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The Plan
May 28, 1997

London 
June 3, 1997

Paris 
June 4, 1997

Amsterdam
June 9, 1997

Prague 
June 15, 1997 

Prague
June 21, 1997

Montreux
June 27, 1997

Rome 
July 19, 1997

Athens
July 30, 1997
 
 
 

  Hello Everybody, 
    Well I should be in Italy, but things worked out sort of 
differently. Jo and I met back up in Dresden, Germany. 
We spent the night at a very clean youth hostel and then 
had to decide where to go next. I was all set to start my 
journey to Italy that day. I had to change trains in Vienna 
so Jo decided to come with me. My train wasn't leaving 
until 7:00 pm so we wandered around Vienna a little. All 
these great cities are beginning to look the same. The only 
thing we did  was ride on that large ferris wheel that was 

featured in the movie "The Third Man" and have 
a cup of Vienna coffee. Jo was headed towards either 
a friend's apartment in Montreux, Switzerland or Lake 
Constance on the border of Germany and Switzerland. 

    She talked me in to going with her. We weren't sure which 
we were going to go. She made the Lake sound very inviting 
so I was kind of looking forward to it. We left Vienna for 
Zurich and arrived the next morning. Once there Jo decided 
that she would rather visit her friend than go to the lake. I 
was sort of stuck so I went with her. 

   From Zurich we took a three hour ride to Montreux. Jo 
didn't have her friend's phone number, just her address. We 
were able to find the apartment fairly easily as Montreux is 
a small town. I intended only to spend the day there then take 
an overnight to Rome. It would have been my third overnight 
train in a row. Jo's friend, Aileen, was so friendly and hospitable 

that I felt very comfortable. 

  She let us take our showers and get dressed and basically 
cleaned up. She made us breakfast complete with croissants, 
juice, tea, milk, pastry, everything. We then went to Evian, 
France which was just a boat ride 
away. We spent a couple  hours there and returned still 
well before my train was due to  depart. Then we had 
dinner. Aileen made us a Swiss dinner of  some sort. I 
can't remember what it was called but there was a  grill 
like thing on the middle of the table. The grill had slots 
under it where we placed cheese, onions, garlic, pineapple 
and  other things onto a flat utensil and  slid it into the grill. 
I'm really not explaining it right. Any way, it  was delicious. I 
was persuaded to stay the night. A good night sleep sounded 
good so I accepted. 

    Then Aileen wanted to take us to a pub she and her 
work friends frequented. I knew I shouldn't have gone 
since my goal was to sleep and wake up early enough to 
catch a morning train to Italy. Of course, common sense 
lost out and I went along. We had much fun at this place. 
There was a band who knew all of our favorite songs. We 
were dancing and singing and having a great  time. Next 
thing I knew it was 2:00 am. We got a ride back to the 
apartment and I went to sleep. I didn't wake up till 
1:30pm so I  missed any trains that would have taken me 
to Florence or some of the smaller places in Italy. 

    Tonight Aileen is making fondue. I will be catching a 
train to Rome tonight around 11:00 pm. Unfortunately I 
will only have a  few days to spend there. I needed that long 
sleep, though. It really  was worth it, I had a great time in Switzerland. 

   My next report should come from Rome. It may end up 
being my last as I have been having problems finding internet 
cafes in Athens, where I will be on the 1st. 

Until later, 
Marisa