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Mon, 28 Jan 2008 15:58:39 -0600 http://www.herbon.net/ en-us http://www.herbon.net/images/logo.gif http://www.herbon.net/ herbon@herbon.net http://www.herbon.net/Article15.html I continue to keep this page live in hopes it will inspire and encourage young people to travel. If just one person reads my trip blog and sees how much fun I had, and in turn are insprired to travel, then I have done my job. I continue to encourage young people I meet fresh out of college to travel as much as they can. Take the opportunity while you can. You won't regret it. The two months I spent traveling Europe helped define my life and my attitude towards the rest of the world! TRAVEL! Mon, 28 Jan 2008 15:58:39 -0600 http://www.herbon.net/Article14.html Well all 3900 pictures from my EuroTrip are now up on the internet! Took me awhile but its finally finished! You can click on the link in the left hand menu entitled "Europe Gallery" which will take you to the site with all the pictures. They are seperated into the 49 days of my trip to make it easy. Each day is labeled with the city. Each set has a description listing the contents and I'll be working on getting the pictures labeled but that will take me some time to complete. For those who don't have the time and patience to go through all 3900 pictures, I've created a set called "EuroTrip Highlights". I'll be adding more pictures to this set as I go through them myself. Seeing all the pictures brings back so many great memories and makes me wish I was still there! I recommend to anyone who has the oppurtunity to go to Europe to do it! Best 2 months of my life! I'll work on putting up the Chicago pictures as soon as I get them in order. The end of my trip doesn't mean the end of the updates on this website. I'll continue to post updates and if you have any news you'd like me to post on here you can just click on the "Submit News" button on the left hand menu and I'll put it on the front page. Well, onto reality! Already planning my next trip so you'll just have to wait and see! Take care and be safe! Tue, 06 Sep 2005 23:50:38 -0500 http://www.herbon.net/Article13.html Well I am now officially HOME! My 2 month vacation from reality has ended. I'm catching up on emails and other things on the internet today and resting. It's sad that I have to take rest days to recover after a vacation! :) Anyway! I'll cover my final 2 days in London and then some Chicago stuff to close out my 2 month trip blog. Day one in London was great. I saw more of northern London which I just absolutely love. London is such a great city except its so expensive! I changed hostels for my final 2 days so I could stay in Central London. The Soho and Picadilly area is the place to be. At night after a pizza buffet I walked about 10 miles and got some really great pictures of London at night. Westminster, Big Ben, London Eye, Thames River and the Tower Bridge to name a few things. I've walked so much it doesn't even phase me anymore. Next morning I woke up and it was the rainy London I grew to love so much! I think out of my 8 days in London I had 3 that were sunny with no clouds or rain!! My goal that day was to see Abbey Road, Madame T's Wax Museum and the Imperial War Museum. I ended up running from the Metro station during a down pour to Abbey Road. Got some great pictures and luckly there was another lady in the rain who took a picture of me walking across the famous Zebra stripes. Too bad I couldn't take off my shoes! It's amazing the popularity a cross walk can get with the proper marketing!! From there I went to the Wax Museum. I stood outside the museum speechless when I saw the price. 22.99 pounds to get in. Thats about 40 US Dollars. I almost threw up but luckly I caught myself and headed to the metro towards the Imperial War Museum. IWM was a real neat place. All kinds of wartime exhibits. Tanks, planes, guns, knives, pistols, missles, jeeps, bombs and more, OH MY! The D-Day exhibit was just unreal. It made me wish I didn't get drunk on night number 2 in Paris so I could've made my train out to the Normandy beaches. A museum I definately recommend to any visitor of London. After that museum I headed back to my hostel and took my final European Shower! Repacked my backpack for the flight home and got ready to go out with the 2 ladies from London I met in Prague. Thats how Dan rolls in Europe, with at least 2 ladies by his side!! You know it!! We went out for dinner to start the night. On the way in Leceister Square the movie premier for Dukes of Hazard was going on. Jessica Simpson was prancing around. Shes like 4 foot tall. Can you say midget? We went from there to this Mexican restaurant for some great food and beer. From there we went to this bar where we chatted, danced and drank Vodka/Cokes (its actually good!) all night till 3 am. The girls actually missed their train home so they had to take a cab home which was expensive. I felt real bad! Plus they had to get up early in the morning to goto work! I ended up crashing around 3:30am and had to get up at 8am to get ready for my flight home. Got up in the morning and no hangover! BONUS! Headed to the airport on the Gatwick Express and made it on time for my flight home. About 9 hours total but it went by fast thanks to in flight movies and my IPOD. When we touched down it felt good to be home but at the same time it was sad to leave Europe. Hostels and their bunk beds became my home for 2 months and I met so many great people during my trip that I will