A Young American Traveler: An Empire of Friends and Experiences

By Albert Park

In a journey 11-years in the making, Park takes the reader on an extensive holiday to over 30 countries, friendly and hostile, exotic and metropolitan, all infused with the pleasures of life as well as the dangers of the same. Park sets the scene as a young undergraduate army cadet in southern California in the hopes of becoming an army officer during the Global War on Terrorism in 2003. His travels begin with the obligatory university euro trip, backpacking alone in the lands of the old empires and enjoying the fruits of discovery, topping off with the XXVIII Olympiad in Athens, Greece.

After commissioning into the U.S. Army, Park is stationed in Germany and expands his discoveries in Europe and also finds himself serving in Iraq and Afghanistan on almost back-to-back deployments. When not deployed, Park makes the most of his time and enjoys many new exciting experiences to include Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany; new years celebrations in Amsterdam, London, and Edinburgh; and reunites with all old friends in Italyjust to name a few.

Returning stateside, Park deploys to Haiti with "Americas Guard of Honor", the 82nd Airborne Division, providing humanitarian assistance to an earthquake torn country. Park continues to expand his democratic empire by returning to Europe to run with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain; travels to Egypt to marvel at the great ancient pyramids; and treks the mystical Andes Mountains of Peru and Patagonia. Park then takes in the beauty and adrenaline pumping adventures of New Zealand and also meets family in Australia.

Pushing the limits, Park treks the awe-inspiring Himalayas, reaching spectacular heights and scenery during the harsh conditions of winter. Finally, he ends his travels enjoying the delicious tastes and exotic grandeur of India; forms everlasting friendships, and even succumbs to some peril in Indochina.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Sep 24, 2015
• ISBN: 9781504948111

Albert Park

Captain Albert Park was born and raised in Orange County, California. During his almost 10 years of active-duty military service, he has served in the United States, Germany, and has deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Haiti. He holds a bachelor of arts degree from California State University, Fullerton and a master of business administration degree from Eastern Michigan University. He lives in Erie, Pennsylvania.

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© 2015 Albert Park. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 09/23/2015

ISBN: 978-1-5049-4812-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5049-4813-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5049-4811-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015914599

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION: The Single Step

CHAPTER I: Euro Trip!

CHAPTER II: Living in Germany

CHAPTER III: Return of the Euro Trip

CHAPTER IV: Ægyptus: Land of the Pharaohs

CHAPTER V: The Incas & the End of the World

CHAPTER VI: Aussies and Kiwis

CHAPTER VII: On Top of the World

CHAPTER VIII: India & Indochina

CONCLUSION: The Next Step

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To all the Men and Women

who have served in their Nation’s Armed Forces

in the pursuit of Liberty and Peace.

Hail, to you All.

INTRODUCTION

The Single Step

To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.

—Bill Bryson

I WAS TREKKING in the Himalayas in December 2013 when I committed myself to writing this book. A lot of trekking meant a lot of contemplation, and so I thought about all the relationships I made, the many first experiences, and the lessons I learned, from all around the world. So I figured, why not share all this with fellow travelers, as well as aspiring travelers, by way of this public medium? Actually, I was visiting my friends Bill and Ginger Golembiewski several years back when I first got an early form of the idea after I had already been quite traveled at that point. While we were eating lunch together, Ginger, an active blogger, told me that I should start blogging about my travel experiences.

So how did I arrive to this point? How did traveling become one of my greatest loves in life? I suppose I’ve always had a longing for it. As a child, our family always took camping trips in and out of California—from Yosemite to the Grand Canyon and to Yellow Stone. As I entered my teenage years I ended up dreading those trips, but the feeling of being on the road, going to places unknown, and the spirit of it all was ingrained in me. Camping has actually come back full circle, and now, as an adult, I’m quite keen on it.

Growing up, my father traveled quite extensively. As a Buddhist monk, he has disciples and temples all over the world and made frequent trips to Asia and Europe to tend to his congregations. I think his passion inspired me the most. Prior to all the travels within this book, my first and only trip outside the North American continent was to South Korea in the summer of 1994. But, since I was only 12 years old, I didn’t quite appreciate all the history and monuments as I should have nor did I enjoy the pleasures of its night life, afforded only to adults.

Aside from South Korea I had also traveled to Vancouver, British Columbia on a family road trip and also to Tijuana, Mexico for a New Year’s Eve bash with some co-workers when I used to work at Best Buy during my undergraduate years.

