Well... I never really got around to writing these final posts and am starting work next Monday so in all likelihood will never be able to write adventures in those great places. But looking back on this trip, besides going to all these places to see the sites, eat the food, taking pictures, more importantly, I have gained a deeper appreciation for life, both good and bad. Freedom of true independence. Being extremely lost, hungry, and tired. Hospitality of strangers. Sheer chaos of an epic party.
It's this appreciation for all of that that I will carry on for the rest of my life, that makes travel so wonderful, when you can really explore. Doing things like forcing myself to meet people I have nothing in common with and gain a mutual understanding over some drinks or a meal. Simply put, overcoming the fear of going into the unknown and having nothing turn out the way you expected it to. But that's a full life of constant adventure and discovery, not perfect or without risk, but full of experiences high and low.
With each trip, you can begin to know more about yourself and learn where your values lie. Because when you're out of your element, removed from a familiar place and people you know, you begin to really think about life and who you are.
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." - John Lennon
So plan some, but just keep living, and know that Life Plan A never works out quite exactly as planned.
---
Addendum:
1) A guy I met on this trip is keeping a blog himself, and this fellow nutso is traveling a whole 80 days. I like the points he makes about traveling alone, which I recommend everyone do because it's a whole new travel experience. Some of his words about pros of traveling alone: "Without a doubt, traveling solo is the best way to go. It’s total freedom. Go where you want to go. Do what you want to do.
Feeling lonely? Meeting people is easier when you’re stag. Fellow backpackers going it alone are more approachable. Intrigued by the lone traveler, groups want to take you in like a stray puppy."
2) Also, there is a book I downloaded for free from the Amazon Kindle store and recommend to read if you've been through Europe before. A young traveler back in 1923 visited Europe on a shoestring budget and has some great stories to tell about his passage through Europe. I certainly had a kick reading it.
http://www.amazon.com/How-See-Europe-Cents-ebook/dp/B004T2LKMC
---FB posts I made while in Europe, capturing brief snippets of my journey that my posts may not have---
WARNING: when going to pubs and clubs in Berlin one may 1) finally run into Rice alumni & 2) enjoy dangerous levels of fun with ridiculous characters from around the world.
July 3 at 6:02pm
New level of confusion yesterday when my high-speed train was all of a sudden rocking back and forth on a ferry in the Baltic Sea.
July 1 at 8:31am
heavy thunderstorm while at the beach, skinny dipping in the ocean, and... probably the best 15-minute excursion with 6 strangers i will ever partially remember.
June 28 at 4:14pm
Discovered the perfect cure to a Belgian beer hangover with some very cool ladies from New Brunswick. Now onto eating brownies on beaches outside Amsterdam.
June 28 at 12:29pm via Facebook Mobile
Hopefully will be In Bruges tonight! Don't want to try my traveling luck.
June 27 at 1:59am
Free FUNK concert at La Defense! RER line A. George Clinton FTW.
June 26 at 10:26am
After eating the best tapas in Spain, it is onto Paris! Talia can attest to this. #foodmakesmehappy
June 23 at 2:51pm
Even 45C (113F) weather won't stop me from drinking my mid-day cervezas!
June 22 at 8:02am
Finished a 3.5 hour free walking tour. Saw giant group of pre-teen girls crowding a black SUV in front of a nice hotel, big bodyguards, and then celeb popped out. He was rushed into hotel. Clueless to who it was, I asked one of the few girls who wasn't crying. It was a Jonas Brother...
June 20 at 7:33am
Got out of the train station. Pulled into a massive swarm of people protesting for the next two hours. Found my hostel. Welcome to Madrid!
June 19 at 7:50am
Jam session with strangers from Morocco, France, Britain, Canada/Mexico, Cameroon, a drunk dog, and Mary. Another fantastic night on Barcelona beaches, life is truly amazing.
June 17 at 6:38pm
I don't even know how to describe my first 24 hours in Barcelona. Bizarre, awesome, and ridiculous?
