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Ahh, finally after my long wait, I've made it to Slovakia. Unfortunately, as you can see, not as much updates since Amsterdam. The reason for this is that while Internet is available throughout all of Bratislava, the Hotel Tatra seems to think that people can only use it for 30 minutes at a time (they charge you for it, mind you). From here on, I doubt I'll be able to make many updates unless I hit a WiFi spot somewhere around Liptovsky Peter. As of Monday, I head on out to the private cottage that was rented for nearly the remainder of my stay. (Cross your fingers that *someone* will have a WiFi connection and/or be kind enough to share it with me!)

Please note, that this journal entry is much longer that I had hoped for, but I've tried to break it down for you ……….

As for the travels? .. Lets take a trip back to Amsterdam for a moment, and give you an update from there on.

Day 2 - Amsterdam:

This morning I got up early in the day after a wonderful night's rest to prepare for a historical day. The two main reasons I came to Amsterdam (though I'm sure my friends responses will differ), was to visit the Anne Frank House, and the Van Gogh museum. Strolling around Amsterdam, I found it still quite easy to get lost. As we made our way to the Frank house, we looked like your average tourist with the map scattered about. Thankfully, neither of us ever needed to ask for directions, and we found it on our own (America has made it hard, as has trained me that asking for help casts you as an outsider.. Thankfully, that is not the case in Europe).

I have always been intrigued by the Anne Frank story. It was always a part of history that stuck out to me. Maybe it was because we shared the same birthday? Maybe it was her ideals of keeping a private book to show everyone? I'm not really sure, but I had always wanted to visit this home since I was child first learning of her.

Waiting outside the Frank house, I thought it best to grab some 'breakfast' (as the hotel we were staying at charged a hefty fee for their breakfast buffet). We went into a little café to grab a quick bite and some coffee. They offered the coffee in two options.. Black, or White (w/ milk). Amsterdam coffee is very strong, but extraordinary! To go along with my coffee, I felt it best to try some true 'Dutch' Apple Pie.

Once my meal was complete, we took off next door to go to the Frank house. The fee to enter was quite hefty, but it was a place I always wanted to visit. Unfortunately, they would not allow cameras in the museum. As you walked the halls of the old warehouse that Frank's called home during the war, you felt a sense of what had happened in the past. The walls had random writings from Anne's diary, and randomly placed monitors throughout the house showed war-era clips of the Nazi army marching up and down the street. It brought much sadness to you when you realize what the Frank's had to go through. Even if you're not familiar with the story, you will learn from beginning to end how important a roll poor Anne played in defacing Nazism.

You travel from the storage room/warehouse downstairs to the offices upstairs, to the hidden annex. Most people don't realize that this place in Amsterdam was not the original home of the Frank's. Instead, this was Mr. Frank's office building where he milled spices and such. However, when you get to the annex, you feel a bit overwhelmed as a lump appears in your chest. Amazingly after all these years, the original bookcase hiding the annex is still left intact, and incredibly they allow visitors to travel up into the annex.

As you follow the very, very steep stairs, you come to the 'tiny' living area that they called home. Complete with a small wood stove and a sink. Even the original water closet (a toilet in a small room) was intact. You even were allowed to travel into Anne's bedroom, where on the walls, the magazine clippings she glued to the wall herself were still there.

It brings a tear to your eye when you realize that everything around you is real. You begin to understand the hurt and turmoil that was around the Frank's. As you begin to understand the internal battle that Anne had herself, you realize the many stages of emotions she had, until she started to give up all hope…. A few days after that, the Nazi army raided the annex and took her and her family (and friends that were also staying there) and placed them into a camp.

You see the original Nazi army transcripts of each of the Frank family members, including the personal index card, and the count form. Anne's number was #369.

To this day, no one knows who told the Nazi army about the secret annex.

The story from there gets sad. Otto Frank, father of two daughters Anne and Margot, and married to a beautiful wife, is the only one to make it out of the camp alive. The pain and despair of Mr. Frank drove him down quickly. At this point, his secretary pulled out the three journals his daughter Anne wrote, and gave them to Mr. Frank.

From there on, Mr. Frank sought out a way to get his daughter's story heard. And finally after many years, he succeeded.