Two underlying motives fuel my desire to travel.

The first is to experience and understand the world better. As early humans branched out of east Africa eons ago, our population thrived and spread out to all corners of the Earth. Now, with the affordability and ease of modern day traveling, we have been given the grand opportunity to explore those corners; to re-connect with our distant relatives, learn from them, and form relationships with them.

After all, our advancement in the world as a species has always been predicated on our insatiable curiosity and want for exploration. So my personal journey around the world could only make me a better person.

The second is to tell a story. There’s a special connection and experience we have with other people when we tell stories. The storyteller, who possesses the tale, imparts new information to the benefit of the audience. These benefits, intangible in nature, are invaluable for the audience.

They can elicit empathy, excitement, motivation, inspiration, sadness, fear, and even disgust. However, whatever the audience may feel can affect them profoundly and may even alter the course of their lives inexorably.

As people, we have been telling stories as long as we’ve been able to. I always picture an early Homo sapiens, or maybe even their Neanderthal cousins, painting a hunting scene on a cave wall and telling the tale to their family members, and having that scene immortalized beyond their years for posterity. They may now be gone from this Earth, but their stories still live and elicit the aforementioned feelings even to this day. That is the power of the story.

I reckon a book of such personal nature requires themes that resonate throughout it and provide a bond that connects every chapter to each other. Thus, I have chosen several such themes.

The first theme I chose was friendship. I’ve made a lot of great friends from all corners of the world, some perhaps more meaningful than others, and the same applies to friends of mine here in the States, but the purpose of including anecdotes with my friends was to demonstrate the importance of friendship and how they’ve played such a huge role in my life. We are, after all, a reflection of our friends, and vice-versa.

Friends can do much to us. They can share good (or bad) jokes, provide counsel to our daily problems, or simply be there for us when we need them. Friends are wonderful and a necessary aspect of our evolving lives. Several of my friends are mentioned throughout the book and I view them as reoccurring characters in this story. I love my friends very much and I’m certain you all have similar characters in your story of life as well.

The second theme I chose was the army. Ever since I was an undergrad, the army has played a critical role in my development. It’s made me grow as a professional in my career and has served as the vehicle for almost all my travels around the world. Without the army this book simply would not exist. To an overwhelming degree, the army and its way of life are what I am deep in my core, but not entirely who I am as a whole. I’ve included accounts of all my army deployments, but I chose to keep these brief because I wanted to focus on countries of pleasure. Although the majority of civilians reading this will never find themselves in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, I felt that the reader should know such accounts.

Though this book is meant for anyone, my main target audience is Americans. And by American I mean the de facto demonym for citizens of the United States of America, and not any other citizen of the several countries that make up the American continents. This also applies to America, the informal name for the United States.

This isn’t because I myself am an American and I have a bias toward them, but because I believe Americans are some of the least traveled people in the world and may benefit them the most. Americans, for the most part, have the resources necessary to take on any adventure, big or small, yet most keep to their own state and country, which is unfortunate. We live in a huge world and to relegate ourselves to one continent and one culture handicaps our ability to grow as a collective people and keeps us ignorant. As one of the richest countries on Earth, I think there’s no excuse in not exploring the world outside of America.

And even though the main target audience is geared toward Americans, I have chosen to use metric measurements along with its Imperial (Standard) equivalent. I have done this for the purpose of expanding the reader’s knowledge to what the rest of the English-speaking world uses. Aside from juxtaposing measurements, you’ll see the 24-hour time system vis-à-vis the 12-hour system; Celsius vis-à-vis Fahrenheit, and foreign nouns used followed by its American-English equivalent. It may be worth mentioning that as a member of the army I am accustomed to using the metric system for length measurements and of course the 24-hour military time system, a time-system that’s commonly used by nearly three-quarters of the civilian world. One small note in your reading is the usage of the German long s—ß—called the Eszett. You can simply pronounce this as a normal s.

Allow me to add that even though this is, in essence, adulation for the countries I’ve visited (except for the hostile ones), I feel it necessary to convey to the reader that my heart is and will forever be dedicated to my America. In my opinion, there is no greater country that offers its peoples the greatest rights and liberties. Although no country is perfect, republicanism is and has always been an experiment, and a noble and worthy one at that.

