Entries by Jon Hall

So while we were watching the season finale of Lost Season 2 last night, we heard this joke and Lynsey couldn't contain herself!

What did one snowman say to the other snowman??


Smells like carrots!

After a wonderful Thanksgiving, we were off to Budapest, Hungary for the weekend with a small group of 25 or so students. We all boarded the incredibly overbooked train at 1530 for our 4.5-5 hour journey to Hungary. Of course, the 10 Czech students started drinking immediately and were wasted by the time we got off the train. It was an adventure finding the hostel with all of them in tow. 3 steps forward, stop and let them catch up all the way to the hostel. We dropped our bags, and set back out to see some of the city. We walked for a hour or so to get to a pub, stopping along the way for dinner at a greasy spoon. Needless to say, we didn't stay to long because it was a hole-in-the-wall! So back we walked to the hostel, 6 of us, grabbing dinner along the way, and crashing early for a full day of exploring on Saturday.

So Lynsey and I got up early on Saturday morning to leave the group behind and do our own thing for a bit before meeting back up with the group. We ventured down the street to a HUGE market, full of fresh veggies, meat, spices and Hungarian crafts everywhere. Two full floors and probably 25,000 sq ft of shops. So we explored for a bit and then wandered back to the hostel to meet up with the group. We headed back to the market for a bit and then set out towards the Parliament building. We arrived at the Parliament building after an interesting tram ride where none of us had tickets again! Of course, as we get to the Parliament building I stub my toe, bad one of course, and man did it hurt. Could barely walk and of course, no place to sit anywhere! Once we finally got in to the building it was well worth the wait. Beautiful inside and out. The guards were a little anal about wandering away from the group so we didn't see much outside the tour. After the Parliament building we headed towards our genuine Turkish Spa! After a short stop for lunch and a bus ride to the spa we arrived at our 3 hours of pure enjoyment. After several attempts at finding the correct entrance, we entered our paradise! Lynsey was kinda weiry about going into a pool and Thermal bath outside when it was 50 degrees out, but it turned out to be pleasantly comfortable. It was a little chilly once you got out of the water and the crisp air hit ya, but other than that it was great! We ventured around the enitre castle like spa and took a dip in each of the thermal pools and even made a pit stop to join half of the other visitors in the Sauna. After the sauna there was a nice cold carbon dip you were suppose to go in before rubbing some ice on yourself to close your pores, but we skipped the cold dip, rubbed our faces with some ice and we're on our way to the next pool. We tried to get a massage, but were running short on time and they were mostly booked up. Oh well, I guess there's always a next time, I hope! After our relaxing adventure at the spa Lynsey and I walked around down town for a little bit before running into a nice little square market. Since we hadn't eaten almost all day we stopped at one of the little stands and had a traditional Hungarian pepper sausage and some potatoes. We did some walking around and admired all the interesting, yet nice crafts. We ran across a stand that was making handmade sweet bread over charcoal, and of course we had to stop and get one. Hungarian sweet bread with walnuts.....yum!!! Some of the best bread I've ever had. So good we had to go back the next day and get some more! We wandered around the city a little more before heading back to our sauna, i mean hostel, to crash for the night to get up early and go do some more sight seeing.

Sunday morning was yet another early morning for the two of us. After a slight detour we went and saw Europes largest synagogue. It was absolutely beautiful! Lynsey found some silver shoes last night that she thought would be perfect for Jen's wedding so we had to go back and try them on. Sure enough, they fit and they were just what she wanted! Thank god, no more shopping for silver shoes! After our shoe purchase we headed across the river to Buda to go check out the castle. What a breathe taking view. We went to a little grocery store, grabbed some rolls and lunch meat and had a nice little picnic overlooking the river and the rest of the city. We meandered through all the cool sites around the castle before starting our journey back towards the train station. We made a stop at Saint Istran Basilica. There was a church service taking place when we went in but from the view we had it was yet another astonishing European Church. We made our way back to meet up with the group and head back to the train station for our long ourney back to Brno. Overall it was a great trip. Budapest is a beautiful city, probably one of our favorites! Who knows where we will be next weekend. It looks like we are going to try Vienna but with no schedule or any huge constraints, we'll see what we feel like when the time comes! Until next time, take care and we will you all!

Lynsey and Jon

It was no American Thanksgiving but it was still dang good! Last night some of the Czech students from the International Students Club planned a big Thanksgiving dinner for Lynsey and I and anyone else who wanted to join at one of the local restaurants/pubs. There were about 25 of us who showed up and enjoyed all the delicious food they had prepared for us. Two HUGE turkeys, mashed potatoes, potato pancakes (Czech style), stuffing, vegetables and Czech style Pumpkin Pie. Lynsey gave a little history on Thanksgiving as the food was being brought out and we were even given the honor of cutting the first turkey. It turned out to be more like butchering the turkey but we managed pretty dang well. It was picked clean by the time we got done with it. We all ate way to much and were all extremely exhausted after filling our belly's of turkey and Moravian Wine. We came back, stored our leftovers and crashed! All in all, a very good dinner! Thanks to everyone who took the time and effort to put it together for us and for those who joined us in celebrating our wonderful holiday. It really does mean a lot to both of us.

So today after a little bit of class, we are packed our bags and our getting ready to board the train and head to Budapest, Hungary with a group of students. Should be a good time and as you all know, I'll take plenty of pictures for everyone to see Check back in early next week for all the details and pics from the trip. Have a great weekend, enjoy X-mas shopping today with all the crowds and if you're doing what I'd like to be doing right now, enjoy hunting and mother nature! Especially, enjoy who you're spending time with. That's the most important thing in life! Surround yourself with people you care about and who's company you enjoy and anything turns out to be a good time. We miss you all back home, especially over the holidays. Thanks for checking in on our adventures, it really does mean a lot to us. Until next time, take care and have a little fun everyday. Life's to short not too!

