saving private ferg...lol

well the title only describes one day...the ones leading up to it are pretty boring...

Saturday- well after an exhausting wk in the UK, we got to sleep in til 8:55 then had history, i wasn't feeling good so i skipped the 2nd session and slept. after lunch i felt better so i worked on my journal for Miss Nan's class. and continued doing so the rest of the night. we did have a thanksgiving dinner though...although it was a southern dinner and not a northern one...no corn casserole, noodles, bread stuffing, fried turkey, home made rolls...but other than that it was ok lol.

Sunday- we got up, had church, studied, ate lunch, studied, slept, and studied some more, had supper, and studied til 3 am.

Monday- today we had to shots of history one w/ a test and one w/o. then we had chapel, then lunch...then my favorite class ever...world lit...seriously...who came up w/ this curriculum???...they should be tortured to death...ugh...then as soon as we got done w/ that torture, ev and i went to h&m and got some hats, got a phone card and chilled. we came back and studied, ate supper, then studied until i passed out on the table at 2:30 and apparently ev made me go to bed but i don't remember ever going to bed, i just remember waking up this morning and not knowing how i got into my bed lol. calling mom, dad, and gram and gramps always makes a day better...even if you do find out you have ZERO $$$ left in your bank account...i guess thats what you get for going to the UK...

Tuesday- well today ev and i were supposed to wake up at 7 and finish studyin for our wonderful history test BUT...that didn't happen so we got up at 8:30 for our 8:30 class. we went and miss nan had pity on us and she let us have an open book test. so i think i did ok, so i came back upstairs, shaved, cleaned up then took a nap til lunch. after lunch ev, ferg, and i hit a train towards spa and got off at Theux...well this apparently isn't the correct stop we were supposed to get off at according to Dr. T, so we spent 40 mins tryin to find the Chateau de Franchimont (old castle's ruins) so we finally found it and walked up there inspected it and walked around up there. while ev and ferg explored i took a seat then ev called to me from the top of this hill, so i head down to them and on the way down i hear ferg shout "NO!!"...they were making a contraption w/ their belts and ferg's camera to lower the camera into this hole we found in the side of the castle that must have been a ventilation hole in the castle dungeon. well while in the process of taking his belt off he knocked his ipod off on to the metal crate and it fell off the metal crate 25 ft to the bottom of the hole......soooooooo....we devised a plan to get ferg in and out of the hole safely to recover his ipod. we sent ev off to a decent sized tree to cut it down w/ his swiss army knife and ferg and i got our belts and camera bag strap tied together. i went down and help break off the tree then ev and i carried it up the hill, we thought ferg had ahold of it but apparently he didn't b/c he dropped it back on ev's head lol. so we put the tree down in the hole, and ferg climbed down to a ledge then jumped the rest of the 20 ft of the hole. he grabbed his ipod (which now has a broken LCD screen) and started climbing up the tree to us. he got up to the ledge and we threw him the contraption of belts and as soon as we could reach him we pulled him up to us. he was shaking he was so scared b/c the tree was bending so much and there was a bunch of rocks at the bottom of the hole. we got him out safe n sound, then ev tried climbing the wall, which was collapsing a little bit with every step, w/ every step rocks were flyin down at me and ferg so he climbed down but got stuck in thorn bushes so i had to go up and untangle him, then we all sat and chilled for a while on top of the hill overlooking the city, then we ran down the mountain at 4 and sprinted down the street to hit the train just b4 it left. we got back to verviers, chilled, ate, and chilled the rest of the night.

p.s- don't take a $300 ipod w/ you when you go exploring...bad decision! lol

2nd Freetravel...ugh...

Thursday- we had classes til 10, ate lunch, said our goodbyes and hit our trains to Bayeux. we got there around 8, watson and i set up our tickets back to paris for the next day. then the 8 of us: Than, Kim, Loren, Chad, Leah, Watson, Sarah, and I grabbed a hotel for the night, a cheap one so it was nice. and we walked around Bayeux for a while, we grabbed some food for the week, then headed back to the hotel. i ate supper, watched some tv, took some benidyl (bad idea) and went to bed.

