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I made it back in one piece!
I write that with an exclamation point as if there was ever any doubt about whether it would happen or not, but I was never very worried. But first things first (so to speak) - the end of my trip!
I left Amsterdam after my brief stay and made my way to Brussels. Never alone for more than a few minutes, I came across a guy who looked about as confused as I was wandering the streets. Sure enough, we were looking for the same hostel, so we wandered around a bit more until we finally found it about 3 metro stops out of the center of town. His name was Kevin and he was a grad student studying in Paris, but staying in Brussels to do some research into the historical effect of whats-his-name's battle of you-know-where around the time of the ... oh forget it, I can't remember anyway!
Since it was early afternoon and his job didn't start until late in the morning the next day, I asked if he wanted to go wander the streets some more and then maybe grab a bite to eat with a pint of the oh-so-famous Belgian beer. He agreed, and we took the metro into the center of town. We wandered for a bit, taking in the sights of Brussels - the infamous pissing kid (or so I call him), which was no less than underwhelming at best. We also took in the magnificent architecture, cathedral and, more than anything, some of the best beer in the world. Around dinner time, we found a place with mussels on the menu, as Kevin claimed that the mussels in Brussels are the best. They did not disappoint! After a huge pot of mussels and several beers later (do you see a trend here?) the sun had set but we continued to wander the city. Okay, long story short we wound up breaking into a private garden piss drunk with a bottle of whiskey and marveling at how we had ever managed to scale the 8 foot wrought-iron fence and how we would ever get out again. All in good fun of course.
We did wind up making it out eventually, and the next morning I was aghast that it was the final full day of my trip. I took a high-speed train to Paris (which took all of an hour and a half) where I just lazed around for the rest of the afternoon. I meandered the streets, and wound up taking a nap with my feet in a fountain under the shadow of the Eiffel Tower after a baguette and cheese snack. I was feeling terribly european!
I woke the next morning and made my way to CDG, which is no easy task mind you! 2 metro lines and an RER train, not to mention the countless "moving sidewalks" in the terminal. I made it to the gate with just 20 minutes to spare. I flew through Heathrow again, where I had a quick layover before the long flight to SFO. Interesting flight, though. I was sitting next to (thankfully not in-between) two young Italian women who liked each other - very much. Every time I stole a glance away from my novel, they were either spooning or making out. Then they both disappeared towards the back of the plane for a good 15 minutes before they returned with smiles the size of the 747's wingspan. Then again a couple hours later. Interesting flight indeed.
Anyway, all this leads up to me being home. I made it into SFO on time, where both my parents met me with a huge sign with my name on it my sister had made. My mom was kind enough to drive me to Chico, where I slept peacefully in a hotel room until 4am when I was up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. It was moving day! I went to my house to be, and found that I could not move in until Tuesday - 5 days from today. My lease at my current place ended today. Lucky, Rob, one of my neighbors, had a spare bedroom at his place, so we all moved my stuff into there for holding. After that, you guessed it, I drove back down to San Jose for a little family get-together for my aunt's birthday on Saturday in San Francisco, and a barbeque on Sunday supposedly to mark my return. It's good to be home, but all I want to do is sleep in my own bed - which I had to disassemble today! It feels today as if I don't even have a home...
Phew. What a trip. I'll post a full post mortem report when I have the time to sit down in front of my own computer with a cup of coffee and a clear head. Give me a few days :)
For the record: Night trains are the WORST idea EVER! I booked a seat - not a bed - in a night train to save some money on lodging and pick up some lost time. I was put in a 6 seater car (just like the one in Eurotrip) with 5 people, and somehow wound up sleeping on the floor in between everyone elses feet! I suppose I only got about 2 hours of sleep, so I came into Amsterdam smelly, tired, hungry, and with absolutely NO place to sleep! It all worked out alright when I came across Bob's Youth Hostel and got a place for 2 nights. I'll tell you, after going all day yesterday on 2 horus of sleep (and for various other reasons) I slept like a log last night!
