Deja Vu in Vienna

So I did it again.  Somehow my Vienna pictures got deleted so all I have are the food pics from my Iphone.  I was having an Asian craving so I had Pho and Teriyaki….so money.  Miss the food back home...wish I found a Korean BBQ joint. I knew the food would be good though because Vienna has the most Asians I’ve seen in all the cities I’ve visited.  And I started to realize, a lot of the cities are starting to look the same.  Building, building, cathedral, castle, building...

So good on a chilly day. Hit the spot for me.

Sashimi was surprisingly really good.  I love salmon.  Reminds me of home and Musashi.

The best so far...Prague

Prague was awesome!  The city was amazing with beautiful architecture and the people were so friendly.  For example when I went to buy some fruit, I didn't have enough Czech Koruna so the guy lowered the price and threw in some bananas for kicks.  And everywhere I went I received student discount even though I told them I wasn't in school.  They just said, "you look young enough".  And you definitely can't beat 1 euro beers.

Sooo good. This is the kind of food I can eat everyday.

Ugliest building in Prague but probably the best.

View from the top. Pretty amazing.

Amazing weather in Krakow

Poland and I started off on the wrong foot, it was all my fault.  I wasn't aware that Poland wasn't part of the Eurorail Pass system.  I assumed they were, so I ended up having to buy a ticket on the train once I passed over.  I was living the good life in plush 1st class, then I got booted to 2nd class which isn't bad compared to normal Polish trains.  Thankfully, the tickets were cheap. 

1st Class...so comfortable.

Polish Train

Downtown Krakow

Traditional Polish food.  Reminded me of country fried steak, but instead of steak...potato.  Still yummy.

A couple nights in Berlin

I didn't realize how huge Berlin is.  It's around the size of NY, probably bigger.  I almost found out how large it was the hard way too.  I was planning on walking to the Tanzanian embassy to get my visa but thankfully the cross streets weren't on my map, so I took the tube instead.  The embassy ended up being in the heart of the burbs in a residential neighborhood.  10 stops and and around 25 minutes later I arrived.  That would have been a long walk!  I still managed to do around 10-15 miles a day with so much to see:  the Brandenburger Gate, Berliner Dom, Reichstag, and let's not forget the Berlin Wall Monument.

This is for you Jennifer - a picture of my hostel bed

Note: If you ever want to lose weight and a waist I recommend backpacking for an extended time.  So much exercise and not as filling food, I probably lost 15 lbs and 2 notches off my belt already!

Also if the Irish say lets go out for ONE drink, don't believe them...they're very persuasive.

Is it possible?

So I sat down today and figured out my next month in Europe.  13 cities in 30 days, is it possible?  The tight deadline is required if I plan to climb Mount Kilimanjaro before the rainy season.  I even had to cut out Istanbul, Turkey and Greece which I was looking forward to (Turkish baths).  Need to make sacrifices sometimes.

1.      Berlin, Germany

2.      Krakow, Poland (Auschwitz)

3.      Prague, Czech Republic

4.      Vienna, Austria

5.      Budapest, Hungry

6.      Venice, Italy

7.      Rome, Italy

8.      To be determined city, Switzerland – recommendations would be gladly appreciated

9.      Paris, France

10.  To be determined city, France – see above

11.   Madrid, Spain

12.  Valencia, Spain

13.  To be determined city, Portugal – see above

Recap of Bonn

Needed some time to recuperate from the past month, no better place to do it than Bonn.  Small town with not much to do but relax.

The Rhine.

Home of Beethoven.

Homemade tacos!  I was craving Mexican for the past month.  Thanks Matt!

Recap of Bruge

The quintessential fairytale town.  And I must say Belgiums make some bloody good beers.  The 12% Garre Blonde Ale tastes so delicious to the palette, but is deceptively strong.

Picturesque right!

Beer and cheese.  Unbeatable combo.  Never would have thought.

Enjoying some well deserved ribs.  Good, but no Carolina Honeys from Tony Romas.  Why did you have to go out of business!?!

Thoroughly enjoying the beer tour...  

 

Recap of Amsterdam

Amsterdam was an awesome city, it has much more to offer than the typical stereotype of the redlight district.  The Van Gogh Musuem was by far my favorite exhibit and I'm not a big art enthusiast so you know it must be good.