Finally, the purpose of this book is four-fold. First, it’s to inspire people to travel; to undertake the uncomfortable, the unknown, and to grow from such experience. Second, is to provide you with some travel information typically found in a travel guide. Third, is to offer a bit of historical background on all destinations. I love history because it tells us how we came to be and allows us to understand the world better for what it is. And fourth, is to impart lessons learned throughout my travels.

Writing this book wasn’t easy, but it could have been far more difficult. I’ve kept a daily journal since my early years in undergrad, and when I first started traveling I wrote my entries on scrap pieces of paper and eventually used Paperblanks books to write my accounts. It’s because of these travel journals that I was able to write this book with such detail and clarity. But since the passage of time inevitably diminishes my memory as the years pass—from chapter to chapter—you’ll notice an escalation of details as you progress throughout the read.

Aside from my travel journals, I also saved a good deal of all my receipts, admission tickets, airline itineraries, maps, luggage tags, food labels—things normal people would throw away without thinking twice. Fortunately, my packrat tendencies proved valuable in helping me remember where I went, what I bought, &c. I browsed through thousands of photos and videos in piecing together my stories in chronological order, and I also contacted a lot of my friends to fill in the holes in my stories.

Indeed, this book was definitely about research as much as it was about writing. All said, this book is not only about my travels, but it’s also about a significant period of my life. So, I now have the pleasure to offer you this, a modest account of my travels, 11 years in the making. I hope you enjoy it.

CHAPTER I

Euro Trip!

Jumping off cliffs and sliding down the canyon was such a rush! We followed the path of the cutting river and wherever it went, we went. It was one exciting and dangerous thing after another. The adrenaline was pumping and every one of was feeding off of each other’s energy.

I N THE SUMMER OF 2004 I had finished my fourth year of undergrad studies at California State University, Fullerton, (Cal State Fullerton) but sadly I was not to graduate. I had recently joined my school’s Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program a year late, and since it was a two-year program, I had to take a Super-Senior victory lap.

I originally planned on going to Europe with a group of my friends, mostly from school, but that didn’t happen because I first had go to Fort Lewis, Washington for a month and attend the Leadership Development and Assessment Camp (LDAC) for ROTC. I, along with thousands of other army cadets across the country, underwent a series of events that tested our leadership and military skills in order to determine our fate as army officers.

Going to Europe with my friends would probably have been just as fun if not more fun, but I’m certain I wouldn’t have learned as much. Going alone gave me more sense of adventure and responsibility. Where do I go? Where should I go? Oh, crap, what do I do now? I relied on myself completely. I did, however, have family friends in Vienna, a friend in Naples, and family in Athens, but that was only three out of ten cities. Getting around was easy in German speaking countries because I had recently completed a semester of German, barely getting a B. I had a limited knowledge of other languages so I felt like a total foreigner as I toured non-German speaking countries, but almost everyone in Europe had some command of English, which was a relief.

Aside from airfare that was purchased well in advance, I did my actual planning just three days prior to my departure. Most of this consisted of scanning through Euro Rail timetables figuring out departure and arrival times amongst the cities I’d be traveling to. Throughout my trip, however, I made some changes to my plan and adapted to them as they came.

Before I left for Europe, everyone would ask me, So are you excited about your Europe trip? And I told them I wasn’t. At least not yet. I usually don’t get excited about anything big until the day of. Once I got on that plane for that 14-hour trans-Atlantic flight, it hit me like a bolt of lightning! The ball was now in motion and I was heaps excited—and nervous.

My first step on this holiday was the airport…

AIR TRAVEL: PART I

The Aerodrome

Many, if not, all of us have been there. Familiar names like Dulles, JFX, SFO, Chicago O’Hare, and Atlanta, all serve as connections to all corners of the United States and to the rest of the world. For this holiday, my start point was Los Angeles International Airport, also known simply as LAX. In the early days of aviation, airports originally had two letter codes, but once the air travel industry grew, a third letter was added to facilitate more unique combinations, hence the odd and meaningless X in LAX.

I think airports are like mini-cities, and as such they’re complicated and fascinating, to say the least. As you enter the limits of the airport you’re inundated with signs indicating many things: arrivals, departures, parking, (short term or long term), rental car drop off, passenger drop off and pick up, international and domestic terminals. It’s all a bit confusing and inundating before you even get to the ticket counter. As you enter the building, you cross over into a sea of people. You search for your airline amongst a vast group of airline companies: United, Southwest, Virgin, British, New Zealand, and the list goes on. As soon as you find your airline you’re most likely confronted with a queue that’s moving at the speed of the U.S. Congress; seemingly going nowhere, but eventually making progress.

