Naples=Bad

Sorry I haven’t contacted anyone in a few days.  Naples was rough.  I got off the train late at night and started walking to my hotel and got mugged.  They took everything.  My passport, credit cards both backpacks and even roughed me up a little, I still have a shiner under my right eye.  I had to sleep at the train station since the hotel was not too keen on letting me stay for free.  I’m still not sure how I’m going to get home.  Mom if you read this I guess send me a copy of my passport so I can get on the plane…

Okay, bad joke.  I got off the train at Naples, it smelled terrible and looked rough, so I got on the train to Sorrento…safely.  I’m going got Pompei this afternoon and then drinking lemoncellos by the beach this evening and tomorrow morning before I head back to Rome.  I already have a hotel reserved 5 minutes from the airport.  I miss you guys and love you!

Sorry Mom

 

Interlaken, Luzern and Italia

After Bern I went to Interlaken.  That was the best decision I’ve made throughout this trip.  Interlaken is the adventure sports capital of Europe.  I decided that paragliding, skydiving and canyoning were all a little too tame for me so I rented a bicycle and rode it until my ass got sore. (All of 30 minutes)  The real fun came my first night in Interlaken.  I met an Australian couple and a hot 18 year old Australian girl who was travelling by herself.  Woohoo.  Turned out they were all great people.  The next morning the four of us rented 4 wheelers and took them up the mountains and around one of the lakes just outside of town.   After that, we headed back into town.  Cal and Claire (the Aussie couple) wanted to rest up a bit for the night and Kat (the hot 18 year old) wanted to go into town and buy a backpack.  Sensing the perfect opportunity for some alone time, I volunteered to keep her company.  The new best decision I had made all trip.  We found her a backpack and stopped in a chocolate store and bought $30 worth of chocolate. Then, we headed to a cafe and drank some hot chocolate while tearing into the slabs we had bought at the store.  She like chocolate more than your average person. She is quite the traveller.  She did a 4 month exchange in France where she learned to speak fluent French and met a ton of people along the way.  She hasn’t had to stay in hotels along the way, she has had those contacts putting her up.  Pretty lucky!  During the course of our conversation she told me she was leaving for Luzern the next day.  Sensing another perfect opportunity, I invited myself to join her.  The new best decision I’ve made.  Luckily, she was all for it.

We woke up at 6 the next morning to catch the 7AM scenic train up the mountains before we went to Luzern.  Wellllll, actually I woke up at 530 and she woke up at 630.  We didn’t make the 7AM train.  I held that lost hour of sleep over her head for the next couple of days. We waited for the next one at 8 and got some great pictures from the top.  I’ll post them as soon as I get the chance. 

After that was done we hopped on a train to Luzern.  Getting off the train I noticed a name tag with her dad’s name on it.  I asked what her dad did for a living.  “He is a member of Parliament.”  I guess when I told her I had a government degree she didn’t think I would be interested in that… She got even more attractive after that. It was rainy when we got to Luzern, but that did’t keep us from having fun.  We trudged through the rain to see a few sites before we found a nice restaurant that served fondue, a first for me.  The fondue was great and the conversation even better.  After a couple of hours, the waitress brought our check and refused to leave the table until I paid her.  We quickly left and had another walk back to our hotel.  The next morning we saw some more sights and then she got on a train for Germany and I for Venice…  So Mandy, no reason to worry.  I probably won’t get the chance to see her again.

I was so caught up in spending time with Kat that I never thought to reserve a place to sleep in Venice.  I realized it on the train there and though it wouldn’t be an issue.  This was the worst decision I’ve made during my trip.  I stumbled through the sweltering streets of Venice with my backpacks in tow for a couple of indecisive hours before I found an internet cafe and made a reservation for a real hotel.  I was tired of messing with hostels at the time.  I walked from the internet cafe to the hotel only to be told that they had no vacancies and had just forgotten to update the status online.  Fortunately the man at the counter was unbelievably nice and put me up in a private two bedroom apartment that just happened to be vacant at the moment.  I was very thankful, so I celebrated by having a glass of scotch and heading straight for bed. 

