A Liam Abroad

Thanks For The Memories!

So here I am. Sitting in Singapore Airport, just hours before boarding the final plane back into little old Adelaide.

What an adventure it’s been. Do I regret going? Not for a second. Do I want to travel more? You bet.

There are plenty of things I’d do differently though. One, I’d pack far less crap. I took a first aid kit for goodness sake. On a tour. Still can’t be too careful I suppose. I’d also ensure that when I’m with other people, that I don’t fall into the trap of only doing what they want to do. That’s why I like traveling alone so much I think. It is so much easier.

I’d also perhaps attempt to eat healthier. It is really hard though. Options are so limited. Australia has embraced the healthy eating approach far more than what the United States and Europe has.

I only have two regrets on this trip. One is that I didn’t get to see show on Broadway in New York. Seeing some shows in London made me realise that I’d missed out a bit. Getting lost on the NY subway didnt help that.. The other regret is opting not to go inside the Colosseum. It was so hot the day I was there and there was a massive line. Still, I wish I had gone in. Damn me being lazy.

On a more positive note, my number one highlight of the trip was helicoptering over the Grand Canyon. It doesn’t get much better than that. The Eiffel Tower was an awesome experience and paragliding is up there too. Pardon the pun. I’ve met so many diverse and interesting people. Some, hopefully will prove to be good contacts in the future.

Venice was my biggest disappointment as I’ve mentioned. Dirty, wet, crowded. Waking up to the smell of marijuana in my room also was a lowlight. Mykonos was a disaster given my health, but I still attempted to see what I could of the place.

I got homesick at times, which really surprised me. Sometimes I think that being able to have so much contact with home is a bad thing, because you never fully let go of what’s going on.

On a whole though, what a trip. What an experience. It’s made me reevaluate so much about life and myself. It puts priorities into perspective and made me realise at times how lucky we are to live in such a diverse world. Imagine if everything was the same from country to country. How boing would that be? I’m no longer afraid of flying, got on American TV and discovered that I really like Bounty chocolate bars.

Thanks for following along at home, for the messages while I’ve been away. It’s been awesome. I hope you’ve enjoyed A Liam Abroad!

Hopefully there will be a second installment not long down the track.

TOP 5 PLACES ON A LIAM ABROAD

Traveling across so many countries and cities for two months makes it very difficult to narrow it down to a top five. But here we go…

Switzerland was epic and the fact is at number five is an insult really. Amazing scenery, amazing differences to the rest of Europe, amazing cleanliness and a sense of freshness.

Austria. An adventure paradise. This place made me want to be fit, it encouraged me to get outdoors and to take risks.

Dubrovnik. Europe’s hidden secret. A modern history in every sense of the word. On the I want to come back list for sure.

London. Words cannot describe how much I want to live and work here. Such a great city. Fantastic public transport, nice people, beautiful surrounds. I’ll be back for sure. The rest of the UK is on my to do list too!

And number one… New York. Yes it’s busy, yes it’s dirty. But it’s New York. I really want to work here at some point. I felt at home. Very few places gave me that feeling.

So there you have it. A very tricky job to narrow that down. Several other places could probably have snuck in, but criteria is criteria and those are my choices.

I will though give honorable mentions to Slovenia and Washington. Both places I could very easily have spent more time in.

Time of my life

So what a journey it’s been. They say travel changes you. That has certainly been the case for me. It opens your eyes, removes you from your comfort zone. It’s unpredictable and it’s tiring.

Like everything in life, it didn’t all go to plan. But in proportion to the awesome bits of the trip, these small annoyances are just that, small.

I’ll wrap up Europe and look back at the last 2 months across the next 48 hours.

Amsterdam

Final day of tour number two and you guessed it rain, rain, rain!

This meant that there was to be no canal rides. Which in pouring rain didn’t bother me too much. Although I feel I haven’t seen enough of the cultural part of the place. It did leave the day open for some exploring of the city though.

