A Final Thought

I'm finally getting around to writing this closing entry. This trip was fantastic. I'd say my favorite part was riding trains because I could go to the train station and have absolutely no idea whether it would be a great ride or a crappy one, whether my sleeper/seat will be among friendly Australians or pushy Italians. I loved staying in hostels, especially those that catered to a social environment. Athens and Barcelona (each one night) were the best for that. I got some really great photographs from this trip, which you can see at http://www.sareth.net/gallery.htm.

Although I had an amazing time, I am ready to try my hand at Asia. Europe is WAY more expensive and much more traveled. It's a "pop" travel location for young people. Thailand is approaching that point, but Cambodia is still a dark spot in terms of frequent travel in SE Asia.

No sooner does one journey end as the next begins. I'll probably start a new blog for this trip, less frequently updated but with more detailed and writing (and higher quality, too). Thanks for following.

Your caminante,

David

London Again

Well, here I am, back in London. I'm staying with my friend Jon, whom I met at the tennis tournaments (we were doubles partners in Amsterdam). Hot shower, people speak English, cool weather...really what more could you ask for? One thing - home.

This is probably my last entry from Europe. I'll write one more from home to provide some closure, but right now, I'm sort of winding down. The traveler in me is tired...not too tired to do things, just ready to recharge for the next year.

I've been walking around London quite a bit, trying to take in the culture without doling out the money. It's especially tough because of the exchange rate (think 2:1). Working on £100 for the entire time here, and it's 10 days. I think I'm down to 60, and I have 6 days left. Essentially, that's three self-prepared meals and one metro ticket per day. I'll probably run over a bit, but it's a good goal to keep.

Yesterday I stayed in most of the day, going out to get groceries for food and then to meet my friend James, who brought my tennis stuff back to London for me. He gave me a nice (quick) tour of some parts of London, and we had a good time just hanging out. While staying in during the earlier part of the day, I managed to also write the makings of a play. It'll be a short, one-act, but it's my first play (though not my first attempt). Hopefully it will turn out well. I'll let you know.

It's tempting to do a recap, summary, and final thoughts here, but I think I'll wait until I get back for that. Less than a week remaining. I meet back up with Chris tonight.

Brussels

All is well. After a series of frantic changes in plans, we're settled here in Brussels. I'll do a longer update later when people aren't waiting for the computer.

Back in Barcelona

Nice was nice. We crashed when we got there, and then the next day, we checked out in the morning and walked around for a while. We ended up at the beach without any beach stuff, and then we met a girl who happened to be staying at the same hostel. We hung out all afternoon until we had to catch our train. She gave me a book, The Alchemist, which I read and really enjoyed.

Our train ride to Barcelona was awesome. Our cabin-mates were some girls from Australia, and we had a great time talking until about midnight. Then we slept, and no one snored. The room was air conditioned, and we arrived almost on time. What more could you ask for?

When we got to Barcelona, we went our separate ways, and yesterday, Chris and I just hung out being lazy, reading, and playing chess. Nice and relaxing.

Today we haven't really done anything, but we're going into Barcelona to get train tickets and see a few things. Then we'll come relax more. Yay for relaxing. Anyway, the rest of our trip is pretty firmly set, unless train tickets pose a problem. We'll be here until the 27th, then on the night of the 27th, catch a train to Paris and connect to a train to Amsterdam. Then we'll stay in Amsterdam until Aug 1, when we catch a train to Berlin. Stay in Berlin until Aug 4, when we head back to London by way of Brussels. So now off to Barcelona and relaxing. A few more pictures in the album I posted most recently (titled Ostia, I think).

Low Energy

My travel energy is currently in a rut. Luckily, Chris is here to talk with, and we can just hang out and talk when we don't feel like doing anything. Headed for Nice tonight, and then hopefully Barcelona on Sunday. Open to suggestions for revitalizing the travel spirit.

Damned if You Do...

...And Damned if You Don't. It's hot here, even at night. So we like to open the windows and let a breeze in. Unfortunately, there are TONS of mosquitos here. We don't like to let those in. And to think, I almost left the bug repellant in the last place, since I hadn't used it yet. Not that it seems to be helping. I wake up with lots of bites, and there are some on my hands that I don't think are mosquito bites. Other than that, it's a nice hostel =).

We talked with our roommate yesterday. We're in a dorm with six beds, but there are only three of us. Our third is an Italian guy from southern Italy who is a personal trainer who does Pilates-type stuff (we think). He speaks very little English. We speak no Italian, but my Spanish-avec-Italian-accent seems to work fairly well. We talked a while last night, despite the hordes of mosquitos.

Anyway, we went into Rome yesterday. We saw the outside of the Colosseum. We got tickets to Nice (I know, but we didn't INTEND to buy tickets back to France). We're trying to get to Barcelona, but those tickets were either sold out or really expensive. Maybe our train will arrive PRECISELY on time, giving us 25 minutes to buy tickets to the connecting train and catch it. Ha. Not sure what we're doing today, but it might involve seeing the Vatican (woo, Catholics).