I woke up this morning still frustrated by Venice and just wanted to get out.  I found a train that left at 230, got on it and made the 4ish hour adventure to Rome.  This time, I had a hostel booked.  Finding it was a different story.  The directions said to get on the 105 bus and then get off at the 6th stop.  I did and was nowhere near where I wanted to be.  Turns out the bus only stops upon request.  Only I didn’t know where in the hell to request the bus to stop at.  I ended up getting on the bus again in the opposite direction back to the train station to start fresh.  I asked a cab driver how much it would cost to get me to my hostel.  He suggested 40 Euro.  I laughed at him and walked away.  The hostel is not in Germany, it was only a couple of kilometers away.  This time I asked the bus driver ahead of time to stop where I needed him to and I stood next to him until we got to my stop.  I got off the train and heard a voice say “do you know where you are going?” Before I could think of a good response I blurted out “Not a (expletive deleted) clue”  He laughed, I showed him my handwritten directions and he showed me the way.  So far, my experience with Italians has been much like Texans, if not even more polite; although, this guy was young and hip and could have liked my ass… At any rate I’m here safely.  A friend from Tech is randomly in Rome as well, so I’m going to meet up with her and hang out for a few days, then at some point meet Cal and Claire along the Amalfi Coast for some beach time before I leave from Rome on the 21st.

This trip has gone by so fast.

 

Post Script:

Kay, I think of you as a slightly older, much wiser sister.

 

Switzerland

I got up this morning at 5AM.  Rough.  It would not have been so bad if I had not stayed out taking pictures of the Eiffel Tower until about 1230.  I think it was worth it though, I got some pretty great pictures.  I’ll post them when I get somewhere where the internet is cheaper.  This is 1USD for 6 minutes…ouch.  Oh yeah, I’m in Bern Switzerland.  If you ever get the urge to come here…don’t.  It’s a pretty place, but there is nothing here and it’s outrageously expensive.  11USD for a burger meal at McDonalds.  I walked through the whole town in a couple of hours; really not worth the trip. Although I did find a store named “Dick”; that was fun.  If I was any good at planning at all, I would not have come here in the first place.  I just wanted to get into Switzerland so i could take a scenic train; those don’t come through Bern.  I’m taking a train in the AM to Interlaken and will likely spend a good deal of time there.  I’m planning on taking a daytrip to Jungfrau (the top of Europe) and maybe doin some hiking while I’m there too.  Depending on how I like it, I may stay a few nights there.  Getting out may be a bit more difficult.  I would like to go to Innsbruck, but no trains go directly there or connect easily from Interlaken.  I’m going to have to piecemeal a trip together.  After that, I should be on the downward slide and headed to Italy. 

So I just realized that I’m really not a fan of paragraphs.  All well, my 6 minutes is up.  Sorry, no fixing it.

 

french keyboqrds

I reqlly zqnt to updqte ,y blog; but French keyboqrds suck:  It zould tqke ,e forever to try qnd peck ,y zqs through it:  Hopefully Szitwerlqnd zill hqve nor,ql ones:

 

Berlin

Berlin started a little bit slowly.  I got here and the only Euro I had was a 10 that meme gave me that she had left over from one of her trips.  THANK YOU!  At least I was able to eat on that for the night.  The currency exchange place at the airport was not open when I arrived, nor was the nearest one to my hostel.  Also, my debit card wouldn´t work despite what the lady at my bank told me.  So I was stuck in my hostel with no dinero.  Fortunately I was exhausted anyway and just went to bed early. 

I woke up early yesterday morning so I could exchange my money and get to a walking tour at 10 AM.  Too bad it was Sunday and the currency exchange places were closed.  I had to take an hour long bus ride to the airport so I could get some cash.  Everything worked out though.  I piddled around at the zoo and aquarum until the 230 tour started.  It was a good quick rundown of all the major spots so now I know where to go.

Last night I met a two Isrealis, a Canadian, 2 Austrailians, 2 Austrians and 2 Irish.  We all had a few drinks at the hostel bar and then decided to go out.  A couple of Aussie guys that I met the night before highly recommended a place called the Weekend.  It overlooks Berlin from the 15th floor of a hotel and has an outside terrace.  We all walked over there and were stopped outside the door.  Luckily we had the Austrians to translate for us.  Turns out, the place is a gay bar.  We quickly scurried away and found a masculine Irish pub.