June 14 at 11:53pm
España para los próximos 10 días! Emocionado! Barcelona. Madrid. Toledo. Sevilla. Grenada. Y más?
June 14 at 2:35am
Roughing it in Rome. Seriously, sleeping on the ground in a house under reconstruction.
June 4 at 9:47am
So many policemen are out in Athens, it reminds me of Half-Life 2.
June 2 at 9:54am
Crunk in Croatia (Zagreb) and wasted in Vienna. I hope I don't rolf in Rome.
May 28 at 4:05pm
First 8 hours in Budapest yesterday = Took a shot of my host's homemade palinka upon arrival, went to a famous bathhouse and met a bunch of Canadians, got really lost, and saw some of the most breathtaking views of my life (Budapest at night from Gellert).
May 26 at 7:47am
My Austrian hosts are too awesome. Climbed a mountain last weekend and wakeboarding this weekend! #holyshitsoexcited
May 24 at 10:58pm
Loves that they list the weight of your meal in the Czech Republic. 1 kg, please!
May 24 at 9:30am
Off to Salzburg, Prague, Vienna, Budapest and Zagreb! Hopefully, Capital One let's me withdraw my money soon or else I will be broke and homeless in Eastern Europe.
May 21 at 3:44pm
Monday, August 1, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
brb
Back in the US of A. Will try to blog about travels after I move to SF in a week.
Content will include
-Why Spain is amazing and life really is a lot different there
-What the hell I did in Spain for so long
-Amsterdam, coffeshops and prostitutes
-Copenhagen
-Hamburg, Germany's Amsterdam
-BERLIN, a very very cool city
-Frankfurt
-might elaborate on Florence or try to fill in stories here and there, but that should about cover everything!
Content will include
-Why Spain is amazing and life really is a lot different there
-What the hell I did in Spain for so long
-Amsterdam, coffeshops and prostitutes
-Copenhagen
-Hamburg, Germany's Amsterdam
-BERLIN, a very very cool city
-Frankfurt
-might elaborate on Florence or try to fill in stories here and there, but that should about cover everything!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
nude in the NETHERLANDS
Awesome! Get to use my sis’s laptop and thereby, type on a keyboard. Hallelujah.
---
Addendum to Bruges post: I didn’t elaborate much when discussing the bike riding in Bruges. If any of you have been in Amsterdam, it was like that minus the trams and EVERYONE being high.
1) what you have as your death vehicle are these big Dutch bikes, with high seats and handlebars, and if they were armored they’d be one-person tanks.
2) you are riding around cobblestone streets which are choppy enough, but then you have these roads where big trucks are driving on all the time as well as other bikers, hordes of tourists, fancy cars (I managed to see someone driving an Aston Martin). So, you are clinging to that 6” between the road and the high curb of the sidewalk that is meant for drainage.
3) there are moats and other hazards to avoid as well
---
Back to the story. After a great day in Bruges with the ladies from New Brunswick, I decided it was time to head to Noordwijk before it got too late and I definitely didn’t want to check-in much later than 10 PM. I didn’t mention but some of the Belgian locals were VERY nice and I managed to have some short conversations with them. The scariest thing that can happen to you minus those really bad things, I need not name, is passing out. Who the hell knows what could happen to you or your stuff if you passed out somewhere. Only happened to me once in Switzerland, but it was Switzerland so I didn’t have much to worry about. Almost happened in Italy in a village at about 11 PM, that could have been pretty bad. The trains took a little while, but I don’t remember having too much trouble with the trains out of there. Maybe I have developed some kind of travel selective memory though. Anyways, got into Leiden Central and hopped aboard Bus 40 or 44 which would take me to Noordwijk which was about 50 minutes away. At 4EU it was a pretty pricey ticket, but alas Northern Europe is very expensive. Just sat there not thinking about much, just gazing out the window and remembering to look for a lighthouse and get off at whatever stop that was closest too.
