Marbrug/Erlangen/Regensburg

So after leaving Cologne, I caught a train to Marburg to visit family. After staying in hostels for so long it was such a relief and privilege to be with family again. The town of Marburg is an ancient city that has been around since 1140 and is absolutely stunning. It sits right on the Lahn river and has an awesome castle and one of the oldest Universities in Europe. I stayed with my mom's cousins (Toby and Gitte) whom happened to live within a 10 min walk to my grandmother...so that was perfect :) They were the most amazing hosts and spoiled me rotten.....I spent the next few days exploring the town, visiting my grandmother, catching up with my cousin Max, and spending time with family. It was very relaxing and fun. On my last night there, the town of Marburg was having sommerUnifest, which was a huge party and the whole town celebrate with concerts, art work, dancing, and ofcourse Licher Beer....the town favorite. The next morning I rented a car from Max, who happens to be the manager at Germany's largest car rental so he hooked me up and gave me the upgraded BMW and I was off to Erlangen to visit his brother David for a quick visit. I was only able to stay there for a brief visit but it was really nice to see him and catch up for a bit. I also had the privilege of meeting his girlfriend Vicky and their two adorable cats. After a very wet and hectic ride, I arrived in Regensburg at Christoph and Betina's house. They had moved so I was a little confused at first because they still lived in the same neighborhood! It was so nice to see them again and catch up with my cousin Thomas. They took me downtown on the first night and I was lucky enough to catch yet another festival! Bugerfest had the entire city out and about to enjoy live music, amazing food, local beer, and street performances. Regensburg is also extremely beautiful and located right on the Danube river.....which was almost flooding and moving quickly due to all the recent rain. The next day we were lucky enough to be able to play on my cousins soccer team and enjoyed every moment! I was amazed by how much I missed soccer and the league in Germany was very friendly and the pitch was amazing! Yet again I was spoiled rotten by family!

Cologne, Germany

It was very difficult to leave Jen's apartment....it was so relaxing and inviting....especially after living in hostels for the past three weeks.....but I have to keep moving. I decided on Cologne mostly because I had never been there and it was close to Brussels. So after a two hour train ride (which ended up being very complicated and involved switching trains three times) we arrived in Cologne. It was strangely familiar being back in Germany after so many years....the smells, the sounds, and even little things like the announcements in the train station brought back a flood of memories. We were both exhausted and decided to catch a taxi to our hostel....which ended up being cheaper than taking the tram anyway! The hostel was beautiful and located in the heart of "Little Turkey" which was alot of fun for me. Not only did I get to brush up on my German, but I soon found myself in many conversations with the Turks. Jared was also in heaven because there were literally 30 Kebab stands within a 10 min walk from the hostel. We explored the city the first night and ended up taking it easy....not much to do on a Monday night I suppose. The next morning was went to the local Spielplatz (which was actually an enormous park) and worked out, played some awesome soccer, and then joined a huge group of locals in a game of basketball...which was quite entertaining (neither of us had played in years). That evening we walked 10k or so through the entire city and marveled at the size of the Cologne Cathedral. The Gothic architecture and the sheer size of it literally stopped both of us in our tracks when we got up next to it. It just looks complicated! Next to the cathedral there was a huge group of Iranians protesting and singing anti government songs. We have seen this is most of the cities we have traveled through so far....ever since the rigged election in Iran. Today we catch the train south to Marburg....time to see some family! I am so excited.

Brussels

After a week in Amsterdam, spending some nice quality time with an old friend in an amazing apartment was a blessing. The train from Amsterdam was uneventful and both of us caught up on some much needed sleep. After arriving at Brussels Central Station, we wandered around for an hour and waited for my friend Jenifer to get off of work. She met us in front of a McDonald's knock off (called Quick Burger....which is disgusting) and we walked to her flat. What an amazing apartment....perched on the third floor of a new apartment building.....it has beautiful tile floors and huge vaulted ceilings. Jen was an amazing host and treated us to a delicious Lebanese dinner and showed us around her area of Brussels. We all were kinda tired to we decided to take it easy on Friday night. The next morning we awoke to an amazing breakfast being prepared for us. We then rented bicycles and rode throughout the entire city....taking in all the sites including the European Union headquarters, an amazing War Museum, and the Grand Place. We enjoyed sampling various types of amazing beer and some extremely tasty fries. That night we decided to check out a techno club near her house which ended up being an absolute blast. We danced until 4 am....something that you should be allowed to do in California! The next day we enjoyed a VERY relaxing sunday. Next stop.....Cologne, Germany.

