EPTThis is a followup to a blog post I made early this Spring where I referenced traveling to Europe for an undetermined amount of time.
Hello hello,
I'm honestly not quite sure how to best structure this post as I wasn't sure if I should break this whole thing up into multiple blog posts or leave it together as one. I ultimately decided after an underwhelming amount of consideration that I would just take the easy choice and compile it all into one post. Anyways, I'll do my best to maintain a proper train of thought, but apologies in advance.
Duration of trip: 114 days
Destination list:
+ Show Spoiler +
London, England
Betws-y-coed, Wales
Conwy, Wales
York, England
Edinburgh, Scottland
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Paris, France
San Sebastian, Spain
Lisbon, Portugal
Sintra, Portugal
Tavira, Portugal
Barcelona, Spain
Nice, France
Monaco City, Monaco
Florence, Italy
Rome, Italy
Venice, Italy
Vienna, Austria
Bratislava, Slovakia
Salzburg, Austria
Kössen, Austria
Münich, Germany
Stuttgart, Germany
Karlsruhe, Germany
Heidelberg, Germany
Frankfurt, Germany
Bonn, Germany
Köln (Cologne), Germany
Düsseldorf, Germany
Hannover, Germany
Bremen, Germany
Hamburg, Germany
Berlin, Germany
Leipzig, Germany
Dresden, Germany
Luxemburg City, Luxemburg
Aachen, Germany
Maastricht, Netherlands
Brussels, Belgium
Ghent, Belgium
Utrecht, Netherlands
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Toronto, Canada
Niagara (Falls), Canada
Betws-y-coed, Wales
Conwy, Wales
York, England
Edinburgh, Scottland
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Paris, France
San Sebastian, Spain
Lisbon, Portugal
Sintra, Portugal
Tavira, Portugal
Barcelona, Spain
Nice, France
Monaco City, Monaco
Florence, Italy
Rome, Italy
Venice, Italy
Vienna, Austria
Bratislava, Slovakia
Salzburg, Austria
Kössen, Austria
Münich, Germany
Stuttgart, Germany
Karlsruhe, Germany
Heidelberg, Germany
Frankfurt, Germany
Bonn, Germany
Köln (Cologne), Germany
Düsseldorf, Germany
Hannover, Germany
Bremen, Germany
Hamburg, Germany
Berlin, Germany
Leipzig, Germany
Dresden, Germany
Luxemburg City, Luxemburg
Aachen, Germany
Maastricht, Netherlands
Brussels, Belgium
Ghent, Belgium
Utrecht, Netherlands
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Toronto, Canada
Niagara (Falls), Canada
*I also stopped in many other cities temporarily for a few hours to transfer trains and such which are not listed above.
I departed on my trip April 30th. In the midst of the chaos while leaving I managed to forget my TL hoodie (the only sweater/coat I was bringing) and my sunglasses, despite having packed and planned everything multiple weeks in advance. At the Vancouver International airport I saw a guy wearing a TL hoodie in front of me at the security lineup; naturally I went to grab my hoodie to put on and give him a nod of approval, however I then realized my hoodie was nowhere to be found.
Upon arriving in London, my first time outside of North America, I got off the plane and it was pouring rain. I got soaked then proceeded to get mildly lost by taking the wrong metro line to get to my hostel (first time ever using a subway). After not too long, I got to my hostel, the first hostel I had ever stayed at, unbeknown that that would be the shittiest hostel I would ever stay at in my entire trip. Let's just say it didn't give me the greatest impression of the hostel lifestyle.
I could go into detail with every city I visited, however this post would be dozens and dozens of pages long if I did, so I'll fast forward to more important events.
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^That was the fast forward, deal with it.
