Aperture: Scotts Travel Blog

Ok, crazy flight from Iceland to NY. We were supposed to arrive at 7:00 p.m. EST and ended up arriving at 11:30 p.m. EST. Upon entry into US customs I get my bags checked and they find Absinthe. Now this is a testament to the intellectual genius of US Homeland Security. They do not know what it is or what to do with it. So they detain me in Customs till 3:30 a.m. EST at which time the port authority police arrive, place me under arrest and tote me off to Queens port authority where I am thrown into a cell. Amazing!!

Now if the US Department of Homeland Security actually knew what the f*** they were doing they could have just called the state department or even better the department of homeland security and been like "Absinthe? whats up?" and they would have said "Confiscate it because its prohibited and let him go" or they could have just gone to google and did a search on "Absinthe + customs" and would have gotten this link ranked first:

Prohibited and Restricted Items - CBP.gov

But this is way above the mental capability of US Homeland Security. So they decide to have local port authority arrest me therefore making this a state issue.

6 hours later I am released (10:15 a.m. EST). I am released because the District Attorney figured out that it is only prohibited therefore they have no right to detain me. Now I get to leave running on 33 hours of no sleep. F***ers!

It is comforting to know that such intelligent people are watching our backs.

I felt more welcome entering Ukraine then US.

In case anybody wants to see Greenland:

Greenland
More Greenland
and more Greenland

Date: 08.11.2006

-Scott

Ok I am back in Berlin and after 3 days without a shower I feel great. I somewhat got used to non-western based society and feel like I am in Disney land right now. Berlin is a killer city though.

Tomorrow I start my journey home. I can't wait to sleep in a bed again ;)

Note: I got my lock blade on the airplane in Czech and Ukraine and the Ukrainian security chick demanded "Put it in your pocket". Haha so much for security.

Here are some more pics:

Kiev, Urkraine
More Kiev, Urkraine
and More Kiev, Urkraine
Independence Square. Where Orange Revolution took place.
Beth's Building in Korsun
Spring where Beth gets her drinking water.
Everybody needs a little Lenin
Real PPSH
Beth with Alissi and Viera (spelling?)
Beth, Posha, and I having a few drinks.
Beth's favorite bridge in Korsun
Scout is so cute!
More Scout
Scout pummels Carlos
Brandenburg Gate at nite

Date: 08.09.2006

-Scott

Got back into Kiev, Ukraine this morning. Found some tasty internet at Borispol. Heading to Prague, Czech in about 40 minutes then to Berlin, Germany from there.

Ukraine is insane, nobody speaks English and they look at you like there is something wrong with you. If Beth was not with me I would have been so lost.

Last night we had dinner with her host family Alessi and Viera (spelling?). They are amazing people, we had such a good time. I finally got to taste salo (fried pork fat) it was an experience.

Here are some pics up till I got to Ukraine. Tonight I will post more.

Brasov, Romania from summit of Tampa mountain.
Brasov, Romania from summit of Tampa mountain. 2.
Bran Castle, Romania. This is Draculas castle. (not the real one though)
Another shot of Bran Castle.
A hidden staircase inside Bran Castle.
Carpathian Mountains, Romania
Moon over Carpathians.
This is Romania on the borders of Ukraine and Moldova.
Ukraine! No welcome, just Ukraine!
Grandfather says look at the premium country side.

Date: 08.09.2006

-Scott

Ok, I found internet at the Peace Corps office in Kiev so I will post more shizzy.

We arrived in Bucharest, Romania at 6:30 a.m. on Sunday and our Train out of Bucharest was delayed 3 hours. So now our trip time was increased to 33 hours.

Bucharest is not what I expected. The city has old communist buildings everywhere. These buildings are called the "House of the People". The ex-monarch Nicolae Ceausescu build these to house the people of Romania. This building project leveled a very large portion of Bucharest. The trip was suck, I spent half my weekend in transit. But the Romania and Ukrainian country side is amazing. (see pics).

Today I had Ukrainian Chinese food.. whateva!

Beth and I are heading to Korsun later this afternoon. I doubt I will be lucky enough to find internet access there. I will be in Korsun until early morning Wednesday. From there I will come back to Kiev, spend some time here and they fly to Berlin. I will be in Berlin for the remainder of the day and fly out Thursday. I will post again from Berlin.

Note: I cannot upload any pics. Peace Corps system policy will not let me.

Date: 08.07.2006

-Scott

Went to Bran Castle today.

Leaving for Bucharest in less than 3 hours then heading to Kiev, Ukraine from there. Total travel time is 30 hours. Suck!

I will not be online till I get back to Berlin on Wednesday the ninth.

Date: 08.05.2006

-Scott