While I plan to write about my current and future travels, I also want to go back and talk about past trips that I didn’t necessarily write about at the time. I was talking to my landlord about his recent trip to Egypt and it got me reminiscing about my trip to Europe five years ago. Without looking at my pictures or the rudimentary log I kept, I could probably recount the trip day-by-day, if not hour-by-hour.
Like most people I know, I had long dreamed of going to Europe. It seemed to be the one place on everyone’s bucket list. But, of course, when plane tickets seem to start at $1000, it is definitely not easily attained. I had finally managed to save up enough money and had a freshly paid off credit card, so I decided it was time. Helping to tip the scales, my brother K.C. was also dying to go and had basically reached the same point at the same time. So we went, along with K.C.’s friend, Josey, who had been twice before.
We relied heavily (often exclusively) on Josey’s experience. He insisted we keep our options open so we could always stay longer in or leave sooner from any destination along the way. While it all worked out in the end, it is definitely not my preferred method of travel. In fact, I go to quite the opposite extreme now, plotting each day of my trip so I can book every night ahead of time. The flexibility is great, but we spent far too many hours in Internet cafes trying to book flights, often bickering about what our next course of action would be.
Anyway, back to the beginning. The only thing we had booked was our first night at a hostel in Dublin. We were on the same flight from Wichita to Chicago, but from Chicago to Dublin I was on a different flight than K.C. and Josey. I was a little nervous about this and thankful that our first stop was in an English speaking country. This was actually my first time navigating an airport on my own as they were at a different terminal.
I got thrown right into the fire of new cultural experiences when I had to use a 5 Euro note to purchase a bus ticket from a kiosk. After getting off the bus, I didn’t see any street signs anywhere and just had to go from memory of checking things out ahead of time online. I did find our hostel without too much trouble. K.C. and Josey were already there and informed me the street signs are on the buildings themselves.
Dublin is a great city. Shops, street musicians, and parks. Tons of activity near the river. As we explored, we decided on Madrid as our next stop. We wanted to hit Rome and the flight options sent us through either Madrid or Oslo. We thought Madrid was a no-brainer. By the end of the trip, part of me wishes we had done Oslo, but that’s not entirely a knock against Madrid–though it is partly.
The next morning I got up and ran, weaving through streets and sidewalks full of morning commuters, to St. Stephen’s Green park. Later, while K.C. and Josey went to check out the Guiness Brewery, I went to Trinity College to see their library and the Book of Kells, elaborately decorated versions of the Gospels that are over 1000 years old. Though, to me, far more impressive was the Old Library Long Room. Instead of explaining it, here’s a picture so you can see how amazing it is. I then wandered north to find the botanical gardens. It was all great, but I was overzealous on my first full day in Europe and walked easily 10 miles or more trying to see as much as possible.
I went for another morning run the next day, this time by the river, then it was time to head to the airport and catch our flight to Madrid. We spent less than 24 hours in Madrid. It is a fascinating city–absolutely gorgeous and unbelievably clean for a city of its size, but at night there were prostitutes everywhere in the main downtown areas. With our blond hair, K.C. and I stood out quite obviously as tourists. Though we explored other options, we did go with Rome for our next destination. We spent a miserable two hours sweating in the plane on the ground before it finally took off.
While Dublin and Madrid had their charms, Rome is when the trip really began for me. If Europe is on everyone’s bucket list, Rome may be the cherry on top of this mixed metaphor (or at least in a three way tie with Paris and London). Though not really about Rome, here’s an excerpt from my log that first night:
Showered and situated in my room. This is definitely a new experience. I walk in from dinner and there’s a girl in her pajamas reading a book in bed. I knew coed was a possibility as Josey said it looked liked he had 4 girls and one other guy in his room. We exchanged hellos but I didn’t know if she even spoke English and neither of us seemed very sociable. I showered and changed for bed, wearing more than I normally would. Our roommates returned soon after and seemed to be part of her travel group, one guy, one girl. I thought they were German at first as I didn’t understand what they were saying. I then realized their accent was just really thick and they were speaking English. Irish or something. Everyone going to bed now and I’m the only one with a light on. Good night.