Í guess I´m going to run around and see some museums today and tomorrw and then take the night train for Paris tomorrow night.  I got a hotel this time instead of a hostel.  I found one for about $110USD per night that is about 2 blocks from the Eiffel Tower.  I´ll be glad to get into a real bed and have my own bathroom for a couple of nights.

 

Some Pictures Thus Far

Yeah, I know that some of them are sideways, but it’s really more work than I’m willing to put into it right now to change them.

I have one picture on there from the soccer football game I went to. Zenit St. Petersburg (who won the UEFA Cup this year (that’s a pretty big deal)) played CSK Moscow.  The game was interesting even though it ended in a 0-0 tie.  There were something like 11 yellow cards and 2 red cards.  Apparently that is a lot.  The most interesting part was not the game, but the military and police presence.  Armed guards circled the field to prevent anyone from trying to run on.  When we left, there was about 100 yards of army soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder forming a line on either side of the sidewalk all the way from the stadium to the metro.  That was either the most or the least safe place to be in Moscow.  Either way, it was quite and experience.

 

In Russia!

I made it here safely after having an interesting adventure.  I made it to Heathrow perhaps a bit too early.  I followed the signs to where the LOT Polish Airlines should be and got in line.  Turns out the airlines rotate throught the counter space and I stood in the wrong line.  The Air Cypress lady was not too happy with me and was downright nasty. I’ll be sure to pay closer attention next time. 

The Warsaw airport was also an interesting adventure.  I got off the plane and went through passport control, but when I followed the signs to find the transfer gates, those spots were closed.  Long story short, I ended up outside and had to go back through security and passport control. Luckily I had 2 hours between flights and was able to make it to my gate in time to wait. 

My friend Dasha and her boyfriend Maxime picked me up at the airport.  These guys are great!  They took me to my hostel.  That doesn’t sound like much but 17 million people live here.  It was quite a feat.  Finding my hostel would have also been impossible without some help.  The only sign is an sheet of paper on the third floor window.  I never would have found it without them.  We dropped my bags off and Maxime and Dasha were not impressed with my hostel and at first neither was I.  It is simply a two bedroom apartment with 10 bunk beds in each bedroom.  Maxime immediately picked up his phone and started calling friends that had extra space.  Unfortunately they are all away on vacation, so that didn’t work out.  After we had dinner and then coffee, we came back to my hostel.  The people here are great to talk to and the 10 bed thing really wasn’t an issue.  It wasn’t full and only one guy was snoring.  Nothing an ipod can’t fix.  The location of this place is amazing as well. I am about a 7-10 minute walk from the Kremlin and Red Square.  It’s called Comrade Hostel…google it.

Well I have to get off the computer now.  The computer is in the living room and the guy who works here sleeps on the floor next to the CPU…

 

First day

So one day down and … some more to go.

I wandered all through London yesterday in a sleep deprived stupor and I don’t remember a damn thing.  So I’m up a 7 AM and I’m going to do it again.  Some of the sights I do remember are the Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the London Eye (saw it, didn’t get on), and Westminster Abbey. I was never coherent enought to try to find a map so I did it all by brail.  I’m sure I could have seen a lot more if I wasn’t turned around for most of the day. 

Yesterday afternoon I realized that I hadn’t brought a towel.  Oops.  Luckily, I found a backpackers store that I was able to buy one at.  No so luckily it was $50. I also grabbed another pair of lightweight pants.  It’s incredibly himid here and those khaki pants weren’t cutting it.

When I had taken all the touring I could for the day, I came back to the hostel. I showered, and then went down to the courtyard area and had a beer and wrote in my journal for a few minutes. When I got back up to my room, there was a Norwegian guy in my room that had a lot of useful information for me.  He invited me out with him and some of his German buddies.  I told him I was going to take a nap and asked him to wake me up when he left and I’d join him.  Unfortunately, when he woke me up I think I just mumbled something obscene at him and rolled over.  He got me back though…and everyone else in our room.  He snored and talked in his sleep all night. 

