No Turning Back
Just got word that No Turning Back will be relased May 28, 2010. At this rate, I’ll have three books out next year. Better get cracking on the next one!
Adventures in Europe Part 2
Okay, where to begin? I’m writing this from Paris, having finished the tour of the Baltic States. Never in my life did I think I’d be able to say that! But here’s a Cole’s notes version of the highlights.
We started in Riga, Latvia, then drove the Rovers into Estonia. We stayed the night in the university town of Tartu, then went on to the capital, Tallinn. 
I loved Tallinn. It was both charming and welcoming, and I would definitely go back someday. It’s just a two hour ferry ride from Helsinki, Finland, and indeed the Estonian language is close to Finnish. Bought some marzipan and visited two amazing chocolate shops that put Starbucks hot chocolate to shame.
After driving down the coast to stay on Saaramaa Island for two nights amidst winds of up to 65 mph, we put in a twelve hour day traveling down to Klaipeda, Lithuania. We hit an unbelievable storm there, which turned out to be an anti-cyclone that killed people in the region. Over a foot of rain in ten minutes, and the wind was so fierce at one stop where we got caught outside (the Hill of Crosses), we had to walk backward to the Rovers so the hail wouldn’t hit our faces. By the time we dove inside the vehicles, everyone of us could wring out our clothes. Needless to say, we stayed soaked until we reached the port town of Klaipeda.
Next day was windy but mostly clear, and we traveled to the Curonian Spit. 
It’s somewhat like the Oregon Coast, very beautiful and we stopped in the town of Nida where I bought some Baltic amber jewelry. They have distinctive wooden flags there that the seamen used to use, and each flag tells the story of the family it belongs to. 
The black and white checkered part tells the sailor is from Nida, and the rest tells if they are married or single, how many and which sexes his children are, and if they live near the forest or sea. This was one of my favorite stops of the trip, aside from Tallinn.
We arrived the next afternoon in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, 
and met my sister and step-sister with her family, including 5 month old Areia. She’s the best travelled baby in the world, I’m sure! The following morning we toured the city, and stopped at the former KGB museum. It turns out our tour guide’s (Jurate, my roommate for the past week) uncle was the leader of the local resistance against the Soviets, and exhibits about him are featured in the “museum”. Let me tell you, I still can’t get that place out of my mind. The things they did to political prisoners there would make your skin crawl, and somehow the uncle managed to survive three years of imprisonment there, plus five more in a concentration camp in Siberia. And this sort of thing happened until the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989. Unbelievable.
All three Baltic States share that awful history of occupation, in ancient times from the Swedes, Danes, Poles, Germans… Then after WWI, the Soviets took over until the Nazis came into town. Then at the end of WWII, the Soviets took control again, and stayed until the wall came down. Millions of innocent people were imprisoned, tortured and killed, including women and children. Jurate told us when the authorities came to take your family in the middle of the night and put you on a train for Siberia, you weren’t expected to make it home, let alone survive the trip. Many had no proper clothing or food, and no children under the age of two survived the journey to the camps. All this makes me eternally grateful to be from Canada. Please everyone, don’t take your freedom for granted!
On a lighter note, the tour of Vilnius was October 7th, my ninth anniversary. Obviously, I’m away from home. My hubby sent me a mushy email and had some dark chocolates delivered to my suite as a surprise. Isn’t that romantic?
Now I’m in gay Paris with my cousin, 
and about to go to a burlesque show at the Crazy Horse Saloon. Never thought I’d say that, either!
Haven’t done a lick of writing since I arrived in Europe, but it’s been a good break. Hopefully by the time I get my internal clock working properly back home, I’ll be raring to go. If you’re interested, you can follow the trip blog here.
Adventures in Europe: Part 1
This picture made me laugh, because it’s so me. Ms. Cautious.
