Thoughts, Feelings, etc.

Greetings from...drum roll please....Walnut Creek!!! I have safely returned from my 11.5 week journey. Fairly unreal feeling. Europe and Asia feel worlds apart (literally:)) My mind has divided them, so that at this point, I can only comment on overall lessons learned and Asia. Thus, without further ado....
Lessons Learned
1. Rice is amazing and delicious in all forms. Always.
2. 7-11 is a whole different breed in Thailand. I think I will continue to never go in the US (other than when I scored goals as a child in soccer and got rewarded with a Slurpee), so as to not taint it's stature in Asia. Open 24 hours, air-conditioned AND you could ALWAYS buy a bottle of cold water. (not just water in a fridge; sometimes the fridges weren't plugged in. it made you expect cold water, but really..LIES!)
3. Pet populations need to be controlled. Southeast Asia demonstrates this all too well...
4. Bus/train squat toilets are never a good idea.
5. Traveling alone allows you to meet a LOT of people.
6. Monkeys, elephants, water buffalo and turtles are still my favorite animals. you have NO idea!
7. Lauren and access to cheap and delicious food are a formula for disaster. Unlike most normal people, I lost weight in Europe and gained it in Asia, merely due to price. sigh.
New Life Goals
1. Run a marathon
2. Learn to knit (thank you Jill and Aurora for inspiration!)
3. Learn a new language, suggestions welcome as to which one
4. Live abroad for an extended period of time and get paid? ie work...(accepting job offers now:))
Highs
1. Meeting other travelers and locals
2. Appreciating my youth and health
3. New cultures
4. GREAT weather (in Asia, NOT Europe)
5. Food, new different exciting amazing
6. Cost of services, food, products, alcohol, lodging in SE Asia
7. Friends living abroad and putting me up--THANK YOU ALL!
8. Having the luxury to read a TON (once my mind engaged)
Lows
1. Not speaking Thai
2. American guilt complex...Cambodia was the worst, but I felt it in Laos too. Why did we bomb these countries for so long again? There's NOTHING there..why destroy a country that already barely has any infrastructure.
3. Stomach woes--inevitable, however, Alex didn't have any. what up with that? We met some Aussies and they called it a "runny stomach." Gross, but good terminology.
4. Not having you all with me to share the experience.
Ok, so that's a wrap. I've been home for 40 hours and it already feels like weeks. If anyone wants to, you know,...give me a job abroad? I'll GLADLY accept. Thank you for your comments, emails, advice for the last 3 months. This blog, while I fought the idea initially, really allowed me to feel connected to everyone when I traveled alone and was far far away. Thank you for reading, it was a great support. Until my next big journey...
Love,
Lauren

Greetings from Paradise

A very belated hello to all! I have been so far behind on blogging, but having so much fun traveling! Just arrived in Bangkok this morning after a boat-->bus-->bus overnight extravaganza. I will say that while traveling here is sometimes frustrating, i.e. stop the bus periodically with no explanation...one is never sure if it's a toilet break or if the bus is broken or if the driver is merely buying cigarettes (have I told you lately that EVERYONE smokes in Asia? It is so reminiscent of South America for me when I started feeling bad not having lighters for people...oh social norms! nerd alert?!), it is a scenic and amazing way to see the country. Last night we got caught in the tropical storms of all tropical storms. It was AMAZING. We unfortunately we're in the process of our "half hour"=1.5 hour stop to switch buses and got SOAKED. Really brought the bus together however, lots of new friends. Something about having all of your belongings on your back, then having your back get soaked, really unites people. Regardless, the first bus was SO hot that the shower probably improved the overall bus odor for the long haul of a journey back up to BKK. They showed Blood Diamond on the bus, fairly heavy, but I watched lightening. Seriously, continuous lightening for 3+ hours. One of the coolest things I have ever seen.. Anyway, my life for the last couple of weeks:
Kho Tao---beautiful rocky island in the Gulf of Thailand. One of the most popular dive sites in the world. Alex and my British friend Jannicke got open water certified=Lauren got free accommodation! Our weather was not the best, but I got much needed zen time staring at the ocean, snorkeling, sunset drinks...the snorkeling here was UNREAL, i couldn't swim without bumping into fish. Jannicke's cousin is a dive instructor and has lived on Koh Tao for 4 years, so we had a local guide. It was great.
Railey-HEAVEN ON EARTH. Please go here if you ever have the opportunity. It is beautiful. Huge limestone cliffs, a climbing destination--it reminded me a lot of Jurassic Park. From Koh Tao it took us about 13 hours to arrive in Railey, part of the mainland near Krabi, but only accessible by longtail boat. The highlight of our journey was arriving in Krabi after dark and having them lure 6 other people to buy tickets to go to Railey (they'll only take a boat at night if it has 8 people). They shoved me and alex into a rather dilapidated tuk-tuk and gave us random luggage, which upset the owners of those bags...ultimately we took this tuk-tuk down a dark pier then had to walk onto the boat in complete darkness, no worries, only stairs with ropes and wow, glad we made it on. The ride was about 20 minutes and was really tranquil. It was SO dark and I was singing "Gotta have faith" to Alex, because we literally were at the hands of the longtail driver. When we approached the beach we ran aground about 200m from the actual coast because the tide was out. So had to wade/walk with all of our belongings to get out. It was great though. We stayed in rather posh accommodations since that is all Railey really has to offer and enjoyed 3 BEAUTIFUL beaches. Little kids bring you drinks on the beach, I got a foot scrub, Alex a massage. I almost didn't leave. Alex and I did part ways though. He went off to Hong Kong and I continued south to meet up with some friends in Koh Phi Phi!
Koh Phi Phi-I was warned that it was super touristy, which it was, however it is for a reason. The clearest waters I have ever seen. I snorkeled, but it was relatively unnecessary because you could see everything as well from the water. I LOVE parrot fish. Did a sweet hike up to the viewpoint and got to see where the tsunami hit in 2004. You can't even tell it ever happened now, but they've rebuilt since the tsunami. then we continued to Rantee beach which was almost empty and gorgeous. Phi Phi has fun nightlife, they did fire throwing, fire limbo, fire jumprope...you get the idea. I danced all night and would just walk into the sea when it was too hot. Met lots of people. I would have loved more time there. Now I have one more night in Thailand. Cannot believe my journey is winding down. I intend to do one more blog of actual thoughts and ramblings, but need to go frolic now! See you all soon!
Love,
Lauren

