So I just got to Switzerland yesterday evening, and I definitely did not build it up too much for myself. The views are amazing and I will definitely do a bit of hiking this week. I can’t write a lot now because some people are waiting to use the computer, but everything is great so far. Gotta get some food and hike a bit today. No skiing for me as most of the snow is melted. It was in the 70’s or so when I got here yesterday.
So yesterday I headed out on an “alternative berlin tour” with someone from the hostel. It’s supposed to take you to the cultural and “insider” locations in Berlin that you wouldn’t normally see on a tour. Parts of the tour were pretty cool, but it was the tour guide’s first tour around the city and even though she was born and raised in East Berlin, she didn’t have too much running commentary the whole time. Luckily it was a tips based tour, so you just tip at the end based on how you liked it. Most people give a couple euros, but this one girl made us all look bad when she tipped €15. I’ve got some really cool pictures of some of the grafitti art around the city.
Today I just wondered around the city, and I will probably head on the other tour tomorrow that takes you to the more historical places around the city. I leave on Friday morning at 6:30 am for Switzerland, but I’ve still got some time to enjoy Berlin while I’m still here.
So, things were going a bit too smoothly, and something was bound to go wrong eventually. I’ve been moving around so much, that I forgot that I would be arriving in Munich on a weekend. When I tried to book some of the hostels, they were all booked up for the cheap rooms. I tried booking for Munich a day later even, but I couldn’t find anything good. I ended up just changing things up and booked a hostel for 6 nights in Berlin. I was still a little mad at myself for waiting so long to book, but once I got the train all settled for Berlin, I was fine. I will just need to make sure I’m good with booking more than a day ahead in the future.
I spent the rest of the day doing some of the things I need to do while in Paris. I saw the arc de triumph and the eiffel tower. I also went back to Notre Dame so that I could go up in the tower. I got some good panoramic views of the city and then grabbed a crepe on the way back to my hostel. Not much else to write at this point in time. I’ve got an early train tomorrow to Berlin and I should get there around 5 pm or so. I will probably spend the first day recovering from all of the running around. I will have plenty of time in Berlin to see the sights, so I can take it easy the first day.
I got here in Berlin yesterday around 5:30 in the evening. I booked my train ahead of time for Switzerland so that I do not have to go back to the station until I leave on Friday. Apparently the public transport is really good here once you get used to it, but it is kind of confusing at first. There’s the U-bahn, S-bahn, Tram, and bus and you usually have to take some sort of combination of the 4. I got kind of lost on the way to the hostel since I took the tram in the wrong direction, but it wasn’t too bad. The Germans are very nice and helpful so far (the French really weren’t that bad, at least the ones I ran into in Paris).
The hostel I’m staying at is apparently one of the biggest in Europe. They boast at least 900 beds. I’m on the 7th floor and so far I’m the only one in the room which was nice when I came back from the club last night. This is the first place that has actually charged for internet use, but it’s not too bad, only like €3 for an hour. I’m pretty much taking today easy and then probably going on a free tour of the city tomorrow. They offer those in a lot of the big cities, but I have not been able to take advantage of one since I’ve been rushing around a bit. You usually tip at the end, but it’ll be a good way to see the city. I also need to check out this random sandcastle contest they have in the middle of the city. I saw it from the train and it looks pretty cool. I really need to find a computer where I can charge my ipod because it was a long and boring train ride to Berlin without it.
Hey guys, just an update on things. I got here in Berlin yesterday around 5:30 in the evening. I booked my train ahead of time for Switzerland so that I do not have to go back to the station until I leave on Friday. Apparently the public transport is really good here once you get used to it, but it is kind of confusing at first. There’s the U-bahn, S-bahn, Tram, and bus and you usually have to take some sort of combination of the 4. I got kind of lost on the way to the hostel since I took the tram in the wrong direction, but it wasn’t too bad. The Germans are very nice and helpful so far (the French really weren’t that bad, at least the ones I ran into in Paris).
The hostel I’m staying at is apparently one of the biggest in Europe. They boast at least 900 beds. I’m on the 7th floor and so far I’m the only one in the room which was nice when I came back from the club last night. This is the first place that has actually charged for internet use, but it’s not too bad, only like €3 for an hour. I’m pretty much taking today easy and then probably going on a free tour of the city tomorrow. They offer those in a lot of the big cities, but I have not been able to take advantage of one since I’ve been rushing around a bit. You usually tip at the end, but it’ll be a good way to see the city. I also need to check out this random sandcastle contest they have in the middle of the city. I saw it from the train and it looks pretty cool. Anyways, I’m going to check some other things and then save some of this internet time. I really need to find a computer where I can charge my ipod because it was a long and boring train ride to Berlin without it.
So, things were going a bit too smoothly, and something was bound to go wrong eventually. I’ve been moving around so much, that I forgot that I would be arriving in Munich on a weekend. When I tried to book some of the hostels, they were all booked up for the cheap rooms. I tried booking for Munich a day later even, but I couldn’t find anything good. I ended up just changing things up and booked a hostel for 6 nights in Berlin. I was still a little mad at myself for waiting so long to book, but once I got the train all settled for Berlin, I was fine. I already have someplace booked after Berlin, so I will just need to make sure I’m good with booking more than a day ahead in the future.
