Sofia - Munich - Sion - Hägglingen - Munich

Thursday: For some reason, the arrival of my train was supposed to be at 10:35. Yana was coming to wait for me at the train station, but she saw on the Bulgarian Railways that the train didn't get in until 12:00. After all, she decided to trust me and came a few minutes after I thought I was supposed to arrive. In the end, it turns out she was right as I actually got in at 12:40. We headed to her flat to drop off my bag, then went to the mall to have lunch. I was somewhat tired after my train, even though I was able to laze around most of the morning, so we went to watch "Due Date" with Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis. It's basically the same premise as "The Hangover", but with two less people and a child birth to get to from the other side of the country. Afterwards we headed back to her place, watched some TV shows and ordered pizza.
Friday: I walked to the hostel from Yana's flat to go check in as her roommates were coming back from Romania. I spent the afternoon on the computer before heading out to see Harry Potter 7. I came back and talked with Racheed and Yana over a few drinks.
Saturday: Got up and had breakfast, then watched a few movies with Bekim, Daniella and Sonja. Played a few games of pool with them as well. I watched the Bayern v Schalke game, which Bayern lost 2-0. Went out with Racheed and a few other people from the hostel to a nightclub nearby.
Sunday: I relaxed most of the day, recuperating from the night out. I played some more pool against Bekim and then eventually Yana came to the hostel so we could go watch "The next three days". Afterwards we walked to a restaurant so that Yana could have supper as she was used to her night-shift schedule. She went back to her flat and I went to the hostel and talked with Racheed.
Monday: I went to visit the Ladies' Market in the afternoon with Bekim and Adam. Afterwards I had some shopping to do so that I was ready for my next day on the train. I went back to the hostel and when it was time to call the taxi, it didn't come, so Stan from the hostel came outside with me and flagged one down while explaining where I was going. Go onto the train no problem, but it was late into Belgrade (by an hour and forty minutes... welcome to the Balkans) so I missed the train going directly to Munich.
Tuesday: I had to catch a train to Budapest first, and my connection in Budapest was about 15 minutes. Well, the train was 10 minutes late (although for a 8 hour train that isn't bad) so I had all of 5 minutes to get off and find the train I had to get onto, but that went without a hitch, even had a couple of minutes to spare. Got into Munich at about 10:45 PM after having left Sofia the previous evening at 8:40 PM. Thankfully, I had deliberatley booked a hostel right next to the Munich Hauptbahnhof.
Wednesday: Turns out that a lot of people in the hostel were there for the Bayern Munich v FC Basel match. One of my roommates, Nick, is a huge Bayern fan, and also speaks great German because his parents are from Germany. We talked a bit before he went out to do the walking tour, while I visited the city alone (having already done the walking tour). We agreed to go to the match together, and we left at about 7 PM. The Metro was obviously packed, and once at the stadium, we found our tickets and went in. Turns out we were seated at opposite ends of the pitch. Bayern are really improving with the return of Breno and Ribery. Bayern created quite a few chances, Ribery especially, but Bayern will have to work on timing and positioning, because Gomez was constantly in the wrong spot to receive Ribery's crosses. Bayern went on to win the match 3-0. I met up with Nick and we headed to the Metro, which was even more packed than on the way in. You quite literally didn't even have to hold on to anything while standing, because you were completly surrounded by other people.
Thursday: I was planning on leaving for Sion, but as it was snowing the trains were quite delayed out of Germany and I missed the one I was planning on taking. I decided to stay in Munich another day. It gave me the chance to visit the Weihnachtmarkt (Christmas market) and to try some delicious Glühwein (mulled wine). I walked around the Altstadt (old city) which has the markets on pretty much all of the pedestrian streets.
Friday: I got up early and went to the train station. I spent about 10 hours on various trains, going through Stuttgart, Karlruhe, Basel, Visp and finally arriving in Sion. When I got in I called Michel as he had offered to come and pick me up. I visited with him and Rose-Marie for a bit, then went to Gregoire's to go to bed.
Saturday: I went skiing with Gregoire at Ovronnaz, which was great fun. I haven't skied for about 10 years, so the first couple of minutes were used to getting used to it again, but after that it was really great fun. We had Swiss fondue at the restaurant on the mountain, with a bit of Fendant wine. In the evening we visisted a "cave" with Guy and Isabelle. I bought a couple of bottles from there, and then we went to another "cave" where I bought another few bottles. We went to have supper and afterwards Emilie took me out to Britannica. Gabriel came to pick us up and drove me home.
Sunday: I had some fun repacking my bag with all the wine bottles I bought. Emilie picked me up with Tania and Philippe. We headed to Montreux to visit the Christmas market there. After a few hours of walking, I went to the train station to catch a train to go to Lenzburg. I go in at about 6:30 PM, and Ursula was already at the train station so we just had to find each other. She drove back home to Hägglingen, where I met the family and we had a wonderful supper. Afterwards, Ursula, her daughter Corrine and her boyfriend Marco and I went to an Irish pub in Lenzburg to meet up with a couple of Ursula's friends: Anja and Daniella. We had a few drinks and I told some stories about my trip.
Monday: I headed off to Zürich with Ursula and Corrine. We walked down the Bahnhofstrasse, then grabbed a tram to the edge of the Zürich lake. We then walked through the old city, named Niederdorf, seeing the Grossmünster church. We walked back to the train station and went back to Hägglingen. Corrine's friend came over after supper and we all looked at a photo album of when Ursula came to Canada.
Tuesday: Anja and Daniella offered to take me to Luzern to visit the city. We took the scenic route there to see some very nice Swiss countryside. In town we saw the Jesuit church and the Kapell-brücke (chapel bridge) and walked around the old city. We visited one of Anja's friends at work, before heading for lunch. Eventually we went back to the car to pick up my bag and I went to my train back to Munich.
Wednesday: I took the S-Bahn, which for some reason was running slow, to go to the Munich airport. Got there later than I wanted but checked in, got through passport control and security without a problem. Got on the plane and when we landed in Philadelphia, I saw that they lost my back-pack. Went through US Customs no problem and when I got to my gate for my flight to Montreal, it was cancelled, so I had to wait another two and a half hours for the next one. Of course, the lost baggage counter was closed, so I went home quickly.

