Munich, Germany & Dachau Concentration Camp

After arriving in Munchen from Neuschwanstein with a few new friends I checked into my the Wombat City Hostel planning on going out with the bunch of them. However, at the Wombat I met a bunch of other people who were heading out for a night of drinking...how could I resist. We headed directly for the Hofbrau Haus and drank 1-liter steins until closing time. Already quite acquainted with a hot little Ecuadorian girl from Canada we all headed to another bar which was still open. After a few more drinks we all headed back to the Wombat ...CENSORED... The next morning I had plans with Noah (met at Neuschwanstein) to visit Dachau, the original concentration camp. We hopped on the S-bahn for a quick 20 minute journey to the town of Dachau and made our way inside the complex's walls. As morbid as the history books and movies describe the holocust, nothing can prepare you for the environment of actually being inside a former concentration camp. The film they showed, with actual footage from the events that took place inside the walls is more than moving, it will change your life. All I can say is "holy shit". A few hours was all I could take of the somber Dachau before heading back to Munich to see a little bit of that city. We saw the Glockenshpiel, a clock in one of Munich's main squares which has animated figures dancing and jousting twice a day. After that, Noah and I headed to English Park to watch urban surfing on a river wave. Quite amazing, who knew you could surf in Germany? Then we went to the Chinese Bier Garten to drink a few before heading back to the hostels. The night, my last in Europe, was a quiet, relaxing one. Dinner at the Hofbrau Haus, which has amazing traditional Bavarian food, and then drinks at the three hostels on Senefelderstraße (where Wombat is) was all I could manage before a relatively early bedtime in order to make my flight to Boston in the morning. The next morning I left quietly and went to the airport. A beer in the airport's bier garten (that's right, the airport even has one) before boarding the plane. Its been a long strange trip and as much fun as I've been having I think I'm ready to go home. Next up, in a few weeks, I'm driving to California from Boston, so this year's traveling is not over just yet. Stay tuned for that blog ... http://blueph0enix2.blogspot.com/

Fussen, Germany & Neuschwanstein Castle

King Ludwig II's Fairy Tale Castle where he lived for only 172 days before his death. After arriving in Fussen on the train I had to hop on a bus up to the castle. I met a couple of other backpackers who accompanied me. Although touristy, the castle was quite impressive. Very ostentatious, very beautiful and very disappointing, for the King, since he didn't have the opportunity to spend much time in it. The shy king built the castle in order to hide from people and be a sort of royal hermit. Upon King Ludwig II's death in 1886 the castle was far from complete, which only adds to the sad story of the life of the mysterious fairy tale king.

Zurich, Switzerland

I have a 7-hour layover here waiting for my train and the hostel is full. Sleeping on the street, literally, is really my only option. Oh why don't I just sleep in the train station you ask? Well, in Zurich they shut it for the night from 0200-0600...super. Its very cold out but it's my only option. After finding a nice place to sleep next to the River for a few hours I woke up shivering and probably a little hypothermic. I tried to walk around to warm up and stood near the locked metro station to get a little heat. By this time all the bars and restaurants were closed, so that wasn't an option. After warming up slightly I figured my best bet was just to go back to sleep somewhere to make the time go faster. I found a nice little alleyway and slept behind a van, on the ground, waking every hour until the train station opened. When I finally got up I knew I had hypothermia. I made my way to the train station, shaking from low body temperature, and jumped on the train, shivering the whole ride...now I have a lot more empathy for the homeless.

Zermatt, Switzerland

A pituresque car-free village in the Swiss Alps and at the base of the famous Matterhorn. With a population of just over 5500 this place was bustling with hikers, skiers, snowboarders, mountain bikers zip-liners. I decided to take part in the cheapest of the forementioned sports, hiking. I hiked around the base of the Matterhorn, but in order to climb it I would need some serious gear (let alone skill) due to it's 4478m elevation and near vertical faces. The town of Zermatt was quaint with small electric taxis, bicycles and walking the only form of transportation it was a quiet little town with a giant looming over it. But thats what Zermatt is all about, the Matterhorn. Frequent avalanches dumped snow into the glacier below the mountain provided year round skiing and riding for its visitors. The houses in the town were grandiose swiss mountain cabins each at least four-stories high. Other than sports there didn't seem like there was much else to do here, and with my backpacking budget if there was anything to do I would be paying for it in Switzerland. So I hopped on the slowest train in Europe, the Matterhorn Express, back down to Brig and planned to find a way to Fussen, Germany. The one hour train journey to Brig was $30 so I just dodged the conductor for the short trip.

