Prague

Today finds me in Prague, in the Czech Republic. I have the good fortune to be staying with another friend, so I'm getting the insider's tour. I'm staying with Kevin, who I met in Seoul at my school. Now he works at the international school here.

We've had a good time seeing the city, it's beautiful. I've made the switch from lazy bum back to tourist pretty easily, but sometimes I still long for the couch in Munich.....

Prague is an absolute stunner. There are castles, churches, cathedrals, statues and picturesque everything everywhere you look. You should come here.

Later today we're off to the countryside to Kevin's girlfriend's parents' house. (That's a lot of apostrophes) We plan on doing a lot of biking and relaxing before coming back to Prague to live it up.

Should be nice!

Love,
jason

Some photos

I have a little time today, so I thought I'd try to SHOW you what's up!

Here's a pic from Thailand-this was our view every day as we climbed up and down the limestone cliffs of Railay.



This is a shot of the Munich City Hall. It houses a famous Glockenspiel that does its thing three times a day. It is truly something to behold.



This is one example of how crazy Bavaria was for the Cup. There were TVs everywhere, including scaffolding.



Here's a shot of Mike and Eric enjoying the weather and the ambiance at the Fan Fair at the Olympic Stadium in Munich. Australia lost to the Italians....boo!



Love,
jason

Munchen

Well Munich was fantastic! As I said in my previous post,the trip was composed mostly of watching World Cup games every day.

The Trini game was a lot of fun. We took a fan bus to Kaiserslautern, watched Trini lose (unfortunately most of my teams seem to be losing) and then drove back to Munich. It was an incredibly long day, but it was really cool to go to a World Cup game.

Mike and Dani were fantastic hosts, and I owe them a huge debt of thanks. Thanks you two!

Funny side note - while I was in Munich, my friends Carrie and Eric from Wisconsin happened to be in town for their honeymoon! We met up twice and had a good time catching up. Luckily Mike had showed me around town, so I got to play Munich tour guide. :)

Love,
jason

If you were alive in the 80s

You MUST look at this link.

http://www.freephotosandvideos.com/

It warehouses over 1000 music videos from the 80s.

Peruse some of the best:
2 Live Crew
Wee Papa Girl Rappers
Twisted Sister
Salt N Pepa

and....

USA for Africa - We are the world. Awesome.

Please, please, please....waste hours of your life on this site. It's worth it.

What are your favorites?

Love,
jc

It's kind of a big deal

So, I've arrived in Munich, Germany and in case you were unaware, Germany is hosting the World Cup this year. It's kind of a big deal.

I'm staying in Munich with my friends Mike and Dani, who I met last year while traveling in Costa Rica. We had a really great time last summer, so I thought I'd impose myself on them again and we'd have an even better time. So far, so good.

I've been in Munich for about four days now and I am having an amazing time. The people here are very friendly and the World Cup ambience is amazing. While in Thailand I watched the games under the moon on the beach, here I'm seeing them in full Bavarian Beerhall glory.

It's funny because although I've never been to Europe (excepting Spain), I feel like I've been here before. I think it's due to the subconscious Euro-roots growing up in Middle America combined with the pseudo-cultural things like Disney World, etc. But man, it's Europe allright. Smartcars line tiny, cobblestone lanes with old, old buildings bookending the scene. It's amazingly beautiful and I feel very luck to be here.

Tomorrow it's off to Kaiserslautern (5 hour bus ride) for the Trinidad and Paraguay game. Should be crazy fun as Mike and Dani's friends are Trinidadians and or Tobagans. Watch out for Trini, dey for real.

Love,
jason

Railay, Thailand

I've been spending the last four days in Railay Beach in Thailand. Thailand is one of those places that everyone loves and you don't think you'll love it because everyone else loves it, but then you end up loving it too .....

Anyway, Thailand rules. The food is delicious, the scenery is beautiful and the people are extremely kind.

In Railay, we've been bouncing around the peninsula rock climbing. I'm a very novice climber, but the friends from school that are here with me are great and super supportive. I've had a lot of fun climbing this week.

The nights have been spent on Thai mats under the full moon and palm trees with World Cup soccer on the big screen. It's easily the best way I've watched the Cup.

Tomorrow it's back to Bangkok for a night and then I'm Munich bound!

Love,
jason

They have monkeys here

So, I've just arrived in Thailand and I'm starting what promises to be one of the most exciting summers of my life. It's with bittersweet feelings that I leave Seoul, but nonetheless here I am in Railay, Thailand.

I got to Bangkok a couple of days ago where I was greeted with the beautiful Thai Wai from Joseph's wife, Gai. I enjoyed a night of typical Thai hospitality coupled with the opening night of World Cup action. Although I was scheduled to leave BKK at 9 am the following morning, I managed to enjoy the night without too much sacrifice.

The following day I headed out to Aou Nang and Krabi where I met up with some of my best friends in the world for some climbing and hanging out. Every night we've managed to catch the World Cup, which is a huge build up for the next leg of my trip, but more of that will come later.

This summer promises to be a doozy and I'll do my best to keep everyone on board with what's happening.

For now, let's hope the US can come out strongt against the Czechs tonight!!!

Love always,
jason