a taste of europe

Zurich, Switzerland
Rome, vatican city
Rome
Moulin Rouge, Paris
louvre paris
Paris
Beirut, way out west festival
Copenhagen

Berlin at 7am

When all said in done its been a trip, what can I say, the people the places and the experiences. From a stolen credit card number to a hospital visit in Amsterdam, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I mean I didn't plane for these things to happen, but its apart of the bigger picture and traveling. If i have learned on thing so its that no matter how bad something may seem at the time, in the end everything works. Traveling brings challenges upon yourself, but in the end its worth it. This may be the longest post I ever make, so I apologize, but Im trying to summarize twenty three days of travel in on bit.

My trip along with Millie, Suzanne and Larua turned to be one of the best times I have had in a long time, it was so great to be with people who were easy going and accepting to changes in the trips plans. The four of us had been planning this trip over endless messages online for the past five months and it all went by in a matter of weeks. The planning was something that made everything work out so well for us all and each of us having something to bring to the table. In the end we made our way trough nine countries eight countries together and I added two more including the three hour stop in Zurich Switzerland and finally the U.K. Each place had something new to offer from ancient ruins to new sustainable design, Europe has a great history with so much diversity within such a close proximity. It was good to get around western Europe and get a sense of everything Europe has to offer.

The train was a great choice of transportation just for the beautiful scenery through the country sides and little surprises, like ending up on a night train that resembled a scene from harry potter that soon ending up on a ferry across the Baltic sea in the middle of the night. Our longest train trek ended up being towards the end of the trip from Rome to Paris France with a totally travel time of 23 hours. It did give Millie and I the opportunity to stop in Zurich Switzerland for a few hours. It was a unexpected surprise that was well worth it. The small mountainside city was off the beaten track of most tourists and it greeted us with the Swiss alps as the backdrop of a crystal clear lake in front of us. We ended up wondering the city for two hours until our next train left.

My favorite city would have to be Copenhagen, a city I would much want to go back to and explore much more. I would also want to spend more time exploring Sweden and the Scandinavian countryside. The much cooler coast countries of Norway and Sweden have a unique genuine feel to them, something that draws me in and makes me want more. The only reason we made it into Sweden was to catch the Way Out West Festival, which was amazing, over 80,000 fans jammed into a park with three outdoor stages. We ended up only staying for one day of the festival giving us the opportunity to see Bon Iver, Beirut, Grizzle Bear, Band of Horses, Flornace and the machine, Wilco, Anthony and the Johnsons and the Arctic Monkeys. It was amazing that all these bands were at one festival, I think European festivals are much better then ones in America. We also got to go back stage with Mike Noyce and have a look around, it was good seeing someone I knew from home in another country. We also meet the lead singer of Beirut and got a picture with him.

The night before there were bands playing in the cities local clubs and pubs a few that i wanted to see but were at capacity and wouldn't allow anyone else in were Rise against, The Bronx, St Vincent and Loney Dear. We did end up meeting three other fellas in our hostel and spending Thursday night going out to clubs with them and finally getting into one to see Crookers and Italian DJ. The club was actually a museum which we went back to see the exhibits the very next day. Everything we did in Goteborg made it my second favorite stop on our trip, it just had so many different things to see and do for us, I wanted a few more days in town, but we had to catch another train to our next destination.

The advice I would give to someone else who wants to explore Europe is to plan plan plan, and maybe make a decision on an area where you would like to spend some time. It was difficult in ways to get comfortable in a area and then leave it in a day. It forced us to spend each minute of the day walking and doing everything possible, but was also very tiring. We did accomplish so much much in each area ion the short amount of time we allowed ourselves. Each day we were up and walking from sun up till sun down.

I'm off to my next adventure of a semester at London college of Communication, something I have been working towards and planning for a while now. It all came up so quick and I plan on working hard as well as enjoying my time away from Minneapolis. The experience come both with my schooling as well as the culture here. London is a very diverse city with over seven million people. I will see how it goes in one week, when I finally move into my flat. Until then i will be spending a week on the southern tip of England in Portsmouth, relaxing on the coast.