Konin, Poland - February 2006, Our Hood

April: Let me begin by saying that I feel very fortunate with this opportunity in Poland. The town of Konin may be small and the people may not always smile, but I like it. Everyday offers new challenges for me. Simple things like going to the grocery store, buying bus tickets, or mailing a package, can be very time consuming and frustrating. These difficulties make the experience that much better though. I was surprised after going to America this past February that I was happy to be back in Europe. I was worried that I would miss our friends, family, and Scout too much. The truth is that I do, but that is the huge sacrifice taken to make this journey. So, the plan is to take advantage of our current location in Poland and travel as much as possible until the project is complete for Royce.

u.l. Poniatowskiego 11

Looking down our street

Our living room

Our kitchen - The stripper pole was included

Royce on the slippery stairs with no handrail

Konin, Poland - February 2006, Patnow Plant

Salzburg, Austria - January 2006

April: Our last stop before going to Poland for Royce's new job was Salzburg, Austria. We splurged a little and stayed at a nice place on the hill that overlooked the city. It lended a spectacular view of the fireworks displayed to bring in the new year. We attempted to ski in Salzburg, but were disappointed by rain and mediocre terrain. We also toured the salt mines, treated ourselves to massages, and had some wonderful Indian food for New Years. It snowed more than it had in 30 years while we were there, so we were fairly limited with what we could do. The funniest thing that happened took place when our taxi driver could not make it up the hill to our hotel one night. Instead he dropped us off 2 miles from it, in the snow and freezing temperatures, and took off. We had to knock on doors and have someone call the hotel so we could get picked up. Just another day in the life I guess...

My cool miner outfit

Now Royce wants to be a salt miner

Interlaken, Switzerland - December 2005

April: The next leg of our Journey was outstanding. We collected our skies in London and headed to Chamonix, France, where we stayed for 6 days. It was still early in the ski season, so our options were limited. We made the best of it though, and skied 4 days in Chamonix and also took a day trip to the other side of Mt. Blanc, and skied in Aosta, Italy.

After France, we took the train to Interlaken, Switzerland. We stayed in a small town about 20 km outside Interlaken, called Habkern. It was a very cute area, with many cow fields, a mill, and the best gingerbread and spiced wine I have ever had. Being away from the train station made it difficult to get to the ski areas though. We had to hike to the bus stop in the dark, ride the bus for 20 minutes, then catch a train for another hour or more to the slopes. It was well worth it though....we experienced an outstanding view of the North Face and phenomenal untracked powder:) It was like a dream!

Our next ski destination was Mayrhofen, Austria, where we celebrated Christmas. We stayed in an ideal flat, just 100 feet from the ski lift. We shopped, skied, relaxed, and visited with the owners of our flat. They are all skiers, and their daughter is a very accomplished racer. I have never seen so many trophies and medals in one location before. They were all very hospitable and made our stay fun.

Look at that powder...this is heaven

Royce in front of the North Face

Skiing in Grindewald

Our accommodations in Habkern

Houston/Miller European Vacation - November 2005

April: Royce and I flew from Tel Aviv to Milan, Italy to meet our very good friends Nicki, Tyler, and Nicki's brother Ben. We were so excited to see friends after 5 months of minimal communication, and also to be back in Europe. No more sand in our food! We quickly learned that every form of transportation in Italy was unreliable, and that the food was tasty. We spent Thanksgiving together in Milan and did a pretty good job of creating a Thanksgiving feast. We had to be creative, but in the end it was scrumptious. We toured Milan, caught up on sleep, drank lots of vino, and headed towards the mountains to Zermatt, Switzerland.

Zermatt was very cold! Nicki and I decided that massages and shopping sounded much better than skiing in the frigid temperatures. Royce, Ben, and Tyler, however, could not resist the temptation and braved their way up towards the Matterhorn. Royce ended up freaking everyone out when he got frostbite on his nose, but other than that they all survived.

