Wow, I've done a pretty bad job of keeping the blog updated while I've been out of the country. Since most places don't have internet, it's not as easy to login and write an update. But in about a day or two, I will be back home and have internet everywhere I go. I also have a billion photos to go through and process.

I think it's important after a trip like this to process what you've seen/heard/experienced. For me, being in Europe shows me just how big the world is. There are so many things out there that I have never seen before, and each of them slightly changes my perception of the world I live in. Austin is a great place, but it's not the center of the world. Many times I forget that and only see what is directly around me.

My visit to Dachau concentration camp was quite a moving experience. I have read and studied WWII in school, but never seen places like this first hand. Walking through the crematorium and the gas chambers at Dachau almost brought me to tears. People here suffered a great deal at the hands of the SS guards. I realize that I need to be more thankful for what I have, and that I will most likely never experience anything even close to what the prisoners here experienced.