Never seen so many bikes in my life, they're all over the city.  And they ride without discretion.

The poster shot of Amsterdam.

Very moving exhibit.  Highly recommend.

Typical American as I am, I'm ignorant of much of the rest of the world.  Didn't know Amsterdam was all canals until I got there.

Recap of Belfast

Since my laptop broke again I haven't been able to update my blog, so the next couple entries will be a quick recap of my travels from the past week or so.

Belfast City Hall

Another cathedral...seems like every city has one dating back several hundred years.  Now they're all starting to look the same to me.

Giant's Causeway.  Really amazing natural formations.  Ask me about it sometime.

Coast of Ireland.

Photobook: several days in Cork

Downtown Cork.  Look at how high the water line is.  Thought the streets were going to flood when it rained the other night.

Wish it was open.  Curious as to what's on display...who knows might have been even better than the Guinness tour.

Blarney Castle

Only thought going through my head was..."is this sanitary?", so I used what little flexibility I have and kissed the lowest part of the Blarney Stone. 

Rock Close in the grounds on Blarney Castle

Thanks for the home cooked meal Yannice, we all appreciated it! And it tasted even better after several Guinness’s.

Guinness tour and a rainy night in Dublin

Of all the museums, galleries, and events I’ve visited so far, the one I enjoyed most would have to be the Guinness Tour. And it’s not because you get to pour your own beer. I’ve done a couple beer tours in my time, this one just tops them all with 250 years of history. Plus they walk you step by step through the brewing process allowing you to feel the raw barley, taste the distinct flavor of the roasted unmalted barley (reminds me of coffee), smell the aromatic hops, see the pure water straight from the Wicklow Mountains above Dublin, and finally explain the most important ingredient, the yeast which legend says comes from the same original strain used by Arthur Guinness. Pretty cool right! I think it was all the interaction that got me.

It was really the best tour I've been on so far...but then again I'm not a big museum buff.

Looks from the outside can be deceiving.  Great building.

Guinness and Me

In the evening Red Bull was having a viewing of their Illume Photobook, a collection of action and adventure sport photography, in the quad of Trinity College. The photographs were illuminated and projected well with the contrast of the night. Surprisingly the rain didn’t deter the crowd as I would’ve expected. But then again, this was a Red Bull event which caters to extreme sports fans. And they definitely had some of the most extreme pictures I’ve ever seen. A climb up an icefall in Switzerland, cliff diving into a canal in Germany, camping 600 meters above the valley floor on a shear cliff face in Yosemite hanging by clamps; things I would never have the balls to do myself.

Red Bull Illume Photobook at Trinity College

And after, a memorable walk through the rain with some of my bunkmates. Went slightly astray and endured more of the rain than we should have, but in our defense Dublin looks all the same at night. Ended up being my second “shower” of the day.

Samuel Beckett Bridge in the evening

Euro Cup preliminaries and onwards to Dublin

What an amazing way to end my last day in Scotland, watching the Euro Cup Preliminary of Scotland vs. Liechtenstein in Hampden stadium. Luckily they still had some tickets available. 40,000 Scottish fans wearing kilts (minus one – me), chanting who knows what with bagpipes blaring in the background. Awesome atmosphere! At one point they started singing the Do-Re-Mi song from the sound of music…doe a deer, a female deer…too funny. And the game was uber exciting. Scotland had gone behind one minute into the second half but rallied to equalize soon after. With the clock winding down in injury time, Scotland scores! What an amazing turn of events, and to think I was about to leave a minute earlier.

Campden Stadium.  Forgot my camera battery so I used my Iphone. Not bad.

I arrived in Dublin today. Of the 10 beds in my dormitory room, 7 are American’s including myself. In the couple weeks I’ve been in Europe this is the first time I’m bunking with my fellow kinsman. Feels like I’m back in the States…

Didn't know they still had prop planes.  Thankfully the flight was only 1 hour.

Downtown Dublin.  Took the picture because of the Irish Flag...but now I'm not so sure it is.

Big Ball at Trinity College.  I should really read the plaques next time.