Belgrade - Sofia - Istanbul

Tuesday: I got into Belgrade, walked past my hostel but stumbled upon an Internet cafe, where I learned that I had to walk back 10 minutes towards the train station. I still had trouble finding the Green Room hostel, since it isn't all that visible from the street (it's only one floor of a six floor building). I found out that Partizan Belgrade was playing against Shakhtar Donetsk the same evening so I decided to go, and one of the employees at the hostel offered to come and buy the ticket with me, which I found incredibly helpful. I had trouble finding the correct trolley-bus, but when I did, most of the people on it were going to the stadium so I just followed them. Although FK Partizan played a good first half, Shakhtar Donetsk eventually overpowered them and won the match 3-0. Number 10 for Partizan, Moreira, was easily the best player on the team.
Wednesday: I did the walking tour of Belgrade, which starts out at the Horse monument (actually a monument to Prince Mihailova, but all the locals call it the horse monument). We walked around and saw the main sights, including a grafiti of the Partizan fan club (called the grave-diggers) in a zone of the city called Alcatraz. This grafiti is actually surveilled 24 hours a day to avoid anyone painting over it. We also saw the only reamining mosque in all of Belgrade, though it used to be under the Ottoman empire and had hundreds of them. We also saw the zoo, which is one of the best in world for the animals, since they mate in captivity. We then walked up to the fortress, which is where Belgrade got it's name (Beograd, beo = white and grad = city, the castle is white and is the first thing you see when coming up the river Danube). The people from the tour stuck together and we kind of wandered around the city. Eventually we came upon a cafe and stopped. I didn't know what I wanted really, so I just pointed to some random item on the menu and it turned out to be delicious mulled wine. I grabbed some Chinese food and ate it at the hostel before heading out for my night-train to Sofia (София).