hopefully stay in touch with. Hands down the best 2 months of my life. A trip I recommend anyone, no matter what age, to take. My friend Murray picked me up from the airport and we hit up hooters on the way home for a couple pitchers of beer. Crashed out later that night for a real good night of sleep. Extremely exhausted and jet lagged! Woke up the following day bright and early at.......4am! Jet lag can really suck! hah! Fell back asleep around 7am for a few more hours. Rested most of the day as I had to get up at 4am the next morning to catch my flight out to Chicago for the big wedding! Made on time for my flight out to Chicago and arrived without a problem. My mom ran clear across lanes of traffic to give me a big hug and cry her eyes out! She is currently applying for a role in a drama soap opera!!!! What can I say, I love her! Later that night I went out to eat with all my family in Chicago on my dads side. Was great to see everyone and my cousins. Following day was the big wedding. Played softball and then took a nap before the wedding. Had a blast at the wedding and the reception. Taught everyone there my sweet dancing moves! Was great to party with my cousins and family! Following day was family day and then on Sunday it was a day at Arlington Raceway. Love betting on the horses. I won 80$ on my first race thanks to my cousins handy advice! Monday I saw the city of Chicago with my Dad, Brother, Brigid and the kids and ended the day at a Chicago Cubs game. Nothing like a baseball game at Wrigley field!! The Mecca of baseball fields. Flight home was interesting when the Pilot was dodging thunderstorms but all is well. Today is my first rest day and I got to pickup my dog. Missed him! Going to sleep for a few days and sort through pictures before I make an attempt to return to reality! Reality Bites! It was a great 2 month vacation and I'd love to do it all over again! I'll make sure to do another post when all the pictures of my trips are up! I've got some great ones that I know you'll love! Glad to be home! Later this week when I'm not tired and brain dead I'll post a final trip post on my view of each city I visited. Take care and stay safe and healthy. Wed, 31 Aug 2005 18:54:29 -0500 http://www.herbon.net/Article12.html Well its been a crazy last few days and now that I can actually type normal again I'll go ahead and post an update. Only 2 more nights till I fly home. I just checked in at my hostel and about to go see if I can see a show tonight at the theater. Its sunny and warm here! Yay! So my last 10ish days have been fun. I last left off in Berlin so here we go.... I went on what turned out to be around 9 hour walking tour through Berlin. A big big city. I saw all the major sights in a full day. It was actually great. A real eerie feeling standing over the bunker where Hitler shot himself and they burned his corpse. It is now covered by a parking place with an apartment complex nearby. Later that night I ran into 1/2 the walking tour kids in my hostel bar and did some karaoke all night long. Sang the backpackers theme song: Born to be Wild! Fun times. Last day in Berlin I spent roaming around seeing things I missed the previous 2 days. Berlin is such a huge city! Got stung by a bee or something, perhaps a spider while I was sleeping on my second day and on day 3 I found the bite. I was luckly able to communicate what I needed at a pharmacy and its all better now. Took a night train from Berlin and arrived the next morning in Stockholm, Sweden. If there are any two cities you can pickup and place in America its Stockholm and Copenhagen. Both very Americanized, filled with fast food, shops, malls and lots of people. But on the flip side both really beautiful cities, especially Stockholm. Saw the Wassa boat which was really cool. Almost all entirely original and the pieces that aren't you can tell because there just plain wood and no polished. Got some sweet pics. After 2 days in Stockholm I headed to Copenhagen. Saw the LITTLE MERMAID STATUE THAT MY DAD TOLD ME TO SEE! I WANT THOSE 20 MINUTES OF MY LIFE BACK!!!!!!! Unreal, 200 people standing at this statue that is no more than 4 feet tall. Hilarious. People falling in the water trying to get pictures with it. Tourists! Love em! Saw Tivoli Gardens also which was interesting. More for little kids but the place is beautiful. Spent 1/2 day watching soccer with a buncha drunken Englishmen drinking Guiness. They love their soccer. Was a great time. Its alot different here when the entire country gets behind 1 sport, soccer. Everyone sings and cheers for their team. In the states we have so many major sports to watch and love, so everyone is evenly distributed among them. From Copenhagen I took a night train with some friends I met in the hostel and ended up hanging out with them all 4 days in Amsterdam. Had such a great time in Amsterdam. So much to see. I went there not knowing what I was going to do for 4 days and left there wishing I had another 2 days. I missed alot. The city is beautiful except I picked the wrong week to arrive. The city garbage men were on a 1 week strike. So needless to say the city was covered in trash!!! I went on a bike tour for a day which took me past an original authentic Wind Mill and then to a cheese farm where they showed us how they made Dutch cheese and then Dutch Clogs. Can't believe they actually wear them. Saw the Van Gogh museum, biggest rip off of my trip. 13.50 Euro for 1 floor of Van Gogh paintings. Same feeling with the Reijksmuseum. Only 2 floors of paintings for like 9 Euro. The Anne Frank house was very sad. It has inspired me to read the book when I return. Also saw the infamous Red Light District. There are actually some beautiful model looking girls that are destroying their lives. No idea why they do it but it was definately a culture shock seeing all these women selling themselves through glass. Rented a bike another day and just rode all around the city all day and night. All the canals and bridges and roads and bikes everywhere! Thousands of bikes! Thousands!!!! Millions!!!! Then my favorite! The Heineken Museum. 