In San Sebastian, Spain, I swam to this little island off the city's main beach of the ocean coast and almost drowned due to the horrible weather, the colder-than-I-thought water temperature, fact that I haven't done much swimming since I was little, and the temptation of alcohol on said island (there's normally a ferry that goes to the island from the beach, but it was too early in the season at that time). On the island there is supposed to be a bar, among other things, that excited me and this German guy I made friends with at the hostel. It was really stupid/dangerous to do in hindsight, but it was kind of a yolo moment. Anyways, we finally make it back to the beach and had a funny run-in with the local police as they confiscated our bags that we left on the beach coast before swimming to the island. Long story short, everything worked out okay.
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About a week later, after visiting Lisbon, Portgual, I made this little blog for fun while in Sintra, Portugal. Nothing really special about this, I just felt like linking it again.
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Once I arrived back in Spain, this time on the south coast, I got to experience one of my two favourite cities from my trip: Barcelona, Spain. In short, I absolutely loved Barcelona and everything about it. Spanish women are gorgeous, the food is delicious, everything is cheap, the weather is great, the sightseeing in and around the city is magnificent, the beaches were fantastic, there's lots of history and shopping to keep you busy for days, etc. I spent a mere three nights here, though I could have easily spent much, much longer. Unfortunately I wasn't able to extend my stay here easily as it was peak season for travelers, therefore the hostels are booked up, and I had reservations and such already made for the next week that I couldn't really rebook.
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I'm in Italy now! Wow that was fast. Easily the most unforgettable experience of my trip (and one of the most in my life) happened in Rome. Unfortunately, it was... not a good one. I spent four days in Rome and was more or less having a blast as the city has so many sights and history to keep you busy for days. I say "more or less" as the one thing that really was a turn-off is how rude and disrespectful the Italian people are in general (or maybe just to foreigners/tourists...).
But that's not what made my experience in Rome. On the last day I spent in Rome, my backpack got stolen when I put it down next to me for about 20-30 seconds (literally, was under half a minute) in Villa Borghese. I was looking at my map briefly and suddenly it was gone. My backpack contained pretty much everything valuable, including, but not limited to: my passport, my wallet with 40 euros and all my other ID, my credit and debit cards, my camera with pictures, my smartphone (also with pictures/videos), my Interrail/Eurail pass, my glasses, my journal that I was writing in every day since the beginning of my trip, my allergy pills, and my water bottle.
I sought out the nearest police officer after running around frantically for 20 minutes, only to realize that Italian police speak very little English and are fucking useless. Even after finally getting through to them and telling them what happened the just told me to go to the police station, gave me the broadest directions of my life, then pissed off. That happened with about a dozen cops (literally about 11-13) until I finally found a police station after running around for 1h20m at this point. I go inside the police station, the useless guy there tells me to fill out a police report, then tells me "okay you can go now" and shoos me out the door.
Eventually, I get the location of the Canadian embassy in Rome from the tourist information center, which is a mere 3 hour walk away from the police station. I run there as it's about 1pm on a Friday, the embassy closes at 5pm, and they are closed for the weekend so I'm fucked if I don't get this sorted out by the end of the day. At the Canadian Embassy, I have no ID to even prove I'm Canadian, so I have to call and wake up all my family and friends at home to provide references to prove that I'm a Canadian citizen, fill out the paperwork for a new passport on the spot, then get my family to pay for my passport as I have no access to any of my money.
Long story short, the embassy stays open past closing for me to get my passport, then some random Canadians at the embassy give me 20 Euros (thank god for these people, seriously) upon overhearing my situation, and the guy at the counter gives me 25 Euros from some fund so that I can afford to eat and get a place to stay for the night. My family has to wire transfer me money through a credit union, which I'm not able to accept until the next day as all the credit unions are now closed. The next day, I receive the money from the wire transfer and now have some money and temporary ID to continue my trip. Hurray...
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Woah, calm down there, this is only three days later....