Ah, Amsterdam. Most famous for its liberal attitudes, Anne Frank, and Van Gogh. It really is like they say it is, though. You can't walk more than a block without coming across one of the cities 400 "coffee shops" selling - you guessed it - marijuana in all shapes sizes and colors. Every street corner, instead of a guy smoking a cigarette, he'll just be smoking a joint. It's amazing. As is the redlight district, where they really do have red lights to let patrons know which booth is free or in use.
I hadn't been here more than an hour yesterday morning when I was eating my breakfast of brie and a baguette and a random guy off the street asked me "Did I see you wandering around with the lonely planet guide earlier?" Of course it had been me looking for a hostel, so he introduced himself and I have been hanging out with Frazier from Toronto ever since :) I love that bright blue book!
We went on a walking tour this morning, followed by a tour of the Heineken Brewry and a quick visit to the Van Gogh museum. I think I'm going to skip going inside Anne Frank's house and opt for the old walkby.
Again, just a 2 night stop so I'm off tomorrow morning. I'm still debaing whether to go to Brussels as my last stop, or just spending another full day in Paris... Oh, the choices I'm faced with!
I know, I'm backtracking again... but it's hard to take these day-long trains without some sort of break in between!
This time in Copenhagen, I spent the night in a hostel with Chelsea, the recent NYU graduate I met in Stockholm. It was quite amazing, because after I left for Uppsala we didn't arrange any plans to meet up again, but by chance we were on the same train in the same car to Copenhagen! After arriving, we walked the town yesterday and had a picnic dinner in a secret park near - oh wait, it's a secret :) After the sun set (which happens quite late here, well past 10 o'clock still) we headed back to the hostel by way (unintentionally, of course) of the shadiest part of town with sex shops lining the street on either side. After our fear of getting mugged subsided and we were safe in our room, we cracked open a bottle of Absinth (not the hallucinagenic type; note the spelling!) and had a couple of shots each and talked on the balcony of our hostel until the rain finally sent us to bed in the wee hours of the morning.
It's amazing, traveling is. This trip - the people I've met, places I've gone to and things I've experienced in the last few weeks - has changed a lot about my outlook on life. I am more open, more adventurous, and feel extremely uneducated about the world! I can only think about traveling now. I look at a paycheck in number of days in a certain country, or a plane ticket to Peru or Taiwan or New Zealand. I have planned trips for every break from now until I graduate in a couple years, and a trip for when I do graduate. (parents: don't freak out!) I don't know, I guess I am enjoying myself too much on this trip to think about ever not travelling!
Anyway, that aside, I am taking a night train to Amsterdam tonight to get out of the expensive Scandanavian area. I am bummed about missing out on Norway, but there's always my next trip! It's coming down to crunch time; I have to choose my battles about where I want to go because I have just a handful of days left before I return home.
My second day in Stockholm today, and it was absolutely wonderful to sleep in until 5 minutes before breakfast ended at 10am. At noon, I made my way with Wernen (I figured out his name) to the central station where he caugh a train out of town and I met up with one of my sister Sheryl's roommates from when she was living in Australia. After meeting up with Marie, we wandered around Stockholm a bit more, then decided to go to her home town 40 minutes north, Uppsala. She was concerned about having to run an errand on the way out of town, however, but she was suprised when I was jumping for joy at what the errand was - a trip to IKEA!
So yes, folks, I can now say that I have been to an IKEA store in Stockholm, Sweden! Perhaps one of the highlighs of the trip so far (the Lourve has nothing on the showroom floor, let me tell you!) Joking aside, though, it was really fun and exciting to have someone to explain the names of the furniture to me and all that good stuff. We jumped back on the train to Uppsala with brown flat box in hand where we are staying at her parent's house for the night. Marie made Swedish meatballs for dinner and everything! It was nice to sit down and have a home cooked meal for once, as well as take a shower without worrying about having my passport stolen.