10 euro gets you 3 beers and a free souvenir 1/3 liter glass. Awesome. Had such a blast there. Ran into my friends from Copenhagen there and drank some more! Went to an Australian bar with one of my Aussie friends from Copenhagen and we watched a game of Australian Football. Was awesome. Ate this giant 2+ pound burger! So Good! Later on the last night in the harbour there were hundreds of boats taking part in some Sail celebration. Was cool. Wish I could of seen them during the day had I known about it earlier. From Amsterdam I went to Brugge. Cold and Rainy! Had a nice local meal of Mussels and Fries for dinner and then an awesome waffle covered in fresh fruit. And then theres the Brugge chocolate! Good stuff! Not alot to see in Brugge but its got this Medieval feel to it. The canals have black water in them and all the roofs are redish/orange color. Mostly brick houses. Neat city but not much to see for tourists. Good relaxation period for me and plus my hostel room had no one in it. Was good to have some peace and quiet before I hit London. I'm in London now. Hopefully going to dinner with the girls I met in Prague and then perhaps a show later tonight. I am happy and sad about 2 nights left. I have met so many great people and had such a wonderful time but I'm also ready for my own bed. A giant glass of freezing cold 1% Milk would taste great right now. And some oreos! Looking forward to Chicago to see all my family again and party hard at the wedding. Also a Cubs game! Chicago style Hot Dog sounds real good too! With Celery Salt! Anyway, I am just rambling now! Gotta go shower and change! See you all in a few days! Sun, 21 Aug 2005 10:57:58 -0500 http://www.herbon.net/Article11.html The keyboards here in Belgium are so messed up this post will have to be short. Iīll do another post in London since its free internet and update you on my last few days. Since Berlin Iīve been to Stockholm, Copenhagen and Amsterdam. Wasnīt real impressed with the first two cities but Amsterdam was an amazing city. Itīs currently rainy and cold here in Brugge. Hoping when I arrive in London tomorrow the weather will be much better. Only 2 more full days before I fly home. Iīm sad and excited at the same time. Iīve met so ,any great people and made so many great new friends! Iīve got couches to stay on all over the world! Cali and Aussieland are high on my travel priority list right now! Anyway Iīll try and do an update from London tomorrow when the keyboards donīt suck!!! Canīt wait to see all of my family in Chicago! Miss and love you all! Going to drink a liter of fine Belgium beer to safe travels for all my family who are about to hit the road! Sat, 20 Aug 2005 15:55:50 -0500 http://www.herbon.net/Article10.html I know its been awhile but its been a crazy last few days! I will update now! So much has gone on its just been crazy! The weather since my last night in Munich has been cold and rainy. Hoping it warms up soon but as I'm going more north I am beginning to doubt that! I last left off at Munich. Munich was unreal! One of my favorite cities hands down but Prague really took the cake for me. Lets start with Munich. First night I went to a authentic non-touristy beer hall. It was me and 80 germans. No one spoke english and it was very intimidating but great fun. Went out and saw the city at night and hit the sheets. Its amazing how exhausting train rides can be, even when your siting the whole time. Second day I woke up and went to the Neushwanstein Castle, the one they supposedly used when building the Disney castle. Simply amazing castle. I got tons of good pics of it. The tour inside wasn't as great but the outside shots are simply amazing. That was a full day trip and when I got back I sat at the bar for 2 euro 1/2 liters all night and met a ton of great people. That was followed by me sitting in a laudry room at 2 a.m. doing my laundry! Nothing like sitting in a white room while your hammered waiting on laundry to finished! HAHA! Next morning I woke up with all my fresh clean cloths by my side and headed to Dachau Concentration Camp. It was definately a sureal sight to see. Walking to the initial iron gate that says "Arbeit Macht Frei." ( Work sets you free) is seriously a chilling. I don't know how to describe how it feels to walk around an actual concentration camp. Just know its a sobering sight and something that doesn't make one smile. Seeing the creamatory area is sickening. The actual stoves still remain. I saw a 25 minute video on the history of the camp and some of it had live footage and pictures that made me bow my head so I didn't have to see. A woman sitting next to me cried through the whole movie. So needless to say I left there in an interesting mood. Later that day I went on a 4 hour bike tour through the city of Munich. It was awesome. We stopped off at a beer garden and had a liter and then got back on our bikes! Hey, I just followed by example!! Last 15 minutes of the bike tour it