolis. This is a huge statue that dates back to the time of, you guessed it! Alexander the Great! This thing is big! We got a group photo at its feet. Spending all morning at Amphipolis touring ruins, we got to stop by in Asprovalta for lunch, where I had a Gyro. Actually, I had two. Asprovalta has beaches. And it also has a really pretty church that I went inside of to get a look around. The murals in these buildings are amazing, they are very ornate and extravagent. I got some pictures of Asprovalta, but not many due to my finicky camera. However, they are not currently on the web. Which brings me to another homework assignment. Put up some pictures of Asprovalta. Actually, Asprovalta was a last minute shopping place for us (on top of eating there). We were only there for about an hour and due to the rain, the beaches were empty. I still got a picture of me on the beaches. When I get around to it, there will be a picture of me on the beach here But honestly, in all senses, Asprovalta wasn't much different on face value from many places. It was a touristy town, and becuase of its beach, and the content of some of its postcards, I was quickly alerted that in prime season, you will see a lot of people topless. I'm glad I went when I did. Say what you want about nudes, but there are some people in this world that you never want to see without something covering the blubber of their skin. After Asprovalta, we got back in the bus, and headed back for the border. I got my passport stamped heading out of the country (very odd) and I have to admit I was a bit let down by Greece's Passport stamp. The last time I got a Passport Stamp was in Suriname South America. That thing was really pretty. Maybe this fall I will get some prettier stamps. Or when I go to Bulgaria at the very least. We also got a chance to shop at the duty free shop coming across the border. *cough* RIPOFF! *cough*. I picked up a bag of Bounty Chocolate bars with creamy coconut filling. My latest weakeness. No, that is not an excuse to send me a crapload in the next care package. You folks have been far to kind to me, I have been spoiled, and boy do we get a lot of junk food in those care packages! And I'm a sucker for Chocolate! Well, considering I have been back from Greece for Three weeks now, you know the story from there! Labels: Europe, Greece -Risawn: # 1:45 PM - |

5.24.2005

Greece, Day Three: Philippi Part II After touring the acropolis, we headed back to the main part of our tour to grab some grub. I had a Gyro without the Pita, which is called something else but still pretty good. However, I like the Pita. One of my battle buddies treated me to some ice cream. Although I really didn't need it, I couldn't resist the ice creamy chocolatey goodness. And its an american ice cream bar, or something, because it has an American Flag printed on the side. Or maybe its a wannabe american icecream, to capatalize on that which is America. YOu know, I really didn't need that Ice Cream Bar. Then we headed back to the Ruins via the Ampatheater again, and I saw these ruins behind me and wanted another picture (complete with Ice Cream Cone thingy) I just thought this archway was way cool :) This be the reconstruction effort that is currently underway to restore parts of Philippi, I just thought it was cool and took a picture of it. And its one of the few where I'm not actually in the picture! I think every time I saw a piece of Philippi sitting there with lettering still etched in the side, I got a picture of me with it. I don't think I could resist, or something This is a partial greek statue that resides in the northern part of Philippi that still stands, and has weathered over 2 millenia of snow, sleet, rain, the ottoman empire, and tourists. So what's one more going to do? I'm sorry, I just looked at this thing and all I could see was CLIMB ME I think when you think of ancient ruins, you think of pillars. I saw some more, with ruins strown about behind me, and so I took this as a sign. Um, you might get sick of me posing for pictures, but I'm sorry, I ain't done yet. This is all that remains of Bascilica B. Just ruins, but these are actually pretty impressive, I saw a drawing of what it probably looked like and I thought that was pretty dang sweet. So anyway, you have this entry way type place and thats pretty much the main gist of Philippi. This place is literally in ruins. And right before the Bascilica, stood a pillar with something written in Greek on it. I hope I didn't desecrate anything by taking a stand and posing for pictures. Some more. . . Behold, the private water closet for the supreme beings that ran Philippi. Unlike the puny underlings, who had to share the public toilet (and a few priveleged folks that had indoor plumbing!) this is where the great ones urinated and defecated! Alexander the Great may have even once stood on this very throne! Um, hold on for just a moment. By the way, the following are the public toilets. I managed to sit on one of those too. The highlight of my trip, sitting on an ancient Greek Toilet. I think they are better then some of the common european toilets, let me tell you. But thats a post for day Four. (which was the shortest day of them all) I love these walls. We crawled all over them. Um, don't mind me, acting like, once again, a dork. I just saw this