BORIS'S TRAVELS

OK. Let me first introduce myself. My name is Boris Velikovich. I grew up in Moscow, Russia but currently live in Maryland, U.S. In this book, I will describe my trips to Europe in 1996 and 1998. This travelogue is based on my journals I kept during those trips. While preparing this book, I edited my journals and removed the digressions, irrelevant stuff, or things that would not be interesting to the general audience. I included some travel tips and recommendations I could give to someone interested in European travel, as well as some interesting things I learned.

This book is a travelogue -- not a guidebook. If you're interested in some destinations I describe, I am glad if what I write is helpful to you, but you still need to get a good guidebook that covers those destinations. In my travelogue, I am specifically discussing some good guidebooks I used. While listing interesting sights, I typically don't give in-depth descriptions of those -- just the stuff I saw and something that impressed me about this particular sight. If you find that some facts I cite are wrong or incomplete, please contact me by e-mail so that I could correct that.

In this book, I don't invent anything, but write only about what I saw and did. I hope you'll enjoy this book. Please send me your comments.

It all started in August 1995. My Mom told me once that her friend's son just had returned from a European trip and was very excited. I was curious and gave this guy a call. For about an hour, he told me all details about his trip. He had spent an unforgettable month of adventures. After talking to him, I asked myself: "Would I be able to do the same?"

At that moment, I was 21 and about to enter my senior year of college. I had a part-time job on campus and didn't have that much money. Of course I had thought about a European trip before, but those dreams were in the category of "when I grow up and become rich." Now, after talking to my Mom's friend's son I, for the first time, considered taking a European trip after my graduation. However, at that moment, I didn't quite know all the mechanics of planning and carrying out a European trip.

During the next couple of months, I talked to several people who had had a European trip in the past and asked for their advice. One of them recommended that I read Rick Steves's "Europe Through The Back Door." I had never heard of Rick Steves or his books before. So I went to a book store and got this book.

The book by Rick Steves made a complete revolution in my approach to travel. After reading it, I understood precisely what my European trip would be like. I got all the necessary information about where to eat, where to sleep, what to see, when to go, how to pack, and how to make this trip affordable to someone on a tight budget. I liked Rick's travel philosophy and his recommendations.

"Europe Through The Back Door" even helped me plan my itinerary. Before reading it, I had a vague idea of what I wanted to see. I knew I wanted to see London and Paris, but I was uncertain about other places to see. Europe is very big, and setting itinerary priorities is a very difficult job. But Rick Steves did this job for me. His book has an excellent list of itinerary priorities.

After reading his book, I was able to draw up a tentative itinerary. I decided to visit London, Oxford, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Munich, and Rhineland.

I decided that three weeks would be good for a first-time European vacation on a limited budget. So, my itinerary was designed for a three-week trip. The travel agency I decided to go with was Council Travel. In addition to help in getting all necessary documents, they sell handy travel goodies and issue a free magazine "Student Travels," where good advice can be found.

I wanted to do this trip alone, even though many people were surprised by this decision. But I thought that for me, travel was a very personal thing. It would give me opportunities to discover myself, to learn new things about myself, to be completely independent and free, and to meet whomever I want. It would also give me a vacation from my usual lifestyle and expand my mind. That is why I had no second thoughts about going solo. I was confident that I could do it.

Next step was getting a Eurailpass, an International Student Id Card, and a hostel membership card. That was easy, even though back then there was no Council Travel office in College Park, MD (where I went to school) and I had to go to Washington, D.C. to do all these things.

The guidebook I decided to go with was "Let's Go: Europe," the famous yellow book that most young travelers either used or saw. It covered all places I wanted to see and provided long lists of places to stay.

In March 1996 I purchased my "open-jaw" airplane tickets: Washington, D.C. to London and Paris to Washington, D.C. Since I was not a U.S. citizen at the time, I had to do some additional paperwork as far as visas were concerned. Nevertheless, by the time I was supposed to go to Europe, all red-tape problems were solved.

Through Rick Steves's travel company "Europe Through The Back Door," I got a great convertible backpack and a money belt. For a daypack, I didn't buy a new one but instead went with my Dad's Soviet Army bag. As I found later, it was not such a good idea, but at that time, I had no international travel experience so I took this bag.

On June 2, 1996, just ten days after my college graduation, my Dad drove me to the Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C. There, I started my long-awaited first trip.

In this hostel, I instantly felt at home. After checking in and putting my baggage in a safe location, I took some time to relax and talk to people. Then, I found out how to get to the center of the city. So I took the tube (that's how Londoners call their metro) to the Piccadilly Circus. There, I purchased a ticket to the LONDON PRIDE orientation bus tour. It was possible to hop on and off the bus at every stop. The bus had two floors, and I was sitting at the top.

I hopped off near the HARD ROCK CAF? and had lunch there. This caf? is the oldest HARD ROCK CAF? in the world. It is not cheap, but food there is great. From there, I took the same LONDON PRIDE bus and went to Westminster. There, I stopped again and went to the Westminster Abbey. This is a very famous place and many famous British people (including kings and queens) are buried there. Both interior and exterior of this place are splendid. Right near the abbey, there is a tourist shop where you make your own souvenirs by creating rubbing-wax pictures. I made myself such a picture, too.

From the Westminster Abbey, I proceeded towards the Westminster Bridge and crossed it twice. Really impressive. You can see the Big Ben and the parliament from there. There is a beautiful view from this bridge.

From there, I took a cruise of the Thames and this way came to the Tower of London. There, I joined a guided tour of the Tower. The tour is very helpful if you want to understand the Tower. The tour took only an hour or so, but I spent another hour just wandering around the place. It looks really impressive.

I met some other tourists, too. They are mostly from Germany, some from Canada, some from the U.S.

After finishing with the Tower, I walked to the Tower Bridge. From there, I took a LONDON PRIDE bus back to Piccadilly. I wanted to return to my hostel, because it started raining and I felt a bit tired after so much sightseeing.

However, once I wound up on Piccadilly, I changed my mind and instead went wandering through London's center. I went to the Buckingham's Palace through St. James's Park and watched the guards march. Through the park, I came to Westminster and looked for some place to eat. I found some small restaurant on the Strand Avenue and ate there. Three students from Berlin were dining there next table to me. They knew English very well, and we chatted a bit.

It was over 9:00 P.M., and getting a little dark. I proceeded to the Westminster Bridge and crossed it again. It was superb to do it after dark, with a great view of Big Ben at night.

From there, I went to my hostel, met my roommates, and went to bed at about midnight.

Today I slept in and got up at about 9:00 A.M. After having an English breakfast, I went to the Piccadilly Circus. I again used the London Pride bus, because no one seemed to care about the tickets validity. I came to the Trafalgar Square, saw the lions, and then walked to the National Gallery. It is a big museum of European art, so I managed to see only a part of it. It also has a good high-tech computer room where one can get information about any artist.

In the gallery, one can see masterpieces by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian and other great artists.

After spending a couple of hours in the museum, I caught a bus and went to the Green Park. It was lunch hour, so many people were sitting there on the grass eating lunch. I wandered around the park and even met some people. Most seemed to be British having their lunch break, but some were tourists like me.

From the Green Park, I went to the more famous Hyde Park. There, too, I wandered around, saw the Marble Arch and the Speaker's Corner (although empty on a weekday), and ate ice-cream. It was very hot there -- I didn't know that London could be so hot.

I finished with the parks in the late afternoon and took a bus to the City. That's where London's equivalent of the Wall Street is located. The City has a beautiful St. Paul's cathedral build by Christopher Wren. I visited the Museum of London. The museum has lots of interesting information about London, from the Roman times (when London was called Londinium) to the present.

At 6:00 P.M., the museum closed, so I went further down the City to the Royal Exchange and had my picture taken there. From there, I caught a bus to Covent Garden. I wanted to see a play in a theater. So in the Adelphi theater, I bought a 30-pound ticket to "Sunset Boulevard." Before the play, I had a dinner at KFC across the street. Then, I entered the theater and took my seat.

I was lucky to have this seat. Next to me, a cute girl was sitting. I introduced myself, and we chatted until the play started. She is German, and her name is Claudia. She is tall and good-looking. She also likes musicals.

"Sunset Boulevard" is a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber. I was really impressed by the great music.

After the play, I had a picture of me and Claudia taken in front of the theater. We exchanged addresses and phone numbers, and I plan to give Claudia a call when I arrive to Munich.

From Covent Garden, I proceeded to SoHo and watched the nightlife here. I tried to enter one club, but the guy at the door said, "You don't wanna go there." I asked, "Why not?" and he said: "It's a gay club."

It was getting late, so I took the tube to my hostel. In the tube, I met two cute American girls so the ride home wasn't boring.

I got up at about 9:00 A.M. and sent some London postcards to family and friends. Then I returned to my hostel to pick up my daypack. There I met three girls who just arrived to the hostel. They were from South Carolina and just had arrived from Ireland. Their names are Leah, Claire, and Kristin. I talked to them for a while and had some pictures with them taken.

Then I went to the Science Museum. It is located in South Kensington, very close to Earl's Court. I spent about an hour and a half there, and still felt that wasn't enough. The museum is huge and fascinating. It has lots of interesting exposition on various technical things and offers a good brochure. It reminded me of the Polytechnical Museum in Moscow where I went when I was a kid, but the London museum is better.

From the Science Museum, I proceeded to the Victoria and Albert Museum in the same neighborhood (next to the Imperial College.) This museum impressed me as well with its arts and decorations -- not only from the West, but also from some Asian and Middle Eastern countries.

I was a little tired of museums by this time, so I took the tube to the Hyde Park and had lunch in a caf? in the park. While having a lunch, I met two English ladies who were sitting at the same table as me. They were from the southern part of England and their accent was hard to understand. But it was a great cultural experience to talk to them.

After lunch, I headed for the British Museum. It is located in the part of London where I didn't go before so I had to figure out how to get there. I really liked this museum because it has great ancient art. I saw the Egyptian, the Greek, and the Assyrian art there. I spent a couple of hours in this great museum.

From there, I proceeded to the Victoria train station where I had to buy a ticket to Brussels, where I wanted to go after finishing with England. My Eurailpass didn't cover Britain, so I had to pay for the part of the trip that was in England. I bought the ticket for the Friday night.

On my way back, I met a group of Dutch students a little younger than me.

We talked a little; they were eating candy and they offered me one, too. I ate it but it tasted funny, so I supposed there might be hash inside and spitted the thing out. I don't know whether it was hash or not, but it would be better safe than sorry. In Holland soft drugs are legalized, and those guys who gave me the candy were Dutch.

From Victoria, I went to a pub and ordered a glass of beer. Then, I proceeded to the Buckingham Palace and walked from the St. James's Park to the Parliament. I walked on the Westminster Bridge back and forth, and then headed home because it was a little late. In my hostel, I saw Leah, Claire, and Kristin again, we talked a lot and exchanged addresses.

In the morning, I checked out of the hostel. I had my breakfast with Leah, Claire, and Kristin; then I said good-bye to them, put my luggage in the storage room, and left. I wanted to see the Sherlock Holmes's museum, so I took the tube to the Baker Street. It wasn't difficult to find this house. The museum is fairly new (opened in 1990), and its staff managed to create an authentic Sherlock Holmes's home. The museum's interior looks exactly like it is described in Conan Doyle's books. Of course, I signed the museum guestbook. Then I took a quick stroll in the Regents Park.

Then I took the tube to the Buckingham Palace and watched the guards change. I would say that it doesn't look as glamorous as it is usually is described. It looked OK, but wasn't such a big deal. I think that it was more interesting when I saw the guards march.

I walked to the Westminster Bridge, where I bought a London T-Shirt. In addition, I had my picture next to the Oliver Cromwell's monument taken.

It was about noon; I went back to the hostel to pick up my luggage, and then went to the Victoria station and caught a bus to Oxford. The bus ride was around beautiful places, and I enjoyed watching the scenery. However, the bus ride took longer than expected, and I arrived to Oxford later than anticipated.

I was supposed to stay with my family's friends in Tackley, a small village not far from Oxford, and I had to get to that village by train.

Unfortunately, I boarded the wrong train, and it didn't stop in Tackley, but instead took me to a larger station named Banbury. So I had to get out there and catch a train to Tackley. I had to wait for this train for about an hour. But in the end, I finally got up in Tackley. It was about 6:00 P.M., a lovely English summer evening.

Jan (my family's friend) met me at the Tackley station, and we walked to her house where I was to stay for the night. Her house is really beautiful and is located in a good, quiet place. I had dinner and then took a walk with Sasha, Jan's son, and again admired the beautiful English countryside.

When I came home, I gave a call to my family, wrote in my journal, and then, at about midnight, went to bed. It was the only night during my trip when I was sleeping in a nice bed in a nice house, not in a hostel or a budget hotel or a train.

I got up at about 9:00 A.M.; Jan had just driven her younger son Danny to school, and she and me had breakfast. Then, we went to Oxford. This was the first time I was a passenger in a car on a British road; it was a little strange to sit at the left side and not have a steering wheel there. On our way to Oxford, Jan showed me Woodstock (the place where Churchill was born) and Bladon (the place where Churchill died.) Very beautiful small towns. It seems strange that people actually live in those ancient houses.

From there, we went to Oxford -- England's oldest university. This campus is not like an average American campus at all. You can sense that this is an old and very prestigious school. Many of its buildings are several hundred years old. But very few buildings in this campus are open to the outside public. In June, Oxford students were having their exams, so the campus was full of students.

Jan showed me some attractions of the Oxford campus, and it was great. Then we went to the "Oxford Story" museum, which showed Oxford's major features, and then the Oxford library. Oxford really is a beautiful campus, and the town where the university is located is pleasant, too.

Jan and me had lunch, and then she had to leave. She showed me how to get to the Magdalen College. This College is open to the public (for a fee, of course). But even there, there are lots of rooms that are private and therefore not to be visited. The College is located in a wonderful place near a park. There is an oak there which is several hundred years old. I had a picture of me near this oak taken. Then I took a stroll in the park where Magdalen College is located. While exploring Magdalen, I met some of its students. It is cool to meet an Oxford student and talk to him/her about his/her experiences in this prestigious school.

I spent a while in the city of Oxford and then took a bus back to London.

My luggage had been stored at the bus station, so I picked it up before leaving.

Upon arriving to London, I stored my stuff at the Victoria train station and then went out for a walk. There were about two hours before my train to Brussels. I went to the Westminster Cathedral and took its picture. I felt sad that I was leaving London and England. I enjoyed the time I spent in England, and I hope to go there again some day.

On my way back, I stepped into a pub and ordered a beer. There was a crowd of Americans, and I met them. There was one guy and a bunch of girls, all from Tennessee. I spent the rest of the time talking to them. It was great to chat with them, but the time went by, so at 9:00 P.M. I said good-bye and left to pick up my luggage and get to the train on time.

The train departed Victoria at 10:00 P.M., on schedule. The English part of my trip was now over.

At midnight, the train came to Ramsgate. From there, a bus took all passengers to the immigration control and then to the ferry. On the ferry, I rented a cabin so that I could sleep while we were crossing the North Sea. The voyage was not long, though; at 4:00 A.M., I was woken up. The sun was rising as we were approaching Belgian coasts. A beautiful Flemish city of Oostende was on the horizon. That is where the ferry was going.

Once in Oostende, I found a train that was going to Brussels and boarded it. It was about 4:45 A.M., and I was still a little bit sleepy. The train was going around lovely Belgian countryside, proceeding to Brussels.

I planned to do Brussels as a day trip, which meant I had to leave my luggage at a train station and in the evening, pick it up and go to Amsterdam.

The train arrived to Brussels around 7:45 A.M., to the Midi station. There, I found a locker and stored my backpack there. I also exchanged currency and had breakfast there.

Right there in Brussels, I felt for the first time the language difficulties. For the first time in my life, I found myself in a country whose language(s) I don't know. Belgians speak French and Flemish (a language related to Dutch.) Flanders is Flemish-speaking, while the southern part of Belgium is predominantly French-speaking. Brussels is bilingual. I know neither French nor Flemish. However, I managed to do fine there in Brussels. I took metro to the Central station, and from there proceeded to explore the city.

I found an English orientation bus tour of the city. Actually, it was both in English and Spanish. It was rather long and very helpful because it showed all the beauties of Brussels. After all, this city houses both NATO and the European Union, so it can be called capital of the united Europe. I saw the Town Hall, the Grand Place (the square which Victor Hugo called "the most beautiful square in Europe"), the famous Mannekin Pis, and the Atomium.

After the tour, I took a stroll around this beautiful city and visited the gothic Saints Michel et Gudule Cathedral and then the Royal Fine Arts Museum. This museum houses masterpieces of Rubens, Bruegel, and other Flemish artists.

From the museum, I proceeded to the Grand Place where I took some pictures and got some food. I also bought some souvenirs for my family. Then, I went to Midi, picked up my luggage, and took a train to Amsterdam.

The train ride to Amsterdam took about three hours. The scenery I could see from the window was gorgeous. I arrived to Amsterdam at about 8:00 P.M.

Here, a difficult part of my trip started. The thing is that I had tried to reserve a hostel room in Amsterdam for that night, but to no avail -- the hostel from the Hostelling International (HI) network was booked. So I came to Amsterdam on a Saturday night without any reservation -- a risky thing to do.

From the Centraal Station, I found my way to Damrak the central Amsterdam street that links the station with Dam the central square. Then, I turned right on some small street. To tell the truth, my first reaction when I saw Amsterdam was disappointment. After London and Brussels, Amsterdam seemed to be a seedy, sleazy place, not like a European capital at all.

I tried to get into two private hostels located in the area, but they were already full. What a bummer. It is really frustrating to try to find a room on Saturday night in an unknown city. I took a peek at my "Let's Go: Europe" book. Luckily, it listed some budget hotels. One of them, named "Tamara," was right where I was standing. I entered it and asked whether there were rooms available. The hotel owner, an Irish man in his fifties, said yes. I was relieved to finally find a room, even though it was not as cheap as I wanted (I had to pay about $40 for it.)

The hotel owner showed me my room. While entering it, I felt the floor shaking under my feet. The building where the hotel was located was several centuries old. The most interesting thing I saw, though, was the lock. I don't know what century this lock was made in, but I am sure it was some time in the Middle Ages. All my attempts to lock or unlock my room myself were futile, and I wound up calling the hotel owner whenever I wanted to do this very complicated operation. After learning about my nationality, the hotel owner told me that Lenin had stayed in this hotel in 1910 when he visited Amsterdam. But I am sure the hotel owner was not serious when he said that.

After I got settled in, I decided to take a stroll around Amsterdam. It was not late yet. So I went to Damrak. The first place I visited was the Sex Museum right there on Damrak. I didn't even know about the existence of such a Museum (later on I learned that Amsterdam has two sex museums, one on Damrak, the other one in the Red Light District.) The museum has lots of sex objects, and one can listen to porno music and see video in special booths.