A very important message was left by someone that was also placed on the wall. Was Anne's story the only one of it's time? No. Was it the most important story of it's time? No. Why haven't we heard more about other Jews at this time? .. The response was very simplistic … would you really enjoy sharing in the pain of others? Her story was out to share a light on many issues involved in Nazism, and while Neo-Nazi's have tried to fight against the validity of the journals, seeing them in person makes it very hard to say otherwise….


We decided to try a 'Canal Taxi' to get us around Amsterdam. Across from the Frank house was a beautiful gothic-style church with frightful skulls appearing over the doorway. In the area in front of the church as a ticket booth for the 'Canal Taxi.' Not realizing where we were, I went around the corner of the building looking at a local map. I immediately noticed that there was a large list of nightclubs shown on the map! Huzzah! Not only that, but this was the VERY FIRST map to show the location of the illustrious 'Red Light District!' Huzzah! .. Then I realized that this was .. .. .. a gay man's map to paradise…. Hmm.. Well, okay, no problem.. I just wont go to any of 'those clubs.' .. At least I know where the RLD is now!

From here, we took a 'Canal Taxi' out around the canals of Amsterdam. We arrived at the Rembrandt museum, but did not go in. We strolled the beautiful Vondelpark next door and I took some great pictures. From there, we headed to the Van Gogh museum.

Arriving at the museum, we were stopped by a bunch of children running down the side of the museum anxiously awaiting to get in. It was such an interesting sight. They seemed overwhelmed with joy to go see Van Gogh's arts…

Getting into the Van Gogh museum was like going through airport security in Dulles!! Amazingly they went through our bags and made us remove 'un-allowed' items. I figured for such a search, they should have at least paid for dinner first? *grin*

Walking into the Van Gogh museum was actually a bit disappointing. While Van Gogh's artwork was on display, it was mixed in with other artist's work, including a 'Japanese Art' exhibit.

While no signs claimed you couldn't have a camera, I was immediately told to put away the camera after one picture was taken. I can not understand why cameras would not be allowed in museums!? Especially in a museum where everything you see looks the EXACT same as any images of Van Gogh's artwork online!

Leaving the museum disappointed, we strolled the Vondelpark area a bit more and arrived at a wonderful 'Guiness Bar'. Mmmm…. There's nothing quite like a cold glass of Guiness on tap! To top it off, my lunch consisted of a hot steamy bowl of 'Guiness Irish Stew.' I think I found a new favorite stew!!

After lunch, we headed to the 'Holland Casino,' one of many throughout Amsterdam. Amazingly, not only do they want to take you money in the casino as every other casino does, they also charged a 3.50 euro admission! *sigh* Regardless, I can walk away saying I've been in a European casino.

From here, we decided to get back on the 'Canal Taxi' and head back towards our hotel. We got off at the Rembrandt house area, where we were greeted by many street vendors selling their wares in a little open-air flea market. While the items were unique, there was nothing more I wanted there than a few fresh batteries for my camera!

After this, we headed back to the hotel for a break.

I grabbed a quick nap, and decided to head out on my own for the night. I had some information on a youngsters 'pub-hopping tour' that promised to be fun. It supposedly started with a shot of alcohol to get the night going, a trip to three separate pubs, and finally, an evening at one of Amsterdam's premiere night clubs! Huzzah!

I started down to the meeting area. After figuring out my way around, I stood in the area in which everyone was supposed to meet…. I never saw anyone else .. Maybe I was late?? Regardless, after waiting a few minutes I strolled off on my own, heading to the opposite side of town to the 'Red Light District.'

I quickly learned all the streets around the hotel area (too bad I was leaving the next morning!), including the location of the 'Dam' area in Amsterdam (clearly the BEST area of Amsterdam to be in!!).

As I kept walking down the dark roads of Amsterdam, I began to be greeted with a change in road lights from amber…. to red. I knew where I had now come to.

Sadly, I think the whole idea of the 'Red Light District' is over-rated. While yes, there were many girls in all the windows (some of which came out of their 'rooms' to 'greet me'), it was actually a very small area. Every other shop was a porno/sex shop, however, this didn't stop any of the tourists, as there were very many café's and restaurants that people were eating at!