At about 9 PM, I finally got to the Lighthouse Square with the very obvious lighthouse and the beach just beyond it. There it was, the Flying Pig Beach Hostel. I had booked it because the Amsterdam downtown Flying Pig Beach Hostel (one of Europe’s “Famous Hostels) was full and I figured it would have great service as well being under the same brand. Plus, I wanted some time outside the cities especially after having just been in Paris. Anyways, got to the counter and met Leo who was working the bar/reception (who Nick – a guy I met in Madrid had told me lots about during our random group’s big night out in that awesome city). There were a bunch of people in the smoke room in the back beyond the counter, smoking (joints and cigs alike, remember this is the Netherlands), and playing some drinking games.
Back to Leo, here was this 6’4” tall beach bum with dreads, he was incredibly lanky and kind of looked like a dinosaur, who had the exact personality of Leo from That 70s Show, the big hippie/stoner who “runs” the record shop. After chilling and talking to Leo who asked me about my travels thus far, I figured it was time for a big beer and to drop my stuff off in the room (a 12-bed dorm in the basement).
After dropping off my stuff and picking up my beers, I went to go mingle in the smoke room. Quickly I was pulled into the drinking game by Ari, quick talking heavily tattooed Italian-American from New York who had been living in LA studying to be a lawyer representing celebs but was now bumming around at the hostel for a few months. He was introducing me to a bunch of people including this Brazilian girl who he told to give me a kiss. Alas, that did not happen but drunk Ari decided to give me a kiss on the cheek since she didn’t. The game looked like Ring of Fire with a bunch of cards stacked on a mug of beer in the middle on which we had to stack the card that we drew from the ring around the base. It definitely was some variation of the game as I heard things like Question Master, but there were a bunch of different rules and also pretty much everyone was without some article of clothing. Anyways, within 5 minutes of playing my shirt and shorts were gone, taken by the girl from Canada who was the ‘Confiscator.’ Also gone was the dress of the blonde Australian girl sitting next to me, who was attractive but way too slutty for my tastes plus Ari was groping her which was off-putting too. 15 minutes later they were making out. After a few more rounds in the game it was my turn again and I pulled my card and did whatever you were supposed to do when you pulled and managed to put it on the pile above the mug with two edges off and not sticking it under any other cards. Someone, I swear, hit the table a few seconds later and the pile fell off the mug, thus I had to chug the thing. Kept going around meeting people, drinking, passing blunts and so forth. So, a number of drinks and joints into the night I was high and drunk. Met a bunch more characters that night, and Tom would fill me in on everyone’s backstory tomorrow. Went out to the porch for a bit to chat with the Brazilian girl about going to Carnaval. Got some more tips and it was again reinforced that I should go to Salvador Bahia for the REAL Carnaval. It started to sprinkle to see we all headed indoors. I had reserved the shuttle for 9 AM in the morning into town so I figured I should drink some water and call it a night. Went to the communal computer to check some mail as I was getting some water in me.
After I finished the glass and logged off, I was thinking fuck it, I really should check out the beach. Ran downstairs to grab my flipflops, and saw Ari coming out of the staff room which was linked to the giant dorm looking for something, probably a condom. Had seen him take the Aussie girl down a little while before. There were a few more hookups that night as was obvious in the morning. There were a couple of other easy and attractive “pulls” as Ari put it that night, but perhaps having somewhat of a conscious, I don’t think any guys went after them. Went back up after grabbing my flipflops, returned the glass to the bar and out the window I saw a small group of people heading out, so I ran off to go to the beach with them. We got acquainted on the 2-minute walk to the beach, some siblings from Ireland, a couple of Noordwijk locals, a Finnish guy, and a few others in the mix. I think between all of us we had some beers, a bottle of wine, portable speaker+iPod, and some joints, don’t really remember too well. Anyways, we sat down for a few minutes and chilled watching the waves break with a light coming from our backs from this shack that looked like it would be a bar during the day. I think we were talking about touching the Baltic Sea just to say we did? We started to hear thunder and saw lightning in the distance. It was quite an amazing scene. Anyways, before I knew what was going one of the girls had taken off her dress and bra, telling the Finnish guy to watch her stuff and was running out to the ocean. I thought she still had her panties on, but upon second look it was confirmed that would be that those would have to be some miraculous panties that could stay on without anything gripping onto the hips. It started to sprinkle again at this point and some people started to head for cover. The Irish girl kept her underwear on but headed out as well. I don’t really have any qualms with getting naked, I think having done Baker 13, gone to a number of onsens in Japan, is probably testament to that. So I went. Running into the ocean was pretty liberating, but I have got to say the way the sky looked, the way the headlight hit the beach, it was really beautiful. It started to rain pretty heavily at this point and thunder a bit more so after being out at sea I decided it was time to head back, grab my clothes, put them on and run like hell to the hostel. It was getting pretty cold out in the rain. Couldn’t find the others but headed back with the guy from Noordwijk. Probably had some conversation about life in Noordwijk or just life, but some time later made it back all soaked and with sand in my shorts.