Ciao!!

CHILI COOK-OFF NOTE:

Please take time to read this slowly. If you pay attention to the first two judges, the reaction of the third is even better. For those of you who have lived in Texas, you know how true this is! They actually have a chili cook-off about the time the rodeo comes to town. It takes up a major portion of the parking lot at the Astrodome!

INEXPERIENCED CHILI TASTER

NotesFrom An Inexperienced Chili Tester Named FRANK, who was visiting Texas from the East Coast: "Recently, I was honored to be selected as a judge at a chili cook-off. The original person called in sick at the last moment and I happened to be standing there at the judge's table asking directions to the beer wagon, when the call came. I was assured by the other two judges (Native Texans) that the chili wouldn't be all that spicy, and besides, they told me I could have free beer during the tasting. So I accepted."

Here are the score cards from the event:
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CHILI # 1 MIKE'S MANIAC MOBSTER MONSTER CHILI

JUDGE ONE: A little too heavy on tomato. Amusing kick.

JUDGE TWO: Nice, smooth tomato flavor. Very mild.

FRANK: Holy crap, what in Hell is this stuff? You could remove dried paint from your driveway. Took me two beers to put the flames out. I hope that's the worst one. These Texans are crazy
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CHILI # 2 ARTHUR'S AFTERBURNER CHILI

JUDGE ONE: Smokey, with a hint of pork. Slight Jalapeno tang.

JUDGE TWO: Exciting BBQ flavor, needs more peppers to be taken seriously.

FRANK: Keep this out of the reach of children I'm not sure what I am supposed to taste besides pain. I had to wave off two people who wanted to give me the Heimlich maneuver. They had to rush in more beer when they saw the look on my face.
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CHILI # 3 FRED'S FAMOUS BURN DOWN THE BARN CHILI

JUDGE ONE:: Excellent firehouse chili! Great kick. Needs more beans

JUDGE TWO: A bean less chili, a bit salty, good use of peppers.

FRANK: Call the EPA, I've located a uranium spill. My nose feels like I have been snorting Drano. Everyone knows the routine by now get me More beer before I ignite. Barmaid pounded me on the back; now my backbone is in the front part of my chest. I'm getting *%#*-faced from all the beer
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CHILI # 4 BUBBA'S BLACK MAGIC

JUDGE ONE: Black bean chili with almost no spice. Disappointing.

JUDGE TWO: Hint of lime in the black beans. Good side dish for fish or other mild foods, not much of a chili.

FRANK: I felt something scraping across my tongue, but was unable to taste it, is it possible to burnout taste buds? Sally, the barmaid was standing behind me with fresh refills; that 300 lb. wench is starting to look HOT, just like this nuclear waste I'm eating. Is chili an aphrodisiac.
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CHILI # 5 LINDA'S LEGAL LIP REMOVER

JUDGE ONE: Meaty, strong chili. Cayenne peppers freshly ground, adding considerable kick. Very Impressive.

JUDGE TWO: Chili using shredded beef, could use more tomato. Must admit the cayenne peppers make a strong statement.

FRANK: My ears are ringing, sweat is pouring off my forehead and I can no longer focus my eyes. I farted and four people behind me needed paramedics. The contestant seemed offended when I told her that her chili had given me brain damage, Sally saved my tongue from bleeding by pouring beer directly on it from a pitcher. I wonder if I'm burning my lips off? It really pisses me off that the other judges asked me to stop screaming. Screw those rednecks!
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CHILI # 6 VERA'S VERY VEGETARIAN VARIETY

JUDGE ONE: Thin yet bold vegetarian variety chili. Good balance of spice and peppers.

JUDGE TWO: The best yet. Aggressive use of peppers, onions, and garlic. Superb.

FRANK: My intestines are now a straight pipe filled with gaseous, sulfuric flames. I crapped myself when I farted and I'm worried it will eat through the chair. No one seems inclined to stand behind me except that dumb Sally. She must be kinkier than I thought. Can't feel my lips anymore. I need to wipe my butt with a snow cone!
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CHILI # 7 SUSAN'S SCREAMING SENSATION CHILI

JUDGE ONE: A mediocre chili with too much reliance on canned peppers.

JUDGE TWO: Ho Hum, tastes as if the chef literally threw in a can of chili peppers at the last moment. I should take note that I am worried about Judge Number 3, He appears to be in a bit of distress as he is cursing uncontrollably.

FRANK: You could put a grenade in my mouth, pull the pin, and I wouldn't feel a damn thing. I've lost sight in one eye, and the world sounds like it is made of rushing water. My shirt is covered with chili, which slid unnoticed out of my mouth. My pants are full of lava-like crap to match my damn shirt. At least during the autopsy they'll know what killed me. I've decided to stop breathing; it's too painful. Screw it. I'm not getting any oxygen anyway. If I need air, I'll just suck it in through the 4-inch hole in my stomach.
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CHILI # 8 LESTER'S LAST OF THE RED-HOT LOVER'S CHILI

JUDGE ONE: A perfect ending, this is a nice blend chili, safe for all, not too bold but spicy enough to declare it's existence.

JUDGE TWO: This final entry is a good, balanced chili. Neither mild nor hot. Sorry to see that most of it was lost when Judge Number 3 passed out, fell over and pulled the chili pot down on top of himself. Not sure if he's going to make it. Poor Yank, wonder how he'd have reacted to a really hot chili?

