Back in Business

I just realized that I've been back in town for about a week and a half now, but I haven't really written anything about my trip! All you guys have seen is a photo album and some random activity here and there... so if you please, allow me a moment of your time to give you the low-down on where I've been and what I've been up to.

In case you've been living in a cave for the past few months and haven't even noticed that I was gone, I've got news for ya: I've been backpacking around Europe for pretty much the entire month of May. The first week was spent in Amsterdam with Corin, part hosteling, part couch-surfing (couch surfing is 10 times better than hosteling, by the way). The second week was spent in Paris with Kurt and Pierre. After these two stops, the whirlwind began, and I didn't spend more than 2 nights in any one place. The list is as follows: Vienna, Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam, Bonn, Ghent.

Ok, phase 1: Amsterdam.

Whenever anyone thinks of Amsterdam, they think of pot and prostitutes. After all, Amsterdam is the indulgence capital of the world, right? Well, not really. While yes, the ganj and the whores are a big part of the city's reputation, Amsterdam is so much more than that. Beautiful canals, friendly locals, and lively festivals make it pretty easy to break out of the normal tourist mold.

Ok, I admit, I did smoke a crap-ton of pot while in Amsterdam. And yes, it was the best pot I've ever smoked. Just let it be known that I did more than just sit around stoned while I was in Amsterdam. Museums, parks, cafés, bars, Crockets and Walk to Wok made my stay in Amsterdam a very entertaining experience.

There are two main problems with Amsterdam: First, the tourists. In the center of the city, where everything is, tourists are EVERYWHERE. I swear, the only time you'll see locals walking around the city center is in the early mornings and maybe the late afternoons, going to and from work. During the rest of the day, everyone on the street (and there are a lot of people) is a tourist--or at least not a Dutch native. It's pretty intense.

The other main problem with Amsterdam is the cost. It is very difficult to find affordable consumables in Amsterdam. Coffeeshops (sketch and non-sketch alike) usually charge upwards of 2.50€ just for an espresso! Beer is also expensive, where you can get 25cls (half a pint, more or less) for 2-3€. It's kind of ridiculous. Even the supermarkets were more expensive than supermarkets in other parts of Europe!

But yeah, it's still relatively easy to find spots not too crowded with tourists, and so if you're willing to spend some money, and you can handle a city where every square meter is commercialized, you should visit Amsterdam.

Phase 2: Paris

Paris is big. I spent a lot of time in subways and subway stations, which is fun because every time I left a station, it was like being in a new world. I saw it all: The Eiffel Tower, the Champs Elysees, The Louvre, The Arc de Republique, Notre Dame, and I even participated in a public demonstration during the Presidential election! Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité!

I really enjoyed Paris, Kurt and Pierre were both great tour guides, and it was really fun seeing them again. I'm not a big fan of touristy stuff, but if you are, Paris has it all. It's also got plenty of non-touristy stuff, if you know where to look. The city is so big, though, you have to take the subway to get anywhere.

There is a lot to do in Paris, and it's pretty easy to save money too. Most museums have days of free entry, usually certain Mondays of the month. There are plenty of sights to see that are free to look at too. Unfortunately I didn't get much of a chance to experience the Parisian nightlife, but I hear it's good.... :P Paris also has awesome bakeries, produce, and other tasty foods.

The only drawbacks to Paris--and to France in general--is that not many people speak English, and there aren't really any one-stop food shopping places. I find it very interesting how attached the French are to their language. If you don't even try to speak French to them, usually they won't try to speak English to you, even if they're fluent. So if you go to Paris, learn some French, or at least Bonjour and Parlez Vous Englais?

As far as food goes, food shopping takes a while. First you have to go to the dry goods store. Then the frozen goods store. Then the bakery. Then the produce market. Then the sweets store. The list goes on and on. There really aren't any Walmarts or Meijers where you can just buy everything you need at one place. I guess this is good because it means the stores sell better products (especially the bakeries and produce markets), but it's a hassle trying to find everything you need--especially if you're not familiar with the area.

So yeah, Paris was nice. I don't think I'd want to live there though, French isn't my language--I just can't get those rrrrrrs!--and the city is just too big. I can handle big cities, but not for that long--and not that big...

Phase 3: Vienna

Out of all the "touristy" destinations of my trip, Vienna was my favorite. Beautiful sights, amazing history, friendly people, affordable prices, and a language that's a bit more comprehensible made Vienna a great destination. Early Spring is the best time to go. When I was there, the city was in the middle of the Vienna Festival (or something), which basically meant cultural happenings all over town, all the time. Street performances, chamber orchestras, Bobby McFerrin was even there! (though I unfortunately did not get to see him) It was a great time.

