The bites don’t bother me I take it as a sign of love, I am the chosen one. The bugs always tend to gravitate towards me and my sweet bountiful juicy nectar blood. I have found a solution to the problem called bed bugs I will accept them learn their culture assimilate and join them. I will eventually become bed bug king then my world conquest will officially begin. Maian has two bites now from me. Maian asked will she be my bed bug queen I told her yea sure but not without my bed bug prenup. I got free food and free travel from here on out good bye human world.

Below you will see me practicing being a bed bug. I’ve got a bed bug test in order to become a bed bug.

This is a break from our normal blog routine to update you. Back in Croatia I posted a pic with huge welts that I thought were from mosquitoes. My mom pointed out that she thought they were bed bugs. I dismissed it and haven’t had a bite since. But we’re in the south of France and Daniel all of a sudden has these huge welts, which he attributes to mosquito bites. The welts start spreading, and we begin to think he’s breaking out in hives. That of course was until we woke up. I look at my bed and there all these little bugs that look like ants but I look a little closer and quickly cringe, they’re bed bugs. And that’s not the worst. I strip my mattress and as I do, Daniel notices something on the underbelly of the sheet. It’s this huge bed bug, he grabs some tissue to kill it and all this blood spews out. It got someone and it wasn’t me but Daniel. I felt so bad. I immediately go downstairs to let them know and they quickly say it’s from people’s bags- it’s not from ours or else we would have been bitten long before. But they said they’ve never had a problem in that room but that they’re going to disinfect it. Okay, fine. And to top it off the bottom of my mattress has mold. We’re heading to the pharmacy for some medicine so Daniel can stop scratching and so that the swelling can go down. Ooph. What a day. If you have any tips or ideas about how to check, disinfect and treat the bites leave it in the comments section, it would be greatly appreciated. Homeopathic ideas are always welcome.

The images below are of Daniel’s left ear, left arm, right arm, both sides of his lower back, neck, and left ankle. This is crazy.

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We just arrived in Prague. We flip a coin to decide between two hostels: the Czech Inn or the mosaic house. The mosaic house won. As we’re checking in an older guy comes up to us and asks if we just arrived, we said yes and he said his wife is sick so they cannot go to the lady Gaga concert, he hands me the tickets and tells me the show starts at 7:30 and that it takes 20 minutes to get there by metro, so all we have time to do is change drop our bags off and be on our way. Our first night in Prague and we got free Lady Gaga tickets. The concert was so much fun! I was stunned, I honestly didn’t know that lady Gaga had such an amazing voice. She’s quite the show woman. The lights were blaring, lasers chasing other lasers in the arena, people jumping, screaming, singing. So much energy. I could feel my heart beat with the base. The seats were in the middle but we could see everything. Daniel was even pleasantly surprised by how good the concert was. It was a good start to our stay in Prague.
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The next day we get up to a late start and decide to go to Kunta Hora. In Kunta Hora there is a church made with the remains of 40,000 people. It’s a little eerie but a must see. They have an entire chandelier in the church made of bones. I thing the guy who did this was a little insane, but who am I to judge someone’s creative outlet? He was nuts. The town itself however is small, and there really isn’t much to see but the church. We head back to the hostel to enjoy the rest of our day.

