The Swiss Alps!

Well I just typed out this entire story about our backpacking trip in the Swiss Alps in the Diablerets region of Switzerland, but I just erased it all. Computers.. you cant live with them and you cant live without them. The highlights: the backpacking was some of the most beautiful that i have ever experienced. We hiked across a glacier, camped in a thunderstorm and got barraged by cattle all night a couple nights ago. Pretty fun.

Right now we are in Interlaken and will be celebrating Switzerland's international day tomorrow, which should be a lot of fun.

A special thank you to the Schneider family for being so gracious in meeting our needs and preparing us for the amazing backpacking experience that we had. We couldn't have done it without you! From here we're heading to Luzern, another smaller town in Switzerland.

God has been so good to us in keeping us safe and free from major injury. Praise Him for this beautiful creation that He has made!

Crossing the Diablerets Glacier!

Our campsite the first night!

A valley in the alps.

At the top of the pass!

On our way back down the other side!

Salzburg -> Munich -> Paris -> Montpreveyers

So there have been quite a few happenings since the last post. Munich was very nice and our second day there we were able to experience a genuine beer hall for lunch and go to the Deutches Museum which is the largest technical museum in the world! I was in my element. Enough airplanes to make any engineer drool... except for Brian. But that's because he's a civil engineer. So he went to the bridges and waterways displays. :)

The day prior to that we went to the castles outside of Füssen in the very southern part of Germany. Unfortunately it was a little underwhelming and the literally thousands of tourists made it less pleasant. Oh and it rained on us too. But the castle history was actually very interesting. I also forgot to mention that our first night in Munich we were without a hostel because they were all booked.. that was interesting. We eventually found a place to sleep (on a floor). Actually, it was quite comfy.

The next day we trekked back to Paris to meet up with Lucas who was flying in the next day. The day he got in, Brian and I went to the Louvre. As neat as all the paintings and artifacts were, there were soo many people there. I think Im finding that the less people there are the better. So that night we never found Lucas. His plane got in late.

Long story short we found him in the train station just before our train left for Switzerland. The Lord has us in His hands and allowed us to find him with perfect timing. Praise Him! So the past two days we have spent here with the Schneider family who have been so gracious in allowing us to stay with them in their home.

They live in an old farmhouse originally constructed in 1840 in a little town outside of Lausanne called Montpreveyers. With only 500 residents, it is quite quaint. The Schneiders are family friends from the bay area that we met several years ago and have kept in touch with. So they have kindly put us up in their home for a couple of days and given us all sorts of wonderful tips before we head out to the Swiss Alps for the backpacking portion of our journey (Thank you Daniel and Martine for your warm hospitality!).

So tomorrow the three musketeers head out for a mountain region called the Diablerets. It is less crowded and quite breathtaking. In a day we will start a three day backpacking trip through these mountains and pass over the Diablerets Glacier along the way. We are all quite excited about that! It is the only glacier in Switzerland that you can cross without needing a guide or extra equipment. So that should be amazing to say the least.

After that, we will be recovering in the beautiful town of Interlaken for two nights from which we will do some more touristy day hikes in the beautiful Jungfrau region of the alps. After that??? We keep saying we're just glad we found Lucas. Who knows what would have happened otherwise!

So we're off to the mountains! This has been the part of the trip that I have most been looking forward to. I love the mountains and love communing with the Lord there through His creation. What an amazing God we serve who created all this with a word!

Until our backpacking adventure is over, au revoir!

The view from the castle Neuschweinstein in Füssen, Germany.

The Deutches Museum in Munich - the largest technical museum in the world!

The city center in Munich.

The Mona Lisa... that's IT??

Sunset over the Seine in Paris as seen from Pont Neuf.

We finally found Lucas!

Bike riding through the Swiss countryside today just near Lausanne.

Berlin -> Prague -> Berchtesgaden -> Salzburg

Well, its been quite some time since my last post! The internet has been anything but available, but hopefully the pictures in this post will make up for it. Heres a quick summary of my recent trail:

Copenhagen was great - especially the danishes. Biking through town and the cool architecture were the highlights for me.

