Day 1
July 8, 2010
Crazy, rushed day, but I am sitting comfortably and clean in my hostel bed. Prague is no more and I’m excited about my future euro travel with James and Charles. I’m glad that summer studies are over. Tests are never fun, especially when they are multiple choice (possible) multiple answer tests. But I actually learned a lot this summer with cost accounting and international tax and multinational corporations and what not. But it’s over. Yay. Now, it’s time for eurotrip and the real summer vacation with the fellas. Berlin. Florence. Pisa. Madrid. Pamplona. Barcelona. Paris. London. All in 12 days. It’s going to be a lot of traveling and moving, but hopefully a lot of good sights and good conversations.
Last day of Prague was quite eventful though. Took my international tax final. It wasn’t too terrible. I knew most of what I was doing and what it was asking, but I couldn’t wait to get out. Printing at the school took forever too. Czech is real behind on technology, especially with computers. End up going to the square to grab some souvenirs for family and friends. I had a lot of cash to blow so I was hoping just to grab a lot and go, but unfortunately, my stand and think mentality took over. I ended up with small trinkets since I don’t have much room in my bag. Then rushed home to pack in like 30 mins. I have so much crap I feel stupid. A packed backpack and duffle are not fun to carry around. Late to the train station. Almost missed the train. Praise God, seriously. Craziness. Got onto the train all sweaty. Had some good convos. Watched some Lost. Napped. Listened to some good music. All was well.
Hello Germany. Very modern looking place. I love Charles’ first quote when he stepped off the train “The women here are huge”. They certainly are. Personally, I think they’re a lot better looking than the Prahaians, but we’ll see how the rest of my stay in Berlin is like. Buildings are a lot more spaced out so that means more walking. Carrying luggage and trying to enjoy the scenes of the town are tough. But we saw some good buildings (church dome, Atles and Peregemon Museum). Yay for free admission Thursdays. Ended up walking to our hostel. It’s located onto of a bar. Very clean and spacious. I’m sure I’ll sleep well tonight. Ate dinner at a local gyro place down the street. Food was pretty good. I’m still not a big fan of the euro. It seems very convenient here, but when you convert everything back to dollars, it’s expensive. I do miss them American bucks though.
I’m showered and slowly getting tired. Probably will watch an episode of Lost before bed. I’m starting to get into the show more and enjoy the characters. I love starting shows that have a ton of seasons to look forward too. Tomorrow is our Berlin bike tour then museum hopping. I’m hoping for some awesome things. Praise God for this trip and all the blessing He’s seriously endowed me with. It’s been a great experience and I look forward to the next couple of weeks.
Day 2July 9, 2010
Our first full day on our eurotrip starts in Berlin. I got a pretty good night’s worth of sleep. The bed and pillow were comfortable enough for me to not wake up til morning time. Our hostel was pretty cool since it was located on top of a bar because they had a relatively nice breakfast for a bar. Got in some nutrition in my system before our bike tour. Walked over to the big television tower to meet our bike tour. Fat Tire Bike Tour. I heard about them while surfing sites and what not over the past half year and wow…they definitely were up to par if not superb in their tours. We got a crazy awesome Irish guy name Cieran who’s been in the city for only 6 months. Yet, he was so knowledgeable and well-informed about the city and its rich history. The bikes were super comfortable. I don’t think I’ve ridden a more comfortable bike in my life. My bike was called “Dan the Man.” We rode through most of eastern Berlin, since that’s where much of attractions and pavement are located. Saw us some crazy awesome buildings, many of which had to be rebuilt again due to WWII. The likes included Alexander Square, Mark/Engel, book burning square, Berlin Wall, Brandenburg Gate, Holocaust memorial, beer garden, Reinestag (parliament), Museum Island. The ride was definitely manageable and not as rigorous as the Croatian bike tour. I definitely loving bike coasting and just letting gravity take its place downhill. We were pretty exhausted afterwards from the heat and dehydration so we just chilled and ate dinner at the local bar and ended over to the station. Our train was delayed 45 mins so we made sure to get some postcards and some snacks for the ride. Our night train wasn’t too shabby, but I was disappointed that it didn’t have power outlets. But it worked out just perfectly because I got to get in some solid conversations with James and Charles and just relax. I’ve definitely become very technology-dependent over the years and Europe has really taught me to see the other beauties of life, including the people I’m with. After our long conversations and just relaxing, it was time for bed. I did have a more difficult time sleeping though. Got cold at night so my limbs were aching when I woke up. Our train arrived 30 mins late to the station and I feared missing our transfer to Fussen. But God is still good and we managed to get on right when it pulled into the station. So I’m on the train to Fussen now. Day 2 is officially in the books and I praise God for awesome history, enjoyable weather, and great company.
