Hi everyone!
 
 I got free Internet access here, so I have a voice
 again.  The past few days, I've been in Switzerland
 - the first day in the Alps, the Jungfrau region,
 specifically Interlaken and Lauterbrunnen... the
 view's fantastic.  i hiked up far enough to start
 losing breath in the thin air and dizzying view ...
 as well as from the fresh smell of cow and goat manure
 on the mountainside ... really cliche views there, with
 people living in quaint cottages tending to cattle.
 
 Also,for anyone heading to interlaken, there's an
 amazing mountain hostel in Guttenwald that's really
 affordable and incredibly scenic.
 
 The only problem is that Switzerland's too expensive
 of a destination to stay in. I stepped in, and now
 I'm quickly stepping out.  I also got killed exchanging
 my money- DO NOT CASH CHEQUES AT HOSTELS!
 
 Otherwise, there's these cool fresh water fountains
 everywhere, I sneaked in with some Canadian dude
 into a huge waterfall, and saw glacier waterfalls inside
 a mountain.  Also climbed up an avalanche hill (VERY
 SLOWLY), and then slid down on a bed of rocks- lots
 of fun...
 
 Food here is better than France, i.e.the cheese
 fondue - but eating out costs around $20 per person,
 McDonald's is $10 for a "value" combo, so I've survived
 on groceries, particularly the Swiss stuff (cheap) -
 yogurt, chocolate and Emmental cheese ... and like
 Paris, wine is cheaper than water here... and
 there's the inventive combo: yogurt with a chocolate bar spoon
 
 As for Prague,the VISA's too much of a pain to get
 here, so I'm probably going another time ... Next
 stops are Cinque Terre for a scenic hike through 5
 towns, then Rome,Venice, followed by Southern
 France, Spain, and finally Amsterdam.
 
 Right now, I'm in Florence... I had the pure luck of
 having a cabin in a train last night, so the seats
 fold down to make a bed... it's an okay sleep,
 except you're woken up 3 time rudely over then night for 1)
 swiss customs 2) italian customs 3) ticket check...
 nothing beats waking up to a guy in a uniform with a
 gun... the hostel i'm in right now is ostello archi rossi -
 it's really good, and there's lots of student
 artwork around -i think i'm going to leave a drawing here
 too!
 
 
 jesse 
 
 p.s. some vancouver guy taught me to hitchike, 'cuz
 that's how he's saved on buying a rail pass... we
 tried it yesterday, and it worked! saved us lots of
 walk time!  i still wish i had my rollerblades
 though... still haven't encountered too many
 cobblestone roads...