rained and I ended up running home in the rain. Later that night I went with 3 people from the hostel I met the night before in the laundrz room to the Haufbrahaus and had some food and a few liters of beer. The touriest stereotype lives up to its name. Buncha drunken tourists acting like idiots! But it was a fun time! Next morning I headed to Salzburg. Little quiet town surrounded by mountains. Exactly like I predicted. But when I say quiet, I mean quiet. During the day I went to the fortress on the hill which provided a great panoramic view of the city. Alot of good photos taken. At night there is pretty much nothing to do in the city. I walked around the city and it was me and about 40 other people. Next morning I left for Vienna. I have to say, out of all the cities I was disappointed the most in Vienna. I just expected something different I guess. Didn't think it would be as big as it was. First day I roamed around the city and saw all the key sights on the map. Second day I went to the Schoenberg Palace. Awesome palace. I spent the whole day there. Got some unreal pictures. Good panoramic pictures of the city from the top of the mountain and they have some unreal gardens. After the palace I hung out in the hostel bar with some friends I met that had been in my 2 previous hostels. My train to Prague required me to get up at 4:45am! Arrgggh!! Biggest disappointment came when I found out the Operas close during July and August months. I don't understand why considering its the peak season of travelers. I really wanted to see an Opera there. Oh well! Onto PRAGUE! PRAGUE! PRAGUE! Simply amazing city!! Day and Night!! I'll start with my first.....2 minutes upon arriving at the hostel. These two girls (Lara and Tania!) who live in London invited me out later that night with them and 2 other girls (Dee Dee and Rachelle!) from San Diego for a night on the town, dinner and a 5 story club! So I said sure and left and went out an saw the city. Started up the main Old Town area. Saw the Astronomical clock and the other sights in the area and then headed to the Charles Bridge. 30 statues along the bridge of all different things. On the other side I stopped at the Child of Prague Church for Rosemary back home. Sadly Rosemary if your reading this there are no pictures allowed in the Church. BUT everyone was taking pictures so I snapped off about 50 pictures of the place for you! After there I went up to the Castle. Awesome place. I went through the Cathedral and up the tower for an awesome panoramic view of the city, even though it was cloudy! Went through all parts of the castle. Neat sight to see but I was rushed because it closed 2 hours after I got my ticket. After there I headed down Wencelas Square which is nothing more than a buncha expensive shopping stores. Back to the hostel for an incredible night. It was myself and 5 girls out to dinner. No one else from the hostel wanted to go. Hey I wasn't complaining! Dinner was awesome, had an authentic Czech meal. We had a few drinks and then departed around 11:30pm to the club. One of the girls headed back to the hostel so myself and the other 4 girls headed to this 5 story club. Got there around midnight and proceeded to dance, drink and party until 5 am when the place closed. I don't think Prague has seen anyone dance up a storm like I did. WOW! They were all speechless. Plus when you have 4 beautiful girls by your side dancing all night with you doesn't make the whole experience that bad either!!! We had such a fun time. We left around 5:15am after we got our coats and hit the streets of Prague where we basically got lost until 7:30am when we finally made it back to the hostel and it was light out! Nothing like seeing a Prague sunrise! Finally fell asleep at about 8am and woke up at 11am for another day of Prague! Was going out and one of the 2 girls from San Diegos feet were hurting from last nights...wait mornings walk and wanted to stay in so I spent the day with Dee Dee from San Diego. She hadn't seen the Cathedral so we went back which was good because I had to rush the day before. I was able to see parts of the castle I missed. We had lunch and ate Mexican! Oh how I missed Mexican food! Yes, Mexican food in Prague! Yum! Did some souvenir shopping (Dee Dee, if your reading this were official members of the Czech drinking team, you better wear that shirt with pride!!!) and headed back to the hostel. Had dinner again later after with the girls from San Diego and then headed back to the hostel. Drank with a couple I met from Chicago (Kim and Chad! Going to go for drinks when I'm up there soon!) staying in my room and we went out to a Czech pub. Irish couple sat with us and he threatened to break my wrist if I bought another drink because he wanted to buy us drinks. It was hilarious! After that pub I crashed and slept. Woke up the next morning and spent the day with the girls from SD again. We had lunch and then walked through the Jewish Quarter pub crawling until it got dark. The girls had to catch a night train so we ate dinner and they had to leave. It was sad. Really awesome girls I hung out with all 3 nights. Its amazing how close you can become with people when traveling like this. It was sad to see them all leave. But we all must move on. Perhaps I will visit them in San Diego and hopefully visit the 2 girls from London the last 2 days of my trip! In Berlin now, last night I saw the Jewish museum and then crashed at 8pm. My body just couldn't take it anymore. I was just exhausted. Got a good 12 hours sleep. About