Bern, Switzerland

I was trying to get to Brig but trains were not running to such a small town in the mountains so I was redirected to the country's capital, Bern. A nice, clean city with covered arcades and bars/clubs above and below street level. The hostel was full so I had to spend more money than I would have liked on a hotel; Switzerland is NOT cheap by any measure. Eighty Francs ($63.50) later I had a nice cozy private room in the City Hotel near the train station. I finally hit the sack at around 2am and woke at 11am to catch my trian to Zermatt. The first full night of sleep in a very long time.

Venice-Milano--Bern, Switzerland.

Evil trains, I never want to see one again. Switzerland is SO expensive, bring me back to Eastern Europe. On top of it, they don't have hostels in Bern, the damn capital of the country.

Venice, Italy

After arriving late on the train with no planned accomidation I decided to sit at a bar with a group of people who I overheard talking about the Red Sox. Even though a hostel was right down the street I decided to chill out with them. Hopefully the girl from Peabody would let me stay with her...

I woke up early to see the sights and get back on the road. As beautiful and romantic as Venice is it is very expensive and I am travelling alone, I don't need romance. I climbed to the top of Campanile di San Marco since I like to climb to the tallest points in the destinations I travel to. At ninety-eight meters high I had a wonderful few of the 117 islands Venezia is built on as well as the 150-or-so canals and 400-plus bridges connecting the islands. My second trip to Venice and it was as breathtaking as the first. After a nice italian lunch and a few more hours walk taking pictures of the canals and buildings I headed back for the train station to make my way to Switzerland.

Bled, Slovenia

I made a day trip to Bled (30 minutes by bus), which owns the oldest castle in Slovenia, built in 1003. The hilltop castle overlooks a island-housed churched perched upon a crystal-clear lake. As if it wasn't enchanting enough, the entire landscape is surrounded by snow-capped mountains. Quite a gorgeous little town with a few great hikes around the lake and up to the castle.

I hiked up to the castle and gazed upon the lake taking in all the beauty. A little literature provided by the castle-museum provided me with the history of both Bled and Slovenia. This was followed by a couple glasses of wine from the castle winery (complementary with admission!). A hike back down and some walks around the lake concluded my short visit to to the village of Bled before my bus ride back to Ljubjiana.

Ljubjliana, Slovenia

It was wet walking around looking for a hostel, especially since the one I wanted to stay at was booked for the night. However, the receptionist at the Celica Hostel redirected me to Hotel Park, just down the street. I checked in to a four-person dorm to myself on the 14th floor with a great view. Very nice, I thought, now I can bring back guests, if I only I knew where to find them. There was nothing happening at Hotel Park so I planned on going back to Hostel Celica because there seemed like there were a lot of people around and I heard music and commotion out back. It turns out there was a swanky little squatter's community just behind Celica called Metalkova. In this bizarre complex I found a rock club, a DJ club and a bar, all run by squatters, not to mention tons of laid-back, cool people. The second I showed up I met a newly engaged couple from England, and with no Slovenian money, they were nice enough to buy me beer for the night. I stayed quite late chatting with them and making other new friends.

After Bled the next day I checked into Hostel Celica where I met a few cool Australian girls who fancied to drink with me. The night was fun hanging out with them and seeing a few bars before returning to the hostel to just chill. Hostel Celica is an old jail converted into a hostel with the cells remaining as some dorms. There was a great restaurant and bar as well as a few couch and pillow rooms where you could kick off your shoes and just relax. Waking up hung-over for the first time in a long time I had time before catching my train to Italy. I went to the center of town and took in the atmosphere along the river of a very cool community. Next I proceeded to climb the castle. If you haven't noticed yet, I try to go to the highest point at all my destinations. I got a great view of the city and the surrounding area before heading back to the hostel and boarding the train to Venice.

Overall, Ljubjiana had one of the best vibes in a city to date. It was quaint but beautiful and reminding me a little of Boston in the way it blended old with new so seemlessly. The people were great and the city was spotless-clean, definitely a jewel.

