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Overview of the Trip - through David's eyes
My trip lasted 71 days total. Nelson's (my cousin and person I traveled with) lasted the same and then some. Nelson is currently
still in Europe with plans to spend the Summer with some of the most hospitable people
we met on our Trip. Thanks again Joseph, Maria, and Benni! You all (plus everyone else
we met while in Bavaria) showed us a side of Germany we couldn't have seen any other way.
The trip began by Nelson and I meeting in New York, where we spent time with Nelson's Grandfather. We then
flew into London with plans of making a counter clockwise sweep of Europe. Those plans
changed once we got into Paris and Nelson discovered that his snowboard (that he had brought
with him) was too tough to carry around. We then headed to Germany where we spent the weekend
and Nelson stowed his snowboard (with those great Germans I mentioned earlier). From there,
we headed south into Switzerland and Austria for two weeks with plans to return to Germany
for Oktoberfest. Switzerland was so mind blowing that we spent most of the time there and
saw very little of Austria. That was somewhat bitter sweet. Austria would have been great to
explore but Switzerland offered up its own opportunities. No regrets there.
It was then back to
Germany and Oktoberfest (again with those great Germans I mentioned earlier). We then traveled
south to Italy and zipped down the Eastern coast to catch a "cruise" (I use the cruise term
loosely since it was more of a cargo ship with "seats" to sleep in) ship to Greece. We then spent a few
days in Greece riding the honking (and not a train honk... but rather a car honk) and bouncing trains that slapped trees as we passed by. It was
then it was back to Italy to make our way up the Western coast. The Western
Italian coast was one of the most scenic areas on the trip. Tuscany and the 5 towns of Cinque
Terre were especially picturesque. Check those pictures out if you get a chance. Better yet, go there if you get a chance.
Next, we breezed through
Southern France on our way to Spain. Spain was another experience when it came to trains. It wouldn't
have been too bad if we hadn't started our trip off in Germany and Switzerland. But, we did, and
we got used to the "set your watch by the train" accuracy and rail lines that crisscrossed the
country like spider webs. Spain and Portugal did not share the same level of ride as their German and Swiss
counterparts. Yet, unlike Italy, we didn't get stranded due to a one day train strike. Yeah... thanks
Train Italia! From Spain it was on to Portugal to see what was once thought the edge of the world (Sagres).
I'm happy to say that we luckily didn't fall off the edge. That's a good thing. We did however find
a great "beach" that offered the best waves of the trip. You can find those under the Portugal >> Sagres
link on the menu.
After that, it was back East in a hurry. We wanted to get to the D-Day beaches fast since the trip was
nearing its end. The best alternative was a 21 hour train from Lisbon to Paris, then 3 hour train to
Bayeux. That was a long ride. Then, the ordeal of finding a place to stay in Bayeux was somewhat unexpected.
Imagine walking into a town, calling a place to make sure they are open, making the 20 minute walk
to the place you just called (in the rain) only to find that the place had closed and hid every sign of life for the night in
the few minutes since you called and said you were coming. Well... that's what happened to us. That's
an example of a bad thing at the time turning into something cool a couple weeks down the road. It is more amusing to
think about that night now than it was while it was developing. We
then toured the surreal D-Day beaches near Bayeux and then headed back to Paris (for the
third time) on our way to Germany. We wound up my section of the trip by visiting Berlin, then Amsterdam
where I jumped on a quick flight to London. Nelson and I parted ways in Amsterdam
and he continued his travels in Germany and parts of Europe that he wanted to cover more closely.
You can see a map below of the route we took while in Europe. A larger image is available if you click the image.
And there you have it. That's the quick and very vague description of how I spent September to mid November 2004.
Would I do it again? Absolutely!
-David
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