Friday- well taking benidryl is not a good idea when ur only gonna get 5-6 hrs of sleep so watson and i were miserable for the first hr of our waking lol. we got up around 7:15, cleaned up and met the group by the trainstation for our tour of Normandy at 8. our guide was really cool and knowledgable, he grew up in Bayeux so not only did he have the local's stories but he had all the research perspectives also. our first stop was the german cemetary. they have black crosses on their graves. on some of their headstones, since some of the soldiers weren't 18 yet, their birthdate is not on there. there's also a mound in the middle b/c when the cemetary was built they messed up so they had to make a huge unkown soldier grave. we then went to the cemetary museum and our guide showed us on the map where all the cemetaries were and other interesting things then we headed to St. Marie du Mont. this is where the 82nd airborne landed on D-Day on accident. one man, john steele, got stuck on a church steeple and hung there acting like he was dead for 2 hrs b4 he was shot in the leg and taken prisoner. that church now hangs a manican of him from the steeple and has stained glass windows honoring the 82nd AA. after the church we walked over to the airborne museum. it had a sherman tank, half track, c-47 plane, a glider, jeeps and other WWII airborne memorabilia. we watched a movie there about the 82nd AA. then after the museum we headed to Utah Beach, this was the easiest beach to liberate, it was also the first beach to be liberated. the liberation was led by Theodore Roosevelt Jr. who was a general, this was rare for a general to lead the 1st charge; he asked 4 times to do it and on the 4th time the army let him. the reason it was the easiest beach is b/c they landed about 1 km to the west of where they were supposed to land and there was only 70 germans there facing 24,000 GI's so it was easy to liberate and to take the rest of the coast from behind and flank the nazis. i got to see an H-boat which was cool. then we went to Point du Hoc, this is where 225 rangers set out to climb a 100 ft cliff and take over a german fortification on the top. by the time they got to the top they only had 135 men and after 2 days of holding the fortification they only had 90 left. at first the rangers went to the wrong cliff but their ammuntion craft was hit so they turned around and went to the right cliff and scaled it (they started climbing the 100 ft cliff at 7:10 and the first guy up was there at 7:15 and all 135 of them were up by 7:35!!! amazing!) they would've had a more successful and less casualties if their timing was on but they were 40 mins late. the germans had a good fortification w/ mines and everything but our GI rangers were just too much to handle. after point du hoc we went to our guides hometown where once one of the allies' petroleum pipelines went through. then we went to where the allies had one of their artificial ports, then we went to Omaha Beach, the most difficult beach, where 30,000 GI's attacked. the reason it was so hard was b/c of the mountains w/ bunkers on it surrounding the beach and the 2 88's positioned on the beach and the snipers on the mountains plus all the beach obstacles. afterwards we went to the american cemetary on top of omaha. it was beautiful. we saw 2/3 of the medal of honor winners (for my national guard buddies: the one medal of honor winner was a "weekend warrior" he took 35 POW's by himself w/ a grenage and a bayonette...talke about a bad bad man) and when we left all the GI branch songs were being played it was really nice to hear something american again. after that we we went to another port and it was getting dark so we headed up to this 360 degree WWII theater. it was a really graphic and accurate movie of real WWII clips and pictures compared to what normandy looks like today. after the movie we headed back to the trainstation, paid the guide, grabbed our bags and were waiting at the trainstation by 6 for our 6:21 train to paris...ugh....the start of the worst 18 hrs of my life! soooo here we go:

the train didn't get there until 6:45. and once we all got on it went about 1 mile in 30 mins!! (note: we have only 50 mins in paris to get from one station to another one on the other side of paris to catch our train to brussels) all b/c of leaves on the track this is happening. so we finally start moving along and get to paris w/ 25 mins to get to the other side of paris. we sprint through the metros, and every sub has a 3-6 min wait. we finally get to the station just 10 mins late for our train...after alllllllll that...just 10 stinken mins....soooo we start callin around and getting info on different trains. i switch our tickets to the next morning at 6:50. then we sat down and tried to sleep at the station until 1 am when an officer came and kicked us out and we walked down the red light district and found the cheapest looking hotel and paid stinken 110 euros for 5 hrs in there...ugh...it was a long night...