Let's just say the weekend started off right! After deciding we need a long 4 day weekend, we headed to Poland bright and early Thursday morning. Krakow was our destination. A short 3 hour bus ride to Ostrava, Czech Republic and a short, but eventful, lay over we boarded the train towards Krakow. We switched in Katowice, later we would find out why they call it the worst train station in Poland, and then jumped on our last train to Krakow. Pulled in a little after 1600, ventured off with some Aussie's we met on the train towards our hostel. Found our hostel with no problem thanks to good directions and navigating by Lynsey! Checked in, dropped our bags, got our bearings and ventured out for a bit. Saw a few sights in the city and then headed back to the room for an early evening and to catch up on some sleep.

Got up bright and early Friday morning to catch a bus to Auschwitz. After a long, very packed mini-bus ride for 2 hours, we arrived at the camp. Words can not even begin to describe the feeling you get when you visit there. You learn so much about it during our years of schooling but to actually be there is something completely different. We walked around the camp for a bit, exploring the building and learning of all the horrific crimes against humanity Hitler and the Nazi party inflected on so many people. How can man be so cruel to one another is beyond me! We took a short 3km walk to the largest of the Auschwitz Camps. This was the main camp were the majority of the prisoners were brought in, unloaded and slaughtered. I know, it's not the best thing to visit, but it's one of those things you have to do if the opportunity is presented. We boarded the bus back to Krakow, which took forever, got back to town, walked around a bit and had some dinner. It was very good and not to expensive. All in all, a great day.

Saturday we were up early again to head to a 700+ year old salt mine. Yah, I know what you are all thinking, "wow, a salt mine, big deal!" But this was pretty cool. It had huge caverns with man-made chapels, statues and even salt chandeliers. Very, very cool. Since salt is a natural preservative, the wood and original tools were all very well preserved. That took the better part of the morning and along the way, we even ran in to a few American girls teaching English in Prague. We would run in to them again later on! We headed back to town, toured the local castle and cathedral and some more of the town in the day light, got some groceries for dinner and headed back to the room. Made some dinner, had a few beers, watched "You Got Mail" and relaxed before heading out to listen to some Polish Jazz. It was not what we were expecting at all. A little to dated (complete 80's with synthesizer and all). Still, it was entertaining and we called it a night a little after midnight. Early morning ahead.

Woke up bright and early to catch our train. We were ready in plenty of time, so we ate breakfast before checking out. Yeap, didn't except credit cards so I had to run 15 minutes down the street to get cash. So, instead of having plenty of time to catch the train we got on as the doors were closing. Thank goodness. We got off the train in Katowice and were immediately greeted by 30+ Polish police in full riot gear on the next platform. As we stood there wondering what was gonna happen, a train full of hooligans pulls up with every window and door open on the train, yelling, screaming and throwing beer cans out the of the train. So rather then going the other way, I ran over to get a closer look. Pretty cool actually. Got on the train with our previously made American friends, sat with them and chatted until we got off in Ostrava. Hooped on the bus and got back to Brno a little before 1800. Long day of traveling, so we came back, unpacked, watched Lost and crashed. All in all, a great weekend. Maybe it was just the company that made it so great!

Well, as far as the rest of last week went, not to much to report. Tuesday, Greece and Latvia presented their countries. Greece's was hilarious. Monday night, 20 or so of us went to a Czech play/opera in the center. Besides not being able to understand any of it, it was pretty cool. We showed up in jeans while everyone else was in black tie and dress. Oops! We still had a good time. Work is going ok. We are still sitting in front of a computer typing away with no idea what we are doing! No one talks to us but thats ok cause we don't really talk to anyone either. We just turn on our Texas country music and work away! Less than a month and we'll be all done with school! We are getting our travel plans together for the last month or so before we have to head back home. This weekend it's Budapest, Hungary with some ERAMUS students. Should be a good time. Well, it's time to post some pics, so keep checking in when ya can!! Thanks for reading and I hope this finds ya in good health and spirits! Until next time, ciao!!

Jon and Lynsey

Well, It has been awhile since we've last updated! Sorry! Alot and not a whole lot has happened in the past few weeks but I'll fill ya in as best as possible.

We finally got a job and started working with a software company here in Brno. They are a rather large company with offices in the US, all through Europe and Japan. Check out their website Moravia. So we started the first Monday of November working a large multi-national summit here in Brno that the company was putting on. They invited some 33 different companies/partners from 24 different countries around Europe and Asia. We were involved in the set-up, organization, meet & greet, sat in on a few presentations and escorted the clients around the hotel and to and from the local offices. It was quite the experience and we even got a few free meals out of it and met some great people too. That was Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday we started in the office with our first assignment. Since then, we have been sitting at a computer, actually 2 computers each, staring at a monitor trying to complete the assigned tasks/projects they have given us. I know Dohr and Ax would love this job, but it's a little to much for me. We are trying our best and making the most out of it. At least it's only until the middle/end of December! We'll keep ya posted on how it's going in future entries. Oh and by the way, Office 2007 is pretty cool! That is one of the nice things about the job

What else is new with us?? Since we got back from Salzburg, the group has had to little events planned for us. That first Friday back we had a beer marathon around Brno. It was more like a Pub Crawl . Needless to say, Lynsey, myself, Filip, Caroline and our fearless leader Martin beat out the opposition and won the first annual marathon. We all got nice 1L mugs from a local pub. Pretty cool. After being completely hungover the next day, we started our USA presentation which we gave last week. We both put a lot of time in to it and it turned out pretty good. I think they all liked it. We got our first snow fall the first week of November and the buses had to shut down in the morning due to too much ice on the roads. So we had to walk to the tram and along the way we saw two different accidents within 50ft of one another. Our first Czech car accidents. So one day of snow wasn't enough, it snowed the next 3 days as well. The second day it was a blizzard when we woke up. Check out the pics. Other than working and the presentation our lives had been a bit on the slow side, which isn't bad, until this past weekend.