Thursday: The train conductor woke me up when we were in the station, so I had pack the things I took out quickly and then get off the train. Walked for about 25 minutes to the hostel, and the whole time I was basically trying to actually get my brain to wake up. I got in and relaxed for a while and then eventually went to book my night-train to Istanbul. I came back and started chatting with the people at the hostel. Yana (Яна) and I talked for a bit before I went to bed.
Friday: I did the walking tour which took us around the city to see the main sights, such as some of the remains of buildings built by the Romans. We also saw the changing of the guard, the parliament building, the national theatre, the church of St. Nicholas the Miracle-Maker and a few other sights. I then went to meet Yana at the Mall of Sofia. We had lunch, shopped and eventually we went back to her place since she had to change before going to work. Racheed tried quite a bit to get me to go out with him, a few other people from the hostel and Damien, one of the employees who has to be our guide, but I was feeling too tired to go out.
Saturday: I was walking around the shopping district when I bumped into Phil and Stewart. We walked around a bit and then came back to the hostel to play pool and relax. I eventually had to head out to catch my night-train, though the train station in Sofia is horrible, with some sort of track numbering system consisting of Latin and Arabic numerals. I eventually found my train, good luck another part of the train coming in from somewhere else was late. The Bulgarian border was a normal one to cross, passport control in the cabins, but at the Turkish border we had to get off the train to verify the passport, then buy entry visas (for some reason the most expensive is for Canadians citizens) and then get the visa verified and stamped. All in all it consisted of a stop-over of about 45 minutes at 3AM.

Sunday: Got into Istanbul. I had walking directions to get to the hostel I had reserved, but had no inclination of walking, especially since the streets in Istanbul are all about 200 meters long, so a 20 minute walk consisted of about 12 streets. I finally found out that a tram led to the Sultan Ahmet (Blue) mosque, which was very close to my hostel. After having looked around for a while and being unsuccessful at finding the hostel I had reserved, I stumbled upon the Orient hostel, which Phil had recommended. I walked in and they had room so it was a done deal. I walked into the room and was greeted by four extremely friendly roommates, who told me the story of one of the other previous roommates who actually got kicked out of the room for extreme snoring. They were headed out for some sightseeing, so I decided to follow them as I didn't really have a plan for the day. We walked along the highway that runs along the Bosphorus from the southeast to the northeast of the Fenerbahçe neighborhood and we saw the lighthouse on the way. We visited the spice market, and then went inside the New mosque (Yeni Cami). We then tried to go to the Grand Bazaar, but it was closed. I headed back to the hostel to nap while the others continued sightseeing. In the evening we all went out for kebabs and came back to a bar across the street from the hostel to smoke hookah. In the bar we saw the final minutes of the Galatasaray v Beşiktaş game, both neighboring districts on the Northern European side of Istanbul. The away team, Beşiktaş won 2-1, and since we were on the Southern European side, we didn't really hear any kind of street rioting or whatnot happen.
Monday: I went for a haircut and a shave, keeping only my Movember mustache on. I then went to join the rest of the group at the Blue mosque (Sultanahmet Camii). We then headed over to the Grand Bazaar (Kapalıçarşı), which happens to be one of the oldest and largest covered markets in the world, and basically the inspiration for shopping malls, where, as everyone else, we got lost and came out at a different exit. We saw a pizza delivery man that looked completely clueless as to where he was supposed to go. To give you an idea of the size, the West Edmonton Mall has an area of 570,000 square meters, whereas the Grand Bazaar has an area of 307,000 square meters. We had a great fish sandwich by the river as a snack. Greg and I went over to Üsküdar, the Asian side of Istanbul for a little more than an hour. On our way back, before getting onto the ferry, we had a french fry sandwich, which I think is just about the definition of junk food. I had a typical meze plate for supper, which consists of four different sauces. I'm quite sure one of them was aubergines, another one very similar to tzatziki, some salsa-like sauce and hummus. It also had rice-stuffed vine leaves and is eaten with a bread similar to pitas. I then went to a bar next door to watch the El Clasico (one of the biggest derbys in the world, the game actually has a name), Real Madrid CF visiting FC Barcelona. To give you an idea, it's much more than about just the football. It's a time when the ideology and culture of two very distinct regions of Spain meet. The capital and where all of the decisions are made, against the the capital of Catalonia, a region that has long wanted independence from the central government. Real Madrid is the rich club, the New York Yankees of Spanish football, the club that considers players as stock, to be bought and sold as much as possible. Always buy the best players, that's their ideology. Barcelona is the complete opposite. They have a very good youth development program, with many of their current stars having gone through it. They consider their players as an investment that will bring them victory and thus money. There could never be two more different clubs. All of this in a country that is mad for football. Barcelona ended up winning 5-0 and you can be sure that Barcelona now has bragging rights, until the next El Clasico is played.
Tuesday: I woke up to find my cellphone wasn't working, so I spent part of the day trying to unsuccessfully fix it. I guess that will have to wait until I get back. In the evening I went out to supper with Greg and David, had manti, a type of Turkish ravioli. We then smoked hookah for the rest of the evening.
Wednesday: I went up to the Topkapi palace, though I didn't actually want to go inside. I crossed the Galata bridge, and found a used book store. I then went to a barber to get a shave, including the mustache this time. I then walked up to Taksim square, where a bombing took place about a month ago. I took a historic tram back to the edge of Galata, then an underground train to get closer to river. I had to walk back uphill to see the Galata tower (the train passes underneath it). I then went to the spice market and the Grand Bazaar to do some Christmas shopping. I came back to the hostel to drop off my stuff before heading back out to take a Turkish bath, which consists of a guy throwing water at you (no small exaggeration, he literally throws it at you). Then he peels your skin with a special glove, and gives you a foam massage. Afterwards you rinse and you're as good as new. I had a beef McTurco for supper (folded pita bread with a beef patty inside). After that I was quite relaxed and set for the night-train, which again consisted of getting up and going outside at the Turkish border for passport control.