Major Change

We've had a major change in plans. Instead of writing this from Vienna, as I expected, I am writing from Ostia, a suburb of Rome. Yesterday we found out that the person with whom we planned to stay in Vienna could no longer house us. Lacking real motivation to go to Vienna (since it was completely in the opposite direction of our ultimate destinations, we changed our train tickets to Rome (for 1 Euro more). So we hopped on a train to Rome. And here we are, in a hostel on the beach in Ostia, which is about 45 minutes outside of Rome. Very nice.

Today we basically just got here (a little late), checked in, took a nap, and then went to the beach. Uneventful, but nice. I'm uploading pictures now. Links below:

Madrid Pride and Seville
Seville
Seville and Barcelona
Barcelona, Paris, Munich
Munich, Ostia/Rome

Lots of News

I think I'll condense this weekend into a fairly short post. Chris got here, and we've had a lot of fun hanging out and exploring Munich. Today, we'll probably do lots of exploring, as we leave this evening for Vienna (at about 11:45).

In tennis, I lost my singles matches (as usual), but my doubles partner and I WON THE TOURNAMENT in our division. Now that's a far cry from my previous record. That was really exciting. I think the other two tournaments didn't really give me a chance in doubles - the first put me in a division higher than I play and on a surface with which I was unfamiliar, and the second I was partners with a self-described tennis novice (a month's experience). So this was the first time I really got to play doubles where I should, and it really paid off. I had a great time and will miss playing with my partner, Paul (who lives in London).

Anyway, that's really the highlights of the weekend. Chris and I tentatively mapped out our schedule for the rest of the time, so that's exciting. Lots of travel and less time in each place than I was doing before, but I'm really looking forward to it.

Tennis Tomorrow

Explored Munich today with Lothar, which was fun. Then we went and I registered for the tournament. Then I went and played for a while with my doubles partner. That's an awesome day summed up in three semi-sentences. Going to bed now so I can be well rested for my match at 9am and meeting Chris.

A Little Different

Here's more of a reflective post. Lothar showed me around last night, and he took the day off from work today to show me around more. That's really awesome.

The following are some words of wisdom for travel that my dad wrote, and I thought I'd share them here.

• Keep expectations to a minimum. Things often turn out differently than expected - except expect to be challenged in unexpected ways and expect moments of beauty where none were anticipated.
• Traveling is only partly about the destination. The journey is at least as important as the destination. Being is as important as seeing. Don't always have to be doing something.
• People who travel together should be okay with separating for awhile - hours, days, maybe weeks. Probably a good idea for each person to have some time alone in the room most days.
• Attitude is probably the most important factor in successful traveling. There is always some discomfort, delay, hassle, misunderstanding, scam, etc. Let it go quickly because guess what, it's going to happen again and again.
• I can't stand to spend a lot of money on a place to sleep. As long as it's clean and relatively quiet, I'm happy. I've stayed in places with walls that go part-way to the ceiling and are finished off with chicken wire, places with sleeping mats on the floor, places without locks or doorknobs, and so on. Now I like aircon, sheets, and en suite if available - but I don't need all of that.
• You're responsible for your own trip. If you have a bad time, well, there you go. If you have a good time, there it is - a good time. Up to you.
• Don't be foolish, e.g., leaving valuables in a guesthouse room, carrying passport in a pack, buying gems on the street (hahaha, right, you can trust that guy), thinking that you are about to get the deal of a lifetime, etc.

One thing I would add to that is that when you travel, you're traveling for yourself, not for anyone else. When I left Paris having not visited a single museum or "typical" attraction, I didn't feel guilty; rather, I felt pleased with myself. I'm really not a museum person, and I'd much rather get lost in the maze of streets in Paris (which I did) and spend the afternoon in a park watching tennis (which I did) than tiring myself out looking at some paintings some old guys did a long time ago).

I love traveling like this, without worry of being late for anything. I guess it's almost a Buddhist outlook - to accept things as they are given. Not in a defeatist mentality, but seeing them for what they offer, not for what they remove. Yes, a night without AC was uncomfortable, but I stayed up and saw the German countryside at night. Silver lining? Perhaps, but why make something ugly and cliche when I can just as easily see the beauty of things for what they are.

I've been so fortunate with my opportunities and experiences - the people I've spent time with while here, the people I've met, just everything. People, people, people. I speak with people on a whim, like the Mexicans at the train station. I even prefer speaking Spanish to English now, so why not strike up a conversation with someone I overhear speaking Spanish? I feel like this trip is affecting me much more in real-time than last summer's trip to SE Asia. I see the beauty right now, I'm learning right now, and I'm adapting right now. I can only imagine what the next year will bring.