The girls? .. Most of them were very attractive. I tried to keep a 'stern' composure, for when you passed 'dark alleyways' a shady man was there trying to sell their hard-drugs (coke, crack, x, etc). The stern look kept them from asking me anything. As I passed by one (very attractive) girl, she opened her door and looked right at me and said 'Why do you look so angry? You need to smile!' .. Immediately, this broke a bit of a smirk to my face. She laughed, and I went on my way.

It's funny, there's really not much appeal to 'do anything' with any of the girls here. Anyone with a conscience would realize this. Maybe it's because I'm a Christian man, but I didn't see any real 'want' to go partake in their 'services'. As a great role model, in the center of the RLD was a Goodwill, and peering into the window, you saw a man praying for the sins of those around him.

I stopped on a bridge, and was greeted by a native to Amsterdam. He asked me where I was from, which I immediately went back to my stern look, and said 'No thanks!'. He insisted on knowing where I was from.. “Let me guess, London? .. No .. Germany? .. No?” .. Then he tried different languages on me, first he spoke in Dutch, then German, then English.. Oooh, I had an idea, there's no way he could catch me, right? .. Finally, I told him 'Slovakia' (as so few people know where it is) .. Immediately, he started to offer me drugs in the Czech language. My eyes opened wide as I was shocked that a common drug dealer would be so fluent in so many languages. Finally, I told him that I was just fine and wasn't looking for any drugs. Surprisingly, he was very nice, and like a good salesman, he said 'Well, if you need anything, I'll be right over here!” The drug dealers in Amsterdam can be so nice!

As I headed back, I decided to stay in the 'Dam' area for a while. Visiting the local coffee shops, a few head shops, and just randomly checking the area for new and amazing items!

I ended up stopping at a nearby pizzeria for a slice of pizza and a Coke (mind you, Coke in Europe is definitely not the same as Coke in the U.S.). I picked up a few more items in the area, and headed for the hotel.

After a quick shower, I hoped in bed awaiting the adventure coming to me the next day…..

The next morning we awoke, packed our items, and headed for the airport. Check in was a breeze, and we made it to our terminal within record time. I picked up a few souvineers for my friends in Slovakia, and we headed out towards Munich airport.

Very surprisingly, Munich airport was small. Our flight was a bit delayed, so we arrived with only a short amount of time before our flight to Bratislava. We arrived on the landing strip, and were escorted by a bus to the terminal. Immediately, we got off, ran upstairs, around the corner to the opposite side of the airport, and through a passport stamp checkpoint, *just made it in time* to get through the gate on our plane to Bratislava. As we walked from the terminal downstairs, we walked out at the exact place the bus brought us too just moments ago! *sigh* .. We rode the bus back around to our plane to Bratislava … except, it was nearly right next to the plane we just got off of! I don't quite think Munich airport has everything planned out properly!

At this point, I'll mark this officially as:

Day 1 - Bratislava, Slovakia

Alas, we were off to Bratislava. My friend Eva had informed me she would meet me at the airport once we arrived. As we got off at Bratislava airport, we went through a door where we got our passport stamped, and then entered into a room where our luggage arrived (only one turn-style). From here, we went through 'customs' (read: walking through a door, because obviously the EU doesn't care for the idea of customs), and into a room that was no larger than a small fast-food restaurant.

Immediately, I came to my senses.. This was it? This was the whole airport? ….. AWESOME!! As you can assume, I was very excited to be here!

Eva had not yet been there, so I went outside to wait for her. A few minutes went by, and amazingly, walking towards me was both Eva and Maria! I was so happy to see them both, and immediately gave them each a big hug.

They peered at the amount of luggage that we brought, and quickly realized we needed two taxis. We each took one of the two girls with us in the taxi, to help out with the language barrier. Maria rode with me. We were talking about random items on our way out to Bratislava. Our taxi driver was .. a bit perturbed. He wasn't a very happy man.