From the Sex Museum, I proceeded to the best-known area of Amsterdam -- namely, the Red Light District. That's where most of the crowd (both tourists and locals) hung out. The Red Light District is east of Damrak. I heard that during the day, it is just a regular Amsterdam neighborhood. However, at night it completely changes. I came there at about 10:00 P.M. It was still not dark, but the night at the Red Light District had already begun.

Both sides of a canal (Amsterdam has many, many canals and bridges) were illuminated by red lights. Under those lights, hookers were waiting for their clients. I noticed that most hookers were not Dutch and not even European, but apparently from the former Dutch colonies like Surinam or Indonesia. The hookers were fat, old, and ugly. They were cheap, too around $50 per night. I stayed away from those hookers even though they tried to get me rather aggressively. Between the windows illuminated by red lights, there were numerous sex shops also frequented by people. The Red Light District has been popular since the 17^th century, when Amsterdam was one of the most important European ports. In addition to sex shops, there are also sex shows. I didn't go to those, though.

After midnight, I returned to my hotel. It was a very long day; within 24 hours, I managed to cross the border twice.

The first thing I did in the morning was going to the hostel next door and finding whether or not they had a room available. They did, so I checked in right there and moved my belongings from the hotel to this hostel. The hostel's name is Bob's, and its reception is located in a bar. Much of the hostel's staff is Arabic, but they speak very good English. In general, most people in Amsterdam speak good English -- I didn't have to make feeble attempts to use Dutch at all.

I found my room after climbing lots of stairs and put my stuff there. Then, I had breakfast right there in this hostel. Then I went to the HI hostel and reserved a room in Munich from this hostel.

From there, I proceeded to the Dam and inquired about city tours. I wanted to take some kind of tour to see the city. The next English tour was available in a three hours, so in the meantime, I decided to see Anne Frank's house.

I heard a lot about this house and now had a chance to see it. The museum there is well-organized, and one can see a movie about Anna Frank as well as see where she and her family were hiding from the Nazis. There are also excerpts from her diary. Anna hid in this house from 1942 to 1944; then someone betrayed her family, and the whole family was deported to Auschwitz. Only Anna's father survived the Holocaust. After seeing this sad place, I returned to the Dam and took the city tour.

Amsterdam can really be a beautiful place when you see a lot of it and the weather is good. Our guide not only showed us all the sights of this great city but he also took us to the Rijksmuseum, the number one attraction in Amsterdam. There, one can see Rembrandt's, Van Dyck's, Van Gogh's, and other famous Dutch artists' masterpieces. Our tour group also visited Kester Diamonds -- another exciting place.

After the trip, I spent the rest of the day just wandering Amsterdam streets and enjoying its canals and the Amstel river. In the end of my walk, I caught a tram to the Centraal Station and reserved a couchette for my night trip to Munich.

Then I returned to Bob's, drank beer, and met new people. In my room, I met my roommates -- one American guy and two Canadian girls. We talked to them for a while, and then I went to bed.

This was the second day of my exploration of Amsterdam. First, I took a canal cruise. For about an hour I cruised Amsterdam's canals -- a really exciting experience. I heard that sometimes Amsterdam is called "North Venice." I don't know whether it's accurate or not, but the fact is that both Amsterdam and Venice have lots of canals. I have yet to explore Venice -- not on this trip, though.

I returned to my hostel and rented a bike from an Egyptian staff member; he demanded my passport, saying: "If you lose my bike, I will kill you; if I lose your passport, you will kill me." Very witty. In any case, he gave me a bike lock, which is a very useful thing in a city like Amsterdam where bike theft is a common problem.

I went biking all around the city. Amsterdam is great for biking, and one can see bikers everywhere. It was the first time in my trip when I was exploring a city by biking, and I really enjoyed it. Through the city, I came to the Vondelpark and had lunch there. There are beautiful tulips and other flowers there in the park Then, I proceeded to the nearby Van Gogh museum. I really enjoyed this museum because I could see lots of Van Gogh's paintings -- and I like Van Gogh a lot.

I did some more biking around the city and in the end wound up near the HI hostel. Some Americans around my age were sitting near it. There were four girls and one guy. I introduced myself, and we talked for a while. They are from Delaware -- very close from where I live. They wanted to have a party, and they invited me to Grasshopper, a famous Amsterdam coffeeshop. I thanked them, and we agreed to meet there at 10:00 P.M. In the meantime, I went back to Bob's to give my bike back to the Egyptian owner. Then, I sat in the bar, drank beer, and talked to people. I met a Canadian guy, named Sam, who wanted to go to Munich the same day as me, and he suggested we went together. There were also my female roommates; as I already mentioned, they are both from Canada, and both of them are Jennifers. I talked to them, too.

At 9:30 P.M. or so, I got up and went to Grasshopper. There are actually several Grasshoppers in Amsterdam; those people from Delaware wanted to go to the one near their hostel, so I went there. On my way there, I met two beautiful girls sitting on a bench near the canal. Those girls turned out to be French (from Toulouse), but they spoke English very well. When I was about to go, both girls gave me a kiss. French ladies are good at it.

I went to Grasshopper and saw my new friends near it. They said it was closed, so we went to another one. This one was located right across Bob's. In addition to those people I met, there was another girl with them, named Heather.

My friends wanted to roll a joint, since this is decriminalized in the Netherlands and places like Grasshopper sell such stuff legally. I first was reluctant to try this kind of thing, because I never did it before and have some reservations about it. But then I decided to try -- after all, I was in Amsterdam. So I did it, but wasn't very impressed. Lulu (one of the girls) said it was because for me it was the first time which is usually not a big deal. In the end, I felt kind of high, but I don't know what a real high feels like.

After we were done, I walked my new friends to the Dam, and there we exchanged addresses and said goodbye to each other. I went to my room. All of my roommates had left, and my new ones were sleeping. I went to sleep, too.

This was my last day in Holland, and I decided to do a day trip to the countryside. I wanted to see Zaanse Schaanz a famous village around Zaandem, to the north of Amsterdam. The trip there took half-an-hour. From the train station, I walked to the actual village.

This village looks much better in real life than in descriptions. I had planned to spend there a couple of hours, but wound up spending there almost the whole day. It was because I liked this village so much.

After entering the village, I picked up a map to orient myself. I visited the museum of clocks and then proceeded to the windmills. There used to be lots of windmills in the Netherlands, but now only a few are left. I visited a windmill there in Zaanse Schaanz, and it was a great experience. Of course, I took several pictures. After seeing the windmills, I took a cruise and enjoyed the beautiful scenery around. The cruise took about an hour and was gorgeous.

I also visited a cheese factory -- another great experience. That's where they produce the famous Dutch cheese. I also took some time strolling around the village and enjoying myself. While doing it, I met an American girl, named Carrie, who is an art student in Florence. When she told me she was an artist, I asked her whether she could draw my portrait and she said yes. She drew an excellent portrait of me right in my diary. I was really impressed, especially since no one had drawn a professional portrait of me before. I thanked Carrie a lot and then talked to her a little. It was fun. While in the village, I met some other nice people, too. After I was done with Zaanse Schaanz, I went to Zaandam's post office and sent a postcard to my family. I also visited a craft museum before going home.

I came to Amsterdam a little earlier than I should have, so I took the last stroll around the city. I was a little sad to leave it. During the three days I spent in Amsterdam, I learned to love this city, even though my first reaction to it was, as I already mentioned, less than positive. Nevertheless, I discovered the true Amsterdam beauty.

At 6:30 P.M., I was back in my hostel and picked up Sam (the Canadian guy I had met the day before.) We went to the train station together. He reserved his couchette later than me; we wound up in the same car but different compartments. He was lucky because his compartment was full of American girls of our age. I was less lucky because my compartment-mates were middle-age and all (except two German men) boring. So I spent some time in Sam's compartment, talking to him and the girls. Then I returned to my compartment and talked to my German compartment-mates.

The train crossed the German border. Shortly after the train arrived to Cologne, my compartment-mates and me went to bed.

The train arrived to Munich in the early morning. I had a good sleep on the train and was fully awake once there. Sam and me exchanged our currency at the train station and then went to the hostel I had reserved. I had a peace of mind now because I knew my room was waiting for me. But getting to the hostel was not easy at all, even though it was advertised to be "close to the center." So we wound up taking metro there (or, as Germans say, U-Bahn.)

We arrived well before the check-in time. I dropped my stuff at the luggage room, and Sam stood at the line of people wishing to get a room. I was smart to have reserved a room in this hostel. I was asked to hang out the hostel before the check-in time. So I just wandered the neighboring streets. It was a beautiful day, so it was fun. I was a bit hungry, but I decided to have breakfast in my hostel after I check in.

Soon I checked in, had breakfast, and even met some German students whose group just arrived. As one girl from this group explained, they were from the northern part of Germany and with their teacher. I felt better after the meal and decided to go to the heavily advertised Mike's Bike Tour of Munich. I took the U-Bahn to the Marienplatz -- the central Munich square. I saw Frauenkirche and Neues Rathaus with the great Glockenspiel there and was impressed. I found the biking group there.

The tour guide was British who really knew a lot about Munich and had a good sense of humor. The guide showed us Residenzplatz, Schwabing, sights around Marienplatz, and the Englisher Garten. There, we had lunch in the Chinese Pagoda. Of course, the lunch included beer -- lots of it. After lunch, the guide took us to swim. There are lots of nude sunbathers and swimmers in that park. Some of our group got naked too; some didn't. I did, because I thought it was fun.

I met some Americans and Canadians during the tour; after the tour, we went to Hofbrauhaus and had some beer. Beer was served in 1-liter glasses there -- this is really a lot! We took pictures when someone would grab all the cups and pretend he really drank all of them. It was fun. I had already had some beer to begin with, so by the moment I drank my huge glass of beer, I was a bit drunk. So when we left the beer hall and I had to find my way home, it was not so easy. It was my first evening in Germany. I was going along Maximilianstrasse trying to get to Wendl-Dietrich Strasse where my hostel was. Even though I was a bit drunk, I found my way there. After sitting outside for a while meeting people, I went to bed. I got a very nice room with only one roommate. In general, the hostel left a good impression on me.

Today was the second day I spent in Munich, and it was very long and busy.

After breakfast, I went to the Deutsches Museum. It is located near the Isar river, and features various accomplishments in science and technology. I really enjoyed this museum, because I like this kind of museums. The Deutsches Museum reminded me of the Science Museum in London. I spent about three hours in the Deutsches Museum and could have spent more time, but I had to get going with other museums as well. I had lunch in the museum and then took an S-Bahn to Dachau -- the very first Nazi concentration camp.

Dachau is located in northwestern Munich suburbs. After getting out of the S-bahn, I took a bus to the camp. There is a memorial and a museum there. On the memorial, one can see the words "Never Again" in several languages, including Russian. Most of the barracks were destroyed in the 1960s, but some of them are still there, and one can see what inhumane conditions Dachau inmates had to live in. The museum houses many exhibits of what life in Dachau was like. It is also possible to see a movie in English. This concentration camp was founded on March 23, 1933 for Hitler's political opponents. Later, it was used for Jews and other "undesirables." It was liberated by American troops in 1945. More than 50 years later, it still is a somber place.

From Dachau, I went back to Munich and found Alte Pinakotheque a great art museum. Actually, the Alte Pinakotheque is closed for restoration now, but its exposition is now in Neue Pinakotheque next door. I saw pieces of art by Duerer, Van Dyck, Rubens and other great artists of Northern Renaissance. I stayed there until the museum closed.

Then, I went around Munich streets. I felt sad that I was about to leave this beautiful city. During my short stay, I really enjoyed it. In one of my favorite books (Success by Lion Feuchtwanger) all events take place in this city. I walked all over the city and came to the Englischer Garten, spent some time there, and then found a U-Bahn station and went to my hostel. It was about 9:00 P.M., but the sun still was shining.

In the hostel, I found those folks I met yesterday. We drank some beer together, and then went to the nearby bier-garten. Girls from the school group I met yesterday went with us. They are young (just sixteen years old) but in Germany, everyone can drink beer regardless of age. I was walking next to one of those girls. This girl's name is Corinna, and she is very smart even though she is young. I was surprised that German students know English so well. Also, the guys who work in the hostel went with us. They are about my age, and their names are Jan and Erik. Their work in the hostel was the substitute of their military service, as Jan explained to me. I think it is a great alternative, because it is much nicer to work in a hostel than be in a boot camp. I found out that many German men choose civil service to military service. Both Jan and Erik graduated from high school and didn't go to college yet. But as I was talking to them, I found that they are very well-educated. I know that German schools are among the world's best. In addition to Germans, some Irish and American people were with us in the bier garten. We sat there until 1:30 A.M. or so, and then went together to our hostel. This was a fun night.

Today I took a guided tour to the castles in the southern part of Bavaria. I was glad to find this tour, because those castles are difficult to access if travel by train. Of course, the tour was in English. The guide was a friendly German woman named Eva. She spoke excellent English and was very well-informed about Bavarian and German history.

The ride took a little more than an hour. The first castle we saw was Linderhof. It is very beautiful, if not very high. There is a lovely park near it. All of those castles are located next to the Alps, very close to the Austrian border. We went inside Linderhof and Eva told us lots of interesting stuff. Those castles were built in the last century by the Bavarian king Ludwig II. This king was considered a weirdo when he was on the throne, because he spent lots of money building those castles and arrested his ministers when they tried to protest. He went insane after a while and drowned in a lake. But apparently all his expenses on building those castles have been justified, because so many tourists visit them.

From Linderhof, our bus went further south, and Eva showed us a beautiful Bavarian village where there are pictures on the walls. Bavarian countryside is gorgeous to say the least, and this village was lovely. I took some pictures there. But we didn't spend much time there, because we had to go to the most important castle, named Neuschweinstein. This castle sits at the top of the mountain, and to get there, one needs to climb it for about half an hour. It looks like a fairy-tale castle. Eva told us to have lunch first and then climb there. So I had my lunch in a restaurant right there.

It was the first time I ate something in a restaurant (so far, I used cafes and fast-food outlets, not really restaurants), and there I found something I was not well prepared to. After eating the lovely pasta with mushrooms I was served, I expected the waitress to bring me the bill, but she seemed to ignore me. So I had to call her and actually ask for the bill, and she promptly returned with the bill. Later on, I found that in many places in Europe, it is considered rude for a waitress to bring the bill without being asked for it, because people typically eat longer than in the U.S.

After I was done with my lunch, I climbed the mountain to see the castle. The road was great, because it reminded a trail in the woods. Nevertheless, it was crowded, as many people went to see the castle.

Once in the castle, I joined the English group. The guide explained to us everything related to Mad Ludwig II and his castles. The Neuschweinstein castle looks like one in the Disneyworld. It is beautiful inside as well as outside.

The style is neo-Gothic, and the interior is lavish. One can see knights in armors, dragons, and other things inside the castle. After touring it, I spent some time walking around it and taking pictures. The view from the mountain is splendid; one can see the Bavarian countryside from there. The best views are from the Mary's Bridge further up the hill.

After descending from the mountain, I saw the third castle there -- the Hohenschwangau castle. It is not as fancy as Neuschweinstein, but looks great too.

At 6:30 P.M., the tour was over and we came back to Munich. I spent some time wandering around the city, especially around Marienplatz where most attractions are. I spent the rest of the evening in my hostel, drinking beer with two nice Canadian girls I met there. The German school group was apparently elsewhere, since I didn't see any of them today.

June 15, 1996

I got up at 7:45 A.M. This time, I didn't have a good night sleep, because I was moved to a different room, where twenty or so other people slept and a couple of them snored very loudly. I had breakfast and said goodbye to everyone I met. This was perhaps the best hostel I stayed in so far.

I went to the Hauptbanhof and tried to find a bus. I wanted to go to Frankfurt via Romantischestrasse (Romantic Road.) I had reserved a guided tour and now had to find the tour bus. It was not easy, so I asked a woman where it was. This woman was so kind that she asked her friend to wait and actually walked me to my bus! While walking with me, she told me how much she liked Eastern Europeans and Russians and told me I must feel very uncomfortable in the United States. German people can be really sweet.

The Romantischestrasse tour was going from Munich to Frankfurt and was in English. Erika, the guide, seemed to be very well-informed and spoke English fluently. The Romantic Road was not the fastest way to get to Frankfurt, but definitely the most interesting.

While touring Romantischestrasse, we stopped in Augsburg (where I took a picture near the fountain) and Noerdlinger (with its famous tower), then passed Donauworth, where I could see the Danube (not very well, though) and then had a long stop in Dinkensbuhl. There, we spent two hours. I had my lunch there and then went exploring this lovely town. It looks like in the Grimm Brothers fairy tales. What is surprising is that during World War II, it was unharmed, unlike other German cities. The city has a World War II memorial, though. I took quite a few pictures there. Then, our bus went to Rothenburg. On our way there, I met two girls from my group. Those girls were missionaries from California and talked to me about Christianity.

In Rothenburg, we had our longest stop. This town is unusual. Like Dinkensbuhl, it still has the medieval city walls, but there are no cars there at all (cars are parked outside the city.) Most people get around the town on foot, but I also saw horse carriages there. This town was a little damaged during the war, but everything has been restored, and Rothenburg does feel a medieval city now. I toured the whole town and visited the Medieval Crime and Punishment Museum -- a very interesting place, where one can see the torture instruments used in medieval times. Quite scary.

From Rothenburg, our bus went further north and came to Wurzburg. There, the girls left, and I proceeded further down the road to Frankfurt.

I had no intentions to stay in Frankfurt; the only part of it where I spent some time was the train station, where I reserved a couchette for my trip to Paris. Erika had given me directions to stay in Mainz, so I called a hostel there and reserved a room. From Frankfurt, I took S-Bahn and went to Mainz.

On the train, I met an old German man, named Brett Schneider. He was impressed that I was travelling around Europe, and we chatted a bit. He told me he had been born in Prague but after the war, he had had to move to Germany, where he was living in Mainz. After learning that I was going to the hostel in Mainz, he suggested giving me a ride there. It was so kind of him. We exited at one of the Mainz train station, where his son-in-law was waiting for him and his family. I temporarily sat in the trunk. In five minutes, we were near his house, where his family exited the car and I could sit next to him. Brett actually drove me to my hostel, and I was immensely grateful to him.

The hostel was located in the park in a Mainz suburb named Weisenau not in the center of Mainz. There would be no way for me to find this place myself. I was impressed by the pleasantness of this hostel. It is not crowded at all, due to its remote location. One can see Rhine from the hostel. Most people in the hostel were Germans and other Europeans, but there were also some Japanese and Taiwanese and some Americans. I talked to the Germans first (one high-school German girl even gave me a nice French kiss!) and then went to the table where Americans and the Irish were sitting and talked to them. They were very nice, and we had a drink together.