someone took my flip flops:(

Hoooooola! Alex and I have finally reached beach paradise of Thailand. We are staying in Koh Tao, "divers paradise," on the southeastern coast of Thailand. Kind of amazing. I think my entire trip has been based around arriving here. That said, it is currently storming, so I'm waiting it out on internet:) Should be snorkeling in a bit. In reference to the title, we just had breakfast and you have to take your shoes off before entering places here (standard for asia, I dig it...wiggling my bare feet as I type)...anyway, i removed mine and when I left got a different pair of the same flip flops that are more worn and too big. To be fair, pretty sure mine were fakes and these are brand name, but still. EW! someone else's foot sweat. Still surprised that this is the firs time it has happened on my trip though:)
What else? We overnight bused from Vientiene to Bangkok and then got a morning bus to Siem Reap that took us 13 hours! We had to cross the Cambodian border and it just took all too long. Driving in Cambodia was fairly hilarious. Lots of motos, and animal carts, bicycles, buses, trucks and cars all sharing a two lane highway, the last bit of which is unpaved. It makes for lots of horns honking and near misses. I saw more passengers on motos and in cars than I have anywhere else in the world. SEVEN on a moto, probably over 20 in a minivan=RIDICULOUS.
Siem Reap was unreal. HUGE temples, frogs everywhere. I have amazing photos which will be uploaded someday soon I hope. DELICIOUS Khmer food. I bought a book about Pol Pot and man...I have a lot of guilt being an American. It's overwhelming that we bombed Cambodia of all places...
Then Alex and I met up with Julie Picquet in Phnom Penh!!! She is working for the Kiva Foundation and put us up in her apartment. It is run by an 84 year old Khmer deaf, mute man. So sweet. I LOVED P-P. We celebrated Alex's birthday with class (April 5) and went to markets, Toul Slang (the old prison used under Pol Pot..HEAVY) and ate wonderful food with Julie's friends. I love having a local hostess. Then we flew (yes, very over buses) to Bangkok. Got amazing lightening storms throughout all that. Then we overnight bused to the south of Thailand and caught a 7am Catamaran to Koh Tao. Now, I'm in paradise. I miss everyone and will try to upload photos soon because they have high speed internet here! Happy Passover/Easter/Full moon, etc.
Love,
Lauren

You can take Lauren out of Laos, but you can't take Laos out of Lauren!

Very early morning greetings from Bangkok! Alex and I have just stepped off our overnight bus from Laos to Thailand. We arrived over an hour early. Not one of those events where it is in anyway useful to arrive early...Thus, it is 5 in the morning and we have just booked another bus to Cambodia for 7:30. No better way to cope than with internet! (and everything else is closed...)
Highlights (and lowlights) of the last week:
1. We took a beautiful bus ride from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng. Very mountainous and allowed us to peer into mountain/rural living in Laos. The people were showering on the side of the road. Cows, chickens, goats were wandering. Land was being burned. Little kids were walking home from school. There were small children and pregnant women EVERYWHERE. Made me start to wonder what the life expectancy and infant mortality is in Laos. Every traveler I've asked just says there are lots of children because "there's nothing else to do." However, Alex just looked it up and life expectancy at birth is 56 (=young!) and infant mortality is 85 per 1000 births, also high. This makes sense...but still...We got to see a BEAUTIFUL sunset. Reminds me of all those environmental videos from school when they'd highlight how bad pollution was, and then say, "but it makes for BEAUTIFUL sunsets." Case en pointe.

2. Vang Vieng is a tourist destination. Weird town where you can tube down a river and go bar to bar. We opted to go to caves on our one day there and took quite a hike deep into a cave. It wouldn't be legal in other countries to go without a guide due to liability, but leave it to Laos! It was a good 8ish mile walk and great cave!

3. There were many power outages throughout our stay in Laos. Really only hindered my ability to have 50 cent fresh tropical fruit smoothies...mmmm.

4. Laos is a communist country.

5. Vientiene, the capital, was the most developed city we saw the whole time. It was an amazing contrast. I saw people on the street, clearly very poor, and then a Merceded M-class.

6. I went to the US embassy to get more passport pages and the man greeted me by saying "hi, how are you?" First time anyone has asked how I was. Made me happy to be coming home eventually.

7. What are Buddhist beliefs on death?

8. In reference to the title of this blog, I have parasites or some crazy stomach issue. Really been challenging the last few days. I'm on the upswing though. Thank the lord! I did, however, miss kayaking from Vang Vieng to Vientiene. Alex and a fellow traveler did it. It was fun:(

9. Alex found me gatorade in Laos. I was speechless (and thankful).

Off to Cambodia now! Hope all are safe and sound:)
Love,
Lauren

Laos: "Same same, but different"

Hello all! I have not had internet regularly for quite awhile, so my apologies for the delayed postings:) I'm going to write quickly because internet is painfully slow in Luang Prabang (and i assume laos in general) and I'm off to meet friends for street food at the night market. I love night markets.

Last week Alex and I finished our touring of Northern Thailand and crossed the Mekong into Laos last Thursday. We booked a slow boat for Friday and then set off to explore the border town of Huay...? I forget. There was literally nothing there. So we sat at a riverside restaurant, drank some Beer Lao (much better than Chang), talked to other travelers and took in a glorious sunset. That night while I was reading, the power suddenly went out and a HUGE thunder and lightening storm followed. Our guesthouse had aluminum roofing next door and the rain sounded incredible. Definitely movie-style rain that you never actually think exists...it does:) We were staying next to a temple, so each big flash of light illuminated this temple on a hill. It was incredible. Our guesthouse delivered a little candle that nearly was blown out by the warm wind from the storm.

The next morning we got up bright and early and made our way to the slow boat. It seats about 120 people and is the only way to get from the north of Laos to Luang Prabang. The benches were squeezed quite close together=minimal leg room, but we had makeshift seat cushions to weather the 7 hour wooden-seat journey. We met a BIG group of friendly travellers on the boat. It stopped in Pak Bang the first night and everyone raced off the boat to find accomodations. Somewhat overwhelming. Alex and I and our unofficial travel buddy, Jannicke, joined new German and British friends and we all shared a hostel. Got to have another AMAZING thunder storm. This time we were lucky enough to get completely soaked:) it only took about 2 minutes of being without shelter. I love the rain and getting wet. Pak Bang runs on a generator so everything had to be done by 11pm. Amazing that in rural living, when power is lost, not too much changes...Day 2 on the boat was less comfortable, no cushions and a smaller boat with even narrower rows. We played lots of cards, had some light water fights...met more friends.
Now I'm in Luang Prabang. So nice after the slow boat journey.
Life thoughts:
1. I have seen SO many water buffalos along the Mekong. I enjoy them. Not as much as elephants and turtles, but close.
2. Today we saw Pak Ou, which is a huge cave about 2 hours by slow boat north of here. It is a "graveyard for buddha images." It was pretty cool.
3. Yesterday our new travel group rented mountain bikes and went to a HUGE waterfall about 32km from Luang Prabang. It was QUITE a ride=be in shape if you do it:). After Huang si (the waterfall) which was beautiful and very large, with pools for swimming etc., we got a tuk-tuk to take us back. Lonely planet told us it would be "undulating," this was true except for about 4 km of downhill/uphill...so we were lazy. I was soooo endorphined last night. Look forward to the days of regular exercise again. probably one of the only negatives to travel.
4. Other very negative aspect of travel: still have large rash on my legs. No more malaria pills for lauren!! The rash could be from so many things, but I'm blaming Malarone for now. I also have had CRAZY dreams on it. so i'm done. Please will the mosquitoes away.
5. Have tasted "lao lao" Laotian whiskey. it's not for me. 55% alcohol is tooooo much!
6. I love Luang Prabang. It's like a college campus because we keep seeing people from our bus.
7. The waterfall yesterday also had tons of bears (an Asiatic bear reserve of sorts). where is the logic here?
8. My American and British travel friends rented a motorbike yesterday instead of cycling with the rest of us...let's just say lauren's judgment not to ride motorbikes, still correct. I'm 2-2 with saying no. Thankfully they are both alright, but pretty scraped up:(--good since Laos has no hospitals...
9. The environment here reminds exactly of Mexico, but with more French influence than Spanish...They have so many of the same types of foods and styles of cooking..it's amazing. I do love the fresh fruit on the road and smoothies that are always available and really cheap.
10. I had my first meat on a stick. there are photos. it was amazing.