It’s early, dawn hasn’t broken yet. The night sky blankets this little town. We’re standing at the train station as I profusely yawn from lack of sleep. It’s a little chilly, I can see my breath. With no benches inside the station, Daniel and I decide to venture the town. Immediately as we leave the station we’re greeted by a cemetery. It’s a very odd place to have one, we thought. There weren’t many epitaphs laying in the ground. But it was all centered and it looked like fresh flowers had been laid on the graves. Maybe they were important people?. We venture further. The streets are small, and although the shops are closed they don’t appear to be anything fancy. At night this place was the quintessential version of a small town that you see in movies with tumbleweeds running the streets as a breeze blows by. We walk a little further and we start to see kids, everywhere. School must be starting, but it’s only 6:30 in the morning. Daniel gets the curious glances as we walk by, nothing malicious just curiosity, almost every kid would stare then as he would pass them their heads would snap back to continue. He felt as though he was a celebrity, he loved the looks and asked one kid if he wanted his picture and autograph. The sky is getting lighter and we have found ourselves at what they call the iron bridge. The view was actually quite beautiful. There are flowers everywhere. As we sit for a second we hear the cackles of birds, lots of them. There were so many that part of the sky was blanketed and you could only catch glimpses of light through their wings. They were all perched on buildings across the bridge and begin flying in flocks only to land on the same building they had been at previously. We decide to have our breakfast, our typical meat and jelly sandwiches buffet as we take the view in. As we cross the bridge we see women sweeping the bridge with what looks like a bunch of small dark brown branches. It honestly resembled a witches broom. I’m not sure why but Daniel and I found it to be quite funny. As we cross the bridge we’re greeted by more children and churches. We decide to enter one of the churches. After a while you begin to think you’ve seen a few churches you’ve seen them all. But no. We were stunned. This little town held a church that was stunning. Honestly, more beautiful than the Sistine chapel. The artwork, the detail, the gold lacing the brown wood. It really was a beautiful church. I only we wish we took pictures. As we stood there with our backpacks we’re pushed aside as children come in to pray before school. I never thought I would see this. They were praying before school on their own asking for the lords blessing as they start their day, it seemed as though this was their daily routine. They looked liked they were in middle school. We left the church and came across a small park with character, we took a few pictures in the hopes that it will jog my mothers memory.
My mom was born in Lugoj Romania, and she left when she was small. But she tells us of stories of gypsy caravans selling rooster whistles and chintzed covered tasseled ottomans. Where fires were started to keep warm as the gypsies would sit in circles and read locals palms. She told us of getting from place to place with horse and carriage, where there were no roads yet. She described her fondness for sweets at an early age, where she would beg her mother for some of the best pastries. She told us of the very cold winters and how one winter she was playing in the snow and as she was called in she looked at a snowman and the snowman smiled at her. Her memories of Romania were magical as a little girl. I only hope that if she decides to one day return that she find this small flowery town filled with children just as magical as she remembers.

Our Arrival: Stuttgart

“Hi, are you Daniel?” A fresh faced young woman asked. She was fair and thin with dark hair. She dawned a down filled black coat with stylish boots, suited for the weather. “Yes”, Daniel replied. The woman’s name was Youan, she was the fiancée of the gentleman who graciously opened his home for Daniel and I to stay in for the upcoming week. His name was Ian, his stature was small but strong. He showcased a typical military cut for a haircut, his eyes appeared cunning, but very friendly. They arrived at the station to pick us up. For the next week we were in heaven. We had a warm place to sleep with a very comfortable bed. There was a shower with hot water. Our bellies remained full of both food and beer. And we had good company. Our stay allowed us to catch up on much needed sleep. But let me tell you something, they’re crazy! Legitimately insane. We stayed up one night hitting the town with the both of them until 6 in the morning. I can’t, I’m 24 and I can not party like Ian. I feel old, and as much as I want to, my body won’t let me. We were all over Stuttgart, and it was an amazing night. We learned a lot about German nightlife, and how some clubs and bars won’t let you in if you’re American. But we got to take in the nightlife- and it’s far more exciting than anything in NC. You have people who are sloshed bumping into you, you have no elbow room because it’s that packed. The person to the right of you orders one too many shots and hands you one, while the person to your left cheers you with his beer. The whole night had so much energy and it honestly was just a great time.
We were we’ll taken care of in Germany. Thank you both Ian and Youan for your hospitality and generosity and for all the travel advice, you guys were great!

Stuttgart
When staying at a hostel you have to book it for the amount of people and they give you the same number of beds unless you get a private room which we rarely do because it’s so expensive. We always get these little twin sized mattresses that can barely fit a teenage boy in yet we are so used to sleeping together and holding each other at night that we can’t sleep apart from each other. We tried to sleep in separate beds on the trip and we spent most of the night asking each other how they liked having a bed to themselves, which neither of us really fancied. But in Germany this wasn’t a problem we had plenty of space to toss and turn and not head butt each other like we did one night in the twin bed. Our first day in Stuutgart was a very relaxed day we checked out the city where we were staying in. We went to the zoo which was fairly decent nothing that’s really any different from the states, then we went to check out downtown Stuttgart. Downtown Stuttgart is a mans worst nightmare, there are clothing and shoe stores literally hundreds of them running the strip and of course we have to stop in at least 99 1/2. We spent the better part of the day walking in and out of stores looking for shoes and clothes for the upcoming winter months. After walking around we stopped at a park in the middle of the shopping district and joined the Germans in the grass with a beer. We laid out for about an hour talking and people watching and just taking in the atmosphere. We saw what we thought was a woman get undressed in the middle of the park only to find out once he turned around from the giggles that it was a man in drag. This ended the day at the park and we left to return home. When we got back Ian and Youan prepared a feast like no other with possibly the best spread I have ever tasted, feta and garlic in spicy oil. We went to bed with full stomachs from a homemade meal for the first time in weeks, nothing beats that down south cooking with a European flair.