Early in the morning, I went to the port. It is located in the center of the town, so I had to walk there for about twenty minutes. I was walking through the park, and the scenery was gorgeous. It was a beautiful summer day.

After arriving to the city of Mainz, I asked how to get to the port, and then followed the directions I got. There, I boarded the ship that was following the Cologne -- Dusseldorf line. I wanted to cruise the Rhine and get to Bacharach. I sat at the upper deck. There were many people there, most of them senior citizens.

The cruise was very pleasant, as we were passing hills with castles. There are lots of castles along the Rhine. One of the castles (called Pfalz) is right in the middle of the river and is very small. We also passed the famous Loreley area.

After arriving to Bacharach at noon, I ate a light lunch in a local restaurant. That is where I had to utilize my limited German skills, because no one of the restaurant staff could speak English. It was also hard to order food, because the menu was in German. I ordered something at random. It turned out to be quite good, since it was pork, and I really like pork.

Then, I climbed the mountain. The view is splendid. There are hills on both sides of the Rhine. Climbing was excited. I made it to the 12^th century castle and looked down. Very, very exciting. There is a hostel in this castle, too, but I didn't stay there since all my stuff was in Mainz. After taking some pictures, I climbed further up and made it to the top of the mountain. There is a plateau there, and the view from there is even better. There were some elderly Germans there. They saw me and asked where I was from. After learning that I was a foreign tourist, they became exciting and took my picture.

I spent some time there, and then took a walk in the forest and descended to the town of Bacharach. Then, I walked around the town. It is so beautiful there. On the hills, there are vineyards. The land where Bacharach is located is called Rheinland-Pfalz. Wine is produced there. I also visited the town's Protestant church.

At 4:00 P.M., I cruised the Rhine back to Mainz. On the ship, I met two beautiful German girls and talked to them. I spent the evening in the center of Mainz. I saw the Martinsdom and the Stephanskirche. On my way there, I met three teenage Italian girls who lived in Mainz. They were playing ball so they wanted me to play with them. They were very friendly, even though they didn't speak English so we had to speak on some mixture of English, German, Spanish, and Italian. We understood each other well, though.

In the late evening, I wanted to get to my hostel. It was not easy, because I had no clue how to get to Weisenau. After asking several people, I found the Volkspark, and finding the hostel there was not difficult.

It was dark when I finally made it to the hostel. I found Padraig (the Irish guy I met yesterday) and his Irish friends, and we had a drink together. A Canadian girl joined us, too. It was a great summer night. We sat outside until midnight.

Today was the last day I spent in Germany. I gathered my belongings, checked out of the hostel, and went to the port. Today it was not so easy since I had my luggage with me. Nevertheless, I made it to the ship on time. This time, I went a little bit further down to St. Goar. There is the famous Rheinfels castle there that I wanted to see.

Upon arriving to St. Goar, I found a train station and figured out how to get from there to Koblenz. Then, I tried to find out where I can keep my luggage. One of the train station employees told me to just leave my backpack in his office and pick it up when I want to. So that is how this problem was solved.

I had to climb a hill to get to the Rheinfels castle. It used to be the mightiest of the Rhine castles, but the French destroyed it, so now it is just a ruin. There are a classic dungeon with a ceiling-only access and an exciting museum displaying the castle's history. In addition, I bought a flashlight and explored Rheinfels's tunnels. It would be impossible to go there without a flashlight. The tunnels are scary yet intriguing.

I visited a caf? and then picked up my backpack at the train station. Then, I waited for a milk-run train to Koblenz. It took a while, since one of the trains was canceled. While waiting, I met two German repatriants from Russia and talked to them.

I arrived to Koblenz in the late afternoon. First thing I wanted to see was the famous Deutsches Eck (the German Corner.) That is where Mosel joins Rhine. There is a park there, with a monument to the Kaiser Wilhelm I. A very beautiful place. It is said that this peninsula saw the birth of the German nation when the Teutonic Order of Knights settled there in 1216 (if believe my guidebook.) There are German flags all over the peninsula. I climbed to the Kaiser Wilhelm II monument and took some pictures from there.

I spent some time wandering around the city. Much of Koblenz was destroyed during the World War II, but some sights have been restored. I saw the beautiful Florinskirche and the Liebfrauenkirche. Across the river, I saw the Festung Ehrenbreitstein fortress.

I ate my dinner in Koblenz and then took a milk-run train to Frankfurt, where I transferred to another train that was supposed to bring me to Paris. I found my car and compartment. My compartment-mates were a young German married couple, two elderly Germans, and two Indians whom I mistook for Gypsies. I talked a little bit with the German married couple and then went to bed.

I arrived to Paris at 7:00 A.M. My hostel had been reserved, so I took metro there and found the place. Paris was the last destination in my trip, and I planned to spend there four days.

My hostel (its name is D'Artagnan) looked OK, but its big drawback was that is was located far from the center, in the eastern outskirts of Paris. I checked in and ate my continental breakfast. Then, I took metro to the center (to Palais Royal). There, I signed up for a city tour. While waiting for the tour, I saw the monument to Joan D'Ark.

The tour took two hours and was very useful, as I could see all major Paris sights, including the Opera, the Eiffer Tower, the Champs-Elysees, the Louvre, Les Invalides, the Notre Dame, and the Montparnasse. After the tour, I went to the Tuileries Gardens and ate lunch in a caf? there. Then, I walked to the D'Orsay museum. Its building used to be a train station, but now it houses a great museum of the 19^th century art, mostly impressionism. There are paintings by Monet, Cezanne, Renoir and other impressionists. I spent a couple of hours in the museum and really enjoyed it.

From there, I walked to the Eiffel Tower. I had to wait in line to climb there. The price depends on how high you climb, and the city pass that covers other sights (I bought it in the metro) doesn't cover the Eiffel Tower. I paid the maximal price and climbed the highest. There is a splendid view from the top of the tower. Paris seems to look like a gray city when you look at it from the Eiffel Tower's height.

I descended from the Eiffel Tower and took a walk around the city. I saw the Mars Champs (right where the Eiffel Tower is located) and went to the Hotel des Invalides. There, I saw the Army Museum and the Napoleon's Tomb. I learned that Napoleon's body arrived to Paris in 1840, 19 years after Napoleon died. Now, his final resting place is in the center of Paris, in the Hotel des Invalides.

I walked to the Latin Quarter and saw Sorbonne. On my way there, I passed the Luxembourg Gardens and the Pantheon. My walk around the city was long because I finished it at the Bastille Square (there is no prison there -- just the place.) It is interesting that here in Paris I miss some of the German niceties -- for example, cleanliness of the streets and bathrooms. Most Parisians don't speak (or don't want to speak) any English, so communication requires some skill. But I like the city, from what I saw.

I took the metro to my hostel and spent the rest of the evening talking to people. This hostel is more popular with Europeans (especially school groups) than Americans. I saw some school groups from France and Bulgaria and talked to some students. I also ate some food there and met some Finns while having my dinner. The hostel itself is an apartment building. My roommates turned out to be from South Africa (but they knew English well.) I got to bed around midnight.

In the morning, I met a French guy from our hostel. His name was Jose, he was from southern France, and spoke excellent English. We took the metro to the center together. In the center, we parted: he went to the Arc de Triomphe whereas I went to the Louvre.

When I arrived to the Louvre, I found it closed because the employees were on strike. But in fifteen minutes, they let everyone in. The entrance to the Louvre is through a glass pyramid. This pyramid was designed by an American of Chinese origin, and was severely criticized by many Parisians because they believed this modern architecture artifact doesn't go well with the old building of Louvre. Well, when I saw the pyramid, I found that I disagreed with this opinion. A hundred years ago many people criticized the Eiffel Tower in the similar way, but now the Eiffel Tower is the symbol of Paris.

Louvre is huge (it used to be the largest building in Paris), so I only saw one wing of it. I saw the classical Greek and Roman sculptures and some French and Italian paintings. Most importantly, I saw Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa." Lots of people were around this masterpiece. I even took a picture of it. Louvre is considered to be the greatest European museum, and one of the reasons I took a trip to Paris was to see Louvre.

After a couple of hours in Louvre, I walked around Champs-Elysee, where lots of expensive stores are. This way, I came to the Arc de Triomphe and climbed it. The view from there is good, but not as good as from the Eiffel Tower. This arch is the largest one and commemorates heroes of the past wars. It was constructed by Napoleon's orders.

From there, I took the metro to Montmartre. This Parisian neighborhood is the most crowded. There, I bought Parisian T-shirts for myself and for my brother. Then, I took the funicular to the famous Sacre-Couer church. The church is very beautiful both inside and outside, and I spent some time there. Once you exit the church, there is a beautiful view from the hill. I took some pictures there.

Then I descended from the hill and had some food in one of the Montmartre's cafes. I really liked the neighborhood, even though it was so crowded. I spent some time walking around Montmartre and then walked to the Place de la Concorde and sat down on a bench there. It was getting dark, and the Eiffel Tower was illuminated. It was a fantastic view. I came to the hostel by 11:30 P.M. and met some Italian guys and had a drink with them. Those guys could speak a little English, so we could talk. Then, a bunch of school-age French girls came. They didn't speak any English so I couldn't talk with them, but I could say they were flirting with me.

The weather in the morning was windy and cloudy, and I felt some scratching in my throat and some reduced energy, probably because for the previous two days, I had worked very hard to explore Paris. Nevertheless, I got up on time and, as usual, went to the center. The first place I wanted to see was Notre-Dame. I saw the panorama and the cathedral. One of Victor Hugo's most famous books is called "The Cathedral of Notre-Dame." (Notre Dame translates into English as "Our Lady.") This cathedral is 700 years old, and its exterior and interior are fascinating.

From Notre-Dame, I walked to the Sainte Chapelle and Palais Justice. I really enjoyed the gothic Sainte Chapelle. Like Notre-Dame, it was built in the 13^th century. The chapel has panels of stained glass with different Bible scenes, which makes the chapel particularly fascinating.

Then, I went to Conciergerie a former prison where the French queen Marie-Antoinette had been decapitated in 1793. Both before and during revolution, it saw many prisoners. Charlotte Corday and Maximilien Robespierre had been in this prison, too. The building is dark and somber.

I crossed the bridge, ate in McDonalds , and then went to the Pompidou Center. Near it, street artists were working. One of them wanted to draw my portrait. His price was steep, and I first declined. But then, I learned that he was a Russian just like me. When he found out I was a fellow Russian, he reduced his price, and then I agreed on it. For about forty minutes, he was working. In the end, he drew a very nice portrait. He was using pastel to draw it. The artist's name was Victor Krivorotenko. I paid him 200F for his work (about $40.)

The Pompidou Center features modern art. Its exterior has pipes and glass. The museum has lots of abstractionist paintings. I didn't enjoy this museum as much as I did Louvre and D'Orsay, because I don't particularly care for the modern art. Nevertheless, I spent some time there.

I was tired after so much sightseeing, so I sat on a bench and relaxed, and then walked to the Luxembourg Gardens -- the best French park. There, I met a French girl named Diane who was walking her cat. Diane was the first Parisian I met, and it was very interesting for me to talk to her.

After spending some time in the Luxembourg Gardens, I went to the tower of Montparnasse and climbed it. It is expensive to climb there, but it is worth it, because the view is splendid -- I heard it is the best views of Paris.

It was getting late, so I took the metro and went to the hostel.

Today was the last day of my trip in general and exploration of Paris in particular. In the morning, I took a train to Versailles. The ride didn't take long, because Versailles is located quite close to Paris (but not inside the city.) That is where Louis XIV (the one who had said "L Etat? Est moi!") had had his palace. That is where the capital of France had been for about a hundred years.

First, I took an audio-guided tour of the palace. It was very well-designed so I could see all the essentials. I saw the royal apartments and the Hall of Mirrors. This palace served as a model for many other palaces, including the one in St. Petersburg in Russia. While in the palace, I met three cute French girls who worked in the museum, and talked to them. They all gave me nice kisses when I was leaving. I like meeting French girls because they are so good at kissing.

I went outside, rented a bike, and biked all around the Palace Gardens. While biking, I saw the Grand Trianon Palace, the Petit Trianon, and L'Orangerie. I biked for several hours and took some pictures. In the end, I returned to the palace and had lunch in a caf?. The lunch was expensive, but I think it was worth it because I thought I deserved a nice French lunch on the last day of my trip.

In the late afternoon, I returned to the city. I still had some time so I did a cruise of the Seine, which took about an hour and was lots of fun, except that the weather was unusually cold and windy. After I was done, I went to the Eiffel Tower and took a walk around it.

It was getting late and dark, but the area still was crowded. Street musicians were playing. It was the longest day in the year, so I had to wait for a while to get dark. Then, I walked to the Bridge of Alexander III and enjoyed seeing the illuminated Eiffel Tower. I said good-bye to Paris and hoped I would visit this city again.

It was about midnight when I came back to my hostel. There weren't people around, so I gathered my belongings and went to bed.

In the early morning, I had my last Parisian breakfast and then went to the Charles de Gaulle International Airport. My trip came to the end, and I was sorry to finish it after three fascinating weeks.

I returned to Washington, D.C. on the same day, at about 3:00 P.M. by the local time. I had some hassle in the airport, because the stupid immigration officer incorrectly told me to stand in the line for non-citizens, where the customs officers are strict. They even asked me to show what I have inside my bag. I didn't like it at all. But in the end, everything went OK. I exchanged the last currency I had and by taxi got home. I was glad to be back home again.

So that was it. I did it. My first European trip was a success. Except some unavoidable minor hassles and frustrations, everything I planned went smoothly, and except my sore throat in Paris, I had no health problems during the trip. Even though I traveled alone, my journal was filled with addresses of people I met. I got seven films of pictures I took.

In general, my European trip was the most thrilling experience I had for the last three years. I was filled with impressions. I managed to see and do a lot during my trip. However, it was by no means all. One introductory trip was not enough to satisfy my travel needs, and right after coming home, I started dreaming about a new one.

A year and a half passed. Many things in my life changed. I was a professional now, not a student anymore, and I was paid for my vacations.

For a while, I didn't do any major trips, and my vacations were within the U.S. territory. But my hunger for travel was not satisfied, and as early as summer 1997, I started planning a second major trip. First, I wanted to go the State of Israel, but the complicated political situation in the Middle East made such a trip too dangerous to consider. Then, I decided to go to Europe again. The question was, what countries to see?

I decided that the next logical place for me to go was Italy. Of course, I wanted to see the big three cities there: Rome, Florence, and Venice. But, after reading Rick Steves's books, I decided that Italy has much more to offer. After considering things to add to my itinerary, I decided to spend in Italy the whopping two weeks -- more than I had spent in England, Belgium, and Germany altogether! But seeing only one country during my trip would be too boring, so I decided to add Austria. Like the previous trip, this one was to last three weeks.

Unlike the last time, I decided to use Rick Steves's country guidebooks as primary guidebooks and "Let's Go: Europe" as secondary. The reason for this change was following. The number one advantage of "Let's Go: Europe" is that it lists lots of cheap accomodations, especially hostels. However, since the book attempts to cover all countries in Europe, it doesn't cover any particular country in depth. And, its sections dedicated to sightseeing are often inadequate. In contrast, Rick Steves's books are much more practical. They help designing an itinerary by listing how much time is recommended to spend in every place and how much it takes to get to other interesting places. And its sightseeing sections are superb -- they give excellent information about sights and list those sights in a logical geographical order. Rick Steves's books list far fewer locations than "Let's Go: Europe," but only because those books only list the best. If a place is mentioned in Rick Steves's books, you can be sure this place is worth visiting.

Of course, Rick Steves's books have some flaws. Even though Rick Steves is a proponent of traveling cheap, the accomodations he lists in his books are often quite expensive. Usually, he mentions one or two hostels and then provides a long list of budget hotels, some of which are actually not "budget" at all (with their price of $100 per double room). Apparently he caters to travelers who are older and have more money than an average budget traveler. For this reason, I decided to use "Let's Go: Europe" too, but only as an accomodations reference.

Even though I had taken a trip before, I bought newest versions of all guidebooks. I heard that the worst thing a traveler can do (apart from not wearing a money belt) is bringing old guidebooks. I also bought a green Michelin's Italy guidebook. It is written in a rather dry manner and doesn't cover places to sleep and eat, but it is good as supplemental travel information.

I also invested in a good daypack. I decided not to bring my father's Soviet Army bag which I had brought to my first trip because, first, this bag attracts unwanted attention because of its unusual appearance, and second, you can't put there very much, other than a guidebook and a map. A daypack works better.

In March, 1998 I purchased Lufthansa tickets Washington, D.C. -- Rome and Vienna -- Washington, D.C. Both flights had to involve a change in Frankfurt. I did this through "Council Travel." Also, because of my itinerary I decided to not buy a Eurailpass but instead use country passes. This way, I saved around $100.

I attempted to reserve accomodations from the U.S., but found that it was not very easy, because of the high cost of international phone calls and also because some places don't want to reserve ahead. In addition, I found that because of the World Cup in Europe and the annual classical music festival in Vienna, as well as the increase of the number of American travelers due to the dollar doing so well, travel in Europe this year can be difficult. Nevertheless, I managed to reserve a hostel in Venice. That was a big plus, because I knew that finding a cheap place in Venice is very hard.

Like two years ago, I had to pass through some red-tape problems but once again they were resolved successfully. By early May 1998, I was fully prepared for my trip.

On May 26, 1998 at 4:00 P.M., I arrived to the Dulles International Airport. My second European trip started.

The flight to Rome took a little more than an hour and a half. In the plane, I was sitting next to a very nice American Jewish man. He told me he was a president of a company in California, which really impressed me. He travels a lot on business, and he told me what business travel is like. So I wasn't bored during my flight.

The plane arrived to the Fiumicino Airport at 11:30 A.M., on schedule. I exchanged my money (and filled my money belt with more than a million liras!) and then took a train to Rome. I had to wait for the train for about forty minutes. In the train, I met an Italian family (mother and daughter) where the daughter (about seventeen or eighteen years old) spoke good English. She helped me to understand some announcements.

My train arrived to the main train station in Rome (called Termini) at 1:30 P.M. Here, the difficult part started. I arrived to Rome with no hotel or hostel reservations. All my attempts to reserve a hostel from the U.S. failed. So I wanted to go to one of the local hostels hoping that they would help me find something. But, I was very lucky. I was passing the station when a young man with a badge approached me and asked me whether I needed a room. I said yes, and told him the price range I wanted. He told me he had a nice hostel for me, and told me he would walk me there.

We walked a couple of blocks, and then he opened the door of some apartment building. We went upstairs and entered one of the apartments. That was the hostel "Backpackers," not advertised in any of my guidebooks. Two staff members were there. I checked in and put my stuff in the room I was assigned. I felt so relieved. One of my biggest worries was finding a place to stay in Rome. I anticipated lots of room-hunting. But this problem was solved really easily, even though the hostel is not cheap (about $24 per night.)