to leave now for a 8 hour walking tour of Berlin. Hope I got it all in! Took me awhile to type this up! If I left something out I'll update tonight after my tour. Love and miss all of you. Only 2 weeks left! Winding down and I'm kinda sad! Wed, 10 Aug 2005 04:01:16 -0500 http://www.herbon.net/Article9.html Just got here! Its been an exciting few days since my last post. So Iīll catch up! Florence was great! Everyone was right. It grew on me. I arrived on a dreaded Monday!! Mondays in Europe are bad! Nothing is open! So everything was closed! I basically walked around the entire city and got tons of great pictures. Florence is a womans heaven! Too much shopping goin on there! Woke up early the next morning and got to see David. Spectacular! You donīt realize this unless you see it in person! By the way, this crap with the y and z backwards on the keyboard is driving me crazy! Anyway, David was awesome! Veins in his hands, massive hands, massive feet, all the muscles of the body perfectly sculpted. Its just massive! After David the line for the Uffizi was too long so I headed to the train station. Some kind of train strike going on but luckly it didnt effect me. Hopped on the next train to Rome. What a city. Only bad thing is its hot as anything! Constantly sweatz all day long. Right when I got there I headed for the Colleseum. Neat place but honestly not what I expected. Went from there to the Arch of Constantine and then up on Palatine Hill. All kinds of ruins there from the Roman times. Proceeded from there into the Roman Forum which had more ruins. Something about standing amoungst it all was awesome. Knowing thousands of years ago an empire stood here. Weird feeling. Same feeling with the Colleseum knowing that 10,000 people died there in "games". From there I went to the Piazza Venezia to see the palace. Now this building did it for me. It is what I pictured Rome to be. Bleach white marble massive building with statues and then at the top the best statues of the Angel with wings in a chariot driving by 4 horses. I got chills. The building was massive and the statues again were just awesome. Walking all the way up to the top allowed me to see the whole city. Awesome building! By this time it was 630 and everything was pretty much closed. I headed back to the hostel and took a 30 minute siesta. I understand why they take them everyday. Its because its so hot out everyday they need to in order to survive the rest of the day! Went and got something to eat. I think it was Ravoli and let me tell you. A 1/2 liter of wine is actually more than it seems! Ouch! Next day I spent at the Vatican City. Unbelieveable place! I spent about 9 hours in total there. I started out in the Plaza area in front of the Basillica and roamed around taking lots of pictures. Massive columns with statues above them and the giant obelisk in the center. From there I went and climbed the dome. 551 steps to the top. Real fat burner if you know what I mean. Made it to the first part which was the inner portion of the dome. Wasnt a good view because they had it all chicken wired out so people wouldnt throw stuff down I guess. From there I made the final hike to the top where you get a full panoramic view of Rome. Awesome. Lots of pictures taken! Stairs on the way down put you inside the Basillica. WOW! Unreal place! One of those places where you can take 1000 pictures and talk about it but youīll never get the full effect unless you see it with your own eyes. Iīve seen alot of churches and cathedrals so far but this one takes the cake. Massive is a good word to describe it. Everything is covered in some type of art and the massive gold alter covering Saint Peters grave. There was a service going on while I was there so I got to observe. Also saw what appeared to be a Popes corpse lying in a glass casket. I wasnīt too sure who it was but there were tons of people lineing up to see it. It wasnīt Jon Paul 2īs tomb because that was in another part of the church. After spending awhile roaming the Basillica I checked the line for Jon Paul 2īs tomb and it was massive so I didnīt wait around. From here I went to the Vatican Museums. Sweet place, I spent about 5 hours in there. All kinds of sculptures and art I canīt describe and then the much anticipated Sistine Chapel. Wow. Good thing I got the audio guide. Sat in there for about 2 hours just staring up. My neck still hurts! The audio guide explained the entire thing from front to back. Michaelangelos Last Judgement was amazing. Its a must see for everyone! Gotta see it! From there I went home and had dinner downstairs at a resty just out front of the hostel. Splurged and had a filet and chocolate moouse. Good stuff. New favorite desert! Next day I batted clean up and saw everything I missed. Too much to list but the Panteon was spectacular as well as one of my favorites the Trevi Fountain. If I hadnīt been lazy I would of loved to see it at night! Next morning I got up and headed off to Venice. Arrived mid-afternoon and got lost in the city. Perfect way to start it off. I stayed at a hostel just 2 minutes from Rialto bridge. I also took the water bus up and down the Grande Canal to see it all. Amazing how its all there surrounded by water! Next morning I got up early took the waterbus to San Marco Plaza and saw the church. I fed about 5000 pigeons for 1 euro! Got some great pictures of it! All over me! Crazy! After that I took the waterbus to Lido beach and suntanned for 2 hours! Siesta, then I ate! Not much to do in Venice for a single back packer