Coasting

Ah, the Italian Amalfi Coast. Everything is a bit slower down here by "the boot". Trains run on "Italian Time", pizzas are ready "whenever", and businesses stay open late it they want to, or open later than posted times, depending on the outcome of the previous nights' football (soccer) game. Either way though, it the resulting celbration/lament usually involves a lot of "birre".

I stayed in lovely Sorrento - a beautiful resort town reccomended by Rick Steves (great travel books) to make as your home base in the area. (Not dirty 'ol Naples, ugh. A trash strike? No thanks.)

This is one of the first sight I saw when I arrived in Sorrento. My host brought me down to the waters edge to show me the sunset. Cruise ships are regularly in the harbour here, and all the cruisers snapping pics of the coast line made it light up like It's A Small World Holiday. I love this picture. Look at that checkmark cloud - "beautiful sunset? check!"



I saw this mural of Jesus breaking bread on a church every time I left my hosts' house in the morning. Extra fitting for Europe - that's all they seem to eat here. When I get home, I'm gonna break a steak in two - and then eat both halves.



Pompeii! The city covered in ash my Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. In this picture we're being covered by a menacing looking cloud - that eventually only turned out to be as dangerous as the Lakers in Game 6. Zing!



This is my guide for Pompeii. Might be my favourite person Ive met on the trip so far.





Load of crap alert: This plaster body cast below, is a total fake, as are all plaster body casts of people in Pompeii. My guide, an archiologist (not looking up spelling), said that the ash crushed all the people. The bones were left behind, but absolutely no 'cavity' for plaster to be inserted to create what the body looked like at the moment of the eruption. He said they were purposely put in these positions to 'get the emotion out of people'.



This is part of the main forum or sqaure, where all kinds of ideas, goods, and slaves were traded. Also where I left my sunglasses on a marble bench to take a jumping picture. Boo.



Not sure what's going on here: are these supposed to be Legos? When in doubt, take a picture with it.



I record videos from time to time for my show Big News back in LA. Here's a taste of the career in action, kids.




*Offical Candidate for Best Jumping Picture*

I only had one shot at this one. I decided to try and look like I was going to devour these tourists as they left this square. Forced perspective at it's best. Later, I decided my artistic interpretation is that I'm Mt. Vesuvius, and all these tourists are the hapless residents of Pompeii. Ah thank you, thank you.



Naples is stinkin gross. Both of those words are true. There's a trash strike going on, and has been for a while. I don't care if people say there's a hidden charm about Naples that you have to discover. This place was just noisy, gross, loud, and dangerous. In an out in a couple of hours.



Check out that trash!





Another nearby town affected by Mt. Vesivius - Herculaneum. (I could never pronounce this correctly). This was more upper class aristocrats, whereas Pompeii was working middle class. This town was covered by lava, not ash, so it was much more well preserved.



Crazy how that garden survived the lava, huh?

On the way up to Mt. Vesivius. This is the trail of lava that flowed out in the most recent eruption in 1944.



Im falling into the Volcano!!!! And apparenty having a good time doing it.



From the top of Mt. Vesuvius:




My bus driver on the way down the half of curvy Mt. Vesuvius that we didn't hike. Check out the rearview. He's totally on the phone.



Went swimming in the Medditerranian Sea. A new kind of jumping picture: no regard for landing. That's Mt. Vesuvius in the backgroud, btw.

My hosts and I got pizza from this cool joint. They were so cool to me even though I to order by pointing and smiling. Note: Pointing and smiling gets you pretty far in Europe. Winking doesn't hurt, either.



The beauuuutiful Amalfi Coast.

I love old brick bridges. I have so many pictures of the coastline from my bus.



The beautiful town of Positano. Kinda looks a bit like the Cinque Terre, huh? I love that they paint their houses with vibrant pastels.



I caught this guy delivering pizzas. Got a small round of cheers from nearby tourists for capturing this picture.



Do you think this guy needs a break? Or maybe his whole day is one long break?



Lemons are everywhere in the Amafi Coast. Sold in almost every doorway.

There's a sign nearby that says "In this orange and lemon grove, you're not allowed to act your age". Ok, there wasn't. But thankfully, I carry such a sign with me at all times for emergencies like this.



Im hiding. Find me. Go.



Third jumping pic in one post! This one is no-handed!

I almost forgot this picture! I had to come back and add it. I ate pizza almost everyday at this place. Check out the pizza delivery 'boy' receiving pizzas for his next delivery. He had a cell phone wedged into his helmet so he can talk and drive at the same time. Brilliant.

Just got to Sicily! As you can probaby tell, I don't get internet access as often as other countries. In many smaller parts of Italy, I've heard the internet thing is still catching on. More pizza awaits. Ciao!