It was very hot outside, so I changed into shorts. I asked one of the staff members how I can get to the Forum. He told me how. Since I was staying near the Termini station, I was very close to the main Roman attractions.

I found Via Cavour and went along it to the Forum. Italian streets have lots of cars and scooters; there are even more scooters than cars.

Soon, I was near the Forum. That was the very first attraction that I saw during my trip in general and Rome in particular. I was using the Rick Steves's book as a guide, plus I listened to what the tour groups were telling people. I saw the Basilica Aemilia, the via Sacra, the Arch Septimus Severus, the Basilica Julia, the Curia, and other features. It felt strange to walk on the rocks that were there more than two thousand years ago. I went along the whole Forum and identified all sights.

From the Forum, I climbed to the Palatine Hill. It is very pleasant there. Along the gardens, one can see the remains of imperial palaces and the emperor's private stadium and the Circus Maximus.

While walking around the Palatine Hill, I met three Brazilian girls my age. We talked in Spanish with them. We together did some more sightseeing and then walked to the Colosseum and took the metro to Termini. Here, I learned one important Italian thing: Transportation tickets are supposed to be bought in tabacco kiosks or bars, not in special booths or from the driver.

We came to Termini together, and then parted. They went to their hostel; I went to a caf? and bought pizza (very good one.) Then I walked to my hostel because I was very tired and wanted to relax.

Two girls were in my room. Since the hostel is coed, I had female roommates. My roommates were from Chicago, and their names were Susan and Sarah. They had arrived at the same time I did, and they were relaxing in our room. I chatted with them for a while and then took a nap. But it wasn't long. In about an hour, I went to the metro station again and took a ride to the Flaminio station. Then, I took a Dolce Vita stroll along Via del Corso. While walking, I bought some gelato (strawberry and lemon.) Tastes gorgeous. Nothing beats gelato.

Walking along Via del Corso, I came to the Piazza di Spagna, or the Spanish steps. I had seen this place on TV, but never in real life. Now, I was seeing and enjoying it. Lots of people were there. I walked all the way up the steps. A large school group was sitting there, and one guy was playing the guitar. I stopped to listen to him. People from the school group invited me to sit and drink with them, and I did. They turned out to be a German school group from Mainz. Since I had been in Mainz before, it was especially nice for me to meet them.

While we were sitting there, some ugly-looking Indian guy several times approached us asking us whether we wanted to buy flowers from him. No one wanted his flowers. First, he was told that politely, but he was so persistent and pushy that in the end, the whole school group said "No!" in a chorus.

At 10:30 P.M., the school group had to leave. I decided to call it a day, too, and went to my hostel. But upon arriving to my room, I found that my roommates had just woken up and wanted to go out. They invited me to go out with them, too. So we went to a bar. We passed the St. Maria Maggiore church (a very beautiful one) and found a German bar and ordered Irish beer. We sat outside for a while and talked. My roommates turned out to be very nice, and I enjoyed spending time with them. While we were sitting there, the Indian man I had seen at the Spanish steps came again with the same flowers. I told him that I had seen him earlier and I still didn't need his flowers. He finally left. My roommates and me spend some more time enjoying ourselves in the bar. We returned to the hostel at about 1:30 A.M. On our way back, we had some food. What surprises me about Italy is that here, you pay to one person but pick up your food from another one. It's for sanitary reasons: those who handle food handle no money.

Even though I arrived to Rome in the middle of the day, I still think I had a terrific first day of travel. I did some sightseeing as well as met nice people. What surprised me, though, is that it seemed that this trip was a logical continuation of my previous one, not a new one. It appeared like I finished my last trip only the day before, as if two years didn't pass. But I still felt excited about it.

I woke up at 9:30 A.M.; the girls got up at the same time I did. The day before, we had decided we would sightsee together today. One of the staff members recommended us to take a guided tour on Ancient Rome. So we three went to the corner of Via Marsala and Via Vicenza, where we were supposed to meet with our tour guide.

The tour group had about eight people, and the guide was very helpful. The whole tour was in English. We saw Santa Maria Maggiore, Peter-in-Chains, the Colosseum (outside, not inside), the Arch of Constantine and the Arch of Titus, the Forum, the Capitoline Hill, the Piazza di Venezia and the Vittorio Emmanuele monument (which really impressed me by its size!), the Pantheon, and the Fountain di Trevi. That took four hours and was very helpful. I felt I knew more about the city by the time the guide was done.

Susan, Sarah, and me had our lunch right near the Fountain di Trevi, right where our tour ended. I was impressed by the Fountain di Trevi. That is where many Italians spend their siesta. We also bought some gelato there. I love gelato.

After lunch, we went to the Spanish Steps and took the metro to the Ottaviano station. From there, we walked to Vatican the smallest sovereign state in the world.

We visited the Vatican Museum. Great art is housed there. I saw the famous Apollo Belvedere and the Hall of Muses and the Hall of Animals and the great Michelangelo's works. I was especially impressed by the Sistine Chapel. It is beautifully painted by Michelangelo.

From the museum, we saw the Papal Gardens. But common people can't go there -- they are papal territories.

We exited the museum and went around the wall to the St. Peter's Square. It is filled with people. From this square, we entered the St. Peter's Cathedral -- the number-one Catholic church in the world. It is very big and has precious works of art, for example Michelangelo's Pieta. It also has St. Peter's statue.

We spent about two hours in the museum and about half an hour in the St. Peter's Cathedral and then went back to the hostel and relaxed there. A new guy arrived to our room. He is from Minnesota and his name is Aaron. I talked to him for a while.

The girls went to the train station; I stayed in the room for a while and then went to the train station myself and found out what trains go to Orvieto and Assisi. Then I came back to the hostel. The weather worsened, it started to rain so I waited until the rain stopped. After half an hour, I went out to the Spanish Steps. There, I saw the German crowd I had met the day before. After hanging out with them on the steps, I went with them to Planet Hollywood and drank together with them. Then I left and walked to the Fountain di Trevi and bought some food there. After that, I walked to the Barberini metro station and took the metro home. After a while, my roommates came back. They were in a local bar. I wasn't around when they returned from the train station so they just went alone.

The day was long and tiring. I went to bed at about midnight, but it was hard to fall asleep because all the time, someone was coming and going so it was noisy.

This was the busiest day of my exploration of Rome. I got up at about nine and said goodbye to Susan and Sarah as they were leaving for Pisa. We exchanged addresses, and then they were gone. As for me, I went to see the Colosseum. Yesterday, I saw it outside but now I wanted to see it from inside.

The walk to the Colosseum took about fifteen minutes. Once again, I looked at this almost two-thousand-years-old building. It still stands, even though time and wars altered its appearance a bit. For example, there are holes in some of the walls; those holes appeared during the World War II during the battle between Germans and Americans.

I went inside the Colosseum and walked around, first on the bottom floor and then on the top floor. I saw the areas where the animals and gladiators lived, and the tribunes where Romans sat to watch the fight between gladiators. I was impressed that this ancient building was kept so well.

After touring the Colosseum, I bought some postcards and then went to the Forum. I got thirsty and so I bought a bottle with water and sat down on the grass to drink it. A girl was sitting next to me, and I met her. Her name is Heather, she is from the Great Britain and an exchange student in the University of Pisa -- that really impressed me. We sat on the grass together and talked. Then, I left to see the Capitoline Hill (or, as Italians say, Campidoglio.)

For some reasons, my walk to the Capitoline Hill was longer than I had anticipated, probably because I took a wrong road. But this road was so scenic that I didn't mind it. Using my map, I found this hill and entered it.

The Capitoline Hill was the religious and political center of the Ancient Rome. Now, two museums and the city government are located there. I saw both museums and was impressed by the sculptures there. I even took some pictures.

Then, I walked to the Piazza di Venezia and from there to the Spanish steps via Via del Corso. I went up the Spanish Steps and then found the Villa Borghese park.

This park is a welcome relief from the crazy Rome. It is a big public park, with lots of trees, an hyppodrome, and a lake. I spent a while walking around this park and also had my lunch there. It took me a while to locate the lake, though. I also tried to visit the museum, but the tickets had to be reserved in advance.

It was hard for me to get back to the Spanish steps, but I met a bunch of Italian girls from Sardinia (who spoke some very little English) and they helped me out. I even had a picture with one of them taken.

From the Spanish Steps, I went to Vatican because I wanted to see the St. Peter's Cathedral again. Yesterday, when I did my sightseeing with girls, we didn't spend enough time there. So I went there and enjoyed the Cathedral again.

When I left it, I spent some time on the St. Peter's Square. I took advantage of the famous Vatican post office and sent postcards to my family (Vatican stamps were on them.) I also tried to give a call home, but the Italian phone numbers are not good in Vatican.

Crowds were gathering on the St. Peter's Square. They were preparing for some religious holiday that would be tomorrow. There was singing and praying right there on the square. I watched that for a while, and then decided to go. I approached two girls on the square and in my broken Italian asked them how to get to the nearest bus stop. The girls told me; then I asked them what language they speak. It turned out that they were Russian speakers. It was nice to encounter fellow Russians in Rome. Those girls are from the Russian Embassy in Rome. We chatted for a while. Apparently they really enjoyed their lives in Rome. Even though they are young (16 and 17), they are fully allowed to drink without any problems. I think American teenagers should envy their European counterparts.

I took a bus to Trastevere and hopped off near the Santa Maria church. It's one of Rome's oldest churches (built in the 4^th century.) A small square is near it, with a fountain. I sat near it for several minutes. Then, I explored Trastevere's back streets. "Trastevere" means "trans-Tiber."

From Trastevere, I went to the Ponte Sisto and wound up on the right bank of the Tiber. I found the Palazzo Farnese and then the famous Campo de Fiori, the square where Giordano Bruno had been burned at the stake in 1600. Now, the square has Bruno's monument. It also has lots of great cafes, and I ate pizza in one of them.

Then, I crossed the Corso Vittorio Emanuele and wound up on the Piazza Navona. It is yet another great Roman piazza. It has three Baroque fountains. Street musicians play there, and the piazza is great at night. (It was quite dark when I came there.)

From the Piazza Navona, I went to the Pantheon and sat down under the Pantheon's portico. A man was sitting next to me. I stepped on the bubble gum and said "Shit!" in English. The man next to me asked me whether I was American. I told him that no, I was living in the States but I was not an American. He told me that I looked like an Italian but dressed like an American. Interesting observation.

Then, I ate some ice-cream from a gelateria and went to the Piazza Colonna and then the Trevi fountain. From the Trevi fountain, I went to the Spanish steps. That concluded my long walk around Rome. Now, I wanted to go home. However, I found out that the metro was already closed. I had to walk home, but I didn't know how to get home from the Spanish steps. Luckily, I met two Swiss girls who were going to the same place I was and knew how to get there. So we together went to the Termini station. From there, I called home. It was already very late and the next day I would have to get up very early, so I went to the hostel and went to bed.

I got up at about 7:00 A.M. and went to the Termini station. There, I had my breakfast in a caf? and then took a train to Orvieto. One of my co-workers had told me that I had to visit Orvieto if I visited Rome and Florence, so I decided to check this city out. The trip to Orvieto was to be a day trip so I left my bags in Rome.

I boarded a train to Florence that was to stop in Orvieto. (Orvieto is a small station so many trains don't stop there.) In the train, I met three Canadian and American girls who were going to Florence. During the whole ride, I talked to them.

The ride to Orvieto took about an hour and a half. At the train station, I boarded a funicular up the hill. There, I took a bus that was going to the center of the town. I exited the bus near the Duomo.

I really enjoyed the Duomo. The fa?ade is strikingly beautiful and has great mosaics and sculptures. The interior is superb, too. I spent some time inside.

Then, I signed up for an underground Orvieto tour. The tour was in English, about an hour long, and very interesting. The guide took our group to the caves. Those caves are Etruscan. The most interesting part is the 40-meter-deep Etruscan well shafts. It's very intimidating to look inside it. The guide also told us about the Orvieto's history. This town is older than Rome, and its name means "Old Town" in Latin.

The road to the caves was had a beautiful outlook from the hill. I stopped there and took a picture.

After the tour, I decided to visit another beautiful hill town nearby -- namely, Civita di Bagnoregio. This town is only described in one guidebook -- namely, Rick Steves's "Italy." But what Rick Steves wrote about it impressed me so much that I wanted to actually see it.

I had lunch in a local caf? and then bought a bus ticket in a tobacco kiosk. Before leaving, I checked out the fortress ruins. It is gorgeous there, too, because of the great view.

At 12:45, the bus went to Bagnoregio. The ride was rather long (longer than an hour) because there were many stops along the way. During the ride, a good-looking Italian girl was sitting next to me. She spoke some English, so I could meet her and her friend and chat with them. She gave me a nice kiss when we arrived to Bagnoregio.

Bagnoregio is just a small Italian town, nothing special. What interested me was Civita. From Bagnoregio, it is a half-an-hour walk. First, I walked along a regular road, but then it led me to a donkey path. There, I had to cross a bridge. A beautiful view opens when you cross this bridge. That is rural Italy. It is quiet there, too; you can hear crickets sing.

I entered the arch where the town starts. I saw a caf? right near the entrance; I was very thirsty so I entered the caf? and bought a cup of lemonade and also a gelato. I was the only customer in the caf?. Only the owners and their cat were there. When I was done, I thanked the owners and went outside. Another beautiful view is from there.

Then, I started exploring the town. It is a very small town -- probably the smallest Italian hill town. Everyone knows their neighbors. I saw the church; it is the only church in Civita, and of course it is on the central square. It was siesta when I walked past the church, so I decided to check it out later.

I proceeded further and found an olive press. The owner, an old woman named Vittoria, invited me in and gave me a short tour (in Italian) of the collection of olive presses. Then, her grandson gave me a bruschetta (garlic toast with tomato) and Umbrian wine. It was very delicious and also cheap.

Then I went further on, found a garden and its owner, named Maria. For a small donation, she gave me a tour of her garden once again in Italian. I took a picture there, too.

I exited the town and went further down the trail. It was a great trail down the hill. It led to an Etruscan tunnel, and I made it there. A stunning place, too. While going down the trail, I saw some Americans with the Rick Steves's book (if they didn't have this book, they wouldn't get there, right?) and greeted them.

Then I returned to the town and entered the church. An old woman, named Anna, sold me a guide to Civita di Bagnoregio. It was in English and very beautiful. I spent a while inside the church, too. There was a music lesson there, so I could hear beautiful music.

I spent an hour more just wandering around Civita. I really enjoyed this small town. After the noisy Rome, the quiet Civita was refreshing. At about 4:15, I headed back to Bagnoregio to catch a bus to Orvieto. While crossing the bridge, I stopped for a moment to have a final look to see the beautiful view from there.

I got it to Bagnoregio on time and sat on a bench waiting for my bus. Two teenagers were walking by, and I asked them what time the bus should come. They didn't speak English, but they explained to me in Italian. After that, they wanted to chat with me a bit; apparently they had never seen a foreign man before. Two more teenagers (their friends) came. So there were two guys and two girls, all about sixteen or seventeen years old. One of the girls kept flirting with me. Only one guy understood some English, so when I didn't understand their Italian, he would translate it for me. The bus was late, but I didn't mind it because I enjoyed talking to those Italians.

I wound up to be the only passenger in the bus, so the trip back to Orvieto was fast. After arriving there, I strolled around the town (it was crowded by locals, because it was Saturday night), made it to the Piazza Duomo again, and then took a walk to the Etruscan Tombs. Then, I took the funicular to the train station and caught the last train to Rome.

It was late when I came to Rome. I walked around the Termini and my hostel and also bought some biscuits. I felt sad to leave Rome. I really liked it there and spent enough time there, too.

Early morning, I gathered my belongings and checked out of my hostel. Then I went to the train station and found a train to Perugia that stops in Assisi.

The train seemed to be very well-equipped, and meals were served there. I was surprised about it, but it turned out that the train was in the Pendolino system (which means super-fast) and I had to pay a supplement. But the good part of it was that it only took me an hour and a half to get to Assisi, whereas the normal time to get from Rome to Assisi is 2.5 hours.

So I got out in Assisi and took a bus to the town. Here, a difficult part of my trip to Assisi started. I needed to find a hostel, which is not in the town but fifteen minutes from there. I exited at the proper bus stop and then tried to find the hostel. Unfortunately, I got wrong directions so the road I went was not the shortest. When I finally made it to the hostel, I found that it was locked out and no one was there. That was a real bummer. The door sign indicated that the hostel was to open at 3:00 P.M., that is, in 3.5 hours. I didn't want to spend 3.5 hours just sitting there in the heat, waiting for someone to show up. But walking up the hill to find something else after I already spent half an hour walking to this hostel with my heavy backpack was no picnic, either.

I opened my "Let's Go: Europe" book and learned that Assisi had another hostel. This hostel was not in the town, either, but above it. I needed to ask someone how to get there.

Slowly, I walked along the road trying to find some person who would know it. But it was siesta and no person was around. Luckily, some car was passing by. I stopped it and, in my primitive Italian, asked the driver how to get to that hostel. He told me that it was very far from where I was, and volunteered to give me a ride there. I couldn't believe his kindness. He actually drove me there and when we arrived and asked him how much he wanted for the ride, he said "Nothing." What a great person.

Once arriving to the hostel, I found the owner (who spoke a little English) and checked in. The price was very cheap (L17000, or $10). The hostel itself is in a very rural area (you can hear roosters sing) and has a campground. It wasn't crowded when I came, either; I saw my room and apparently I was the only one staying there. I changed into shorts and then went back to the reception room and asked the owner how to get to the town. She explained to me how.

I went to the town via a rural road. After a while, it joined a street and soon led to the town.

I saw the Piazza Matteoti and the Piazza Rufino. Then, I proceeded to the central square Piazza Comune. It was very crowded, because it was Sunday and also because of many tourists and pilgrims. I went to a pharmacy and weighed myself. From there, I took a ride to the number one attraction of Assisi --namely, the Basilica of St. Francis.

Half a year ago, there was an earthquake in Assisi that destroyed part of the basilica. But, the lower basilica is open. I went inside and admired the interior. The frescas by Giotto and other artists are particularly stunning. The church also has the St. Francis's tomb. The basilica was crowded because of the numerous pilgrims from Krakow.

After that, I went uphill to explore the town. It reminds Orvieto, but is even more beautiful. I explored the back streets and then wound up back on the Piazza Comune. There, I had a nice lunch in the restaurant "Taverna dei Consoli" where I was sitting on a terrace overlooking the Piazza Comune. I ordered spaghetti and wine. The meal was delicious. I drank an entire bottle of wine and felt a bit dizzy. But it was pleasant.

Then, I continued with my exploration of Assisi. I saw the Basilica of St. Clare. There was a class of the church school while I was there. This church is gothic and very beautiful. I also visited the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli.

