The travels of The Dirty Backpack

Deutschland...

2006-10-02T03:47:00.000-07:00

I finally arrived in Germany... about a month later then I wanted, but the last month has been amazing. I got in on Wednesday after a short detour through England and spent a few days with my dad in Stuttgart. We went to the Oktoberfest and celebrated the first day of the rest of my life that I can drink.

On Friday my dad drove me up to my oma's side of the family in Niedernhall and I will be staying with them until Wednesday. The whole weekend - I have been following my cousin Marco around and we have been having a lot of fun.

On Wednesday I will be going to Eisleben. God willing... I will be there until June next year.

Delaware almost in Germany

2006-09-26T12:11:00.000-07:00

I am in the airport terminal in Dover, DE and will be leaving for Germany today. I uploaded pictures from the Northeast Tour. They are on Facebook...

Boston/Newport

New York City

I am flying into Ramstein and then riding down to meet my dad in Stuttgart for a couple of days. This weekend I will finally settle down in Lutherstadt Eisleben, Germany until next June.

New York City

2006-09-23T20:02:00.001-07:00

I am in Boston now and just left New York City. The whole Northeast Tour has been pretty unexpected, but awesome nonetheless. Since the last update - five days in Tokyo, four days at home, six in New York and three in Boston. I have met – Germans, Russians, a Kazakhstanian, several Japanese, some Scotts, a couple of old DECA friends, and NYUers.

If the world has a center - it is New York. When standing in Times Square you feel like you are in the middle of everything… humongous Hi-Def TV’s, there are people from all corners of the world and every language is being spoken. You need a little more than a week to do everything in NYC, but I found myself ready to get out of it after a week. Everyone is go, go, go and it’s true - whenever someone is driving in Manhattan they honk about once every 17 seconds.

Day-by-Day

Thursday (9/14) - Arrived at LaGuardia, after 3 flights and 12 hours of flying and waiting. The ticket was 142 from Portland - I have plenty of time, but no money. I emailed a German speaking church, the German Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Paul in New York City and the pastor called me right back and arranged for me to stop be that evening. Not less then five minutes after I walked in a girl from Leipzig, Germany (the closes big town to where I will be in Germany) walked in to the church for the first time just to check it out. She had just traveled around Australia for a year. She came to know Christ there and will be studying theology at the university in Leipzig next month.

I went up to the upper east side of Manhattan and checked into the Continental Hostel. In the evening my Japanese roommate and I shared our travel experiences in each others countries.

Friday (9/15) - I meet an old friend, Paula whom happened to be visiting NYC the same time I was and her friend Chris at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Admission was like 8 each, but if you look closely at most any museum sign it says ‘suggested” next to the price. So, you can pay whatever you like – we paid a dollar each. It was a sweet place with everything from modern art to medieval armor.

Then, that night I went to a Bible study all in German. It was at the German Lutheran church. I understood about 25 percent of it and I became terrified of going to Germany. I have a lot of language to learn and I hope it happens quickly.

Went over to Chris’s friend Ben’s apartment and hung out on their roof with them, Paula and a bunch of NYUers. We enjoyed a gorgeous view and where right next to the Empire State building and the river.

Saturday (9/16) - I lost my phone on Thursday and a girl up in Harlem picked it up and I arranged to get it. I would have probably not gone to Harlem otherwise and I am glade that I did. It is a very historic part of town and full of culture. I got my phone and then walked to Columbia University, went to Saturday market and Tom’s Restaurant (from Seinfeld).

Went back to the hostel went for a run through Central Park and hung out with my Russian roommates for the rest of the night… five girls, who just finished working two jobs for four months in Delaware. I felt like I was at a girl’s slumber party. We ate chocolate, brownies that my mom had cooked for me before I left and drank tea.

Sunday (9/17) - I meet Maria in the morning for church. We planned to go to the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem that Dietrich Bonhoeffer visited frequently while he was in NYC, but the line was around the block. So, we went to a Salvation Army Church across the street where we where welcomed very warmly (I didn’t even know they had churches).

I explored lower Manhattan. My first stop was the Ground Zero. When I stood at the foot of where the two towers once were, I was overwhelmed with emotion. They have images posted against the gate that are painfully potent and I left with a renewed and somber reverence for the victims of 9/11.

I walked along the Hudson and the East River. I spotted the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I walked down Wall Street and Broadway. Then, I meet Maria at the Gotham Comedy Club. Free entry… thanks to my still valid military ID. It was a great show and then we walked up to Times Square.

Monday (9/18) -Went for a run through Central Park and had a pizza picnic with my Russian roommates. We then walked down to the Museum of Natural Science. Same deal as The Met… suggested $11.50 each and I gave them a dollar for all 6 of us. The museum was a lot more interesting then The Met.

I took the girls downtown and was their tour guide for all the sites I had seen yesterday and we ran into Chris and Paula. We rode the Staten Island Ferry, which is free. From it, you can get the best views of the Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty and NYC/Brooklyn skyline.