Our first full day in Rome was full of life lessons. Based on travel research I had done ahead of time, it was advised to not dress like a tourist and become a target. For me this meant bringing a wide-brimmed hat instead of a ball cap, button-up shirts, and long pants (not exclusively, but definitely more than I otherwise would have). What occurred to me after Madrid and Rome was that none of that mattered. I look American. I could have been dressed like the Pope and still have been marked as American. So, that’s how a couple of charismatic guys called us over and started chatting us up and giving us some kind of Roman good luck friendship-bracelet looking things that they started braiding onto our wrists while telling us that were a traditional thing, etc. They were very friendly and aggressive and told us after the things were tied on that we owed them 10 Euros for them. Paying was easier than fighting, and we all felt exceptionally stupid afterward. Our first thought was to keep them as they were so expensive. But then we figured that even though we were obviously tourists, these things marked as particularly stupid tourists for the next person who wanted to take advantage of us. We quickly developed a thick skin and assumed everyone was out to scam us. The worst were those who tried to play on your sympathy. Young girls or old ladies with notes detailing sob stories and asking for money. They seem in earnest until you realize they are everywhere and all using the same tactics.
I love taking pictures and I always fixate on statues. If I walk by a statue, I have to take a picture of it. Well, Rome broke me in this department. It’s basically nothing but statues! It’s amazing with the ancient history living in concert with a modern metropolis. Our goal destination for the day was Vatican City. Again, I’ll refer to what I wrote at the time about the day:
Low point of the day was being roped by guys who made bracelets for us and charged us €10. I wouldn’t have done it but already saw Josey getting one. He’d been here before so I thought he knew what was going on. I was wrong. We all got ripped off. The guy was fast-talking and got you to help make the bracelet for good luck while you’re in Rome. We immediately tore them off figuring they’d probably mark us to other scammers as targets. Like Madrid but even more so, the city is filled with amazing facades, statues, and fountains to the point that it almost becomes white noise. It’s similar to when we were in Hawaii last year. As amazing as everything is, it doesn’t get more amazing as you go. That being said the things we saw today were stunning. We paid €40 to take a guided tour through the Vatican. Everything is bigger and more impressive than I would have imagined. Nero’s bathtub, tapestries by Rafael, statues and obelisks stolen by the Romans from Egypt. I touched a statue of a sphinx supposed to be 3500 years old. The Sistine Chapel is everything one would think it would be… plus shoulder-to-shoulder crowds gazing up at it while security guards shhh everyone and made women cover their shoulders and stopped people from taking pictures. I saw a guard make one person delete the picture they had taken. After our tour guide left us to our own devices, we explored St. Peter’s Basilica. As with everything here impressive doesn’t begin to describe it. We also paid €5 to go to the top of the dome designed by Michelangelo and got the view of Rome comparable to the view of New York from the Empire State Building.
Comparable only in the sense that you can see for miles around. I’ve had this view of several cities now and each one has its own character. A couple other cool things at the Vatican I didn’t record–the spot where Charlemagne crowned himself emperor in AD 800 is marked on the ground with a purple circle. I only knew this from a podcast tour I was listening to at the time. And St. Peter’s Square (which is round) is lined with statues of saints. Each is depicted with some representation of the method of their martyrdom.
A popular superstition with Rome is that you if throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain it guarantees you’ll return to Rome someday. It was crazy crowded when we first went by, so I made a point to sneak over real quick in the morning for just this purpose (and for better pictures). We spent that next day exploring the ruins of ancient Rome and the Roman Coliseum. The highlight for me was the spot where Julius Caesar’s body was burned is still adorned with fresh flowers.
On my final morning in Rome, I went by an area called the Jewish Ghetto.
I hadn’t realized to what extent ruins were spread all throughout the city. In this area was a building built by Augustus in like 29BC dedicated to his sister. Afterwards I went by the Pantheon again as it had been closed the other times we were there. It was about 20 minutes before it opened so I stayed around and finally got inside. It is the most well maintained building from ancient Rome as it has been in constant use.