As we arrived at the Hotel Tatra, I asked her what was the customary tip? She said 'whatever you like'.. Eh, personally, I thought the driver was an ass, so I didn't want to give him all that much. She then told me 'we usually round up to the next closest bill'. My fare was 513sk, so I gave him 520sk, thinking I did well. As we got out of the car, the driver immediately blew up at Maria ranting in Slovak. While I could pull out a few words of his rant, she immediately shrugged him off and we went on our way. She explained to me that he told her that he 'knew English, and heard what she said'. Since Slovakia isn't a big tourist area, *some* Slovak people seem to assume that any tourists arriving in the area have big bucks, and want all they can get! She said I did well with what I gave him, and in fact, she felt he deserved much less.

I was so happy to see Eva and Maria again!! We went up to our room, and they gave us time to get 'settled' in. We decided to meet back up in an hour.

A hot shower later, and a fresh change of clothes, we headed back down to meet my two Slovak friends. We strolled down to the 'Centrum' area where we were taken into Orange (European cell phone provider). Eva and Maria helped out in every aspect of getting us setup with pre-paid phones. Their willingness to help in every way was extraordinary!! I thanked God for helping me find these girls to begin with, as I'm sure I would have been completely lost without them!

After that, we went over to the local Tesco (essentially a 4-story Super-Walmart). Did a quick look around, and decided to go to a local Slovak pub where the college students stop to drink.

The food was soooooooooo freakin good. Between Eva's sheep-milk dumpling plate, and my 'Shepard's Wrap' (spicy pork and vegetables in a potato pancake), I was in food heaven! The authentic taste of Slovak food was incredible and gave such a wide sense of tastes! I give the 'Slovak Pub' (http://www.slovakpub.sk) 5 stars! The place was astronomically huge, and had so much to offer. Definitely a place you want to go if you ever travel into Bratislava, Slovakia!!

After this, we headed back to Tesco so I could purchase a fan (as there was no A/C in my hotel room), and then it was back to the hotel. I thanked Eva and Maria for helping out, and they asked what time they should be back tomorrow.. Tomorrow? Oh! Yes! Absolutely! We decided to meet up early in the day to get a head start on the beauty of Old Town Bratislava………. After a good night of much needed rest, that is….

This leads us to:

Day 2 - Bratislava, Slovakia

The second day in Bratislava started out early. I woke abruptly around 6:30AM, and was unable to get back to sleep. Eva and Maria were to be knocking around 9:00AM for us to head out to Old Town. I paced the room for a bit, and wrote a few notes in my private journal. I then grabbed a nice long shower and go prepared.

*knock knock* … A quick tap on the door from the girls, and we were out and on our way. Starving, we headed down to the hotel's restaurant. The girls informed us that they had already eaten, but welcomed us to go and have a quick bite for ourselves.

The selection of food from the 'free breakfast' at the hotel was a bit limited, but offered a interesting selection. I opted for bowl of cereal and a small cake with a latte. Not the biggest breakfast, but it surely set me on my way!

We headed off for Old Town Bratislava. Eva and Maria commented how they had never hosted anyone in Slovakia before, so it was going to be interesting. They told us that they weren't tour guides, but they would do their best! (I was just happy to know two fantastic people in this vast city where I doubt I would find my way around)

Old Town was very beautiful; a definite tourist area that offered something for everyone. As we strolled down the streets, I grabbed some pictures of the surrounding buildings and street performers, up to and including the very well known 'Man-At-Work' (a statue of a man peering out of a man-hole).

We headed out to 'Bratislavsky Hrad' (Bratislava Castle). There was an incredible amount of stairs leading up to the castle, but it was well worth it. I grabbed some beautiful shots of the U.F.O. restaurant/bar over Novy Most (New Bridge). As we approached the castle (8 million stairs later), I needed something to quench my thirst. We headed over to a little café at the castle. Ahh, exactly what I needed, a 1 litre bottle of Coke!! The girls went and asked how much it was, and they were shocked!! “They want 200sk for that!!” they said. Eh.. I was thirsty.. I wanted it.. Supposedly even the guy questioned if I really wanted it for that price! Mmm.. Coke.. *grin*

Walking away, I realized exactly what I spent. That 200sk Coke was nearly $6.50 USD…. Meh.. It was a damn good Coke!!