I spent the rest of the day doing some of the things I need to do while in Paris. I saw the arc de triumph and the eiffel tower. I also went back to Notre Dame so that I could go up in the tower. I got some good panoramic views of the city and then grabbed a crepe on the way back to my hostel. Not much else to write at this point in time. I’ve got an early train tomorrow to Berlin and I should get there around 5 pm or so. I will probably spend the first day recovering from all of the running around. I will have plenty of time in Berlin to see the sights, so I can take it easy the first day.
I spent some of yesterday hanging around Madrid, and I actually wish I maybe had one more day there. I don’t think I missed too much, but I could have hung out in the park some more. I caught my overnight train, and since I was cheap, I shared a big car of reclining seats with maybe 12-15 people. I am safely in Paris, and I have already seen the catacombs and the Notre Dame. Both were cool, but I need to go back to Notre Dame to go up in the tower tomorrow. I also decided to spend tomorrow night in Paris as well because I felt I was going to rush it. Gotta go now. I hate these French keyboards.
Hey guys, sorry for not updating as often as I should, but I’m having way too much fun on the road! While Barcelona was awesome, Seville was even cooler. Even though it’s a smaller city, there’s a ton of stuff crammed in there! I also think that since the hostel was slightly smaller, I got to know people better. I’m definitely way more outgoing when I’m traveling, and one of my goals is to translate that to my life while I’m not traveling. I’m not nervous around people, but I just don’t start random conversations with them when I’m home. I know it’s easier to start conversations when traveling becuase there is so much to talk about, but I’m going to try to see if I can improve on that when I get home.
I went up into La Giralda and got some cool pictures of the city. I also walked along the Guadalquiver river for a while and just spent a final relaxing day in Seville. Unfortunately the Real Alcazar was closed on the last day I was in town, so I guess I’ll just have to make it back to Seville sometime in the future. I took a short train to Madrid on the morning of Tuesday, and after dropping my bags off at the hostel (I can’t remember the name now, I’ll post a review of it later when I get home), I went exploring. The one plus side of my hostel was that it was really close to some of the cool sights. It was a short walk to the Plaza Mayor and then I continued on to see the cathedral next to the giant Palace (Palcio Real? I don’t have my notebook/map down here with me). I also went to the Prado since it’s free from 6 pm - 8 pm most nights. It was really cool, but I’m not extremely interested in art in the first place. If it wasn’t free, I probably wouldn’t have gone. Plus, I was really tired, so I don’t think I gave some of the art my full attention.
I took an overnight train into Paris and I arrived this morning at about 9. Unfortunately the train station did not have any maps or anything to give out, so I had to figure out the metro route on the wall. I’ve gotten much better at figuring out metros now, and I arrived at my hostel shortly afterwards (Caulaincourt Square Hotel). I was able to see some of the sights including the Pantheon, Latin Quarter, The Catacombs, and Notre Dame. I will have all day tomorrow to explore more of Paris as well. I will add more later!
I arrived in Madrid early this morning, and I wish I could have staying in Sevilla longer. I saw most of what I wanted to see, but it was such a cool hostel and I had a great time. There are pros and cons to planning a lot of stuff out in advance. If you already buy train tickets and book hostels, then you end up sacrificing the ability to stay someplace you really liked. On the other hand, if you wing it all the time and only plan ahead a day in advance, you´ll pay more for it. The cheap hostels will be booked up and on an overnight train, you might have to pay for the more expensive cauchettes or sleeper cars. It´s a tough call, but as much as I liked Sevilla, I think it´s good that I´m moving on.
My hostel here in Madrid is okay, but nothing really special. It definitely is not bad, it just doesn´t compare to the last 2 that I stayed at. Even though I keep saying this to myself, I really am going to have a more relaxing night in and get a good night´s sleep. I´m not sure how well I´ll be able to sleep on the train, and I want to be well rested for tomorrow.
Tomorrow I will probably spend some time trying to memorize some phrases in French so I can at least get by in Paris. I´m not staying in Paris for too long, and I think I´m going to skip the Louvre. I went to the Prado museum today in Madrid, and since I went at 6 pm, it was free entrance. I guess walking around art museums just doesn´t do it for me. They had some great paintings, and I was amazed at how much detail they could fit into those paintings, but all of the paintings start to run together after seeing so many. Still, it was a good experience, but I just do not think the Louvre would interest me. Instead I´m looking at doing Notre Dame, possibly the catacombs, the eiffel tower, the arc de triumf, and the Latin Quarter at least. I´ll probably research some more stuff that I should see as well. Mostly I just get the maps in the train stations and look and see what cool sights there are to see. This works really well if I have a ton of time to spend, but if I´m pressed for time, it may make it more difficult to see everything.
I hope everything is going well with everyone. I enjoy getting the comments letting me know what is going on at home as well.
Here is a close up of La Sagrada Familia at one of the entrances. On one side (this side) all of the figures are really blocklike in appearance. On the opposite side, they are more realistic looking. I have so many more pictures of this place that you guys will get to see at the beach or when I upload more of them. I might not upload a ton of pictures because all the directions are in Spanish on the computers and I don´t want to accidentally delete all my photos.
Hope you guys are enjoying the posts. I just finished breakfast out on the terrace of the current hostel I´m staying at (Samay Sevilla Hostel) and I will be heading to the train station soon to book a reservation for my ticket to Madrid. After that I will look at more of the sights Sevilla has to offer. I´m going to try to go to the top of La Giralda today and get some nice pictures of the city. I´m also going to go to Plaza España which is supposed to be very nice as well.
You can see the cranes in the background. They started construction in 1882 and there have been many setbacks along the way. It is supposed to be finished in the next 15-20 years or so.
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