From Rome we took a train to Florence. In many ways, Florence may have been the highlight of the trip for me. As I’ve said, I went to Europe to see the bucket list highlights of Paris, London, and Rome. They are all great and worthy of their reputation, but remember, there’s an entire tourist industry built around that reputation. Florence had a completely different vibe and I fell in love with it immediately. It has a population of less than 400,000 people. It is the city credited with the birth of the Renaissance and feels like a love letter to art.
Michelangelo’s David this morning. Definitely worth it. The size and the detail justify its reputation. Also there were several unfinished statues by Michelangelo, illustrating how daunting the entire process must have been.
We had debated between Venice and lesser known Cinque Terre after Florence. I had been outvoted until Josey ran into travelers who had just come from Cinque Terre and said we couldn’t afford to miss it. Once we arrived in the western most of the five little villages of Cinque Terre, we found a place to stay and went for a dip in the Mediterranean Sea. After that was the perfect romantic evening for three straight guys in Europe.
Just finished eating at a restaurant overlooking the sea. Cool breeze; sound of the gentle waves; lights starting to show at the neighboring village as the day comes to an end.
The next day was the real reason (for me) to visit Cinque Terre–a 9K back trail hike connecting the five villages. As similar as they looked, each one has its own character. It was fun to catch the first glimpse of each as we approached, then walking through it and leaving it back behind us. We ate lunch in the third village and when we got to the fifth we took a boat back to the first where we had left all our stuff.
K.C. and I hadn’t wanted to commit to a second night in Cinque Terre and by this point it was too late, we had to keep moving as there was no place with a vacancy. We headed toward Milan with no idea where were headed after that.
Well, another new life experience: after waiting in line for a long time at the ticket counter because the automated machine was closed for the night, the clerk said our only hope was to wait for the night train to get here and ask the conductor if there was space on the train and pay them cash. K.C. had to run around for over half an hour looking for an ATM. Long story short, we are now on an overnight train presumably headed to Paris, sharing a car with a guy named Carlos from Ecuador who lives in Italy. Talking about where to stay when we get to Paris, Josey adds, “we’ll figure it out when we get there.” Definitely the motto of the trip. Side note: the theme of the trip so far has been “stairs.” I was worried about not getting much exercise, but we’ve probably walked up (and down) hundreds of stairs.
Our initial exploration of Paris found us, not surprisingly, soon at the top of the Eiffel Tower.
It’s crazy how different all these cities look from above. The contrast between the red-roofed Italian buildings of Rome and Florence and the vast sea of white that is Paris is startling. We took a brief rest at a park where K.C. and Josey bought drinks and I bought a ham and cheese crepe. It was cool watching her making it, but it wasn’t that great. This was also my one completely French transaction. Most people switched to English when you seemed unsure, but I did well enough she kept it in French. Granted, I said a total of less than ten words. I’ll try a dessert crepe next time. The last stop of our journey was Notre Dame. I hadn’t planned on going in, but it was free. I’m guessing all cathedrals will pale in comparison after St. Peter’s, but it was pretty cool.
I walked around alone most of the next day, visiting the cemetery where Chopin, Jim Morrison, and Oscar Wilde are buried. In the evening, I went to the Louvre.
The Louvre was pretty cool. Saw the Mona Lisa, Venus di Milo, and Winged Victory. Ultimately though, while I appreciate that this stiff exists, it doesn’t give me the enjoyment I feel it should. The Louvre was also beyond frustrating to navigate and it took me forever to find where to buy a ticket and even longer to find a bathroom. I was thinking, “do the French not pee?!”
After Paris, we met up with my friends Jamie and Casey Miller in Luxembourg. Casey was stationed in Baumholder, Germany and we spent a couple nights with them which gave us a nice little vacation from our vacation. Our last lunch before departing their company was one of Casey’s favorites I’d heard him rave about before and since.
Ate at a kabob stand for lunch. It’s Turkish food. Very good actually. I had a wrap with what would best be described as pulled pork (off a kabob) with veggies, cheese, and whatever their sauce is.
Our next stop was Munich, which I put in a category similar to Florence. It’s enough smaller than the major cities that it just has a much more relaxed vibe. I didn’t spend too much time in the city, however, as I spent our one full day there taking a day trip to Neuschwanstien Castle.