Amsterdam

It was not a pleasant morning as we cruised into the Hook of Holland....not only was it raining but because of the time change we only got 2-3 hours of sleep.....which was mostly our fault. It was raining pretty badly in the morning as we caught our train to Amsterdam. The weather cleared up by the time we arrived and we navigated our way to the Red Light District....which is where our hostel was. Ah....the White Tulip Hostel....located in an old, slightly crooked building...perched right above an Irish Pub....PERFECT! After meeting our roomates, checking in, and changing we headed out to explore the infamous Red Light District and visit some "historical" coffee shops.....eh....when in Rome....right? We wandered the city for hours and ate at the same kebab place pretty much everyday...they loved us there....

We decided that since we were being so unhealthy that we needed to work out and run....so the next morning we worked out and then ran to Vondel Park...which is Amsterdams largest. There we enjoyed a game of soccer with some random Scottish guys and then jogged back. The next night was very interesting, mostly due to the fact that we were sharing an 8 bed dorm room with 5 young French guys who just finished there exams and were there to explore drugs.....needless to say...they were extremely loud, messy, and confused the whole time we were there....but were still great guys and we had a blast hanging out with them.

The next day we got new roomates which included a guy from Dublin and a couple from Finland. We hit it off immediately and explored Amsterdam together. Walking through Dam Square and Rembrandtplein was like taking a step back into time. The buildings are all ancient....the canals and bridges as well. Most of the boats cruising through the canals seemed past there prime and seeing EVERYONE riding a bike was pretty entertaining (as well as pretty dangerous). We managed to squeeze in an amazing game of soccer the next day with a group of English guys.

For our last night in Amsterdam all of us decided we wanted to go dancing. Jared and I experienced an "interesting" cup of coffee by accident (honestly) which lead to a pretty extraordinary night. The two of us, along with the Finnish Couple, Liam the Irish, and our new friends headed out to REmbrantplein to go dancing. We ended up dancing and having a blast until 4 am...It was a perfect send off to a great week in Amsterdam. Next stop....Brussels to visit an old friend.

London to Harwich to the Hook of Holland

After leaving beautiful Bath and my family's wonderful hospitality, I headed back to London for one more night before catching the boat to Holland. Prior to leaving Bath I had made no arrangements for a place to stay, so we just decided to wing it. The bus ride back was long and boring but it gave me a chance to catch up on some writing. Being back in London I felt like a native.....I knew which bus to hop on...and we were back at our old hostel in 10 mins.....unfortunately they didn't have any beds available....but we were lucky that the owner loved us and set us up with cots in his room.....FREE of charge....

After a mellow night in London we decided to catch the ride out to Harwich early because we didn't have a place to stay and our boat ride was really early. However we had to eat one more traditional breakfast first. After navigating our way through the Tube we made it to the central line and caught our train. Harwich is roughly 2 hrs east of London by train and right on the coast. When we arrived at the docks everything was empty so we talked to information and found out we can take an overnight boat for only 12 pounds more and we would get our own sleeping cabin.....we immediately jumped on this opportunity. The boat was yet again amazing....and the cabin was surprisingly spacious, clean, and comfortable...which was a welcomed change after all of the hostels. On board we enjoyed food, beer, some gambling, and some new friends....and the best part...when we woke up we were in Holland :)