This past weekend started out with a great trip to a local brewery for a tour, sampling and dinner. I even got to play a few games a darts with the Spanish guys and I haven't lost my touch! Just call me Jon "The Bullseye" Hall. Saturday morning saw Lynsey and I set the alarm for 0500 to catch the 0610 bus in to town. Well, I woke up at 0600 and we scrambled to get ready and had to run to catch the bus. Yah, good thing we packed a bit before bed. We caught the 0700 bus to Prague to spend the weekend up there. We arrived, found our hostel, dropped our bag and set out to explore. It was cold, windy and kinda drizzly but we made the best of it. The city is absolutely beautiful. So many old buildings everywhere and a large base of tourist as well. It was so nice to hear English on a regular basis almost everywhere we went. We walked the majority of the city a few times seeing as much as we could. We even ate lunch at Subway cause Lynsey was craving it once she saw the sign! It was good. We even splurged and had a good dinner at a Tex Mex style restaurant. It was good! We walked around a bit that night and crashed somewhat early. We got up early, had a free breakfast and walked around some more. Another cold, windy, drizzly morning but who can complain when you are in such a city as Prague. For anyone who is thinking of going, highly suggest it! We caught the bus back to Brno at 1430 as well as a little sleep on the bus. All that fresh air and going from cold to warm and back again can make ya tired. We got back in to Brno, bought bus tickets from Brno to Brussels, Belgium for less than 40 bucks there and back! HAHA, that is dirt cheap. We head out the 19th of December and return the 4th of January.

It's time for Lost and bed! Thanks for reading and enjoy the new pics posted as well. Until next time, ciao and take care! Jon and Lynsey

No worries, we didn't fall off the face of the earth, just keeping ourselves busy. The past week was a good week. Last week Tuesday we had a little exchange student party at a local club. Good times and we even ran in to a girl that studied at UWW last fall. Kinda crazy. It was funny hearing her talk about The Downstairs and Pumpers and Mitchells. We still hadn't started class or heard anymore on our internship until we had an interview Thursday with a software company called Moravia-IT or something like that. Who knows what we'll be doing but it looks like we both got the position and start this upcoming Monday (The 30th). I'm so excited! Yah right. Friday we had a couple hours of class, which was a joke, and then Friday night the Spanish students through a Sangria party at the pub across from the dorms. Sangria is strong and after only two glasses I could tell I had been drinking. We woke up Saturday morning and a group of about 50 of us went just outside of Brno to a large park area and took a tour of some beautiful caves. We even got to take an underground boat tour of the underground river and lakes in the caves. We walked around for the better part of the morning and early afternoon. It was absolutely beautiful out and with the leaves changing, made it even nicer. We came back Saturday afternoon and got ready for our 3 day journey to Salzburg, Austria starting Sunday.

Sunday morning Lynsey and I were up at 0300 (wow, is that early) to catch the bus and our 0515 train to Salzburg. I was tired that's for sure. We got to Salzburg around 1230, found our hostel, checked in, dropped our bags and set out to enjoy the perfect October day exploring Salzburg. Trusting Lynseys navigation skills, she led us up a nice size hill in the middle of town only to find the way she was going wasn't the way down. We hiked around through the park atop the hill for a bit before descending in to the city. It is a very nice city and the river running through the middle was so clear and green tinted it was amazing. Every other river in Europe is gross looking but not this one. We had some typical Austrian food for dinner and headed back to our room only to crash before 8pm. Yah, thats how tired we both were.

We were up bright and early Monday morning to take a guided tour to Hitlers Eagle's Nest. Hitler's Eagles Nest It is actually just over the border in to Germany and the Bavarian Alps. The views from atop were awesome. If you've ever seen Band of Brothers you'll know what I'm talking about. Just to be standing in the same room as Hitler did some 60 years ago is pretty cool. Check out the pics for the 360 degree views. After the tour was over and we were on our way back to Salzburg, the driver dropped the two of us at the base of another mountain, Mt. Untersberg. We took the cable car all the way to the top, some 1776 meters, for some more amazing views. From there we climbed to the next peak and spent a few hours relaxing and taking in the beautiful mountains. When you can seat atop a mountain of that size at the end of October in a t-shirt, ya know it's a nice day out. We headed back down on one of the last cable cars and took a bus back in to town. We explored some more, grabbed some grub from the grocery store, had some sandwiches in the room, watched a little TV and were in bed pretty early again. The three girls staying in the room with us all came in at different times and had no respect for us sleeping so our night of sleep sucked!

We awoke at 0600 Tuesday morning to catch a train further in to the Alps to take a tour of the worlds largest Ice Caves. Ice CavesFrom the train station, we caught a shuttle that dropped us off half way up the mountain. From there it was a 20 min walk to the cable car that took us up a little further. From there it was another 20 minute walk to the entrance of the caves. The whole time, it was sprinkling pretty good on us, so we were wet and a little chilled by the time we got to the caves. It was us and two other people for the first tour of the morning so that was nice. The caves are at or below freezing all year long so it was a little chilly in there. We got actual lanterns to us for light in the cave and to light up the 700+ stairs we had to climb to get to the top and then the 700+ back to the bottom. We only saw about 1km of the 42km's worth of caves and it was pretty cool. Unlike anything I had ever seen before. Once we were done with the tour, we ventured back down the hill in a nice, steady rain, passing exhausted visitors on their way up, all the way down the mountain. Once back down at "normal" level, we caught the train back to Salzburg and then jumped on an earlier train back to Brno. We got back to our room about 2100 last night, unpacked, cleaned up, watched some Lost and crashed. Its another beautiful day in Brno so who knows what we'll do today!

