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05/27 Avebury, England
08/11 Innsbruck, Austria
09/16 Zermatt, Switzerland
06/07 Inverness, Scotland
08/27 Sevilla, Portugal
11/13  Jerusalem, Israel
08/14 Heidelberg, Germany
09/02 Barcelona Spain
08/18 Lisbon, Portugal
09/01 Valencia, Spain
11/20  Marmaris, Turkey
12/08  Lienz, Austria
10/24  Athens, Greece
06/30 Trondheim, Norway
10/07  Siena, Italy

05/27 Avebury, England

One night at Mik’s place while passing around the pipe, he weaved stories of sprits possessing the trails between the white horse and the many rock circles heading north.  I could almost visualize these images he was painting and hear the pounding of drums in the wind, as I focused in on the flames dancing with the beat. 

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08/11 Innsbruck, Austria

We were up early, followed advice we received during the last night socializing and joined the “Club Innsbruck” for a day hike.  A young Belgium woman had crossed our path searching for the same location.  It was early in the morning and we were the first to arrive, so there was nobody gathered outside to identify if we had found our destination.  She seemed very nice but didn’t say much.  It was apparent she was very shy.  They began handing out daypacks and boots if needed. 

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09/16 Zermatt, Switzerland

I was up before the sun and headed out to get an early start.  At the beginning of my trek I crossed paths with the boyfriend from the night before.  Apparently they didn’t make it back before curfew and ended up spending half the night locating another room.  To compound that inconvenience he explained that the room they found had a cement floor and had been just too cold to sleep comfortably. 

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06/07 Inverness, Scotland

We took a tour bus around the lock, walked along the water’s edge, waited and watched but never did see a sea monster.  I took off my shoes along its edge and waded ankle deep, for only seconds.  To a California boy this was cold.  One old man told me that this sea monster stuff had a lot to do with how much whiskey was drunk, but that didn’t help either. 

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08/27 Sevilla, Portugal

I was up early to the sound of the alarm aside my bed.  Still half asleep my brain jumped into gear once it realized where I was.  I was full of renewed energy and headed south down the empty street where Ann had disappeared.  I sat behind a cup of coffee inside a small café across the street from where she had vanished.  I had knocked on one of the doors and then another but with no response. 

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11/13 Jerusalem, Israel

Alongside the darkness we walked the city streets.  It was a different feel since the majority of the shops were boarded up for the night.  It gave the streets a maze like feel.  We came upon a community of water pipes where I sat across from an elderly blind man and a few of his companions.  We shared a pot of spearmint tea and a conversation.  I had a picture taken but it was very dark and without a flash I wasn’t sure if it would come out. 

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08/14 Heidelberg, Germany

It was a perfect day for drinking beer.  We found shade within the Hafbrouhaus.  While we downed a few beers alongside a couple of pretzels, our waitress dropped a hand full of mugs behind me and they shattered on the floor.  A few pieces of glass had jumped up and cut her ankle.  Since I’m a man, it was  my job was to rescue her.  I picked her up to the humming of the crowd and carried her into the kitchen.  They brought Jim and me a free beer. 

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09/02 Barcelona Spain

After a morning cup of coffee I took a direct route to the train station and boarded the first train heading towards Barcelona.  I didn’t offer Jim a single word.  He either followed or went his own way and at that point I wasn’t going to give it too much consideration.  I wasn’t interest in continuing the conversation from the night before so sat in my own compartment.  About a quarter of the way to Barcelona a group of travelers from North Africa joined in and donated some hash for the ride. 

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08/18 Lisbon, Portugal

Eventually we exhausted our rail pass in Lisbon.  It felt good to slow down our pace and relax from the routines associated with traveling by train.  We chose a place where the locks worked, the toilet flushed and the view down onto the street below was descent.  By the time I reached for the second bottle everything had a rosy glow, and the food was excellent.  I must have had quite a smile and/or my wallet was showing because every young lady looking to trade sex for money introduced herself. 

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09/01 Valencia, Spain

I woke early to the jingling and jangling of the vendors setting up the local market and was up and out in minutes following the caravan of wagons and carts down through the streets to the market.  The strategy was the same, I looked for food and if I could obtain it for free, all the better.  As long as we both got what we wanted out of the conversation, I could play the game.  “You picked them all by hand did ya? Your fingers are too big.  I think this one has been bruised. 

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11/20 Marmaris, Turkey

Kate joined us on the walk into town that morning.  She needed to stop off at the post office while the two of us procured tickets for today’s journey.  Kate was a very sweet lady and this was a pleasurable visit.  We said our goodbyes over lunch and she saw us off at the dock.  We met up with the same American gentleman we originally asked directions from when we first arrived. 

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12/08 Lienz, Austria

When we finally reached Villach and obtained some currency, sugar was on the menu.  I found a dream of bakeries and was operating on the ‘try everything once’ premise, but we cut that short for some real food.  We spent the rest of the day checking out shop windows.  Jenni expressed a passion for shop windows.  I suggested that she get herself a nice camera and perhaps someday she would publish a book.  

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10/24 Athens, Greece

On the trip into Athens we were joined by another young lady and young man who had been pursuing her.  She wasn’t interested in him but tolerated him because she liked the attention.  At least that’s what she told us.  We discussed renting a van and exploring Greece’s mainland.  I wanted to visit Delos and then each extension of the Maurice Cross but Athens was first on our agenda and we decided to postpone making a decision until later.  

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06/30 Trondheim, Norway

With the morning sun we said our good-byes and headed south back toward Trondheim.  Jim turned into a broken record and kept repeating his exploits.  When he finally he fell asleep, I soon followed.  Somewhere in the middle of a dream the train came to a stop and a voice was broadcast over the intercom.  Everybody around us quickly got up out of their seat and ran toward the doors.  I didn’t need to understand Norwegian to know I should be doing the same. 

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10/07 Siena, Italy

I had earmarked a hostel on the outskirts of Siena but the travel guide didn’t provide a good description of how to get there.  I asked a young lady who was sitting across from me on the train if she knew the best way to reach this destination.  She made a few attempts to explain but probably the combination of her hearing herself and the expression on my face persuaded her to just show me, so I followed her off the train. 

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