Well, I clearly am having ADD right now. Had a Lao massage that was HILARIOUS a few hours ago. It was very relaxing, but I think I'm more sore now than before the massage. It was everything I hoped and dreamed for a massage in Asia. When it was over I laughed for a good, solid 2 minutes. In short 3 of us went together, all got massages in one room, had to be somewhat naked...they did not warn, just demanded mid-massage. I was not my German friend's wife. oops? AWKWARD. Tomorrow we're heading south...the itinerary is a mess,but I hope to be in Siem Reap, Cambodia on Friday to meet up with a good friend from college. hm...we shall see:) Wish everyone could join my adventure:)
Love,
Lauren

"No hiking, no happy! No up, no fun!"

Hi everyone!! I have so much to share and so little time/capacity to sit still long enough to write! I'll try to keep it brief. First off, I love Chiang Mai. I understand why it's a tourist haven. The city itself is dirty and quaint. You can't walk one block without a food vendor=heaven for me:) or a 7-11. Seriously, there are 100 times the amount of 7-11s in Thailand AND they're always open. It's convenient, yet sad for the small businesses (from my hippie perspective). Anyway, we have enjoyed the night bizarre many times for cheap food and bargaining. I am starting to get sick of having to barter and bargain for everything. From a tuk-tuk ride to bottle of water at the market, it is somewhat exhausting to always feel like you're getting ripped off.
Sorry, vent. Pretty much my only negative Thailand remarks, other than terrible pollution...mmm the fresh scent of diesel to wake you up in the morning and the inability to see mountains that are only 50km away:)
Ok, so highlights of my life as of now...ready...set....GO!
1. 3 day, 2 night trek through the jungle south of Chiang Mai city (still in Ch Mai province). We were led by 3 guides from the Karin tribe (not sure of spelling). They led us, cooked for us, entertained us etc. The first day started with lunch then ELEPHANT RIDING!!! i LOVE elephants. Thailand is the country for me. Alex and I had the biggest elephant. it was so fun. Oh man. I felt like a little kid at Disneyland, only I don't actually like Disneyland, but you understand. I took lots of photos and videos, brace yourself:) I wish I had a trunk to help me shovel food and ears to flap...After elephants, we did a light hike to a wonderful waterfall. Bathing commenced. We were the only 2 Americans, then there 2 dutch girls, one british girl, 4 french, 2 Irish (mom and daughter! so amazing), and 2 Russian. It was a funny, broken-English
That night we ate a delicious meal of green curry, pumpkin something and mixed veggies. We played cards, drank beer, had a fire, star-gazed and bonded. Sigh. I LOVE nature.
Day 2 started with a tougher 3 hour morning and then the option of hard or easy afternoon hikes. Alex and I were the only two that wanted a hard hike...ask and you shall receive. Holy geez. It was truly one of the most amazing hikes of my life. River crossings, walking through rice paddies, taking off socks and shoes to walk--well, wade through bogs, TONS of very steep uphill and downhill...all at a running pace to beat the sunset. I have many new scars to share. Things Thais don't think about and that I love about not America, liability:) Hard, hard hike. The whole group would not have made it. At all. LOVE thailand. That night got crazy with our guides...have pictures of sooty face games too.
2. Both nights we used mosquito nets.
3. I saw the largest spiders and other bugs of my life. I have some random rash. coincidence? hm.
4.The last day we hiked then took bamboo rafts down a river. Don't worry, they let us shower in a waterfall WITH our personal care products. Ohhhh Asia:)
5. I practiced English with a Buddhist monk for 2 hours on Wednesday. He waved me down at a temple. It was a weird experience. Please ask me about it if you want to know more as a blog seems like an inappropriate place to reflect about it. Suffice to say, he's had an American sponsor since he was 7 that has put him through school and provided food. He's 23 now. Pretty remarkable. I also sensed he was hitting on me the whole time. awkward.
6. I went to the zoo. It was a little sad and tons of school kids kept staring at me and giggling. Oh giant white girl with curly hair and blue eyes. BUH!
7. I saw GIANT leaves in the jungle. I've never seen anything so large.
8. There are dogs everywhere here. Again, it makes me so happy. They accompanied us on the hike. and there were puppies EVERWHERE. man, i love dogs.
9. Alex rented a motorbike and tried to convince me. I declined. He fell and self-injured. He's ok. I feel very validated in my decision:)
10.I now love papaya. If you know me, you know I've HATED it for years, which is weird for me and food.
11. Just finished an all day cooking class. best decision ever. I never need to eat again. SUCH GOOD FOOD! Brace yourself, I will cook for you when I return. whahahah! Hope you like spicy:)
12. I hope you're all wonderful. I'm sleep-deprived, tan, with a weird arm and leg rash, scaped up, overwhelmingly full, sweaty and the happiest I have been in ages. Wish everyone could join me on the journey! Email early and often:)
Off to Chiang Rai and Laos for the next couple of days....
Love,
Lauren

Ayutthaya-->Sukothai-->Chiang Mai

Sa wha dee ka! I am in love with this country. Alex and I took a very regional train out of Bangkok on Saturday morning. Wooden seats and we just kept stopping and accruing people. I was hoping that getting out of Bangkok would mean getting out of the pollution...Little did I know, this was not the case. The woman sitting opposite me kept dumping trash out the window. To put it lightly, this is the social norm. Everything is served on styrofoam and given to you in plastic bags. I've been refusing the plastic bags and people seem alarmed. So strange. Anyway, getting out of the city was nice. The train had vendors, I bought thai iced tea:) The windows were open the whole time and Alex noticed ash blowing in every once in a while. Good thing I don't smoke in real life, because the air here is putting years of smoke into my lungs...:(