From there, I proceeded to the Rocca Maggiore a 14^th century fortress above the town. There, I could see the castle and the place where soldiers lived. They have a small museum there. But the most interesting part is climbing the tower. It is dark and difficult to climb there, but in the end you re rewarded by a splendid view of Assisi and the Umbrian countryside.

After spending some time in the Rocca Maggiore, I went around looking for the Rocca Minore. It was hard to find, since it is not a very touristy sight and most people have no clue how to get there. Some people gave me confusing directions. But in the end, I made it there. It is not as interesting inside as Rocca Maggiore, but it has an even better view, and the place is secluded and I was the only person there. It was late evening, and it started getting dark. It was great to sit there and enjoy the view of Assisi. After Rome, it was nice to spend an evening in a small town. I am glad I chose to stay overnight instead of going to Assisi for a day trip.

I went back to the center of the town and walked around. All tourists were gone. I entered a souvenir shop and bought a T-shirt. Then, I walked back to the Basilica of St. Francis. It was a great silent night.

At 9:30 P.M., when it was completely dark, I went back to my hostel. But on the way there, I made a detour to the Rocca Minore and spent another ten minutes there.

Then, I went through the darkness trying to find my hostel. It was not easy, because it was dark and quiet and no person around. But I made it to my hostel all right and found my room. The hostel apparently had no people at all; my room was empty, and most likely so were other rooms. I took some time to rearrange my backpack, then took a shower and went to bed early.

I got up at 5:00 A.M., when the roosters were singing. But since the day before I had gone to bed early, I felt alert and fully awake when I got up. I went to the reception room. It was closed, so I put my keys on the window, as they had asked me. Then, I marched to the Piazza Manteotti. There, I boarded a bus to the train station. At 6:30 A.M., a train to Florence came.

I arrived to Florence at 8:30 A.M. I wanted to stay in Archi Rossi, Florence's most famous hostel near the train station. I thought I came early enough to try to get a room there. Following directions in the book, I found the hostel. When I asked the owner whether there were spare beds, he told me that he could tell me only after those who wanted to leave got up. So I had to wait for about an hour. During this hour, I ate breakfast in their cafeteria. I must say they have a very good cafeteria, and their Italian staff speaks good English. I had a good bacon breakfast there and then returned to the reception room. By now, it became really crowded. What surprised me is that there was no line or any other way of ordering -- just a crowd eager to get beds in this popular place. However, I was wrong. An Italian staff member knew who was the first. So that at 9:20 A.M., he announced that he only had one bed in the room for men available. Since the only people ahead of me were two friends, the bed went to me. Sometimes it is more advantageous to travel single.

The room where I was assigned was a very large dorm, with lockers. But I was not to go there before 2:00 P.M. In the meantime, I took a shower and changed into shorts and put my backpack in the storage room. Then, I went to explore Florence. But before that, I found a bus station and bought a ticket to Siena (since Monday is not a good day in Florence, I decided that a side trip to Siena would be the best way to spend the evening.)

Then, I went towards the Duomo -- the number-one attraction in Florence. I had heard a lot of it, and now I was about to see it in real life.

The Piazza Duomo is stunningly beautiful. I saw the great fa?ade of the Duomo and the Baptistery and the Giotto Tower. Then, I went inside the Duomo.

The fa?ade is neo-Gothic and is covered by the green, pink, and white Tuscan marble. The nave is third-largest in the Christendom. The dome is the very first Renaissance dome.

From the Duomo, I went to the Museo dell Opera dell Duomo. It is a great museum that has Donatello's masterpieces as well as Michelangelo's Pieta. While standing in the line, I ate cherry that I had bought from a street vendor.

I returned to the Piazza Duomo and climbed the Giotto Tower. The climbing was long and tiring but once on the top, I could see a great view of Florence, including the dome. I managed to take a picture from there. After that, I saw the Baptistery and admired Ghiberti's golden doors.

Now, I was done with the Piazza Duomo so I went to the Accademia. It was closed because it was Monday, but I just wanted to find out where it was located. From the Accademia, I went to the bus station. On my way there, I saw the San Lorenzo church.

I arrived to the bus station a little later than I anticipated, because I didn't know where my bus was supposed to stop. But in the end, I found my bus and went to Siena. The trip took about an hour and ten minutes.

Siena was the last Italian hill town I was to see during my trip. I started my exploration of this beautiful town with a visit of Il Campo -- the famous square near the Town Hall. It is like a beach, but with no water. People just sit on the red bricks there and enjoy the sun.

I climbed the City Tower; it was not easy, especially in the very end where there was a narrow ladder with nothing to hold on. But from the very top, I was rewarded with a magnificient view.

Then, I crossed Il Campo and went to the Duomo. Its fa?ade has nice statues and ornaments, but the interior is more interesting because of its art. It has Michelangelo's and Donatello's statues, as well as Nicolo Pisano's pulpits. I also visited the Baptistry and the Cathedral Museum (where Donatello's Madonna and a Child) is.

I returned to Il Campo, bought a pizza and water and ice cream and sat on the brick floor and ate and enjoyed myself. After sitting like this for a while, I went exploring Siena's back streets. I walked around for quite a while and I think I saw the whole town of Siena. It reminded me of Assisi, in a way.

At 8:10 P.M., I went back to Florence. The trip back was even faster than the trip to Siena. At 9:00 P.M., I was already in Florence. I went to the laundry room and did my laundry. It took a while, since there was a line of people wanting to do their laundry, so I sat there until midnight, talking to people. There was a Canadian guy named Mark who was waiting for his stuff to dry. While he was waiting, he and me were talking. I met some other people, too. Most people in Archi Rossi are from the U.S., Canada, Australia, and sometimes Japan. All staff members speak good English even though they are all Europeans (the men are Italian while the only girl who works there is French.)

After I was done with my laundry, I went to bed because it was very late and I was tired.

June 2, 1998

I had breakfast in my hostel and then went to the Accademia to see Michelangelo's David. One of my roommates went with me. Upon coming to the Accademia, we found a long line. Lots of people come to see David. Even though the line was long, it moved very fast; we spent about twenty minutes waiting.

Inside the museum, the first sight that we saw was most definitely David. Even though the room where it is located was very crowded, I had no trouble finding and taking a picture of this famous statue, because of its enormous stature (about 15 ). Besides David, the museum houses other masterpieces, such as Michelangelo's Prisoners and also lots of Renaissance pictures.

From the Accademia, we walked a block to the Museum of San Marco. Here, my roommate announced that he didn't want to see that museum, so he left to see Duomo instead. As for me, I went to the museum courtyard and enjoyed it. Then, I went to see the medieval frescos by Fra Angelico (an early Renaissance master. The most important part was the cell of Savonarola.

Then, I wanted to see another famous Florentine museum the Bargello museum. I had to walk to the Duomo and further south to reach it. The Bargello Museum is located behind the Palazzo Vecchio and primarily houses great Renaissance sculpture. The highlights are three Davids: by Donatello, Verrochio, and Michelangelo.

By this time, I was tired of sightseeing and wanted to have lunch. But since I was located near the Palazzo Vecchio, I decided to find Vivoli's, the most famous Italian gelateria. Finding Vivoli's was not hard at all. I ate my lunch there and then decided to try their gelato, which is considered the best gelato in the best city where you can find gelato. (Florence is famous for its gelato.) I like it that you can get a free sample of any gelato you want to order. Following my guidebook's suggestion, I asked for a sample of their rice gelato. And when I tasted it I had no choice but order a large cup of it. For about twenty minutes, I was eating the rice gelato and enjoying myself. To everyone who will read those lines and consider visiting Florence, I am saying: Don't miss Vivoli's!

I took a stroll to the Via Calzaioli. This is a pedestrian street, very crowded but also very interesting because of great window-shopping. Walking south, I got to the Piazza Signoria -- a beautiful Florentine square. There is the Ammanati Fountain, the Cellini's Perseus statue, and the Savonarola plaque.

The Uffizi gallery is located right there. But at the time I was there (about 3:00 P.M.), the line to get there was too long. So instead, I walked east and got to the Santa Croce Church. This church was built in the 14^th century in the Gothic style. That is where Michelangelo's, Rossini's, and Machiavelli's tombs are. The Pazzi Chapel is located right near it. I went there and saw great Florentine Renaissance architecture.

Then I wound up on the Piazza Signoria again. I crossed the Arno river through Ponte Vecchio. It is really beautiful there. I continued going south, passed the Pitti Palazzo, and wound up in the Boboli Gardens. I bought a ticket and entered.

The Boboli Gardens were a welcome relief for me. I was really tired of sightseeing, and I had yet to see the Uffizi Gallery. I strolled the alleys and then sat on the grass and relaxed. Three Americans were sitting next to me. They were talking about Cinque Terre. Since that destination was to be the next in my list, I asked them a question on how they planned to get there. So we talked for a while. They were to go there in two days.

It was getting late, so I walked back to the Uffizi Gallery. This time, there were about five people in the line, and the museum was to close in three hours. So I had plenty of time to enjoy Florence's finest museum without any crowds.

Uffizi Gallery is U-shaped and not big at all. I saw the paintings in the chronological order, following my guidebook. First, I saw the pre-Renaissance Florentine art (mostly by Giotto), then, Florentine Renaissance art (which was much more interesting and featured, among others, Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci), and finally, High Renaissance masterpieces (by Titian and Raphael.) While admiring those masterpieces and simultaneously reading what my guide wrote about them, I learned something new about the Renaissance art. Also, a beautiful view of the Arno river and Ponte Vecchio is from the Uffizi Gallery.

I spent about two and a half hours in the Uffizi Gallery and finished my visit by going to the museum's bar. There, I ordered capuccino and strawberry with whipped cream. There, I finished my sightseeing day.

I went back to my hostel, came to the outdoor terrace, and there met two Australian girls and then two Canadian brothers, all approximately my age. We spent the rest of the evening sitting at the Archi Rossi terrace and talking. At midnight, I went to bed, because I was very tired after such a busy day.

This was the last day I spent in Florence. After having my breakfast, I checked out of the hostel but left my bags there, so that I could pick them up in the afternoon. Then, I went several blocks east looking for a cybercafe (one of my roommates told me about it.) While walking there, I helped two good-looking German girls find a hotel they wanted. They really appreciated it.

I spent about ten minutes in the cybercafe (you are supposed to pay for every fifteen minutes you re using it.) I checked my e-mail and then sent a message to my family. After I was done with this activity, I went to see the Pitti Palazzo. Now I knew how to get there.

The Pitti Palazzo has several museums. I saw the Royal Apartments (where the Medicis lived) and the Treasure. All are very impressive. The exterior of the palace is gorgeous. The Royal Apartments are next to the Palatine Gallery, which has a great Raphael collection.

From this palace, I walked to the Boboli Gardens, which are right behind it. There, I took a walk and relaxed. Now, I was done with the Florentine sightseeing. After exiting the park, I had lunch in a caf?. Then, I wanted to see the last sight in Florence -- namely, the Piazzale Michelangelo.

A trip there involved a long hike, because this sight is located high on the hill. But it was worth it -- after making it there, I was rewarded by the best view of Florence. A great Romanesque Church of San Miniato is right near it. In general, I enjoyed the Piazzale Michelangelo, and I was sad to leave it. I didn't have much time, so I took a bus that promptly took me to the train station.

I went to my hostel and picked up my bags. I thanked the friendly French girl who worked there, and she even gave me a nice kiss.

My next point of destination was Pisa. I planned to make an afternoon short trip there.

The train ride to Pisa only took an hour. I locked my bags at the train station and then took a bus to the city center.

All major Pisan sights are located on the same square, Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles.) The name of the square kind of amused me, because that is what was the name of the square where Pinochio had to bury his coins in a famous book that I read when I was a kid.

First, I saw the Pisan cathedral. It is Romanesque and very big. It also has a baptistry, which is famous for its great acoustics (the doorman even sang there.)

The most interesting part of my trip to Pisa, though, was its most important part, -- namely, the Leaning Tower. It can be seen from everywhere on the Piazza dei Miracoli, but after I visited the Baptistry, I walked right to the tower. Yes, it is leaning (about 85 or so degrees), and no one is allowed inside (they used to allow people inside, but about fifteen or twenty years ago, it just became too dangerous.) I took several pictures of the tower and of me in front of the tower.

That pretty much concluded my trip to Pisa, and I took a bus to the train station. There, I figured out the most convenient way to get to the Cinque Terre.

The train came shortly, and the trip took about an hour. The train station where I left the train was Riomaggiore -- the first village of Cinque Terre. Now, I had to find a place to stay. Right near the exit from the station, I was greeted by two Italian women. One of them was Mamma Rosa, the owner of a well-known hostel. This hostel is reported to be sleazy and smelly, but I was ready to stay there. Mamma Rosa told me that she only had a mattress on the floor for me. I said it was fine with me. But her friend Patrizia told me that she could offer me a nice private room for the same price. At the same time, two other travelers appeared, and Patrizia promised them a room as well. So she led us to the middle of the village. We passed a tunnel and went upstairs. I lost my orientation, because I found it very difficult to get oriented in this village.

Patrizia showed other travelers their room, and then led me to the mine. She explained to me that as a single traveler, I would share my apartment with other people, which was fine with me.

The apartment that Patrizia showed me was a bit unusual. Its bathroom was one floor below, and its door had only one key. But the apartment was clean and nice. I met my roommates: Dick, Tom, Mike, and Erica (all Americans, a little bit older than me.) They were very nice, offered me some wine,and explained to me how to get to the sea shore. After spending some time with them, I went down the stairs and found the seashore.

It was late evening, and the sun was setting down. The Ligurian sea was blue and peaceful. I lay on the pebbles and closed my eyes and relaxed. I was very tired because of two trips earlier the day. But now, the hard part ended, I now had a nice place to stay and could relax on the seashore.

I was alone on the beach, and it was very quiet and peaceful. However, my solitude was soon interrupted. Three people came to the seashore. They saw me, and we met each other. Their names were Kelly, Ingrid, and Nick, and they were from Illinois. After spending several minutes on the beach, they wanted to go to the bar in the village and invited me to go with them. So, together with them, I went to the Bar Centrale in the center of Riomaggiore. The bartender's name was Ivo. He is Italian but lived in San Francisco so he speaks excellent English. After ordering vodka with lemon, I asked my new friends to watch it so that I could get home and bring some stuff. I wanted to bring my daypack with my journal so that they could sign it. The problem was to get home. I already mentioned that getting around Riomaggiore was difficult. There are no regular streets in Riomaggiore, and the village seems like a three-dimentional maze. I couldn't say what floor my apartment was located, for example. So when I walked to the area where I assumed I was staying, finding my apartment was not an easy task. Luckily, I saw a blue door. That was my apartment's bathroom door. So I went one floor up and found my apartment. Eureka. Now, after getting my daypack, I had to find the Bar Centrale. That was easier. The whole trip back and forth took about fifteen minutes. I returned to the Bar Centrale and drank with my new friends. After drinking vodka with lemon, I ordered vodka with watermelon, which was even better. We spend about two hours sitting in the bar. I mostly talked with Kelly and Ingrid, because Nick was not much of a talker. Kelly and Ingrid, however, were very interesting to talk to. When it was time to leave, they signed my journal.

Even though it was dark now, and I was drunk and tired, I found my way to my apartment without any trouble. All my roommates were already asleep.

Today was a day of my exploration of Cinque Terre. It was nice to take a short vacation from constant sightseeing.

After I got up, I went to a local grocery store to buy some stuff for a picnic. I bought a banana, an apple, some cherries, a raisin bread, and a fruit water. While buying this stuff, I met two American girls who asked me to help them with buying stuff. I did, and they were very grateful. Their names are Kelsey and Meg.

Now I had a plastic bag full of food. I was about to start my hike around the five villages. The first part of the hike was from Riomaggiore to Manarola. This took only fifteen to twenty minutes. The road (Via del Amore) was wide, and lots of people were walking around. The view from there was spectacular. On my left, there was the Ligurian Sea.

Manarola didn't particularly impress me, because it wasn't much different from Riomaggiore. Right away, I started the second part of my hike, going to Corniglia. This stretch was longer (it took me about forty minutes to get to Corniglia) but it didn't involve much going uphill and downhill. So, only an hour after I left Riomaggiore, I was in Corniglia --the middle one in the line of five villages.

Once I was in Corniglia, I wanted to find the famous Guvano nude beach. My guidebook provided detailed directions how to get there, and on the wall, there were arrows "To Guvano." But finding the tunnel leading to that beach was not easy. I even thought that the person who drew those arrows just wanted to make fun of people who are interested in a nude beach. While following those arrows, I saw three Americans trying to find the same beach. So we united our efforts and found the tunnel. There, we buzzed intercom. First, no one seemed to be there. Then, someone answered, and Rick (one of the Americans I met) asked him to open the tunnel door for us. So the door opened, and we walked into the tunnel.

The walk across the tunnel took about twenty minutes and was a bit scary. The few lights there were dimmed, and the road was a bit slippery. But we kept going, and finally there was a light in the end of the tunnel. There, an Italian man greeted us and asked us to pay L4000 to him. After that, we descended the stairs to the nude beach.

It was about 11:00 A.M., and the weather was gorgeous. There were some people on the beach; some were nude, some weren't. The Americans I met undressed, and so did I. Some people have prejudice against nudity, but not me.

It is actually more comfortable to sunbathe and swim nude, even though many people won't agree with me. I shed off my clothes and headed towards the water. For the first time in my trip, I could have a swim.

The water was blue and very clean. It was also warm I would say I didn't even expect it to be so warm in early June. Walking on the beach and on the sea bottom is hard, though, because of the rocks.

I swam several times and enjoyed myself immensely. When not swimming, I was sunbathing on the rocky beach and talking to Rick. He is older than me (I think he is in his late 20s or early 30s), but he is still a college student. He went to college later because he had been in the military. The other two Americans were his best friend and this friend's girlfriend.

It was 12:30 A.M. now, and more people came to the beach. I was shocked when I saw people bringing their young kids there. Like I said, I have nothing against nudity, but I still think that it is a weird idea to bring kids to a nude beach. Also, a group of Americans came. Most of them kept their clothes on. I talked to one of the guys and he introduced me to the whole group.

I ate my lunch I had bought in Riomaggiore and I shared my cherries with Rick. Then, I had a final swim (I swam to a large rock about 100 yards from the seashore), exchanged addresses with Rick, and was ready to go.

Now the most difficult part of my hike started. The hike between Corniglia and Vernazza is hard enough because of its hills. However, I had to face even more difficulties, because I had to get from the nude beach to the Corniglia-Vernazza trail. That meant climbing a very high hill.

So right after getting back to the reception area of the Guvano Beach, I started my way up. That is where I learned what the famous Cinque Terre hike was like. To get to the main Corniglia-Vernazza trail, I had to follow a very narrow and wild road uphill. It was very hot and by the time I finally reached the main trail, I was exhausted. So I sat on a bench and relaxed for five minutes, and then resumed the hike.

