Taylor Vafiades

So I’ve been trying to get a few websites up before I leave to the beach because lately the weather has been shitty here in England. It’s given me time to dust off my HTML skills and think about new ways to generate traffic. I was thinking Spain but might just go down to Cornwall and chill out for a few days before I begin the last stretch of my trip.  I have also been trying to keep up on emails and getting pictures up. I was able to get a few for DOTS that Eric took but I have tons more for it as well as Brighton , Ghent and Rotterdam. I will do my best to get this done before I leave in the next few days. I wasn’t sure if anyone actually read this blog for the first month or two but it’s worth all the time I put into it knowing that some people do even though they might be busy with other stuff. I have been listening to a lot of good music out here in the UK as well and wanted to make a video section on this blog but it didn’t work out. I can’t link most of the stuff I want to from youtube. Sam Sparro - Black and Gold is the first song I really heard in the UK. I dig that new Weezer video Pork and Beans and Perfect Situation too. Euro late night MTV is unmatched. Time for me to go upload some more pictures.

Eric got his .mobi address for his http://www.pixelfactor.org website which is really great because it can be accessed via cellphone now. Below is a blurb from his new http://pixelfactor.mobi address. To the right is a few other blogs I enjoy reading from different people I know.

I´ve never been much of a sports fan but the passion Europe has for thier soccer (eer…football?) kind of rubs off on you while youre here. I was in Holland for the semi finals when they lost to Russia. I was coming into Germany on a train when they won against Turkey. And for the finals, I just happened to be in Germany. Somehow we managed to sneak into Brandenburg Gate to watch it even though it was blocked off for a mile in each direction around it. At first we hopped a fence at a memorial but the cops quickly saw us and started blowing thier whistles at us. After walking around the entire blockade the group I was with found a breach and snuck in through the park. It was worth it because there were thousands of Germans screaming for thier team and it was amazing to be a part of. Half of the group we were with ended up staying at the hostel because we heard from several people that it was so packed that nobody else was being let in. Ha! In the end, Germany pretty much got thier ass handed to them by Spain.

As far as my time in Berlin I have gone to see most of the basic sights. The Berlin Wall, Reichstag, Checkpoint Charlie, Potsdamer Platz, Hitlers Bunker, SS headquarters, The Holocaust Memorial, The TV tower and of course Brandenburg Gate. I wanted to go to Sachsenhausen today but I didnt look closely at my information and the concentration camp is closed on Mondays. It was raining the other day and I spent most of the day looking for a Jägermeister T-shirt. Germany does have a pretty cool nightlife and I have gone out almost every night to a different bar or club with people I either met here or some that I met in Amsterdam. The first night here at the Wombat hostel a group of us went out with a young Italian writer named Melissa Panarello that we met at the Skybar. After seeing her work I understood why she didnt really get into specifics about what she wrote when we were out.

I did try a bratwurst and yes it was good but I am leaving that when I leave Germany. I got it from a guy in a wheelchair that had a BBQ built into it. I thought this was so cool until I saw about 3 other people around the mall like this a few days later. I have been trying to hook up with someone I know from the states who just happens to be out here also for the past few days and am acually going to meet them around the corner in a minute. This trip has been great but I am eager to get back to England and regroup. The hardest thing besides all the drinking is all the eating out. My next trip I will bring a small bag just for food stuffs.

I am getting on a train to go back to Holland and taking a flight to England in about 12 hours. My phone will work again too once I land which will be nice. My flight gets into London at about 8pm so I am planning on staying there and taking a taxi back to Milton Keynes when Eric gets back the following day into Heathrow. Ive been burning it at both ends and cant wait to rest!