After Zermatt, we worked our way south into warmer weather. We stopped in Nice, France, where we thawed out and tried some authentic French food. We had no idea what to expect once we ordered and nearly died when they brought out the meat platter for Ben and Nicki. It was enormous! We also ventured over to Monaco and walked around the tiny country, which was compact and luxurious. We admired the bright lights, big yachts, and beautiful architecture.

Our next stop was Genoa, Italy. We searched for a long time in the rain for a hotel, and finally settled on one. Our next mission was to find pizza....You would be amazed at how difficult this can be between the hours of 2 and 7 pm. The following day we took the train from Genoa to Cinque Terra. We hiked along the coastline, drank vino, and absorbed the beauty of the terrain and ocean. This has got to be one of my favorite places in Italy! Unfortunately, the trains going to and fro can be more than frustrating. This was our last full day with our friends, and we were very sad to see them go!

Nicki, me, Ben, and Tyler in Zermatt

View of Monaco from the castle

Ben in front of the Monaco castle

Me, Ben, Nicki, Tyler, and Royce in Cinque Terra

Tyler, Nicki, and Ben in Cinque Terra

Tyler and Royce admiring the big splashes

Jerusalem, Israel - November 2005

April: We turned out to be incredible fortunate in Israel. Royce befriended a gentlemen on the border crossing bus who really helped us out. Because we crossed into Israel in a different location, we were not sure what we would do for transportation. We also thought we had lost our opportunity to go to Jerusalem. He was an American and Israeli citizen, living in Jerusalem, who offered to take us there in his car. If it were not for him, we would have never experienced the awe of Jerusalem's old town and the rich history that it holds. After touring the city, we took a bus to Tel Aviv, where we stayed for 1 night, before catching our flight to Milan, Italy. Although our time in Israel was short, I was impressed with the landscape and helpful people. It is unfortunate that there are so many political problems there, and I wish them peace in the future.

This was the chamber where they kept Jesus before his crucifixion

Me in front of the waning wall

Royce in front of the Jerusalem Old Town

Jordan - November 2005

April: We were sad to leave Egypt, but also excited to embark on a new adventure in Jordan. We arrived in Aqaba, Jordan, via a ferry, in the afternoon. You could immediately tell that Jordan had more Western influence and was a cleaner and more organized country than Egypt. We took a taxi into town and stopped by a bank machine. It was being problematic, but thankfully, there was a Jordanian man there to help us. Captain Saber guided us to another bankomat and in the process of chatting, he invited us to stay at his flat. We declined at first, but he was really insisting that we have dinner with him and stay. So we did the smart thing and went with him...Remember, we were on an adventure! Once at his flat, he invited his friend of 20 years over for dinner too. Captain Saber and Captain Amer were both kind and generous. We ended up laughing, mostly about Captain Saber's luck with women, and talking until 2:00 am, and were absolutely exhausted the next morning.

The next morning we caught a cab into town, rented a car, and headed to the City of Petra. We were lucky to catch an evening candlelit tour the night we arrived. The moon was full, which made it exceptionally cool as we walked through the mile long siq. We hiked around the ancient city for 2 additional days, exploring all it had to offer. We climbed up to the Ministry building, up above the Treasury building, and all around the city centrum. It is hard to describe how awesome all the carved sandstone buildings and dwellings were. Thankfully, we got some incredible pictures.

We ended up driving back to Aqaba, where we wanted to scuba dive. At the Al Cazar hotel, we easily got hooked up with their diving center and were out in the ocean the next morning. We met up with a group of British and Canadian ex-pats working in Jordan, and went on 5 amazing dives with them, one of which was in a large shipwreck. We also enjoyed a party thrown for one of the guys who was leaving. We laughed and partied on a rooftop bar, and enjoyed the view of Aqaba at night.

After our stay in Aqaba, we headed to the Wadi Rum desert. We took a brief tour of the desert, got into an argument with the driver regarding where he agreed to take us, and then left. I have to say it was not as impressive as the New White Desert in Egypt. The night we left Wadi Rum, we stayed at the Dana Nature Reserve. It has simple accommodations, which sit high on the cliffs and offer spectacular views. They also serve a terrific dinner!

