Pictures From Europe

Well, I finally feel like I'm getting back to normal, I guess it was jet lag but I really felt out of sorts for the first few days after getting home from Germany. I guess I'm just lucky that I'm on summer vacation so I didn't have to get back to real work anyway.

I said I would get a few pictures up so here are a few of the high lights from the trip.

View of St. Micheal's Monestary in Bamburg, Germany.

Bamburg Cathedral

Equestrian Statue in Bamburg Cathedral, they said it dates back to between 1200 and 1300 and may be a King.

View of Prague Castle from in Prague.

St. Vitus's Cathedral in Prague Castle.



The Apostle Clock in Old Town Square, Prague. On the hour the bells ring and the Apostles walk in circles in the two small doors that open near the top.

We went to a beer festival in Munich, seriously, how can you go to Germany without going to a beer festival.

Well, that's a quick glimpse at the trip, the cathedrals were all even more amazing on the inside but I'd have to put 100 photos on here (for each one) to really give it justice so I'll stop here.

World Traveler Returns

Wow!! What a great trip. I feel like I ran for a week straight. I got back from Germany yesterday and am pretty wiped out today but the trip was well worth it. Getting to spend some time with JB and AW was a lot of fun and getting to see some of Europe was a great experience. While there I went to Bamburg, Munich and Nurnburg in Germany and we spent 2 days in Prague. Prague was such a great city, there is just so much to see there that in our 2 days we really just scratched the surface. The Prague Castle with the Cathedral of St. Vitus is absolutely amazing. We spent 6 1/2 hrs at the castle. Other high lights were Charles Bridge and the Apostle clock in old town square. In Bamburg there was the Bamburg Cathedral and St Micheals Cathedral.

One of the funniest things we say was in Munich, we went to a beer festival that was honoring the apprentice brew masters. It was there graduation. We heard the mayor or Munich speak and then the Brew Masters all pledged an oath to the beer laws. When they finished the breweries all gave out free beer in glass pint mugs. We made sure to get to each of the breweries and get a glass before we were done.

It was such a great trip I could write a 10 page report on it but I'll stop here for now. As soon as I get my pictures on the computer I'll post some of them.

Country Boy Come to Town

I grew up in a very small town in south Texas (probably pop. 400). I would also say that we would best be described as upper lower class. We didn't grow up with a lot of money, so in turn we didn't do a lot of traveling when I was younger. Now that I am getting older and in a slightly better position financially I have been able to travel more in the past few years. My wife and her family have also done a lot to make it easier to travel. In the past year I've gotten to make some really great trips, I went with my wife and her family on a cruise to Alaska, I've been to Pennsylvania a couple of times with her, I got to have a business trip Boston and finally my honeymoon to Mendocino, CA.

It has already been a very big year for me when it comes to traveling and now, thanks to a few things falling into place I will be leaving to Germany on Sunday. It just happens that I have a college friend that is working Germany for a few years and then another friend said that his cousin was getting married in London this summer so why don't we go to Germany to visit AW before I go to the wedding? I thought, "What a great idea".

I'm really excited about the trip and also a little nervous. Even though I have been traveling more lately I'm still not real comfortable on planes.

Anyway, the real point of this post is that after growing up poor and in a very small town I find it strange that I'm traveling to all these cool places. When I was in Boston I was by myself, walking along the Freedom Trail and suddenly, while looking at the Old State House, I thought "How did I grow up in Lolita and end up in Boston?" I know that makes me sound like a total county hick, but deep down that is what I still am. I hope to keep expanding my horizons and traveling to new places but I also hope that I'm able to keep that feeling of amazement and never take these sorts of things for granted.

Hello!!

Well, I have broken down and started a blog. My sister ( http://theittybittythings.blogspot.com/ )has been an avid blogger for a little over a year now, my wife has been an aspiring blogger and I have several friends who blog. I have gotten to where checking their blogs has become an almost daily occurrence, I read them more than the news. Rather often I will read their blogs and feel like I have something to say about their topic but it doesn't really fit in their comment box so now I have my own soap box I can stand on.

Just so you know a little about me, I am a teacher and coach at a high school and when I am not doing that I love doing home repair or building anything that I can find a reason to build. I use lots of wood and recently received a welder as a gift so I am looking forward to learning to weld. I also enjoy working on cars. I am a master of none of these hobbies but that usually does not slow me down, I usually jump right in keep going until I break something or hurt myself but more often than not my results turn out pretty good.

I think what I'm looking forward to most with this blog is a chance to show off some of my handy work, talk about my travels and spout off about my views on the teaching profession. So if any of that interests you please check back in.