Day 3
July 10, 2010
Today was all about them castles. I love castles and I’ve been fortunate to see like 5 or 6 castles now in Europe. It’s just one of the rare gems in Europe since America has no castles. Castles are just so intriguing in its architecture and all the time and effort put into how detail things are. We spent the day in Fussen today at Housphchar (sp) and Newsweinstein (sp) castles secluded in the mountainside. The place and castles were absolutely a work of art. I love the interiors and all the awesome gifts and artifacts of a castle. These castle dwellers really put the time and money to make sure their castles were legit. The artwork on the walls are simply gorgeous and so detailed and always full of symbolism and sentimental value. I love how the royalty really respect and keep up with their family name and just cherish it in art and gifts. The castles in Fussen were pretty sweet. Not the biggest castles in the world, but definitely decked out in awesomeness. Essentially artwork on every wall of every room not to mention the gold, silver, bronze plated decorations. Every room pretty much had a super expensive and symbolic heirloom of its kind. The landscape in Fussen is quite breathtaking since from the castle where you get to look over the local city. All in all, the place was definitely worth the visit. The train ride to Munich was kinda rough and hot. I ended up napping of course. Got into Munich and currently situated in a pretty cool, trendy hostel. Tons of rooms and tons of people. Ate dinner at a local brewery/bar/restaurant. Great beer (Austusinger). Small world but we randomly met a girl from UT named Grace and she ate dinner with us and was filled with stories and just full of energy. She also gave us tips and a brief Italian language lesson (since she’s Italian). Makes sense. Probably gonna call it a night soon. Beer makes me tired. So does traveling and the sun. Tomorrow is filled with a 7 hr train ride, Florence, and the World Cup. Should be a packed day. I’ve definitely enjoyed the trip so far. Meeting people randomly is a pretty cool blessing and a great experience just to listen and talk. I can’t wait to see what lies ahead. I still miss home, but home will have to wait. Let the good times roll.
Day 4
July 11, 2010
Today was the longest travel day of the trip (I think). We woke up from a pretty decent night of sleep in our hostel. From Munich, we took a 7 hr train ride to Bologna and then another 1 hr ride to Florence. The trip to Bologna was straight up long. Great thing was that there were outlets so I got in a good 3-4 episodes of Lost and some good nap time and some good music/sermon listening time. All in all, the ride was long, but productive. It was however super hot throughout the ride (no ac is killer even though I should be use to it by now). Got into Florence and the city just seemed dirtier. Maybe it was just the old-school nature of Italy and the town, but it was dirtier and less modernized. However, we were pleasantly surprised with our hostel. Initially we were a bit hesitant because there wasn’t even a sign or anything, just a call-bottom to an apartment, but we got in and were greeted with great hospitality and our room was clean, tidy, and ac powered (woohoo). We were suppose to be in Florence for a day and a half, but we soon found out that all museums are closed on Mondays throughout Europe. I should have known that, that’s just how the planning went. So with the help of our hostel owners, we were able to put a Tuscany tour to Siena, San Gimignano, and Pisa. Didn’t know much about those places except Pisa and the Leaning Tower so I was kind of excited for the next day. But for the rest of the night, we just walked around Florence trying to see what we could of places from the outside. Walking everywhere has definitely taken a toll on my body, mentality and physically. Long walks just suck all the energy out of me, but seeing cool landscapes and buildings helps out. We saw some nice buildings and bridges in Florence (Duomo and whatever that bridge with shops that survived the war). The view from the top was pretty amazing, but since I’ve seen Prague, Budapest, and Dubrovnik, from the top, Florence “alright.” My favorite is still Budapest and Prague. But I mean, Florence is still beautiful from the top, but I think I liked the peaceful aspect of Budapest and Prague since there weren’t huge crowds there. But all in all, Florence was beautiful, but not a place I would want to live. Nope nope nope. We finished the night watching the World Cup finals. Props to Spain, but I was definitely rooting from a penalty shootout ending. O well. The sleep in Florence was good besides the fact of waking up early for our trip to the Toscany the next day.