Hate to say it, but not really feeling any connection to Amsterdam. It’s way too alternate and just not a me type of city. There’s a massive American, touristy influence.

I had a sandwich for lunch and was paranoid it was laced with weed. So far, so good though. I’ll just avoid the brownies.

Nothing really special to report this arvo in this city. Rain hung around most of the day. Did done admin things including posting home my heavy items. Pray to God they get back safely. Amsterdam has the cheapest postage going around.

The final activities on this tour were a cruise down the canals and dinner.

The cruise wasn’t anything special, but did allow me to see some of Amsterdam the weather today prevented me from viewing properly. It’s similar to Venice in the respect that there are canals and small bridges everywhere.

It also gave great views of the busy streets, which currently as I’ve previously mentioned are all decorated for the football. Orange galore. Bicycles everywhere too. It’s the way to get around. Not your usual bike though. Granny bikes and oversized bikes. They have right of way. That would take some getting used to.

Dinner was a Dutch rice table affair. Asian food in Amsterdam? I know. Confused me too. I’ve gone right off the cuisine for some reason. But it was tasty enough and there was heaps of it, which is always vitally important.

Free day to roam the streets of Amsterdam on my own tomorrow! I’m thinking that I need to try a burger from the fast food joint that serves burgers next door. Purely because they come from a vending machine. Food is readily available here. People get the munchies after a few puffs of the green stuff!

On the road again…

So today marks the final day on the road. The drive from the Rhine Valley in Germany to Amsterdam in the Netherlands is the final leg of my European adventure.

Our first stop allowed time for a sausage roll. It’s just not the same as a meat pie though which will be high on my to eat list as soon as I arrive home. That and Farmers Union Iced Coffee.

Anyway I’m getting ahead of myself.

Stopped off at a cheese factory. They also make clogs which I initially thought was a bit strange. But they sort of go together. Hard to explain so you’ll just have to believe me. Had a taste of some of the varieties of cheese. And a very yummy wafer biscuit, but back to the cheese… Some were not too shabby. A cheese with pesto for example was quite nice. Others not so nice. In fact the normal cheese was the one I disliked the most. Weird. But that’s cheese!

The clog display was interesting. Who wears clogs anymore I hear you ask? Well the Dutch do in the garden apparently. I don’t know if you would even be able to bring them back through customs being wood and all. So no clogs for me. Good to see tradition isn’t dead here though.

There was a record attempt to see how many people could fit inside a giant clog. My claustrophobic fear prevented me from taking part in that one.

The scenery in these areas has such a country feel about it. Large, wide open spaces. All flat. Paddocks filled with cows and sheep. Extremely green. Windmills everywhere. The old school windmills and the modern wind turbines.

We then went on a gentle bike ride. I rode a granny bike for the first time. Good old pedaling backwards to brake. The short ride took in the town of Edam. Windmills and canals. Very scenic. And the sun was out too which made a pleasant change from previous days.

Eventually the final hotel stop on my world wide adventure was made in Amsterdam. Given that I have no interest whatsoever in drugs and didn’t really want to attend a sex show, I’m not sure how much I will enjoy this city. Drugs are slowly becoming illegal and rightly so. Find more productive things to do with your time people.

The famous red light district which again doesn’t hold much interest for me is quite unusual. Prostitution is legal and hence every second week all prostitutes have to have a check up. Rather than have them on the street, the Dutch attempt to look after them displaying them in windows instead. It’s not wrong it’s different…?

Looking forward tomorrow to seeing some of the markets and canals that also make Amsterdam what it is. Weather is supposed to be ordinary though so fingers crossed it all goes ok.

Finished my day with some more football. It’s huge in the Netherlands. Shops all over the place are decorated for the event. Orange galore. I blend in as a result!

Back to Germany

So Switzerland will certainly be entering my top five countries on this trip. It’s getting a rather crowded top five now. Good on this country for being individual and doing things slightly differently to the rest of the world. Even if having completely different adapters for charging appliances is slightly annoying.

