Paris

Bonjour Mes Amis!

The Louvre

This is the part of the trip where we start to do a lot of French things, like going to Paris. We were in Paris longer than any other city so far, 7 nights. This doesn't sound like the best way to save money; as most of you know Paris isn't the cheapest city in the world.  But thanks to that fantastic little thing called couchsurfing we've been able to do quite a few touristy things while we've been here, while spending quite a bit less than the average person visiting this crazy expensive city. Granted we did have to spend 2 nights in a hostel, every other night was spent with a fantastic host that continues to make the trip that much better. Our first two nights were spent with a host that was just an all around awesome person. Max shared a great passion for music that instantly made our stay awesome and we spent a ton of time getting to know each other, sharing common interests, and just having great conversation. The first night he took us out with some of his friends to a drum and bass gig at an underground club in Paris that was a ton of fun. We couldn't have asked for a better introduction to the city and it's people. We didn't do much sightseeing these first couple days as we were spending most of the weekend with our host and getting ourselves settled in, knowing full well that we'd have plenty of time to go out and see some sights over the next few days.

A new friend

After the second day we parted ways with Max, a new friend gained, and set out to what would be our hostel for the next two nights. The cheapest hostel we could find was between 25 and 30 euros per night, which was quite a bit more pricey than anywhere else we've stayed. The majority of these next two days were spent sightseeing, and we were able to knock out most of the typical sights; the Eiffel Tower (surprise, surprise) which was cool to see again since it was Alex's first time checking it out, the catacombs (super crazy and highly recommended), and a walking tour during a torrential downpour (which probably would have been more fun in the sun). The second day we attempted the impossible, and I'm proud to say that we did it. The Louvre and Versailles in the same day. I don't think I would recommend doing this but I will say that it's doable. We knew that the Louvre was one of the biggest and most famous museums in the world, but we didn't know that it was by far the biggest museum any of us would probably ever go to, and when our tour guide said that if you looked at each piece in the museum for 10 seconds it would take you 3 months to get through it, I don't think we understood. The Louvre is a big museum...like really big. But we did follow some advice and kind of planned out what we wanted to see before going in, which is definitely the best way to go, otherwise you'll be super overwhelmed and you'll definitely end up spending 8 hours there crying, getting lost, and probably never finding your way out, so I'm glad we avoided that scenario.

Gardens of Versailles (featuring a fountain renovation)

We easily spent over 3 hours at The Louvre and easily could have spent a few more. We saw most of the main masterpieces (including the famous painting of a woman) and were very satisfied. Immediately after that we had to start heading to Versailles, which is about 40 min outside Paris by train. We got to Versailles and checked out the palace and gardens, which is pretty much the only thing to see there, but that's good because if there was any more it would be A LOT. We were already feeling pretty sightseeing'd out from the Louvre, but this definitely took the rest out of us. We didn't go into the palace or else we may have collapsed by the end of the day, but it was nonetheless impressive from the outside. The gardens are a site to see by themselves, and as if we hadn't done enough walking that day, we definitely did enough by the time we were done walking through about 2% of those gardens. It's basically the Louvre of all gardens. It's beyond huge, and I'm really glad we made it there and got to see it. We didn't spend too much time there but enough to see most of the general sites in the area. After that, we had to make our way back to Paris to meet up with our next couchsurfing host, whom we found last minute, and we couldn't be happier with the result.

                         

The first thing we did with Jean-Jacques after we met up with him was play squash at the local athletic club that he goes to. I'm not going to say who won (he likes to rub it in) but either way, I was equally impressed with my ability to even stand on two feet after doing The Louvre and Versailles on the same day. It was so cool to play squash (and actually get real exercise) after probably a couple years of not even seeing a court, and we had a ton of fun. After that we were brought to his apartment and once again, had some great conversation and became great friends instantly. He hosted us for the next three nights and we could not have had a better experience. Jean-Jacques was one of the best hosts we've ever had and I don't think I'll forget that couchsurfing experience. When people go above and beyond for someone who they barely even know it's a pretty amazing thing. When people tell me that the French are rude or whenever they go to Paris everyone is so rude to them, I can't help but laugh. I've had quite the opposite experience BOTH times I've been to Paris and I've had some of the best personal connections with other cultures in this city. This has easily been my favorite part of Paris and meeting some of these people, hearing their stories, and sharing experiences with them has far outdone anything that The Louvre or the Eiffel Tower or Versailles could ever do. These experiences are what it's all about, and Alex and I both agree that this is our main goal when we go to these different places, far above any of the sightseeing that we could ever do. The Louvre will never hold enough artwork to provide for the incredible experience of meeting new people from different backgrounds in different parts of the world.

