So, thus ends this epic journey that we did around
Europe. Six weeks is quite a while to be
living out of a carryon. We traveled all
over the place, saw a lot of things, met a lot of great people. We even made a pit stop on the way back
through Annapolis to attend a wedding of two really close friends. What a great experience. You know something that really struck me
while we were venturing around. It
didn’t really matter where we were, the small towns in Ireland, or Prague, or
Italy, or Amsterdam, everyone was pretty much the same. People are very friendly and welcoming as
long as you are respectful and welcoming yourself. It’s funny, no matter where we were, you saw
families playing in the parks, kids laughing, young people shuffling off to
school, people getting a snack on their lunch break, folks going out to the
club with the hopes of not going home alone.
It oddly reminds you of home, but is different enough to make sure you
aren’t completely comfortable. It’s
really quite remarkable how similar we all are, yet how different.
You know what else really struck me, and I’m sure struck
Sarah as well. We went 6 weeks living
out of a carryon. It’s amazing how
resourceful you become. And for the
entire 6 week trip, we had about 2 weeks of it planned, the rest we just kind
of rolled with it and figured it out as we went. And only with a few mishaps. Really, it’s a great way to travel, it leaves
you the flexibility to go where you want, and change course if you find
something better or more interesting.
Anyway, enough with the philosophical stuff. What did I really enjoy the most? How about the top 5 things that we did over
the course of 6 weeks, across 10 countries, and multiple cities, villages and
towns?
5) Barcelona – What an awesome place! Very fun, and very beautiful. The people and food are great. But Italy wasn’t really our cup of tea, but I
was really worried that we were getting to the end of our trip and we were just
worn out. Then we showed up to Barcelona
and we loved it. So I guess it speaks
for itself.
4) Edinburgh – I know we had friends here that we stayed
with, so that made for a whole different experience. It was great to see them, but what a cool
interesting place. The history of the
city was really fascinating. Seeing it
through the eyes of some locals was fantastic.
Just avoid the deep fried mars bars if at all possible.
3) Munich – I know I know… how can Oktoberfest not be
#1?? It was great. It was such a fun experience and there’s
nothing that makes me giggle more than remembering the Germans in their
traditional Bavarian dress doing the Macarena.
And the Beer, and the pretzels… WOW!
Awesome! Great town, and I would
love to come back and see it when it’s not completely overrun with drunks, but
it sure as hell was a good time.
2) Ireland – I had been to England before. I was half thinking it would be similar. But I was drastically wrong. Yeah, as the lady in the pub in Galway put
it, “You don’t come to Ireland for the weather” But the rolling green hills, the
people were super friendly. We had some
friends come meet up with us in Dublin.
It also doesn’t hurt that PSU ended up beating UCF for the opening game
of the season. Great place, and it just
makes me want to go back to see more of what the Emerald Isle has to
offer. We did so much, and yet there is
so much more to see and do.
And for # 1: Berlin – Odd I know, it’s strange that of all
the great places we went Berlin stands out.
Why it was my favorite I can’t quite put my finger on. I don’t know if it was the way that the
history of the place was something that we all lived through. I don’t know if it was the feeling you get
that this city has and will survive anything that is thrown at it. It gets burned to the ground, bombed to hell,
chopped up into pieces and keeps rebuilding bigger and better. The way that it’s so international without
really trying. It was almost
comfortable, to the point of we could actually see ourselves living there. It’s really strange to feel that way about a
city. There’s such an energy there that
you feel like anything is possible. It’s
new and old at the same time. It’s
funny, everyone goes to Paris, or Rome, or London, you don’t ever hear anyone
say, “I’m going to Europe to go to Berlin.”
And you know what… I don’t really mind, it’s such a cool place there’s
really no reason for everyone to flock there anyway.
So there it is my favorite places from our trip. We really wish all of you could have joined
us on our adventures. Hopefully this
little video recap will let you feel a little like you were along with us:
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