It's All Greek to Me

Here comes the Sun. It's getting warmer, oh yes, it's getting warmer. I had that first "I wish I had a big embarrassingly nerdy wide-brimmed hat but I don't care because the sun is beating down on me like the Incredible Hulk" moment. It was walking around the Parthenon at the Acropolis. Couldn't the Ancient Greeks have planted some trees by those huge pillars? But let me tell you - if you're looking for really old things - like things that have a B.C. on the date instead of an A.D. - it's in Greece. Even their postcards say "The Gods Live Here". I think they try to claim the same thing at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, but there, the Gods have to check out by 11am.

Starting this blog off with....a jumping picture! This might be my favourite one yet. I really got some height on this one. I was so excited to come and do one here - this is a building recognized all over the world.




I met some Americans and we all spent at least five minutes trying to capture just the right reflection of the pillars of the Temple of Zeus in our glasses. Notice how we are in the shade.

Did you know video games were invented in Greece? That's culture, baby.



The Ancient Greeks really were excellent engineers and planners. Check out this kind of structural forethought.




This was a pretty cool moment for me. As an actor in school, I studied and revered places like the Theatre of Dionysis. And then I got to go there. How cool would it be to have performed in this legendary place? Not a bad seat in the house.



A short tour of the Theatre of Dionysis....



Nearby, there's another theatre still in use today (for realsies). Right next to the Acropolis!



Here's some pretty cool facts about the Parthenon at the Acropolis.




Athens is just unique: where else are you gonna have modern buildings surrounding this building older than ancient history? I bet though, just like anything you drive by day after day, the locals are over it. But just check out this view of the Temple of Zeus from the Acropolis.




Dogs are everywhere in Athens. And I'm not talking about wild dingos like in Australia or India. These are well-fed Labs and German Shepherds and Shaggy dogs - some even with tags and collars. They're just everywhere, walking around, lying in the shade. Almost as prevelant as pigeons, but way more cuddly and fun. And you can bet their poop won't land on your head. (Yeah, I went there.) They are all so nice and sweet -who could think of anything more awesome than just dogs walking around everywhere? Good job, Athens!




I saw this turtle munchin' on some grass for lunch. I just had to capture this moment.




Ok, here's the "huh?" moment of this city: In the Metro, they have this spinning fan about the escalators. It's just meant to be a piece of ambiance art. But get this: the fan is powered by a solar panel....that has an electrical light shining on it. Does this make sense to anyone? An electrical light, shining on a solar panel, just to power a fan? Just plug in the dang fan!




Another good times moment with one of my hosts. Here we discuss earth-shattering topics like ice cream and traffic.



Saw this walking around town. Who knew ice cream was this romantic? This must be the best tasting ice cream in the whole world - look at how she's basically in nirvana, and he's like "I'm totally the man right now - and I owe it all to ice cream".



Next day I decided to venture off of the mainland and to the nearby island of Aegina. There are over a dozen islands, which could be a whole trip by itself. This boat in the background was my ferry to and from the island. The interior looked like it was taken from a dirty Reno casino.



These two dogs had an hour to get to know each other. They clawed and bit and licked and wrestled each other. How simple and awesome a dogs life is. I wish I could just met a stranger and just start wrestling on a boat. (On the Bucket List now). Who knows - still have 1 and a half more months to go.



I swam and read and lounged by the beach. I wrote thoughts and drew sketches with a hand-shaved pencil and read Hemingway and it was great. I love the way everything smells like beach when you leave the beach. But I loathe how the sand seems to follow you. You shake and shake all your clothes and dust off your feet, but somehow sand still finds a way to hide in the webs of your fingers and even one in your teeth.



I sat in the shade almost the whole time - and I still got so red! My reward to myself in Athens though: shorts and sandals. After 2 1/2 months in jeans and tennis shoes, I can't even tell you how great it felt to be in shorts and sandals. Huzzah.



The island ferry was the most interesting thing in the world to the seagulls of the Greek Islands. Every boat that trudged along these blue-green waters had an entourage of dozens of birds, riding the wind current created by the boat cutting through the air. These birds were brave and curious - they came within feet of the railing on the back of the boat. One guy was even feeding them potato chips directly from his hand.



Check it out - what I'm saying here is "I can almost reach out and touch them". To be a bird, wild and free for just one day - wow.





You have to zoom in and look at this picture, all over it. Teenagers in Athens are experimenting with some crazy wild hairstyles and fashion. Quite a few beehive inspired do's here. No doubt an Amy Winehouse influence. I love how some are looking directly at me in this picture, while boys and girls point at each other in the background.