I think that's enough reflection for now, so until next time, au revoir!

From Berlin to Benelux

And the travels continue!

First off, we had a pretty great experience traveling from Berlin to Amsterdam. We actually used a website to find someone who was driving from Poland, through Berlin, and going all the way to Amsterdam, charging 40 Euro per person for a seat in his car. This was cheaper than any other form of transportation we could find and it sounded pretty exciting, as we would be meeting someone new and getting to know them for a few hours during the ride. And we survived! I could not have been happier with the decision. He picked us up by the bus stop in Berlin and we were on our way. It was me, Alex, our driver Konrad, and another Alex from Lithuania. We had a great time getting to know each other during the drive and of course, we were driving on the Autobahn which meant no speed limits. This was normal for the other guys with us but Alex and I thought we were so cool to be driving about 100mph on the highway! It was a great experience, and I would love to do it again for wherever we travel. It was somewhat similar to couchsurfing, only for rides to certain places, and with that same mentality of just meeting new people and enjoying the ride to the next destination.

On one of the many canals in Amsterdam

After our entertaining trip from Berlin to Amsterdam we met up with our other Aussie friends we had been traveling with at our hostel, since they took a train with their Eurail pass. We spent a few days in Amsterdam and I think I forgot just how beautiful this city was. It’s still one of my favorite cities because of how unique it is from the rest of the cities in Europe ;) I love everything about this city and wouldn’t mind living here if I get the chance. 

From Amsterdam we split up with our Aussie friends and it was just Alex and I for the first time since Glasgow. It was good to be back on our own and going at our own pace, although we definitely enjoyed our time with our other friends in our own little traveling group. We met up with a mutual friend in The Hague, just south of Amsterdam. Our friend, Ramon, lives there and was able to host us for the weekend. He was an amazing host and we couldn’t have asked for a better time there. The Hague was also a really cool city, and although Amsterdam is the capital of The Netherlands, The Hague is the seat of the parliament and most of the government buildings are there which provided for some great sites to see. It was great to be in a quieter city and relax for a little bit on our trip. The downtime is always good for regrouping and figuring out where to go next.

Probably my favorite photo of Bruges - Magic

We had a potential host in Hamburg, Germany, but it was a little out of the way so we weren’t entirely sure what to do. So we decided to let Facebook choose what we should do, and I posted a status for people to choose whether we go to Hamburg, Germany or Bruges, Belgium. Bruges had a majority of the votes, so that’s where we went. Although I’ve heard some great things about Hamburg, I was really happy with the choice to go to Bruges. Bruges is an awesome little city in the Northwest corner of Belgium, in the Flemmish speaking area (similar to Dutch). There was a famous movie filmed there called In Bruges, which we watched in Bruges (of course) and it turned out to be a really cool movie. It’s one of those fairy tale looking towns (as described in the movie) with some amazing little canals and beautiful architecture. And of course, we had our fair share of Belgian waffles and chocolate and all that good stuff. We actually spent quite a bit of time in Bruges, about 4 nights, before moving on to our next location. Again, it was nice to lay low for a little while in Bruges after we saw most of the sites, and again, we had to figure out where to go next.

Our initial plan was to actually still try and get to Hamburg after Bruges, but that sort of fell through, so instead we did what anybody else in that situation would do…we went to Luxembourg. I knew nothing about Luxembourg before. I still know nothing about Luxembourg, but we spent one night there and I don’t think I know anyone else who’s been there before so I’m glad I can cross it off the list of countries visited. Luxembourg was actually a really cool place. We stayed in the capital city of Luxembourg and really enjoyed our short time there. It was really just a scenic city to walk around and see the sites and amazing architecture there.

I'm in Luxembourg!

It was crazy to be in a place that I knew nothing about, wondering what the heck goes on here and why I was here in the first place. I’m really glad we stayed there and got to check it out, but I found out that the median age there is 40 years old so there were a lot of old rich people walking around everywhere doing old rich people things, so everything there was pretty expensive. I might go back there when I’m 40 and rich, but if I’m 40 and I’m not rich I don’t think it would be as much fun. All in all, I was very satisfied with going there, and from there we went to Paris. And here I sit, courchsurfing in Paris planning the next phase of the trip. We’ll be in Paris for a few more days before going to the next place in France as long as we don’t go broke here. But we’ve started using our Eurail passes and that will be the main form of transportation all the way through Italy.

But until then, we’ll see where we go next!

Oktoberfest, Prague, Berlin

Guten Tag!