Despite all these guys sleeping in the room, including two Indian guys (so out of place) who were in town for an academic conference at the fancy hotel in the plaza but couldn’t afford accommodations there, I am sure I made plenty of noise getting cleaned up and into bed only to get up a few hours later to go into town. Also, I laughed when I realized the bottom bunk bed that was set up that was set up like a fortress, having blankets draped all around the sides belonged to the Fremont, Cali high school grad with the hot girlfriend who was half Natalie Portman and half Katie Holmes. Dunno how that ever happened, apparently they had met while traveling.
Took a quick shower and hung my clothes on the edges of my bed to dry. Regardless, would find sand in my bed the next morning.
First night in Noordwijk.
---
Addendum to Bruges post: I didn’t elaborate much when discussing the bike riding in Bruges. If any of you have been in Amsterdam, it was like that minus the trams and EVERYONE being high.
1) what you have as your death vehicle are these big Dutch bikes, with high seats and handlebars, and if they were armored they’d be one-person tanks.
2) you are riding around cobblestone streets which are choppy enough, but then you have these roads where big trucks are driving on all the time as well as other bikers, hordes of tourists, fancy cars (I managed to see someone driving an Aston Martin). So, you are clinging to that 6” between the road and the high curb of the sidewalk that is meant for drainage.
3) there are moats and other hazards to avoid as well
---
Back to the story. After a great day in Bruges with the ladies from New Brunswick, I decided it was time to head to Noordwijk before it got too late and I definitely didn’t want to check-in much later than 10 PM. I didn’t mention but some of the Belgian locals were VERY nice and I managed to have some short conversations with them. The scariest thing that can happen to you minus those really bad things, I need not name, is passing out. Who the hell knows what could happen to you or your stuff if you passed out somewhere. Only happened to me once in Switzerland, but it was Switzerland so I didn’t have much to worry about. Almost happened in Italy in a village at about 11 PM, that could have been pretty bad. The trains took a little while, but I don’t remember having too much trouble with the trains out of there. Maybe I have developed some kind of travel selective memory though. Anyways, got into Leiden Central and hopped aboard Bus 40 or 44 which would take me to Noordwijk which was about 50 minutes away. At 4EU it was a pretty pricey ticket, but alas Northern Europe is very expensive. Just sat there not thinking about much, just gazing out the window and remembering to look for a lighthouse and get off at whatever stop that was closest too.
At about 9 PM, I finally got to the Lighthouse Square with the very obvious lighthouse and the beach just beyond it. There it was, the Flying Pig Beach Hostel. I had booked it because the Amsterdam downtown Flying Pig Beach Hostel (one of Europe’s “Famous Hostels) was full and I figured it would have great service as well being under the same brand. Plus, I wanted some time outside the cities especially after having just been in Paris. Anyways, got to the counter and met Leo who was working the bar/reception (who Nick – a guy I met in Madrid had told me lots about during our random group’s big night out in that awesome city). There were a bunch of people in the smoke room in the back beyond the counter, smoking (joints and cigs alike, remember this is the Netherlands), and playing some drinking games.