Split and Zagreb, Croatia

Back in Split I hung out with Ashley from Calgary (met her on the boat from Hvar) and saw a little bit of Split's old town waiting for my bus to Zagreb, Croatia. Super cool girl, almost persuading me in staying in Split for the night, but I am on a mission, and Slovenia is calling. After a kiss-kiss goodbye I hopped on the 6-hour bus to Croatia's capital: Zagreb.
The bus ride, travelling away from the coast brought me to different topography. Limestone cliffs with the road being built on loose limestone foundation. High bridges and deep tunnels. For example, Tunnel Mala Kapela was 5500m long. Future mental note: don't drink beer on long bus rides with no WC. My teeth were floating!
Zagreb wasn't a destination just a transition point from bus to train as there are no trains along the Montenegran and Croatian coast. I took the tram from the bus station to the train station in Zagreb and luckily there was a train departing for Ljubijana, Slovenia in 45 minutes. Just outside the train station there were most of the city's public parks so I got to see a little bit of the city which in turn had a really cool vibe.
On the train to Ljubijana I sat with a bunch of Americans and Canadians who were studying in Vienna and who were amazed by my stories from on the road (they apparently were sheltered and haven't backpacked before). There were only travelling for the weekend to Croatia. Nonetheless, they were good company and I made a contact with Alexi from Vancouver in case I want to go skiing this winter. I arrived in Ljubijana and encountered heavy rain. Not good since I hadn't booked a hostel yet.

Hvar Island, Croatia

After the bus stopped in Split I realized it would have taken all night to get to Slovenia so I jumped on the night's last ferry to Hvar Island an hour and a half boat ride from Split. Split felt like a big industrial port-city so I didn't want to spend the night there. Although going to a isolated island for only one night may have not been in the best judgement seeing that I am strapped for time I was rewarded with a beautiful little place where I met some really cool people. On the boat I met a couple from Perth about my age who recommended a the place they were staying to me. Luka Viscovnic's Sobe (70 kune single room). Luka was probably the nicest guy I have ever met who spoke amazing English since his wife is from California and he used to live there. I walked around the old town of this island for a few hours with the couple from Perth, AUS before they turned in. Then I popped into a few bars meeting heaps of cool people from Canada and Australia. After a few drinks I just headed home to get some shut eye; the bars weren't that exciting anyway.
I woke up the next morning to overcast and light rain, but that didn't stop me from jumping in the water for a little swim. I did another quick walk around the old town before checking out ferry times back to mainland Croatia. Since it was October, ferries weren't running so frequently, so my return trip options were limited (only two ferries/day). At the port I met four cool Aussie and Canadian girls who may or may not have been travelling together and had coffee with them waiting for the boat. The ferry ride was fun, playing drinking games and chatting the whole way.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Now this is beauty in a city! The walled in old town and the myriad Adriatic beaches were quite a treat. When I arrived on the bus, where I met 4 Aussie dudes, they talked me into staying where they were staying: Silvas Boarding House in Lapad. The best beach in Croatia was not far away, despite the fact that the old town was a 10-minute bus ride away.

The 2.5-hour busride here from Kotor was amazing running alongside the deepest fjord in Southern Europe and overlooking the jagged adriatic coast filled with islands and jetties. Once arriving in Dubrovnik the bus was swarmed with little old ladies saying, "Maybe Room, Maybe Room?" trying to sell you a place to sleep for the night. They were so overwhelming I just avoided them completely and followed the four Aussie guys. After we finally checked in it was getting dark. We headed towards the old town to grab dinner and see what this ancient walled in city had to offer. Dubrovnik doesn't have much to offer for eating so we settled for a pizzeria just outside the old city walls (cheaper). For 52 Kune (7euros) I had a large pizza to myself. After taking some nice nightshots of the old town we decided to find a bar and I decided to meet some new people. Lonely Planet suggested all the best bars were near the youth hostel so we headed in that direction. After ordering a bottle of Croatian red wine for 5euros (which I wasn't charged for in the end) I moved my table to one with some more lively people. I have to admit the Aussie boys were the lamest Aussies I have ever met and when I moved tables and asked them to follow they declined. So I sat with two American girls, a French kid and another "cool" Aussie; they were all staying at the Youth Hostel, which I concluded I should have done also. After hanging out until around 2am I had to catch a bus back to sleep.