Oktoberfest
We went to bed pretty early because the famed Oktoberfest was the next day. We were told we needed to get there pretty early in order to get into the tent because they fill up pretty quickly, but waking up isn’t as easy as you think when you actually have a comfortable bed. We set the first alarm for 6, then after a little discussion we set it for seven, then 8, and we finally convinced ourselves at 9 we would get up and start getting ready. We actually didn’t leave the house until a little after 11. We made a couple sandwiches and hit the road. The train ride there was pretty easy two hour straight shot and free with the eurail. After arriving in Munich at about 2 we had no idea where to go we figured we would just follow the people in lederhosen. While following the crowd we ran into our two new favorite Aussies Dominique and Stuart.
Our Australian friends had been to Oktoberfest the day before so we decided to tag along. After a quick ten minute walk Oktoberfest was right in front of us, it looked nothing like I imagined. I thought it would be similar to a frat party, but during the day it’s family oriented like a fair. It had a huge Ferris wheel and games with gigantic Stewies as prizes. Everywhere there is beer, men dressed in lederhosen and women dressed in dirndls. There are rides and blaring lights everywhere. There are tents filled with people who are in song and dance prosting their beers and eating half a chicken. We enter the first tent hoping they have a place for us and we are in luck as soon as we get in a waitress asks how many grabs our hand and throws us down. She holds up 4 fingers and asks 4 beers and with a large grimacing smile on our faces we all nodded in sync. We get our first round and we are expecting it to be a little pricey, but not to this extreme it was 10 euro 13 US dollar per beer for pretty much the size of a 40 (1 liter) but hey when in Rome. A few minutes in after we are enjoying our beer the tent erupts with cheers and our two Aussie friends start joining in. We look around a little lost trying to figure out what’s going on and they inform us that if you stand on a table and chug your beer they will cheer until you finish, but you can’t stop to catch your breath and if you don’t finish you have to pour the rest on your head and people get to throw food at you. A huge smile came across my face as I knew I had to try it. After a German man who was a little past drunk at our table graciously bought us another beer I knew my moment was here. I stood up thinking mom I’m gonna make you proud (I’m not sure if that’s something to be proud of haha) I stood on the table and everyone was staring and starting to cheer, once I started I knew I couldn’t stop. With the adrenaline pumping and I knew I couldn’t fail, I could feel all the cool bubbles go down my throat and the gas and liquid fill my tummy. A few seconds later the cheers starting erupting. I finished my beer and basked in the glory like I just clinched the gold for my country at the Olympics. For a second it sounded like the crowd was chanting my name and I was famous. I took my seat and everyone at the table was in applause. After the initial shock wore off I was greeted with hugs and high fives. This was just the first tent in the first 20 minutes and the day was just getting started.

We left that tent and walked around for a bit until we found another tent and decided it was time for another brew. We ordered a couple of beers and an apple strudel which was pretty delicious, but didn’t sit well with a tummy full of beer. We stayed in this tent for a few hours singing and making new friends. Everyone was in cheer, beer flying everywhere as people raised their glasses to prosit and sing, we all stood up on the small benches cheering joining our German counterparts. Around 9 we left that tent and decided to grab some food outside Oktoberfest, because the prices inside were insanely high. We stopped and got a bite with our Awesome Aussie friends and then said our good byes and headed back to the train station. This was perhaps the longest two hour train ride I have been on and the walk back home was even longer, but we finally made it back into our sweet little comfortable bed ending one of the best travel days we have had thus far.
Thank you Dominique and Stuart for a wonderful experience.