Tuesday (9/19) – I relaxed and caught up on my reading assignments and helped my roommates book the rest of their trip to DC. Then, we all went to a Met’s game. We got great tickets. Thanks to the military ID I got mine comp’t and the girls where only $9, normally $25. Got to see Chris and Paula again. We went to Times Square and hung out in the coolest McDonalds I have ever been in till three in the morning. We where staying up so they could catch their early bus to DC.

Wednesday (9/20) – I rode down to Chinatown to catch the Fu Wah bus (only $15) up to Boston. The rest is to be continued…

I am staying with my friend from Latvia now in Boston. I will post on all of Boston and Tokyo around Monday. I am also working to make this blog space a lot better... pictures will be coming.

Arrival in Japan

2006-09-05T22:52:00.000-07:00

I am in Japan now. It reminds me a lot of Germany except the people are much nicer here. The subway system in Tokyo is the best I have ever been on and they have English under the Japanese characters pretty much everywhere.

I arrived early on the 5th of September on a C-5 from Guam. It was only about a four hour flight and I got enough sleep to keep me going most of the day. I rode a free shuttle from Yokota AFB to the New Sanno Hotel in Tokyo near Roppongi. I checked into my 40 dollar almost 5 star room early and caught a bus to Shibuya.

The bus cost 200\ and took me straight to the famous Shibuya square of Tokyo. The first thing I saw was the dog statue featured on Amazing Race. I walked around and found myself disappointed to feel at home because they have a Starbucks and McDonald's at every corner.

Then, I jumped on the subway and road up to Akihabara where the big electronics shopping area is. In Hawaii I lost my mp3 player's (Creative Zen Micro) charger. Yeah... you've probably never heard of it, the Japanese have and the stores that I went to even sold it but did not have a charger... only ones for ipods. I have never hated ipods so much and wished I had one at the same time, but ipod you wait and once I get a charger I will not want you.

I rode back to my hotel in Hiro-o and relaxed for a while. They have a really nice pool, workout room and sauna. I took full advantage of that and then headed out to Roppongni. It was a very pleasant 15 minute walk to where the nightlife. I passed an embassy from about half of the countries in the world and at a flip of a switch when I hit Roppongi - the people where from everywhere too. I walked around the very affluent area of Roppongi Hills and straight through the extravagant mall. I searched for about half an hour for a good Japanese place but the pictures of the food just didn't appease me. So, I coped out and went to an English pub. I had a good plate of fish and chips for 630yen and the cheapest pint of beer for 800yen... wonder what they make their money on?

I went searching for dessert and passed a Cold Stone and the line went out around the block. No kidding... there where at least 30 Japanese people waiting. I wasn't about to wait and grabbed an apple for 100 yen at a produce stand.

I walked the 15 minutes back at about 9:00pm bought ice cream at the hotel for a buck and passed out until 8:00 the next morning. I bought cereal and yogurt at the hotel and went for a walk. All the Japanese kids have to where school uniforms and every time you see the elementary age kids you have to laugh because they have to where white, lipped, round hats. The boys are always running and the girls always walk and giggle.

I got back to the hotel and took my time working out and packing because check out there isn't till noon. I checked out and walked through the rain to the subway. I rode it across town to Asakua, the historic part of Tokyo. I walked around a few temples and gates... I have no idea what they where called or anything about them. They only thing I could recognize was the Nazi symbol which was on everything and we all know Hitler stole from the Japanese.

I was trying to find the Sakura Hostel in Asakusa. All I knew was that it was big, pink, and behind an amusement park... my Internet time ran out the hotel. After about 15 blocks and advice from a Japanese man with no teeth I found it. I checked in for 2900\ a night... kind of spendy for a hostel but worth it. The building is very large and was just built a month ago. They designed it for backpackers and they did a very good job. That is where I am typing this post. I wish I was out exploring, but it is still raining.

Tomorrow I wanted to climb Mount Fuji, but just found out the climbing season ended last week. So we will see what happens...

I plan to catch a flight back into Seattle on Saturday.

Goodbye Hawaii, Hello Guam

2006-09-01T15:09:00.000-07:00

I ended up staying in the hostel a lot longer then I planned. At 25 dollars a night it was a lot more expensive then camping. Right after my last post and a lonely walk through Waikiki I met Zane. She is from Latvia and just finished up studying a year in Boston. We met on the balcony of our hostel and hung out every day after that. We went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay and climbed Diamond Head. I hope to visit her in Boston before I go to Germany. I also have a very good excuse to check out Latvia and take advantage of Europe's cheap plane tickets.