Saturday-so we got a lil sleep, got up showered then headed back to the trainstation to catch our 6:55 train to brussels praying that we make it in time to catch our flight to dublin. so we get to brussels at 8:15, run off the train and out the door to find a shuttle or a taxi to the airport, so we find a taxi at around 8:25 or 8:20 idk, and we tell him that we need to be there at 8:50 and he laughs and says 9 is the best he can do. so he flies to the airport and we get there pay him 140 euros, and go to check in and w/ ryanair they close the checkin 40 mins b4 our flight at 9:30...i begged the lady and she said no...so we sat around depressed and thinking what we could do b/c we just missed our flight and pretty much screwed over our whole trip so we sat for an hr or 2 debating and thinking of what we could do. we go and talk w/ several ppl and get a bunch of information on trains, planes, and automobiles!...and even hostels and stuff to do...and we decide just to buy another ticket to glasgow, scotland. it cost us 37 euros a piece but now we have a flight to scotland and we don't have to lose all of our flights that we had. yes we're out of some money but after forking out as much as we have already i'm not too concerned. so we bought our tickets and headed back to the trainstation w/ hopefully all the necessary information we need to get there tomorrow. at the trainstation we go to Info and grab a schedule from verviers to brussels and we were able to come back to verviers for the evening so we don't have to pay for a place to stay tonight and can get cleaned up and all that jazz....mama T, and Lisa are amazing! they cooked us a nice hot meal and just boosted our morale all around! if it wasn't for them the whole week would have been miserable probably but thanks to them it wasn't bad. hopefully the rest of the trip will be better. don't worry bout us we'll hopefully be fine just pray that the rest of the wk goes smoother

Sunday-today we got up at 4:45 am, packed, grabbed a lunch, and headed to the station to catch our train to brussels. we got there around 7:10, and hit the airport shuttle at 7:30. we were at charleroi 3 hrs b4 our flight. at 2 hrs, we checked in, paid for our luggage, and headed in to the gate. it was about an hr and a half flight to Glasgow. i slept the whole time. we got there at 12:25. the ppl of scotland are awesome and they speak english!!! we grabbed a bus into the city and grabbed some info and left our bags off at our hostel then walked around for a while then it got dark at 4 so we were in bed by 8 after we had communion.

Monday- we got up at 8, got ready and hit a train to Edinburgh. we hit up info once there and got a bus tour around the city for 16$. its a beautiful city! we went and saw and toured the edinburgh castle and saw the scotland royal jewels. the oldest in the UK. then we hopped on the bus and toured around and went to shops. watson and i bought kilts lol. we went to the queens palace but decided not to go in so instead we went to starbucks and chilled and waited for the next bus then we headed back to the station. i bought a meal at KFC so we could all split it when we got back. we bot back around 7. it was pitch black and raining. so i heated up our meal, split it up and we ate and went to bed.

Tuesday- we got up at 8, ate breakfast and left by 9:30 for the bus station then to find our other hostel. it was a 30 min walk. we checked in and dropped our bags off and headed to the kelvingrove and transport museums for the day. there were cool. we went back to the hostel and chilled then watson and i took a walk. then we got back and i did some more research and we went to bed early around 8 b/c we had a long day the next day.

Wednesday- POP'S BIRTHDAY! at 2:30 we woke up b/c leah forgot to switch her clock. so we got up, and i called dad, and we chilled til 3:30 then we walked to the bus station and got there at 4 and waited for our 4:45 bus to the airport. we got there round 5:30, checked in, got starbucks, and hit up some souvenirs. then we boarded around 6:20 and arrived in london around 8ish. we grabbed our bags and bought a train ticket for 30$ ugh...english pounds are bank account killers!...we got to liverpool station, got some info, grabbed an underground pass, and went in search of wicked tickets...we got lost several times but after about 1.5 hrs we found the theater and bought tickets for 15 lbs. we then went in search of our hostel. we dropped off our bags and went to buckingham palace...our equivalent to like the white house kind of but not really lol. it was nice. then watson and i headed to chinatown...it was pathetic so we left in the rain back to the hostel. checked in, rested, cleaned up and headed out to our show around 6:30. we got there around 7 and relaxed and the show started at 7:30 it was an awesome show...#2 only to lionking in my opinion. then watson and i went and saw big ben at night. it was neat. afterwards we headed back to the hostel. i checked somethings on the internet then we went to bed around 12 or 1.

Thursday- we got up around 8:15, cleaned up and packed, ate breakfast, then headed out for st. pauls cathedral. it was really nice. there was alot of security b/c of all the different US thanksgiving services there. then we headed back to whitehall place and westminister abbey where all the parliament stuff is and a bunch of war memorials it was nice. then we went across the bridge and waited for sarah's friend sean. he was 40 mins late. so at 12:40 he got there and we took off to the london bridge (nothing special) then the london tower, where we had our thanksgiving dinner of fish n chips lol half cold...ugh...nuttin like turkey. the tower bridge is neat. then we went over to see shakespeare's globe it was cool. then we headed to the national gallery where van gogh's painting of the sunflowers is, and a bunch of other famous artists stuff i guess lol. we then hit an underground back to where sean was parked it took 45 mins to get there. and the london security are very nice, we should've had to pay $24 each to leave the underground but they let us go b/c we played the tourist card lol. but then we had another 30 min walk to his car up hill w/ all of our bags which we've been carrying all day ugh...so we got to his car and we started out...he's not good w/ road signs or directions. lol. he missed the exit to the airport 4 times lol...so we got a 32 mile detour. but we made it there just in time for the gate to open so no worries. we got checked in, grabbed some starbucks and souvenirs and the other 3 went to the correct gate and i did not lol...i took a tram across the airport so some unknown gate and finished my mocha ate a snickers and there was still no one there and it was dark an hr b4 take off so i asked a lady and she had to call security to come pick me up and take me back to my gate lol. so i got a free escort across the airport it was unique. and no i'm not the only one...he said it happens all the time lol. we we caught our flight to dublin at 9:45, got to dublin at 11, and found a cozy seat at the airport and attempted to get some rest...

Friday- after attempting to doze off for about a total of an hr and breaking my coffee cup, i gave up and we went up and checked in at around 4 am. and we chilled then hit our flight at 6:50 and got to brussels around 9. we got a shuttle to the trainstation and got back to verviers around 12:30. we bought the women flowers for their generosity last friday. we cleaned up and relaxed and i put on my kilt...its sooooo comfy and free!! lol...over all not a terrible trip....but only 10 days left til i'm back in the states :)

week between germany and 2nd free travel

Friday- we had classes alllll day...then chilled...and went to bed b/c we were all exhausted.

Saturday- today we had classes until 2, then a group of us went to Maastricht...it is November 11, Armistice day (SP) but over here in Europe it's a big deal. we got there and everyone was wearing these rediculous costumes, and wearing red, yellow, and green. there was a huge concert band playing all these songs etc. we walked around and just enjoyed the sights of drunk ppl in costumes making fools of themselves. we ate at a slightly mexican resturant, then we were all gonna watch a movie...but nikki got sick from her beef which wasn't cooked right...so watson and leah took her back and ev and i went and watched Borat...it was hilarious!! holland movie theaters are weird they have a 15 min intermission in the middle of them...then we came back, chilled, studied, and went to bed.

Sunday- today we got up, worshipped, studied, had a few tests, until 5, then chilled all night

Monday- today was our free day so we went with the taylors to Brussels and Antwerp. i guess the famous thing in brussels is a statue of some little fat boy peeing and it's a fountain...idk seems a little weird to me but w/e...i bought all my xmas gifts (chocolate) lol. i hope y'all like it! then in Antwerp it's famous for its diamonds. and some ppl bought some rings etc. for cheap. Ev and i went off and chilled the rest of the day, stopped at a coffee shop got a drink, read the USA Today (which is a rare nice thing to do). then we headed back to verviers. i didn't feel too good today...all this lack of sleep + cold weather + always on the go is catchin up to me.

Tuesday- today we had classes allll day but i skipped some of it to get better, and it helped a lot. then after class i planned our free travel, studied, chilled, and went to bed. i was gettin kind of tired of planning our free travel b/c i was the only one doing anything! so if you ever go travelling w/ someone, make sure they are capable of helping or at least some what productive!

Wednesday- today we started class at 9, and ended at 2, then we all got dressed up a lil bit and headed to a private park w/ a gazebo for our group picture. we lost a few ppl so while we were waiting for them some kids asked if they could play with us, so for the next 30 mins we played frisbee and soccer w/ some kids it was really fun. then we got our pictures, then ferg, ev and i stayed after and played frisbee for an hr. we went back, ate, got cleaned up, packed, had devo, studied, chilled, made some phone calls to some awesome ppl and family, and didn't go to bed til 6 am b/c i was so busy. bad choice!!

the pictures are 1 of ev sleeping in a huge hand b/c we were sooooo bored...then 2 me mocking the lil fat naked statued of the kid peeing lol

Germany/Austria wk!!

Day 1 of our germany trip- we rode a trip....ALLLLL DAYYY!!! then we got to our hotel which was really nice, ate an amazing meal...weiner schnitzel is AMAZING!! its breaded veal sooooooo good. then i went to bed.

Day 2- well due to Ev's ear-busting-snoring and the fact that our beds were touching each other, i didn't get much sleep. i've also been missin things at home and ppl buuut, thats irrevelant. so we ate breakfast and headed to the trainstation, but the trains were shut down for construction...soooo we had to take a bus to Berchtesgarden. we had gotten about 1.5 inches of snow it was really nice. we got to the salt mine and made a snow man along the road it was fun...then had snow ball fights in which my LCD screen on my camera was broke...not a happy camper bout that...but the tour was fun sliding down the huge wooden railings...we had to wear really funny clothes...HUGE clothes...afterwards we ate, looked at the shops, then went to Salzburg for a lil bit then back to the hotel and we ate gyros YUMMY! then bed

Day 3- we got up at 7...ugh...grabbed a quick bite then headed back to berchtesgarden. we then took another bus to Konnigsee. and got on a boat and took a very nice tour of a lake in between the bavarian alps. it was really nice and relaxing...we could see the eagles nest from the lake. then we got to some little place w/ a church and spent 2 hrs relaxing there. then we trained back to salzburg and walked through the park that was in the Sound of Music movie...it was really really nice i think if it was summer or spring or fall it would be the best one thus far....bbbuuuuuttt...instead it was covered w/ snow and everything was dead lol. o well...then we toured mozarts houses...i guess that was aight...i kinda just ran through both...then i used a computer and headed back and went to bed.

Day 4- today we got cleaned up, ate breakfast, and headed to munich to hit a train to Dachau which was the first concentration camp of WWII started way before the war in 1933. we toured the museum, watched a movie, and walked around the camp...it was very somber. then we had worship in the chapel...Papa T made a good statement. "this is a very good place to worship, seeing as there were probably more prayers said to God from this place than anywhere else in the world." i think this was an amazing statement...pictures nor books will ever do this place justice....no words can ever make someone relive the feeling of walking on the same ground the 60 years before people were tortured and killed on....afterwards we went back to munich, grabbed some super, went to the hotel, watched some more german tv lol, then hit the hay.