Heading back into Germany today as we continue to drive back up to the top of Europe. Forced to pay for a toilet stop again. Is it wrong that when I have to pay for using these facilities I have the sudden urge to mess everything up. Surely depriving people with no money access to a toilet is illegal? All I ask for is a clean toilet. Nothing special. No payment required.

Stop number two of the day was in Heidelberg. Visited the gummi bear capital of the world capital. Heaps and heaps of bears of all different shapes and sizes. More rain. Europe what has happened to summer?

One thing annoying me about European culture is the rudeness. I think I’ve touched on it before but the words ‘excuse me’ don’t seem to exist over here. I know it’s probably a different culture thing, but I find it so annoying when people push past you or don’t move in a polite manner.

There’s a lot of patriotism over here at the moment. I’m assuming it may have something to do with the Euro 2012 football tournament being on currently. So many cars have flags attached to them. Particularly here in Germany. Lots of merchandise is able to be bought around the place too.

We arrived in St Goar in the Rhine Valley. A very different area of Germany to what I’ve seen so far. A very country feel about it and pretty cold.

I bought a beer stein which in hindsight I have no idea how I’ll get home safely. The shop was full of traditional German beer steins. Every design imaginable.

The hotel is in a wine region. I had the option of doing another wine tour but the sporting nut in me would much rather watch some of the football (soccer)! There were lots of goals too. Bonus!

One more European country to go. Holland here we come. Couldn’t give a rats about weed and sex shows which Amsterdam is so famous for, but I hear it has some beauty there somewhere and I’m about to find out.

Ain’t no mountain high enough.

Rain rain go away. Another day and more rain, but in these parts of the world if it’s raining towards the bottom of a mountain, then it normally means snow on top. And that was certainly the case today.

I boarded a train up a mountain, which is a bit strange really. But a good concept. I believe it’s the worlds highest railway and is celebrating its 100th centenary this year.

Took about 90 minutes to get to the top. Snow began steadily falling about halfway through the journey. This is summer. I can’t imagine what winter would be like. The train had a very ‘I think I can, I think I can’ feel about going up the steep steep mountain.

Once at the top, it became apparent that skiing, snow boarding and the like was not going to happen in the blustery, heavy falling snow. Some even called it a blizzard. More wifi and hot chocolate time for me!

What was available though was the opportunity of heading briefly out into the snow for some photos and a complete loss of breath. Bloody cold. Bloody windy. So much snow! The guy told us we wouldn’t last longer than 45 seconds, I smashed his prediction second time around going out there. I am not really sure how my camera didn’t seize up. My poor hands. I promise it’s nearly over!

The high altitude made things interesting. I’d like to think that it contributed to the easy loss of breath when climbing the stairs. Surely I’m not that unfit!

The mountain also had a hall made of ice with a whole lot of ice sculptures and a slippery ice floor that I took delight in running and sliding on. Such a rebel.

The rest of the time was spent warming up with hot chocolate and curry. Yes , conditions weren’t ideal, but in hindsight I was happy to just view the mountain and take it in from the warmth of the cafe anyway. And plus how many times can you say you’ve rode a train up a steep incline. And not just any train. A traditional
little mountain climbing train.

I must admit though that despite all todays positives, I did expect a bit of a town up here. There wasn’t. Everything was very overpriced and
hideously set out in my opinion.

The train ride back was much the same. Lots of snow, few stops and quite cold as you’d expect. Naturally the closer to the base we got, the less snow there was.

Once back on ground without snow, I checked out some of the small town we are staying in and then walked up
to a waterfall. Two reasons for the walk. One, I needed some exercise and two, who doesn’t love a good waterfall? The small climb gave more great views of the snow on the mountains and the water looked and I’m sure that it was so pure.

So all in all an interesting day. But a good day.

Tired? Stressed? You’ll feel better in Switzerland.

Back on the road and in for a big day of driving and tradition.