I'm now in Venice, Italy, with my next destination as Vienna, Austria. I have an overnight train from Venice to Vienna. On the overnight train, my temporary passport ALSO gets stolen when I fall asleep on the train. I'm supposed to trade in my temporary passport for my new permanent passport that will arrive at the Canadian embassy in Münich, Germany within a week or two. Thank god again that when they gave me my temporary passport in Rome they also gave me two paper photocopies of it that I can use for ID still. After much fighting/working with the Canadian Embassy, I am able to still pick up my passport in Münich the next week. All together, my passport woes gave me a direct cost of $475 CAD. Thanks Canada, because that's what every citizen wants when they're fucked on the other side of the world. But hey, it was my fault I suppose.
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Throughout my time in Germany, I was there for every single Germany game in the FIFA World Cup playoffs and it was an unforgettable experience. So much celebration, hype, etc. It was amazing.
Now that I've toured Germany, I've discovered my second favourite city in my entire trip: Berlin! I had heard mixed things about Berlin, but almost everything negative I heard I did not find to be the case at all. The history, from the museums and architectural buildings to the monuments and sculptures to the Berlin wall and the massive street art influence were amazing. Nearly everything is in English, and despite there being a notable amount of tourists, it's not overly touristy like some places to the point where it almost ruins the entire thing. There are so many different types and backgrounds of people that it's just a massive melting pot and everyone seems to have a home there. It's a pretty cheap city compared to most of Germany and there's lots to see and do. I feel like anyone could call Berlin home, I really really enjoyed Berlin.
So, my plan ultimately was to look for a job in Germany and work in Germany while improving my German skills as I near the second half of my trip. I spent 5 weeks looking for work opportunities as a native English speaker in Germany, but ultimately was not able to find anything suitable due to money issues, time issues (been in the Schengen Zone for quite a while now, nearing 90 days), language issues, and problems with companies not wanting to sponsor my work permit.
Unfortunately, this marks the end of my plans to stay in Europe and I need to book a flight home.
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Huh, where are we now? Well, since I had to book a flight home, I got a really cheap flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Toronto, Canada for the middle of August. That gives me two weeks to enjoy the rest of my trip before going home. In those two weeks, I went to Luxemburg, Belgium, and the Netherlands. I had a great time in all those places and got to visit TL HQ in Utrecht, Netherlands, the week of my flight back to Canada.
Prior to going to Toronto, I had never been east of Alberta in Canada, so it was not only a cheap route for me to take to get home (by transferring in Toronto), but allows me to see a city in my country I've never even been close to before. I stayed in Toronto for three days before transferring to come home, and during that time I visited Niagara/Niagara Falls as well on a day trip.
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Now I'm home. I really really wanted to stay in Europe and was quite depressed to find that I wasn't about to stay and work there like I planned. I'd really like to go back at some point in the next few years if possible and see if I can get things to work out with a little more planning.
Reflections
Overall, during my trip I learned not only a massive amount about Europe and the culture and people there, but about myself as well. I did so many things I've never done before, enjoyed them a lot more than I was expecting to, and made a lot of friends and met a lot of people. Despite some of the setbacks, it was easily the greatest 4 months of my entire life and I'm so glad I did it. I would encourage everyone to try something like it during their life because the amount of enjoyment that came from it is insurmountable.
I also got to visit a lot of great TLers like zatic and his friend Franz (don't think he posts much
), 7mk, Xeofreestyler, RaGe, Pholon, Hot_Bid, R1CH, Liquid`Nazgul, disciple, and OpticalShot.And special thanks to Teoita for offering me a place to stay in Milan, Italy when I was in trouble in Rome. I really appreciate the offer even though I was able to get back on my feet.
I'm not too sure how to end it. I'm now back to looking for a job at home as I'm still unemployed, so maybe I'll share a quick update down the road when something else comes up. Hopefully this wasn't too long and unorganized of a read for those who actually read through it all.
If you have any questions about anything at all feel free to ask. I don't have many of the pictures I took on the trip or my journal notes to reference stuff, but I've got a half decent memory... I think...
i would be so bummed out and given up hope after the shitty encounter with the police...
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