Anyway, I'm completely drained, and seeing as I have a bed in a room to myself tonight, I think I might go to sleep a bit early to catch the first train south. I'm going to try my best to make a few more stops before I fly out of CDG next Wednesday (which again, seems way too soon for me...)
Gah! So much to do so little time!
I have just about a week left on my Europe trip, and I feel like I need at least another year! I am now in Stockholm where I spent last night in a huge 40 bed dorm room because it's the cheapest place in the city (and still 145 Swedish Kronos to boot) Of course I met a really nice girl, Chelsea, who just graduated from NYU, and another guy from Austria who's name I can't even pronounce, let alone try to write!
Anyway, internet, along with just about everything here, is really expensive so I must go, but this place really is extremely beautiful! I should mention that I rented a canoe with Chelsea today to paddle around the canals of the city.
Again, so much to say, so little time!
The love is back!
Oh my god, the Berlin Love Parade was insane! I met a guy from Cal and another guy from Lebanon of all places at my hostel this time. Needless to say that the guy from Lebanon found a place to stay for a few months until things settle down between them and Israel. Anyway, we kicked off the lovin' on Friday night by going to one of the biggest raves in Berlin with Paul Van Dyk spinning 2 sets for the masses. As my frist techno/rave/whatever party, I was amazed. It was almost overwhelming with the crowds, lights, drinks, drugs, and music all flowing with the beat. The last set didn't end until 8am, so we made it back to the hostel to catch just a few hours of sleep before we headed for the parade at noon on Saturday.
For those of you who don't know what the love parade is, I'll lay it out for you simply. It is all about techno/house/trance music, and has been bringing crowds of people to Berlin for over 15 years. Here's what happens: Starting around noon or so, the parade starts. The "parade" consists of 40 or so semi-trucks each carrying their own portable turntables, gigantic speakers, and of course a dance floor. They circle the center of the biggest park in the city spreading their music everywhere. If you like a particular DJ, you follow the truck for a bit, if not just grab a beer for a bit as another truck will be around in just a few minutes.
At 8pm, the trucks all stop and the crowds gather around the center of the park where there's a tall monument and a stationary stage. Each set of speakers on the trucks as well as the massive non-moving parts are hooked up together, and every DJ is given 20 minutes to make the crowd go wild. Add to this a bunch of fog machines, strobe lights, and a laser show, and you have an E-head's dream come true... oh, did I forget to mention there were 1.2 Million people there?
Needless to say it was wild, the costumes were great, and the love is definately back. :)
Moving on... I went from Berlin to Copenhagen for a night where I met a guy who had an extra bedroom he offered to me. I took him up of course, and gave him a few euro for it. He was also kind enough to let me use his bike for the evening, where I gave myself the self-guided tour of Copenhagen - even if I was lost over half the time :) I am glad he gave me a bike, as some streets only allow bicycles, no cars or pedestrians! Also, every street has special bike rules to follow, complete with speed signs, our own lanes, and even signal lights at every intersection! I heard that there is a 4:1 ratio of bikes to humans in Denmark.
This morning, I woke up to catch the first train to Stockholm which was - booked solid. As was the one after that. So now I am waiting for the next train with a seat, which put me back 8 hours. I made the most of it with a day trip to Malmo, right across the longest bridge in Europe. (5 miles; I just looked it up)
Anyway, it's off to Sweden, where I already saw about a million volvos (although I have yet to see an IKEA!)
After yet another long night and early bedtime for me in Prague, I decided to take the train out of the Czech Republic and into Berlin. Of course unbeknownst to me until yesterday, the "Love Parade" is this Saturday! I think I am going to stay an extra night from what I had planned to go party with what is projected to be well over a million people in the streets listening to the freshest and best techno in the world. I was just reading about it in its wikipedia article; I'm pretty stoked about it!
