danke, deutschland

one country down, two more to go. i'm actually wasting an hour sitting in an internet cafe in the picturesque island of mykonos, greece typing this, so i hope some of you are actually reading this!

germany was a good warmup for the rest of our backpacking experience. at least for siva, it gave him a chance to see a part of europe that has a more familiar feel to it. now on to more exotic locales...here are the highlights besides all the world cup festivities:

reeperbahn, hamburg - also known as the "genital-zone." the famous red-light district. sex shops and strip clubs to your left, posh clubs and restaurants to your right. a crazy blend of visual stimulation. AND oh yes, the prostitutes. it's very legal here. let's just say there is an actual pecking order amongst the hookers...the all-stars strut their stuff in the most exclusive and expensive street called Herbertstrasse, where plate-glass windows allow the women to display their "charms" to window shoppers. this street is only open to men over the age of 18. the sausage fest was truly a sight. since siva, matt, and i are such gentleman, we tried to be generous with our euros and buy a girl for this old man on crutches who seemed to need some more than us...but the girls waved their fingers at us and told us they still have STANDARDS! ha! unbelieveble. the bench warmers work outside that street. apparently, a girl wearing a fanny pack meant they were working. hot. the line of the night from one these girls to me: "you want to have sex with me? --no. --why not?!?" i must still have standards. heh.

a downright crazy night. staying up til 5AM, stumbling over to the "fischmarkt" the famous fishmarket that opens every sunday morning by the harbor. very seattle, fish-tossing, like. a memorable night/morning to say the least. what about siva's euro-booty watch you ask? let's just say, we haven't stooped to paying for euro-booty. yet. heh.

bremen - a storybook quality town near hamburg. siva and i daytripped it and hopped on a train and took in the sights. old-school buildings, mixed with new, modern structures.

berlin - we borrowed matt's landlord's old bmw convertible and road-tripped it on the autobahn to berlin. autobahn in a convertible. my hair was out-of-control. we flew down the autobahn. caught some sights: the berlin wall (see pic below), the jewish memorial. and one more "fan fest" watching germany lose to italy. thousands more gathered in berlin watch this game. literally a sea of red, yellow, and black. now that everyone in germany is depressed, the decision is clear. go italy - "forza azzurri!"

now, we are chilling in mykonos, greece. i'll hopefully be able to post pics soon. beautiful white-washed buildings, beaches, and crazy nightlife. we've already got stories...more to come...