As you take your one step every five minutes, the weight of your rucksack (backpack) gets heavy, and thus you take it off, set it on the ground, and just push it with your foot with every moment you advance in the queue. You make it up to the front of the queue and study the line of ticket counters; one of which you’ll attack, all processing customers at a different speed—some faster than others, or slower than others—depending on how you look at it. Once you finally make it to a ticket counter things move a bit faster. You receive your boarding pass(es), your baggage claim receipt, and pray to the gods that your bag and you reunite without a hitch. At this point you may be compelled to a bit of relief, but not so fast. You first need to go through a gauntlet of (necessary) inconvenience—the TSA security checkpoint. Dun dun dun.

You’re moving again at a slow pace as TSA employees guide you through x-ray and body scans. Ladies and gentlemen, take off your shoes, sweatshirt, belts, any items from your pockets, and remove your laptops from their cases. And do all that in one minute. At least that’s the pressure I feel when I’m within arm’s reach of the baskets. I don’t want to be that guy who fumbles, forgets a step, and slows down the process even more. Oh, and you may forget that you have a beverage in your carry-on, so you’re forced to make that decision: do I drink it or throw it away? For me, I drink it. Once you’ve passed through the threshold of the TSA, you can now relax.

Fool you. Depending on the size of the airport, as well as your fortunes, you probably have to make the trek to another concourse—on the other side of the airport. A, B, C, D, &c. Your head looks up to find signs pointing to gates, restrooms, restaurants, and concourses. You follow the signs that take you left, right, straight, down some escalators perhaps, and if you want, the moving walkways everybody decides to stop on because they’re super lazy.

You make it to your concourse and at this point you’ve not only immersed yourself in a realm of departure gates that link you to the far reaches of the Earth, but also one of commerce. Duty-free stores entice the traveler to buy almost anything that could peak one’s interest. High-end fashion, cosmetics, spirits, and electronics, all at a reduced price. But one must stay clear of these or at least wait until one’s return, lest you carry the burden of additional weight throughout your travels.

You then make it your terminal, confirm the departure time above the service counter, take a seat, and then—my favorite airport pastime—people watch. When it comes to diversity, airports are where it’s at. Business people in suits and shiny leather shoes, sports teams carrying gym bags, Hasidic Jews in black attire, Texans with cowboy hats, large families (probably running to their gates), and of course, the young American traveler—that’s me.

A gate attendant then makes their way up to the service counter, gets on the intercom, and welcomes its passengers and informs them that the boarding process will now begin. And at that moment, the passengers at the gate seem to stand up in unison. It’s now a race to their seats, not to simply sit down and take a load off, but to make sure you can store your carry-on luggage above your seat and not several rows down the line.

Everyone is eying each other with their peripheral vision. You surreptitiously ease your way to the front of the queue as the gate attendant continues to call out the next seating group. Now boarding group 4. You make the dashing walk to the ticket counter, keeping your cool like it’s no big deal, and now it’s akin to merging on a freeway. Finally, you hand your ticket to the agent to be scanned and are greeted with the words, Thank you. Enjoy your flight.

***

Österreich (Austria)

20 – 26 July 2004

Wien (Vienna)

Modern Austria once formed a large portion of the Holy Roman Empire, which lasted until the early 1800s. After losing to Prussia for control of greater Germany, the Austria-Hungary Empire emerged. After World War I, the empire dissolved and Austria turned into a republic until it was annexed by Nazi Germany in the 1938 Anschluss (connection). Finally, after the war, their republic was restored.

I flew into Vienna International Airport (VIE), but had a long layover in London Heathrow (LHR). It was uncomfortably cold in the terminal and it was quite gloomy outside. Par for the course for London, I suppose. Just minutes before boarding, our terminals were switched on us and I found this to be a little unnerving. I landed in VIE in the early afternoon and I was already off to a bad start. My luggage, along with that of 700 other British Airline passengers, was lost. Not even a day into this month-long trip, and I’m already getting some bad luck. I felt helpless. Practically everything I had was in that bag. Fortunately, I was carrying my army map bag with me that had my valuables to include my wallet and passport.