Waking up early I grabbed breakfast with the Aussies and left on my own to walk the top of Dubrovnik's city walls. Now this was the best part of my visit. Ocean Vistas on one side and the red-rooved ancient buildings on the other side, my photographs can only explain how enthralling it was to be here. And the weather was out of this world for October. After the 1.5-hour walk around the city's perimeter I made my way back to the boarding house in order to depart for my next destination. I paid the 100 kune ($16) and made my way to the bus station to go to Split were I did not plan on staying but decided to play it by ear on the way there regarding where my day's journey would end.

Kotor & Budva, Montenegro

Wow, what a beautiful land Montenegro is! Here is the place I have been interested for months in buying property; more on that later.

My 12-hour busride, (ugh, I know, I didn't know it was that long when I boarded) finally got in at 1am at Kotor. I decided to come here first because its a bigger city and I had no accomidation booked, even though the bus stopped in Budva first. When I got into the old-town of Kotor I went to both of the hotels (no hostels in Kotor) recommended in my lonely planet. Both of their receptions were closed. Luckily Hotel Rendezvous' side door was open, so I enterered and checked if any of the rooms were unlocked so I could just sleep. Alas, one is unlocked but there are two guys already sleeping in there. There were three beds, so I just took my bags off and passed out. When I awoke at 8am I snuck out of the room and the hotel and returned 5 minutes later asking if they had any rooms for the night. Little did they know I just got a free night out of them. Twenty Euros for a double with two beds in it and breakfast included, I said "deal". I took a shower and shaved and headed straight to the mountainside ramparts behind the old town. The march up wasn't so bad, about 600 meters up, but I made it to the summitt and was rewarded with breathtaking views of the deepest fjord in Southern Europe. Words can't describe how beautiful Kotor is. With a population of 20,000+ and an old town enveloped by ancient walls the city once had its own Navy. The old stone architecture is unique to Montenegro. After running back down in about 5 minutes (1 hour to get up) I decided to go to Budva for the rest of the day to go to the beach. At the bus station I met a guy from Singapore living in London looking for a room. A great idea to sell the other bed in the room and split my hotel cost. So now I'm sleeping in a hotel, not a hostel, for 5 euros a night!

Budva was a typical beach town with a gorgeous old town. The old town was wrecked in 1979 by an earthquake and rebuilt so the buildings are newer and less rustic than Kotor, but amazing nonetheless. After walking around the old town, getting some sun on the beach and jumping in the water which looked out at a pretty little island I hopped back on the 30 minute bus to Kotor. Montenegro feels a little like Europe's Costa Rica. Rustic and Beautiful, Green Mountains and Sparkling Sea, not many tourists (well when I was in Costa Rica there weren't many). Today I popped in and out of Real Estate offices posing as a serious buyer, as I would really like to be. I dressed up nicely and looked at the properties and the conclusion is, they aren't as cheap as I thought. Granted you can buy a 2-bedroom house for $45,000 overlooking the ocean, but it needs work. Now I am waiting for my bus to Dubrovnik, Croatia to start using my ninth currency. Dubrovnik as been coined both "Paradise on Earth" and "The Pearl of the Adriatic".

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Beograd (Belgrade), Serbia

Well, that train was exhausting! Two Serbians in my pseudo-sleeper train car wouldn't shut up for the better part of the eight hour ride. I couldn't even tell them to shut up because I don't know a lick of Serbian other than "Thank you". However, after the overnight train I made it to Serbia, still war torn with tanks roaming around and demolished buildings guarded by armed military forces. The soldiers forced another girl from New Zealand to delete her pictures of the still-destroyed buildings. Oh, but he didn't see me take my pictures, but then again I have pictures of the Sistine Chapel cieling and the Mona Lisa, even though they forbidden to take pictures of, haha.

I got off the train in Beograd at 7am and dropped my bags at a hostel planning on leaving them there until check-in time. I hopped on tram #2 which circles the city and proceeded to view the fortress. They proudly displayed parts of a downed U.S. stealth fighter. Now, Beograd has been detroyed and rebuilt over 40 times in its 1000+ year history, so there are ruins everywhere. The most recent from the U.S. airstrikes when Serbians were persecuting Albanians in Kosovo. I found one nice street in the whole city which was a pedestrian boulevard lined with cafes and restaurants. Other than that it was a large city devoid of tourists. Shopping was cheap as dirt however, shoe stores everywhere. They use the cryllic alphabet, so even reading street signs was difficult. After walking around for 5 hours and eating a unique Serbian meat burger with cheese and onions in it I decided I was not going to stay there for the night. So, I hopped on the noon bus to the Montenegran coast.