Flea markets are endlessly entertaining. One moment you're looking at a bunch of useless tourist junk, and the next, you're standing in a shop of old victrolas and brass pocket watches.



I make people stare at me.

I made dinner with my host an another couchsurfer. Broiled fish and greek salad - yum.



It's off to Italy now. A prediction: pasta? It's gonna be great- manacotti, spaghetti, ricotta chesse - oh baby! However - I cannot WAIT for a thick, juicy steak in America. Just have to put that out there. Europeans are all about bread and cheese and small, simple meals. Look out In-N-Out Burger. I've got my eye on you.

InGermany,thisblogwouldbeonelongword

Ah yes, back in Germany. The first time was Munich, where the beer steins are big and the pig knuckles are even bigger. Now I'm in Berlin, which is up there with Paris and London with the big cities in Europe. It's not as geographically big, but these are the kind of cities I thrive in. Vast subways, food everywhere, operas, lots of WWII history, live music. Yeah, I love big cities. So once again here I am in a big Metropolis. I gave myself almost 5 whole days in Berlin, because I knew there'd be much to see. As a result, I believe this is my longest blog yet. Let's get started:

I cant believe I'm leading off with this picture. But this was the first picture I took in Berlin - this was on the way to my hosts house. This guy was in short jean shorts with a tucked in plaid shirt, a wicker cowboy hat, and a blond handlebar moustache. And ps- make sure you wear your sunglasses on the train. I didnt have anyone to share this glorious moment with, so I snuck a picture, and now its here for the world to see. Welcome to Berlin.





I went straight to the tourist information center at the train station. I didnt want to pay for the events guide because Im a Cheapy McCheaperson, so I totally took a picture of what was happening on Wednesday, to reference later. I didnt really intend to put it on the blog, but this is how I do my trip. Ah-thank you, thank you.

(ps- does this guy look like Matt Lauer in 10 years or what?)

Tourist sightseeing 101: This is the Reichstag building, where the Germany government meets and does goverment things. It was so bombed in the war. Now theres this huge glass dome you can climb up a spiral walkway - for free!





Here I am explaining it all:




This is the inside of that dome - there are all these mirrors pointing down into their Congress - for two reasons. 1) to direct sunlight down in there. B) So that anyone can look down on the law-making process at anytime - so secrets in the German governent, thats the idea.





Here's what it would look like if I were twins.




This is a really famous Gate that the Berlin Wall once ran right in front of. It's supposed to stand for freedom, but for over 30 years, it was a symbol of division. Now its back to standing for something good.






In front of the gate: look in the road. Along the path of the old Berlin Wall, throughout the whole city, a simple path of cobblestones traces where the East was once divided from the West.






Nearby is a simple memorial to people who were either shot and killed or drowned trying to get over the wall. This Wall never made sense to me - a city divided against itself. Pointless.





Walking around, I see a lot of things. During lunchtime one day, a bunch of businessmen had to move to the center of the staircase because this model had to have her picture takes walking up and down these stairs a go-zillon times. I felt sorry for her though - it was blazing hot, and we were all watching her by now.





Here's the Momument to the Murdered Jews of Europe (actual name), also referred to as the Holocaust Memorial. This is one of the best memorials Ive ever seen. It obviously looks like a bunch of coffins, but its so much more. The ground is wavy, so you get very disoriented. And the deeper you walk into it, the higher the graves are, and to me at least, it symbolized how the war descended so far down that eventually the Jews felt like the were surrounded on all sides, and it just kept getting worse and worse for them. Its supposed to be open to interpretation - everyone has their own experience.





Here's an idea of how the ground is so wavy. On the blocks, there is this special chemical coating thats supposed to make it real easy to remove graffiti. Get this - the same company that makes the spray coating is also the same company that produced the chemicals that were used in the gas chambers at concentration camps. Crazy huh? But, as my guide explained, they only made these chemicals for other purposes, not humans, and the Nazis just exploited it. When the Jewish community first found out about this, they were all up in arms. But then after a while they were like "Ah, just get it built". And so here it is.




Underground, there is a great museum of letters writting from concentration camps and personal stories about the victims of the Holocaust. There's a room where they just read off victims with a bit of stories of their life. If the names were read like this following video, it would take roughly 6 years, 7 months, and 27 days to read them all. (Sound might be a but tough to hear).




Nearby, ironically, is the site of Hitler's bunker. Now its just a parking lot. It was filled in years ago, and except for this blue sign, it's not remembered or memorialized in anyway.