I was surprised by the culture and diversity of Waikiki. Staying in a hostel probably helped with that, but I meet a bunch of sweet Brits (half the hostel was from England) - one was Paul who is living in Clackamas, OR, a Peruvian studying theology in Switzerland, a pair of crazy Canadians, a 33 year old surfer who knows more about life then me because he has lived longer, a Japanese masseuse, a Korean woman - all I understood from her was that she slept through work, Orin - a hilarious environmental oceanographer from South Beach and Jim Crittenden - a 55 year old actor who claimed to be very famous and has an IMDB profile

After three nights at the hostel and in Hawaii I was ready for Japan. I tried to get on three different flights, but they where all cancelled. I stayed at Hickam AFB at 27 dollars a night for two nights. Hickam is a beautiful base but far from the beach.

So, I hoped the bus for two bucks and rode it over to the windward side of the island to Bellows AFS. They have campsites right on the beach. I pitched my tent and rented a body board. I relaxed for 2 days with pretty much no interaction with people and just surfed and read the Bible. By then, I missed Waikiki and decided to go back to the hostel for one more night before I went to Tokyo. I got on a C-5 late on the second of September to Guam.

I slept the whole 9 hour flight and we arrived in Guam at about 3am on the fourth (we skipped the 3rd over the dateline) and if all goes well I will only have spent exactly 24 hours in Guam. This morning I hiked over to the golf course to watch the sunrise. It wasn't too far, but Jared, a navy helicopter pilot gave me a ride. My plan was to hike right through the jungle to the beach but I asked the greens keeper, with no teeth if there was a trail. He/she, not really sure said no and that he/she would not even hike down there because you could fall through a hidden whole and drown in the ocean... I took her advice and watched it from the 14th green.

I hitched a 5 mile ride down to a beach on Anderson AFB. Absolutely gorgeous. They had a restaurant down there and a asked a couple down there if it would open and they said it was closed for Labor Day. We got to talking and turned out that he was a retired CMSgt and pastor of a local Baptist church. They where having a potluck that afternoon with their congregation and invited me.

I went exploring along the beach and did a little snorkeling and came back for lunch. Meet a number of great air force families and partook in some great food. A married couple, Chad and Heather where nice enough to take me to their home and let me shower up. Right after I showered, we found out that one of the guys at the potluck had a tire roll right off his truck. Chad and I went to go help him... I pretty much just watched.

Then, Chad drove me pretty much around the whole island and took me to the tourist part of the island - Tumon Bay. I called the terminal and found out there was a flight to Tokyo at midnight. Chad dropped me off and that is where I am typing this post. Hopefully, I will be in Tokyo tomorrow. Thanks to Freedom Baptist - I love Guam and would like to come back.

Stuck in Seattle, Swimming in CA and Sunrise in Waikiki

2006-08-24T11:48:00.000-07:00

The tour of the Pacific has begun. On Wednesday the the 23rd of September I left Portland on an Amtrak train destined to Tacoma, WA. It was supposed to be less then a 3 hour trip, but a freight train broke and we had to wait an extra 3 hours as they put it back together. I got to Tukwila, WA at 11:00pm. I missed the direct bus to the SEATAC airport and had to connect through south Seattle. I didn't mind because I was going to stay up till 5:00am to check into my flight to Tokyo.

The flight I was trying to get on is a chartered US military flight and they open seats for military members to fly. There where 32 people competing for 5 seats and I was 18th on the list (based on when you signed up and your orders). They released 11 more seats. So, I missed getting on by two seats.

When you fly Space-A it is all about having a plan B. Mine was to hop on the city bus and catch a flight out of McChord AFB to Travis AFB, CA and try and to the Pacific from there. And it was raining in Seattle... I wanted to be somewhere sunny. The bus dropped me off right inside the gate and a MSgt picked me up and took me right to the AMC terminal (Air Mobility Command). JP saved me quite a hike. When I got there I thought I had missed the check in time for the morning flight but fortunately it was a C-5 and delayed. I was one of 7 people on the plane that seats 75 people.

I arrived at Travis AFB, CA in mid-afternoon and had a four hour wait till a flight to Hickam AFB, HI. I spent the layover swimming in the free outdoor pool right down the street from the terminal. The flight, a C-5 ended up being delayed and we didn't get into Honolulu until 2am. I meet a very charming retired AF couple from Albuquerque heading to Hawaii and talked with them for most of the time during the delay.

Once we got to Hawaii I didn't want to blow money on a room so I busted out my sleeping mat and slept in the terminal until sunrise. I went to the commissary and grabbed some food to cook at the hostel I was going to stay at on Waikiki for a few nights. The bus system on Oahu is very good. The 19 picked me right up from the terminal and took me all the way to the hostel I meet a very nice group of married women from California... something about the pack that makes it easier for people to talk to you.

The staff at the Waikiki Beachside Hostel has been great. They got me a bed 5 hours before check-in time and let me know about everything going on and to do in the area. First thing I did was throw on my board shorts and walked a block down to the ocean and jumped in. I walked down to the Hale Koa Hotel at the other side of Waikiki and walked back through all the malls.

I just cooked dinner and am ready to go meet a few people... my age.