Looking around, we found a few small Slovak souvineer shops. Inside one, I found myself the perfect souvineer! A ceramic necklace depicting the symbol for Slovakia which I proudly wore around my neck (over top my shirt that read 'Russia' - how's that for confusing the Slovak people?)

We walked all around the castle grounds including the original well for the castle (deep, dark, dungeon area.. it was beautiful!). Finally, we all opted to go into the museum. We walked up more stairs to a very interesting exhibit on 'Leonardo Da Vinci' including some of his work, and re-produced images of all his writings. Very interesting indeed! And here? .. YES!! They let me use my camera throughout the entire building! Wow, yet another perk Slovakia has to offer!

We each took our own pace, but I ended up walking with Maria throughout the remainder of the museum. We got to another part of the castle where the original paintings of previous kings/queens who owned the castle were displayed. Maria and I looked in awe at these paintings, as they were so life-like and real. It was so amazing to see these paintings in person. We each over-analyzed the paintings, especially on the unknown ones, pointing out to each other the small facets of each painting including the particular style necklace one wore, to the small clothes pin another wore. One, however, stuck out more than any other. It was a painting of an old woman. Nothing special, in fact, she was 'Unknown' per the painting. But it was something about her look. Neither happy, nor sad, but seemed very content for some reason. It was a very inspiring piece.

We continued onward, and caught up with Eva. We saw everything the castle had to offer for tourists, including the .. *sigh* .. five flights of stairs to get up to the clock/watch tower (again, where I got some great 'landscape' pictures!)

Afterwards, the girls had a recommended a great place to go, but weren't exactly sure where it was. It was time to get some Slovak pizza!

Maria took off down the street to make sure we weren't walking out of the way. I caught up to her and told her not to worry, as this was our first time here, and I didn't care what we saw!

We ended up at a little Slovak pizzeria. We knew this wasn't a 'tourist' area, as the entire menu was in Slovak only. Fortunately for me, I could read 'most' of the menu as most of the words were my 'first words' I ever learned!

The pizzas were completely different than in the U.S., and MUCH cheaper. The variety of flavors was intense. The two most unique pizzas were my own, and Maria's. Hers was a combination of ham, artichoke, tuna, and corn. Mine was a combination of pepperoni, kelbasa, corn, peppers, and (get this) whipping cream! Okay, it sounds odd, right? But I must admit, this was GREAT!! The flavor combinations were extraordinary! If nothing else, Slovaks definitely have a wonderful taste for food!!

Maria told me that even though this was authentic Slovak food, that when I go to her house in Trencin, her mother will feed me until I explode. I can only hope I'll have a chance to do this before I head home!

Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel to get some batteries for my once again drained camera! Eva, Maria, and myself opted to head back out to see some more of the town.

We headed to the bus stop to get across town. The bus-ticket machine was quite unique (and answered my unanswered question as to what those little yellow boxes were?). A little digital machine allows you to purchase bus fare for as little as 10 minutes to as much as 60 minutes. Very cheap too. I bought a 30 minute ticket for a small 18sk.

Once the bus arrives, you hop on and place you ticket in a stamping machine which stamps the date and time on the ticket. From this point, I could ride as many buses I wanted for the next 30 minutes.

It's very 'honor-system' rated, as some people never even ride with a ticket, while others have an unlimited 30-day pass. However, if you're caught without a ticket or pass, you will be fined a minimum of 1800sk (Roughly $60 USD), and if you can't pay it on the spot, the fine doubles to 3600sk ($120 USD).. Pretty steep for being too cheap to buy a $0.50 - $0.90 ticket in advance!

We headed out to the local mall to do some shopping. Personally, I love to shop. I frequent the malls/stores back in the U.S. frequently looking for new clothes and such. As Maria and I wandered the shops, I quickly learned that Eva was not a fan of shopping! That's okay, though. We were just passing the time before our movie started at the local kino (cinema).

While we waited, we stopped by the grocery inside the mall, and picked up a few drinks. We sat down out in the main area of the mall, and discussed a few things that were in my mind. For instance, what's the actual standard wage a Slovak makes? .. The truth is, the minimum is very low ranging between 5.000sk - 12.000sk per month (roughly $2000 - $4500 a year). I now know why so many items are so cheap. Maria told me that if I was able to get sponsored by a place such as Dell, I wouldn't have an issue making much more, and she insisted that I shouldn't worry about making 'minimum wage'. She did recommend that I should take my idea of opening a 'Coffee Shop' a bit further, as the possibility of owning a business makings options limitless.