I met up with Sonuk (pronounced suh-nook), my dad’s assistant in Vienna, and we filed a report for my luggage. It was interesting listening to a Korean speak fluent German, but impressive, nonetheless. We then left the airport using the U-Bahn (pronounced oo-bahn), which is the subway, to Westbahnhof (West train station) where we met Sonuk’s friend Julia, a Canadian. We first ate some Italian iced cream and it was a mess for me; it dripped all over until they taught me how to properly eat it.

After some touring they dropped me off at the residence of my dad’s then-disciple, Reverend Haewon. Haewon was an affluent Austrian and I remember seeing him a few times back in California. When I arrived at his house, nobody was there, except for the maid. The family was off on holiday and was coming home the next day or so. The first order of business was to take a shower. I felt fresh and relaxed—and I wasn’t even jetlagged.

That fortunate case of circadian balance wasn’t an anomaly, either. I would later come to realize that my body is immune to jetlag. After traveling to 40 countries on every continent, save Antarctica, and traveling across the United States many times, I have been able to eat, sleep, and wake up accordingly based off the appropriate time zone I’m in. I reckon it’s because I eat every meal on the plane and sleep a lot.

The next morning I ate the breakfast that Sonuk put together for me. It included a seemingly normal bottle of water and as I was eating my sandwiches I cracked the water open. I wasn’t expecting anything from it, but I was; I was expecting to taste the same water you would taste anywhere in the States—more or less. Once that water touched my palette, however, I thought, What the hell, is this water expired!? I wasn’t expecting that. It was simply carbonated water and I found it to be unpleasant. I tried to finish it and get used to its taste, but it wasn’t happening.

I drained the bottle and poured in some high quality tap water. I later learned Germans don’t usually drink tap water or still water. And if you knew what tap water meant in German, you probably wouldn’t either. It’s leitungswasser, meaning plumbing water. I eventually became quite accustomed to wasser mit gas (water with gas) and now prefer it over tap water. And, later that morning, I received a most welcomed item at the door: my luggage. Thank goodness!

While in Vienna I saw many monuments, cathedrals, and other sites. Some places included the Schloß Schönbrunn Palace, the Stefansturn Cathedral, and the Österreichische Belvedere Galerie. All the while it was hot over there. After spending a month at FT Lewis, WA where the weather was damn near perfect, the heat and humidity of Austria was a stark contrast. I was sweating so much that my sweat dried up and left salt crystals on my shirt where my camera strap and map bag were.

When Haewon’s children returned home they took me to a high-class café called Onyx Bar on Stephansplatz 12 and I had an Irish whiskey coffee for the first time, which I thought was delicious.

The last day in Vienna wasn’t too exciting, but enjoyable nonetheless. Julia had to leave for her violin concert so we went to a bookstore to go buy me a map of the city. After we said goodbye I was alone on Mariahilfstraße in Vienna. After a short while I could easily navigate through the city with the U-Bahn. At FT Lewis I had navigated through the forests of Endor using a map, so navigating through the streets of Europe was no problem, on foot or by rail. The last evening in Vienna we had a pleasant dinner in Haewon’s backyard. Interesting fact I learned was that Haewon’s father served in the German Wermacht (Defense force) during World War II. When I was packing for Salzburg I left everything I purchased in Vienna in order to free up space in my bag. I’d pick them up later when I flew back to the States.

Salzburg

As my first train ride in Europe, the trip to Salzburg was filled with pristine countryside views and was very calm and picturesque.

When I arrived at the train station, I thought, Oh dear, what do I do now? I felt nervous and lost, but it was like the hammer that broke the ice. This experience was definitely making me into a more capable backpacker. I immediately went to the newsstand and purchased a map of the city. I then used the public restroom, which in all of Europe is still called a Water Closet, or simply WC. And in Europe, most public restrooms require a small fee for usage. As an American I found this to be a little vexing. You have to pay for lietungswasser and the WC? Nickel-and-dime. After inquiring where nearby hostels were, I looked over my map, planned my route, and was off.

I arrived at The YOHO (Youth International Hostel) on Paracelsusstraße and it was very nice, except for the lady at the front desk—she was a bitch. When I first came in I was sweating like crazy. I got to my room and met an American named Ryan who was also in the army. He was a part of Civil Affairs. We became instant friends, as people do in hostels, and the first night there I met a lot of other people. I hoped it would be like this at all the other hostels.

There was Sean from Ireland, Lauren and Kevin from Canada, another Ryan, Mike (who looked like Owen Wilson), and many others. That night we enjoyed some beers at a beautiful restaurant and beer garden called Stieglkeller on Festungsgaße. As it’s situated on a hill, it had a very wonderful view of Salzburg in the evening.