I learned a valuable lesson last night.  Keep all of your things you might need in the night in a place where you can find them.  I woke up at 4 this morning and had to pee, but whithout stirring up a lot of noise, I could find my key to get out.  So, I layed there until the sun came up at 6 and then grabbed all of my stuff and sprinted for the bathroom. I won’t make that mistake again.

Today, I think I’m going to shell out the cash for a day pass on an on and off tour bus that takes you around town and lets you off and on as you please.

I can’t figure out how to do the picture thing and I’m running out of time…I’ll do it later.

Adios!

 

I’m here!

Well, I made it…finally.  There were a few screaming children sitting pretty close to me flanked by a few obnoxious floppy haired brits, so sleep was not an option.  I’m freakin’ tired…  I’m going on about 5 hours of sleep and it’s only 9:30 AM here.  Either, this keyboard is a piece of crap or Brits have jacked up ways of doing things.  After seeing which side of the road they drive on, I’ll bank on the latter. 

I’ve only seen outside London for about 2 seconds.  I wandered outside at the only obvious exit and quickly realized that wasn’t where I needed to be.  I ventured back inside to try and find an info kiosk to no avail.  I did however find this piece of shit (sorry Rachel) computer that costs £2 for 10 minutes.  I have no idea how much that is, but it’s too damn much.  At any rate, I’ve found a train that goes to Victoria…well all of the trains leaving here go to Victoria.  I don’t know where that is, but apparently it’s where I want to be.  Frankly, as long as I get out of this stinky, downtrodden, 1950s designed sorry excuse for an airport, I’ll be better off than I am now. 

On a more positive note, I saw a semi cute blonde girl when I made it through the maze that was my terminal.  Well, she was semi cute until she opened her mouth.  Apparently I have a thing for chicks with a British accent.  Since, I’ve conspicuously stared at every girl near me hoping she would talk.

HAHA! Some British guy next to me just asked me for directions.  Poor soul.  I just made something up.  I am my mother’s child.  He saw me explain how to use the computer to an American that was just as lost as I.  I guess he assumed that qualified me as a travel guide.

And father, don’t worry.  My bag made it safely sans duffle.

Well, off to Victoria! (or something like it)

PS Please excuse any typos.  The keys are not where they should be on this stupid keyboard and I don’t have enough ££ left to buy any more time to proofread.

 

One more day

It’s almost here! I leave tomorrow and I think I’ve got almost everything together. I still have to run to Wal-Mart and pick up a few toiletry items, but other than that I’m all set. I called all of my credit card companies yesterday to make sure they don’t cut me off while I’m gone. I finished registering for classes so my school schedule is all set when I get back. I did laundry last night so I have my pick of clothes to take. I still have to return some things to Gander that I bought yesterday in a last minute fit of panic. I should probably clean my apartment up a bit before I leave; my buddy Charlie will be homeless for a few days and is going to stay in my apartment while I’m gone. (Don’t worry Charlie I alphabetized the porn for you.)

Outside of the whole passport fiasco, I’ve done pretty well about getting things together. As a result I don’t have any real nervousness to report. It still hasn’t hit me that I’m leaving tomorrow, so I’m sure tomorrow morning will be pretty stressful and my mind will be making up things that I’ve forgotten.

I’m still not really sure how often I’ll be able to update this, but hopefully it won’t be too big of an issue finding a computer. I expect that I will be able to update Saturday evening…well London time, which will be Saturday morning here…I think.

I have an amazing family that has been unbelievably supportive in everything I’ve done, and this trip is no exception. Thank you Mom and Dad for instilling in me my insatiable wanderlust and obviously for making this trip happen. Meme, you took me to Europe for the first time and I’ve wanted to go back ever since. Thank you so much for making it possible! Aunt Laura, Uncle Trey and Rachel-Roni, thank you guys so much for the early birthday present! You all are always in the front of my mind on this trip and this blog. I feel the pressure from Aunt Laura to update this frequently, the pressure from Uncle Trey to provide a report on the beverages from each region, and the pressure from Rachel to keep this as family friendly as possible. I love you guys!