The next day we ventured up towards Amman, where the bombings had just occurred. We stopped and swam (floated really) in the Dead Sea, gave ourselves salt rubs, and then headed for the border. The border we tried to cross was closed, so we had to take a taxi to the next border crossing. We struggled, but finally made it across into Israel.

Captain Saber and I in his bachelor pad

Royce and his friend the donkey in the City of Petra

This was one of the coolest cities I have ever visited!

Royce and I after a long climb to the Ministry building

High above the City of Petra

The Ministry building

The view of the treasury building from the siq

A loud camel in front of the Treasury building

Looking down at the coliseum carved out by the Romans, after they took over the city

Horse drawn carriage in the siq

Royce and I diving in Aqaba, Jordan

Help, there is a monkey on my head!

Egypt - November 2005

April: Wow, there is so much I could say about Egypt, I hardly know where to begin. We flew into Cairo, Egypt from London, England on British Airways (the service was very good). After spending 5 hours in the Cairo airport, we hopped on a flight to Aswan. Once settled into our hotel, we caught up on our sleep and then explored Aswan. Because it was Ramadan, we did not see many women out, and it was next to impossible to find food until 5:00 pm. While in Aswan, we took a felucca ride around Elephante Island, had tea in a Nubyan village, rode camels to the Tombs of the Nobles, saw the Damn, toured the Temple of Isis, and negotiated a 3 night felucca ride with Amada on the Golden Arrow.

Our Felucca adventure with Captain Sarwat and Amada was one of the highlights of our Middle Eastern trip. We slept, ate, and rode on the sailing vessel for 3 nights and 5 days. We danced and had tea one night in a Nubyan village, chatted with local children, had dinner with Amada's family, rode donkeys, and just absorbed Egyptian culture. I felt bad that Amada and Sarwat prepared our meals during the time that they were not allowed to eat. They said it made them "stronger with their god and better Muslims". We learned a lot from Sarwat and Amada and enjoyed our time with them.

We departed the Golden Arrow in Komombo and rode in the back of a truck to the bus station. Our goal was to catch a bus to Marsa Alam. We were luckily able to get seats and endured a rough 5 hour ride through the desert. We had a near bus accident when the bus driver fell asleep, so it was a relief when we arrived at our destination. We ended up riding with 6 other Egyptians in a small car to our hotel. We stayed at an Italian resort on the ocean, called Amardya. It was very westernized and had satellite TV, nice bathrooms, and a pool. We normally would not stay at a place like this, but thankfully we did, because that afternoon Royce got sick. He had got water up his nose while swimming in the Nile the day before and it caught up with him. He was very ill for 2 days...the worst I had ever seen him! We spent our time at the resort reading, relaxing in the sun, snorkeling, and admiring the view of Saudi Arabia just across the ocean. Once Royce was well enough, we continued our travels across the desert to Luxor.

After 3 very crowded bus rides, 4 taxi rides, 1 crazy ferry ride, and 12 hours later, we were in Luxor. We met a feisty German gal on our journey that recommended a quaint little hotel on the West Bank. We stayed at the El-Gazira, where they served wonderful dinner meals, were hospitable and helpful. While in Luxor, we visited the Temple of Karnak, Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, and the Habu Temple. It was amazing to see how well the tombs were preserved inside and how ornate and ancient everything was. On our last day in Luxor, we decided to visit Club Med for some R&R before our train left for Cairo. We talked with a French tourist for awhile about traveling and politics, read, and layed in the sun.

So, I am not sure which was more miserable and disgusting, the Luxor train station or Cairo. Cairo was grimey, polluted, and just gross! If it were not for the pyramids and Cairo Museum, I would not recommend anyone visiting. While in Cairo the first time, we took the metro (which is surprisingly clean and well kept) to the pyramids of Giza. After we walked away from the crowds out into the desert, I felt a lot better. We hiked up onto a sad dune and enjoyed the spectacular view of the majestic Great Pyramids and Sphinx. It was sad though to see how much damage had been done to these amazing structures by man.