Day 5
July 12, 2010
I think being flexible and making the most of your situation is essential to enjoy the blessings of life. Today was just that. With museums closed and having seen most of the Florence’s city walls and what not, today was a great day to just go with the flow and experience new things. Our plan of action for the day was leave Florence, visit Siena, San Gimignano, Pisa, and stay in Pisa for the night. We grabbed the last 3 seats of the 1st bus to depart for the Toscany (praise God) and were welcomed by a great host and travel guide, Sandra. I think I developed a mad crush on her throughout the day. She was so sweet, charming, and never quick to flip out on anything. Great qualities in a tour guide and in a woman for a matter of fact. Bus ride was a little crammed beside we had to sit in the back row and we had Andre the Giant in front of one of the seats in which I sat behind a good amount of time. The history lesson of the Toscany (or how Americans use “Tuscany”) wasn’t too shabby and relatively brief and to the point. I didn’t get bored that easily and the rides inbetween places didn’t seem that long. First stop was Siena. A small city known for their banking businesses. I must say that the tour guide in Siena wasn’t that stellar. It was hard to heard the guide and her accented English with a mini-microphone device. It was a bunch of garble to me. Nonetheless, I enjoyed looking at old school, small city life towns. The building structures and how compact things were arranged with very cozy, as well as brilliant from old-school architectures. I loved seeing different types of architectural styles (14th, 15th, 16th century) throughout the city. The cathedral (Duomo) was absolutely magnificent. Straight up awesome architecture w baller paintings and designs. It was quite a treat to see the works of famous painters and sculptures, not to mention a room of refrescos that haven’t been touched since the 15th century. But after a while of course I had to get out because I was getting a bit freaked out by the art and church enclosures and what not. The quick trip to Siena was enjoyable. Next was lunch a local farm in the Toscany. Homegrown vegetables, raised cattle, and authentic pressed wine and olive oil were killer ingredients to a fantastic meal. It seemed very Italian with bruscetta, homemade pasta, cheese, meats, and wine. Had great views of the countryside from the farm that was situated a little higher than most places in that area. Next stop was San Gimignano. I really wasn’t expecting much from it. They are known for their 14 towers throughout the city and more importantly, the world’s BEST gelato. In fact, 3 years running. We definitely hit that bad boy up first and I must say, it was the best gelato I ever had (or maybe all in my head). I definitely splurged on it and was greatly satisfied. We also got to see a view from one of their forts located high on their city grounds. It was pretty serene to see the country landscape. Open skies and some clouds added a great touch to a seemingly artistic scene. Slept all the way to Pisa. Got to Pisa a bit discombobulated, but I knew why we were there…for the Leaning Tower of course. It’s actually quite a nice image to see even though I’ve seen it so many times online or in books or what not. Real life isn’t much different but it’s pretty surreal like…”Oh man..that tower is straight up leaning.” Tried to take some ridiculous pictures. Ended up taking normal ones. I’m content w it though. Got our bags, left the tour group, went to the airport to find out hostel located nearby. It took a while, but we got there safe and sound. I absolutely loved this hostel. We pretty much stayed upstairs at a local’s house. It was a nicely furnished bedroom (3 beds, AC, cable tv, wifi). Great hosts with great amenities. However, the night sleep wouldn’t be that stellar because of our 530 am wake up call to make our flight tomorrow morning. Nonetheless, I had a great experience seeing the Toscany and experiencing more great culture.
