Mission accomplished!

I feel a bit like a Pilgrim setting up a charter in New England, but, yes, we set out with a mission to go around the world and we have done just that. Well, mostly. We left the United States from the Western edge of the Atlantic Ocean and are now situated on one of Europe's farthest westward reaching Atlantic coastlines, but aren't done yet! We have been in Portugal for only a day now and we enjoy it thoroughly so far. Portugal has always been a bit of a mystery for us. At this point we are fairly well traveled and have met many other travelers from every corner of the globe, but until yesterday I didn't know a single Portuguese. It has been rationalized to us by the mere fact that the entire nation is just a touch larger than the population of New York City, but with slightly less spending power and thus traveling abilities. So, yes, Portugal is great, as was our far too quick jaunt through Spain and France. In France we were lucky enough to meet up with two of our friends from the good old days in the Australian camper can - Laurene and Olivier. It was so nice to see some beloved familiar faces despite being a bit shocked that we have been doing 6 months of continual traveling since last seeing them. After visiting them in Lyon, we had a few days to explore the Basque country on both the French and Spanish side and it was not only a beautiful region, but it seems as though the people there have a heightened awareness and appreciation of the beauty of their land and culture that seemed to make it a very nice region in which to live. The reason we are moving quite quickly through this area of the world is that tomorrow we are meeting my mother in Lisbon for two weeks of travel through Portugal and Spain (yes, George was invited too) that is sure to be a lovely time and a long anticipated reunion!
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Germany (especially Germans) are spectacular

As the radio is particularly bad on this sunny Sunday afternoon spent flying down the autobahn in the mostly trustworthy George mobile, I have time enough to reflect on the 5 weeks that we have spent in and out of Germany which today officially comes to a close as we are headed to Switzerland. Germans are great, albeit chain smokers, who have been very friendly, thoughtful, and bearers of good conversations.

After a most interesting week spent in Poland getting an education on the Soviet Bloc, we went to Berlin and did pretty much everything someone of our generation 'should' do while there - we spent time in awe of the Pergamon Altar (a masterpiece of Hellenistic Greece that the Germans replanted to Germany in order to 'protect' it), drank delicious German beer in dingy bars, discussed contemporary art and cinema, and stayed up way too late dancing. Berlin seems to be an extremely complicated city with everything from pristine commerical and the yuppies that go along with it to areas of grafittied, mostly abandoned buildings inhabited by anarchists and Turkish immigrants. The remnants of the Wall and the division it represented is ever present, but, for me, it wasn't depressing as the city is so alive with a constant stream of artists coming to the city to benefit from the city's massive arts initiative program. Most importantly while in Berlin, our dear friend Paula joined us and has already folded into our lifestyle and all signs point to her approving of said lifestyle. It occurs to me that what we do on a daily basis remains a mystery to most people and so I think Paula should write a little guest blog in a bit to give her opinion of this life of ours. After leaving Berlin we drove to Nuremburg with the intention of staying for a short while and then making the short trip to Munich to spend a day at Oktoberfest. Instead of spending too much money drinking with British and Japanese tourists in an overcrowded tent as we were told we would, we decided to stay in lovely Nuremburg and make our own Oktoberfest and I must say, we did pretty well for ourselves. We watched a soccer match while at a beer garden, ate traditional Bavarian food, learned how to pour and drink proper Bavarian beer from proper Bavarians. In other words, Germany has been very good to us. As we cross the border into Switzerland, a new phase of our European chapter begins - the mad dash to Portugal. We will spend the next ten days 5 countries with the goal of meeting up with my mother in Lisbon for a much anticipated tour through Portugal and Spain. We are often told how 'American' our plan to drive such a distance in such a short period of time is, but we are looking forward to it as we anticipate it being very beautiful drive, and besides, the possibilities for adventure are endless.
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#17 (countries, that is)

Hello from Poland. If I knew how to say/write hello in Polish I would, but let's not kid ourselves here. However, I DO know how to say "dziekuje" ( pronounced something like "gin qu yay") which means thank you, never mind that I get laughed at almost everytime I say it due to what I guess is poor pronunciation. Oh, I also know how to say "nastrovia!" which is synonymous to our "cheers!" pre shot. What else have I learned since being in Poland?
1. I cannot keep up drink for drink with 3 polish men, though I tried valiantly.
2. Pierogies (dumpling-like things filled with cheese, potatoes, or sauerkraut) are the only things that will make you feel better after trying to keep up drink for drink with 3 polish men.
3. Polish highschools are the same as highschools in the states.

I will elaborate on that last one since it didn't really flow with my previous train of thinking. We were asked by a friend who teaches English at a local Polish highschool in Kolobrzeg to come in and talk to the students about our travels and our lives in the states. Laura, who does not have the fondest high school memories, actually reported feeling nervous as we walked through the doors and throngs of youngsters copying homework, flirting, and texting. They were just like us 7 years ago. The building itself also had an eerie familiarity - walls painted a terrible shade of olive, smells of burning oil from the cafeteria and bleach from the bathrooms, and the ubiquitous flickering flourescent light fixtures that I am now convinced are put there by THE MAN to induce headaches in students worldwide. But, Laura worked through her anxiety (plus, I promised her that if any girl was mean to her, I would steal that girl's boyfriend) and we ended up having a great time with the students sharing our pictures and stories.
The students and teachers also helped to give us a history lesson about the eastern European bloc, as we talked a lot about Poland's tendency to be invaded, and eventually the success of post-Solidarity Poland.

Life in the GeorgeMobile is well. Ah, yes, we have christened the minivan in honor of the one CD we could afford at the used record place in Germany - Faith, by George Michael. A classic for sure, and it came with a nifty poster that has a place of honor in the front. We have been enjoying driving around the Polish countryside, blasting the sounds of our man George, making friends, and exploring this oh so fascinating part of the world.

For Marcus, just to let you know we are still keeping count: us 311 world 15. Yah, we are still kicking bootay.
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