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Dear Friends and Family, I think that last you knew, I was going to the Tower of London. It was very good. The crown jewels... WOW. What else can I say? That was amazing. The history behind that place is fantastic. All this travelling is making me wish I remembered my history as well as done a bit more language study. London is far too expensive. A British pound is about $1.50, and it was costing me 15 pounds to stay in quite a hole. The stairways were the most narrow Iīve ever seen. It was a funny place, with doors all over leading into little tiny rooms with more doors! Entertainment was free though, as there were always drinking and smoking (and not tobacco!) Aussies, Kiwis, and S. Africans in the tiny little lounge! I spent a total of two nights in London... recovering from my trip. Somewhere in the London subway, or tube, as they call it, my little travelling towel vanished. No problem, Iīve always got some clothes that I can dry with! Somewhere along the way I also lost the small spare tire that I had around my middle. Travelling takes a bit of energy, and food costs money! No worries though, I havenīt gone hungry yet. I caught the tube, lightrail, and bus as far out of London as possible, and into the "burbs." I found my way to the road known as A20, which turns in to the motorway M20. At a likely stoplight I first attempted hitchhiking in Europe. Itīs amazing the things that happen. A coincidence? You judge... Within about 10 minutes, I got a ride with a businessman in a nice car. Of course, most of the cars here are new, but this wasnīt one of the tiny boxes you see here. Daniel, his name was, and it turns out he was going all the way to Hamburg! It also turns out that he is a Presbyterian like myself, and we had a great conversation on the trip. It is difficult to get picked up in Britian anywhere, from what I hear. We went under the Channel by Chunnel-train, and I never saw water, except what has been constantly falling out of the sky since I arrived. Since he was going business class we both got a complimentary lunch, which was great by me! Itīs a funny thing, riding in a car which is in a train while going under the English Channel in about 30 minutes. Having passed through France, and nearing Holland, I decided to get out at Antwerp, Belgium. After a bit of wandering around and being very lost at the bus station (nothing in English) I finally got myself and my pack to my so-far favorite hostel. Itīs in a park, very nice, although the showers are horrible 6 second lukewarm push-button affairs. The part I enjoyed were the people there. All of them travelers much like myself. In the morning, I went through the pouring rain with two cycling Canadians, Laura and Sara, and a kind of lost-seeming Aussie living in the UK, to find a bike shop and get their wheel fixed. It even hailed that afternoon! I am telling you, this weather is bad. Antwerpen (as it is called there) used to be the diamond capitol of the world, and one can still see itīs former glory in the old town square. A very odd statue is in the center as well... must be some Greek myth? That evening I came home to a room-full of South Africans. They are always crazy and always fun. They had bought a sort of mini-keg of the local brew, Jupiler. There was no need to go to a pub. It was fun talking and laughing with them, and I got some very good travelling information. One thing is, be sure to get a very good bike when travelling in Africa. Thereīs a special motorcycle manufactured called the "Africa Twin!" It has double brake and clutch cables, and probably other devices which make it better for travelling in rough country... but I digress. The next morning I was very unhappy to see the rain. In fact, I decided to leave. Although Antwerpen is nice, it was wet. So I packed my pack and headed for the road. It took me six rides and most of the day, but I made my goal, Köln, Germany. Hitching here is good. The only long wait I had (miserable in the rain) was an hour by the side of the expressway. Itīs illegal to hitch there (as I later found out) and the cars are going about 90mph anyway, but I did eventually get a ride. Most of my hops were short. Once I was in a small truck with a fellow who spoke no English... that was fun. Everyone was very friendly though, and I usually had a ride within five or ten minutes. My longish hair and small build were actually an advantage at least once when a woman with her daughter picked me up thinking I was a girl! I find that the people here who are my age are intensely interested in the US, although the older generation seem to prefer that there not be too many Americans running about. American music and movies are dominant (thereīs one playing here right now!). There are not the crowds of tourists that I expected either, although one can pick them out pretty regularly. I am often mistaken for a local. ("um.... spreichen sie Englisch?") Also, although many people do speak some English, itīs not everyone. I am trying desperately to learn Deutch. But back to Köln. Itīs a large place. The largest Gothic cathedral in Germany is there. A cathedral is a Dom, and the Kölner Dom is IMPRESSIVE. I spent most of the day inside, only partially because it was raining (even thunder and lightning today). I cannot describe it to you anz better than as a man-made mountain with huge stained-glass windows. The inside is richly decorated. On the outside gargoyles dripped rain. I met a Turkish-German in the hostel in Köln. He was looking for an apartment and job, as he is going to univeristy there. We became friends of a kind. He was very nice. I went with him to the apartment he was looking at, and although I understood nothing, it was an interesting experience. His views on life were fascinating, and although I was expecting them, a bit shocking. I was displeased about the rain once again the next morning, but found out that my new friend was driving south... and that is how I ended up here, in Würzburg. This place is cute. Thatīs a good way to describe it. I would guess the population to be about 15,000 max. It is all nestled in the valley (a lot of churches) under the "castle" across the Main river. All the surrounding hills are covered by rows of wine grapes. From the castle, the view is postcard. Itīs not over-touristy, like it would be in the US. Itīs still a living, working city. Last night I spoke for a while in both Spanish and English with a Mexican, Londoner, and Czech turned Texan. Talk about a multi-cultural experience! Ollie, from London, was actually worried that if he travelled in the US he might get shot (I hope I calmed that fear!). The Europeans donīt understand the big deal about the Lewinsky scandal either. Once you get to know them a bit, itīs easy to see why. At least in Germany, morals seem to mostly be at least what we would call "loose." The rain is supposed to finally pass tomorrow... Monday. Did I mention that I went to the Dom here in the morning for mass in German... that was interesting (and rather smoky, with that whole censer business!) I hope to camp down the famed "Romantic Road" in the next few days, though tiny medieval towns, churches, and castles. Please remember me in your prayers. I could use a special one for learning German! I hope to write again soon... but one never knows! -Dustin
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