We miss ya'll back home and appreciate all those who have been reading the blog and keeping up on our journeys. Who knows, we might head somewhere this week for a couple days just to keep us busy. If anybody wants to come visit, it's really cheap over here and we have extra beds in our room for ya to crash on! Hope to hear from ya'll soon. Until next time, ciao!

Well, we are back safe and sound from Rome just in the nick of time too. There was a huge subway crash this morning, killing at least 1 and injuring a bunch more. We were right where that happened too. Yikes! Where do I begin? I guess we'll start with day 1 and work to today.

Thursday morning we were up with the sun and headed to Bratislava to spend some time in the city and catch our plane to Milan. The city center is nice and we enjoyed ourselves. For those of you who haven't seen the movie Hostel, watch of it and think of us We made it to the airport pretty easily, boarded and were on our way to Milan. We had a short time in Milan before catching our flight to Rome. Landed in Rome at 2245 at the airport in the middle of nowhere! Bought a bus ticket to the main train station and it didn't leave until 2345. Took almost an hour to get to the train station, we got off with no idea where our hotel was. Wandered around a bit desperately trying to find it, finally found it at 0100, checked in and crashed. Friday morning we were up at 0700, showered, ate breakfast, got our bearings, made a POA, and set out to meet up with my Aunt Sandy and her best friend Mary, our whole reason for coming to Rome. We walked around past the colosseum, through the Forum and to the Pantheon to meet up with them at 1200. 1203 they saw us, we toured the Pantheon together and set out to get them some food after there long journey over here. It was amazing seeing them and actually meeting up with them in a city as large as Rome. The four of us had some pizza for lunch, walked around for a couple more hours. We got our tickets for the Canonization Sunday (the reason all of us were there) threw our coin in to Trevi fountain and had some dinner. They were whopped so they called it a night while Lynsey and I walked around a bit more. We finally retired to our room around 2100 after getting some groceries to snack on.

Saturday morning we were up at 0600 to get a good jump on the day. By 0700 we were ready, feed and on our to St. Peter's and the Vatican. We arrived around 0800 only to see a couple thousand of our closest friends already there waiting for something. St. Peter's was closed until 1300 so to the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel we went. Our tour book told us to arrive early to avoid the crowds but not today. There was already a line atleast 500 m's long that seemed to go on forever behind us once we got in line. A couple hours later, we were finally inside. I know both my dad and Lynsey's dad would have loved the line and all the people But once inside we went straight to the sistine chapel along with everyone else. It was absolutely beautiful inside. Everything was painted. There were drapes painted down the walls that looked so life like it was crazy. The amount of time and effort put in to it was well worth it thats for sure. We took a lot of pictures inside, well actually Lynsey did, that don't even come close to showing just how beautiful it is. We spent a couple hours inside and ventured back outside to check the line to St. Peters. Yeap, just like the line to the Vatican, a couple thousand deep. No thanks! Ate a little lunch and ventured for some more exploring. We honestly walked the entire city Saturday from 0700 to 2030 when we got back to our room. We saw it all. Toured the Colosseum and Palatine Hill, Circus Maximus and a bunch of other beautiful sights. We showered, packed our bags and crashed at 2200 only to be up again at 0500.

Sunday was the whole reason we were in Rome. Mother Theodore Guerin, founder of both Sandy and Mary's college, Mary of the Woods in 1840. Check out the link for more info and pictures of event. ( http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/10/15/pope.saints.ap/index.html ) Lynsey and I got up at 0500 to get our stuff ready and be out the door before 0600. Sandy and Mary were staying in a different hotel with the tour group they came over with so we were planning on meeting them in front of the Vatican before the event. Lynsey and I checked out, stored our bags at the train station and caught a bus to the Vatican. We arrived at 0645 to find a line already pretty long. Lynsey jumped in line and I went to meet them at our rally point. We didn't meet up. The gates opened at 0800 and everyone rushed in. We managed to get great seats in the second row of the second grouping. After awhile I set out to find them. I found them and we made our plan to meet up after the event. The event was amazing. So many people and we were only 30 feet from the Pope when he entered. Thanks to everyone pushing and shoving, I couldn't get a great picture. Mother Guerin and 3 others were canonizied (made Saints) during the event. The entire square in front of St. Peter's was full and people were standing outside as well. The whole event lasted almost 3 hours with the Pope waving goodbye to all of us. Quite a sight. The 4 of us meet up and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening together. We had lunch and it honestly took an hour + for us to get our food. It was a joke but all we could do was laugh about it. When you're with good company, time doesn't matter. We saw a few more sights, got our bags and caught a cab back to the hotel, but not before Mary and Sandy got McDonalds. They were both craving regular food and McDonald's was gonna have to do! HAHA. We spent the night on the floor of there hotel room. Shit location but nice hotel. Right outside there hotel was a junk yard, a trailer park and a looney bin. NICE! Even had a metal gate to pull down over the sliding glass door on the 7th floor!! The floor felt great after another very long day.