I’m sitting here in Stuttgart with a full belly. Having had my share of cereal and salad for breakfast this morning. I feel somewhat nervous for our next journey. I think I’m going to miss the comforts of having a proper bed to sleep in. Not sleeping on the train and being woken up at every odd hour by a ticket checker. Or being caught in the early hours of the morning in a train station. Traveling can be hard, or at least the way we’re traveling. It has given us a new perspective on things and how much we take for granted being able to do laundry and shower. Or the power to wake up late on the weekends. Often times we find ourselves waking early for hostels have early checkout times or because we’ve camped out by the beach and need to beat the morning joggers to dawn.

We caught the train from Stuttgart to Munich and I suppose my trepidations, although for the wrong reason were right. Our train malfunctioned and we sat in sweltering heat for four hours. We waited and waited for a train to relieve us from this hot box of a sauna. The woman in front of us was wearing a wool sweater and within minutes of the train stopping her light grey became a little darker due to the sweat stains. In a matter of minutes she took her sweater off and was only in her white laced bra. Women, men children alike gathered at the few doors the conductors opened to catch a small breeze. There were no windows to open and if you decided to stay put in your seat within five minutes you were in a pool of your own sweat. The weather was unusually warm- Daniel and I have seemed to have pretty good luck when we travel to places in terms of sunny weather.

We arrive in Munich, finally, where there are a slew of complaints for the travelers who have spent cash on tickets and reservations and who missed their connections because of the delay. There was no way to refund them the cash. Credit card was fine, but cash wasn’t feasible. A young lady, fellow traveler spent 400 euros on multiple tickets and reservations and lost it all and missed her connections because of the delay. They were unwilling to remake any of her reservations again without charge.
I think in that moment we really appreciated the eurail.

We arrive in Budapest. Not knowing where the center is and Daniel and I being frugal in our travels decided to walk around the city with our bags.
Our first goal was to find a hostel. Again, we didn’t look any up before arriving, so in true Daniel and Maian fashion we walked around asking people. We found four hostels through travelers, hop and stop people and on accident. We decided on the Marco Polo. It wasn’t anything special but it was cheaper than the other hostels, gave us a 10% discount and accepted credit cards.

The city, during the day, was like most cities, it had it’s beautiful parts and it’s ugly ones. Upon arrival we had agreed to go to one of the baths. After very little research and going on Facebook pictures we decided on the ever popular schzencsky baths. We walked 40 minutes to get there and it was worth it. Just pools of water all at different temperatures some with jet streams some with fountains, some that were ice cold, some that had overlaying ceramic artwork. All within the center of a very yellow building. If you didn’t know what it was you would walk straight past it. Old, young everyone was there. The weather was great, the water exhilarating and the saunas relaxing. We spent hours just relaxing.
Later on that night Daniel and I were looking at pictures of some landmarks in Budapest and came across Matthais church. We decided to walk there. Budapest is two cities. The flat part is Pest, that’s where we were staying. The Buda part is the hilly area, where the church was.
OH MY GOD. If any of you have ever heard me talk about a place being magical you’ll almost always hear me bring up my hike through the Israeli dessert. Where at night you can not sleep because it is bone chilling cold but for a few seconds you forget because you stare up at the dark sky not contaminated with artificial lights and your eyes are just blanketed with stars and the moon so bright you could walk the night with it leading your way. It’s an incredible sight. But Budapest at night, is spellbinding.
I cannot find the words to describe this city at night to you. It’s like a fairy tale. We walked across the chain bridge at night and it is so romantic. There weren’t many tourists out and the lights were perfectly placed it hit every angle of every building perfectly. I think it’s safe to say that Daniel and I were breathless when we saw the city at night. We walked up so many steps to find this gorgeous church sitting at the very top decorated wonderfully with Maiolica colored tiles on the top. For a split second you forget where you are and what time frame you live in and you go back in time and imagine a time where this was a sanctuary, 700 years back. This city at night is a breath of fresh air and makes you weak in your knees. Daniel and I just sat there, taking it all in. Not distracted by cars or people because there weren’t many. And if ever you wanted to see Budapest, night is the best time.
During the day there is no magic or take your breath away moments. But still a city with a lot of history, and some pain. With a predominantly Roman Catholic and Jewish population. The Hungarians are an interesting group of people with many outside influences. And some really great plum alcohol ;).

Tid bit for the day: A two hour walk with backpacks on can feel like a 20 minute adventure when you’re with good company.

*** for all those waiting on our Germany experience! we’re still in the midst of writing it.

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