Upon my return

There is so much to cover it is hard to understand where I should begin. Last I left, I was headed for Stockholm, Sweden. It was breathtaking. I don't even know how to describe the place, but whats more strange is that leaving the port was more beautiful than actually being in town.

Helsinki, Finland: drifted through the market square, so many mothers sighing. (thank you David Bowie)

St. Peterberg, Russia: for two days we were blocked by very large, very well armed Military Men from travelling on roads that we had to travel on (for no apparent reason other than they would be holding the G8 Summit within the next two weeks), bought bootleg James Brown concert DVDs, and saw some of the largest natural fountains in the world. Oh yea, I also touched a Statue carved from marble by Michelangelo (the Russians seem to have no idea of how valuable some of the artifacts they possess are). We saw bear cubs tied to trees, and I had a shot of Vodka that made me sweat upon tasting.

Talinn, Estonia: Walked amongst the ancient castle walls and viewed art from actual artists. The people of Estonia are by far the nicest people I met in the two months I was in Europe. They don't impress what they are selling upon you, they merely sit back and let you look, verifying their artwork's authenticity through silence.

A few days at sea, and we were back in London, ready to come home. For my family it was 2 weeks, for me, it was exactly 2 months.

I don't know how to sum up the trip in words. Maybe it's writer's block. Let's try this...

The trip needed to be taken. I didn't know why at first. Maybe I wanted to have something to look forward to, maybe I needed to get away from something. Maybe I had an innate urge to leave comfortable surroundings and find my own way. Someone asked me if I found myself in the two months I was gone, I said yes at the time, but looking back at the trip now, 3 weeks later, I don't think I found myself, I think I found the world.

I know it's an incredibly cheesey thing to talk about, but its not the only thing that I realized on this trip. I took the trip for many reasons. Some actually are listed above. I did need something to look forward to, I did need to leave comfortable surroundings. I definitely had to get away from Texas, from people I knew, from people I love, and loved. I needed to see the world without the blinders of Romance and Innocence. I needed to find out what the world is like on my own. I have a good idea now, but I am still unsure. There will be more travel days in the future. My travel companion Pat and I are planning a tentative trip to Egypt in the coming years. Maybe this blog will pick back up when we leave, but for now it is done. If you did actually read this, then I hope you have enjoyed it. It was put up for friends of mine that wanted to keep up with what I was doing, what I was seeing. I would love to say that it turned into a Global Phenomenon, but who am I kidding? My insights aren't worth the paper I've written them on. So if you've enjoyed it, then I am happy. I hope some of these ramblings make sense. Feel free to email me if you wish further elaboration on anything that happened, trust me, a lot more went on that what I've written. Farewell.

Kyle