11 days in Budapest

Thursday: Matt and I got into to Budapest and walked to the hostel. When we got there, we had a cup of coffee and talked with the people there for a while. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do for the day, so I hung around the hostel and got to know the people that were staying there. In the evening, I went out to Instant, but decided to come back early as I was feeling quite tired. I slept for a full 12 hours, so I think that my body really needed the rest.

Friday: I visited the Buda castle Labyrinth with some people from the hostel. It's a cool concept, but they make it kind of cheesy. The signs around the labyrinth talk of this civilization that never actually existed. On our way there we stopped at the Fisherman's bastion and St. Matthias church. In the evening we went to Grandio hostel, a sister hostel of Carpe Noctem, where we had a Jager train. Red bull is poured into bigger glasses, and shooters of Jagermeister are ligned up on top of them. Someone pushes the first shot glass, and as dominoes, all of the shooters fall into the glasses (see video). We then went to Corvin night club and had a lot of fun.

Saturday: I took the afternoon easy. In the evening I went out on a pub crawl.

Sunday: I went to Arriba for lunch, a Mexican place right next to the hostel. In the evening, I had a true Hungarian four course supper. A bowl of soup, some weird appetizer, then the main dish of Goose neck with mashed potatoes, then a shooter of Palinka (a fruit brandy) as a digestif and apple crepes for dessert. We then went to bar downstairs in the Grandio, of "the cave" as they call it.

Monday: I went out for karaoke night at Morrison's.

Tuesday: I had to look for a costume as today it was dress-up when we went out, the theme: Cowboys & Indians. Found a plaid shirt and a toy gun, combined with my Levi's 501, I figured I was dressed-up enough. We went out to a different bar, though it was still karaoke. I ended up leaving early as Cassie and I were pretty lame, though we brought Damien back as he was pretty far drunk.

Wednesday - Sunday: I got food poisoning and had a cold at the same time, so I spent these days doing as little as possible to rest. On Friday I changed hostels to the Carpe Noctem Penthouse and went out to Liszt fest, which is some kind of music and wine festival. I had supper at a pretty nice place and tried out two types of Tokaji, the first wine subject to appellation control. I also tried some Unicum as a digestif. On Sunday I went to the Szecheney thermal baths.

Monday: I did a tour of the city. We started out at Heroe's square, then we visited the Vajdahunyad castle, St Stephen church and the Buda castle. I then went to the synagogue, Europe's largest and the worlds second (behind New York). Afterwards I went to the train station to reserve my couchette on a night train to Belgrade.

Mid-travel thoughts

Here I will post some thoughts and things I would recommend for the different places I've visited until now.

I will also be using the self-invented PHLB (price for half a liter of beer) and PDK (price for a doner kebap), both in Euros, to give an idea of the cost of travelling in these cities. Except accomadation and what not to follow the same scale.

Munich: Though much of what North Americans think of when they think Germany is in fact Bavarian, most of the language stuff (classes, phrase-books, etc.) will of course be High German, which is more similar to what they speak in the north (though absolutley every region, even neighbooring towns have local variations). Thus, the typical salutation "Hallo" will have you looking like either a northerner or a foreigner (obviously depending on your accent). Try "Gruß Gott" (pronounced like "Goose" with a rolled R and got as in "I have got it") or "Servus". "Servus" can also be used to say goodbye, and is again much more local than the High German "Auf wiedersehen" (number of times I heard "Auf wiedersehen" during my two weeks in Munich: 0).