and not many people staying at the hostel I was in. Venice is more geared for families or couples. Gondola rides are so expensive. I got some sweet pictures of the city though. All in all Iīd only go back with my future wife in 10 years...or so. This morning I woke up early and hopped on the train. In munich now and its overcast and cool which is perfect. After 8 days in Italy I was ready for a change. Sweating all day for 8 days can take a toll on ya. All my cloths are dirty now! Need to wash! Anyway! About to go get smashed in a beer hall! Wish me luck! Canīt wait! Till next time! Have fun! Sun, 31 Jul 2005 11:31:00 -0500 http://www.herbon.net/Article8.html This place is so beautiful! Total honeymoon atmosphere going on here. But I'll talk about it in a few minutes. My last day in Barcelona was actually great! I started off the morning and went up Mount'Juic. The stadium was actually disappointing! I couldn't believe how small it was! I honestly couldn't see how they could host the Olympic in a stadium so small! I roamed around there and also saw where the Swimming area was. Made famous by the diving board competition in the 92 Olympics because the backdrop was of the whole city of Barcelona. After that I roamed around the mountain for a bit and then headed over to Gaudi's Parc Guell on the other side of town. WOW! What a place that was. Mosaic tile all over the place and a point near the top of the mountain that you could see the whole city. I took tons of pictures from the city, it was a perfect clear day. After that I headed back into the city to see the Picasso Museum which was highly disappointing. Not worth the 6 Euros but such is life. After that I headed to the Cathedral and walked all around it. It was amazing. Not quite as big as Notre Dame but still awesome. After that place I had to head to the train station to catch my night train. Made it on time! Not gonna miss another train, thats for sure! Got into my "coochette" and met the other people. This guy and I headed to the train bar and met up with his friend and we proceeded to drink 2 Euro beers!! We met some others in a bar that ran with the bulls in Pamplona next thing you know it 4 hours later and I was smashed! After that night I was able to check "Getting Smashed on a Night Train" off my "To Do" List. Woke up, no hangover (BONUS) and arrived in Bern. Got on connection train to Interlaken and I immediately noticed the difference in environment. It always seemed to me in London, Paris and Spain that everyone always looked so pissed off. Not in Switzerland. I train full of smiling people! Unreal! Everyone was so nice! They saw me taking pictures from the train and smiled even more. They knew that their country kicked butt! The Swiss Alps! I can't describe how I felt when I first saw them! Its one of those places you always see on TV and to finally see them and be there in person was simply amazing! Finally got to my hostel and immediately booked skydiving for that day. Got to the place and flew up 13,000 feet! Wow what a view! I got the DVD to prove it! What a skydive! It was the absolute time of my life! Something thats indescribable. Everyone needs to do it! After that was done I headed back to the hostel and booked Canyoning for the next day. Canyoning was simply amazing! Repelled down into this Canyon and basically went through it jumping off 30 foot rocks into freezing cold water, sliding down the rocks, going down zip lines and all kinds of other stuff. It was so great I decided to skip Milan and stay in Switzerland another day! What a place! Except for one thing! Its sooooooo expensive! How expensive you ask? Heres a comparison for you that should define it for you: Big Mac Value meal at McDonalds 15 Franks. That is just a little over 11 US dollars for a meal. Switzerland is so beautiful but its just so expensive! The last day in Switzerland was my rest day I so badly needed. I layed around in a sun most of the day was able to regain all my energy not to mention everywhere I looked while I was laying down was the Swiss Alps! I met alot of great people in Switzerland. The hostel had a bar in it and had 2-4-1 at night! Dangerous! I had alot of fun and would definately go back when I can muscle up more money. Woke up early the following day and headed to Cinque Terre, Italy. Trains were interesting, thats all I'll say. The trains in Italy all seemed to be arriving and leaving 10 minutes earlier than posted. I finally made it there and headed to the beach and roamed around. Amazing place! Italian Riviera! This is a must stop for anyone going to Italy. Had an awesome pizza dinner with a sweet tasting beer! Tasted so good! And man! The GELATO! I had 8 scoops before the night was over. I spent the remaining time roaming around Levanto which is just one city North of Monterrossa. Woke up early today and geared up for the big 15 Kilometer hike! Took the train from Levanto to Monterrossa and began the hike. Amazing! I took so many pictures of the 5 cities. They are sooo sweet. Definately a place I'm gonna take my future wife for our honeymoon when I get married in 10 years! Total hike time was around 8 hours and it was about 90 degrees outside all day. Lotsa water! I stopped in each of the 5 cities for about 45 minutes each. Got some sweet food in Corniglio and its was cheap. This place is extremely cheap! I love it! I leave tomorrow morning for Florence. Going to try and see the David statue. Everyone I talk to keeps telling me to be prepared to stand in a long long line. We'll see. I'm ready for