Anyway, just got a bit of free internet time, so I thought I'd update my location. Expect a wild post after this Saturday :)
I just arrived yesterday in the Czech Republic, probably the most "eastern" country I am giong to visit. My eurail pass didn't even cover the trip from the border to Prague, so I had to shell out the bucks to buy a ticket. But boy, was it worth it; I love Prague! I got in last night and found a hostel right in the center of town, and just started exploring. Even walking in this city is exciting with its medieval streets and buildings and crazy shops and people in the streets.
Last night after my dinner of a brat and fries (very Czech...) I met a couple guys from my dorm and we went out to have a night on the town. Andrew from Australia and Stephan from - of all places - Iceland and myself went to probably a dozen different bars and clubs drinking and enjoying ourselves until the sun came up this morning (even if I wasn't as perky!) It's great here for another reason: everything is so inexpensive! We had round after round of beers because half-liters only cost about a dollar! Everything from food to tram rides are just so cheap compared to Switzerland and Austria where I'm coming from. This is also my third currency in a week, and I don't even know the proper way to pronounce it! Who pays in Czeck korunys anyway? Actually, Andrew (the Aussie) works in foreign exchange, so it was nice to have him around to calculate how much everything cost in US dollars, Australian dollars, and even Icelandic korunys.
I might stay another day here to take in the sights (and make up for the time I spent sleeping this morning...) then it's off to Berlin where I am going to try to meet up with a pro skater from Austria I met on the train. He opened up a Thrasher magazine - probably the biggest skate mag - and pointed out the guys he is going to be filming a video with! I told him I'd love to get some pictures, so he invited me to tag along when I get into town. I love traveling alone, I'm so free to do any of these things I feel like!
Speaking of, I parted ways with Sarah a couple days ago in Austria, and with Thanh shortly thereafter. Both are supposed to be in Prague tonight, so I'll see if I can't meet up with them again.
Anyway, if I knew how to say goodbye in Czech, I would, but the language is truly foreign to me!
Quick post as my train to Prague leaves in less than half an hour from the south station which is still a tram ride away...
Our expanded travel gang went to Hallstatt, a sleepy little town on Lake Hallstatt (go figure) to have a day of hiking and resting and enjoying the afternoon rainshowers. We stayed in the nicest hostel, which also happened to be the town's football hub so we were able to watch the third place and final games of the world cup just downstairs from our rooms along with what seemed like the entire rest of the town!
Yesterday, we took a ferry ride along "the prettiest stretch of the Danube" according to Rick Steves. It was beautiful - aside from the torrents of rain coming down on us. Of course it stopped just in time for us to walk to the train station and get to Vienna. Again, I had no reservation, so after checking about a million different hostels I got a hotel room with Thahn, a nice travelmate from Boulder, CO...
Anyway, train is leaving... I'll catch up soon!
Phew, where did I leave off? All the way back in Montreaux?
Okay, so from Montreaux, I went to Zurich to spend just one night. Outside of my little town of 87, Switzerland it quite expensive. We sat down at a bar to order a beer, and half a liter (the standard size) cost 7 CHF! Needless to say, it was a one drink night! Other than that, I really liked Zurich, and would love to spend some more time exploring there, but we had a game to catch in Munich!
We (still traveling with Sarah) continued to Munich for the two games on the 4th and 5th. We didn't really book ahead, so in a last-ditch effort to get a room we wound up staying in a place called simply "the tent". They got really descriptive, but that's exactly what it was. We paid a couple euro extra to sleep on a bed, but they literally just had 4 huge circus tents set up outside of town a bit to house 400 people. Quite the hostel... But like I said, we had a game to catch! As soon as we checked in, we ran to the tram station to get to the Olympic Stadium, but the next tram didn't arrive for another 20 minutes - after the game was going to start! We found a couple of other game-goers and then a taxi. We jumped into the Mercedes and just about screamed to get us to the stadium. Now this is Germany, remember - the country known for the autobahn. This guy could DRIVE! We were zipping in and out of traffic like it was nobody's business, trying to catch every other word the driver was saying. He was great, and took us right up to the back entrance to the Olympic Stadium.