We stayed in Berlin for two nights, but only travelled around the city for a couple of hours. I was starting to get sick, so the tourism was short lived. The highlight of that was Checkpoint Charlie, where so much history with the Berlin wall happened. Actually kind of sobering to be there.

Prague was beautiful. The train ride in was along this river which was stunningly gorgeous. Im constantly amazed at the beautiful world that the Lord has created. In Prague, we ran into my robotics professor from Cal Poly! Small world indeed.

By far the most beautiful place I have been yet was in Berchtesgaden, Germany. In the very southern part, its actually a national park, and its beauty rivals that of the Sierras. See the pictures! A hike to the Klausteinhaus or Hitler's Eagles Nest was my favorite. Stunningly beautiful. The picture doesnt even come close to describing it. And it was in between two very rainy days.. the Lord is good! We camped there and had a great time.. Thanks Grampy for the recommendation!

I am writing this post from Salzburg just before heading out to Munich. I have a train in an hour or so. Tomorrow Brian and I are planning on visiting the famous castle outside of Füssen, Germany. In a few days we are meeting my good friend Lucas in Paris and starting our adventures of backpacking the Swiss Alps!

Other than being a little sick and having my knees hurt, I have been able to stay quite healthy and I praise the Lord for that. More to come. Thanks for your faithful prayers.

Windmill in Copenhagen.

My moving company! So much fun to find this sign!

Checkpoing Charlie in Berlin. The allied edge of the Berlin Wall!

The cathedral at the castle in Prague.

I ran into my robotics professor in the town square in Prague.

A wonderful view of Köngissee Lake in Berchtesgaden, Germany

The incredible view from Hitler's Eagle's Nest, Berchtesgaden.

Recognize this scene in Salzburg?

The gazebo in the Sound of Music! Salzburg, Austria.

Copenhagen -> Berlin

So theres only one picture because the computer that I'm using right now is extremely slow. It took me 10 minutes to get this picture up, so hopefully I can get to another computer and post again soon!

Copenhagen was a great time. Brian and I rented bikes for the day that we were there and it was actually a great way to see the city! There are a ton of sections to the city, including its own hippie town. We met some really neat people there as well. Brian and I took a tour of the Carlsburg beer factory which was really pretty fun. While inside the factory a thunderstorm came up and it downpoured for a few minutes; then it was sunny the rest of the day! Best danishes ever! (I guess thats to be expected).

The next day was spent travelling to Berlin. Today we toured Berlin, which was really great. Its a humongous city and we only got to see a portion of it. But we did go to Checkpoint Charlie - the edge of the US control during the Berlin Wall crisis. I was going to include a picture of me there, but...

Tonight we cooked our own delicious meal of spaghetti and sausage with salad - our first meal that we've really cooked for ourselves! It was delicious. Tonight we're getting to bed early and leaving tomorrow morning for Prague. More to come from there! Brian and I are trying to avoid getting sick, so if you could pray for that, that would be wonderful.

Praise God for His faithfulness to us thus far! Until Prague...

A ferry to Copenhagen - the TRAIN rolls right on! Amazing engineering!

Pamplona -> Amsterdam -> Hamburg -> Copenhagen

Sorry it's been so long! The last leg of this journey has been just that - a journey. We've travelled hundreds of miles in the past few days and are pretty tired! I'm writing this from a hostel in Copenhagen, Denmark, where Brian and I have decided to settle down for a day or two.

When we arrived in Pamplona, we found an immediate and continuous party. Basically, this town closes down for a week of partying. Trash, bottles, people, music EVERYWHERE you go! It's insane. We couldn't even imagine something like this happening in the states. We tried to sleep in a park (hostels were thru the roof expensive) but only got a wink of sleep cuz of the cold weather. I watched a guy ransack some other people that were sleeping, and after seeing that, didn't sleep a wink. At 4 AM Brian and I staked out our spot to watch the bull run. It was fun to watch and will be great to look back on, but after staying up all night in the cold, 30 seconds of madness seems hardly worth it... but the better part was watching the bull fighting in the arena afterwards.

Then, a sleeper train to paris, connection to brussels, and a quick afternoon and evening in Amsterdam where we visited the Anne Frank house. Anything goes in Amsterdam. Crazy place.
Then, off to Hamburg where we got some much needed bratwurst and some sleep. After touring the city for a couple hours this morning, catching a volleyball match (ironically germany versus spain), and getting a pastry, we headed out here to Denmark.