Day 6
July 13, 2010.
I hate waking up early. 530 am early. Balls balls balls. I wish I could have enjoyed more of my queen size bed and ac filled room. But good thing is that I actually got up and was quick with getting out the door. I notoriously of lagging behind, which I have for a good amount of the trip. Darn that extra luggage to carry around. But the airport is like a 5 min walk from our hostel. We checked in without a hitch and boarded a Ryanair flight to Madrid. Ryanair is a low cost carrier because it cuts out a lot of amenities. The seats were terrible. Little to no leg room. No drinks served. But hey, it got us to a destination so I won’t complain too much. Got into Madrid and only stayed in town for 7 hours. Had a train to Pamplona at night so we had to see what we could of the town. For the most part, Madrid isn’t a huge, huge touristy place. There aren’t like really famous landmarks and buildings, but it was very chill and a nicely organized and clean city. There’s many squares and hotspots in town so we walked around and around and around the town. Pretty much painted the town asian.
Day 7
July 14, 2010
Halfway home. Today was by far one of the crazier days of the eurotrip. It started off with another early morning wakeup call. This time…515 am. The last 3 nights are seriously killing me and my sleep habits, not to mention my acne. I break out like crazy w/o sleep. But we were up and out of our hostel at 540 just in time to catch the bus to the local town center. We are in Pamplona, Spain. I’m going to be honest, I had no idea where Pamplona was nor why we were going to it when we started planning out the trip. I did not know it was where the famous “Running of the Bulls” took place. I just knew it was Spain. But now I know…Pamplona, Spain. I’ll never forget Pamplona. First, I won’t forget the smell of it. The town has an annual festival called San Fermines (or something) and they pretty much just party all night every night with the running of the bulls (of course) in the morning. We got into town last night and it smelt like 2 weeks of start partying. The grounds were dirty, people were passed out everywhere, the smell was nauseating (imagine booze, urine, vomit, trash all mixed together). I wondered what I was getting myself into. Oh right, I was going to run with bulls. Initially I was going wussying out and just watch James run and you know…be the mom waiting in the stadium taking pictures and what now. But when I found out Charles was running too…well I guess I couldn’t be the 3rd guy out. As much as a “play it safe” kind of guy, I decided… “what the hell.” Worse comes to worse, I die. Best case scenario is I run untouched and experience something few Americans can say they did. I was quite nervous leading up to this whole ordeal imagining all the worst case scenarios and the what ifs of it all. Well the time had come. Bright and early Wednesday morning in the streets of Pamplona. Gates being reconstructed. Drunk people waking up. Drunk people still sleeping. We walked the course. We saw the bulls. We saw the stadium. We stood halfway in the course (predominately where the noobs stand) after the death turn where the bulls tend to slip and run over themselves (and people). We were ready. Stretched. Prayed. Shoes tied. First rocket goes off (doors open). I start getting jittery. Bulls run pretty fast. I need to run fast too. Apparently there is a mix of wild and tame bulls (didn’t find that out til afterwards) and some younger steers. Second rocket goes off (all the bulls are out of the pen). F that. I’m pretty much galloping down the street sideways looking over my shoulder for the mass of people and the bulls coming down. People standing on the sides are throwing elbows and pushing back at the people running down the street. I catch a few solid elbows. The crowd is chopping now. People are running for their lives. You can hear it in the crowd that the bulls are coming. I try taking off but the herd of bulls catch my eyes and I'm just in awe for a split second as the barrel down. Everything literally goes in slow-mo and I'm like “Andrew…don’t get gored.” Those bulls were pretty fast. I don’t dare trying to get to close to touch one. They run by. Phew. Goodbye bulls. Tradition is that the bulls and people end up in the stadium and they let one of the smaller ones free and people just mess with it and