Frankfurt, Germany

I pinned myself in Northern Poland and was looking for a change of scenery, so I looked for a cheap flight out of Poland, which was Frankfurt, Germany.  Frankfurt was not on my list of places to see, but why not check it out anyway.  Frankfurt was pretty interesting, its a financial hub where more people commute into the city everyday than actually live there.  I stayed in a nice hostel in an "interesting" part of the city.  It was here that I saw someone shooting up with heroin for the first time in my life.  The hostel was located in the "Red Light" district as well as across the street from a methadone clinic, still a nice hostel to stay at though.  Sachsenhausen, a neighborhood in Frankfurt, across the river from the city was a nice place to spend a day.  I toured the architecture museum and wondered around the town, trying out some apfelwein (apple wine).  Frankfurt is making a strong effort to be a "Green" city, especially with their high rise buildings.  Check out the picture to the left and the statues below the columns that appear to be holding up the building, pretty cool.

Gdansk, Poland

I headed farther north from Warsaw, about as far north in Poland as you can get to the city of Gdansk.  Gdansk is a harbor city on the Baltic Sea know for amber washing up on its beaches after storms.  From the amber, beautiful jewelry and sculptures are made, as well as dinosaurs in the movie Jurassic Park, lol.  I was welcomed at the train station by my friends George and Arty's Aunt Mary and Uncle Andrew, who were my wonderful hosts for my stay in Gdansk.   They live in a small island town, about a 15 min walk to the beach.  They showed me around Gdansk and two other neighboring cities, which have a lot offer, especially in the warmer months.  There was a  pretty significant language barrier since only Mary spoke English, but very little.   It was amazing how we managed to get by though.  They arranged for a friend of theirs, Magda, who spoke English to accompany us for one day.  I had a great time in Gdansk.  Pictured to the left is an old grain tower locatedin Old Town, Gdansk.  To the right is the Malbork Castle, which was severely bombed out in WWII, but later rebuilt.  It was very foggy the day we toured the castle.  This was the end of Poland and the great hospitality that the people of their county offer.

Warsaw, Poland

I headed to Warsaw after Krakow, which was quite a big difference.  Warsaw has much more of a big city feel, much more commerical, but still has some old time feel as well.  I had one full day in Warsaw, so I tried to make the most of it and I think I achieved that.  I spent most of the day in the Old Town section of Warsaw, which was 80% rebuilt after WWII, but its hard to tell.  The buildings look as if they have been there for over a hundred years.  Warsaw did have some damn good Polish pastries, not as good as my mom's though.  Joe Biden was also in the city at the same time, so there was much more of a police presence around.  Much more than what was needed.  Since Warsaw is the capital of Poland, there are a lot of historical references and monuments through out the city.  The night shot is at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers  Warsaw was nice.

Krackow, Poland

Lets start out by saying, "I love Krakow!"  It was a mix between the people I met, the hostel I stayed in and Krakow itself.  I arrived in Krakow by train over two hours late because there was an early snow falling on the city and no one was ready for it, myself included.  I met three other Aussie backpackers at the train station, ironically heading to the same hostel, so we made our way through the slush together to Greg & Tom Hostel, Jr.  I decided to get up early the first day and see the Auschwitz & Birkinau concentration camps.  Something I wanted to see, but not really...  Most of the day was filled with silence as we made our way through the two camps, located not too far away from each other.  The Israeli Prime Minister decided to show up that day as well, making things complicated for everyone else.  I drank plenty of beer that night.

  Krakow itself is a beautiful mid-evil city that was virtually untouched by the war, leaving the city with all of its original mid-evil architecture.  Krakow has plenty of things to offer and endless ways that you can choose to spend your time.  The nightlife is pretty addict

ing as well, I added an extra night to my stay.  I took a walking tour of the city, which introduced me to many of the main focal points.   The Wawel (Pronounced "Va-Vel") Castle sits high upon a hill in the city and is a place where you can get great views and learn some history as well.  Much of Schindlers's List was also filmed in Krakow, in the Kazimers neighborhood, there were a few references to the film throught out the tour.  Pope John Paul II is an icon of the city. Having been from Krakow, you can see pictures, statues and memorials of him everywhere you go.    I moved onto Warsaw after Krakow, but it took a few days to over Krakow, I missed it.

