The Ugly Side of Travelling, *1

We focus a lot on this blog about the great adventures and escapades of travelling around the world. But travelling is not non-stop fun and excitement, and nor would I want it to be so. Travelling is hard work, and often, life throws you a lemon, and since you are abroad, no one wants lemonade.

So this series will focus on the negative stories of travelling. The horrible, terrible, and digusting things that have happened to me this trip, starting with...today!

July 2006, Salzburg, Austria.
With my ticket in hand, I board my train, and put my ticket down. Then I put my...wait...where is my daypack!?!?!! AHHHHH!!!

I run out of the train. I had it when I got into the train station, my over panicky mind tells me. I run to the info office, ask where the lost and found is (thank god they speak english in Austrian train stations). It is not there. I think...I had it when I bought my ticket. Did I leave it at the ticket counter?

Of course, there are 8 people in line, whereas 5 minutes ago, none. My train leaves in 10 minutes, but I don´t care about that anymore.

``I think I left my bag here´´, I ask hopefully.
``Ahh...yes!´´, he runs into the back room. I wait a minute, hopeful but pessimistic. Then I see him, walking in, with my daypack!
``Oh, thank you so much! Danke Shen! Thank you!´´, I shower him with thanks. Then I look at the clock. 12:09. My train leaves at 12:10.

No biggie...there are lots of train to Wels, where I am going. I catch the next one, in half an hour, and get to Wels, where I need to make a connection. I look at the board...hmm..no trains to Grüneu. The last one seems to have departed 15 minutes ago, and the next one.

2 hours. ARGHH!! (and here i am typing from an Internet cafe at the train station)

No, I am not German!

It's true. I am really not a German. Now, most (if not all) of my close family and friends already know that I am in fact an American and not German. I don't think the word has spread around Europe yet. More on this in a minute...

Portion 2 has marked our journey eastward, and currently as I am typing this post I am sitting in a German cafe, checking my e-mail and updating this website, instead of searching for a hostel for tonight. Before leaving Europe I will have gone to Germany 4 separate times. A heads-up to all of you thinking about traveling to Rheinland-Pfalz and Nordrhein-Westfalen (Germany), hostels are expensive and scarce. I am doing my best to Couchsurf, but the 5 people that have responded all said they were going to Bavaria, ridiculous isn't it? So I may have to take to some creative measures in order to get by underbudget these next few days. However, some of you may be wondering why I am so intent on letting everyone know that I am not German.

The past couple of days I have traveled through Amsterdam, Brussels, Brugge, and Luxemburg. Since I have been traveled alone everyone I have talked to thought I was German, not Dutch nor Swedish nor Danish nor Finnish, nor any number of other possible, nearby nationalities. When I went to buy my ticket from Luxembourg to Trier, Germany, I asked the guy in French for a ticket on the next train. He then responded to me in German, so I talked back to him in French again, he still responded in German. For some reason, even though he spoke Luxembourgish (the national language of Luxembourg, sounds a lot like Flemish), English, French, and German he refused to think that I was anything but German. Well, not to draw this out too much, but this sort of thing has happened a lot the past three days.

Luxembourg was really cool. It marks the ninth country I have visited on this trip. My first experience in the country was meeting two Australians who had the strange habit of blaming everything that happened on Tom Hanks and the DaVinci Code. We were at the train station and they were trying to find the same hostel as me (just ask, where is THE hostel, there is only one in Luxembourg). They of course, thought I was German. We drank some beers, had a few laughs and took a little walking tour around the city. I went on three different tours of the city the next day, one of which was spontaneous and provided by a congressman.

The best place I visited in the past few days was the Hoegaarden factory in Hoegaarden, Belgium. Nithin and I thought we were going on a pilgrimage to find it because the streets were deserted as we aimlessly walked about the city in hopes to find this place. If you are ever in or around Brussels, make sure to ask at the tourist office how to get to the Hoegaarden brewery. The guy there meticulously planned out our journey there down to the minute we were suppose to get to the factory. The problem was we got off at the wrong stop once we got into Hoegaarden and there was no signs and nobody around to tell us where this place was.

The key to any great brewery tour is the chance to pour your own beer!!! The only two places we have poured our own beers have been the Beamish Factory in Cork, Ireland and here. (Also, our two favorite breweries).

Well, it is getting late now so I best be off and searching for a hostel. Wish me luck!

Auf wedersein

(Note - I tried to add photos but the damn internet is working too slow.

4 Months Already?

Posted by Coca

Can't believe it. It's already been four months that I've been on this trip. In commemoration, I sent a email blast out yesterday to my friends. Here is the censored and embellished version!

Gutentag!

So, yes, this is my tri-annual "I'm still alive!!!" notice, either to your joy or dismay. You being the folks who I've, for some reason or another, haven't talked to much since I departed. Chances are, its my fault, judging from the 2 months long queue of emails I still need to respond to.

Today is officially my four month anniversary since I left. Its hard to believe that It's actually been that long since I boarded that plane to Italy. And in four months, I've made it all the way to!...Germany. Not quite as unimpressive as it sounds - in between were two months in Spain, Portugal, Morocco, a run with the bulls in Pamplona, the Love Parade, not to mention other adventures and misadventures. The questions I get the most are what what your favorite (fill in the blank). So, below, are a few of my favorites to appease you question people.

Favorite...
1. City - God, that's hard to say...Granada, Berlin, Bordeaux, Marrakesh, Seville, Porto and Lisbon were all awesome!
2. Drink - Porto Wine...and Belgian Beer!
3. Museum - The Prado in Madrid was manageable and great, the Vatican was just too crowded. The Jewish History Museum in Berlin is amazing if you want to spend a day and learn a ton!
4. Sights - Cinque Terre National Park. Breathtaking beauty!
5. Food - Italian was actually kinda disappointing...i think its cause Italians eat at home, so the restaurants are meant for tourists which means (bleh). Still delicious though. Moroccan food, on the other hand...damn! Berlin was fantastic for its amazing diversity and actually having Vegetarian, Indian, and Thai food.

There, hope you're happy! Now, I've told you what I've been up to, now its your turn. I read all my emails, and eventually, you will get a response. Chances are, you might get a postcard (must more fun to write than emails!) reply. Wouldn't that be something.

Some of you may have forgotten that I have a website, one that definitely needs to be updated more often. check it out! Photos come free!

The End

Nithin Coca

And a photo for your enjoyment!


Bike Riding in San Sebastian, the cliffs of the Cantabrian Sea

Portion 2: Eastward Adventure

Portion one ended as the plane took off from Santander Airport, Spain and lifter off into the air. My first flight in 3 1/2 months, departing from Spain, my grateful host country for almost two months. A tinge of sadness was overwhelmed by the excitement of what was to come - Germany! Eastern Europe! Spain was nothing but a distant memory when the Ryan Air flight touched down into Frankfurt Hahn airport, and officially, Portion 2 was born.

What fantastic people, beautiful memories, and near death experiences will Portion 2: The Eastward Trek bring for the five trippers? Will language barriers become our demise, or will it be our stomachs that let us down first?

Portion 2 ecompasses all of Eastern Europe, until we split off after Greece (me) and Oktoberfest (Everyone else). Ready for adventure? Lets go!

Yo, What Ya Doing?

We don't get to Eastern Europe until July of 2006. Come back and check this section then and learn about how we do in Eastern Europe! Until then, browse the rest of the sight by clicking on the links to the left.