Amazing place. I never knew that King Ludwig was a huge Richard Wagner fan and the castle is basically dedicated to his operas. Scenes from them decorate the entire palace (the part that is finished, most of it is not). Had a bratwurst for lunch. Listened to some Wagner on the way back.
The next train ride took us to Berlin. One of my most important travel lessons comes from Berlin–the importance of having a guide. It’s great to see all these things, but without the story or the context, it’s next to impossible to appreciate things the way you should. I jogged a route detailed by my guide book in the morning before the three of us joined a tour group in the afternoon.
The tour lasted way longer than we anticipated. We were thinking maybe two hours, but it was four and a half. The guide told us up front, so it was okay. He was an Australian who I thought looked like Jude Law. He started on a route that perfectly matched the route I followed this morning, but of course he had the stories behind things that I couldn’t have known, including the spot of a major book burning. Then we went a different way toward Checkpoint Charlie. We stood above the spot where Hitler’s bunker was and where he killed himself (Hitler, not the guide). Berlin chose not to mark it at all. It’s just a gravel parking lot where the guide said people bring their dogs to do their business. There was also a Holocaust memorial and a large portion of the Berlin wall intentionally left up. After the tour, we went up to the top of the Reichstag, the government building. There is a glass dome on top that gives you a good view of the city. We ate curryworst on the way home–it’s supposed to be a Berlin specialty. We also stopped at a gelato stand which K.C. and I can’t get enough of… It was still pretty early so while the other two went off to do whatever it is that they do, I went back by one of the museums that our guide said would be free after 6pm on Thursdays. As always, I wanted to appreciate more than I did, but it was probably a better experience than the Louvre, if only because of lowered expectations. I walked around rather quickly but did find that out of the scores of painting and sculptures there were a few that “spoke” to me in that stop-and-reflect way that they’re probably supposed to.
My pseudo-guru for the trip was travel writer Rick Steves. He’s the one who said Cinque Terre was a must-see and convinced me to travel light. He also suggested that part of the fun of traveling abroad is running out of supplies and having to find them locally.
Having realized that “travel size” was not intended for trips as long as this one, I went to a German store today to replenish. We happened to walk by one last night that appeared to have travel-sized items. So my game this morning was trying to identify shampoo, soap, toothpaste, deodorant, and saline solution. I could be wrong, but I think I got it figured out.
Our constant improvisation nearly bit us when trying to leave Berlin. Flights and trains ended up being unavailable or completely cost prohibitive. So we ended up renting a car to drive to Amsterdam. The plan was for Josey to drive, but we discovered only upon entering the vehicle that it was a manual transmission, which Josey wasn’t 100% comfortable with. I was very nervous that I would be called up to drive, but K.C. stepped up and saved the day. The on-board GPS was in German, but we seemed to get it working. So K.C. had the experience of driving in Berlin and on the Autobahn through Germany. We hit 200 kilometers per hour just to say we did it (about 124 mph). Cruising at 100 mph still had us getting passed with regularity. K.C. noted that there were no billboards in Germany. Glad to see they’re smart enough not to wreck their beautiful countryside. I believe Vermont does the same thing.
Amsterdam is another nice, more relaxed town. I have never seen so many bicycles! It was also fairly chilly while we were there. Italy had been quite warm. Germany and Paris were more moderate, but Amsterdam had me wishing I had brought another layer to wear. This was also home of the most emotionally impactful part of the entire trip–Anne Frank’s house. The somberness of it caught me off-guard to some extent. As you walk silently through the secret place in which her family hid from the Nazis, you can hear the creaking floorboards of other tourists in the rooms above. It’s hard not to immediately imagine what they had gone through. Anne’s actual diaries are there as well, which I hadn’t realized were in multiple books.
The final major stop on our European adventure was London. We emerged from the Underground and our first sight was Big Ben. We walked around and ended that first night watching a performance of Wicked.