Afterwards, we strolled a few shops looking for a requested item from one of my manager's back at work. Then it was off to the movies.

The movie cinemas are very unique!! When you go with friends to buy tickets, you need to be in the exact same line, otherwise, you won't be near each other. You see, when you buy a ticket for the cinema, it's like buying a concert ticket. You actually buy a seat that is yours throughout the show. First come, first serve. This means you can leave your seat at anytime without having to worry if it'll be there when you get back. It also means when you go beforehand and buy tickets for you and all your friends, you're guaranteed to sit together no matter what! We actually got quite nice seats in the dead center of the cinema! Another benefit? They allow you to bring in outside food/drinks!

We saw 'Let's Dance' .. Which was the subtitled translated version of the recently out 'Step Up'. I'm a sucker for 'chic-flick' movies anyways, so I figured it would be a benefit. The movie was actually pretty good. The whole movie was still dubbed in English, but had Czech subtitles beneath. I think we all enjoyed the movie, but the girls found the lead guy irresistible! *grin* .. All in good fun!

Leaving the mall, we headed back for the bus again to take us back towards the hotel. Actually, the second time around made me feel more comfortable in figuring out what I needed to do, and where I needed to go. A quick look at the city maps made it easy to figure out what bus you needed to get on.

We headed back to Tesco again, as Eva and Maria needed some items for their dorm room (and I needed a few unpacked items myself!). Tesco is separated by separate markets inside one giant store. We first stopped at the pharmacy, where I got some much needed things I neglected to pack (shampoo, conditioner, a razor). Then we headed down to the grocery part of Tesco.

Wow.. That's all I can say.. Wow!! Now the selection of foods are a bit more limited, and the store is definitely over crowded; however, the pricing of items are extremely good! I soon realized why 200sk for a Coke was a BAD DEAL, as I picked up a few litres of cola (don't call it 'soda' or you'll end up with carbonated mineral water) for nearly 14sk each (about $0.50 USD). All the items were small portions (which is a benefit in the long run), and were priced to go. I ended up paying only 172sk (about $5.50 USD) for two big bottles of cola, a 2-litre of strawberry ice tea, two boxes of cookies, and a few misc. snacks. To me? That was quite a deal!!

Checking out, the poor cashier was ranting to me about something in Slovak. It seemed as if she was upset that she couldn't hear anything around her due to someone constantly shouting in the loudspeaker overhead. Maria started to laugh, and explained to the woman quickly that we didn't speak Slovak (see, I understood that!).

Heading back, the girls departed (as they needed to go the opposite way to get back to their dorms) wanting to make sure we knew our way back. We agreed to meet again for one last time tomorrow (at least until I return to Bratislava on my way home in October) after they got out of church (another benefit of Slovakia - religious people - few and far between in the U.S.) to go out for a few more things and also eat at the most exclusive restaurant in Bratislava … U. F. O. (thanks to Eva for setting up our reservations!!)

As a benefit, Bratislava is actually not a very big city (in fact it's much smaller than Amsterdam, and I walked that entire city!!), so public transit is very open and easy to use. In fact, there really aren't too many cars here. The roads are seemingly empty at all times, with a few vehicles passing here and there. And it's not a very populated city, considering it is a capital city. All in all, I like Bratislava very much.

All in all, I greatly appreciate the efforts of Eva and Maria. And while they claim it's in their Slovak nature to treat guests this way, I can never be more thankful for their friendship, help, and support! …. Though they still think I'm crazy for wanting to move here!!

Regardless, I know now why so many Europeans are very slim and fit, as walking/biking every where is very common. I guarantee you that from the time I landed in Amsterdam until now, I've easily walked over 30 miles, and I'm sure I've dropped some body weight in the process. If I keep this up, no one will recognize me back in the states!

That's all for now… Please check back for more. Hopefully I will have a more reliable Internet connection soon!!