Monday we were up at 0400 to catch a taxi to the airport. Got there, checked in, boarded and got to Milan with no problems at all. This is where the long day starts. So, as stated before, we were thinking about heading to Salzburg, Austria for a few days because we have nothing to do here. Well, we were waiting for word from a lady back in Brno about rescheduling an appt she made for us that day. We finally got word that she rescheduled it for Thursday so we boarded a bus to Milan train station to head to Salzburg. Yah, great idea. Next train left at 1730 (it was 1300) and arrived in Salzburg at 0410 the next morning. 11 hours on a train that should normally only take 6, yah right! We got back on the same bus we just got off and headed back to the airport, just in time to check in for our 16500 flight back to Bratislava. The security line was a mile long so we ate, and then jumped in. After almost an hour in line and having to take every thing out of our bags, we were finally through. 1700 came around we still didn't have a plane or anyword on our flight. Yah, it was delayed until 1845! Great, we are gonna miss the only bus back to Brno now. HAHA! We finally leave as the sun was setting which was beautiful and got to Bratislave around 1815. Got right on the bus to the train station and waited around until 2234 for a train to Brno. Got on, slept the majority of the way and got back to Brno around 1215. Caught a cab and were in bed by 0100. LONG DAY!

Overall, the trip was amazing. I'm so glad we got the oppurtunity to see Mary and Sandy in Rome as well as the canonization. It was a once in a lifetime event that's for sure. Thank you Mary and Sandy for getting us tickets and everything. And Grandpa Hall, thank you for the letter and everything else as well. It really means a lot. Rome is a huge city with so much history and so many people it can get overwhelming. Take a couple days and venture around Rome with a map and enjoy the thousands of years of history that surrounds you on every corner. I'm glad I got to share it with Lynsey as well as Mary and Sandy. Check out some of the pictures Lynsey choose to post. We took a lot so these are just a few. Stay tuned for more from our exciting world. I'll let ya'll know about our internship and classes when we found out more! Until next time, CIAO!!

Well folks, we are up and moving here on a beautiful Thursday morning in Brno! So this is what 0700 looks like. Haven't been up much before 0830 lately due to the lack of a set class schedule yet! We are headed out to Rome for the next 4-5 days with a possible extended vacation up to Salzburg, Austria for a couple days and an excursion to Prague to meet up with a buddy from work. Should be a great week or so here in Europe enjoying the 70 degree days we've been having. Sucks to all those who are seeing the white stuff already!! Check in like you've been doing, ya just never know when we might add some pics and info on our exciting life over here! Haha, it's a great life and I can see why Ty didn't want to leave and can't wait to come back. Until next time, Ciao!!

Jon and Lynsey

Well, we finally tried Absinth last night and I can tell you it is terrible! If you know me and shots, it didn't go down to smoothly. Needless to say, it can mess you up in a hurry if you have a couple. The English guy, Henry had 4 in one night and 8 in two days! I can see why he felt like S--T the entire next day! We spent last night playing pool and having a few beers in the pub downstairs. Good times! Before we made dinner, we climbed the hill behind our dorm which offers a panoramic view of Brno and the surrounding area. We had a beer, watched the sunset and enjoyed the picture perfect evening. We spent the entire day catching up on all of our stuff, diong laundry and taking it easy. It was great.

Saturday we took it easy as well. It was pretty quiet around here and everyone was moving a little slow after a late one on Friday. We ran some errands in the morning, got both our computers up and running on the internet after buying a router/switch from a closed store at 1930 Friday evening! Yes, I know, I'm good! Saturday afternoon, while listening to the Badgers roll over, we figured since we had nothing to do until we left for Rome Thursday, we'd take a short little trip somewhere. I got excited to go see Salzburg, Austria (home of Mozart and The Sound of Music) and Hitlers Eagle's Nest. So we were all ready to book a room when we figured that it would be bad of us to be gone while everyone was working to figure out what we were going to do for our internship. So we cancelled the trip and went to bed disappointed

Friday evening we moved in to our old room, actually Lynseys roommate moved in to the other half of the suite and I moved in with Lynsey. We arranged our room that afternoon, made dinner and headed out with a small group so they could eat dinner and then head to the clubs. After our fearless leader, Filip, lead us on a wild goose chase looking for a restaurant he ate at one night but needless to say, we couldn't find it. They had dinner, we had dessert, went to the Absolut Bar and a few other clubs but they are all to smokey, hot and stinky to stay in for to long. So we left around 0030 and headed back home. Cleaned up and went to bed.

So today, Monday, we have nothing to do once again. They still have nothing figured out as far as our internship goes so we can't do that. So, we are going to putz around here, get my hair cut, hopefully get our student cards, and then maybe head to the lake this afternoon with a small group to go hang out. It is a rough life we live over here. How's class for everyone back? Homecoming week and it has to be exam week as well. Good luck on all the exams!! Take care and check out the new pics from the past couple days. Some good ones in there of the Absinth! Until next time, Ciao!!

Jon and Lynsey

We had our first day of class Wednesday. We met with the Dean and some of the other faculty to get our class schedules and books for less than an hour then class was done with for Jon and I until today. We were only signed up for one course on the Czech culture and economy but we decided to sign up for another class called Applied Informatics. It seems like it should be very informative, its all about computers and data entry. We are suppose to have a lecture from 9:00 to 11:00 and then a lab from 11:00 to 1:00 every Friday but we were only there for less than an hour today and the class is completely canceled next week. Our Czech culture class seems like it should be a lot of fun too. We only have lecture every other week and then the other weeks we go visit historical sites of the Czech or the traditional Czech life style. Pretty rough schedule here as you can tell. We are done with class for the next two weeks! We will still have our intership (hopefully) but we have to talk with the Dean on Monday to see what we are doing, we'll keep you posted on that.