So okay, I knew I was in for an adventure when I signed up for this trip. And I knew driving with my cousin in Germany would mean some serious tearing up of the asphalt. After all, Race car driver + S-class Mercedes + Autobahn = Serious speed.
We’ve already established I’m a bit of a chicken, so had I been driving, we might have reached speeds of up to 150 km/hr. Maybe. But with dear old Mike behind the wheel, we hit over 200 km/hr on several occasions.
You’d think I’d have been white-knuckling it, but I wasn’t the least bit nervous. He’s a great driver (he really is, and not just because he’s my adored cousin–even though he snores), and his reflexes and experience made me feel completely safe in the passenger seat moving at that speed. Never thought I’d say that, but he’s probably the only person I would feel comfortable with driving that fast. Plus, the roads were incredibly smooth and the Germans are good drivers. And they always move to the right when you approach them in the fast lane. I know this firsthand, as we came up on more than a few bumpers during our tour!
We arrived in Frankfurt, and immediately took said autobahn for just under four hours (would’ve taken me at last five and a half) to Fussen for the night. Next day we stopped at Neushwanstein in the south of Germany, and wore big blisters on our feet climbing up the mile long hill to the top. We were both sweating like crazy because we seriously hoofed it, though we’re both in good shape. But oh my God, the view. King Ludwig II might have been eccentric, but he sure had an eye for architecture. It’s a magical castle set on a hilltop amidst spectacular scenery. Walt Disney reportedly modeled Cinderella’s c
astle after it.
We enjoyed Germany, but I know Mike wished he could have shipped his new Beemer over for a ride. He says he wants to come back next year for Octoberbreast (the name he’s given Oktoberfest because of the cleavage shown off to maximum effect by the traditional Dirndl outfits the girls wear), and maybe he’ll take an M-3 convertible out so he knows what it feels like to open his baby up on the autobahn.
Had a good time in Munich, and we both dressed up (Mike in Lederhosen and me in my Dirndl) to get into the spirit of things. We only stayed a few hours because it was madness inside the festival (see photo below),
Now we’re in 
Riga, Latvia, and today learned about the terrible suffering the people experienced under both the Soviet and Nazi (then the Soviets, for the second time) occupations. Makes me even more thankful to be a Canadian. Today’s tour was a pointed reminder that we should never take freedom for granted, and that we should always speak out when we see wrong being done. Tyranny starts small, and that’s exactly when it needs to be stopped in its tracks.
Why PJs are Awesome
One last post before I embark on my trip (*silent scream*) to highlight the amazing skill set PJs have. These guys are put through the ringer to make sure they have operational capabilities in all terrains and climates on land, air and sea. They are paramedic qualified and must remain so throughout their service. By the end of their training, they can do pretty much everything except major surgery out in the field while under enemy fire. That alone is impressive, but there’s more.
PJs are jump qualified in both static line drop and freefall (HALO) jumps. If you don’t know what a High Altitude Low Opening jump is, you’ll see a snippet of one in the clip to follow. Google it if you want more info, but basically anyone who can perform them has to be nuts. PJs need this capability in order to be dropped in to a target area, and that’s when the bulk of their training comes into play. Obviously they’re extensively trained in combat and survival tactics, since they frequently operate behind enemy lines or in denied areas.
They attend Combat Diver school. They must pass Underwater Egress training where they’re taught how to escape a sinking aircraft (makes me shiver just thinking about it, but if you’re interested you can watch the end of The Perfect Storm to see the Nighthawk pilot bailing out of his sinking helo). Then they top it off with a kind of baptism-by-fire apprenticeship where they get their final training while assigned to a team out in the field. Hello gut-check.
All this and much more, for the privilege of wearing the coveted maroon beret and risking their lives to save others. I can’t imagine the pay’s that great, so let’s hope job satisfaction makes up for the deficit. Here’s another clip from the Pararescue website, detailing the training and missions a PJ faces. All I know is, I’m glad there are brave men willing to step up and take on this job “so that others may live”.