We stopped in Ayutthaya which was the first capital in Thailand. There is a famous UNESCO Heritage ruin Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya. It was really neat to see. We rented bikes and honestly, probably one of the scariest bike rides of my life. In traffic, on the left side, because that's where they drive here, no helmets (they don't have them...even most motorbikers don't wear them...). Anyway, we survived. It gave us LOTS of adrenaline at least:) The town itself was pretty slow and our hostel had a HUGE dog and toasted smiley faces onto our toast:) see flickr. After that we took a really nice VIP-Super bus to Sukothai. It was just like South America, in that we got a little man servant who gave us food and checked tickets. We made a 20 minute stop after a few hours to use a restroom etc and then it was "SURPRISE FOOD!!" If you turned in your ticket stub, they gave you a plate of rice and thai dish of your choosing. SO amazing. When in Thailand, spend the extra 100 baht=$3 on random food stops, cokes on the bus, and a box of identifiable bad food...Sukothai was a much more happening town than Ayutthaya. We stayed in a very nice guesthouse across from a Buddhist monastery. Evidently, this is the monastery where monks go to "vacation." It was beautiful. We fed fish with the monks in their lake completely full of fish, unlike anything I've ever seen--Alex and I were "married," logically, because traveling in mixed gender groups in Asia unmarried is not ok. It's kind of hilarious to be pretend married. HA! We rented bikes again and while cheaper, they were TERRIBLE bikes. Thus, we decided to go for a 50km bike ride...poor decision in 38 C heat...on bad bikes. However, we saw TONS of ruins and wats (temples). The Sukothai historical park was neat because it part of it is maintained and part isn't (also UNESCO). You can see what time does to history. This park probably had the best stuff I've seen so far from the 14th century. Make sure you go!

What else? We just arrived in Chiang Mai. Took about a 5 hour bus to get here. Frolicked around all afternoon. Chiang Mai has MUCH worse air pollution than Bangkok. Chiang Mai is really nice so far though. Full of tourists, which is disgustingly refreshing after having been the only white people for 5 days. There have been a lot of street dogs lately, in Sukothai there were some in very sad states, but on the whole it's been glorious to have animals in my life again.
Ok, so much more to say, but out of time! Leaving for the jungle for 3 days on Thursday! Cannot wait! Alex convinced me to start malaria pills a few days ago. So far, so good. Also, his blog is MUCH more detailed, so I'd recommend it!
Love,
Lauren

Barcelona to Bangkok!!

Sah wat dee from Bangkok!!!
I arrived from Barcelona on Wednesday. It is so strange to lose an entire day flying...If you ever have the opportunity, please fly Thai Airways! Definitely one of the best flying experiences of my life. I got beef curry with rice and veggies for dinner and it was spicy AND delicious. I got hot towels 3 times, had red wine, beer, juice coffee, a middle of night sandwich AND a really excellent breakfast. We flew over Pakistan and India--I just saw HUGE mountains and clouds; so gorgeous...so unreal to be flying half way around the world in just 12 hours. I sat next to a Spanish opthamologist who kept telling me to enjoy my youth and travel (aprovecha la juventud--say it aloud, WAY better in spanish). I love her?
Random thoughts:
1. Why is Spanish farmland not in squares and circles like the US? Flying over it on my way back to Barcelona, I truly enjoyed how patchwork and fluid the lines were, but it seems curves would be harder to groom/harvest etc.
2. Highlights of my last weekend in Barcelona:
- Weather!!!! It was warm-ish while the SUN, yes I said SUN, was up during the daylight hours. I'd give it at least 21 C.
- Staying with an old synchro friend, Ellen, who I'd lost touch with for 4 nights. She's been in Spain 6 years and is marrying a Spaniard in Sept!!! yay!! It was so generous for her to host me!!! She lived right in the Centro and it was great catching up with her over coffee and Maria biscuits.
- Gaudi's Sagrada Familia. Finally. I went in and was lightly underwhelmed. The towers were amazing, but really it smelled like saw dust and was an active constructive site inside. I expected more church. It was also expensive to enter and once in, if you wanted to climb the tower, you had to pay more:( boo. Otherwise, it was highly impressive and a symbol of the culmination of my Spanish degree/education:)
-Spanish red wine. There are no words.
- Watching drugs getting exchanged publicly. This isn't really a "high", per se, however. Hm, please reflect.
-Renting bikes!!!! Took a self tour of Parc Montjuic. Saw the 1992 Olympic stadium and fields, drank coffee in the sun, got very lost/almost got onto the B-10 freeway, literally..., saw a very different cemetary that was very eerie and zen at the same time--all stacked graves. I'll post pictures soon, and ultimately got to "the best restaurant in BCN" only to find it closed on Sundays:(
-Got to have one last glory dinner with Emily Sousa. yay!!!
-Cooking dinner with Mayu on my last night. Homemade paella with noodles instead of rice and my mom's spaghetti sauce. It was great. Made me feel home:)

now...ASIA!!!!
I met up with Travel Buddy, Alex Rajan (if you feel like hearing his perspective on our journey www.AlexinAsia09.blogspot.com) on Tuesday! I am so thankful for his company, granted I think he's already sick of listening to me talk:) The first day I was fairly destroyed by lack of sleep/ Bcn-Mad-bangkok....I got to the hostel, showered and took an "hour" nap. poor form Rettberg. 3 hours later...I woke up and felt human. I went to a HUGE mall, per my brother's suggestion (by Skytrain at that!) and ate DELICIOUS thai food. I felt that the Asian diet would cause me to lose weight...hm. Reasons why this is false:
1. food is REALLY affordable here. My first day I ate brown rice with green chicken curry (almost too spicy for me=heaven) and chicken with chilis and basil=60 baht. This is under $2. In Europe a cafe=espresso was more....
2. I LOVE Thai food, passionately.
3. Beer is also very cheap here. So far I've sampled 3 national beers. Chang wins. I'll keep you posted.
4. I just tasted my first street food. DELICIOUS and only 25 baht for a HUGE plate. uh oh.
(alex is reading as I type--CREEPY, he claims "it was not a HUGE plate." please note, he may have an eating disorder, he claims to never be hungry. who is this boy? why does he travel if not to eat?)
Ok, so yesterday Alex and I took river taxis and tuk-tuks. I will soon post photos. I have tasted a LOT of diesel. mmm!!! I might be lying about the mmm.
What else? went to a night bizaar last night and accidentally spent money. Alex bought some SWEET fidora-ish hats and I got a shirt that is the softest cotten ever. Today we attempted a 7am-6pm bike tour and failed miserably at public transport and ultimately did a big walking tour of Chinatown and found some Monk bowl village. Then we went to the reclining buddha=AWESOME and the Royal Palace. pictures to come.
Ok, tomorrow we start our 2 week trek up north. I cannot wait!!! I think I may want to move to Bangkok more than Spain...anyone want to come with me? Hope you're all safe!
Love,
Lauren

