Bavaria, Germany

Hearsay, and much more importantly, Rick's cousin Matt, made it out of Iraq safe and sound. From Iraq, Matt escorted Hearsay first to Kuwait and then to Germany, where he's currently stationed. Best of all, Matt's wife, Julie, and their daughter, Savannah, have made the trip to Germany to be with him.

Of course, they sent back pictures of Hearsay from a few of their sightseeing trips.

Hearsay at the Abbey of Ettal, a Benedictine monastery in Bavaria, Germany.


Inside the Ettal monastery ...


Hearsay with some kegs of beer made at the Ettal monastery ...


Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which according to Wikipedia, is a market town in Bavaria ...


At the hotel in Garmisch. Yes ... that's the Alps in the background!!!


Linderhof, Germany ...


The Royal Castle of Linderhof, built between 1863 and 1886 by the reclusive King Ludwig II. The king didn't like being around other people, so the entire estate was designed to minimize contact with the outside world.


The Linderhof Garden. Ol' Ludwig might not have liked being around people, but he surely knew beautiful when he saw it.


The Linderhof Fountain ...


A map of Germany ... Matt, Julie and Savannah are in Baumholder, which is located close to Heidelberg, on the border with France. Bavaria is in the southeastern part of the country. (http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/europe/germany/)


TRAVEL FROM BAGHDAD, IRAQ TO KUWAIT, AL KUWAYT, KUWAIT: 346 MILES

TRAVEL FROM KUWAIT, AL KUWAYT, KUWAIT TO FRANKFURT, GERMANY: 7,150 MILES

ROUND TRIP FROM FRANKFURT, GERMANY TO MUNICH, GERMANY: 640 MILES

TOTAL TRAVEL: 48,214 MILES

Zubaidayah, Iraq

Talk about a road trip ... Hearsay went from Northern Ireland to the U.S. military postal sorting facility in New York City and then ... then to Rick's cousin, Matthew Houston, who is serving in the Army in Zubaidayah, Iraq. Check out these photos that Matthew sent back ...

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere's Hearsay, geared up and ready for patrol:


This is Hearsay in "downtown" Zubaidayah, with a mosque in the background. He's riding along with Stallion 5, en route to Combat Outpost (COP) Dolby for a logistical resupply:


Passing an Iraqi Army checkpoint:


Hearsay on his ride for the day, a MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle):


Hearsay takes his turn on watch in the MRAP's turret:


Overlooking some shops on the route:


The mission's nearly complete and almost home, with the rest of the convoy trailing:


A map of Iraq ... Baghdad is located in the central part of the country. Words cannot fully describe how much we appreciate what Matt and the rest of our men and women in the military are doing for us. God speed, Matt ... (http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/middle-east/iraq/)


TRAVEL FROM BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND TO NEW YORK CITY: 3,173 MILES
TRAVEL FROM NEW YORK CITY TO BAGHDAD, IRAQ: 5,995 MILES

TOTAL TRAVEL: 40,078 MILES

Bushmills, Northern Ireland

Geoffrey and Hearsay made the trip to the Giant's Causeway, near Bushmills, Northern Ireland. According to Wikipedia, the Giant's Causeway "is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption." The location has been declared a World Heritage Site.


ESTIMATED ROUND-TRIP BETWEEN BUSHMILLS, NORTHERN IRELAND AND BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND: 120 MILES

TOTAL TRAVEL: 30,910 MILES

Belfast, Northern Ireland

What an amazing journey Hearsay has had, going from Sydney, Australia to the opposite side of the world. Hearsay was hosted in Belfast, Northern Ireland by Geoffrey Bowman, who along with Rick and several other writers, co-authored a book scheduled for release in 2010.

Along with Geoffrey, one of the places Hearsay visited was the dry dock at Harland & Wolff where the Titanic was built.


Hearsay overlooks the Belfast skyline, which is obviously dominated by the cranes at the Harland & Wolff shipyard.


A better view of the Harland & Wolff cranes ...


This is the Northern Ireland Assembly, which is the country's equivalent of the United States Capital.


A map of Northern Ireland ... Belfast is located on the country's eastern coast.



ESTIMATED TRAVEL BETWEEN SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA AND BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND: 10,640 MILES

TOTAL TRAVEL: 30,790 MILES

Sydney, Australia

Yes ... you read that right. Hearsay has made the long, long journey to the land down under, where he's being hosted by Colin Burgess, the editor of a book series to which Rick recently contributed.

The Burgess family took a trip to Sydney and brought Hearsay along for a day of fun in the sun.

Here's Hearsay on a ferry, coming up on the Sydney Harbour Bridge ...


This is a great view of the Sydney skyline, along with the famous Opera House ...


An even better shot of the Opera House ...


Hearsay soaks up the sun on beautiful Manly Beach after a delightful ferry ride from Sydney's Circular Quay ...


A map of Australia ... Sydney is in the southeastern part of the country, on the coast.(http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/pacific/australia)


ESTIMATED TRAVEL FROM YADKINVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA TO SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: 9,550 MILES

TOTAL TRAVEL: 20,150 MILES

Bratislava, Slovakia

We haven't mentioned Hearsay's European cousin, Habeas, before, have we? Habeas lives in Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia.

He recently went on a tour of the city, and sent back these photos.
This is a panoramic view of Bratislava.


Here's Habeas at a World War II memorial in Bratislava.


This castle dates to the eighth century. Amazing. Absolutely amazing.

Here in the background is St. Martin's Cathedral, where 13 Austrian and Hungarian kings were coronated during the Turkish occupation of Budapest in the Middle Ages.


Finally, Habeas overlooks a bridge over the river Danube, with a round, UFO-shaped restaurant on top.


Bratislava is located on the western edge of Slovakia, near the border with Austria. (http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/europe/slovakia)

Kennedy Space Center, Florida

OK ... so Hearsay has been to some pretty cool places in the last few months, but this installment pretty much takes the cake. Here, our intrepid traveler was able to make his way to the Space Shuttle Launch Pad B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

This is Hearsay at the base of what's known as the External Tank (the rust-colored tank in the middle) and the Solid Rocket Boosters that would launch Endeavor into space. There wouldn't be much of Hearsay left if he happened to be in this spot during an actual liftoff.



That leads to this view, of the very top of the External Tank and the Florida coastline ...

Finally, Hearsay winds up just outside Endeavor itself, and is shown here in front of the spacecraft's Forward Reaction Control System.


ESTIMATED TRAVEL FROM HERMITAGE, TENNESSEE TO YADKINVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA: 330 MILES

ESTIMATED ROUND-TRIP BETWEEN YADKINVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA AND KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLORIDA: 1,060 MILES

TOTAL TRAVEL: 10,600 MILES