It took me about an hour more to get to Vernazza, and the hike involved lots of going up and down. But since I was constantly encountering people going the opposite direction, I sometimes asked them how far ahead Vernazza was. Finally, I made it there.

Vernazza was the most beautiful village of all villages I had seen so far. That is where I took most pictures. After arriving to the main street, I saw a local caf?. There, the girls I had met earlier in Riomaggiore (Kelsey and Meg) were sitting. They greeted me. I was glad to see them again, too. We talked for a while. When they had to leave, I gave Kelsey a nice hug and a kiss. She was very nice.

I didn't want to buy stuff because I had had my lunch an hour and a half before. Instead, I checked out the local gelateria. There, I sat outside eating delicious gelato.

Then, I went to the harbor. That is the most beautiful part of Vernazza. The village church is located right there. There is a beach in the harbor, but not as good one as the Guvano beach. It is free, though, so I had a short swim there, too.

From there, I climbed a narrow road to the local castle. The climb was short, and the castle not only was fabulous per se but also had a splendid view of the town. I took some pictures there, too.

It was about 4:30 P.M. now, and it was time for me to overcome the last stretch of the Cinque Terre hike. I had the last quick overview of Vernazza and then headed towards Monterosso al Mare.

This stretch was about as difficult as the one between Corniglia and Vernazza, because of the hill climbing that was involved. There were lots of green lizards running across the road, and once I even spotted a snake.

During my hike, I met an American guy with two Argentinian girls, and we hiked together the last part of the stretch.

At 6:20, I was in Monterosso. I wanted to check out the local beach. There is a public beach and a private one there. The private one was closed, so I used the public one. But before going there, I went to a local bar to have a drink, since I was very thirsty. In the bar, I saw three young women I had met earlier on the nude beach. They recognized me, and we drank together. Then, they left and I went swimming. While entering the beach, I saw the three Americans whom I had met in the Boboli gardens in Florence two days before. We were glad to run into each other. They told me they were staying in Monterosso in a private room. That was great, since among the five Cinque Terre villages, only Monterosso was considered a real resort.

I spent about an hour and a half in Monterosso, and then took a milk-run train back to Riomaggiore. The train ride was not very interesting because it was almost constantly through the tunnels.

Once in Riomaggiore, I went to my apartment and met my new roommates, Mike and John. They told me that they were going out to the picnic tables to Manarola and that I could go with them if I wanted. I thanked them for their invitation and told them I would come a little bit later. I wanted to do a phone call and have some food (I hadn't had dinner before.) So I went to the La Lampara caf? and ordered pizza. While the pizza was being cooked, I made the phone call I wanted but all in vain. Then, I went to the Bar Centrale and bought the wine I wanted to bring to the picnic tables. Afterwards, I returned to La Lampara. I was the only customer there, and while I was eating my pizza, all the waiters talked to me and entertained me. I like Italian people for their hospitality. Even though those waiters didn't speak English, I understood well what they meant. In the end, they even gave me a free glass of wine as a sign of their hospitality.

So now I was all set. With the wine bottle, I went to Manarola. It was dark, and I could hear the sea waves. I really felt good. While walking to Manarola, I met three American girls and talked to them on my way there.

I found the picnic tables. Lots of people, mostly Americans but also some Italians, were sitting there. It was a great outdoor party. The first person I saw there was Kelsey. She was happy to see me again, and I gave her another kiss. Too bad that we couldn't exchange addresses because she told me she didn't have a permanent one.

Then, I found my four roommates. I put my bottle on the table, and we started drinking together. It felt good. I drank about half a bottle. After talking for a while to my roommates, I also met other people. The Italians started singing. In general, it was a great way to end my Cinque Terre stay.

I left the picnic tables about a quarter after midnight. I was tired, the next day I had to get up early, and besides I wanted to walk the girls I had met back to Mamma Rosa where they stayed (they really appreciated it.) After coming home, I went to bed.

I got up very early and had a swim in the sea. I was the only person on the beach. Swimming in the sea was really refreshing; even though it only was 6:00 A.M., I felt awake and alert and fully prepared for my further travel.

Then, I took my belongings from my apartment and walked to the train station. I wanted to go to Milan, spend several hours there, and then go to the Lake Como and stay there.

The trip to Milan involved two changes, first in La Spezia and then in Genoa. While waiting for a trip to La Spezia, I met three girls from Texas and chatted with them.

Because of those two changes, the trip to Milan took about four hours or so. When I came to Milan, I checked the train schedule to plan my departure, and then left my baggage at the baggage check. Then, I went to a bar and had my brunch there.

Then, I took the metro to the Duomo. I really liked the Milanese metro. It is even better than the Roman metro. The trip to Duomo only took ten minutes.

I exited to the Piazza Duomo. It is huge and has lots of people and pigeons around. While I was walking around, an Arabic man gave me some seeds to feed the pigeons. The moment I took it, legions of pigeons landed all over me. I was even scared. But it was fun experience, too. The Arab asked me for the money for the seeds; I gave him what he wanted, then he quickly hid the bill in his sleeve and told me I didn't pay him and had to give him his money. But this trick didn't work -- I told him firmly that he got what he wanted and now I didn't owe him anything. Then I walked away, and he didn't follow me.

I entered the cathedral. It is the third-largest church in Europe, and one of the reasons I wanted to see Milan was because of this church. It has great glass-stained windows, and its Gothic exterior is fabulous. I learned that it took more than 400 years to build it.

After I was done with the cathedral and the Piazza Duomo, I took the metro a couple of stops west. First, I wanted to see the Santa Maria delle Grazie church (where Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper is). But when I arrived there and found a very long line just 45 minutes before it closed for siesta, I decided not to bother and instead walked to the Sforza castle.

This castle has a beautiful courtyard. I bought a Coke and a gelato and sat on the grass. A young Italian woman was sitting nearby, and I met her. Her name was Elisabeta, and she was a student in Milan. We talked for about fifteen minutes, then I told her I needed to get going and continue my sightseeing. She signed my book.

I proceeded to the free museum. In this museum, I saw early Lombardian art and medieval arms collections. It was very interesting.

Then, I returned to Duomo. This time, I walked to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. It is a large arcade. I entered one of the cafes there and ordered coffee. After that, with a local's help I found the famous mosaic Taurus on the floor. The local custom is to step on its balls and spin for good luck. I followed this custom.

Afterwards, I proceeded to the famous La Scala theater and museum. I didn't go to the theatre (because I didn't stay in Milan, plus the ticket would be very expensive and hard to get), but I did check out the museum. Before going there, I saw the Leonardo da Vinci's statue near it. The museum has lots of interesting information about the musicians and composers affiliated with La Scala. Also, it is possible to see the stage from the museum.

When I finished with La Scala, I walked along Via Manzoni to Montenapoleono and did some window-shopping. This area is considered the best for this activity, and Milan is the Italian fashion capital.

On this, my sightseeing activities in Milan ended; I took the metro back to the central station. By the way, the station itself is a noticeable sight; it was built under Mussolini and has a typical Fascist architecture.

I got my baggage back and took a train to Tirano; I had figured out that I had to exit the train at the Varenna station. I had reserved the La Primula hostel in advance.

The ride to Varenna took about an hour; I really enjoyed the scenery as the train was going, because we were passing the Alps and then the lake Como.

In Varenna, I found the boat station and bought a ticket. The hostel I had reserved was in Menaggio, and I needed to cross the lake to get there.

Aboard the boat, I took a picture of the beautiful scenery around me. It was about 6:00 P.M., and it was a beautiful summer evening in the Alps. In Menaggio, I found the hostel and checked in. I brought my baggage to my room and relaxed after the trip for about ten minutes. Then I went to the terrace. I found that many people staying in La Primula were older than people I met in other places.

There was a girl sitting at a table outside; when I passed by, I smiled to her and she smiled back to me, and so we met. Her name was Kelly, she was from Texas, and studied in Lancaster, England. She was traveling for the whole summer, seeing lots of places. In general, she was very interesting to talk to. Then, he roommate Stephanie came. Stephanie was from Chicago and had a long-term trip, too. So we were sitting at the table and talked. At 7:30 P.M., dinner was served.

For the first time in my trip to Italy, I had a real Italian dinner, with several courses. I even ate meat -- a thing I didn't do for about a week. It was cheap, too -- just L15000 (about $9). I was having my dinner with Kelly and Stephanie. I even took pictures of them together and then they took pictures of me with them.

After the dinner, the girls left to their room, and I walked to the docks. I liked the Lake Como more and more. I was so glad I didn't stay in Milan and instead went to the Lake Como.

I returned to my hostel. There was a guitar in the dining room, so I took this guitar and played it for about an hour. It was so much fun. For the first time in my trip, I stayed in a hostel that was a real joy to be in.

At about 10:00 P.M., I went to my room, had a shower, and washed my hair. I also met my roommates two Italians and two Americans. I was about to go to bed because I was tired and also wanted to get up early the next day. I didn't know what I would do the next day, though; I just wanted to enjoy this beautiful area I was in. But before going to bed, I went to the dining room again. There, three new Americans approximately my age were sitting. I met them. Their names were Eric, Allison, and Tanya, and they came from the Washington and Oregon states. They wanted me to have a drink with them. So we sat on the terrace and drank wine together. It was nice to chat with them. At 11:30 P.M., the hostel owner (named Ty) kicked us off the terrace because the hostel policy proscribed lights out after 11:30 P.M.

I got up at about 8:00 A.M. and had my breakfast in the hostel's dining room. Then, I sat there and wrote in my journal. I wanted to wait for Eric, Allison, and Tanya so that we have some fun together. In the meantime, I asked Ty to give me a map of the area. He gave me a biking map with a recommended trip. I thought it would be cool to take such a trip. When my new friends showed up, I told them about this trip, and they wanted to take it, too. So we rented bikes right there in the hostel, and at about 10:00 A.M. we left. While we were trying the bikes, I saw Kelly and Stephanie; they told me they were going hiking (they weren't as much into biking as me.)

We rode to the village named Agregno. The road was pleasant, even though we were bothered by the traffic. In the middle of the trip to Agregno, the chain on Allison's bike came off, so we had to stop and help her.

In Agregno, we found a funicular. The guy who worked there loaded our bikes to the funicular, and we went high into the Alps. It was exciting to go up like this. This ride lasted about five or so minutes. We wound up in a village named Pigra. There, we took some pictures and then contunued our trip.

The bike ride further down was enjoyable because of the pleasant scenery and also because of the downhill ride. My friends' bikes a little bothered them, because the bike chains kept coming off. My chain was better, but the wheels were making a strange sound; when I stopped to find out what was going wrong, I found out that the screw that was holding the frame was not fastened hard enough. I didn't have any tools so I had to fasten it manually. It was not very reliable, but at least the noise disappeared.

Following this pleasant road and occasionally stopping to take pictures, we came to Porlezza -- a village on the shore of the Lugano lake. That is where the Swiss-Italian border is. We were about eight kilometers from the actual border. In Porlezza, we parked our bikes at the docks and went to the Saturday open market.

In the market, many things were sold. I bought myself a tape with Italian music and also a leather belt -- all for very cheap prices. I also bought myself half a kilo of cherries and shared them with my friends. Eric, Allison, and Tanya bought themselves some stuff, too. We spent about an hour and a half there, and then went to a local restaurant and had a nice lunch. I had macaroni with mushrooms -- something I loved.

The ride between Porlezza and Menaggio was difficult, because it was almost entirely uphill. Sometimes, we had to stop and relax. But in the end, we made it to Menaggio and spent about an hour or so on it. The total distance we biked was 46 kilometers.

It was hot, and we wanted to go for a swim. Two more guys joined us: Matt from Canada and Nicholas from Argentina. So the six of us went along the lake trying to find a beach.

That was not easy, because there aren't any public beaches in Menaggio. We walked about two miles and didn't see any beaches (public or private) at all; all the shore had was some private houses. But in the end, we found some place where we could descend to the shore.

The makeshift beach there is rocky, just like in Cinque Terre, and walking on the bottom of the lake is impossible because of the rocks. The water was warm, though; I spent about fifteen minutes in the water and really enjoyed it.

Then, we went back to the hostel. Soon, the dinner was ready. Like the day before, I had my dinner with Kelly and Stephanie. Their roommate Alyson was with them, too. Like the day before, the food was gorgeous. (I actually got a recipe book because I showed the owner my Rick Steve's book.)

After the dinner, I played my guitar again, and then joined Eric, Tanya, and Allison. There were many people sitting at their table, and there was a vivid conversation. At about 10:00 P.M., my friends went upstairs. They all signed my book. Kelly, who was passing by, signed my book, too. I didn't want to go to bed yet, so I stayed at the table. There was Matt and also a family couple (a Hungarian man named Jolt and his American wife named Anne.) There were also two Italians from Milan. So I talked to them. We had an interesting conversation, because Anne mentioned that she was living in Hungary now. I was curious what it was like for an American to live in Hungary. Matt was an interesting person, too, because he traveled widely and had been in Morocco and other exotic places.

At 11:00 P.M., I went to the docks and enjoyed the night air of Lake Como. I felt sad that I had to leave this beautiful area and the hospitable hostel.

I returned to the hostel and sat at the same table. At 11:30 P.M., I went to my room, took a shower, and went to bed. My roommates were already asleep.

I got up at 7:00 A.M. The breakfast was not ready yet, but, since hostelers were allowed to go to the kitchen and make their breakfast themselves, that is what I did. When I finished my breakfast, I saw Eric, Tanya, and Allison; they were about to leave, too. However, unlike me, they hadn't paid the bill yet, and so they had to wait for someone from the staff to show up. I was in hurry for the boat, so I said goodbye to them and left.

The boat arrived on time, and so at 8:15 I was in Varenna. Then I saw my friends again; they managed to make it to the boat because the owner came back right after I left. We were waiting for our train to Milan and even took pictures of each other while there.

In Milan, we parted. I went to Venice and my friends proceeded to Cinque Terre.

In the Milan-Venice train I chose an empty compartment. Soon, two other passengers entered. One was a middle-aged Italian man and the other one was a very nice young woman. She was eating biscuits and offered me some, too. It was so nice of her. I was glad that I am sitting in the same compartment with so nice people. However, it was not to last. Soon, an Indian family entered. This family was so poor that I first thought they were Gypsies. The man was dressed more or less OK, but his wife had a really sloppy dress. They also had a one-year-old daughter who was very noisy. I exchanged a couple of replies with the Indian man, who was more civilized than his wife. He told me he was an engineer working in Milan, but I didn't believe him. I thought that he was as much as engineer as I was a senator. His wife was very noisy. In general, it was not pleasant to share a compartment with them, and both Italians disappeared as soon as this family entered. This Indian family was such a striking contrast to the middle-class Indians I met in the United States.

In any case, by 12:30 P.M. I was in Venice, at the Santa Lucia train station. There, I needed to figure out my departing plans. I wanted to take a night train from Venice to Salzburg. However, when I looked at the schedule, I found out that such a route didn't exist. I had to stand in line to the tourist information office to find out how to get to Salzburg. While waiting in line, I helped a Swedish young married couple to figure out how to get to the Lake Como. The tourist information office helped me out, and I learned that I needed to take a train to Innsbruck and then change to another train that was going to Salzburg. I tried to book a couchette for the night trip, but all couchettes already were booked.

Then, I took a vaporetto to the Giudecca Island where the Venetian hostel was. (I had reserved a hostel in Venice before.) It was my first ride along Venetian canals. I enjoyed it a lot, even though I was tired from a long train trip.

I exited at the Zitelli stop and found my hostel. After checking in and putting my stuff there, I took a vaporetto to San Marco. The ride there took about ten minutes.

I left the vaporetto near the Doge Palace (Palazzo Ducale) and walked to San Marco's Square. It is the largest Venetian square. It somewhat reminded me of the Milan's Piazza Duomo. It was just as crowded and full of people and pigeons. This time, I didn't feed pigeons. Instead, I looked for something to eat. It was 2:30 P.M., and last time I ate seven hours before. I went along the Merceria street and found a caf?. There, I ordered a pizza. It was expensive because I was properly served. But the pizza was good. Now I was not hungry anymore and I was ready to enjoy Venetian sights.

First, I went to the Basilica of San Marco. It is very old (founded in 830) and has great Byzantine mosaics. Upstairs, there is a nice museum from where there is a fabulous view of the San Marco's square. It also houses ancient bronze horses (made at the time when Alexander the Great ruled.) Additionally, it has splendid mosaics.

From the cathedral, I went to the belltower and rode the elevator to the top. There is a stunning view of the San Marco's Square from the top.

Now, I went to the Doge Palace. That's where the Venetian government resided back in the old days. It's built in Venetian Gothic style, but the top is more like Islamic. First, I saw the lavish quarters where the doges lived and entertained their guests. Some rooms (like the Globe Room and the Four Doors Room) are fantastic. Upstairs, I saw the Armory where the artifacts of Venetian past military might can be found. In addition, I visited the Hall of the Grand Council and the Senate room. Then, I saw the infamous Venetian prison. It is surprising that the doges had a prison in the same building where they lived. One of the corridors there is called Bridge of Sighs. This corridor separater the prison from the rest of the palace. This prison had terrible living condition for its inmates. It was dark and cramped there.

It was about 6:30 P.M. when I finished with the Doge Palace. I then went exploring Venetian back streets. They are very narrow and only one person at a time can pass. I found a laundromat and decided to bring my stuff there the next day. Then, I returned to Merceria and walked to the Rialto Bridge the most famous bridge across the Grand Canal. This bridge was built in the 16^th century. "Rialto" means "high river" in Italian.

I noticed that many people were walking along Venetian streets and yelling something. Then I learned that the Venetian team won some soccer game. Italians are crazy about soccer.

I walked back to San Marco and took a vaporetto to my hostel. Since it was serving dinner, I decided it would be best to dine there instead of expensive Venetian cafes.

The hostel dining room was very crowded; I had to wait a while to get my dinner. The dinner was OK, not as delicious as the ones I had in La Primula in Menaggio, but still edible. I was sitting next to a guy from Argentina. There were also people from Sweden and Norway whom I met.

After dinner, I decided to go back to the center of the city. Once again, I found myself near San Marco. I explored the back streets and went to Rialto again. Now I was familiar with this part of Venice. This walk took about an hour. It was 10:45 P.M. now, so I took a vaporetto back to the hostel. There, I met some people from Argentina and other South American countries, and talked to them. At about midnight, I went to bed.

In the morning, I checked out of the hostel because I was not staying there next night. I took a vaporetto to San Marco and walked to the laundromat I had found the day before. The laundromat was full-service. Even though it was expensive (I paid L40000 for my stuff), I still needed it because I hadn't had any laundry for a week. Plus, my backpack became lighter after I left my underwear in the laundromat.