Sevilla--><--Granada

This portion of my trip has been great. Staying in hostels as a lone traveller is quite amazing. You meet zillions of other lone travellers and thus new friends. It has only been 5 days and I already have emails and expectations of eventual visits to Australia and Germany. My week in Sevilla and Granada has allowed me to meditate. I´ve done a lot of walking and really just had good reflection time in the cold, rain and cold rain...I like that each day is full of possibilities and I only have to focus on basic needs. The new sights like the Alhambra or various churches etc stimulate my mind, while my body just performs the basic function of walking. When I get hungry, I eat. When I tire, I sit or nap. It really is luxury--this lifestyle of being able to satisfy my basic needs at my convenience.
Hostel living is inherently social. I love the alone time during the day to charge myself for evenings and mornings with new strangers. Last night I had an amazing time with people from all over the world. The Granada tapas bars are amazing because if you order a drink you get free tapas. This is how all bars should be. It is wonderful to hear about what brings people from everywhere to Granada to pass time together on a rainy Wednesday night. People in Andalusia are very friendly. My first night in Sevilla, I got lost getting to the hostel around midnight with all my stuff and some old woman grabbed me by the arm and in heavily accented something was saying "Oasis" and leading me there. Also, people just offer directions which is not the case in Barcelona...I have also seen more Americans than anywhere else, mainly because it´s spring break I think. The Alhambra in Granada is worth seeing. It shows the clear blend of Muslim and Christian worlds in the past. I guess blend is a nice way of wording it. The Islam influence is still very strongly felt in the city and I had GREAT food:) The whole town is just amazing. I could stay in Granada for a long time...
Otherwise my amusement from today came in my bus ride from Granada to Sevilla. It was relatively uneventful. I slept, watched the hills of olive trees and ruins roll by...then we got into the outskirts of Sevilla and the bus driver yelled to the bus for directions. Immediately everyone was answering at once and debating which way would be best with traffic and whatnot. I love stuff like that. He´d been driving the route for 9 years and just wasn´t sure. I love how this part of Spain reminds me so heavily of Latin America. It´s the only reason stuff like this gets to happen. Back to Barcelona tomorrow...not looking forward to the hustle and bustle again, but excited for potential sunshine! Hope this blog finds you well!!! Salud!

BCN-->Sevilla/Jesús!

Hoooola! I write to you all today from a midday internet cafe that is serving as a chair which I can occupy in warmth, without eating anything, while remaining productive. If that makes sense... All travelers must understand this novelty. Anyway, I have so much to share! I hope that no one finds the title of this entry blasphamous (I have no spellcheck, welcome to my true idiocy), however, Sevilla is truly one of the most religious, or at least full of religious-stuff, cities I have ever visited. Every plaza is named after a saint, virgen, holiday or priest. Ridiculous aside: a big group of Mormon missionaries just came in and are using internet next to me:) Case en point. I have also seen more nuns in habits that I have ever seen in my life.

So beyond that. Today I walked the city over and then some and more yesterday in the rain. Now I present to you, experiences in list form:

1. I still have absolutely no internal compass. If anything, it is getting worse, even when I consult the map corner by corner, which is the safest way for me to be. Sorry to be redundant, but yes, I am redundant when I walk too:)
2. Saw the HUGE cathedral here this morning. It was impressive. Very cathedral-like. However, it has the biggest altar of gold I have ever seen and of silver too. I feel like I have come to the motherland for Latin American churches, because I have. Everything here reminds me a of much more grandiose version of churches I´ve seen in Mexico or Peru etc.
3. I am staying in hostels this week! So fun! Good trial run for Asia. I befriended my German study abroad roommates for tapas last night and we joined others in the hostel. The most Americans I have seen since I left. Ironically the 4 other Americans that came and ate tapas and saw flamenco with us all went to Harvard. Logically. Cue: One of these things...doesn´t belong.
4. The streets and sidewalks here are extremely narrow. Do not worry, photos to come soon can prove this. Even compared to other medieval cities.
5. It has been rainy and somewhat miserable in Sevilla. My book says the avg temp here is 26 C. I feel as though Mother Nature is laughing...
6. New favorite tapas: Espinacas with garbanzos and skewers of morrocan style chicken w/veggies.
7. Southern Spain really likes mosaics. Good thing I do too.
8. Walking from the bus to my hostel yesterday I passed TWO, not one, TWO old men singing outloud. YES!
9. I keep spontaneously smiling. I think this indicates happiness:)
10. I am FINALLY on the upswing of illness. I forgot how much it takes out of you being sick. Even climbing stairs like took it out of me and made my leg muscles throb. Now I´m back! With a nice cough to remind everyone of this...
11. Went to the Picasso Museum on Sunday, with my MPH friend, Emily, who is living in BCN. My favorite part (other than that it was free because it was the first Sunday of the month and having shared it with Emily) were the doves he painted in the Canary islands way back. Very cool museum store too, WAYYYY overpriced however.
12. The Spanish here is REAL!!! No more catalan and it is spoken quickly. I am happy and feel like can I attempt to speak better here:)
13. I have SO many thoughts that I´d love to share, but should really go walk around.

Please remember, to get a postcard, just email me your address:)
Que les vayan bien!!! Cuidense muuucho!

Updates: I just forgot soooo many things! Sevilla has orange and mandarin trees EVERYWHERE. Lining the streets, the plazas, etc. Can we eat them? Is this a way to help the homeless population? Also, there is a presence of homelessness in Sevilla, greater than that of Barcelona. People sit right outside of churches, with their head bowed and hand out. It´s really ironic (not the right word) but people flock to areas of religious people that perhaps will be more open to helping those less fortunate than they do in the big city of Barcelona. I also saw a man shove his wife to the ground after an argument while I was in Barcelona. It really rattled me. I was with my friend Dave Reed and he stood up to help defend the woman because it appeared like he was going to hit her further, but he was just trying to help her up. The man´s hat had fallen off in the scuffle and when he stood up it said "obama 08." Oh abusive Spaniard, why that hat? I felt really helpless due to cultural and language barriers. No one stepped in to do anything. It was sunny and noontime in a big plaza. Some old man sitting next to me came up because they saw I was upset and said, don´t worry, this happens every day with these two. Mayu tried to tell me that Spanish people are just WAY more passionate. hm...I´m still not satisfied with that answer. Ok...sorry trying to show that I am really seeing things:)

A whole lot of random!