Back to Leo, here was this 6’4” tall beach bum with dreads, he was incredibly lanky and kind of looked like a dinosaur, who had the exact personality of Leo from That 70s Show, the big hippie/stoner who “runs” the record shop. After chilling and talking to Leo who asked me about my travels thus far, I figured it was time for a big beer and to drop my stuff off in the room (a 12-bed dorm in the basement).
After dropping off my stuff and picking up my beers, I went to go mingle in the smoke room. Quickly I was pulled into the drinking game by Ari, quick talking heavily tattooed Italian-American from New York who had been living in LA studying to be a lawyer representing celebs but was now bumming around at the hostel for a few months. He was introducing me to a bunch of people including this Brazilian girl who he told to give me a kiss. Alas, that did not happen but drunk Ari decided to give me a kiss on the cheek since she didn’t. The game looked like Ring of Fire with a bunch of cards stacked on a mug of beer in the middle on which we had to stack the card that we drew from the ring around the base. It definitely was some variation of the game as I heard things like Question Master, but there were a bunch of different rules and also pretty much everyone was without some article of clothing. Anyways, within 5 minutes of playing my shirt and shorts were gone, taken by the girl from Canada who was the ‘Confiscator.’ Also gone was the dress of the blonde Australian girl sitting next to me, who was attractive but way too slutty for my tastes plus Ari was groping her which was off-putting too. 15 minutes later they were making out. After a few more rounds in the game it was my turn again and I pulled my card and did whatever you were supposed to do when you pulled and managed to put it on the pile above the mug with two edges off and not sticking it under any other cards. Someone, I swear, hit the table a few seconds later and the pile fell off the mug, thus I had to chug the thing. Kept going around meeting people, drinking, passing blunts and so forth. So, a number of drinks and joints into the night I was high and drunk. Met a bunch more characters that night, and Tom would fill me in on everyone’s backstory tomorrow. Went out to the porch for a bit to chat with the Brazilian girl about going to Carnaval. Got some more tips and it was again reinforced that I should go to Salvador Bahia for the REAL Carnaval. It started to sprinkle to see we all headed indoors. I had reserved the shuttle for 9 AM in the morning into town so I figured I should drink some water and call it a night. Went to the communal computer to check some mail as I was getting some water in me.
After I finished the glass and logged off, I was thinking fuck it, I really should check out the beach. Ran downstairs to grab my flipflops, and saw Ari coming out of the staff room which was linked to the giant dorm looking for something, probably a condom. Had seen him take the Aussie girl down a little while before. There were a few more hookups that night as was obvious in the morning. There were a couple of other easy and attractive “pulls” as Ari put it that night, but perhaps having somewhat of a conscious, I don’t think any guys went after them. Went back up after grabbing my flipflops, returned the glass to the bar and out the window I saw a small group of people heading out, so I ran off to go to the beach with them. We got acquainted on the 2-minute walk to the beach, some siblings from Ireland, a couple of Noordwijk locals, a Finnish guy, and a few others in the mix. I think between all of us we had some beers, a bottle of wine, portable speaker+iPod, and some joints, don’t really remember too well. Anyways, we sat down for a few minutes and chilled watching the waves break with a light coming from our backs from this shack that looked like it would be a bar during the day. I think we were talking about touching the Baltic Sea just to say we did? We started to hear thunder and saw lightning in the distance. It was quite an amazing scene. Anyways, before I knew what was going one of the girls had taken off her dress and bra, telling the Finnish guy to watch her stuff and was running out to the ocean. I thought she still had her panties on, but upon second look it was confirmed that would be that those would have to be some miraculous panties that could stay on without anything gripping onto the hips. It started to sprinkle again at this point and some people started to head for cover. The Irish girl kept her underwear on but headed out as well. I don’t really have any qualms with getting naked, I think having done Baker 13, gone to a number of onsens in Japan, is probably testament to that. So I went. Running into the ocean was pretty liberating, but I have got to say the way the sky looked, the way the headlight hit the beach, it was really beautiful. It started to rain pretty heavily at this point and thunder a bit more so after being out at sea I decided it was time to head back, grab my clothes, put them on and run like hell to the hostel. It was getting pretty cold out in the rain. Couldn’t find the others but headed back with the guy from Noordwijk. Probably had some conversation about life in Noordwijk or just life, but some time later made it back all soaked and with sand in my shorts.