PHLB (obviously this excludes overpriced Oktoberfest, at 5€): 2.50-4€

PDK: 3€

Berlin: This is where the transition to "north german" happens. Thus "auf wiedersehen" is the correct way to say goodbye. Also, whereas they use "Samstag" in the south for Saturday, the north uses "Sonnabend" (literally "Sun(day) evening") which I think could get confusing, if you're example invited somewhere on a Sunday evening ("Sonntag abend").

PHLB: 3-3.50€

PDK: 3€

Hamburg: Much of northern Germany is built on dried out marshes. Don't wonder who farted if it stinks, that's what a marsh smells like.

PHLB: 3.50-4€

PDK: 3.50-4€

Cologne: Though beer connaisseurs know that Kölsch is supposed to typically have at least somewhat of a spicy taste, all of the big breweries have gone the way of their Lagered bretheren and are now almost tasteless. If you want to try a tasty Kölsch, head to Braustelle, Cologne's smallest brewery, who brew an authentic (and delicious) Kölsch on the spot.

PHLB: 4-5€

PDK: 3-4€

Amsterdam: Whereas Germans typically will speak quite good English, they never seem to enjoy speaking it (maybe the grudge that Anglo-saxons overtook Germans in importance through England and the USA), just about anyone under 40 in Amsterdam will basically speak almost perfect English, and will be happy to speak it as well. I believe this comes from the fact that, being such a small country, they have always been very open-minded and international, since a big part of their wealth comes from imports and exports.

PHLB: 5-6€

PDK: 5€

Sion: Switzerland is expensive. A big thanks to everyone who hosted me there, Michel, Marie-Rose and Gregoire, as well as Emilie and Gabriel for taking me out to see so much while I was there.

PHLB: 6-7€

PDK: 7€

Vienna: I would say that this is where the transition from Western to Eastern Europe becomes apparent. Though still using the Euro, everything is a bit cheaper than in neighboring Germany.

PHLB: 2-3€

PDK: 3.5€

Bratislava: As Slovakia joined the Euro less than a year ago, everything is quite cheap there still (expect prices to go up). I would say that the city really surprised me, I wasn't expecting as much as it had to offer. I would definatley recommend it for anyone looking to have fun on the cheap, or to relax, since most of the important sights can be seen and visited in a day or two, leaving lots of time off. Also, it is small enough that walking is a very convenient way of moving around.

PHLB: 1.10-2.10€

PDK: Unknown (as eating at a sit-down restaurant is so cheap).

Prague: The Czech Republic still uses the Czech crown, which means that everything is extremely cheap. It feels and looks similar East Berlin, though the city is much smaller, so walking still remains a very good means of transportation, and also from what I've heard, the public transport can be somewhat confusing. Although drinking in the street is accepted, it isn't practiced much, mainly because street vendors typical sell beer the same price or more than a bar.

PHLB: 0.80-1.25€

PDK: 3€

10 days in Prague

Sunday: I got up at midday and killed oI the afternoon in a cafe nearby, having breakfast and a few coffees followed by a few beers. In the evening I went to the bar downstairs in our hostel to talk and drink. Eventually we headed out to a club nearby, but I didn't stay very long since it wasn't the kind of music I like.

Monday: I did the Sandeman's New Europe free tour, which started in the main square. From there we saw the main churches in the sqaure, as well as the astrological clock and the Jan Hus statue. We went on to see the other main sights, including Winceslas square, the Power tower, the Franz Kafka statue and the Rudolfonium. We finished right next to the Charles bridge, and I went up to the Metronome with David and Pieta, an australian couple I met on the tour, to take panaromas of Prague. We also went to the statue at the Franz Kafka museum of two men peeing on a fountain the shape of the Czech Republic. Afterwards I asked them if they wanted to join up for supper at Ferdinand, the same place I went the evening before, later in the evening and they agreed. I went back the hostel to shower and relax a bit before heading out again. I met up with them just by chance on the street corner after having went in to confirm they weren't already inside. We had supper, I tried out the blue cheese pork steak which was simply delicious. Both of them were very nice and we had some great conversation about travelling, they had some good tips about Turkey. They were extremely generous and payed for my supper. We talked more while walking to the start of the pub crawl and my night out began. I met a group of American students studying abroad and we talked quite a bit. After a few bars and clubs, I came back but decided to start my search for a kebab stand with two dutch girls. We were unsuccesful, and after 30 minutes had to settle for hot dogs, at which point I came back to the hostel.