I was relieved to leave Cairo! We almost did not go however, after Royce lost our bus tickets. Of course we could not get replacements, even though the guy who sold us the tickets recognized us from the previous day. He made us buy 2 more tickets! Finally, we were on our way to the Baharian Oasis, which was a 5 hour ride. Once there, we walked around town, found a hotel, and arranged for a guide to take us on a desert safari. The following morning, we packed up our things into the Land Cruiser and headed out to the Sahara with our guides Ahmad and Iman. Ahmad was a crazy driver and we had to tell him to slow down several times. We explored the Black Desert, Old White Desert, and New White Desert. It was all amazing! We saw billion year old fossils left from when the Mediterranean existed there, enormous urgs that were created by wind erosion over millions of years, Bedouin mummies, and loads of iron ore protruding from the ground. We slept under the stars for 2 nights, and even spotted a rarely seen desert fox one night. He decided to take our leftover grapes at 2:00 am one morning. Overall, it was a fun experience...Despite the driving.

We caught a bus back to Cairo, where we checked into our hotel, ate cup of noodles, and fell fast asleep. The next day, we walked to the Cairo Museum. On the way, we stopped for a cappucino at the Hilton and checked our email. At the Museum we saw the display of King Tut's possessions, the mummies of ancient leaders, mummified animals, ancient pharohnic technology, as well as many more ancient ruins and artifacts.

We only spent 2 nights in Cairo before heading to Nuweiba, which is a small town along the Red Sea. We spent 3 nights there and had an amazing time. It is a clean city, with kind people, and comfortable and peaceful accommodations. We met Dr. Shesh kebab there, who owned a restaurant with the same name. We ate there every night and had a wonderful conversation with him each time. The food was excellent and we enjoyed talking about Egypt and America with him. I wish we would have had more time to spend in Nuweiba and would highly consider going back there.

Although I was relieved at the thought of eating food without sand in every bite, and excited about continuing our journey, I was sad to leave Egypt. Overall, the people were very kind and the culture extremely interesting. I have a different view and new found respect for the Muslim religion, and am so grateful to have had this experience.

Royce and I riding camels in Aswan.

Royce above the new and huge Aswan Damn

One of our many "admirers" while sailing up the Nile

Royce took a dive into the Nile. The next day he was vomiting and very sick from this experience.

Our Felucca captains Amada and Sarwat

Royce, with Amada's sister, brother-in-law, and niece

Captain Sarwat on his boat, the Golden Arrow. He constantly cleaned it and spent a lot of time caring for it.

Me, Sarwat, Amada and Royce on the Nile

Me exploring the Temple of Karnak

Me rehydrating myself and resting on the huge columns in the Temple of Karnak

Royce, demonstrating the tight security in Egypt

I now have the "King Tut Curse" after visiting his tomb in the Valley of the Kings

Royce, playing Indiana Jones

hanging out with the locals in Luxor

The beautiful Luxor train station. We took a night train from Luxor to Cairo.

The Sphinx in Cairo

Royce playing jungle boy in the Baharia Oasis

Absorbing the sun and beauty of the Saharan Desert

Playing in the sand dunes

Royce and I in the Old White Desert

I love it here!

Royce entertaining himself before dinner

Our home for the night

Unfortunate Bedouin mummies in a small cave

We are literally in B.F.E.

Royce, standing underneath one of the huge urgs in the White Desert

Admiring the view and enjoying the peacefulness of the vast desert

It was a painful jump to get off this thing

The White Desert

Another giant Urg

Another evening under the great Saharan stars

The lovely view of Cairo, outside our hotel window

Our hotel pool in Nuweiba

Dr. Shesh kebob was awesome! He made a special dish for me named "April's Foul"