4.25.08
Waiting for the train to Kirchanschoring. Got another half hour to kill before my final train, from freilassing to Kirchanschoring, where I lived for 6 months after high school. This is where I started the trip, and now I finish it. I don’t have any parting words now, I’m done.

4.25.08
3 days in Switzerland was relaxing. Rained a bit, but what the hell. Did some hiking, but only just trained about the country aimlessly. I didn’t feel great the last couple of days, perhaps my diet could have been better on the trip. Probably just a coincidence though. Now I’m taking the transalpine express from Zurich to Salzburg, from where I shall fly to London on Sunday. Back to work. I had a whole train car to myself for a while, always the best. Zipping through the swiss alps as I skip down the aisle singing Lynard Skynard at full volume. These are the days.

4.22.08
Sunset over Nice was beautiful. It’s a good town, Nice, though I’m not sure I’d like to be there in summer with the beach going hordes. Things like sunsets and oceans affect you a lot more when you’re alone. In a way, beauty is all I have this week. It’s my only companion (well, that and my hair). I’m not sure if I could travel alone forever, but it’s really cool. I’ve been brought to tears more than once by the beauty of the world this week.

4.21.08
I brought the biggest, densest book that’s come into my possession lately, hoping it would last the trip. I just finished it and now I’ve got nothing. Shantaram, very good book, not quite a great book, though I kept thinking it would be. I stayed in a fantastic hotel last night, I don’t think there was a shower in the whole establishment, and worst bed I’ve ever need, and I’ve used a few in my day. Now I’m gliding through the French Riviera towards Nice. I still haven’t swum in the Mediterranean, that I can remember ( I have, I just can’t remember) so perhaps the beaches of Nice it is.
The whole region towards the Spanish Border was better than I expected. Rocky, barren, vineyards, flamingos. What’s not to love. The Riviera is pretty awesome too, exactly as you expect it to be.

4.20.08
Happy Birthday to Barney Gumbel, my cousin Ben, my German father Hagen, and, of course, Hitler.
I got to the train station and 8:30 and found that there isn’t any trains going my way until 12:20. Oh well. Now I’m sitting on a foot bridge about 3 feet above a river. Cloudy, windswept morning. I love it. I’m going to Spain today, maybe I’ll swim when I get there, then I’ll probably just turn around and head back east.

4.19.08
Waiting for the sun to set in Carcasonne.
Carcasonne, you may be familiar with it from the nigh-popular board game, is just epic. One of the few places that’s just jammed with tourists, and is still 100% worth it. (Mont Saint Michel is the only other one I can think of off hand). Still, as usual, walk outside the walls, where it’s nicer, and there’s hardly anyone. So after running around excitedly taking pictures for a couple of hours ( I fear I’ve failed, I can’t quite capture the scale of the place), I’m sitting on some ramparts, kicking my feet up over a 40 foot drop, waiting for the sun to set. It will eventually, bastard always does. I guess what I’m trying to say is, if you have a life list (and you should), put this on it.

4.19.08
I broke down and paid the 3 euro reservation fee to take the TGV, which is and acronym, meaning Train of Great Speed. The normal train was an hour late, and this gets me to the Mediterranean faster. I hate the French train system. Something vaguely chaotic about it. Plus they leave only a few spaces for eurail pass holders like me, which is why I haven’t slept on a train in a few nights. I also hate the French language. There’s something hideous about it, to my ears. I’m still not sure if the people are actually rude, or if they just sound it because of their language. In any case, I’m not a huge fan of the French, as a people. Not that I hate them. It’s impossible to hate a large, diverse group. But you know what I mean.
Here’s the thing though, I love France. It may not have the epicness of Switzerland, but there is such a simple beauty in the French countryside. Rolling hills, bright yellow fields of canola, green hayfields that glisten in an almost blue reflection of the sky. Only eastern Bavaria , where I once lived, can compete with this place. One day, when I have the time, I will tour France by bicycle for a year or so. I think it’s the only way.

4.18.08
Well I ended up staying at a hotel last night. TV, shower, the works. I basically ended up trapped in Metz, the night train I wanted to take was full, then the tourist office was closed, so no info on places to stay. I managed to find the youth hostel, but it had a school group. So after walking around Metz, which is lovely, for a couple hours, I just stumbled into the cheapest looking hotel I found and coughed up 59 euros. I need a better backup option, so these things aren’t that stressful. I’m heading south now, where hopefully it won’t be so cold and sleeping in train stations will be more appealing.