Despite all these guys sleeping in the room, including two Indian guys (so out of place) who were in town for an academic conference at the fancy hotel in the plaza but couldn’t afford accommodations there, I am sure I made plenty of noise getting cleaned up and into bed only to get up a few hours later to go into town. Also, I laughed when I realized the bottom bunk bed that was set up that was set up like a fortress, having blankets draped all around the sides belonged to the Fremont, Cali high school grad with the hot girlfriend who was half Natalie Portman and half Katie Holmes. Dunno how that ever happened, apparently they had met while traveling.
Took a quick shower and hung my clothes on the edges of my bed to dry. Regardless, would find sand in my bed the next morning.
First night in Noordwijk.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Sex, drugs, and alcohol
Noordwijk, Netherlands - Flying Pig Beach Hostel. Truly one of craziest little places on this planet. Stay posted.
I know my past few posts have been shit, so I will try to redeem myself on this one.
I know my past few posts have been shit, so I will try to redeem myself on this one.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Random
I hate bread.
Boccadillos, babirusas, toast, whatever. So annoying to eat it all the time in provided breakfasts, as a way to stave off hunger, etc. Can't wait to get back to the states and go back to a protein heavy diet plus fresh veggies and fruits. Nom.
Surprisingly haven't gained much weight on this trip, just a little. I think it is due to the fact I walk on average 6 miles every day, no exaggeration. Maybe the minimal sleep thing too.
---
Smart traveler
More and more I have inherited the role of travel consultant. Helping other tourists find places to go, recommending places to eat, how to save money, some historical background on buildings, and so on. Also navigating groups when we are all drunk as hell and it's 4 am.
The time for me to become familiar with a city has gone down from 2 days to an afternoon. Usually the first day I get I will walk all the way across town to get familiar, be it Prague, Paris, or Barcelona as well as do an extensive walking tour. I like getting familiar with then area around the hostels for the markets, goings-on in the streets and so on. See what events are going on.
Boccadillos, babirusas, toast, whatever. So annoying to eat it all the time in provided breakfasts, as a way to stave off hunger, etc. Can't wait to get back to the states and go back to a protein heavy diet plus fresh veggies and fruits. Nom.
Surprisingly haven't gained much weight on this trip, just a little. I think it is due to the fact I walk on average 6 miles every day, no exaggeration. Maybe the minimal sleep thing too.
---
Smart traveler
More and more I have inherited the role of travel consultant. Helping other tourists find places to go, recommending places to eat, how to save money, some historical background on buildings, and so on. Also navigating groups when we are all drunk as hell and it's 4 am.
The time for me to become familiar with a city has gone down from 2 days to an afternoon. Usually the first day I get I will walk all the way across town to get familiar, be it Prague, Paris, or Barcelona as well as do an extensive walking tour. I like getting familiar with then area around the hostels for the markets, goings-on in the streets and so on. See what events are going on.
An observation
Unamerican?
I realize I really like British, Canadian, German, and Aussie travelers way more than most of the Americans I have met. Especially, Canadians, seriously they are the coolest by far and I have met so many more of them than Americans or anyone else.
Also, I am coming to appreciate the normal parts of culture rather than all the sites and other touristic things. Like in Paris, I went to the store bought some beers and went out to the park to go mingle. What I found was a community gathering with a funky local jazz band playing some pretty innovative music I hadn't really heard anything similar to before, old French ladies breaking it down doing some variation of the robot, sat down with some locals and shared some wine and hung around for another 30 minutes or so because I was really digging the music. Made my way out to go to the subway station to head a bit out of town for the big jazz festival, but before I even got into the subway stop a street performer caught my attention.