Three hours it took to arrive in yet another country. Lichtenstein is a small, yet nice country full of wonderful scenery and cleanliness. Another currency change which makes things a little annoying, but very much worth it. The main street almost backs onto a mountain which is unusual, but pretty cool.

Because it’s so small I think they’ve taken some bits and pieces from the surrounding countries. Snitty for lunch (again)! And then some or to be more precise a few too many traditional Swisse chocolates.

The drive after that wound through mountains with snow on top and waterfalls streaming down them. I said the scenery throughout Austria was awesome. This trumped it. Massive lakes, clear water. Brilliant.

Stopped at a town across the border in Switzerland called Lucerne. We visited a monument marking a moment where a whole lot of Swisse soldiers were killed. Quite a moving memorial really. It has been done really well. If you can say that about memorials.

We then were to a watch and Swisse army knife shop. Bought a army knife. I really wanted a watch, but at the end of the day you can get them back home and I didn’t want to rush such a large purchase. My knife is engraved though so I’m happy!

I also spent some time looking at the shops and around the town. It has a different feel to the rest of Europe. Much more modern, much more independent and certainly more expensive and up market. Very clean. They have their own currency and even their own adapter system. Rodger Federer is from here. That’s enough for me.

As the afternoon continued and I tried my hardest to resist eating anymore Swisse chocolates, the scenery continued to get awesome. Massive waterfalls on the side of the road.

We arrived at a little camping village. Halfway up a mountain. It’s summer here yet it’s snowing up the mountain and everything has a real winter feel about it. Soup was a part of dinner!

Tomorrow I hit up the snow and hopefully have some time to relax and take it all in.

Get wet or die trying

Woke up to the sound of pouring rain again today. It would have been a good day to be inside curled up with a good book and a wood fire.

Not to be however as it was onwards and upwards for a final morning in Austria before saying hello to a similar cultured country in Germany.

Drove through the pouring rain to a location where the last of the adventure activities in white water rafting was to take place. I was more petrified about this than the paragliding yesterday.

Kitted out in a not so glamourous wetsuit, spray jacket, buoyancy vest and shoes to face the freezing cold waters. The rain has eased a bit, but it didn’t matter because we were to get soaked anyway.

The safety briefing didn’t fill me with confidence, but there was no backing down now.

As it turns out, the currents were pretty manageable and the water, while absolutely freezing wasn’t going to give me hypothermia. Having said that though, you wouldn’t want to be in there without a wetsuit.

A really good guide with a cracking sense of humour helped us navigate down the stream. Lost all feeling in my hands, but that’s not unusual. Was forced to jump in the water. That was cold! The whole journey lasted about 45 minutes. Few bumps, but I didn’t feel like I was going to fall in and lose my life. Such a thrill having minimal control of a raft. Teaching me the valuable life lesson in letting go.

Once back on dry land it was all about hot food. A nice goulash soup and hot chocolate went down really nicely! As did a warm shower.

This afternoon we ventured through the mountains en route to Munich in Germany. I can hardly spot any differences between Germany and Austria.

Europe hasn’t heard of Sunday trading. Neither had Adelaide until a few years ago, so I guess we should hive it time. However this meant everything was shut when we arrived. Looks like a pretty nice city though. Fairly touristy and while not ancient, not overly modern either.

Last night in a hostel tonight. Can’t say I’m the biggest fan of the hostel atmosphere. Not sure I could ever be a backpacker.

Tonight was off to a beer hall for some traditional pork knuckle and German beer. Even though I’m not a big drinker, I had to indulge in some of this beer. Not too shabby. I’ve had so
much pork over the last week. I hardly ever eat pork, now it’s one of
my favourite dishes. Travel really has changed me.

The night was completed with some traditional German dancing and yodeling. Didn’t have to take part in audience participation this time!

I don’t spent long in Germany. But so far I don’t think it’s a bad part of the world. I’m going to study it’s history when I return to Australia. It has a complicated past and this still has some dominance on its landscape today.

Switzerland is next up tomorrow.