Bath

After a sitting in grueling London traffic, we finally managed to get to Heathrow airport to get our bus connection to Bath. The bus was nice and spacious and by far the cheapest way to travel throughout the U.K. Once outside of London, a very luscious and bright green countryside presented itself as a welcomed change of scenery. The bus stopped in various small towns in between and it was nice to see smaller, more quaint English villages. At the bus station, my cousin Ludwig (Ludy) was there waiting for us and was very proud of his recently acquired drivers license and new car. The last time I had seen him was ten years ago when he had visited California, so as you can imagine I was quite shocked! From there we dropped out packs at his house, picked up Johann my other cousin, and did a tour through the city. I hadn't been to Bath in ten years so a lot had changed but it was nice to see familiar sites. After a hearty meal of Kebabs (which both Jared and I are obsessed with) Ludy asked us if we wanted to go out on the town........which of course we did. After meeting up with some of his classmates from school we headed to his favorite pub, “The Pig and the Fiddle.” After one round, he wanted to take us dancing so we headed to a club called (and I am not making this up) Poo Na Na's. It was a pretty humorous experience since it was “American College Night” at the club so I seriously got a kick out of the English interpretation of “college night.” It was pretty accurate for the most part....except the club was full of 16-18 year olds. All in all it was probably the best night I have had on my trip so far.....it was so nice to hang out with my cousin and meet his friends. In the morning we enjoyed coffee and breakfast with Deanie and Bill and the cousins as well. Now it is back to London for a night and then off to Harwich to catch the boat to Amsterdam!

London

So after leaving Edinburgh we really had no idea where we wanted to go. So after splitting a cab with our new Canadian friends to the train station, we stood in front of a map to pick our next city. After little debate we decided on Liverpool. So we booked out tickets, listened carefully to where we had to get off to changed trains, and boarded our southbound train towards Birmingham. Within 20 mins both of us were asleep and we managed to sleep straight through, missing our connecting station and waking up confused and hazy in rainy Birmingham. After speaking to a few people, we decided it would be in our best interest to skip this city all together and push on to London....which was only a few more hours. So we changed out tickets(which ended up being cheaper than if we had booked it straight from Edinburgh to London), bought a sandwich, and boarded our new train. We arrived in London without any knowledge of where we would stay, mostly due to the fact that I thought we were going to be in Liverpool. So we wandered around Euston London Station until we found a WiFi hotspot where I promptly started looking for hostels. Almost everything was booked up in the entire city but I managed to find one that had only been open a short while and had no reviews....this made us both a little nervous but I had a feeling it was going to be a hidden gem.....man was I right! We really lucked out with this one.....the hostel sits right above a pub and is in the process of being converted into a proper hostel. So the rent was cheap and the staff super friendly. The location could not have been better either. We are within walking distance of Big Ben, the palace, and literally a block from the river.....so we are pretty stoked!

At this point on my trip my strategy for taking in the tourist sites was to not plan anything at all and just wander the city until I was completely lost. This was easy to accomplish in London and on the first day we were able to see Big Ben (which is actually the name of the bell inside the clock tower and not the tower itself.....I learn something new daily), Buckingham Palace (which was actually quite a mundane building), as well as Westminster Abby. After wandering for hours and taking hundreds of pictures, I received news that one of my friends from Prague that I hadn't seen in 10 years was having a girls night out in Nottinghill and we were invited to join. After looking up the place on the map, we decided that three miles was nothing and we were going to walk it......I learned that 3 miles in London is quite a distance.....so we ended up cabbing the rest of the way which was NOT cheap. It was so nice to catch up with old friends and after a couple of watered down and over priced drinks we headed back to the hostel. The next day I really wanted to see London Bridge....which I discovered is actually a really ugly, boring bridge and the real attraction is the tower bridge....which is quite a spectacle. It is pretty neat that the Thames has so many bridges spanning it and one can easily cross back and forth on pedestrian walk ways. It was on one of these foot bridges that Jared learned to never partake in illegal street gambling. They had quite the hustle going on! That night we ventured to Chiswick, a very posh and upscale neighborhood in London to have dinner with my friends from Prague. She was such a wonderful hostess and we enjoyed a delicious dinner and then went to the local pub for a pint. The following morning we were invited to join our new dorm mates on a mission to find the London Museum. After a nice hour long walk we arrived to the always admission free London Museum and wandered throughout the various exhibits for hours. It was fascinating and also a little funny to see how many artifacts from Egypt they possess. Absolutely exhausted from all of the walking, it was time to enjoy some fish and chips and a little afternoon siesta. London, although cheaper than Dublin, was still shockingly expensive......but luckily we were staying near plenty of cheap food options. Next stop, Bath.....a quaint town about 3 hrs west of London