The next day we took the train out to Wimbledon but opted not to wait 3-5 hours in the standby line for the chance at seats (especially when we likely wouldn’t be in the main court). I was really hoping to catch a Shakespeare play at the Globe, but they were sold out. Josey and I scoffed at the modern art of the Tate Museum, but took advantage of their free wifi and restrooms. The Prime Meridian may not be on everyone’s list of things to see near London, but I make a point to set my watch to Greenwich Meantime, so I thought it was cool.
After one full day in London, I parted ways with K.C. and Josey. They had chose to take a cruise back to the States while I wanted a few more days in London and the cheaper flight back. I took a day trip to Stonehenge and Bath. Very cool, just a tad rushed. You expect Stonehenge to radiate with some sort of magical energy. It is worth the visit, but they are just rocks in a circle–like I said, context is everything. Ate a dinner of fish ‘n’ chips at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, a pub where Charles Dickens used to hang out.
My favorite stop in London was the Tower of London. I love the history of European monarchies, so this was right up my alley. I spent four hours there and loved every minute. After a trip to the British Museum, I traveled to a park on the north end of town.
Never has a city so completely and suddenly disappeared as when I turned into London’s Hampstead Heath. Trees grown over with vines, horseback riding trails, and the sounds of the metropolis quickly silenced.
This whole trip has been an amazing-site overload. At the British Museum today there was so many ancient things (dozens, scores, hundreds? of mummies, for example) I couldn’t even get my head around it. One of my guidebooks said something along the lines of the sum total of human knowledge being on display in London’s museums. That seems about right and I still have more to hit tomorrow.
Whether due to the altering of how I’m recording this log or from cultural numbness, I’m not sure, but I just realized I forgot to comment on Stonehenge yesterday. It was smaller than I anticipated. It also hadn’t occurred to me that 1/3 of the stones were underground. Though I guess that explains how they could stand vertical for 5000 years.
As I neared the end of the trip, here were the final reflections I made while in London:
Sitting at Hyde Park. I’m very tired of walking after nearly four weeks of it and I’ve done about everything I wanted to do in London
I’m definitely out of it. I forgot to mention I started the day with Westminster Abbey. The amount of history there is staggering. The problem is they don’t seem to have space for it all. Tombs, statues, and memorials are jammed virtually on top of each other.
I’ve been reflecting the past couple days on what the purpose even is of such a trip as this. An appreciation of history? A search for one’s self? A connection to the world community? It’s interesting how while exhausted and unable to answer this question, I can still say without hesitation that it has been worthwhile. Yet I also now understand the underwhelming appreciation the Cheney choir kids had after last summer. There’s a sense of wonder I had when we started in Dublin that has since faded. I suppose it’s the same as how we ended up watching a movie last summer while waiting for our flight off of Hawaii. You just become numb to it after so long. Fortunately, you can get it back. Cinque Terre brought some of the same awe I had felt in Hawaii and that same peace can even be found at home under the right conditions if you allow it to. It’s like there are two worlds: the “real” world and the one where none of our day-to-day issues matter at all. I suppose this is the spiritual world. The problem is we all get way too caught up in “reality” that we rarely allow ourselves to appreciate life and to let the world where nothing matters bleed into our everyday lives, making it better, more enjoyable, more relaxing, and more fulfilling.
There was a minor concern over my flight home that had been nagging me the entire time. My flight to Europe went Wichita-Chicago-Dublin. My return flight was Dublin-Manchester-Chicago-Wichita. Before we left, I figured it wouldn’t be too tough to get from London to Dublin. Once you’re over there, you realize it’s not that simple. It’s not like Dublin is just an hour train ride from London. My hope was to skip Dublin and just meet my connecting flight in Manchester. The airline attendant in Wichita didn’t think I could do that. I took a train from London to Manchester and waited around the airport the evening before my flight to ask. The guy said it wouldn’t be a problem and seemed to think I was a bit silly for even think it might be. Thank goodness, because I really had no idea how I was going to get to Dublin. After weeks of hostels, I splurged on a hotel room near the airport. The girl at the desk asked if I wanted to pay in dollars or sterlings. I went with dollars since I didn’t know what sterlings were (just another word for pounds, I believe). It was all on my card anyway, so probably didn’t really matter.
So, after leaving Kansas on May 31, I finally returned home June 27. A great, exhausting trip that I will always remember.
