London 5/26/10

I’ve been here three days and what can I say, I love it.  The weather has been beautiful, 60’s the entire time.  My first day I spent with my couchsurf host in her neighborhood, which is a very quaint part of London.  Day two we hit the city and saw Parliament, Big Ben, hell we even saw the Queen (some royal procession.)  London is beautiful, historic, and the heart of England.  It’s the political, entertainment, and tourist center.

Some bad things though, there are some public restrooms that charge you 30 pence a pee.  Ridiculous.  I will never use this.  Ever on my trip.  Also, London is damn expensive.  One pound=$1.35.  So prices are high, plus conversion, ohh boy!  Good thing I have a CS host, otherwise I wouldn’t been able to afford it.  Speaking of, I have about 50 pounds left of the original 140 pounds some I got converted back in the States.  I consider that doing pretty well.

Tonight I’m going to perform at Comedy Café some stand-up jokes. Let’s see how well that goes!  Other than that, I have a few errands to run to get my trip ready to France and Belgium.  I still don’t have a place to stay at either place. Shit.  Worst comes to worst in Paris I’ll find a monastery. 

That’s all for now, will write again before Paris if something interesting happens.

Got global SIM card to make calls abroad.  Relatively cheap, average 15 pence a minute.  Need to re-get everyone’s phone numbers.  Comedy Café tonight, couldn’t perform (late for sign-up).  Impressive show, though.

London 5/28/10

Last day in London.  Wonderful time.  I really got it on with my host.  Saw Dawn French, who is famous in England, saw street theatre, and a gory production of Macbeth.  (Henry VIII tickets went to waste.)  Had classic fish and chips and went to England’s olde style pubs.  Today I leave for Paris and I’m scared out of my mind.  Luckily, my host was able to book a hostel last minute at €22 for three nights.  What really set me back was reserving my train from Paris to Brussels.  Reservation charge was 24 pounds plus 8 pounds booking fee. WTF?  At this rate, I’ll be out of money by July.  Also boat rides are not included in Eurail pass.  Oops!  That’s another couple hundred.  But enough about money, I’m having an excellent time and meeting wonderful people.  London has been a wonderful experience; it’s going to be hard to top.

Paris 5/30/10

It was a struggle getting here.  I didn’t book a hostel until the day I left London.  Luckily my London host helped and I got one for €22 a night.  I arrived at Gare du Nord without a clue (I didn’t print directions to the hostel, lesson learned.)  I called the hostel and it was okay.  By the way the public transportation is crazy here, 14 metro lines.  Hostel Auberge de Jeunesse Leo Lagrange.

Got lots done day two.  Day One I lost my train pass.  Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triumphe, Champs Elysees, et le Louvre.  Je t’aime, Paris.  I have been trying to speak French to everyone, but they automatically hear my American accent and speak English back to me.

My flatmates in the hostel are cool French-Canadian guys- I might meet up with them later.  It’s like a whole new community of people, travelers-international.  Things have been going so well.  Also, I’m okay on budget…je pense.  Buying groceries cost €10 a day.  Plus cheap beer and wine.  I drank a whole bottle of wine in one sitting my first night.  Tonight I want to see Les Miserables, Invalides, Pantheon, et Notre Dame.  Bonne chance, Philippe!

Brussels 6/1/10

Brussels is something else.  A bit more…Eastern(?) than Paris or London.  Limited metro lines, mainly use trams and buses.  Some excellent artwork, graffiti, and of course, chocolate, beer, and waffles.  I almost forgot their pommes frites!  It’s actually a bit more expensive than Paris which shocked me.  Public transportation is essentially free,  you don’t need to buy a ticket, however, if the ticket inspection people get you, you’re in trouble.  I went to the Grand Place, the heart of Old Town Brussels, took the Jacques Brel tour, the EU building, (did you know Brussels was the center of the EU?) parc du cinquaitaine, and the Atomium, an attraction close to Mini-Europe. (An amusement park featuring the best of Europe.)  I of course enjoy the beer, the public parks, and the churches are very nice as well.  I can get by with the little French I speak, pretty much everyone here speaks French (even though French and Flemish are the two national languages.)  It’s interesting because everything is written twice.  I’m not here for long, I booked my hostel only for two nights (because I’m stupid) so tomorrow I brace myself for Amsterdam.  I will be there a bit longer. (4 nights).  I will have some fun there.  In short, Brussels is great, but it’s hard to top after London and Paris.

