Prague says Doberaden to YOU!

Prague is the land of exotic sweets, middle european discos, puppets, bloody history, a bizarrely beautiful language, and warm loving people to welcome an stranger to their home.
The forbidden drink that drove Van Gogh to slice his ear off....I personally didn't see the Green Fairy running around but I did see this homeless guy wearing a green dress yelling at me in Russian.....nevermind that....:)
Have you ever seen the puppet master movies? This shop as well as every other shop in the touristy areas of Prague reminded me of how scary they can be. I bought my mom a traditional Czech doll to bring home to her. We'll see if she has nightmares....they're still beautiful though.
Museum of Sex...that's all I can say. The devices on display inside....Oh MY! And I thought those dolls were scary....
Me and Remmy in front of the Palace...we're now best friends. He calls me on weekends and we exchange gift ideas for the holidays.
Me in front of my nativeland's famous painter's gallery: Alfons Mucha (pronounced Moo-ha!). My mom was thrilled that I came back with this picture of pride :)

Munchen! Germany! Beer! Haufbraus!

We arrived in Germany today and the excitement rose to an all-time high as we were welcomed into the land of delicious beers!

After a somber but historical trip...see me here sitting outside an exit to the first concentration camp built, we then ventured into the city of Munich.


Land of my people, everyone seemed to look like my relatives :)

Our Contiki group went to the Haufbraus Haus at night to enjoy some traditional german entertainment, with one of our very own welcomed to the stage to do a traditional funny hysterical dance!

The beer was the best part! Homemade with no preservatives, it was delicious! By the end of the night I felt incredibly gidy and ready to venture on once again with my lovely contiki buds to Prague...the most exotic stop on our tour in my opinion. A land of different currency and a completely different language than anything I've ever heard before.

One word: Pimps And Hos!

That's right, I said it. Today was another awesome day in Hopfgarten, Austria. Mountain biking forty five miles through the most gorgeous scenery/mountains ever. I saw Heidi. She was running around in the fields!

Then we went to a water park.....so cute. So relaxing, just a great change of pace for everyone. Food for dinner, of course, was amazing and all homemade by our Kiwi staffers :)

Then it happened.

Pimps

and

Hos


In Contiki's very own bar, we had a pimps and hos party with a fellow contiki group that was spending the night...all gorgeous Aussies. So much fun! Only pictures can describe what it was like:

I've been waiting.....

The day I've been waiting for is finally here! Austria!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I cannot express my excitment in enough words! Today we left Venice and arrived in Hopfgarten, Austria!!!!! First we stopped off a bunch of miles away from where we are staying to go White Water Rafting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

THEEEEE best experience of my life. The water was wonderful. Paramount Mountain was gorgeous. The river flowed just right. Our rafting guide was amazing. Flipping over twenty times was ridiculously awesome!

I can't tell you how much I love Austria. I'm coming back! Soon! Next week if I could! hahahha


The town of Hopfgarten is cute and quaint. Beautiful buildings, old, rusticy type feelings. Contiki's very own place in Hopfgarten is awesome. The Australian/New Zealand staff are so delightful and just chilled, I love 'em!

On a gonola!

Venice is gorgeous....NO CARS ANYWHERE!!!! Just walking and beautiful alleyways, boats, canals, souvenirs, masks, and delicious food!

Here's the day in pictures:

Florentine dreams and soccer galore!

So it's our second wonderful day in Florence, Italy and we're doing the coolest culture excursions ever! All on our own. We got a free day from the tour group to wonder on our own. This was my time to impress the friends with a few places that I know off the beaten path. We visited my favorite site in Florence, the Boboli Gardens behind the Pitti Palace. So much has changed since I was here in the Fall of 2005. The weather for one is different. But the exhibits are also completely different and, of course, amazing.

Then me and few others had the best lunch so far. At a cute little restaurant we just chatted, napped hahahahaha, and ate delicious gnocchi con pesto! Oy! So good!

Goodbye Swiss, Hello Italia!!!!!

Viva Italia!!! Boy this place is amazing. Probably my favorite country in the entire world, after the U.S., of course....hahaha.

So I absolutely had an amazing time last night in Lucerne. The traditional dinner with folklore show was amazing. I loved the swaying, the beer, the fondu, the wonderful waitresses, alpine horns, and everything else. Here are a BUNCH of pictures from my night :)

Now we're in Florence, Italia. The road was beautiful to get here....we went through mountains that were so hugh and breathtaking, the alps are amazing times ten! The nature all around and the culture centered within cities is just the perfect balance for fun and relaxation.

I've been to Florence before and thought I knew it super well. Contiki proved that I didn't know it as well as I thought I did and brought me to a million places that were just off the hook! what what! hahaha.

A few more florentine photos: