Hernandez sad tale of demons that never left

By now, many of you have heard about the goings on with (now) former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez. The 23-year-old fourth round selection out of Florida has been at the center of the sports world and beyond with his involvement in a recent homicide of 27-year-old Odin Taylor near Hernandez's mansion in Massachusetts.

It was believed that police were ready to serve Hernandez with an obstruction of justice arrest warrant, after the NFL phenom reportedly handed over evidence in the case that was willfully destroyed by either Hernandez or someone closely involved with the young star. Hernandez's cell phone - destroyed. His security system around his home - demolished. He even went as far as hiring a professional cleaning crew to come out to his home on Monday June 17.

All of that came crashing down on top of him on Wednesday, as police went into Hernandez's home and took him out in cuffs. The world saw a young man worth millions of dollars, a name synonymous with Patriots football fanatics and fantasy football aficionados across the country, being escorted across his own front lawn in handcuffs. An obstruction of justice arrest now seemed like a thing of the past.

It turns out they were right.

At roughly 1:30 CST, Hernandez stood in front of a Massachusetts judge as the counts were read off in front of him. Being presented to him were five counts of gun related offenses and one count of murder. The "M" word. How could this be?

As the charges were listed by the judge, Hernandez stood there with a cold stare, hardly flinching at the sound of his life slowly eroding away from in front of him. Taylor's mother stood in the court room, eventually leaving after not being able to handle the scene currently unfolding in front of her. Hernandez looked as though he was watching paint dry, turned into a man that lacked emotion, and if the evidence brought forth by the police department is indeed what happened, then his reaction might have fit the crime.

Courtesy: tracking.si.com

It is believed that Hernandez and Taylor were out on the town around the Boston area, when Hernandez became troubled that Taylor was associating with people that he had no longer been on good terms with. The two (and it's assumed two other individuals) left that night club and drove to an industrial park near Hernandez's home.

Taylor knew that something was wrong, as it has been recorded that he texted his sister upon leaving the night club and when she asked who he left with, all he could respond with was, "NFL." Cell phone tower records and text messages put Hernandez and Taylor in the area of the murder, where witnesses report hearing gun shots in the vicinity of where the murder took place.

Taylor died that night of an execution-like murder, taking five shots. Including a fatal blow to the back of the head. And it is believed Hernandez was the man with the finger on the trigger.

How could someone with so much to lose be caught up in such a messy situation? Hernandez was quickly becoming one of the faces of the New England organization. Alongside Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski, Hernandez was easily one of their most recognizable faces. Last year, the athletic tight end signed a 5-year, $41.1 million extension, a signal of his worth to owner Robert Kraft and the club.

It has been well-documented that Hernandez came to the Patriots in 2010 with baggage from Gainsville. The highly talented football star had troubles with marijuana and drug use while playing under Urban Meyer and came into the NFL Draft with concerns of gang affiliation during his time in college. It is unclear whether it began during his time growing up in Bristol, Conn., but one thing was for certain - Hernandez had demons.

Because of those issues, he slipped to the fourth round of the Draft, where Kraft and head coach Bill Bellichick took a flyer on the skilled big man in cohorts with their second round pick, Gronkowski. The two tight ends have proved to be nightmares for opposing defenses during their first two seasons, proving to be Brady's two biggest targets outside of former wideout Wes Welker.

Hernandez had one of the highest upsides of any tight end in the NFL.
Thanks to his size and speed, he was a matchup nightmare for defenses.

Hernandez had a support system around him in New England willing to help out the troubled star. His recent contract extension was a sign of trust from the team, a sign that the Patriots were comfortable that the once troubled youngster had turned a new leaf with what was essentially his hometown ball club.

Instead, he is now facing murder charges for what appears to be a punk-like execution of a former friend because he talked to someone he didn't want him talking to. If that is the case, Hernandez deserves the same cold, callous conclusion that was presented to Taylor on that fateful night. This isn't 1920s New York or Chicago, nor is it the old Roman empire days where you execute those that disobey your wishes.

However, more often than not, professional athletes that sign lucrative deals are given this sense of empowerment, like the rules don't apply to them. It is a sad tale that will continue to haunt those that find themselves in a higher realm of society than they are accustomed to. In no way was Hernandez a troubled child coming out of Bristol, nor was he a risk to human life at the University of Florida. But if anything should be learned coming out of this sad state of events, is that no matter your financial standing or your feeling of superiority - justice will find you.

Now he will have his day in court, and his lawyer has been quoted as being extremely certain that the prosecution's case is "weak," but all signs point to Hernandez throwing away a lucrative career and abandoning his brand new 7-month old daughter and fiancee. In the end, his demons were too much to overcome when all the cards were on the table.

Unfortunately, it comes at the cost of a young man who felt his need to show power was greater than the well-being of those around him.

Twin Brother’s Disease Lights A Fire In Ellenberger

Twin Brother’s Disease Lights A Fire In Ellenberger

Link to my Picasa web album

Alright folks, here is the link to my Picasa web album where you will find photos from (in order):

-Olomouc

-Prague

-Train rides

-Dresden

-Vienna

-Bus rides

-Venice

-Rome

-Soccer matches

-And much more!

Please enjoy them, there are over 1600 photos and more to come. Keep this page bookmarked, or the link I give you bookmarked to see when I publish something next!

LINK!

Garrett's Semester Abroad Twenty Ten!

Continuation of the ash-kissing

Bear with me ladies and gentlemen, instead of writing a whole new blog for the 2nd part, I have copied and pasted the journal entry I wrote for my advisor. It still contains all the key points.

Instead of starting this journal on Monday of this past week, this entry claims its origins on Friday April 17, the day we were to begin our epic Spring break adventure by flying out of Venice and making our way to Rome. That morning, I woke up with pep in my step, re-packed my bag, and met up with the group of us heading to the airport. In order to get to the airport we needed to take a waterbus from Venice to the airport, a brief 30-minute ride. While we were standing in the waiting area for our bus to arrive, it was mentioned that our flight was in jeopardy because of some volcano. This can as big news to me because that was the first time I had heard any news of the volcano that would haunt our vacation for the next week.

We boarded the waterbus and jetted off to the Venice airport where we would find our fate. Cancelled. In fact, I have never seen so much red on an airport departure list. Where there was one cancellation, there were 100. There were lines all over the airport of ragged, scrappy travelers who bore the expression of frustration and exhaustion. With our route to Rome now in the toilet, it was time to enact a plan B. Only problem was that we had no plan B. It was decided that we needed to go to the train station and find out about trains to Rome from Venice, which is what my real group was taking. I was the only one flying, with a different group of classmates. We all dragged ourselves on the bus, unsure of our travelling future and just what would happen next. Needless to say, our perfect batting average continued when the bus broke down not two minutes after leaving the airport. After a 10-minute wait for an empty bus, we continued our journey to the Venice terminal. 73 Euros later and we possessed a train ticket that would take us to Rome in just over three hours. Total price thus far for my journey from Venice to Rome: 153 Euro. Regardless, we boarded the train and I was off to meet my group at the Rome train station – if I could find them.

The train ride was interesting as we went through Italian countryside and rain showers. A brief delay on the tracks got us into Rome at around 3:30 p.m. With our arrival, I said goodbye to the group I had arrived with and attempted to locate the group I would be travelling with for the next few days. I looked for 45 minutes before eventually finding them and we were off to our hostel. On the walk to the hostel, we crossed a busy intersection where we had to run across the road. Well since I only had my carry-on bag with wheels, I was dragging it behind me and attempted to hoist it over the oncoming curb. With my amazing luck continuing, the left wheel caught the curb and snapped off, leaving me a rolling suitcase with one wheel. Just awesome. Anyways, we arrived at our hostel and proceeded on with what sight seeing we could accomplish in the next couple of hours before daylight died. We managed to walk around the neighborhood when we stumbled upon my dream of dreams. It was the one piece of history I have been dying to see since I was a kid. I had read about it in books, seen it in movies, marveled at its beauty in pictures, and gawked at the pure magnitude of its existence on our history.

The Colosseum.

It appeared just over the horizon as we entered a park and it was visible between two lines of trees and it was breathtaking. So much history has taken place in that very building and it made my jaw drop at the sight of it. After snapping what seems like 500 pictures of the ancient building, we took some time walking around it before heading back for free pasta (our hostel had free pasta on Friday and Saturday nights). The next morning we would be mobile tearing up the city of Rome before leaving on a jet plane, or so we thought, on the 19^th for Paris.

The next day in Rome consisted of visiting the Vatican, the Forum, Circus Maximo, and various other landmarks that have made Rome the history capital of the world. You spend so much time in school history classes learning about the impact of Rome and how much they are responsible for architecture and art and everything. It really just blows you away when you get to see it up close. We also got to go inside the Colosseum, which was probably my most favorite moment. We covered a lot of ground in a short period of time and left ourselves time at night to hit up a local wine bar with live music. After an enjoyable time there, it was time to go back and get some shuteye because the next day we were to head to Paris. Not so fast my friend.

That night when we got back, we had received an e-mail that our flight to Paris was cancelled. The next few hours were spent with a bottle of wine, some kebabs, and a couple computers, as we were completely rerouting our Spring break trip. We toyed with the notion of heading to Croatia, my nationality, for a couple of days to hit up some party beaches. Believe it or not, Croatia contains some of the most popular beaches in all of Europe. Eventually, after some research, we decided to head 20 minutes to the coast of Rome in a suburb called Ostia, to spend a day on the beach as we regroup. After arriving at Ostia the next day, we were in love. It was near 70 degrees each day and for the entire day, seven to eight hours, we got to lay on the beach next to the Mediterranean Sea and soak in some rays. This was absolute paradise. During my time on the beach I collected seashells, swam in the sea, played volleyball with locals, goofed around, and got a chance to become closer with the six people that I accompanied on the trip. Ask any one of them and you will not hear one say that they missed Paris while feeling the sand between their toes.

The beach was an endless horizon of sand and sun. The sand shone like glass, warm from the midday sun, moving between your toes as you sunk. The water, which stretched for miles and miles, was colder than a ice cubes in December, but enticed you in. You could look at the sea and it just beckoned you to take one-step in it, to forget the rest of your worries and wallow in this vast space of water – nothing but water. The sun gleamed off the water and gave it a sparkle as the waves crashed on the rocks just short of the shore. The tranquility of the sea rocking you to sleep as you dig your fingers and toes into the pure grains of sand, closing your eyes to the sounds of waves, faint music playing, and people enjoying life.

The beach made me realize something during my time there. While we were spending our second day on the beach, Cody and I were approached by the cutest 3-year-old girl who was playing with bubbles. She came up to us, smiled, and blew some bubbles for us. I looked at Cody and I said, “remember when that’s all that it took to make us happy? Bubbles? Now we are so worried about plane tickets and whether or not we will have enough money. Why can’t we just go back to being care free? Bubbles.” And right then everything that had been bothering me, the trains, the flight cancellations, the bank account, all popped, just as the bubbles that were floating before our very eyes.

The next day we had a flight scheduled from Milan, Italy to Prague in an attempt to get home. It was only Thursday, but most of us were physically and emotionally spent from this vacation, so it was decided that Olomouc was the place to be. We hit a train from Rome to Milan and found our way to the airport, which would become our cheapest hostel on the entire trip. The bench was not all that comfortable, but it was free. The next morning we awoke to find out that our flight was still scheduled and we prepared for our journey home. After a short hour-long flight, we were in Prague at roughly noon. A 2 p.m train brought us home to Olomouc by 5:30 and I cannot tell you how good it felt to be back. I never thought I would say that at the beginning of this trip, but it happened. I was overjoyed to be back in Olomouc.

It will be a trip that will last in my memory forever. Never again will I get the chance to visit these places and I got to spent it with some great people. The whole journey was worth every cent, every minute worrying what would happen next, and every step. In a way, I would like to thank the volcano for sending us to that beach because I don’t know if I could have had a better time just relaxing as we head into the final home stretch of classes and paperwork. With a 20-page report due May 15^th and still no laptop, this will be interesting to see how I can get it done. Regardless, I will let time tell its tale and just remember one thing: bubbles.

The volcano can kiss my ash..Spring Break Twenty Ten!

Well hello everybody. Greetings from Olomouc where I have just concluded an epic, nine-ten day adventure that saw me catching some rays on the beach, getting a taste of the Mediterranean Sea, sleeping in an airport, and logging over 20 hours of travel time between trains, planes, and buses. Oh where, oh where to begin.

Well our trip began on Tuesday April 13th as we packed up from Olomouc and departed on a bus to Vienna, Austria...a mere three hour drive away. The bus ride was about as thrilling as a Twilight book (I hate Twilight, for your information) and last what felt like an entire day. We arrived in Vienna to our hostel, the HappyHostel, located conveniently a couple of blocks away from a strip club. Anyways, we rolled into town around 1 in the afternoon and proceeded to find our rooms and get ready for an afternoon of touring. We walked and walked and walked until we reached the city square where we saw the museums we would be visiting the next day. The rest of the afternoon seems like a blur as nothing really caught my attention. That night, a bunch of students went out to the bar, but I stayed in on the free internet, printing off my boarding passes for the next week or so. Without knowing where everyone went, I walked to get a quick dinner in the steady rain and walked back to my room, which felt like it was in the ghetto. In order to get to our room one would need to walk through this creepy passageway between two walls and then cross through a darkened courtyard with no feel of any lights. Not to mention it took you forever to unlock the door, looking over your shoulder with every creek. I spent the rest of the night in my room listening to music and reading part of my Rick Reilly book. The next day we went to the treasury and to the Mozart museum, which was located in his apartment that he lived in. The treasury was cool. It was filled with ancient artifacts, including the spear that is believe to have killed Jesus Christ, a piece of wood from the cross, and one of the spike used to put him on the cross. While this could all be debated, it was pretty cool just to see this stuff. The Mozart museum was a snoozefest, but what else did you expect? The rest of the time in Vienna was spent going to shops, eating, and hanging out with the group before retiring to bed. The next day we would be taking a bus seven hours to Venice, Italy.

That next morning, after getting my laundry done, we all hopped on the bus at 7:30 a.m. for our trip to Venice. The first half of our trip took us through beautiful countryside and through the Alps...or what I believe to be the Alps. Regardless, the scenery was breathtaking combining the green of the grass, the blue skies, and the towering mounds of rock behind them. Throw in a small town with a lake and that same background and you have a postcard my friends. Anyways, the bus ride was extremely loooooooooong, which is why during our stop I decided to get a liter of orange juice and some vodka and turn this boring ass ride into a party. Needless to say I went through my liter of screwdrivers in four hours, but it wasn't enough to do anything. Some other people on the bus bought an orange soda called Slam, plus a liquid known as gropa (spelling?) which is made of distilled grapes. So essentially, it was wine. I have never been a wine guy and I never will be after tasting this. I kept drinking it because the bottle was being passed around, but not without a grimace each time the liquid cleared my tastebuds. We arrived in Venice close to night time, but boy was it beautiful. The city is intersected thousands of times by canals and the only way to navigate is with boats or gondolas, there were no cars. We walked from the train station to the hostel and settled in. At 5 p.m. we met to walk to the square at San Marco before dispersing to have dinner and navigate our way back. Our dinner consisted of pasta, strawberry wine, and ice cream and of course, most people stopped on their way back for a few adult beverages. Our hostel had a weird rule about closing at 1 a.m. This meant that if you were at the bar, saw it was 1 a.m. and got to the door at 1:01, the door would be locked and you would be forced to sleep outside somewhere. Needless to say, I was in early and asleep by 1:30. The next day, our final in Venice, we went to a couple of museums that I don't really remember because I didn't pay close enough attention. We did visit the museum that houses the original Da Vinci "Balanced Man" drawing, but the museum said it was "too delicate for the public", whatever the hell that means. That night we went on a gondola ride and it was beautiful, right before it started pouring on us. From there, we all got dinner at various locations before ending up in our hostel before the 1 a.m. curfew. The next day was the official start of our Spring break and I was excited. I had my flight ticket printed off for Venice to Rome and we were all ready to start our amazing vacation.

Little did we know, something had just happened thousands of miles away that would alter our Spring break forever.

More to come after I get back from going to see Clash of the Titans...stay tuned!

Spring Break-ing it down

Yes, I am alive. Barely. But I'm alive. I know I have people who are following this blog and while I must apologize for not writing in it every day like I said I was going to, the problem is finding the motivation to do so. I have been fighting a cold ever since we landed in Olomouc and today is the first time it feels like it is getting better. I have spent countless hours coughing, sneezing, hacking up anything, and it has really wore me out. So blame it on the cold for me not wanting to write a blog entry for the past week and a half or so. Another reason why I find it difficult to write a blog entry is that I am still working without a computer. Apple is taking their sweet ass time sending my operating system discs to my dad and then I have to wait as he sends them to me, since Apple couldn't do it themselves. But whatever, I'll be getting baked goods and other stuff when my discs are sent so it'll be worth the wait.

There really has not been much of anything going on in this city since my last blog post. We have yet to go on a group trip since our venture to Prague and Dresden, and out schedule has been filled with Czech language classes and our lectures that everyone enjoys oh so much. Our group did have our first Czech language "test" the other day, to gauge where we were at with what we had learned thus far. The test wasn't officially graded, although I'm not 100% sure about that. I did manage to score a 94.5%, so I am fairly happy with what I am able to regurgitate from my memory banks. This is just like Spanish class all over again...spend 9 weeks learning about the language, study for the tests, take the tests, forget what you've learned. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to need the Czech language when I leave on May 30th. I will remember certain phrases and food items, but other than that, I will not know how to put a sentence together, nor should I need to. The language classes go by quick, so they are by far my favorite out of all we do in the mornings.

It's hard to believe that we landed in the Czech Republic on March 15th and that it's already April 10th, basically a month overseas. There are certain things I'm craving desperately back home, like a Chipotle burrito, pops with refills, not paying for water at a restaurant, and my puppy Tank. I am enjoying my time here in the Czech Republic, but don't think I'm not ready to go home yet sitting in the back of my mind. I do love it here, I love the group, the friendships, just know that May 30th is circled on my calendar. The amazing part about this is that we have roughly 50 days left until we leave the dorms we have called home now for a month, but only half of that time will be spent in Olomouc. Including weekends and our last free week, we will be in this city 27 days out of those 50, the rest will be spent travelling on Spring Break or on our group trips. Our group trips still remaining include:

1) Vienna, Austria

2) Venice, Italy

3) Krakow, Poland

4) Auschwitz

5) Kutna Hora, Czech Republic

6) Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic

plus any day trips that our coordinators want to throw in there.

This upcoming week will be the start of our Spring Break and everything is planned and ready to go. We will have one class and lecture on Monday and then Tuesday we are off to Vienna for a two day group trip on the 13th and 14th. After that, we will continue on to Venice for another two day group trip on the 15th and 16th. Immediately after that is when our Spring Break officially begins. My Spring Break will consist of me hopping on a plane the 17th in Venice and heading to Rome, where I will spend the next two days visiting the Colosseum (always wanted to see it) and other Roman landmarks. Then on the 19th, my group (7 of us) will get on a plane in Rome and take off for Paris, where we will spend 3 days visiting the Eiffel Tower and enjoying some of their wonderful toast. On the 22nd, our group will get on the underwater train from Paris to London to enjoy 2 days with Big Ben and the Queen. On the 24th, we will head to the London airport and fly back to Prague with 2 days to either go back to Olomouc or go around the country. It will all depend how much money I have, because right now it's looking pretty tight. All in all, my Spring Break has cost me over $650 just for travelling and lodging, not to mention I will need food and souvenirs, we'll see just how far I can get with the money in my account.

Needless to say I am super excited about these upcoming couple of weeks. I am in the process of getting an online photo album account so I can post all of my pictures up from the first few weeks, plus our trip to an Olomouc soccer game. I hope everyone in the States is having a good time and being safe. I would also like to send my prayers and best wishes out to my Uncle Dave who is undergoing tests for possible cancer. You're in my thoughts and I hope everything turns out okay.

Until next time, watch out Europe!

Has it been 2 weeks already?

Class. Class. Prague. Dresden. Prague. Olomouc. Since my last blog entry on March 20th we started our official class schedule that will fill up time between our group trips. As many of us have coined it, "it's not so much classes, it's something that we have to be at in the mornings." Our day normally begins around 7:30 in the morning when the roommate and myself attempt to wake up through alarms and pressing the snooze button several times to avoid the inevitable fact that we will have to pull our ass out of bed and get ready for class.

After our zombie routine, we haul out to catch the tram that takes us to the center of Olomouc by 8:15, for our Czech language class that begins at precisely at 8:45-ish, or whenever the last person walks through the door. In our Czech language class, we are going over the basics of the language without really learning the basics. It's like learning to drive with a blindfold..yeah, you might hit some shit and cause some damage, but eventually you'll get it. Our professor, Tomas, pronounced Toe-mosh, essentially smiles the whole class period, but we all know he is cursing us on the inside for our inept ability to pronounce the words. At the end of the class, he always announces that "time is coming," and everyone snickers like pre-teen school children.

I can only hope that time is wearing protection.

After our language class ends at roughly 9:45 am, we sit through an hour and a half of a painstaking lecture by different professors that are from either here in Olomouc, or from surrounding areas such as Prague. I would love to describe to you what we have learned thus far but I was too busy thinking how much I would rather drink antifreeze than listen to how the Czech Republic ousted communism and it's inception in the European Union. Needless to say, I spend the entire time taking a few notes here, zoning out once or twice, but mostly drawing inanimate crap on my paper. These lectures are long and monotonous, but thank God they are in English. However, some of these professors still have a very thick accent, so understanding of the words is hard to come by when you're half asleep dreaming of life outside of the University. Our professor today pronounced the word "focused" and it sounded as if he said "fuck you" and it got a tiny laugh from the peanut gallery. These are the things we looks forward during lectures to provide any sense of entertainment.

After the lecture is over, the group is free to roam the city. Four to five times during the semester, we have an afternoon lecture that begins at 3 pm, but other than that, we are free to spend the rest of the day sleeping, shopping, eating, or drinking. And many of the people in the group prefer the latter in mass quantities. Anything from beer to vodka to absinth has been consumed immediately after class, setting up the group for a myriad of fun later that night.

Class was on hiatus this week as the group took it's first trip, a three day rendezvous to Prague, with one day in Dresden, Germany squeezed into the Prague sandwich. On Thursday morning we loaded onto the train at roughly 9 am to make our way to Prague, which is located about three hours to the west of Olomouc. This was my first train ride, at least that I can remember, and I must say that I enjoyed it. It was relatively smooth and allowed you to see parts of the country that you wouldn't see otherwise. The train arrived in Prague, or Praha, at about noon and we were led to the hostel that we would call home from the next three nights. The hostel was tucked away in the bowels of Prague, a hop, skip, and a jump away from marijuana and cocaine dealers. We had to enter some passageway and the hostel could be found a few meters inside.

My first impression of Prague was that it was one giant shopping mall. The part of Prague we stayed in could be confused for shopping centers all over the world, Nike store over here, clothing stores over there, and everything inbetween. A person could easily blow hundreds of dollars in this location, as long as you avoid the cocaine dealers. I keep mentioning these drug dealers because there seems to be an abundance of them swarming the tourists in Prague. It's the most subtle move ever.

Drugie: "Do you speak English?"
Unsuspecting Tourist: "Yeah, why?"
Drugie: "You want some weed, maybe coke?"

Unsuspecting Tourist: "What, are you serious?"

And they vanish into the alley like a crackhead Batman. Anyways, we were only bothered a couple times to purchase drugs. The first day in Prague we walked across the city, over the Charles Bridge, a bridge only open to foot traffic and street vendors. We made our way up a massive hill to a castle...that we wouldn't be visiting until the next day. Smart. I know, right? Regardless, at the top of this hill, just short of the castle we were able to take some breathtaking shots of the Prague skyline, which extended as far as the eye could see. The rest of the day was free for us to shop and look around. My night ended early after walking around for hours searching for shit I wasn't going to buy.

The next day was our trek back to the castle. We woke up that morning (I say we and I mean my roommates for the trip, Kane, Caleb, and Cody) and went to go get an American breakfast at McDonald's. You can never have too much American. Anyways, after our climb to the castle, we got to wait in a very large line to enter. At 125 Czech crowns (their currency), this place has got to be pulling in some serious coin. The castle was enormous and provided for many picture opportunities, which will be available once I get a computer to download them onto. The rest of the day was free to rummage through the city and blow money on. I ended up getting a postcard for Laine to send to her and made my way back to the hostel. Another early night for Garrett.