Day 5-we got up at 8, ate breakfast, and hit a train at munich. then hit another train to the neuschwanstein castle...(cinderella castle) we toured it...yada yada yada...it was nice...then Ev and i went for a walk and took some awesome pictures of the castle. then we came back to the hotel, chilled, and went to bed...we were on a train for a total of 8 hours UGH...not fun!

Day 6- today we got up at 6:30 GAY!!! then we hit a train to salzburg then another one to vienna for 3 hrs. we went to the hapsburg palace...toured it...blah...then we played hacky sack out in the gardens behind it...now that was fun lol. then ev, ferg, watson and i just chilled and walked around for a few hrs. then we grabbed a bite to eat and headed back to salzburg and back to the hotel...i took a walk and got away for a while...it was SOOOo nice!!!

Day 7- Free Day!!! YAY! we slept in til 8:30 or 9, ate breakfast, and watched watson get new boots to go hiking (foreshadowing of unfortunate events for watson lol) we headed to berchtesgarden. than, loren, caleb and i went to a place and almost got a tour to the eagles nest but we couldn't so we found watson and met up w/ the guys and got a taxi halfway up the mountain that the eagles nest on....so after the crazy fast taxi ride we started our climb up the mountain...severely unprepared for a 10 mile hike up 1000 vertical meters...it wasn't an easy climb but than and i made it up just under 2 hrs. so we spent lots of time resting at the peak at the eagles nest...we didn't get to go in but we talked to a tour group about it they were really nice. then 30 mins later the other 5 guys came hobbling up. watson's heel was rubbed raw from his new boots so he was having to stop every 30 mins...we got a group picture and rested for a while then trecked back down...it was soooo beautiful at the top. i've now jumped into the swiss alps and climbed the bavarian alps its great. then we got down in an hr and 20 mins, grabbed a few taxis ate at an amazing!!! resturant...i got spare ribs, steak, and a baked potato for 10 euros. it was sooooooo good...then we headed back and went tooo bed we were soo tired...we also packed too. p.s- mom once again u were right...don't eat a 2 day old sandwich...it makes u really sick!!

Day 8- we rode trains...ALLL STINKEN DAY!! then we got back unpacked did laundry, ate, and chilled and went to bed...

HERE YA GO KIMMIE!! i hope u like ur pictures lol. miss and love ya bud! i never have ur number w/ me when i make calls home but one of these days i'll get to call ya. just think 24 more days then guess who's comin home??!!

wk between freetravel and germany

wellllll,
the day after we got back we had to get up at 8 and haver classes allllllll day....that was a blast!...not...at lunch Mama T told us this "story" that every yr she designates someone as her donkey... her and Papa T set it all up perfectly it was hilarious! i'll have to tell y'all the story later i'm too tired and have too much to do right now. but she gave me this donkey they bought in greece that is hand made its a really nice donkey i must say lol...so i'm officially the donkey of the trip!

sunday- after church we had a lit test and a paul test...umm...in the bible of Ty...thats against my relgion! but any way after classes finally ended 8 of us guys went to the park and played frisbee...it was a blast...i threw my arm out but it was worth it...then we came back and ate and relaxed. p.s-...i shaved half my beard off!!! :-O

Monday- (Amsterdam)- i planned to get up at 3:55am w/ loren and some guys to go to amsterdam early...so i got up asked them what time it was...climbed out of bed, asked evan if he wanted to go...he said no so i climbed back in bed for 2 more hrs...then we got up at 5 somethin and actually ended up catching the same train as the ppl who got up at unholy hrs of the morning. we got to amsterdam around 10 and got to harlem (Tin-Boom House) BUT it was closed...so we headed back to the city and headed for the anne frank house...it was really cool! then we just walked around the city til like 5:30 and got back round 10:30 and chilled.

Tuesday----classssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.....great way to spend halloween isn't it???

Wednesday....class, packed for a wk of germany, watched schindlers list! great movie!!... then went to bed...