When we were about to leave the place it started raining and that’s when it really got fun. To prevent his shirt from getting wet, Mike decided to take his shirt off and stuff it in his hand. All of us guys followed suit and started running down the cobble-stoned hills to wherever the road would take us. We ended up at Shamrocks Irish Pub right off the river Salzach on Rudolfskai where we danced all night. I had about six Austrian-sized beers (which are huge compared to the States) that night and I woke up the next morning with a decent hangover. The night was a success and my trip and excitement were gaining more momentum.

Berchtesgaden, Deutschland (Germany)

24 July 2004

That morning Ryan and I went to Berchtesgaden in Germany to see the Eagle’s Nest. Known in German as the Kehlsteinhaus, the Eagle’s Nest is an edifice that was presented to Hitler as a retreat on his 50th birthday. It was commissioned by Martin Bormann and used very rarely throughout its life under the Third Reich, as opposed to the frequently used Berghof, which is located several miles below the Eagles Nest and is now in ruins. Today the Eagle’s Nest is under the control of an independent trust and ensures its proceeds are used for charitable purposes.

As we drove over the Obersalzburg, the skies were covered with clouds and so it was a gloomy day. When we arrived, we drove up to the parking lot where they shuttled people to the base of the Eagle’s Nest. As we were waiting for the shuttle we met a man from the United States Air Force and he asked us if we were in the military. We said no, but this was before we knew he was in the Air Force. It’s required practice to disavow military affiliation while abroad, which we call Operational Security, or simply OPSEC. OPSEC, amongst other things, is the awareness of one’s behavior and appearance as to not attract the attention of unsuspecting enemies of the state as well and your affiliation as a member of the armed forces.

It started raining when we were transported to the base. We purchased our return ticket back to the bottom and headed into the brass-polished elevator, which took us to the top. When we arrived we looked all around the Nest. It was still raining, but we went outside anyways. The air was very cool, but very humid as well. You could feel the weather cloak over your skin. We went to the top of the mountain and I took photos with my camera, the Canon 1V-HS, which I still own. It certainly lived up to its professional standard with its weatherproof sealing.

The Eagle’s Nest is basically a restaurant now and so we decided to grab a bite to eat. All the tables were taken, but one of the great things about German culture is that you can share a table with another party of strangers as long as there are seats still available. I went up to an elderly couple and asked, "Ist hier noch frei?," (Is this free?) and they gladly welcomed our company. The Eagle’s Nest was somewhat of a disappointment, though, because it was smaller than I imagined. It wasn’t that grand, except for the elevator that took us up to the top. This was Hitler’s diplomatic retreat after all. Still, it was a good experience, quite historic, and something that I wanted to see.

Salzburg

Ryan and I also wanted to go to the salt mines (Salzburg means Salt Mountain), but we got lost on the autobahn and by the time we got there, the clock had struck five and it had closed. We got back and grabbed some beers in the lobby and met up with the others at the hostel. I was picking up my change I dropped on the floor and I heard someone say, Albert! What’s up? It was Lauren hanging out at the dinner tables with the others. They did their own thing and I went out with Haewon’s daughter, Ana, and her friends. It was a pretty laid back evening and I still wasn’t feeling all that great from the night prior. I went back to the hostel where I met another Korean in the room. Nice guy, but he was quite reserved. Not much of a talker.

The next day I went on The Sound of Music Tour. I was pretty excited about this because I grew up watching this film many times and it was one of my favorites of all time. We went all around Salzburg to the places where the movie was shot. During the tour I met two girls, Jenny and Tatya from Australia, who were really nice and cute.

As the tour went on I told myself that I’d buy the movie on DVD as soon as I got home. Some things that stuck in my head was the fact that the front and backside of the von Trap house were actually two different houses used during filming and you can tell by the number of floors on each side. Also, in the opening sequence, Maria sings The Hills are Alive on top of the beautiful Mehlweg mountain. After hearing the bells toll, she runs back to her convent, which seems like a short run, but in actuality, it was six miles away. Quite the run, yes? We also saw the gazebo where Liesl and Rolf had their kiss in the rain, and the cathedral where Maria and the Captain were married.