Copenhagen is beautiful and tomorrow we are planning on riding bikes through the city to check out the sights and to try some REAL danish pastries. Should be great! After this, we're off to Berlin, Prague, and the Munich area. At least that's the plan...

God's been so good to me in sustaining me in times of discouragement and tiredness. Times on the train have been sweet to read, journal, and worship. Not sure when the next post will be, but we survived Pamplona and have somehow made it to the other side of Europe in a just a couple days! Miss all you at home. More to come soon!

Watching the Bull Run in Pamplona!

Run Faster!

Beautiful canals in Amsterdam.

A volleyball match right in the middle of the city square!

Sunset in Copenhagen.

San Sebastián, España

Well, after 24 hours of travelling, we finally made it to San Sebastián, Spain. I´m writing this about an hour before we leave here, but it´s been an absolutely wonderful time here. We got into Valladolid, Spain, a day or two ago, walked through the town, and decided to get out. It didn´t seem all to special and it was quite expensive. So we got on another trian into this amazing town where it was... raining. To make things even more fun, we decided against staying at a hostel since they were the steepest prices we´ve seen yet. So we camped. About a half hour outside of town is a campground where we pitched a tent for two nights. It rained both nights, but we were nice and dry inside my tent! It was actually kind of fun to finally be able to use all of the gear I brought! This town is incredibly beautiful as you can see from the pictures. The coastline reminds me of Maui actually. Neat ports, good food, and very green (probably from all the rain!).

In an hour we´re off to Pamplona to see the bull run. No hostel.. but nobody has one, so I think we´re okay. Don´t worry - we´re not running.. just watching. The streets are slick and, well, it´s just not the smartest thing to do, you know?

From there, we´ve got a long trip up to Amsterdam where we start the next leg of our trip in the Netherlands and Germany. You´ll probably hear from us there.

Pray for more opportunities to share Christ with others! It´s a dark place over here, and Christian fellowship is quite rare. Glad to have Brian along...

Adios!

Brian and me at the top of a hill in San Sebastián

The absolutely incredible view from the top!

The view from the road I took a walk on last night.

Faro and Lisboa, Portugal

After barely making our night train into Lisbon (our metro station in Madrid was closed for some reason), we got very little sleep on the 10 hour train ride over to Lisbon. When we got there, we found out that the hostel that we were hoping to stay at was full. So we randomly decided to get on a train and travel 4 hours south to Faro which is a beach town in the very southern part of Portugal. We took a boat ride out to an island where there was a huge beach. We got to swim in the Atlantic (the water was quite warm!) and see the town. Really neat tile streets and shops. I really like the alleyways and can't get enough pictures of it.

The following day we took the same train in the morning back to Lisbon because there was room at the hostel we wanted to stay at. And let me tell you that apart from Lisbon being the best city I've been to so far, the hostel is the nicest place I could even imagine staying. I've included a couple pictures. For 20 euro per night, you get to stay in what used to be a 4-story mansion. Sweet patio out back, dining room, kitchen, luxurious bathroom, super clean, nicest staff, really neat people, and free internet! For 5 euro you can have a homemade dinner cooked here by "mom" who is the portuguese cook here. Incredible. We're here for another two days.

On July 4th we head back to Madrid to catch a train to Valladolid, Spain (where Cal Poly's exchange program goes), and then San Sebastian, and then Pamplona where the bulls will begin running on the 7th. We already have all of our train tickets booked and we're set to go. Today we're going to enjoy this amazing hostel, Lisbon, and probably go to the beach later where we could maybe surf the Atlantic.

Neat people that we're meeting too, and some pretty sweet opportunities to share the gospel with them. Praise the Lord!

Until next time!

Brian and me in Faro. Notice the ginormous bird nests right above my head!

Really cool tile streets all over Portugal!

This is the bay just inside the beach in Faro.

This is our hostel in Lisbon. The most incredible hostel I've ever seen.

To give you a taste of what it's like, here's just the "hangout" room with free internet!

Awesome views from the tops of the hills in Lisbon.

Really cool fountains and squares in Lisbon.