Tuesday: I didn't get up to much today. Late breakfast, spent some time in the afternoon on the computer. In the evening I went to the bar in the hostel to watch the Tottenham - Inter match.

Wednesday: I visited the ossuary at Kutna Hora with Matt and Ema. I tried to find a sports bar near the hostel to watch the Bayern Munich match, but the one I found was playing another champion's league game, so I went to pick up a pizza and went back there. I spent some time talking with Ema and an australian we met there. I met Virginia when I came back, a girl from Boucherville.

Thursday: I visited the Prague Castle with Virginia, Aaron and Ethan. We then went to the statue of two guys peeing and on our way back Virginia and I visited the Torture museum. We stopped for sushi on our way back to the hostel, where we got ready for the pub crawl that about 10 people from the hostel were going to, which was awesome cause so many people knew each other.

Friday: We got up and Seth offered to cook breakfast, so we headed out to get groceries. He made us pancakes, eggs and some pork and we had a plate of fruit and chocolate as well. Afterwards we watched "The Kite Runner" and napped, getting ready for another night of partying. Rod, one of the guys who works at the hostel, had about 20 czech people over to the bar in the hostel as they were celebrating something. Seth took some amazing black and white pictures, as he's a photographer. Eventually we headed out to Jack Rabbit Slim's to continue the party.

Saturday: I took the afternoon easy, watching a movie. I went out to a pizza restaurant around the corner from the hostel and had the house variety, which came with a scoop of sour cream in the middle. Rod took us out again to a different bar but I hadn't fully recuperated from the previous days so came back early.

Sunday: I took the day slow again, watching a couple of movies with Virginia. We played some drinking games in the evening, and when the others headed out I just went to bed.

Monday: I visited the Pilsner Urquell brewery with some guys from the hostel. Pilsen, as the name suggests, is the birthplace of the Pilsner, the first bottom-feremented (lager yeast) beer. The first batch was brewed on the 5th of October 1842, and from then on changed the face of the pale-lager style. We visited the bottling plant (capacity: 120000 bottles and 40000 cans an hour), the old brewery then the new brewey and finished in the cellar, where maturing still takes place. There we were able to taste an unfiltered version of the product, still fermented in the oak vats. Afterwards we went to see the synagogue in Pilsen, the second biggest in Europe and third in the world. On our way back we stopped at "The Pub", a chain of bars accross the Czech Republic where there are taps on the tables. The concept is that you pour your own beers, and somewhat of a competition begins, with a system that calculates the amount of beers poured and comoares them on a scoreboard, between the pub you're in and the other pubs around the country. We came back to Prague and had supper at a local restaurant that serves a "farm plate": a whole bunch of different meats. We headed back quickly to the hostel before leaving again to go join the Prague Underground pub crawl.

Tuesday: I took the day slow again and watched Pulp Fiction. We played some drinking games and then headed out to Jack Rabbit Slim's again, which was unfortunatley quite empty, so we ended up coming back pretty early.

Wednesday: I went for a day trip to Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad), the filming location of Casino Royale (the Pupp hotel is there) with Matt. Came back to the hostel to chat with the people there before heading back to the train station to grab the night train to Budapest. The night train actually left from Berlin so the compartement I was in already had four people sleeping in it.

Tour of Vienna/Bayern 2 - 1 Bremen - Night out with Andrew - Vienna to Bratislava - Day in Bratislava/Bayern 4 - 2 Freiburg - Bratislava to Prague

Tuesday: I arrived very early in Vienna on a night train from Zurich, so I went straight to the hostel to go check out what sights to see. I ended up going to the tourist information center, and they had a self-guided walking tour of the more important sights of the city. It starts off at Stephan's church, takes you to the Hofburg palace, past the square inside (where there happened to be an army demo since it was Austria's national holiday), Museumsquartier, Sezession monument, the Mozart monument and you end up at the Opera. Towards the end I saw brew-pub and stopped for a pint of a delicious IPA and true to style Dunkel (dark malts only). After all that walking I went back to the hostel to find a sports bar showing the German cup (DFB-Pokal) match of Bayern v Bremen. Bayern played their typical poor forn of late, what with all the injured players. Bastian Schweinsteiger was the hero of the match, with both goals, one a real cracker from 30 meters out, yelling beforehand for the ball with just enough space to get a slight first touch before rocketing it past the keeper.