Hoooola! I am writing a midday blog because my body has suddenly decided to have a really bad cold. Mayu made me tea and I'm just starting the day off muy relajada...Yesterday I went to Dali museum in Figueres (about two hours north of Bcn by train) and I HIGHLY recommend it! The stuff was so random and literally made me laugh outloud. I felt like the crazy girl--walking, gazing, giggling...all in a day's work. Even the train ride out was amusing because Spain (and Latin America) just beat to a different drum than Swiss, German and Norwegian railways. Things were delayed, but have no fear, they don't tell you why. You buy a roundtrip ticket, then get scolded on your way back that you bought the wrong ticket and need to add fair. Silly Spaniards. Luckily it was only 1.50 extra! Many things that you just don't question here:)

Anyway, Figueres was more how I've envisioned Spain to be...countryside with old houses, lots of open space, rolling hills. When I got off the train, it smelled like cows. Clearly, I was meant to come to Figueres. I bumped into a few little markets. I LOVE fruit markets! I successfully bought two mandarinas in Catalan. The woman seemed impressed, I mean, I didn't really have to talk....I then went to the museum and by the time I came out everything was closed. I was sad because it had been bustling before and I knew I just had to wait until 4:30 for stuff to reopen . I found an amazing little cafe (even though I wasn't hungry) and ordered a 4 Euro salad. Now begin the reflections:

1. 4 Euro=$5. Now, in the US a $5 salad really wouldn't be that glamorous. This salad, was on a glass plate with real silverware...it was. an. amazing. salad. Top 10 salad of lifetime, for 4 Euro. It had hardboiled egg, olives, white aspargus, tuna (not even from a can); however, the highlight was the piece of toasted bread with a HUGE portion of goat cheese. I took a picture. Trust me. To make matters even better/worse I also had an Estrella (national beer here) and it was only 1.45 Euro. So in conclusion, for about $6 I got a lot. What happened to value in the US? This really frustrates me. Things may be slightly more expensive in Europe, but its served with quality and class. Sorry, had to rant.

Where was I? Yes, so after lunch and some journaling I walked around through all the shops. I loved the town. I could live there. Then I trained home. GREAT DAY!

Earlier this week I did a lot! I explored Parque Guell--very famous by Gaudi, saw la Pedrera another famous Gaudi building, caught up with two American friends from college living in Barcelona!!!! (so fun!), made rice balls with Mayu (i LOVE them and haven't had them in years), went to the zoo!!!!! GREAT zoo! had tapas many times-->i LOVE the tapas culture!!! Favorites so far are grilled giant green onions that you peel and dip and eat and patatas bravas (obvio). It is still surreal to finally be in Spain because I'm only now seeing places and landmarks that I've read about for so long. My itinerary got jumbled lightly so I'm still trying to figure out next week, but I think I may go down to Sevilla or somewhere out of huge city...when in Spain...

Finally I will leave you with impressions, because traveling does give me a lot of time to think and reflect:

1. The European economy feels way less gloomy than that of the US. People are out in hoards shopping every night. From conversations with Spaniards I know they're having unemployment issues etc too, but the daily life as an outsider doesn't feel as terrible yet.

2. The Barcelona zoo is amazing because you can get SUPER close to the animals. However, I did watch a 2 year old climb over the, oh i don't know...1 FOOT fence, into the giant tortoise cage at which point I really thought I was going to watch her get trampled by the giant tortiose. It was not okay with me. Her vigilant dad rescued her, thank the lord...Also, it was a really neat zoo. Lots of animals I've never seen before and THREE varieties of flamingoes...who knew?

3.They have table wine here as cheap at .65 euro for a bottle. wow.

4. Why is an espresso shot called coffee here?

5. Traveling alone leads to very long meals.

6. I'm starting to wonder if Spanish people ever actually eat. I've seen them drink, have coffee, and an occasional tapa, but I really think they all must be malnourished.

7. I am very content and could see myself growing old in the countryside of Spain (with my whole family there too, of course).

Freezing-->Sunshine!

Hola a todos!!!! I have arrived in Barcelona!!!! For the first time I feel completely relaxed on this trip. I have so many guesses as to why: a) it is not subzero, raining (yet), or snowing here; b) I am done with my preplanned intraEurope flights; c) I speak the language here!!! (or at least a feeble attempt); d) I'm here for 2+ weeks, entonces, I can just take a deep breath. That said, allow me to tell you about my glorious week. It's so awful, but I just feel like I'm gloating in these updates. I'm just so thankful that so many people supported me to allow this experience to happen and that I'm healthy and young...etc.
ANYWAY, Norway---very well, where shall I begin? I don't even know how to express how wonderful Scott and Jill were to me on me trip there. I felt like part of their family in their cozy flat. 5 people in a 1-ish bedroom flat. I'll be forever indebted! Their home was such a happy environment to pass time. Good laughs, GREAT homemade food (thank you Scott) and baked goods (Jill:)), I was introduce to "Dr. Who" an old sci-fi British comedy (I too was skeptical with the aforementioned description, but it proved hilarious and entertaining), I got to get a goodnight hug every night from Aurora-amazing, and I got to hang out with the coolest and cutest 10-month old in the world (I'm completely unbiased). Scott and I did Norway in a Nutshell (thanks Ann for the suggestion!). For those of you unfamiliar, you take a boat, train and bus through the fjords of Bergen. The boat was the most amazing part. I felt SOO tiny compared to the massive frozen and snowy fjords. The water was completely still and the reflections of the fjords on water actually looked completely fake. The whole area was mystical and for lack of a better word, majestic. It reminded me of Patagonia in Chile, another extreme environment, which, until you see it it's nearly impossible to explain the energy/describe it in words...Because we took the tour in winter, it was practically empty. Scott says that in summer its hard to get photos from the boat without other tourists in them...Hard to imagine on our frigid February experience. We "saw" or were pointed to the oldest Stave church in Norway, built in 1180. yes, 1180!!! It only seats 14. Clearly only heathens and vikings...psh. Just to humor Scott, I composed a haiku on the bus ride home. Please judge:

I am overwhelmed

Stunned with reverence and awe

Fjords of Bergen

Other highlights of Bergen: I ate Reindeer--DELICIOUS, ate shrimp and enjoyed it for the first time in my life (wonders never cease), drank the national liquor (I've already repressed the name, I wouldn't really recommend it) with video game theory scholars (seriously, real job--Kenneth, get on it!), fun fact: on our tour we stopped in Voss, they have the REALLY fancy water and it's sold in the US in cylinder bottles--look into it, and I just generally REALLY enjoyed family. THANK YOU SCOTT AND JILL!