The Olympic Stadium in Munich is where the olympic games were held in the seventies. During the WC, however, they set up huge jumbotrons for people to watch the games. It got crazy! I don't know how many people were there, but I've talked to people who have been saying 50,000+ and I wouldn't doubt it for a second. Not even to mention they were selling beer in cups by the liter, so it got even crazier! After half-time I started seeing people carried away on stretchers, in handcuffs, in ambulances, and even a guy who had to get an IV of sugar water because he was so drunk and bawling his eyes out after Germany lost. What a shame about Germany, too. I would have definitely made it to Berlin to see them play in the final game.
For the game on the 5th, we layed low after the craziness in the stadium. We went to the actual park where the game was being played a few hours before kick-off, and there were mobs and mobs of people there waiting to get in. We could have bought seats in the nosebleed section for a mere €300 per seat at the door. We also checked out the Haufbrau (sp?) House, the mose renown beer hall in Munich. It was packed with portugese people chanting and cheering for their country, getting prepped for the game. Again, beer by the liter. :) In Munich, I averaged over 3 liters of beer and 2 mixed drinks per day... before too long, my liver was telling me to go to Austria.
I'm here at my first Austrian stop in Salzburg. It is known for 2 main things: Mozart and The Sound of Music. The hostel we are staying in shows the movie once a day, every day. It was fun to watch the movie right in the city where it was filmed. I did skip the Sound of Music tour, however, to go to the worlds largest ice cave. It's 42 km long, but we just stayed in the first kilometer where the best ice was forming. It was quite fascinating learning how the cold air settles and freezes the water that drips down through the limestone. The guy who runs the tours is keeping the experience as authentic as possible as well; there are no lights set up anywhere inside the cave, so the tourists are given gas burning lamps to light the way, as well as the tour guides illuminating the features by burning shards of magnesuim. My only regret is wearing sandals. You would think a cave is cold enough, but an ICE cave? It was well below freezing for the entire hour-long tour; my toes about froze off! Well worth it, though. We also met some people on the tour who we had dinner with last night, and are going to travel with for a couple days before everyone's tours of Europe end.
Last night, I didn't carry my passport (probably the second time on the trip it's been more than 2 feet from my reach); I locked it back in the hostel with my camera because it was raining pretty hard. After dinner, we went to an Irish pub for a few Guinesses and some live music and to just hang out with some cool Canadians. A few drinks into the night, the music shuts down abruptly, and all the lights in the bar turn on and people started scurrying about. We looked to the door where there were hordes of police officers with very official looking uniforms and very real guns blocking the door. We all didn't know what to think! After failing to go out the back (it was blocked by police as well), we asked around to find out what was going on. Apparently it was the last day of high school in Salzburg, so the police were checking everyone's ID in the pub to catch underage drinkers. Now remember, I have NO ID on me at all, just a credit card with my name on it. I started freaking out a bit (maybe it was the Guiness talking) but we had to forge ahead through the line. As I made it to the door, there was a TV camera and crew with mic's and lights and the whole bit, and just as I am first in line they all focused in on me. The officer asked for ID, I explained I wasn't carrying any, and he told me to step aside (with a nice escort from a fellow officer who was at least twice my size). The TV cameras and blinding light follwed me a few feet to the sidewalk where another officer asked my name and where I was from. As soon as I said "California" in my best American accent, he eyed me for a second, then told me to scram. The TV cameras backed off, and I stepped into the rain, which never felt so good in my life! Needless to say, the moral of the story is "always carry ID". I put my ISIC in my wallet today as well, just in case...
Anyway, today it's off to some other Austrian town which I can't pronounce the name of, then Vienna maybe, then Prague, then... ? Who knows! Who cares? I still don't know what day it is today :)
I absolutely love this country!