As far as the last few days go, Wednesday after class we didn't do too much, ran some errands and I went and got my first pair of European shoes! YAY!!!! Wednesday night a lot of the Erasmus students went out. Wednesday nights in Brno are like our Thursday nights in Whitewater, everyone goes out. Jon and I stayed out for a few hours then headed back to the dorms. Their bars over here are extremely smokey and not well ventilated. Most of them are in basements where there are no windows and EVERYONE is smoking so its hard to stay out for hours on end because you start to get a sore throat and can't breathe because of all the smoke. Thursday was another free day. We've had so many free days lately we don't know what to do with ourselves! We heard that there was a zoo not too far from our dorm so we decided to check it out. It was a lot different than our American zoo's that forsure. The entire thing was on the side of a huge hill, we got our exercise in for the day! The animal cages would definately not fly in the US. You could put your arm right through some of the cages of some of the animals and in some cases their was only some shrubbery with a small electric fence as a barrier. Over all it was pretty cool to see the difference between an American Zoo and the ones here. There wasn't anyone at the entrance so we got in for free, another plus to the day.

Oh on another note, we think we finally got the whole room situation figured out...we think! We have only visited the accommodation office every day since we've been here, NO JOKE! Their whole system of trying to get people housing is really messed up. Jon and I aren't even listed in the dorms residence list but we are in the main data base. My roommate on the other hand is listed in the dorms as a resident in a different room and not in the main system under a different person may I add. Its really messed up especially when you can barely communicate with them, but we think we finally got everything figured out. Other than that not too much else is new. We were thinking about taking off for a few days and possibly visiting Prague since we don't have anything to do this weekend still haven't made any finalized plans yet. Hope all is well back home. We miss everyone!

Lynsey and Jon

Yes it's true, we finally got the pics posted from the trip and a few from around Brno. If you know me, there were a lot more pics taken then we posted but I think Ax would get a little upset if I posted them all! Sorry it's been a few days since we last posted but we've been busy living the dream over here. We'll give you a little recap of what we've been up to the past week or so so you don't feel to left out. Where do I begin?? Last Wednesday Lynsey and I went out for the first time with the group to the Absolut Bar here in town. They serve some 700+ different drinks so we have some work in front of us inorder to drink them all! It was a good time and I found a bottle of 146 proof Captain Morgan that I was told I can only buy in Austria. Guess where I'm going. Now those would definetly be "Brown Mumblers"! Thursday was a national holiday around the Czech but we still had language course. It wasn't to bad I guess. Friday we finished up our last day of the language course, skipped the afternoon so we could get our internet working and get some stuff done. The whole group went out for dinner at a local restaurant. It was a midevil themed place and they actual had guys in armor with swords and axes battling right around the tables. Pretty cool. Our food was good and the beer was cold so it was a good night. We called it an early one so we could be up bright and early for our day full of planned activites. Saturday morning the whole group boarded two buses and we headed for a town known as the wine center of the Czech Republic. We toured the town and the towns underground tunnel system that is one of the largest in all of Europe. It was pretty cool hearing the history that dated all the way back to the 14th century! That's pretty old. We then went to a wine cellar carved in to the sandstone. A guy from 1934-1968 carved and painted the walls of the cellar with numerous pictures and settings. The actual date of the cavern is unknown but is suspected to date back to the 17 or 1800's. We had a few samples of wine, boarded the bus and headed back towards Brno with a pit stop in a small town for a beer or a ice cream cone. Once back in Brno, we took over a room in a huge restaurant for dinner, wine sampling, real Movarian music and later on, dancing! We sampled four wines with a full explanation on all of them and then were given two good size pitchers of wine to go with our meal. Lynsey and I drank a very good portion of the wine for our table and then drank a few more cocktails and introduced a few Europeans to "Jager Bombs"! It was a great evening and lots of dancing. Thank goodness the Turkish girls knew how to get home after we all boarded the wrong bus and headed the wrong direction. Lynsey was hilarous as the wine and Jager bombs started to take affect. Waking up Sunday morning for our 1030 meeting for more sightseeing around Brno was extremely difficult. Lynsey had a hangover all day. HAHA! We walked around Brno as a group. We saw the castle, the main Cathedral (St Peter and Paul Cathedral), a few more interesting sights and then headed back to the dorms. A nap was well needed! We laid low Sunday night and got a good night sleep. Monday we were up at a decent hour seeing as we had nothing to do since our first meeting for school isn't until tomorrow (Wednesday) and even then, it's just a meeting and classes don't start until Thursday. We headed in to town to do some exploring and some shopping for supplies. We hit up the local Ikea and grocery store (which is actually like our Wal-Marts) putzed around some more and then came back to eat some dinner at the Menza (cafeteria) and finish watching a movie. Today, we got the rest of our supplies, Lynsey cleaned the room while I tested out our new toaster oven/stove top dealy we bought for our room. Now I can cook in style!! We are trying to figure out a way we can get a room together and have the Belgium guys, I currently live with one of them, in to the room adjoing Lynseys but it's tougher then we thought. I guess we'll just have to see what happens. As I'm sitting here typing this, the strong smell of Mary Jane is blowing in through the window. I wonder if the guys who had the huka party at the end of the hallway last week could be behind the smell?? Everybody in the group is pretty cool like I said before. Everyone is very easy going and easy to get along with. There have been plenty of drunken nights for all of them so far and we are only a week or so in to the school year. Should be a good one that's for sure. Stay posted and be sure to check out all the pics. There are a couple of folders including a folder of all the Fjord pics in the Norway, Sweden trip folder. Stay posted for more updates and until then, take care!

