The first Post. What what?

Let me paint you a demoralizing picture.

1. 2 dudes, one wearing flip flops (his only foot protection for the trip) get off in Paris understanding the only the word Bonjur (Beauty and the Beast) between them.

2. 1,048€ divided by 50 days in Europe equals 21€ a day (for the both of us) to eat, sleep, and, travel on. This means about 6€ to eat with apiece per day if we want to budget in a single night at a youth hostile per week and buses and trains are out of our price range altogether

First day adventures include:

1.running through a 100 yd tunnel on a freeway because it was the only exit from the airport

2.buying a 19€ pizza (= about 30$) which was also our first and last experiences with anchovies. I almost swore at that moment that I would never buy food in France again without being fluent. We also thought we might be fasting every other day at those prices.

3. Sleeping in an open field next to the highway 30 km north of Paris. Brad slept about 2 hrs because he was fending off large imaginary pathogin carrying insects with his clenched fists. Finally, at about three in the morning, after waking every so often to his soft whimpering, I comforted him by talking with him the unlikelihood of him contracting limes disease from local ticks.The whimpering subsided until he finally fell asleep.

Day Two:

1. Wake with the sun and catch an outbound ride with a fire chief in direction Belgium. The highlight of the ride was when he calmly turned towards us and said, "Give me your monies". I laughed, Brad stared quietly forward and he repeated himself, "Give me your monies". Ends up that he was simply going to the bank and ment, "I'm getting out money". Whew

2. Trucker from Hungary who by the way was only wearing his boxers the entire time we rode with him, gave us a ride to the boarder of Belgium. He talked the entire time in I believe three intermixed languages none of which he spoke fluently in or we understood.

3. Stood for seven hours at a truck stop soliciting rides from head shaking Germans, Frenchies, Czechs, Slavs, Belgies, and other Balts. We finally caught a break with Yogi the German hating Germanic man. He was quite nice once we filtered out his constant negativity and choice english explitives. He even offered to give us a rided back from Germany to England on our return trip which we will most definatly take him up on.

4. Slept in the back of Yogi's 18 wheeler truck on the empty bed. He then also gave us a ride all the way to Köln. Germany at last!

Three:

1. Parted ways with Yogi in the pouring rain. By the way neither of us has a tent and again I am wearing flip flops. At least my shoes won't be getting wet when we are sleeping in the rain.

2. Two minutes after leaving Yogi, Brian asked if we needed a ride. And now we are in Dresden.