Nair and the Love Parade 2008

Meet Nair, a 20 something friend from the Netherlands who happens to be the most out going person that I've met yet. As you can see in the backround of the picture, the Love Parade is a pretty crazy place where all sorts come together for some techo music fun as well as some other less legal activities. We really enjoyed dancing to a thump, thump, thump that you could feel in your lungs for about 8 hours or so. It rained most of the day but that didn't seem to deter the 1,000,000 drunk or almost drunk Germans that came together

The Torrential Storm

"We can't help the weather", is the conclusion that one makes on a trip of this sort. We are outside everyday which leaves us at the mercy of the Gods when it comes to drizzle and what not. A few days hence while we were enjoying the landscape and citizens of Poland, we found ourselves in a pickle. We'd been attempting to get a ride for the past four hours but the flow of cars was meager at most. Our boredom even drove us to playing apple baseball and exercising our skills of left-handed-two-apple juggling. As the day and our nerves became late and raw, we noticed a darkening sky. Not 30 seconds after the initial gigantic drop fell we were being pumeled with peanut m+m sized water bullets. Surprisingly our screams didn't rouse the locals to action as we scrambled to the nearest shelter which happened to be a tiny, dirty, bridge covering a little stream. As the hours wore on so the stream became a swollen little river. First, we had to move our stuff, then our feet, then stand up, and finally press ourselves against the wall. At this moment we noticed that many of our little gastropod friends were in more dire straights then we. Snails were everywhere at the water edge trying to get away from the rising waters. We decided that it was our duty to save approx: 83 snails. Within 20 minutes of this fateful act we recieved the ride that we had been dreaming of. Glory glory hallelujah

Belarus aka White Russia

Brad having served part of his mission in Belarus, never thought that he would find two of their youth tramping through Europe as we are. This country is run by a dictator and because of its stringent travelling regulations its citizens don't often see the outside world. This is a very nostalgic moment for Brad on the trip.

Spreading Knowledge of EB in Vienna Austria

Vienna Austria

I was able to email my good friends the Czernys and they invited Brad and me to stay at their home though they were on their vacation in Slovania. We were able to meet their cool neighbors Marcelline and Bettina with whom we had great discussions about everything imaginable as well as EB. Marcelline and Bettina have immaculate English and are either working on or have finished their Phds.

This stay has been especially relaxing because of the amenities of a shower and washing machine. I don't need to disclose how direly we needed these bonuses of society. One other adventure included the escaping of one of the Czerny's cats which led to an hour search of a building in the middle of renovation. Brad found the cat under the second floor in a random hole. And we are off to Hungary.

EB Trek with Matthew in Slovakia

Matthew picked us up on the border of Poland and the Czech Republic where we were waiting after dark for anything to get us on our way. Matt was a godsend in that he not only got us away from the rains of Poland but also was the only ride that we needed for our 3 day stay in Slovakia. He invited us to come to his girlfriends home that night and we were able to get the real experience of how a 600 inhabitant town parties into the night for their Catholic holiday that spans three days. We were immediatly the center of attention seeing as we were the first Americans to stay in their town. Matthew was great to us because of his hospitality and Russian language skill

His hospitality included:

1. Providing us with beds to sleep in for two nights

2. Having us over for an authentic Slovakian dinner

3. Driving us through Bratislava out of his way to the border of Austria

4. Insisting that we couldn't pay him for his gas expenses ( we tried pretty hard to get him to take some money)

Spreading EB Awareness

We gave Matt a card with the websites he can find to learn about EB. He speaks a tad English and will hopefully be able to both practice that while also becoming more informed about the fight against Epidermolysis Bullosa by using the website.

Poland

Mirek Mazurek is possibly the most average Polish man that exists. If so, then all polish people treat hitchhikers like lifelong friends.

1. He treated us to an authentic sit down Polish meal
2. He took us 30 km out of his way to a hostile in Krakow after driving for the last 8 hrs
a. this included an extra toll he otherwise didn't have to pay
3. He insisted on giving us his mobile number in case we needed his help


Mirek's Polish Lesson (phonetic of course)
Hello = Chessch
Goodbye = Bob(dr)a
We want totravel to Hungary = Mech Tsemmel yehatch do phowngrey
Where is the _________ = Guh jay yest
Youth Hostile = Youth Hostile
Internet Cafe = Internet Cafe