4.17.08
I stayed at Bob’s Youth Hostel last night. How could I not. I mean, Bob. Probably ended up getting 12 hours of sleep, which I needed. Amsterdam is ridiculous, pot, prostitutes, canals, more bikes than you can imagine. Strange place. So I woke up this morning and decided to go to Paris and catch the overnight to Madrid. But when I got to Brussels, I was suddenly hit with an overwhelming desire to go to Luxembourg. So I’m on my way, haven’t decided where I’ll sleep or go after that, and I’m kind of sick of it. Planning, I mean. I wanted to see everything, but I just don’t have that much time. Already I have to give up on going to Italy altogether, Croatia is probably next on my list of giving up. I’m just rambling west for now. West in general, I’m currently going south. South to Luxembourg.

The Night Train.

From Berlin to Amsterdam.

Berlin was a mistake, raining. I did go walk to Poland as a side trip, so at least that's something. But my train leaving Berlin wasn't until 12:30 at night, so in the end I spent about 5 hours in the train station, where it was cold. I put on every piece of clothing I had with and slept on a bench for a while, but was woken up by the cops. We talked for a minute or so, but I was mostly still asleep. Thinking back, I have no idea what was said.
Then the train was packed. I managed to get a few hours sleep in the bike storage area before nearly everyone got off in Dortmund at 4am. Then I slept a few more hours in the floor of my compartment. It was cold, and, still wearing every item of clothes I had, I still had to get up and walk briskly to warm up every hour or two. I survived the night and got enough sleep to last me through another day. I think I'll get a real bed in Amsterdam though.


The Polish Border

3 Hours in Zurich

3 rainy hours in Zurich have totally changed my perspective on life. From what and to what, i have no idea.
Highlights include:
Some sort of traditional swiss parade which culminated in burning a giant snowman in effigy. I don't know why or what it's called, frankly, I don't want to know. Bottom line though, it was a pretty big deal.


Some lunatic swimming 100 yards across the river, which can't possibly be about 40 degrees. This kid is my new hero, or at least he would be if he didn't look like Dave Zub*ricki. I didn't actually see him get in, but noticed him about halfway through, still going strong. He started to struggle at about 3/4 of the way, and for a few moments I started to wonder whether I would survive if I had to go in after him. But he rallied and made it through to his friend waiting with a towel on the other side. Almost no one noticed this happen, but to those of us that did he was like a folk hero.


People were even taking pictures with him. I just shook his hand, told him he was an inspiration, and moved on.


This group of kids hung this ridiculous sign over a billboard. I stood there, taking pictures as they clamored down and tried to walk away casually while loudly congratulating each other. Two of them saw me standing there taking pictures and walked over to me. "What's it supposed to mean?" I asked them in German. They looked at each other and shrugged. I walked on.


Then it started raining and I sat in the train station for an hour before catching the overnight to berlin.


The post parade wreckage.

Flashbacks

My spring break this year is 6 weeks long. I maniacally trained around europe for the last two weeks of it, for which I have a running diary, but that leaves 4 weeks to account for. So I'm going to intersperse my running diary, which was written live and is just being transcribed online, word for word, with flashbacks from the other 4 weeks. Despite these flashbacks being written with the perspective of time, I'm attempting to make them just as bizarre and in-your-face as the live entries. And remember, this is all 100% true. (which, of course, you'll have no trouble believing, because nothing out of the ordinary really happened [sorry to give away the ending ( I mean, you already know I survive, what else is there?)]).


This ain't no disco, and it ain't no country club either.

4.14.08 13:28
Thus begins my train odyssey. As I write this, I'm on the 12:34 from Munich to Zürich. The train is full and I'm one of the lucky few who got an unreserved seat (reservations cost extra). There was a crazy Japanese guy next to me for a while, but he got kicked out by a crazy, nose-ringed German with a reservation. It's too bad, the Japanese guy was good people. I'll go find him later. probably in a vestibule somewhere. To be honest, I'd probably be happier and more comfortable sitting on the floor somewhere, but I worked hard for this seat, damn it.
My train car has 40 Canadian high school students. I hate Canadians.


(Note the Canadian Flag)

I'm back for good.

I know I've promised that before that I would start updating this thing regularly. I can count 5 promises I've made, off the top of my head. But things are gonna be different this time. Why, you ask? Because I have a secret weapon. I traveled for a couple of weeks earlier this month, and kept a running, wildly inconsistent diary. Now, I'm going to transcribe that diary and put it up here, in a wildly inconsistent basis. hopefully it'll be great, with pictures and everything. Mostly though, it will make no sense, flashing forward and back with no regard for trains of thought or even basic human decency. Or maybe it won't. We'll see, now won't we? Anyway, by tomorrow at this time, I'll have the beginning of my trip online.

meanwhile, here's a picture of some Thai food I had in Zurich to whet your appetite. (if you're like me, you probably don't whet anything nearly enough, nor do you pronounce the 'h' in 'wh' quite as distinctly as you should)