This leg of the trip also began my first excursions as a lone couch surfer. Let me tell you, couch surfing is the only way to travel, especially when you're by yourself. Many girls I've talked to about couch surfing have expressed reservations about doing it alone, but honestly, there's nothing to worry about! It's pretty easy to tell how trustworthy someone is on the website just by looking at their profile. Is it filled out completely? Do they have good references? Do they look friendly? And on top of that, there are many single females all over the world who you can request to surf with, so it's not like you'll always be sleeping on a guy's couch. In fact, when I was in Vienna, I stayed in a flat with two girls... and I was their first couch surfer! The best thing about couch surfing is the trust inherent in the system. I want people to stay with me, so I'm going to be a good couch surfer, helping with chores, cleaning up after myself, asking permission to use anything, et cetera et cetera. This is the way most--if not all good couch surfers think. And then on the other hand, hosts don't want to fuck with their guests because they want good references so they can increase their stature on the website. It's all about trust and proving your trustworthiness. And it's totally awesome.

But yeah, Vienna. Probably what made Vienna so great was my hosts. Sigi and Maria were sooo nice, friendly, welcoming, blah blah blah, they were great. They showed me where to go on the map to see all the best sights. They took me out to the bar. They fed me tons of espresso. They took me to a play for free that Sigi was doing lighting for (a Latvian play, written in Russian, translated into German on headsets, and whispered into my ear in English by Sigi). They were great, and after that I was instantly hooked on couch surfing. Couch Surfing 4 Life, bia!

Cons of Vienna...... that's tough. I guess one thing is that their public transpo system is kind of expensive, but they've got these bike stations all over town where you can check out bikes for free and ride them around for an hour. So yeah, there really isn't a whole lot that's bad about Vienna. You should go there.

Phase 4: Prague

Prague (aka Praha, Praga, etc...) was....... kind of a disappointment for the most part. First of all, there aren't enough couch surfers in Prague, so was forced to hostel. Hosteling isn't that bad, I met some cool people from Canada, Wisconsin and Mexico, but not really anyone from Prague... and without the guide, cities just aren't as cool. I saw the Prague Castle, the Vlatava River, other historical monuments, but in my opinion, it was not nearly as beautiful as Vienna. It felt older, dirtier, and less welcoming. Maybe that was the Soviet influence, maybe it's just because the Gothic architecture didn't catch my fancy as much as the various architectural styles seen in Vienna. Maybe it's just 'cause the buildings in Vienna are all whitewashed, whereas the buildings in Prague are more natural stone colors. I don't know.

The best part of Prague was the boat party that I was invited to by a fellow Couch Surfer. This guy was having a birthday party on a boat, complete with barbeque, pasta salad, and a bar with cheap drinks. The boat was populated with many international people--couch surfers and med students--so everyone spoke English. I met a guy from Russia who was living in California but moving to Ireland or somewhere, and I met this girl from California who was living in Prague and moving to India in a month. It was fun... Except for the pouring rain that we had to walk home in, that kinda sucked.


Phase 5: Berlin

Berlin is a sweet city. With a population of 3.4 million, Berlin is probably one of the biggest cities in Europe (Paris has 2.1 million), and people weren't kidding about the eclectic variety of people and places around the city. Even just in 2 nights, I managed to meet and see a whole ton of crazy German party animals, and unlike Paris, people seemed genuinely interested in talking to me, even though I didn't speak their language.

Yep, Berlin is sweet. Check it.

Phase 6: Amsterdam Part 2

Back to Amsterdam to meet up with Erik. This time around was a big haze... lots of coffee shops (the sketchy kind), and that's about it. Smoked some good weed though.





Phase 7: Bonn

At this point, I was thoroughly exhausted with touristy destinations, so Bonn was a pleasant diversion from the norm. A smaller city south of Cologne (Köln in German), Germany, Bonn is sweet. Everyone was very friendly, there was a nice park that we chilled out in for a while, and our couch surfing host was awesome and had a crap-ton of movies, which was good because Erik was sick. So even though we probably spent most of the time in Bonn sitting around watching movies, it was still great and very relaxing. We also watched the world Club Soccer finals, Liverpool v. AC Milan. Everyone in Germany seems to dislike Italians, so we were rooting for Liverpool, but Milan won anyways. Oh well.

Phase 8 (final phase): Ghent

My second to last night in Europe I spent in a small town west of Brussels in Belgium called Ghent (the last night I spent in Amsterdam, but I arrived late and went to bed early, so...). In terms of absolute favorite places, I think Ghent tops my list. I really liked it for several reasons: First, there is a large student body, which means more people my age. Second, cars actually yield for pedestrians (which is very much untrue in the rest of Europe, it seems). Third, there aren't nearly as many tourists, and as a result, fourth, things aren't crazy expensive. On top of this, people were really nice, and the couple I stayed with, Bram and Nele, were very friendly and took me out to some bars and things. I even managed to introduce them to a new Jazz Club on a tip from another couch surfer. I wish I had been able to spend more than one night in Ghent, but alas, my funds were running very low and I had to return to America.


So that was my trip in a nutshell. There are many stories that I can tell from each location that I stopped at, so pick one and ask me. Cheers!