Oktoberfest is one of the funnest experiences I think I've ever had. I highly recommend going and it's definitely worth the trip to Munich! Other than the drinking of course, there is a phenomenal atmosphere and energy surrounding the entire event, with singing and dancing and drinking and all around great people everywhere. I think this event has been the highlight of the trip so far, and I couldn't be happier with how it went! I made some new friends here and got to experience the festivities with them. The event itself is completely free to get in, while the steins of beer that you buy (1 liter of beer!) usually cost around 10 euros apiece. But each stein is equivalent to about 3 beers, so you don't need many to get the job done!

                                

Also, there are tons of really fun rides all throughout the event and of course some amazing food; at least it tasted amazing after a couple steins! But in all seriousness, I couldn't believe how much positive energy there was at the event. You may think that with all the people that attend the event and all the drinking that goes on there would at least be a couple fights or something bad might happen, but I saw none of that over the entire two days that I spent at the festival. I couldn't believe how great the positive energy was, and I would definitely go again. There are numerous beer tents scattered throughout the grounds, varying in sizes and the types of beers that they serve, with some being large enough to fit 10,000 people! Every tent is full of tables and, generally speaking, you need to arrive early to get a table or pay ahead of time to reserve a table. We went on a Monday and Tuesday so it wasn't too difficult to find a table in one of the tents. Once seated at a table, we order some steins and let the games begin. The rest of the day is basically filled with drinking, singing, drinking games, talking, joking, laughing, rides, food, and just an all around good time. There's not a whole lot else to say about it other than definitely trying to experience it for yourself if you can.

After all of the Oktoberfest shenanigans we took a bus from Munich to Prague, which wasn't too bad, only about 5 hours or so. Prague is a beautiful city. We met some more friends there and did a walking tour and went out on a pub crawl one of the nights to see some of the nightlife. That was a lot of fun and we even went to a club that was 5 stories tall! Each floor had a different style of music playing. I had never been to a place like that, so that was a really cool experience. One of the coolest things we did in Prague was play a game called Trap. You show up with a team of people and you're locked in a room for 1 hour and you have to figure out how to get yourselves out by finding clues and codes and deciphering them to unlock the various locks and doors that ultimately lead to your way out of the room. That was an awesome time and we made it out with only 3 minutes to spare! These games are pretty popular around Europe and they're usually rated really high on TripAdvisor, so I'm really glad we finally checked one out and I wouldn't mind doing that again in another city. The other crazy thing about Prague is how cheap everything is, especially the beer. 

The Prague Castle District

Like Germany, Prague has beer that is cheaper than water, and it's pretty hard to wrap my head around that but it's definitely true! Overall, I think I speak for most people that have visited Prague when I say that it was definitely a great city to visit, and I'd highly recommend it to people as a stop in Europe.

After another bus ride, I was back in Berlin for my second time. It was great to be back in this city and I've definitely been happy with how this entire trip has unfolded. I can honestly say that I hardly did much at all in Berlin, which I'm okay with because the last time I was here 3 years ago I saw a ton of the amazing things to see here. I did get to experience some of the nightlife this time which was really fun. However, it was a Sunday night so nothing too crazy was happening but we still had a good time. Since I didn't have much time to catch up on my blog or much else during Oktoberfest or even Prague, Berlin has been a great rest stop for me to be able to catch up with everything, and for that alone I am grateful to have been here. We did visit the East Side Gallery again which is always a great sight to see in the city, but other than that it's been a great time catching up on life and what's going on back home. Today we are headed off to Amsterdam to continue the rest of trip, so more updates to come!

UK/Life Realization

Hello from the UK!

So far it's continued to be a great, eventful trip and no complaints! Still very happy to have made this decision and I've been feeling very fortunate to have been able to make this a reality. After our time in Ireland we took a bus from Galway back to the Dublin airport and hopped on a very quick flight to Glasgow. Our friend Scott lives in the center of Glasgow and had an absolutely perfect location to host us. Shout out to Scott for the amazing hospitality and for showing us a great time while we were there. We were in Glasgow for 4 days and couldn't have asked for a better time. We had a lot of down time where we were able to relax and catch up on our facetiming, financials, and FIFA xbox skills.

The craziest thing about this trip was the pure coincidence on our timing for being in Scotland. I can say that I was in Scotland during the time of their referendum and vote for independence from the UK. This was definitely a very significant time for Scotland's history, and there's a good chance that this won't happen again for a very, very long time. It was so cool to have witnessed and experienced the atmosphere of Scotland during this important decision. We spent a lot of time talking to Scott and his friends about this and what the potential impacts for the country would be, with nearly a split vote on whether they should be independent or not. It was really cool to see this happen, and even though the vote barely came to a 'No' on independence it was still a really memorable time to be there in that atmosphere. We would always be hearing cars honking as they drove by, people chanting their opinions, and a riot even broke out near our apartment without us even realizing! We were fine but I hadn't really been in a place with that kind of atmosphere before.