I had a blast my last day in Gimmelwald, and climbed to the top of the "sharks fin" everyone was talking about, and it was spectacular! I had lunch of cheese, dried meat (pork maybe?) and chocolate made locally in Gimmelwald (population 87 I found out) After that we hiked down to a small glacial lake and skinny-dipped in near-freezing water... talk about refreshing after a long day of hiking! We spent the night in Interlaken last night, and caught the first train to Montreaux, where I am currently. There is a huge jazz festival going on here for the next 15 days or so, and it is drawing some huge names! Al Jarreau is playing tonight, but it costs almost 50 bucks, so I think we'll stick to the free shows this afternoon. The Deftones are playing tomorrow, and Santana is playing three shows in a few days. I wish I had the time (and money) to stick around for it. There is a lot going on here; apparently there are supposed to be 200,000 people coming through for the concert!
I'm traveling with the girl I met on the train to Interlaken (Sarah), and after Zurich, we are going to go to Munich to catch the July 5th football game there. I'm so excited! I guess they close down the streets and put up huge jumbotron screens so people can watch the games from the streets. I talked to someone who actually got tickets to a game, but paid over 200 euro per seat. Not to mention they were *really* far away from the field, so I think I'll stick to the streets with beer in hand. I'm just happy to have found a place to stay in Munich!
Another thing to note about Switzerland... everything is in three languages, and I don't understand any of them! I talked to a bartender last night who knew 6 languages (English, German, Italian, Spanish, French, and Portugese if you were wondering) Not to mention Swiss-German, which they spoke at my last hostel. I feel like such a Dumb American sometimes.
Anyway, Au Revoir (they speak French here) from Montreaux, Switzerland!
Okay, Switzerland. I had heard of several people staying at the Mountain Hostel, including Rick Steve's son and others, so I had to check it out. I took a train into Interlaken (ost), nestled between to very gorgeous lakes, and from there took a train to a smaller town called Lauterbrunnen (sp?), followed by a bus ride through a spectacular canyon surrounded by mountains (THE Swiss Alps!) covered in glaciers and dripping with scores of waterfalls. To get to the hostel, which is Gimmelwald, you actually have to take a gondola ride up another few hundred meters - there is no train or bus up here! I met a great girl on the train, Sarah, and we decided to skip paying the 8 francs for the tram and make the hour hike straight up the canyon wall instead. We also thought it would be a good idea to send our backpacks up with someone so as not to have to carry them up. Well, we made the hike, which was just gorgeous, but it took us about 4 hours to find our bags when we reached Gimmelwald - we had no idea where the people who took our bags were staying! A true bonding experience for sure.
Anyway, like I said before, this hostel is by far the best hostel I've stayed at so far. I've already extended my stay to 4 nights and 5 days, and will probably be tempted to make it longer... It is right on the edge of the top of the most beautiful canyon surrounded by the alps on every side. Not only that, but there is a hot tub heated by a wood stove, a bar, pool table, and a bunch of really great people. I quickly made friends with Sebastian from Bath, England who has stayed here a total of 8 weeks over the last year or so!
Forget what I said about skydiving, I'll save that for New Zealand! The hiking here is the best I've seen in the world! A few days ago Sarah and I hiked up to the base of the Jungfrau, the "highest point in Europe" (which is really just the highest train station) but decided against paying the 80 francs to get to the top to see a bunch of clouds. Yesterday, however, we hiked 4 hours from the hostel up to the top of Shilthorn, with probably one of the best views I have seen in my life. We got an uninterrupted view of not only the Jungfrau, but the surrounding peaks and valleys for 360 degrees. If you have seen the James Bond, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", it was filmed there in 1968 (where they blow up the restaurant at the top).
Today, we are planning on taking it easy and just visiting a few waterfalls, but tomorrow we are going to hike up the "sharks fin" where there are supposed to be some of the best views in the region.
After that, it's off to a jazz festival down by another lake in Switzerland, then Munich perhaps if I can find a hostel, then... Austria? Czech Republic? I guess I'll figure it out when I get there :)