Berlin, Germany 10/9 - 10/14

I arrived in Berlin on the evening of 10/9 with high expectations after hearing other travelers' comments.  I was not sold on Berlin when I first arrived, but that changed by the end of my stay.  I started my stay with a bike tour of the city, which was great.  The tour touched upon all of the history that Berlin has been apart of through out the years, mainly the wars.  It is hard to look at anything around the city and not find one of two things, bullets holes or graffiti (they call it street art, some of it real good) on the buildings.  I decided to take a break from the history of the city and go to a few markets that only run on Sundays.  It is getting cold, so I decided to get a winter hat, something that I did not bring with me.  There were a few street performers at the market, but most have put away their skills for the colder months.  After going back to revisit some of the historical sites from the bike tour a few days prior, I decided to take an "Alternative Tour" of Berlin, which was a great tour!  I really got an insider's view of how the people of Berlin live their lives.  The street art, art studios, underground club and bar scene and sports were the main focus for the day.  By the end of my stay, Berlin became a great city.

Hamburg, Germany 10/7 - 10/8

I made a stop in Hamburg, Germany for about a day and a half.  Not much of original Hamburg is left after WWII.  I spent most of my time exploring in the Hafen City district of Hamburg which is pretty much a small planned out city on the harbor of Hamburg.  They are building this city on a 5 year schedule starting in 2007 and finishing in 2012, I think they will make it.  On the edge of Hafen City is the Speicherstadt, an old warehouse district interconnected between canals once used by boats to load and off load goods.  The architecture is awesome, the best I have seen yet.  Its off to Berlin after Hamburg.  Pictured are two modern buildings, the building with the steeple is City Hall (Rathaus), some Speicherstadt buildings and view of the harbor from a water taxi.

Amsterdam 9/28 - 10/1/09

Arrived in Amsterdam on 9/28/09 well rested and ready to go, which was good, lol!  My hostel was situated in the middle of the Red Light District, a pretty central location to everything.  I met lots of great people here and had an awesome time!  I did some site seeing during the day and balanced that out with some good...clean fun at night, LOL!  The weather was not the greatest, so not much was going on in Vondel Park, usually known for its random performers and people watching.  I did take a visit to the Anne Frank House, which was a pretty moving experience.  I took a walking tour of Amsterdam where I really enjoyed learning all of the ins, outs and random knowledge of the city, would definitely recommend this.  Amsterdam waws a great experience!

Rotterdam, Netherlands 9/27/09

Arrived in Rotterdam, Netherlands for one day, before going to Amsterdam.  Rotterdam is a very nice city, pretty modern due to the WWII bombing of the city.  I walked around the city and enjoyed the nice parks. Not much was open since it was Sunday and the one Architecture museum I wanted to check out on Monday morning was closed.  Still lots to see and check out though.  I talked to the guy in the boat on the right hand side of the picture, he has lived there for over 40 years!

Paris, France 9/24/09 - 9/26/09

I arrived in Paris on September 24 and stayed here for about 3 days.  I had soo many things going on at once, getting myself settled in seemed to be an endless task.  I met some good people that gave me some advice and pointers that got me going in the right direction.  I hit the second day running and went into the city center to check out the sites,  Notre Dame Cathedral, Place de Concorde, the Louvre, Tulerane Gardens, Arche de Triumph and of course the Eiffel Tower.  Check out the picture of the line outside of the Louis Vuitton store on George V street!!  I took a day trip to Verasille as well, to check out the Palace, also the place where the Treaty of Versaille was signed to end World War 1.  My last night in Paris, I went to the Sacre Coeur Basilica and sat on the steps along with the hundreds of other people watching the sun set on Paris from the highest point in the city.  It was an awesome site to see!

Getting Started

Putting the plan of traveling Europe into action may have been the hardest part, but thats all behind me now.  I left the United States on September 23 and arrived in Paris France on September 24.  I will be pack packing by myself around Europe for 89 days, one day short of the 90 day maximum stay without having a work or student Visa.  I left without much of an agenda or travel plan other than returning to Paris, France on December 22 to fly home for Christmas.  Ill do my best to keep this blog updated along with some pictures.