It has been a week since I last wrote in the journal, so you can imagine that I have not had much time.  Let me take a few moments to record what I have been doing.  I no longer remember the exact days, but I will write about the events as I recall them.  Let’s start with leaving Prague, a beautiful city.  After spending a wonderful few days there, Ana and I caught an afternoon train to Berlin.  We arrived late that night and, after getting somewhat lost on the S-Bahn, found the Generator hostel.  It was huge, but check-in went smoothly, our room was comfortable, and we fell asleep.  The next morning, we wandered around and found an interesting tour company.  Our roommates arrived later, another couple from Seattle.  On our second day, we again woke rather late despite going to bed earlier.  Ana had kicked me out of bed while having a bad dream, but at about 2:30 we joined a tour called Insider. It was excellent, one of the best tours I have ever taken.  We returned to the hostel at about 8:00 and went out for a few drinks: only one and a half each, but they were large.  We bought them from a small place around the corner and talked about all kinds of things.  We really were falling in love.  That night, we fell asleep with our roommates in the room again.  The next day, we wandered around the city, found Ana a new bag for the things she wanted to send home, and mailed them.  Unfortunately, on one of our train journeys, we accidentally bought discounted short-term tickets that we were not eligible to use.  We did not understand the mistake because everything was in German, but the inspectors caught it and fined us 40 euros each.  I had 65 euros; Ana had none.  That was not much fun, but there was little we could do.  After mailing everything, we boarded a long overnight train to Brussels and barely slept the entire way.  We arrived at six in the morning and soon caught another train to Bruges, just north of Brussels.  Our hostel there was far from appealing.  We slept through the afternoon, then wandered around town for five or six hours.  We got lost a few times, visited many of the sights, and enjoyed the city.  Bruges is home to the relic of the Holy Blood and is an old town filled with tourists.  It is charming, though. My parents should visit.  The next morning, we eventually made our way to the station, caught a train through Brussels to Paris, and took the Metro to our hostel.  That first night, we went to the Eiffel Tower and sat together beneath it.  I had seen the tower before but had never walked right up to it.  It rained, we were soaked, and we walked home together before falling asleep.  The next day, we wandered some more, saw the Louvre, walked along the Champs-Elysees, and visited the Arc de Triomphe.  Eventually, we returned to the hostel, made dinner, and fell asleep.  The following day brought more exploring: the Opera, Notre-Dame, and finally a trip up the Eiffel Tower.  Now we are sitting here as dusk approaches. The clouds are surreal, and Ana is drawing the tower. Good times. Sep 9 2003 8:30