it. So far my trip has been spectacular. I miss everyone from home! I can't think of anything else to say so I Love ya all! Bout to go find a nice dinner somewhere and I'm sure some gelato to follow. Sunset at the beach is amazing. Till next time! Sun, 24 Jul 2005 13:11:09 -0500 http://www.herbon.net/Article7.html Well Madrid was great. I was hot as hell. 100 and it was dry heat. I woke up each morning thinking I had a sore throat and was getting a cold but it was just the dryness of the place. Ask my parents how hoarse I sounded on the phone. The night train from Paris was unreal. The first leg I slept just fine on the train in my coochette but the second leg of the trip was just looong. From 8am till 3pm in the afternoon. Madrid wasnīt as exciting as I expected but it was still cool. I spent some time resting which was needed because I had been going 11 straight days non-stop but I did walk all over the city and saw the Prado Museum which was cool. Iīve seen more paintings of Christ and the Virgin Mary in the last 2 weeks than I have in my entire life!! Its nice to have a break from it in Barcelona. My train to Barcelona was intersting. I had it all planned out. Alarm clock went off, I got to the train station 20 minute early so Iīd be prepared but then I realized that my alarm clock was still on LONDON TIME!!! AARRRRRGGGGHHH!!! I knew it would happen so I wasnīt upset, just annoyed because I had to kill 4 hours in a train station and I would miss 1/2 my planned day in Barcelona. Oh well, such is life. Finally got to Barcelona around 5 pm and then met some Scotts stayin in my room from Glasgow. I went out to see Palau Nacional Fountain with them at night which was sweet. Got alot of great pictures. Then on the way back to the hostel we stopped off for some traditonal Spanish food of Tapas and Beer! Headed home and got some sleep. Its funny how I keep calling my hostels home but thats what theyīve become and it aint that bad!! Today I went on a 4 1/2 hour bike tour all around Barcelona. It was great. Iīll tell ya, I am now convinced that bike tours the way to go. I took a bus tour in London but its more personal and entertaining taking a tour by bike. Plus its helping my european tan and Iīm workin on my sexy legs! Oh yea!! After the bike tour I headed back to the hostel and changed and unfortunately the washer/dryer was in use! I still need to wash my cloths! Yea donīt ask! For the first time! I know, Iīm dirty! But its fun! I swear! Walked the entire length of the La Ramblas which was sweet. Its a little more run down in the beginning by the Columbus statue but it gets so much nicer as you walk. All kinds shops, their even selling exotic birds on the street! Street performers galore! After the walk I broke away and walked down the shopping district and eventually got to the La Sagrada Familia which was spectacular. Definately an interesting building to say the least. The guys style is definately unique. I walked all the way up the stairs to the top of the towers and got a great view of Barcelona. Got tons of pictures. I think Iīm at 650 pictures so far in just 2 weeks! Donīt worry though, my camera can hold 4400 more! Headed back down the La Rambla back to the hostel for some food. Washer/Dryer still in use! Hopefully soon! Tomorrow I donīt know what I have planned. I might goto the Picasso Museum and then maybe check out the Olympic area where the games were held. You can pay 4 Euro and swim in the same pool and jump off the 10 meter diving board! Ladies and Gentlemen....I have a very important annoucement.....CANNONBALLL!!!! Sweeeeet! Anyway, weīll see what happens tomorrow. Great city so far, I would definately come back and stay here for a week or so more and see everything. Tomorrow night I have a night train to Switzerland! Can you say Skydiving?!?! Canīt wait!! Hope everyone is doing great back in the US! Till next time! Mon, 18 Jul 2005 16:50:48 -0500 http://www.herbon.net/Article6.html Hello from Paris. I leave for Madrid on a night train tonight in about 10 hours so I have some time to kill. 15 hours to Madrid from here. Should be interesting to say the least!! Can't wait! Paris has been fun. First day I met a guy from Mexico in my hostel room and went out and got some food. First place just stared at us and woulldn't serve us. Wallk out and went next door to some italian place which served us but everyone got their food before us, about a 45 minute wait, but whatever. It is what I expected. People just love to stare at me! Maybe its my Lance Armstrong bracelet. Second day I went to the Muse d'Orsay which was sweet. Went to the Notre Dame Cathedral after that which was just spectacular. I got tons of pictures inside and out of the place. Tons of stained glass windows which were extremely impressive. The building itself was amazing just to see. After that I walked all the way down the Seine river along the Louvre and eventually hit the Champs-Elysee and then ended up at the Arc de Triumph. All just spectacular sights to see. All the Cafe's along the roads are neat and there everywhere. Went on home from there and met up with 2 people and we went up to this Bistro right near the hostel and I had the best meal yet. Steak with cheese sauce and the best fries I've ever had. Few beers too! Headed down to the Eiffel Tower from there. Wow, amazing sight. Went all the way up to the top and saw everything, including the sun set. After that it lit up and we headed down and got a buncha great pictures of it lit up and recorded a short video on my camera of it