Um, I think I will go to Austria

When I woke up this morning I thought I was going to head to Baden-Baden and participate in a Roman Spa ritual that has been performed for 2000 years and involves a series of 17 different pools with all different temperatures that is suppose to cleanse every part of you. As I sat at the train station I realized I didnt really want to do this anymore because I plan on spending the better part of my time in Budapest in thermal spas. Sooooooooo I changed my ticket and 7 minutes later I was sitting on a train to Austria.
I have never actually sat all the way through the Sound of Music. But the second I get home I am watching it!!!! I understand why they chose to film it here. I just keep getting blown away with beauty. Its so amazing here. I just walk around with my jaw dropped staring at everything. Salzburg is just a short trip though. Im leaving tomorrow afternoon for a little town tucked in between a lake and a mountain that is only accessible by a ferry.



Peoples and places
One of the highlights of this trip so far has been the people I have meet. I rode my bike all day yesterday despite it was pouring rain. I wasnt going to let anything get between me and the famous Rhine Valley. I rode 6 miles to the next town. At this point every part of me was soaked. My hair was dripping wet and I looked like a wet rat. As I was standing in line to ride the ferry down the river back to Bacharach where I was staying this little old Japanese woman came up and shared her umbrella with me. She said, "I your friend" I smiled and thanked her. We talked for a minute before it was time to board the ferry. Her kindness left an impression on me and motivated me to really look for opportunities to reach out to others. Even little stuff can mean so much.
I also met a boy in Amsterdam who is just a little older then me but has had such a different life. He was born in East Germany and was raised in the time before the wall fell. His father went to prison for demonstrating against the government. (kinda a cool story to tell so father, if you ever come upon an opportunity like this please just consider taking advantage of it so I will have an awesome story) So he and his mom had to flee to West Germany to avoid more persecution. When I told him I was thinking of going to Berlin he offered to take some time off work and be my tour guide. He said it had been a while since he had been back to see his mom and would not mind some time off from work either. I thanked him very much for the offer but I decided I dont have warm enough close to go there. I was pretty cold even in the southern part of Germany. I am so grateful I have been able to meet such generous people. The other slightly funny thing about my Amsterdam friend is he kept laughing and saying, "I can't believe you are an American!" So I would say well I can't believe you are European! He went on to tell me he has never met an American and the only thing he knows of it is from 9/11 and porn. Hopefully I have made a better impression then either of those things.

Okay buh bye