The next morning we got on the 9:05 am train to Dresden, Germany. Apparently, Dresden is a city in Germany that the Allied Forces made their bitch in World War II. Tired of Germans bombing English cities, these Allied Forces decided to exact some revenge by attacking this military hub during the early 40's. Essentially the forces came in waves. The first wave was small explosives, to break windows and move foundations, to create instability. The next wave was giant fire bombs, which engulfed the city in flames. The next wave dropped more explosives and then the damage was too much to control. Temperatures were so hot, that people caught on the street or in buildings combusted into dust. It was estimated that these flames reached 1000 degrees Celsius. Anyways, the city that we saw on Saturday was a town that had to be completely rebuilt after the second World War, but it still had the look of an old European city, using the architectural styles of the early 1900's. We arrived in the city at around noon, possibly, and made our way directly to the town center, which happened to be a church with a status of Martin Luther in front of it. A quick tour of the church left us with two hours before we were to meet again to take our final tour. A few of us had lunch at a local restaurant and it was pretty good. I shopped around for a little bit, buying another postcard for Laine and a mini-beer stein shot glass for my sister. I spent the rest of the time taking photos, trying to capture the lore of the city.

Our final tour in Dresden was of an art museum, not my cup of tea. We had two and a half hours to look at these pieces of work and I was done after 20 minutes and outside taking pictures of the surrounding area, attempting to bring out my artistic side. I took a couple of pictures that I really like and will eventually get those on here. During my excursion outside, I saw a married couple getting wedding/engagement photos in the courtyard, some other girl with her own photographer, and people from all walks of life enjoying a beautiful day. As the group met up again, it was time to get back on the train and head back to Prague for the night. Another early night for me with no partying involved.

The next morning we met at 10 am, well, we met at 10:15 after a very frustrating experience at McDonald's where I watched eight people order their food after me and walk out the door with food in hand and me ready to break something. Anyways, we made our way to a Jewish cemetery/memorial part of town where we looked at Jewish remnants left from the second World War, as well as a Jewish cemetery with tombstones piled on top of tombstones. It was quite the scene. After the cemetery, we were free to roam the city until 2:40 pm, the time we were supposed to meet up and head to the train station. After a walk in the rain, we made our way to a pizza shop to eat before we left. We boarded the train at 3 and it was goodbye Prague and hello what we call home. Our train pulled into Olomouc around 6 pm. The end of a very fun trip and my first excursion into another country besides the Czech Republic.

That night I decided to do laundry for the first time and, let me tell you, it was so emotionally frustrating. First of all, the basements of these buildings we live in have one washing machine. One. Not a bank of them, nor are there any dryers. One load of laundry, correctly done, takes three hours to get done, if you don't want clothes that feel like you just swam in the Atlantic. Anyways, after three miserable hours and two loads of laundry done, you have to hang them up on your balcony and hope they dry. Ugh, I will never take a washer and dryer in the States for granted again.

Anyways, a late night on the computer talking to Laine ended my weekend and we had class this morning, which I could care less about. One funny moment was when our advisor asked us how our weekend went. A few sheepish answers were faded out when I said "bonerrific" a little louder than I wanted to say it. The advisor repeated the word back and it made me laugh for a good five minutes. I don't think she knows what it is.

I am still without a computer and it is growing more frustrating each day. I am thankful that my roommate lets me use his to get stuff done, but I am dying for the day I get a working computer again. My dad sent me a new hard drive to replace the shit one in my laptop now, along with my external hard drive with all of my photos, documents, music on it, and it is nowhere to be found. Needless to say I am beyond freaked out. It has been sitting in customs in Prague since March 21st and I don't know what to do about it. I got a letter from the Prague post office today, as it had been sitting in the office since last week. The entire letter is in Czech and no one can tell me what it says. I got the gray copy of the receipt that my dad filled out to send the package, so I don't know what's going on. I was told to go back in tomorrow to check on what they could find out for me. I'll travel to Prague and demand the god damn package myself if they aren't going to send it.

Anyways, I feel this has been long enough and that you are probably getting tired of reading. Pictures will be coming soon. I miss all of you back in States and I hope you're staying safe and STD-free. Until next time, stay classy, United States.