Then again that might just be me, where I don't like getting too comfortable anywhere doing the same old, never having to figure things out like you do you when you are in a different culture. When there is struggle to communicate it can feel like quite an achievement, and I am always a fan of cultural exchange. There is some adventure and excitement to be had when you are lost. Plus it is almost always hilarious when you bust out something in bad German, French, etc.
I was listening to a Rick Steves bit - interview of David Sedaris about living in Paris - and I was really feeling the same way he did. He started living outside of the States after 40 years there to work on some of his latest work and he talked about putting a new "observer" lens when you are out of your home culture you have been and just see much more of what is going around you.
I realize I really like British, Canadian, German, and Aussie travelers way more than most of the Americans I have met. Especially, Canadians, seriously they are the coolest by far and I have met so many more of them than Americans or anyone else.
Also, I am coming to appreciate the normal parts of culture rather than all the sites and other touristic things. Like in Paris, I went to the store bought some beers and went out to the park to go mingle. What I found was a community gathering with a funky local jazz band playing some pretty innovative music I hadn't really heard anything similar to before, old French ladies breaking it down doing some variation of the robot, sat down with some locals and shared some wine and hung around for another 30 minutes or so because I was really digging the music. Made my way out to go to the subway station to head a bit out of town for the big jazz festival, but before I even got into the subway stop a street performer caught my attention.
Then again that might just be me, where I don't like getting too comfortable anywhere doing the same old, never having to figure things out like you do you when you are in a different culture. When there is struggle to communicate it can feel like quite an achievement, and I am always a fan of cultural exchange. There is some adventure and excitement to be had when you are lost. Plus it is almost always hilarious when you bust out something in bad German, French, etc.
I was listening to a Rick Steves bit - interview of David Sedaris about living in Paris - and I was really feeling the same way he did. He started living outside of the States after 40 years there to work on some of his latest work and he talked about putting a new "observer" lens when you are out of your home culture you have been and just see much more of what is going around you.
In Bruges
Bruges
A great 24 hours here. Trains (Paris-Bruges with 2 connections) were a colossalfuck again but forget that I got there 7 hours later than anticipated (full trains - more like the French railways only allow a limited number of EuRail + a train ahead of us breaking down). Also it has been very hot in the past few days, so everyone was a sweaty messy. Also, when we got into the station there were all these emergency workers with a hydration station, some stretchers and people running about, couldn't really figure what all the hullabaloo was all about.
When I got into Bruges jumped on the bus and took it to Marketsquare, did some roaming but got into Snuffek hostel without much ado and decided to just go find some food and grab some Belgian, preferably Trappist beer.
Walking around I found a restaurant after a while. This 50s style burger place. I don't know what the sauce was or what exactly the patties were but it was delicious. One of the best burgers I have ever had. Went around to find a liquor/grocery store to find some beer, so I picked up some Westmalle 9%, it was a solid find. Drank some before taking a much needed shower and when I came back down I sat down with the cute Canadian girls who were talking with the Australian guy. Already felt a bit tipsy because of lack of sleep and not much to eat that day. They were a very friendly group and in no time we were talking about just about everything and sharing plenty of laughs. Learned even more about Canadian culture, since they were from New Brunswick and on the trip I had learned plenty from people from Ontario, Toronto, Vancouver and of course, Montreal.
Three of the girls and the Aussie guy had the 5 drink combo for 10 euro: Duvel, westmaue doppel, ... So, everyone was drunk. Keep in mind Belgian beers are strong 6-10% usually. Some even stronger, 12% ones. The four girl kept having cherry and raspberry beers that were actually really good. I will go on unnaming them because I may or may not have fallen in love with the beautiful blonde and may one day convince her to move to Cali ;-)
I just got the happy hour beer (Maes) a few times which was really sweet and tasted like honey and Palms. The girls didn't like some of the stronger liquid bread so I drank for them, of course being the gentleman I am. We were having lots of fun and good convo so before we knew it, it was really late. We were all in the large dorm Rm 21 together, We got back into the room at 3am... causing as little noise as we could... yeah right. I had gotten in pretty late... So my bed had a folded sheetset, so I just unfolded them once and lay on top. Simply trying to cover the mattress in some fashion. No way was I going to make my bed drunk and tired as I was.