This is going to be a short one because we are on a library computer due to the fact the main server for all new students at the University and we still have no internet! Trying to get connected to the internet here is like the Czech trying to put a man on the moon...virtually impossible! Once we get the internet back (hopefully soon) we will post more and get the pics up from our trip as well as some pics of our fellow ERAMUS (foreign students).
Just a little bit of catch up before we have to run. We got back in to Brno around 0200 Monday morning, woke up our roommates and crashed only to get up at 0730 for class and a meeting in town at 0900. We made it for half the day, but had to go to the Czech hospital to have Lynseys eye looked at. Somehow she either scratched it or has something in it because it was all red and teary from Sunday morning on. She got a patch put on her eye and some cream to put in it and it seems to be working. It was quite funny to see her with the patch and we will post the pic for sure. The group of people we are with our all pretty cool. We are the only Americans but there are a couple of English people so that is good. We have been taking a Czech language course during the day and we are all completely lost. It is a tough language to learn. Other then that, all is well with both of us and we are on our way back to the hospital to have her eye checked out again and then we are gonna do some shopping for supplies. We had some genuine Lithunian Vodka last night from the Lithunian girls. It was good and I have never in my life just passed a vodka bottle around and taken pulls from it until last night. We finished the bottle and some beers and called it a late night only to get up and go back to Czech language course! YUCK! Atleast we get to skip it this afternoon! Our dorm has a full out pub in the basement along with a movie theather, fitness room, rock climbing wall, and some other stuff. Not to shabby. A pint of good beer here cost less than 1 dollar. That is better than dimers and its everyday all day! Ok, we have to go so I promise I will write more once our internet works again! Until then, live by these infamous words of Bill Murray in the movie Stripes!!

"Come on, it's Czechoslovakia. We zip in, we pick them up, and we zip right out again. We're not going to Moscow. It's Czechoslovakia, it's like going into Wisconsin."
-Well, I got the shit kicked out of me in Wisconsin once. Forget it!"

Take care and stay tuned for more from the exciting world of Jon and Lynsey!! Ciao!

Well, we arrived in Denmark this afternoon and we finally got to travel over the Oresund from Sweden to Denmark. Check it out on line sometime if ya get a chance. It is truly a man-made wonder. A 12km bridge/tunnel and a huge man made island. All to connect Denmark and Sweden easier. We spent Wednesday night scrambling around Oslo trying to find a room for the short period of time we were there and we finally ended up finding one in a hostel not far from the station. Lynsey and I had to stay in separate dorm rooms which was no big deal. We said good night and when I walked in to my room, 2 of the other 3 guys were in there beds and the other one was in the bathroom. I went to my bed and started getting ready for bed when the guy walks out of the bathroom BUTT ASS NAKED, stops, says hi to me, the whole time standing there with nothing on, climbs in to bed BUTT ASS NAKED and goes to sleep. Lets just say I slept as close to the wall as possible, with the covers tucked in tight all around me and three pairs of boxers on for extra protection. No Brokeback Mountain for this guy! So after a very sleepless night for both of us, we boarded the train and road in comfort down the west coast of Sweden to Goteburg (Gothenburg) where we struggled once again to find a room but we managed to find one and it even had American TV! We walked around the town and Lynsey enjoyed the largest shopping mall in Scandinavia! It was a nice town but we were up bright and early to eat our fair share of free breakfast and get to Copenhagen, Denmark! The train was absolutely packed and we had to fight to keep our seats the whole ride. Oh well, we made it. We checked in to the hostel, I'm on the top bunk, 3rd one up with no guard rail. I might fall out! Copenhagen is a very nice city from what we've seen. We took a canal ride for an hour and saw a lot of historical buildings and sights. Had an all you can eat buffett and walked around some more. Our trip is quickly coming to an end. Tomorrow we our headed back up to Stockholm at some point where we will spend the entire evening wandering the town and local establishments waiting for our 0345 bus (yes thats 345 am bus) to take us to the airport. It will be a very long two days thats for sure.
On a different note, while Lynsey was looking around in the 113th H&M we have been in since arriving in Europe, she was able to find a St. Patty's Day outfit to wear next year out in WW. Just to warn everybody, it is very unique! Check with Dohr for how many days left until St. Patty's Day!
And we forgot to tell everybody about Lynsey's fish market experience Monday in Bergen. While walking around all the stands, a sea gull above was getting in to position to make a run at Lynsey's right shoulder. He swooped down, dropped his well aimed Gull Bomb and nailed Lynsey dead on in the right shoulder. I happened to catch the whole event out of the corner of my eye and looked up just in time to see the gull pull up and bank out in to the harbor and then I heard the hit. I saw it instantly on her shoulder and it wasn't until she started jumping around in disgust did she tell me I had recieved all of the splatter. My left arm was completely covered in Gull Bomb debris. I don't know what that Gull ate that morning, but what ever it was, it didn't sit to well because he for sure had the runs! It was quite the shot by the gull, one that would surely go down in history if there was such a thing. We will never see that Gull again, but may he live a long and shitty life and get sucked in to a plane engine and die!
That is all we can think of right now. Check out the statue of Dohr we found while in Oslo. Isn't he cute??

After the tough news last night, we got a little bit of sleep and now we are headed down the western coast of Sweden to Gotenburg. We don't have a room booked or anything, just kind of going by the seat of our pants. The only time we did have a room booked this whole trip, we cancelled it because we found better! HAHA! We will see what happens. I hope everyone is doing well back home and we are sure the funeral today will be a beautiful one. Like my dad told me last night in an email, you just have to "Roll with the punches" and keep on going. Grammy will not be far from our thoughts as we finish up this last leg of our adventure. Until next time, take care and know we miss you all!
Jon and Lynsey