Edinburgh

It was pretty hard for us to leave Glasgow. Our hostel was incredibly cheap, the food was cheap, we met a bunch of cool people, and there was a soccer pitch right next door. However, we knew we had to keep moving....we have lots of ground to cover in the next few months. We caught the train in Glasgow central and headed off to Edinburgh.....which was only a few hours away. I love how close everything is. Right before we left I booked a night in the "Budget Backpackers" hostel which apparently is number 1 in all of Europe. The ride was very pleasant....I love how fast and convenient all the rail lines are in Europe....perhaps something we need to think about in California? When we got off the train, Jared ask a homeless guy where Cow Gate was, which was the street our hostel was on, and he proceeded to give us the most complicated directions ever! We managed to find our hostel, lock up our bags, and then hit the city to do some serious touristy stuff. The first stop was Edinburgh Castle, which we could easily see from our hostel. But first we had to eat some local cuisine and just so happened to be walking by a pig roast. So we enjoyed scrumptious pulled pork sandwiches stuffed with haggis and onion sage spread. Best 4 poounds spent so far on the trip. The castle was absolutely stunning and the weather turned on us to typical Scottish weather. With fog, heavy clouds in the sky, a cool breeze and it sprinkling, it made exploring the castle even more fun. We walked around for hours, took loads of pictures, walked through the museums, and met some interesting people. We were also able to tour St. Giles Cathedral, which was very beautiful and had some of the best staind glass I had ever seen. It was named after St Giles, who was the patron saint of leapers and cripples. Interesting little factoid. Back at the hostel we managed to meet friends from all over the world again. A canadian couple whom had both been laid off so they decided to sell everything and travel, two Spanish girls whom were on summer break, three lawyers from Argentina, a Swiss, some Germans, and a bunch of Australians. In the common room of our hostel we managed to catch the semi finals of the French Open and now I am a fan of tennis :) Go Federer. So besides taking pictures of historically significant landmarks and us posing infront of statues, I am trying to capture some humor I find too. I truly got a kick out of seeing the fluorescent light bulbs all throughout the castle so I decided (especially for nina and erik) That I had to get a shot of them! All in all, what an incredible city!

Belfast to Glasgow

After another semi boring night in Belfast I decided it was time to move on. We strapped on our packs and decided to save the extra money and walk down to the port of Belfast which was supposedly only a few miles from the hostel. We must have walked 5 miles through the industrial area of Belfast before this super nice Irish man picked us up and took us to the ferry terminal. What a lifesaver.....it was the hottest day in Ireland year to date. The ferry was absolutely amazing and luxurious. We enjoyed a nice lunch and I caught up on some emails thanks to the free Wifi. The trip from Ireland to Scotland only took 2 hrs and I was almost bummed to arrive so quickly. This boat had everything from casinos to movie theaters. We managed to only spend 5 pounds a piece.....so maybe it was good that the ride was over so quickly. We landed in Stranraer, a small Scottish port with not a whole lot going on. The scenery was beautiful though, with rolling green hills and a very calm sea. The sky was overcast but it was still very warm. As we were going through security we were "randomly" stopped and asked for our passports. A very jolly Scottish police officer said "My lad you have one sexy surname, the ladies must love you." That put a smile on my face. The train ride to Glasgow was absolutely amazing......we went straight through the hills and it was like being sucked back in time 200 years. There were quaint cottages speckled over the hills and sheep and cattle roaming everywhere. All of the fences were made from stones simply being piled on top of each other....but it seemed to do the trick. After arriving in the city, I was bummed to find out that no one knew of our hostel. A local guy recommended we go into the Apple store and use the internet for free. So we managed to locate our hostel and jumped in a cab because we were absolutely exhausted from walking all day. Our hostel was a riot! The owner is half Scot and half Canadian and is probably in his early 40's but acts and parties like he is in his 20's. We instantly made friends with three Aussies, two french, three Germans, two Scots, and an English man and proceeded to have a great night. Today Jared and I managed to get in a full work out and play some soccer after a full day of site seeing. We decided to stay an extra night because it was so cheap, beautiful, and fun! Heading to Edinburgh in the morning most likely!