After a long train to Oslo and a grand night of sleeping on the airport bench (I've gotten smarter and remembered my eyemask for darkness this time) and then a bumpy flight...I have arrived in Barcelona! Mayu met me at the airport and took me to tapas with her friend, Juan Pedro. I'm so glad to have him because it makes me speak Spanish, granted it's so weird to see Mayu speaking fluent Spanish. so weird. We had tapas, I ate some sort of long shell fish type of something that I don't know what it's called, but hm. I will just say it was only the result of peer pressure and I probably won't do it again. Then we walked along Las Ramblas to Colon and sat on the dock in the sun. I love it here. I love hearing Spanish and I love the food. It is so wonderful to have friends around the world...I just got back from watching Mayu coach synchro at their Catalunya training center. It is really an amazing lifestyle--athletes live there, go to school there, train there. Jealous. If anyone knows of coaching jobs in spain, please, remember me:) Hope all are well!!! Les extrano!

Miscellaneous Musings..

Hei (look at that norwegian in practice) All! Sorry for frequently posting, but when in Norway and with internet...and a baby sleeping:)!
Here are just some random thoughts I've been having lately. I believe they were inspired by Munich, Athens, spending the night a London airport alone, exploring Copenhagen and arriving Norway. Feel free to argue/enjoy!

1. Scandinavia does not smell. (see smoking in restaurants allowed in Switzerland and Greece...just think Latin America). I have attributed this to low poverty and LOTS of wealth in these countries, which I actually think comes from inhabiting these parts for thousands of years. They have a BIG head start over the US. It is also freezing here right now, so logically it doesn't smell--freezers do not typically smell either:) Finally it is safe to drink the water in Europe. This makes it wayyyy better than Mexico, for example.

2. I am convinced it is possible to learn languages from TV. When I was in Munich by myself, I watched Germany's next Top Model, hosted by Heidi Klum (logically). I easily watched for over and hour and completely understood what was going on...in German. Imagine the possibilities of coupling that with a grammar class!

3. Scandinavia seems to lack diversity--extremely homogenous. Hm. (Europe 1-US 1)

4. Scandinavia does seem to have energy efficiency down. See wind power in Copenhagen. They have windmills on the water that you can see flying in. At my hotel everything was sensor lighting and you can opt for quantity of water to flush the toilet depending on...tehee!Also, their bike culture BLEW MY MIND! I'd live there just for how well organized the city is with bikes. People were biking in all weather too. A-mazing!

5. I am learning to eat good food and look better while eating. In Greece I was properly trained how to use a fork and knife the European way. Next lesson is to learn how to make the PERFECT stackable bite. I will keep you posted and probably document it with a photo.

6. In Copenhagen the SUN came out for day 2 there!!! AMAZING! I still lack an internal compass however, so I walked senselessly and saw very little. I did see the Little Mermaid statue by Hans Christian Anderson, but to be honest, it was a REALLY long walk for a REALLY tiny statue.

7. I have decided to move to the next level of love for my President, Obama. Not only do I want him as my leader, but I want apparel with his face on it. Lloyd donned his "Obama is my homeboy" shirt in Athens and really has never looked better. It will only improve my situation to own Obama apparel. I recommend it to everyone.

8. Why do people choose to live in freezing weather climates? My guidebook for Norway says it rains 275 days of the year here. Scott confirmed this detail begrudgingly. Regardless, I'm very much enjoying family time here in Norway. Scott and Jill are AMAZING hosts and quite gourmet chefs. Yesterday I got to go to Jessica's music class--15 babies playing and listening to music! It was all in Norwegian, but since it was spoken for infants, I got by just fine.

9. It is amazing how much you get across with non-verbal communication. I have seriously been very amazed and am enjoying it:)

10. I think I could travel and not work, for the rest of my life?

That's all for now. Someday I'll figure out how to upload photos properly...Happy Thursday! Tusen tak for reading (a thousand thanks)!!!

photos!

Hi all!

I attempted to upload photos! But ran out of time/haven't used flickr in ages...soooo if you feel like looking please look at flickr.com...add me as your contact! LaurenRettberg is my name:)

Enjoy! more to follow soon hopefully. Off to Bergen now! Cannot wait!

Whirlwind touring!

So...I apologize in advance if this post is incoherent, but I'm passing time in the middle of the night in London en route from Athens to Copenhagen!

So much to share--for those of you that want to read no further here are the main ideas:
1. Munich=freezing, delicious beer, nice people, lauren getting lost/has no sense of direction/still not really fluent or with any sort of working german:(

2. Athens=deceptively freezing when sun was not out. longer days this time of year which was refreshing. Plane ride in most beautiful part, dirty dirty dirty city, AMAZING food, i'd stick with the islands.

Ok, so about the actual trip. I left Jessica bright and early on Thursday and took a 4.5 hour train to Munich..use clickandrail for discounts!!! I mainly slept, which is always awkward when traveling alone because each time I woke up, a new stranger was sitting across from me:) Closer to Munich there were many giant grave stones with Jewish stars--fairly overwhelming as Dachau was just outside of Munich. I opted not to visit alone and irritable...
I stored my stuff in a locker at the train station ( i LOVE european public transit) and took off on an adventure. At one point it was -10 C and snowing heavily, I couldn't warm up and ducked into a pub for lunch. I had goulosh (say it outloud, so much better!) and a half liter of DELICIOUS lager. The old man bartender and some retired BM'V' workers served as company (and my journal) and I warmed up. I then braved the weather again and genuinely enjoyed Munich--successfully navigating their subway to the airport. I stayed in a hotel which I regret not documenting. I opened the door and laughed. The room was SO small. It was also FREEZING. I couldn't warm up, there was no heater..it was only after i showered etc that i realized the window was open...a good 3 hours later:(

The next day it was off to Athens! I caught up with my friend and we explored many ruins and enjoyed the Greek culture. Greek sounds a lot like spanish and it gave me a false sense of comprehension. We soon established that when spoken to in Greek, you could just mumble nonsense and people understood and thanked you for your help. Everyone also spoke English so I felt less like a 5 year old compared to Germany. We met up with a local friend--Carolina, on Saturday and she TOOK our Saturday. It was great to be immersed in her journalist, bohemia society, but we literally were with the woman for a good 6 hours and kept trying to leave. She started us at a fruit market and then we drank ouzo on an empty stomach. Wow. I would not recommend this. Regardless it was great to have a local tour guide, but we felt EXTREMELY liberated when we got to roam freely. The food in Greece was a definite highlight (and the acropolis...). They put a huge slab of feta on their greek salads. also, sesame seeds, why does our culture fail to use them as effectively? Well, I would love to share more, but my internet is about to run out...Soon I'll be on my way to Copenhagen! Hope all are well!

Bern, Fribourg, and Zürich!!!