Amsterdam 6/4/10

What a totally different experience.  Amsterdam doesn’t seem like a “city” like London or Paris.  No real famous buildings or sculptures, the appeal is of course the sex and drugs.  What else is the laid back style the Dutch people have.  The park close to my hostel is teeming with people: playing catch, having a picnic, etc.  Now I can really start to feel myself pacing just about right and taking time to enjoy the city.

So far, first night I had a “space cake” which after 5 dissappointing hours, hit me like a brick.  I saw a BOOM Chicago improv show, saw the Heineken experience…Today I might do the Van Gogh museum and the Rijkesmuseum.  I also did a free walking tour which I loved and hope to do in other cities.

Shit!  Amsterdam is expensive.  I am way over budget.  It’s impossible to spend less than €80 a day.  Well, I decided to add Eastern European countries to the tour in hopes that they’ll be cheaper and balance out the expensive places like Amsterdam, London, and Copenhagen.

Keep on losing my shit.  I may even have lost that little dog, Helena.  Shit, shit, shit.  I’m also sunburnt.  Lost the phone charger.  I’m fucked.  Shit. Fuck.

Hamburg 6/8/10

My first impression of Hamburg was excellent.  I had beautiful weather when I got in.  The hostel I’m staying at is very nice, and I get to see an excellent production of Woyzeck at the Thalia theatre with music by Tom Waits.  Only €10!  Hamburg is a beautiful, laid back city, full of beautiful bridges, rivers, lakes, and awesome parks.  Everyone of course speaks German, but most everyone is English-friendly.  If I ask a question in German, they will reply in German.  Yesterday I did the free walking tour (with a British guide no less) in it was a wonderful way to get to know an overview of the city plus the history.  Some personal shit hit the fan yesterday which put a damper on the mood.  That aside, groceries and beer are pretty cheap here, (which I am taking full advantage of, by the way.)

It’s getting really easy to talk to people, because we all have something in common, we are all young, and traveling.  I rarely feel lonely in a city, because I usually find people who are usually traveling alone too, and they are eager to explore with someone else as well. 
Last thing said, Hamburg is great for breaking into Germany, and what I didn’t do here, I can get back to it in Berlin a couple weeks from now.

Copenhagen 6/13/10

Wonderful time in Copenhagen.  Quite a different expereience from Western Europe.  It must be the most expensive city I have encountered so far, which is saying a lot considering London and Amsterdam.  But I was super cheap and actually gained 140 Kroner, or €20. 

Unfortunately, for me the weather was awful, cold and rainy almost all the time.  I spent my first two nights in a hostel, (quite nice, apparently the largest hostel in Europe) and the last two I couchsurfed with Erwan, 24 years old.  He is actually French, which I forgot, so his Danish was not great.  We conversed in English and sometimes French.  I now believe I have a good advantage over most (especially Americans) because of language use.  The German I know is helping me with the Scandinavian languages, which I cannot hear anything of what they say, French is very useful and mine is getting quite good, and Spanish which I haven’t used yet, but I will.

Quite an awesome experience yesterday because of the World Cup; I got to watch a football game between USA and England.  To be in a Danish bar that was very exciting.  Also how could I forget Christiana?  Crazy hippie town in Copenhagen.  They are essentially lawless.  Long story short, it’s getting cold, days are longer, it’s expensive, and the language is hard.  Good for me because most Scandivians speak English very well.