I then walked to the Rialto Bridge and took a vaporetto to Santa Lucia. It was the first time I cruised the Grand Canal. It was quite a nice experience. At Santa Lucia, I left my bag. I also managed to reserve a couchette for the night train.

I hopped into a vaporetto and went to the Rialto Bridge. From there, I walked to the San Marco's Square. Once there, I bought a ticket to a city tour. I decided that it would enhance my Venetian experience.

It was about 9:30 A.M. I went to the Museo Civico Correr. This museum features the Venetian history. Some of the stuff there is very interesting (like Venetian globes, coins, flags, and similar stuff), but most is not that great, partly because of no explanations in English. It also has a great view of the San Marco's Square.

After seeing this museum, I went to Rialto. There, I enjoyed a half-an-hour-long gondola ride. It was very expensive, especially since I was alone in my gondola. But I decided that no visit to Venice is complete without a gondola ride. From the gondola, I took a fine picture of the Rialto Bridge.

Then, I walked across the Grand Canal and visited the Chiesa dei Frari. It has great Venetian art. It houses Titian's Assumption and Donatello's carving of St. John the Baptist, as well as Bellini's Madonna and the Saints. I also visited the Scuola di San Rocco that houses several Tintoretto's masterpieces.

It was pleasure to wander Venetian streets, because of no cars or scooters. All Venetian streets are pedestrian.

I then went to the Galleria dell Accademia the number one Venetian art museum. After entering, I met a Spanish family. Now I got a perfect opportunity to practice my Spanish, because no one in this family knew English. I chatted with them for about half and hour, and it was fun. The museum houses masterpieces by Bellini, Veronese, Canaletto and other Venetian Renaissance masters.

I then had my lunch in a local caf?. I shared a table with a pleasant German family and ate a sandwich.

Afterwards, I proceeded to the other bank of the Grand Canal and visited a Murano glass factory. They didn't do anything when I visited, but I saw lots of fine glass stuff. It looked gorgeous. I didn't buy anything, though, because I didn't want to carry fragile stuff in my backpack.

It was 3:30 P.M. now, and at 4:00 P.M., my guided tour was to start. I spent the rest of the time wandering along the lagoon.

The tour group had only four people besides me. Two of them were from Spain and two were from Argentina. The guide was a Venetian man of about fifty.

First, he thought that I was Italian; when I told him I was Russian, he was very much surprised. He told me that I looked Italian or Spanish, not Russian. And he was right. He spoke English with me and Spanish with everyone else.

I am glad I took this tour, because I saw some sights not listed in my guidebook. Our tour group visited the Church of St. John and St. Paul, the house where Marco Polo lived, and the Piazza St. Maria Formosa. We walked the narrow streets and the guide told us lots of interesting stuff about Venice.

When the tour ended at 6:00 P.M., I went to the laundromat and picked up my stuff. Then, I found a bar and bought a bottle of wine for my uncle. Afterwards, I went to a caf? and ate a sandwich.

I still had some time before my night train, so I walked along the Merceria to the train station. It was a nice summer evening, and the walk was very pleasant. While walking to Santa Lucia, I passed the area called Ghetto. That was the world's original ghetto -- Jews were assigned to live there in 1517. While walking, I met a group of travelers from Equador, and chatted with them.

I came to Santa Lucia too early. Because of that, I decided to do a final Grand Canal cruise to San Marco -- back and forth. When I went to San Marco, the sun still was up, but when I was going back to Santa Lucia, it was already getting dark. That was my last night in Venice and in Italy. I was sad to leave but also glad that my last night in Italy was so good.

At 9:15 I was at Santa Lucia. I picked up my baggage and found the train that was going to Munich. There, I found the compartment where my couchette was.

There were two middle-aged Chinese women in my compartment. They were already sleeping. I didn't talk to them but instead went to the conductor. The conductor was a young Greek woman. I asked her to wake me up in Innsbruck. She said fine.

After spending some time watching the scenery from the window, I returned to my compartment. I was on the top berth, where it was extremely hot. So I removed all my clothes (taking advantage that no one was on the adjacent berth) and fell asleep.

As promised, the conductor woke me up at 4:00 A.M. Since I slept for about six hours, I wasn't particularly sleepy. What was bad is that our train was late. After we crossed the Austrian border, two officers boarded our train and checked out passengers' passports. My passport was OK.

I hopped off the train in Innsbruck and ran to the ticket office to validate my Austrian pass. Luckily, the ticket office was open, and the cashier was very helpful. He validated my pass and told me my next train was leaving in ten minutes. So I ran to this train and sat in a non-smoking section.

The ride from Innsbruck to Salzburg took two hours. In Salzburg, I exchanged my currency and then exited the station, looking for the YOHO hostel. I had reserved a bed there the day before. However, finding the hostel was not easy, because "Let's Go" didn't provide complete directions and I had no map of the city. But in the end, I found it.

A Scottish staff member let me check in and told me where the lockers were. Then, I had my breakfast right there in the hostel. It was very nice, because I was quite hungry. After the breakfast, I inquired how to get to the famous "Sound of Music" tour, and was very pleased to find out that the tour bus picked people up right there at YOHO. So I bought my tour ticket and waited for about fifteen minutes for the bus to show up.

Quite a few people from my hostel and elsewhere took this tour. All people were English-speaking, mostly from the U.S. but some from Australia and England.

The tour officially started near the Mirabell Gardens. Our guide told us that it is in those gardens where Maria von Trapp and the children sang "Do-Re-Mi."

Our guide was real fun. When he was not telling stories, songs were playing from the Sound of Music movie. But mostly, he was telling us stories. The whole tour was dedicated to the places where the events in the movie happened. For example, I learned that what in the movie was Baron von Trapp's house were in reality three different houses: a palace in a park in Salzburg (we actually stopped near it to take pictures), a house in another part of Salzburg, and a house made in Hollywood. I also saw the mountain that the von Trapp family climbed to escape the Nazis. However, our guide told us that in reality, the trail on this mountain leads to Germany, not to Switzerland as it happened in the movie. The von Trapp family actually took a train to Switzerland, which was not as romantic as the escape filmed in the movie.

The sights that we saw were not only in Salzburg but also in its suburbs. For example, the famous gazebo where the song "I am sixteen, going on seventeen" was sung is located in Hellbrunn, a little south of Salzburg. We also visited the lake district, which is particularly spectacular. We even had a luge ride in the mountains while there. In the lake district, we saw the St. Michael's Church where Baron and Maria von Trapp were married. It is a fabulous church. I saw its interior, too, and even took pictures.

After seeing this church, our tour group had lunch. I ordered a schnitzel and an apple strudel (true Austrian food.) It was really enjoyable. We also stopped in some village to buy souvenirs. I bought a book titled Your Sound of Music for my Grandma.

Throughout the tour, the weather was gorgeous. I heard that the day before, it rained very bad, and was glad that I arrived to Salzburg at the right time.

The tour ended near the Mirabell Gardens. It was 1:00 P.M. I had almost the whole day of sightseeing ahead. So, first, I went exploring the beautiful Mirabell Gardens. It is located near the Mirabellschloss, where concerts are given.

Some local teenagers were hanging out in the gardens; they saw me and were very curious and we chatted. Then, I passed the gardens and wanted to go to the Old Town. I reached the Salzach river. Several punks tried to stop me and ask me for money, but I ignored them. Near the river, three local teenagers were sitting, and they invited me to join them. So I chatted with them, too.

Then, I crossed the river and wound up in the Old Town. There, I bought tickets for a Mozart concert for the next day. Then, I wound up on Residenzplatz. I saw the gorgeous Residenz and the Glockenspiel and the Salzbur Cathedral. Salzburg reminds me of Munich, but on a smaller scale (Munich is about ten times larger.) I also visited St. Peter's cemetery (in the Sound of Music movie, that's where von Trapps hid from the Nazis.) On the square, there was a small caf? so I ordered a sandwich and ate it. There was also a trampoline available to everyone who wanted to jump. I wanted to exercise, so I jumped on that trampoline.

Now I was ready for a long climb to the Hohensalzburg fortress. It is on the top of a mountain. It didn't take me long to climb there, but it was tiring. But the fortress is great. It offers lots of great views of Salzburg. I even took a tour of the interior, which was very interesting. There is a small museum of medieval crime and punishment -- not as big as the one in Rothenburg that I saw two years ago, but still intimidating.

Near the fortress, a traditionally dressed man was holding a sword and suggested me try one, too. I took it, and it was very heavy. Three American girls were passing by; they asked me to let them hold the sword, too, and I did.

One of the girls took my picture with this Austrian man, with our swords crossed. It was cool.

I descended from the fortress and went across the Salzach river and took a walk. It was a perfect evening. It was sunny and not hot. I learned where the Mozart House was, and then went back to the Staatsbridge and stood in the middle of it, watching Salzach. Then, I saw the same three American girls who had seen me with the sword about an hour before. I was glad to see them again. They were going to the Mirabell Gardens, and since I was going the same direction, we went together. Those girls were from Colorado. The one who had taken my picture was Lisa. She was the nicest among the three. Most of the time we were walking, I was talking to Lisa. We went together to the Mirabell Gardens. They are as nice in the evening as they are during the day. We passed the whole garden and saw a sports complex with a pool. I decided I needed to check out the pool the next day.

After we exited the garden, I said goodbye to the girls and exchanged kisses and addresses with Lisa. Then, they left and I spent some more time in the gardens. I met two sisters from Pennsylvania; their names were Mindy and Erin. I chatted with them for a while and then left, because I was getting hungry and wanted to go to YOHO and have some food there.

The YOHO dining room was full of people. I ordered a tuna salad and sat at one of the tables and met other people sitting there. They were playing a card game named "asshole" and they invited me to play with them. So I joined them; we were drinking and playing this game. All people sitting at my table were Americans, from different states. I was sitting next to two brothers from Westchester, New York. Their names were Jeff and Tom. Other people's names were Rick, Ruff, Keith, Kim, Liz, and Mary. We played for quite long. The dining room was noisy and crowded, the music was playing, and some people were dancing. I didn't dance, though, because we were busy playing and talking. I had my camera with me so I took several pictures. Actually, no, it were other people who took pictures with my camera of me and girls whom I met. I drank a lot of beer and was a bit drunk. I went outside to find a bathroom. In the hallway, I saw three girls who looked familiar. After I learned their names, I recognized that I had met them about five days before in Cinque Terre, while waiting for a La Spezia train. We were glad to see each other. I had a picture of me with two of them taken. Those girls names were Jennifer, Erin, and Susan.

I returned to the dining room and resumed the game. The party lasted until midnight or so, when, according to the YOHO rules, all parties had to end. Some people went to bed, some went out. I walked a couple of blocks with some guys I met, but then I learned about the 1:00 A.M. curfew in YOHO and decided that I'd better go. So I went to bed.

The first day of my exploration of Austria was gorgeous. In addition to an interesting tour and great sightseeing, I also had a great party because I stayed in such a wonderful place. YOHO reminds me of Bob's in Amsterdam, but is much, much better.

Today, I slept in, for the first time in so many days. After the English breakfast, I went to the train station and rented a bike. Salzburg is perfect for biking, and I decided to do it today. At the train station, it was quite hard to find the place where they rented bikes, because one needs to order them in the ticket office and then pick them up in a room around the corner. But then I finally figured things out and ordered my bike. After getting it, I biked to the Old Town. It was nice to explore Salzburg on the bike. It reminded me of how I explored Amsterdam two years before (it was on June 10, too, by the way.)

First, I went to the house where Mozart was born and where he created his boy-wonder musical masterpieces. It is a greatly-preserved house and has lots of Mozart artifacts, even the musical instruments Mozart played in his childhood. In the museum, I met an elderly Russian couple; the man told me that he had been born in Yugoslavia in a family of White Army immigrants, then had moved to Austria right after the World War II, and then had moved to the U.S. He had been to Russia only once, in 1994. It was very interesting to talk to him. He was the first White Army immigrant whom I have ever met.

Then, I biked to the other Mozart House, to where Mozart's family moved when he was 17. This museum has more information about Mozart than the other one. It has audioguides and a videoroom. I learned many new things about Mozart. But, no one can tell what the cause of his death was.

Afterwards, I pedalled to Hellbrunn, the park south of Salzburg that I had visited the day before with the "Sound of Music" tour. The trip to Hellbrunn took about twenty minutes. First, I had my lunch in a local caf?, since I was pretty hungry when I arrived there. Then, I took a tour of the park. It has lots of sophisticated fountains, and the tour guide turns them on at the most unexpected moments. In the end of the tour, everyone was very wet. But it was fun, because it was so hot outside that a little water was refreshing. The park itself is gorgeous and has a mechanical theater, a cave, and other wonders.

Then, I took a trip of the castle. It was built in the 17^th century and looks beautiful. The interior is not bad, either. The tour was in German but with translation into English.

When I was done with touring the castle, I biked around the park and then went east, to the Salzach river. I spent the next hour and a half biking along the river. Then, I returned to my hostel to get my swimming suit and swim in the pool in the Mirabell Gardens. In the hostel, I saw Susan (a girl whom I had met in Cinque Terre) and chatted with her for several minutes. Then, I biked to the pool.

This was the first time I visited a European recreation center, and I was a bit caught by surprise when I found out that the locker room was coed. When I entered it, I saw some women there, so I thought I was in the wrong locker room, but then I learned that they had no other locker room. There were cabins to change in, but many people ignored them and changed right near the lockers, without being a slightest bit self-conscious. That was a bit unusual for me. But I know that in Germany and Austria people are less self-conscious about their bodies than Americans. The swimming pool itself was very good, I had a great time there and didn't feel hot anymore. The showers are superb too; there is a coed shower room where you can't take off your swimming suit but there are also sex-segregated shower rooms.

When I exited the pool, the weather became worsening. It started drizzling. I came to YOHO and ordered dinner. Then, I biked to the train station because I wanted to give my bike back to the rental office before going to the concert. However, after biking for 100 yards or so, I found out that my tire was flat. So I ended up walking to the train station. I was not charged for the flat tire, though.

I walked back to YOHO and had a good Austrian dinner there. While eating, I met several people, including a married couple from New Jersey where the husband, Andre, knew Russian. So I wasn't bored while eating. But I didn't have much time, either. After the dinner, I walked to the Mirabellschloss.

The concert I saw was of a quartet playing Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms. Even though I am not a big fan of classical music, I really enjoyed this concert because I think it is great to listen to Mozart in the very city where he created his masterpieces.

It was 10:30 P.M. when I returned to YOHO. I came there in the middle of the party there. First, I played cards with some people, but then everyone started dancing, and eventually virtually everyone was dancing on the tables. I danced on the tables, too. From the partying point of view, YOHO was the best hostel I ever stayed in. Everyone was so friendly and easy to meet. I felt sad that my stay in Salzburg was about to end. I asked everyone whom I met to sign my journal. Lots of people left their addresses and some also wrote me nice messages (especially Jeff and Tom.) I stayed in the dining room until about 1:30 A.M. and then said goodbye to everyone and went to bed. This time, I found out that my roommates were mostly girls. (By the way, I didn't mention that YOHO has coed dorms.) But they were all already asleep so I didn't meet them. I was sleepy too after such a great day.

For the first time in my trip, it rained when I got up. That wasn't good at all, because I was about to go to Hallstatt, which is in a rural area. But, I decided to follow with my plans. I checked out of YOHO and walked to the train station.

Even though Hallstatt is close to Salzburg, the trip there wasn't that straightforward. I had to make a train change in a small station named Attnang-Puchheim. The total ride took about two hours and a half. At the train station, I transferred to a boat named Stephanie. The boat ride was scenic, even though it was raining.

At the docks, I asked someone how to get to the hostel I wanted to stay in. This woman was actually walking there, so we walked there together.

Despite bad weather, there was a crowd near the local church. As I found out, they were celebrating Corpus Christi.

The hostel where I arrived is called Gasthaus Muhle Naturfreunde-Herberge. I checked in and ordered breakfast. It was not easy, because the lady at the reception desk spoke no English. But, with a help of a German man who was sitting nearby, I did all the transactions I wanted. After leaving my bag in the room, I walked out and explored the town.

The town of Hallstatt is tiny, and, if not the bad weather, would be gorgeous. I found a tourist information office and inquired about the famous Hallstatt Salt Mine. I got a map and walked to the funicular that took me to the mountain.

From the place where funicular stopped, I still had to walk for about half a mile. The place where tours started was very crowded. Most people there were Austrians and Germans, some were Japanese, and only a few were Americans. As I learned, Hallstatt is a popular vacation spot for Germans and Austrians.

I had to wait for my tour for about an hour, and I couldn't go outside because the weather was so bad. Then, when my tour group was finally called, everyone put on protective clothing. The guide (a young Austrian woman) led the group to the mine entrance. To get down, we had to ride an underground train as well as slide down the banisters. The mines were about 500 meters under the ground. As I learned, the Hallstatt salt mine is the oldest in the world, and archaeologists actually talk about the Hallstatt Period (800-400 B.C.) The Celts used this mine more than 2,500 years ago. The hightlight of the tour was an underground salt lake. I took a picture of it, but it was really hard, because of the darkness. The guide explained everything in German, but for me and an American couple, she repeated it in English.

What was particularly good about this tour is that it was inside so that the rain didn't matter. But after that, I had to get outside again. I took the funicular back down and then walked to the tent nearby. They had a restaurant there. So I sat there and ordered a schnitzel and beer. The waitress was very helpful and spoke English. While I was eating, the orchestra was playing Austrian folk music, which I enjoyed a lot. The waitress explained to me that this orchestra was from a nearby village.

I sat in the restaurant for about an hour, and then went to the center of the town. I saw the Prehistory Museum, which displays the salt mine history, and the Heimat Museum that displays Austrian folk culture. Both museums were very interesting.

I felt a bit tired and dropped by my hostel. My room was big and coed. Two girls were relaxing in beds next to mine. I met them. They were Canadian, and their names were Safina and Alice.

Then I walked out and checked out Hallstatt's churches. I had already seen one of them in the morning; that was the Protestant church. Now, I went inside it. It was quite good. Then, I climbed the stairway to the Catholic church. This church was even more beautiful. It has 500-year-old altars and frescoes dedicated to the saints of mining and salt. I also checked out the cemetery. Because of the limited space, bones only were buried for 12 years; then they were exhumated and put in the special chapel, with every skull named, dated, and decorated. Now, they stopped this practice because the Catholic Church permitted cremation. But the chapel with skulls is open to the public, and is an unusual sight.

Afterwards, I walked to my hostel because I was already tired. I entered my room and sat on my bed and wrote my journal. Alice and Safina were gone, but another girl was sitting on a bed next to mine. This girl's name was Kristen. We chatted with her and found out that in YOHO I had met her close friend.

I finished writing my journal and went downstairs to have dinner. For dinner, I had salad. I was sitting at a table with a chemistry professor from Berkeley. He was a very interesting person, and I enjoyed chatting with him.