On our final day in Scotland we took a train to the capital, Edinburgh. We weren't there for too long that day, but had enough time to check out the castle and some amazing views of the city.

Edinburgh was probably my favorite city that we've been to so far, in terms of its sheer beauty and scenic skylines. It was definitely a memorable city and a very memorable time to be in Scotland. I'm very happy we made the trip to go up there, and that has definitely been one of the highlights of the trip so far.

We left Scotland early the next morning and hopped on a 9 hour bus to London. It was definitely a long bus ride but it was cheap and bearable... We made it into London and made our way to a friend's house in an area called Shoreditch. Shoreditch is an awesome part of town. Lots of young hipsters doing their hipster things and giving the place a very trendy atmosphere, and I'm glad I got to see that part of London. Alex and I met up with a group of his friends from Australia here, as one is getting married and Alex is here for the weeding festivities. It was awesome meeting all of them and pretending to be one of the 'Aussies.' We had a great time for the first couple days before they took off to Newquay for their 'Bucs Party' and eventually Southampton for the wedding. I stuck around in London and hung out with good old Lucy for the day. We went all around London, including the British Museum, and my mind was blown by all the history. A bit overwhelming for my first real museum on the trip, but I survived. The highlight would have to be the Rosetta Stone which was really cool to see.

Lucy headed to Bristol the next day and I booked my hostel to begin my short solo part of the journey. I would be staying in London through the weekend before meeting back up with the Aussies at the airport on our way to Munich for Oktoberfest. I began my solo part of the trip with my first true realization of what the hell I am actually doing right now. The first day was very productive as I even met up with a business connection and discussed possible job opportunities here in Europe, but that part is to be continued. Back to the realization part; we've been so busy traveling and brainstorming ideas of where to go and when and how to get there and what to do that there's been almost zero time to reflect on what is actually going on at the moment.

There's a familiar sight!

As I sit here and write this, I can say that I've definitely experienced my first 'oh my God' moment as the magnitude of this entire journey begins to hit me. I knew it would take a little while for this to sink in, so now it begins to finally catch up to me. For one of the first times in my life, I am headed in a direction without a real plan or idea of what it is that I am actually doing. It's scary, crazy, intense, scary, and scary. I can't stop thinking about 'what the hell am I doing right now.' I did anticipate this happening so it's not like it's catching me by surprise, but you don't actually know the feeling until you feel it, and I'm definitely starting to feel it. I'm not saying that I've made a mistake or that I regret anything, I'm just starting to really feel the result of my life decisions.

I'm not gonna lie, but I've also started to miss home and friends. I know that it's early on now, about two weeks exactly since we left, but this is the initial feeling of homesick and I know that I'll need to power through it and keep going. With no real plan still of what's happening, I am now officially trusting the process and fully believing that something good will come out of this whole trip. But these are the times in your life that help shape who you are and figure out what you want to do. Sorry for getting deep there but that's what's going through my mind right now.

Anyways, for the last three nights in London I had my first experience with couchsurfing. I had hosted people at my house in Reno shortly before my trip here, as I wanted to start getting involved before it came time for me to find people to host during my travels. I must say that my first experience couchsurfing has been awesome. My host is the same age as me, originally from Uzbekistan, but went to Boise State and is super nice and easy to get a long with. So far, I would definitely recommend couchsurfing; and what could be better than meeting new people while getting a free place to stay at the same time? As I've been couchsurfing, I've been staying busy but haven't been going too crazy over the sightseeing and traveling around. I've also just been trying to live and take it easy as I've been in London for a whole week now.

Tower Bridge

On my last full day in London I spent a lot of time hanging out with my host, Adham. He took me to the Borough Market, which is an enormous market next to the London Bridge that has all kinds of good food selling anything you can think of. After checking out the market we went to a nearby bar and watched a derby match between two of the north London English Premier League teams. That was a lot of fun and was a great way to end my last day in London. The couchsurfing was definitely one of those things that can restore your faith in humanity and can be a nice reminder that people can be genuinely good.

London was a great time and I had a lot of fun during my time here. I stayed at three different locations and had a lot of great experiences with a lot of different people. I came to a few life realizations and it was really the first turning point in the trip where things started to really hit me. Overall, it was definitely a great time and I'm looking forward to the next experience: Oktoberfest!