Evening Glasgow site seeing, trip to the Highlands, and The Scare

Glasgow in my opinion has the essence of the previous cities I’ve visited; the metropolitan feel of London, the natural flora of Cardiff as well as waterway through the city, and the historical architecture that Edinburgh has although here there are more modern motifs throughout. I found that I really enjoy sight seeing in the evening because there’s not much of a crowd. Only downside is most of the main attractions close by 5 to 6, but you can still get a good feel of the locale plus the architecture and history seem to stand out more for me. During the day Glasgow is bustling with life, but at night it almost feels like a ghost town, even the city center is quiet. It was even creepier as I was walking through the Cathedral District. Great architecture and lighting of the multiple cathedrals, but walking past the cemeteries and mausoleums in the dark in a strange city…you gotta admit pretty eerie.

Glasgow City Center

Cathedral District

The other day I had the opportunity to travel to the Highlands, took a day trip by train to Fort William. Besides the 4 hour train ride each way, the scenery was amazing. Sort of reminded me of going over the passes to eastern Washington but with more rugged and wet terrain and much more wind which created waves on the water and impacted the tree lines. They would only sprout up in between sheltered valleys.

Scottish Highlands

So I had a major scare. While at Fort William and in search of food I noticed my wallet was missing. I started to panic. My whole trip was in there. It held my ID which allowed me to continue my travels and contained all my cash and credit cards as well as my access to money: my debit card. After several minutes and multiple searches through my messenger bag I retraced my steps. The last place I used my wallet was to buy the train ticket. So I went back to the Fort William train station and asked them to call the Glasgow station as well as the train I was on. I was told it would take several hours but that they’d contact me either way. So in those hours I waited in anticipation (and in hunger) thinking to myself, the chances of finding my wallet were zero to none. Yet I had a sliver of hope telling myself, everything will be okay which surprisingly relaxed me. I got a call, “Hello is this Jonathan?” Instantly I knew they had found my wallet. They had only taken my first initial and last name, so the only way they could have known my name is if they had found my ID. Yes!!! I thought to myself. I was soooo lucky. And Scottish people are the best! Just wish I could understand them when they speak.

To commemorate the finding of my wallet and the three weeks since I’ve left Seattle and starting living from a backpack, I treated myself to an Italian Cafe for lunch and a four course taster meal. And tonight I’ll be trying to get tickets to the Scotland vs. Liechtenstein match for the 2012 Euro Cup Qualifier. Tomorrow I’m off to Ireland for a week with idea what to do. Anyone have any suggestions? I’ll be in Dublin and Cork.

Sooo yummy

Note worthy firsts in Edinburgh

Edinburgh is now the third European city I’ve traveled too and each has been more amazing than the last. London has its appeal with the major tourist attractions. Cardiff has its natural beauty with the bay and the shear cliff face. And Edinburgh has its charm with its historic buildings all throughout, the Edinburgh Castle overlooking the city, and finally Salisbury Crags towering over the whole countryside.

I’ve had some interesting firsts here…

1. Saw the richest homeless lady wearing a fur coat and sitting on a Burberry blanket. I guess that’s what you gotta do to live the lifestyle.

2. Clubs that play old school songs from my generation that aren’t even mashups like the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song, Ganster’s Paradise, and Grease Lightening (maybe a little before my time) where everyone sings with an accent and dances the part.

3. Witnessed either the earliest or latest drunks at 9am when I walked out of the hostel. Nearly got thrown up on and another should’ve had the decency to use the facilities inside.

4. Had a bunkmate relieve himself in the middle of the night in the middle of our room, and to top it off not remember. Glad it was my last night.

5. Never walked so many stairs in one day: five flights to my hostel (50 stairs), four viewing decks of the Scott Monument to get a 360° view of downtown (300 stairs), an uphill climb to get up to Edinburgh Castle (lost track of the count), and then a 3 hour round trip to get to the top of Salisbury Crags (couldn’t even count if I tried). My calves are going to double in size by the time I leave.

I know the firsts have probably downgraded peoples thoughts about Edinburgh but these pictures will raise them back up. Let me just preface with this, it’s even better in person. This is probably the first and last time I wish I had an SLR. Just realized I don’t even know what SLR stands for. A quick google search provided the answer: single-lens reflex, and yet I still have no clue.

Edinburgh Castle

View from the Scott Monument of Edinburgh and the Salisbury Crags

Arthur's Seat above the Salisbury Crags (3 hr hike round trip)

Sunset overlooking Edinburgh Castle

Sunset overlooking Our Dynamic Earth

Freeedom!!! (quote from the best movie ever....right up there with Top Gun)