After returning from the tour, I basically saw everything in the city. Salzburg is split up between an old and new part of the city. Split by the river Salzach, the old part of the city is from up until 1400 and the new part is from around 1400 to the present. As a fan of classical music, I visited Mozart’s birthplace and former living place on Getreidegaße and Makartplatz, respectively. I then made it up the Festung Hohensalzburg. This is a fortress that overlooks the city and the Alps and is quite an amazing sight. The walk up there was steep and long. It must have been a 60-degree incline. The fortress itself was in great shape due to the fact that it was restored over the years. I felt like I was back in the 11th century!

I came back down and as I was making my descent I noticed that there was a cable car that took you to the top! Oh well, I needed the exercise anyways, I thought. I decided to stay for some classical music that was playing at a music festival at the Residenzplatz. This is a square constructed in the 16th century that features a classical baroque fountain. That’s when I met two girls, Rodika and Steph. Rodika was from Moldova and I thought she was pretty, and with her permission, I even took some photos of her. She was pretty cool about it.

After the music concert I ate at the famous Café Tomaselli on Alter Markt. Founded in 1705, this is Austria’s oldest coffee house and the great Mozart himself was known to frequent it. What a feeling! There I had the best omelet I had ever tasted. Actually, I’m quite certain it was my first omelet ever, and at dinnertime, at that. I then came back and slept early because I had to catch an early train to Munich. In the middle of the night everyone else came in and woke me up.

The next morning I got ready and ate breakfast. I met two new people that were in my room and I think they were Russian. They were nice, but boy did they make a lot of noise last night. During this time I was talking with a guy from Singapore and the girl from Russia. They were saying how Budapest is a dodgy place to be and how one should definitely watch out over there.

Afterwards I did my laundry. The laundry room was really interesting because over the years people had drawn and wrote down their little remarks on the walls, many of which were quite artistic. Most of the remarks were just trash talking about other countries or hostels. I left after I did my laundry, but stopped over by the Internet café to check up on some e-mails. Austria had been fun, and I was hoping it would only get better.

Germany

26 – 31 July 2004

München (Munich)

After the fall of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna mandated a German Confederation in 1814, which included 39 sovereign states. After two wars, the German Empire was formed in 1871 under the leadership of Otto von Bismarck, uniting all German parts, to include Prussia, but not Austria. After the rest of the old empires were toppling after World War I, Germany formed the Weimar Republic. As the German people expressed discontent towards the government and its economy, the Nazis took advantage of the situation and gradually turned the republic into the totalitarian Third Reich. After World War II, Germany was split into West and East until the fall of Communism, resulting in reunification in 1990. Today, the Federal Republic of Germany has 16 constituent states, and is a super economic and political power within the European Union.

My visit to Germany was awesome and there was much to see. When I arrived at Munich I befriended two Swedish girls, who were both named Ana. We went to eat at a Thai-Chinese place and talked about many things, including our differing education systems. To my surprise I learned the Swedes don’t have to pay for university education, but rather students get paid to attend. They even receive money for going to high school, but not as much.

After that the girls went to go see a movie and I cruised around the streets. When I came back to the room I met Rob and Toby, two Aussies (Australians). Both of them were really cool guys and were the first ones to tell me about Interlaken, Switzerland, and all the awesome activities one could do there. It excited me so much. After they told me that I was sold!

I then changed up my plans to accommodate another destination into my itinerary. Changing my itinerary wasn’t difficult at all. At the time, Euro Rail passes basically granted you complete flexibility on when to travel on whatever train. The principal tool in all of this was my timetable pamphlet and using it to match departure and arrival times amongst the cities traveled. Nowadays, Euro Rail passes not only require one to buy the pass, but separate tickets for each specific ride.

The three of us grabbed a few beers that night and ended up stinging people from our hostel window with their BB guns they had bought in Spain. How mature of us, I know. We then went down to the bar to get some more beers. Rob and I sat next to these two Germans and were talking with them. They couldn’t speak or understand English too well, but it was fine because it forced me to use my German, which prompted some decent dialogue.

It goes without saying that I believe my one semester of German at uni (university) has hitherto been the most useful class I’ve ever taken in my years as both an undergrad and grad student.

The next day I walked around and took in the sights to include the Olympic centre where the 1972 summer Olympics were held. That place was pretty enticing, especially the stadium. There was a music video being shot and I took some photos of the singer. The next day I moved into the three-bed room and I meet two people from Los Angeles who graduated from University of California, Los Angeles. Our meeting was somewhat comforting because they reminded me of a couple of my friends