twinkling. Thousands of locals during the summer come out every night and sit in the grass and drink wine and just talk. It was an amazing sight to see. Next day I woke up and got my Ipod and walked around the Louvre for 6 hours and saw everything. Came back and 2 girls from the U.S. were in my room. Went to dinner with the girls down the street and then we all basically got smashed drunk afterwards at the hostel bar till like 2am. Fun times. Probably my best night so far. Tons of fun. I talked to a buncha French guys for an hour about their culture. I am meeting so many people its hard to remember their names. So much fun though. Today I went with the girls to watch the Bastille day parade which was just nothing but military vehicles and everyone was quiet. Alot different than home. We cheer at our parades, especially if the military is involved. Was an interesting sight to see. Just waiting for the train now, killing time in the bar! I'll post again from Spain in a few days! Thu, 14 Jul 2005 07:37:55 -0500 http://www.herbon.net/Article5.html Dan, hope you had a Happy Birthday dinner Sunday July 10th in London before leaving for Paris on Monday July 11th. Please travel safely and let us know your impressions of Paris and other places in France that you visited. All is well here. We missed Hurricane Dennis. It stayed in the gulf and came ashore East of Pensacola. Even though it was a Category 3 storm, it did not do as much damage as last year's Hurricane Ivan. The Cubs finished the first half before the All Star break by winning their last three games against the Marlins in Miami. It was the first sweep by the Cubs of the Marlins down in Miami since 1999. God Bless you and travel safely with the Lord Jesus Christ and his Holy Spirit watching over you daily. Love, Dad Thu, 14 Jul 2005 07:18:41 -0500 http://www.herbon.net/Article4.html BOMBS IN LONDON Thu, 14 Jul 2005 07:18:11 -0500 http://www.herbon.net/Article3.html Wow, what an interesting 3 days so far. It's now 3pm in the afternoon here in London on day 3. First day I basically got myself lost on purpose throughout London so I could experience parts a tourist normally wouldn't. The city is quite large and fast pace. It reminds me of downtown New York. Anyway, hostel is cool, bar/restaraunt on the first floor. Good food and 2-4-1 Coronas all day everyday. Second day was interesting to say the least. I woke up around 9:30am, and walked down the national rail station at London Bridge. On the way I heard sirens all over the place, cops driving by real fast. Made it to the train station and got my ticket to Trafalgar Square. Went into the National Gallery. Amazing place, the artwork is simply fantastic. I expected real bland paintings with dull colors. I was wrong. The colors in some of these paintings are simply amazing. I saw my first Da Vinci, "Virgin of Rocks", and the famous Van Gogh of the yellow flowers. Saw all kinds of neat art. Went next store to the National Portrait Gallery. On the way there I overheard something about a bombing from a tour guide. I had no idea what was going on. I went to the National Portrait Gallery next and it was quite amazing but not as exciting. I guess I could have appreciated it more if I knew more of the British history. Next I left there and walked down to Westminster area to see Big Ben and the Westminster area. All kinds of protest signs and everything lined up in front of the building. Cops everywhere with some serious fire power. I had to find out what happened. I asked a cop and he explained about he bombing and the trains were down. I got a little scared for about 30 seconds but then realized I'm not gonna let some terrorist mo-fos ruin my trip and proceed to walk all the way from Westminster to my hostel near the Tower Bridge. What a walk! Got to the hostel and went to the TV room and saw what exactly happened. I had no idea how serious it all was. Figured I should call my mom and dad to let them know I was ok. The phones weren't working very well as everyone and their mother in London was trying to make a phone call out. Finally got in touch and found out they had tried to get in touch with me through the hostel. Long story short I'm OK! I love ya mom and dad! Pretty much everything was shut down last night so I stayed in the hostel and watched a movie in the TV room, oh and some Cricket. Today I got up and got some breakfast across the street. Walked all the way to the Tower of London. Crown Jewels were amazing. Unreal diamonds and jewels. Everyone should see it. Rest of the castle was ok. Headed to the Tower Bridge next door and checked it out. Wasn't really worth the money but its all good. Going to get some pizza!!, yes pizza, next. Heading to the Tate Modern and Dali Universe and hopefully if I have time the Imperial War Museum after that. Anyway, thats all for now. Take care! Love ya all! Fri, 08 Jul 2005 10:24:05 -0500 http://www.herbon.net/Article2.html On July 5, 2005 I depart for a 2 month European backpack trip throughout all of Europe. Check this website while I'm gone for news about my trip and what I'm doing and where I'm heading! On the right-hand side you'll see a calendar. This calendar contains tentative plans on where I'll be, but its by no means a set schedule, just a guesstimate. Who knows, I could meet my future Swedish bride I stay there forever! We'll just have to wait and see! It's gonna be fun! Stay tuned for more!! Thu, 23 Jun 2005 22:06:07 -0500 http://www.herbon.net/Article1.html Welcome to the new Herbon.net Thu, 16 Jun 2005 17:17:21 -0500