torro it and what not. So I'm running behind the bulls to get to the stadium, but one of the gates closes off the course. All three of us see each other and we’re like “wtf.” Why did they close it off before the stadium? Turns out one of the bulls got turned around and started going after people. I saw the replay afterwards on tv and it was crazy. It kept coming back for some more. But at the time we didn’t know so we’re behind the gate…pretty much waiting for it to be over. I thought so at least. But no no no no. There is a build up of noise behind us. People are getting restless. People start shouting. “There are more bulls behind us. OPEN THE GATES.” I was seriously thinking…o..m..g…this is messed the frick up. People start panicing. Everyone starts pushing. Cops are trying to open the gates, but the gate opens towards the people waiting behind it so people are like pushing to get out of the way. But when hundreds of people are packed together…it takes forever to move the masses. But with bulls coming, people were moving the mass like crazy. I think I got pushed up against Charles and was praying for nothing to come into the crowd. I get pushed more. Turned around. Shoved. I'm in a mess. The doors open and people just break out. I’m still thinking . . . “Andrew, don’t get gored.” I'm pretty much towards the end of the run where the tunnel meets the stadium. But I have no idea were the bulls or if they already passed or not. I'm just kinda jogging and well…luck has it that 2 younger steers are still coming and I'm bout to enter the tunnel where there’s no safe zone. So I think to myself…run run run or kinda stand and stare. As I'm staring at the 2 bulls coming…yeah I just continue to stare and make sure I got get any horns in my butt. The 2 go harmlessly by. Yay. I survived. Now time to get in the stadium for the festivities and fun. I’m literally like a couple strides away when the stadium door starts to close. It catches me completely off guard and hits me as I pass through. Thrown off balance, a guy from behind pushes me and I eat it. So much adrenaline is flowing that I just get up and I’m looking around to make sure no bull is dancing around me. I managed to find James and Charles. Safe. Woo. Except for the whole bull in the ring and people trying to mess with it and it responds by trampling them. We eventually hop out and watch people try to touch the bull and what not and have the bull gore and trample. It’s a younger bull with protective caps on its horns so aren’t sharp. It just rams people and tramples over them. still pretty brutal. By this time, I'm behind the wall taking pictures and making videos. Haha typical me. James decides to hop back in and touch the bull. Well, he ends up getting a butt full of bull skull, but accomplished what he set out to do. Nice. We end up making our way out of the stadium. Get our bags. Taxi. Train station. Train ride to Barcelona. All the craziness from the morning is still flowing in our system. But then we all pass out on the train. Get into Barcelona. Wonderful town. Not super compact like Florence, but also not that spread out like Madrid. A perfect mix with great buildings and lively streets. Walked around Las Ramblas (famous touristy street) for a bit and saw the usual gift stands, weird painted people trying to get money, outdoor restaurants, all the goodies. Went down to the shore and the beach. Barcelona beach > Croatia beach in terms of actually beachness. Sand was great. Water wasn’t as clear but felt great. Tons and tons of people there just chilling, sunbathing, playing sports. I could enjoy a great day w friends there. We end up on the dock just straight chilling. It was really relaxing and just peaceful. I love the beachshore. I love peaceful chilling and waves. It’s just a beautiful combination. We leave. Eat dinner. Do laundry. Here I am. Woo. The seemingly climax of the trip is over. We’ll be spending a few days in Barcelona, then in Paris, and finally in London. I’m hoping to enjoy these last 7 days.
Day 8Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12
on the 20th...i did stuff. on the 21st, i flew back. watched she's out of my league and invictus on the plane. enjoyed both. k dinner time w the rents! yay
currently on my mind: sanctus real - i want to get lost (acoustic)
couldn't have said it better
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