I am just wrapping up my time in Zürich with Jessica.  It will be very challenging to travel without her, as she has planned, facilitated, educated, listened, laughed and walked a lot with me.  I am so thankful for the Rüeggers:) Tomorrow I will continue to Munich alone and Friday I am off to Greece!

Yesterday we visited Bern, the capital of Switzerland.  We saw parliament and I got a free postcard of the current 7 "presidents" serving the country.  They alternate each year which person has to serve as the head, but otherwise they are equals and are elected by representatives, not the people directly.  We saw a huge tower--Zytglogge which has moveable parts (think giant cuckoo clock, only medieval figures instead of birds!) Switzerland was founded in 1291. We also climbed a huge cathedral, Münster, and had a vantage point of Bern.  Bern used to have bears in pits because bears are on the flag, but thankfully, animal activists finally won their battle and Jessica and I were please to not find bears in captivity:)

Next we continued to Fribourg, where Jessica's sister, Vanessa works and lives.  We had an AMAZING dinner with her and heard about her recent 5 month stay in Syria and I even got tea from Sudan:)  So generous!  

This morning Jessica and I covered Zürich by foot...with only some snow, lots of wind and FREEZING temperatures.  We walked along the river to Lake Zürich, the university she attended, saw the big 3 churchs: Fraumünster (Chagall windows), St. Peterskirche (biggest clock on church tower in all of Europe), Grossmünster (VERY old, cerca 1400s, jessica's med school graduation held here:)).  Next we had tea with an old friend of Jessica's--they spoke English, just for me:) We then went to a Hamam, or Turkish bath.  Just what we needed after the frigid weather.  It was extremely relaxing and evidently just like Syria.  Yes, I did accidentally see naked old men. hm. 

Now, I am extremely full after a dinner with Jessica, Rita, and my mom's cousin, Sandy.  She plays violin for a symphony in Zürich and has been here 23 years.  It was great to catch up.  I hadn't seen her since her wedding in CA, when I was 11. Now it's time to pack...i'd really like to return to Switzerland in summer, it's hard for me to imagine it not 0 degrees and snowing:)

High time for a post!

What an adventure it has been so far...I do not even know where to begin!!

Lessons learned thus far:

1.London cannot handle snow--I arrived a week ago after a GLORIOUS entire row to myself flight from SF and then had quite an adventure which included closed, severely delayed and suspended public transport.  After a nice walk in the snow with my belongings and many failed attempts with public phones I arrived at my destination..about 6 hours after landing (2 of which I spent on the runway after landing, though I am always appreciative of a safe landing:)).

2. Americans (well, Lauren) should not cross streets alone. They drive on the right. I still somehow do not know my left from my right, as was noted many times.

3. All museums in England are FREE!!! This is a dream for my short attention span because I got to come and go.  I really loved the National Gallery and the GIANT accordian that I got to see played by two people at the Tate Britian.

4. Europe is much older than the US.

5. Remember to call your bank before traveling, otherwise one gets completely cut off...thank you mom!

6. Rugby is a violent and amazing sport. I got to see England vs. Italy at Twikenham (spelled wrong)=amazing. British fans are THE MOST POLITE and civilzed sports fans I have ever seen. I almost enjoyed their composure and reading of "let's show our respect for the opposition and be good sports!" at the beginning of the game, more than the game itself, no offense rugby fans.

7. Europeans walk fast. I have no words for how much I love this.

8. Having friends abroad take you to their favorite spots really is so much better than going it alone:) I got to see two shows with Kristen and Lloyd--Avenue Q and The Birdcage, I love live shows and HIGHLY recommend Ave Q=muppets in a musical with dirty and hilarious humor. Thank you West End! Also, underground wine and tapas bar that would not be allowed in the US because they would break fire code, illuminated only by candles may be my new favourite place.

9. I am capable of not having coffee for over a week!! 

10. I am bad at using internet when traveling. Seeing new sites and old friends really overwhelms my time and makes me SOOO HAPPY!

11. Swiss keyboards really challenge me. Thezre designed for french and german= zes, just read this sentence and understand.

I apologize for the delay in updating!  I arrived in Zurich yesterday and was met at the aiport by Jessica and Rita (an old exchange student who I shared a room with for a year when I was 14).  We had an AMAZING swiss brunch with LOTS of cheese, local honey and fruit.  I got to see their house with is impressive, shaped like a giant A, made entirely of wood and truly awesome. Jessica had worked an all night shift in the hospital, so she slept while Rita took me around Baden and other medieval towns around their village.  After a dinner with Jessica and her med school friends (entirely in German, I feel SOOO ignorant) I spent a lovely late night with Roland and Jessica in Zurich.  Today was AMAZING.  To make a long story short, Jessica and I took the train up and around Interlaken, stopping in Luzerne to see old churchs...We saw the Eiger (impressive North Face), the Alps, many skiers (snowboarding evidently is no longer popular here)..many many trains, lakes, sights so beautiful they looked like christmas cards, not reality.  I lucked out having Jessica as my guide. I am currently stuffed, tired and content.  Roland made a traditional swiss meal of Roclette (I am sure this is spelled wrong), but it is a meal you cook on the table. it was fun, rich and delicious! I took photos, someday you can all understand.  

Until next time...I am safe and sound and utterly elated about life right now:)

Welcome to 80 days of glory!

Hi All,

Welcome!!! This is my first attempt at a blog and hopefully it will improve my terrible ability to communicate while abroad. If, for some reason, you're religiously checking this and I fail to post anything...email! LaurenRettberg@gmail.com If you write, I will respond..oh yes, I will respond.

That said, if I do succeed at communication while abroad, this could amount to a hilarious forum of travel stories. I always feel the worst part about travel is not being able to share the experiences and lessons and different cultures with the ones you love. I hope this will allow me to take each of you "along" for the journey! Please enjoy!
Here is my rough itinerary:

United Kingdom (London, Edinburgh): 2/1-2/8
Zurich, Switzerland: 2/8-2/11 or 12
Munich, Germany: 2/11 of 2/12-2/13
Athens, Greece: 2/13-2/15
Copenhagen, Denmark: 2/16-2/17
Bergen, Norway: 2/18-2/21
Barcelona, Spain: 2/22---3/10
Roughly our plans in Southeast Asia are Bangkok for a few days (meet up with Travel Buddy-Alex Rajan): 3/12-3/14
Up to the Northwest (Chiang Mai): 3/14-3/20.
East to Luang Prabang in Laos for a week: 3/20-3/27
Travel south through the jungles 3/28-3/31
Continue south to Angkor Wat in Cambodia: 4/1-4/5
West to Krabi/Phuket area: 4/6-4/16
Return to Bangkok: 4/17-4/21
HOME!!!! 4/21 arrive SFO at 11:15 am