The rain ended, so I went outside and took a hike uphill. The evening actually was quite pleasant. I walked above the town and then wound up in the restaurant where I had had lunch. Once again, the orchestra was playing folk music. I sat there and enjoyed it.

When the concert finished, I went exploring the town further. I think I walked several miles and passed every street in the town. Then, I walked along the lake and ran into Safina and Alice. We sat on the bench near the lake and chatted. The sun set down, and it was getting dark. For my trip, it was the last night in the countryside. I must say I enjoyed it.

At about 10:00 P.M., I went back to my hostel. Today, I went to bed early, because the next day I had to wake up at 6:00 A.M.

I woke up at 6:00 A.M. as planned and walked to the docks. The weather was not so great. It was cloudy, with some drizzling.

The boat came on schedule and brought me to the train station; soon, a train to Attnang-Puchheim came. I went to the last destination of my trip, namely, Vienna.

The trip to Vienna was rather long. In Attnang-Puchheim, I changed trains and so had to wait for half an hour for a train to Vienna. When this train did come, it was rather crowded so I couldn't get an empty compartment. I sat in a compartment where only one passenger was, a well-dressed middle-aged woman. She turned out to be very nice, though. She spoke good English, so we could chat a little. She told me that she was a teacher in Salzburg. When I told her that I was going to Vienna and mentioned the hostel where I wanted to stop, she told me what station to get out. This was very nice of her, because, had I not met her, I would have spent an additional hour looking for the hostel.

In the middle of the trip, she got out. Soon, another lady entered my compartment. This lady was just a little older than me and was carrying a dog in her bag. As she explained to me, she was a student in a veterinarian school. This woman, named Conny, spoke English well, too. In the end, she even signed my book. So that my trip to Vienna was anything but boring.

At 11:30 A.M., I got out of my train at the Vienna-Huetteldorf station; from there, I followed the signs to the hostel I had reserved the day before. Finding the hostel was not difficult at all, because of the good road signs. At the hostel, I checked in, put my luggage, and then went to explore Vienna. The weather in Vienna was quite pleasant when I arrived. There was no rain, and it was quite warm.

As I had been told before, the trip from Huetteldorf to the center of Vienna took about twenty minutes. Huetteldorf itself is a classy residential area of Vienna so I felt a bit honored that there was where I was staying while in Vienna.

I got out near the Opera and took tram #2. I decided to follow the Ringstrasse orientation tour outlined in Rick Steves's books. So I hopped on the tram and looked for sights.

From the tram's window, I saw the Opera, the Kaertner Strasse, the Stadtpark, the Kursalon, the Danube Canal, the Natural History Museum, the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the Vienna University, the Rathaus, the Austrian Parliament, and the Academy of Fine Arts (where Hitler had tried to enter but had failed twice.)

This gave me a general feel of Vienna. After winding up near the Opera again, I went along the Kaertner Strasse near the Opera. While taking pictures there, I met a family of three Americans (a Grandma, a Mom, and a daughter) who were from Greenbelt, Maryland. Naturally, it was nice to meet people who live so close from me.

I went to the Rosenberger fast-food restaurant and bought salad there. That served as a lunch. Then, I felt ready for a heavy dose of Viennese sightseeing.

I went to the Opera and took a guided tour there. The tour was in English and I saw the entire building and got some information on how to get opera tickets. The Opera is one of the world's top opera houses. I learned that the Opera building had been closed until 1955, due to its heavy damage during the World War II.

After I was done with the tour, I walked to Hofburg. This gave me an opportunity to see the Viennese center. On my way there, I bought some fresh fruit and ate them, so I no longer felt hungry.

Then, I arrived to Hofburg and took some pictures. I was surprised by its size. Hofburg actually houses several museums. I focused on the imperial apartments, the treasury, and the new palace.

The apartments were really gorgeous and reminded me of Versailles. Besides them, the museum housed a fantastic porcelain collection. In its souvenir shop, I bought myself a Viennese sweatshirt, because it was getting cold.

From the apartments, I went to the treasury and savored its riches. I saw lots of crowns, swords, weighty robes, and other lavish things. The most interesting things were Charlemagne's riches.

Then, I crossed the Heldenplatz and entered the new palace (Neue Burg). This museum housed three great exhibitions: of musical instruments, of armory, and of classical statues. I enjoyed the musical instruments part the most.

At about 5:30 P.M., I was done with Hofburg and a bit tired. So I went to the nearby Jewish Museum and learned about the Viennese Jewish community and its history. Once large Viennese Jewish population is now scarce, but it exists and is pretty active.

From there, I walked to the Stephansplatz. There, I saw the famous St. Stephan's Cathedral. I was impressed by its Gothic exterior and peeked inside. However, since I came there pretty late, the museum upstairs as well as the tower were closed, so I decided to come there the next day.

I crossed Graben and saw the street musicians. Then, I entered a coffeehouse to try Viennese pastry. I ordered coffee and several kinds of biscuits to compare. I really enjoyed this experience. I love Viennese cafes.

Then, I decided to check out the music scene. I walked to the Kursalon and inquired about outdoor concerts. However, because the weather was getting bad (it started drizzling again), the concert was held indoors and was very expensive, so I decided not to buy a ticket from there.

With help of a friendly local, I found the tram I needed and went to the Opera. There, I found out that it was possible to buy standing-room tickets to the opera. So I paid AS20 ($1.66) and got a standing-room ticket to see the featured performance.

The opera that they were playing there was titled Fedora and featured Russian life a hundred year ago. It was in Italian, so I had to buy a synopsis in English to understand what was going on. The music was by Umberto Giordano and was gorgeous. During an intermission, I met a group of Russian tourists from Moscow and helped them a lot with my explanation of what was going on (those tourists weren't proficient in any foreign languages.) Those tourists wanted me to sit with them in the front row, but when I tried to sit with them there, the guy who checked tickets told me to go back to the standing room, because that's where my ticket was.

I came back to the hostel at about 11:30 P.M. I met two Slovenian girls and two German guys, all from school groups. After chatting with them for a while, I went to my room and met my roommates. They all were from Mexico. I chatted with them too and then went to bed. But it turned out that I did it too early. A Slovenian girl entered our room and suggested we take pictures together. So all my roommates and me went to the corridor and the pictures were taken. Then, she invited everyone to the room where they were staying (right across our room). So we ended up partying there for several hours. Nearly all Slovenian girls from their school group came there, too. Then, some people wanted to smoke so we all went downstairs. We were sitting on the stairs, some people smoked, some didn't. People from the German school group came there, too. I met several German guys and two girls. They told me they lived in the Lake Constance area.

In short, the party lasted until the middle of the night. All Slovenian girls I met signed my book. They all were real cuties. They also were excellent kissers -- each of them gave me a great kiss. I finally went to bed at about 3:00 A.M., very tired.

The weather today was awful. It rained the whole day, which didn't make me too happy, because it was the last day of my exploration of Vienna and of my whole trip.

I had my breakfast in the hostel cafeteria. While eating, I met a Swedish man who was the leader of a musical troupe of teenagers. It was interesting to talk to him, because he knew a lot about music.

After breakfast, I took the metro to the Schoenbrunn Palace, one of the most important Viennese sights. The ride took about ten minutes. The walk to the palace was not very exciting because of the heavy rain.

The Palace looks very impressive. It reminded me of Versailles (my guidebook actually said Schoenbrunn was the second palace in Europe, after Versailles.) I walked to the entrance, passing the gardens. Those gardens are gorgeous, but because of the rain, I didn't spend much time there.

After entering the Palace, I took the Imperial Tour. The palace has 1,441 rooms, but only 40 are available to the public. Those rooms are lavish and fantastically beautiful -- even more beautiful than in Hofburg. I learned a lot about Hapsburgs and their life. Lots of rooms are dedicated to the Empress Elisabeth (Franz Josef's wife, assassinated in Geneva 100 years ago.) The audioguide I had been given at the entrance helped me understand what I saw in the royal apartments.

Then, I exited the palace and took another stroll in the gardens. It was not too pleasant either, because of the nasty weather. I visited the Wagenburg -- a royal coach museum. It is small but has lots of coaches and carriages of the glorious Hapsburg days.

By now, I was done with Schoenbrunn. I took the metro to the Kunsthistorische Museum. This museum features great Hapsburg art. First, I saw the Italian Renaissance wing, with masterpieces by Raphael, Titian, Tintoretto, and other masters. I spent about an hour on that, and then went to the museum cafeteria and ordered salad and a drink. Service was slow due to an exorbitant number of visitors of the museum. It took me another hour to have my lunch. I was sharing a table with an Austrian man and his family. This man, named Otto, told me he had married a Canadian and had moved to Canada but was paying visits to his native Vienna every now and then.

After lunch, I went to the other wing and saw Northern Renaissance art. I was especially impressed by Brueghel's and Rubens's art. I especially liked Brueghel's Tower of Babel.

By now, I was very tired. I took the metro and went to the Rathaus. The ride wasn't long, but when I arrived to Rathaus, I found out it was closed on Saturdays. However, I could enjoy the exterior of this great building.

There was a tent near the Rathaus, and I approached it. It turned out they had a fair there, similar to what we have in Maryland every Labor Day. I walked along the rows. Nothing particularly interesting attracted me; however, I spotted several computers there. Naturally, I checked my e-mail.

Afterwards, I took the metro to Karlsplatz. The weather still was bad, but the Karlsplatz was very crowded. There was a Viennese holiday and people were excited and partying all over the Ringstrasse.

I pondered where to go, and then went to Stephansplatz. I wanted to examine the Cathedral in detail. So I went there and first checked out the museum upstairs. It is tiny but interesting. While there, I met four Poles my age, two guys and two girls. They spoke both English and Russian. They suggested we climb the St. Stephan's Tower together.

The climb was tedious, but it was worth it because from the 450-foot-high tower there was a splendid view. I tried to take pictures, but failed because of the rain.

Then, the Poles left, and I climbed the north tower. Its view was not so splendid, but I could see the famous bell.

After I was done with St. Stephan's, I decided to check out the Danube river. My logic was that it wasn't possible to see Vienna without seeing Danube, no matter what weather was. So I took the metro and got out at the Donauinsel station. It is located on an island on Danube. So I got out and took a stroll along the Danube. It still was raining, but I didn't care. I was walking and enjoying the beautiful blue Danube.

Then, I returned to the center. I decided to have a genuine Viennese wine garden experience. From the Schottentor metro station, I took tram #38 to Grinzing the area where the best wine gardens are located. The tram ride took 20 minutes. In Grinzing, I found a wine garden, went inside, and ordered pork and wine.

The meal was enjoyable, and the wine was fantastic. Besides, there was a musician playing folk music. Virtually all people around were Viennese. I had a real cultural experience.

After I was done with my meal, I took the tram back to Schottering. In the tram, I met two cute Mexican girls.

Then, I got to Karlsplatz. It was 7:30 P.M., and I was not sure of what I wanted to do further. The weather still was bad, it was too early to return to the hostel but too late to sightsee. I was standing near a kiosk thinking when a group of four teenagers went by and stopped near the same kiosk. We started talking. It turned out that they were Viennese and living in the same Huetteldorf where I was staying. One of them, a girl named Isabella, was the most outgoing of the four, the most self-confident, and also spoke the best English. She was also dressed very well. Even though she was about 16, she was not shy at all to talk to a man quite a bit older than her. She told me they were about to go out and suggested that I go out with them. I decided that it would be a cool experience, even though those kids were kind of young and back there in the U.S. no one would allow them into a bar. Isabella's friends' names were Gregor, Nat, and Lena, and they were about her age.

We went to the Schwedenplatz. There, we went to the local McDonald's where Isabella was waiting for some of her friends. Those friends apparently failed to show up. So we went to the Danube, which was right near where we were.

Isabella wanted to enter a boat parked at the docks, because apparently there was a party aboard it. However, as we tried to enter it, the boatman showed up and announced that the boat was private. He told us how to get to a public boat bar, though.

We walked to the boat bar the boatman had showed us. It really turned out to be public. So we went inside and drank. The bar wasn't crowded, and good music was playing. Isabella asked me to dance with her, so we danced for a while. I think European teenagers are luckier than American ones, because they can go out to bars with no restrictions, normally enjoy good public transportation, and also live in safer areas so that their parents don't worry as much when those teenagers go out.

We stayed in the bar until 11:00 P.M. Then, I announced that I had to leave because otherwise I would miss the curfew in my hostel. The whole crowd walked me to the Schwedenplatz metro station. It was nice to spend time with those guys, even though they were much younger than me. But what I cared about was getting a cultural experience, and spending some time with the locals definitely helped that.

Back at home, I went to my room first. No one was there. The Slovenian girls were gone. On the stairs, the German folks I had met the day before were hanging out. I chatted with them for a while. I mostly chatted with males, but also with a beautiful girl in their group, named Jamina, whom I had met the day before, too.

Then, a new group of people showed up. One girl, named Julia, greeted me and asked me whether it was true that I was sharing my room with Mexican guys. I said yes. She asked me to walk her to my room, which I did. However, no one was there. Julia then suggested that I visit her room, and again I agreed. She took my hand and we walked there together. I first thought that Julia was German, but she told me she was an American (from Chicago) but an exchange student at the University of Graz.

We entered Julia's room. Her colleagues were there, all aged 18 to 25. I met her friend Sam, who was my age. He suggested I rub Julia's back. Since that's what Julia wanted me to do, I spent some time massaging her back, which she liked very much. She acted very friendly towards me. While massaging her, I was talking to Sam.

Then, Julia asked me to take her to my room again. Once again, there were no sign of my roommates there. However, in the front room, they were all sitting and smoked. I introduced Julia to them, and then they met each other and talked.

Julia got tired soon and she and Sam went back upstairs, while I stayed with my Mexican roommates and chatted with them. Some German students joined us there, too.

At 2:00 A.M., I got tired and wanted to go to bed. However, on my bed I found no sheet. Apparently the staff had taken it while cleaning the room, because they didn't know that the sheet was mine. When I found that out, no one was at the front desk. My Mexican friends suggested that I called the owner, who lived right in the hostel. So I buzzed him. An elderly Austrian man appeared; he told me he spoke no English, so I did my best to explain to him the situation speaking sometimes in German, sometimes in a very slow, simple English. He understood me, though, and gave me another sheet. So I could go to bed now. The last day of my trip was over.

Even though the weather today really let me down, the day was quite good. It allowed me to sightsee, acquire a unique Viennese wine garden experience, and spend the evening with locals.

I got up at 7:00 A.M. The German students with whom I had talked the day before were already up because they were leaving, too. While having breakfast, we chatted for the last time. Then, we walked together to the train station.

I took a train to the Air Terminal; the ride was short and pleasant, without any transfers. Right after I arrived to the Air Terminal, I took a bus to the Schwechat airport.

The weather still was bad. The bus was going east. The road sights said we were very close from the Slovakian border and the Slovakian capital Bratislava. However, Schwechat was still in Austria.

Once there, I checked in my baggage. I still had more than two hours before boarding. So I went to a caf? and ordered coffee and some pastry. After I was done with that, I did some last-minute shopping, as the airport has lots of shops. I bought some postcards and then found a caf? named Anker. There, I decided to buy some pastry for my family. I bought two great raisin breads. I also bought some pastry for myself to eat before and during the flight. I was a bit worried that I won't be allowed to bring pastry to the U.S. However, an airline official told me that was not a problem.

The plane went to Frankfurt on schedule. It was a little late, but still I didn't miss the next plane. Even though the weather was not so good, there were no flight problems.

I arrived back to Washington, D.C. at 3:30 P.M. by the local time. Unlike the previous time, I didn't stand in any lines, and no one showed any interest in my belongings. I had to wait for a while for a ride home, but in the end, I managed to get home cheaply, sharing the ride with a very pleasant young computer consultant named Kerry who just arrived to Baltimore from Atlanta.

At 5:00 P.M., I was back in my Silver Spring, MD house. My second trip to Europe ended.

So, I finished my second trip to Europe, and that means that my travelogue is about to be over. But before ending this book, I would like to add some of my thoughts.

By now, I could consider myself a seasoned European traveler -- even though my trips were shorter than what some people undertook, I did two trips and managed to see eight countries. Some countries I explored more or less in detail, some more superficially, and in two I only spent several hours. Those two trips gave me lots of think about and write about. They also changed me in some way. The first trip altered the way I saw the world in general. Before it, I had never been a foreign tourist. I had been to two nations -- the Soviet Union and the United States. However, in both of those countries I was a long-term resident. But there is a big difference between being a resident and a tourist. While living in a foreign country for several months and years allows one to understand this country's culture, it also doesn't allow him/her to feel like a welcome guest. I have been living in the United States for several years, and my life here doesn't differ that much from the life of a typical middle-class native-born American. The cultural thrill that every foreigner experiences when he/she arrives to a new country is no longer there. To experience it again, I had to go abroad.

My first trip to Europe gave me a chance to see how people lived in the countries where I had never been before and where I didn't live. Because I saw several countries, I could observe, compare, and analyze the cultures I experienced. It was my introduction to European cultures.

As for my second trip, it enlightened me in the sense that I could see the sights I had learned about in elementary and middle school (I am talking about Rome and Florence) and listen to the classical music in the very places where this music had been created. This way, I felt more educated. It also allowed me to explore the most fascinating European country (Italy) in detail and enjoy the Alps and the Mediterranean. Just like after my first trip, I felt as exhilarated after my second one. I believe I saw both a little and a lot.

Of course, there are lots of destinations I haven't seen. In Western Europe, I have yet to see Spain and Switzerland; in Northern Europe, the whole Scandinavia and Baltics; in Eastern Europe, Hungary and the Czech Republic; in the Southern Europe, Greece and Sicily. And of course, I want to visit my native Moscow where I still have friends. That's a lot of places. I feel that I need not one but two, three, four, or even more trips. But life is long, and I am still young. I believe that with time, I will be able to see all destinations in Europe I want. I prefer traveling in Europe because, first, European countries are, in most cases, economically well-developed and have excellent tourist facilities, second, that's where the modern Western civilization emerged, and third, that's what my cultural background is. However, I might well plan a trip to the Middle East or other regions outside of Europe. Then, I will be able to add a new part to this already long travelogue.

The Muslims believe that travel is an important part of education. I am not a Muslim, but I agree with this belief. Travel isn't just moving around various countries, looking at sights along the way and partying at night. It is much deeper. When you travel, you study history, art history, literature, music -- lots of things. Travel makes you think and understand how little you know, and makes you closer to what is called "an educated person." It also allows you to meet people, both locals and other tourists. You have a lot to learn from those people, and those people have a lot to learn from you. This way, travel promotes mutual understanding among people. Without my two trips, I would be a different man now.

On this note, I would like to finish this book. I hope it was interesting for you and provided some useful information. Happy travels!

Boris A. Velikovich

July 9, 1998