A little farther away is this really cool monument. Its the Book Burning Monument. This wide open square used to be the site where the Nazis burned all "Un-German" materials. So here is a simple but great memorial: built underground and viewable through only this glass square, is a whire room with nothing in it but floor to ceiling empty bookshelves along all four walls.






The Euro Cup 2008 is being played in June here. I found a cool place and was a German soccer fan for a night. If you look hard you can see German flags - they are everywhere now because of the tournament. When I was in Munich, it was explained to me that in 2006 for the World Cup, it was the first time since WWII that you would see a German flag flying anywhere. It is just now, over 60 years later, becoming barely appropriate to fly the German flag. Germans were shocked and excited to be able to display their colours. Nationalism isnt a big thing in Germany.





Here's the award for "Most Ridiculous Tourist Creation" - Check Point Curry. Seriously? Bravo. James Gandolfini there is about to give me a whompin'.




Here's the Allied crossing between the former East/West Berlin - otherwise known as Checkpoint Charlie. Btw, I found out there's no "Charlie". It's the military alphabet - Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc. It's really just "Checkpoint C". These soliders aren't really soldiers now, of course, but for some reason I look so stiff, like Im about to be carted away. Back in the Cold War, this was no man's land. Now it's Tourist Centrale.










People had all kinds of creative ways to try and sneak across the border, like hiding in cars and such. So when a person would hid in a car, they would weigh down the 5 or 10 cars in front and back with these rubber balls, so by comparison, the low riding car with the person didn't seem much different as the other cars around it, so it only received a cursory check. This picture is from the "Wall" museum - proabably the most crowded and disappointing museum so far. Had great info and stuff - but it was all these pictures and writing on whiteboards nailed to the wall. I want interactive video touch screens and soft light.












Ok, so here's the Jewish Museum. There are no right angles in this building, and there are these "voids" that cut through the entire building were there's just absolutely nothing in them, to symbolize that there missing voids in the Jewish community from people who were taken away and never returned.

This void actually had something in it - one of the best artisic creations Ive seen so far. These iron faces number over 10,000.













Here's what it looks and sounds like to walk through here.




I did find something silly in here, to laugh at in the Jewish Museum. Mirrors with moustaches, catch em!







This cool clock tells the time of any time zone - perfect for a Jumping Picture!








Hey check it out - two Jumping Pictures in one blog! (Happy SharDougMarv?) This is a part of the East Side Gallery - about a half mile of wall thats still intact. Check it out - Magic Johnson representin. Larry Bird is also nearby. We are taking a three point shot here.




There's no explanation for this one - just good times.




Here is me and my host, Janine, at the East Side Gallery.






More at the East Side Gallery.




If you're hungry, you can buy a hot dog sausage thing from a guy with a hot plate strapped to him under and umbrella. I never got this desperate for food. This has to be the most ridiculous food delivery system yet.





Ever heard about Knut the Polar Bear? He's my muse.









In this big department store called the KaDaWe, they have everything. This floor was electronics, and I caught these two old men enjoying some free sports.

"Good game, huh?"
"Yeah. Thanks for having me over."
"Of course. Thanks for having me over."
"Your'e welcome".








Pilot to Co-pilot. Go ahead co-pilot. Helicopters are cool, over. Affirmative, copy that, over. Over and out, over. Over, over.
ps-What's your vector, Victor?



Ok, I had to share this. Janine lives next to a kids playground, and they yell and scream early in the morning. Janine has a nickname for these kids. Enjoy.





Ok, so after several days in Berlin of WWII history, making that at least half of the countries so far where I studied war history, I was just tired of it. You can only look at pictures of Hilter and the SS so many times before wanting to put a fist through them. The wartime is fascinating of course, but it was time for a break, and to be a bit silly. I now take you to the Teirpark, one of Berlin's zoos. (There are two parks of course - East and West.) I went a bit loopy in this zoo. Lots of videos here.....Let the tomfollery begin:




This statue was totally free - didn't even require a quarter!






I got close enough to these goats to hear what they were saying. Let's listen in:




In thr Tiger cage:



Check out out happy these elephants are just playing with the dirt:




Monkeys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!





Off to the turtle races!







Ever have a staring contest with a pelican? I have. I lost. This thing was a pro. He was forraging through the trash for a plastic bottle to take back and play with in the pong. Apparently this happens all the time.










I went to another opera! This one was Beethoven's Fidelio. I didn't understand a word - all in German of course. This opera house is a but older, so no English subtitles at your seat. Something the guy at the box office told me I would have. Oh well. Music is music. I would really like to know what was going on though.





Check out this stage - I caputured this at bows. So surreal.




Off to Athens now! I'd definetly come back to Berlin some day - especially to another opera. Hopefully when I know a bit more German!