Abandoning my original plan to get into Amsterdam early and have a silly day in and out of coffeeshops and the Red Light District before I went to Noordwijk and the beach hostel, I decided to tag along with them biking around town the next day and whatever else until the late afternoon when I would head out. They were really great company, so it was definitely the right decision.
Anyways, the next day we all woke up early with hangovers except the girl who had the 4 fruit beers. I had to check out but we had all also reserved bikes for the day which we had to pick up by 10 am. Together we discovered that the cure to a Belgian beer hangover is biking around town, Belgian fries, and Belgian chocolate. Really worked wonders. We went to both the fry museum and chocolate museum, so we learned all about what went into both. Bruges definitely had its charm.
Fairly warm afternoon when I left... Onto Noordwijk about 30 km outside Amsterdam on the beach.
A great 24 hours here. Trains (Paris-Bruges with 2 connections) were a colossalfuck again but forget that I got there 7 hours later than anticipated (full trains - more like the French railways only allow a limited number of EuRail + a train ahead of us breaking down). Also it has been very hot in the past few days, so everyone was a sweaty messy. Also, when we got into the station there were all these emergency workers with a hydration station, some stretchers and people running about, couldn't really figure what all the hullabaloo was all about.
When I got into Bruges jumped on the bus and took it to Marketsquare, did some roaming but got into Snuffek hostel without much ado and decided to just go find some food and grab some Belgian, preferably Trappist beer.
Walking around I found a restaurant after a while. This 50s style burger place. I don't know what the sauce was or what exactly the patties were but it was delicious. One of the best burgers I have ever had. Went around to find a liquor/grocery store to find some beer, so I picked up some Westmalle 9%, it was a solid find. Drank some before taking a much needed shower and when I came back down I sat down with the cute Canadian girls who were talking with the Australian guy. Already felt a bit tipsy because of lack of sleep and not much to eat that day. They were a very friendly group and in no time we were talking about just about everything and sharing plenty of laughs. Learned even more about Canadian culture, since they were from New Brunswick and on the trip I had learned plenty from people from Ontario, Toronto, Vancouver and of course, Montreal.
Three of the girls and the Aussie guy had the 5 drink combo for 10 euro: Duvel, westmaue doppel, ... So, everyone was drunk. Keep in mind Belgian beers are strong 6-10% usually. Some even stronger, 12% ones. The four girl kept having cherry and raspberry beers that were actually really good. I will go on unnaming them because I may or may not have fallen in love with the beautiful blonde and may one day convince her to move to Cali ;-)
I just got the happy hour beer (Maes) a few times which was really sweet and tasted like honey and Palms. The girls didn't like some of the stronger liquid bread so I drank for them, of course being the gentleman I am. We were having lots of fun and good convo so before we knew it, it was really late. We were all in the large dorm Rm 21 together, We got back into the room at 3am... causing as little noise as we could... yeah right. I had gotten in pretty late... So my bed had a folded sheetset, so I just unfolded them once and lay on top. Simply trying to cover the mattress in some fashion. No way was I going to make my bed drunk and tired as I was.
Abandoning my original plan to get into Amsterdam early and have a silly day in and out of coffeeshops and the Red Light District before I went to Noordwijk and the beach hostel, I decided to tag along with them biking around town the next day and whatever else until the late afternoon when I would head out. They were really great company, so it was definitely the right decision.
Anyways, the next day we all woke up early with hangovers except the girl who had the 4 fruit beers. I had to check out but we had all also reserved bikes for the day which we had to pick up by 10 am. Together we discovered that the cure to a Belgian beer hangover is biking around town, Belgian fries, and Belgian chocolate. Really worked wonders. We went to both the fry museum and chocolate museum, so we learned all about what went into both. Bruges definitely had its charm.
Fairly warm afternoon when I left... Onto Noordwijk about 30 km outside Amsterdam on the beach.
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