My trip to the UK started off with a wacky bus trip from Rotterdam to London. Somewhere in Belgium, I noticed that the bus was all over the road and then realized that the driver was arguing with a woman passenger who was standing next to him. She sat down but was soon up again yelling at him, his driving getting more erratic. She wouldn't sit down so he finally swerved to the side of the road and they continued their argument in the middle of the isle. Several p...

Took off from Prague with Dutch in his cool VW van named "Knobby." Traveled across Germany with an overnight stay in Weimar, a quaint, artsy, quiet little town in Eastern Germany. Dutch commented frequently about the beautiful mountains and rolling hills of Germany. I was thinking "yeah they're nice, colorful, so?" Upon reaching The Netherlands, I understood his appreciation of natural elevations! I've never seen such a flat place, except maybe Texas. Hung out a...

Stayed in a great hotel in Prague called "Little Town Budget Hotel." It had hostel prices with hotel luxury! Two of my roomates, Lily from Singapore and Niki from London, were great fun. They met while in India traveling and were meeting up for the first time since then. They were a wealth of information about India and Nepal, as both had been several times. Lily even gave me two handwritten pages of notes that contained contacts, treks, cities, sites, timetables...

The overnight sleeper train to Vienna was anything but restful. The entire trip consisted of constant stopping, going in reverse, hooking/unhooking of cars, bumping, lurching, grinding, screeching, whistles, changing of tracks, and loud yelling by railway workers. It seemed a miracle that we ever went forward at all for any length of time or a bigger miracle, that we ever arrived in Vienna! At least I was horizontal instead of upright. Arrived at 6:00 a.m. and ha...

Wow! Poland! Why I ever thought it would be drab and dull I have no idea. It was just the opposite! Beautiful, clean, colorful, trendy, green, efficient, modern! The people were friendly and just about everyone spoke English. I loved it! Took a free walking tour that covered the city center and ended with a shot of vodka at a vodka bar. Poles love their vodka. Had lunch at one of the few remaining "Milk Bars" ( a leftover from east-bloc Poland serving unpretentio...