Black Forest Adventures

I'd like to visit Neuschwanstein's Castle someday, if not inhabit it. There's something so striking about it's backdrop. The mountains cut through the fog, revealing faces of rock millions of years in transition.

I have decided to take a panoramic train tour through the Black Forest in a few weeks. It begins in Offenburg traveling through Donaueschingen to Konstanz. There's also a hostel I plan to stay in north of Offenburg prior to the tour. It is a medieval castle in Ortenburg, appropriately called Ortenburg Castle. Only 20 euro/night!

For a small library, NYU in Prague has a decent selection of material. Though advised to skip it, I rented Jean-Jacque Annaud's Seven Years in Tibet. It's true, Brad Pitt's accent is practically unbearable. The production of the film is interesting though. Obviously displeased with the ideas of the film, the People's Republic of China barred entry into Tibet. However, the film was secretly shot there twice, while the remaining portions of the film were shot in Argentina and Canada. As a result of the film, Brad Pitt and David Thewlis were banned from China. (The accent didn't help.) Oh, 1997.