Wedensday: In the afternoon I went to see Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (sorry Nic). In the evening I met up with Andrew, who I met in Hamburg, and who is studying in Vienna. We went to the Travel shack, where we involuntarily started doing the drinking challenge. One of the barmaids told us about it two dribks in: a shot of Viennese blood (a chili liquor which you swish in your mouth for 10 seconds), a fireshot of sambucca, a snuff shot (a eucalyptus aroma something that you inhale) and finally a half-liter of beer through a beer bong. We then got our rewards: our faces painted and writing our names on the wall. After a couple other drinks we left.

Thursday: I decided to visit a few of the filming locations of "The Living Daylights" (James Bond number 15, 1987) in Vienna. I started at Schloß Schönbrunn, before heading to Schwarzenberg palace, then Prater park and to finish off the afternoon I visited Gasometers. I also visited Schloß Belvedere. I then took a one hour train to Bratislava, and checked into my hostel there.

Friday: I walked around Bratislava for the afternoon and saw the important sights, the presidential palace, the philharmonic orchestra house, the Danube river and the Bratislava castle. In the evening I went to a small local restaurant to have supper and try out Kofola, a slovak soft drink that tastes like a less sweet version of Coke with a slight citrus and cardamome flavour. I then went to a sports bar to watch the Bayern Munich match. On the main floor there was a Halloween party, so they were showing the match in the VIP room upstairs, where me and a german man watched the match. Sorry to sound like a broken cassette, but Bayern played their typical bad form of late in the first half. A headed goal from Demichelis (39') right before half-time and most likely one of van Gaal's classic motivational speaches saw a more confident Bayern come out of the tunnel for the second half. Gomez eventually put one of his multiple chances into the back of the net with a simple header from a corner (69'). Freiburg pulled a goal back and the game got tense again. Right afterwards Tymoschuk got Bayern's third (72'), taking his time with his first touch before sneaking it past the keeper in the far bottom corner. Kroos scored his first goal (80') for Bayern with a lovely distance shot and just enough space to put it into the top corner. To end the night, substite Braafheid scored his opener for Bayern, though it was an own goal.

Saturday: I returned to Vienna (since I learned that Slovakia isn't on the Eurail pass, I thought it was better to pass through Austria) to then head to Prague. I met a Canadian couple and we talked for the whole train ride. They invited me to supper with them in a typical Prague pub-restaurant, where we seemed to be the only foreigners. We then walked around the main pedestrian street before calling it a night.

Geneva - Tour of Anniviers valley - Evening out in Sion - The baths at Saillon - The castles of Sion and night train to Vienna

Thursday: I went to Geneva for the day and saw the city with Emilie. Though she has been living there for more than a year, for her studies, she never really played tourist there. She knows the important sights, but it was a discovery for both of us. We visited the Brunswick fountain first, then we saw the "jet d'eau" (water fountain) which throws water up to 180 meters. It was originally an pressure release for one of the hydroelectric damns near Geneva, but the locals like it so much that they made it a permanent installation. We then went to the English garden nearby, though most of the flowers had been removed for the winter. We saw the "mur des reformateurs" (wall of the reformers), all of them Genevois (as everywhere in Switzerland, people feel a stronger affiliation to their Canton than to the Swiss Confederation). The most notable is Calvin. We visited the crypts of the St. Nicholas church, which was expanded a total of four times before being it's current size. We finished the day off by visiting the UN and the botanical gardens, with a quick trip to "Les Brasseurs", a brew-pub, where I tried a cherry beer, before catching the train back to Sion.

Friday: Gregoire and I visited the valley of Anniviers in the morning. We stopped at Grimentz to have a look at the old town, before heading to the Eastern side of the valley to visit the tourist town of Zinal, which was obviously quite dead at this time of year. Afterwards we visited the Wine and vine museum in Salquenen (or Salgesch in German). This part of the Valais is where the transition from French to German happens (called the Rösti line). It was fun to see all the progress that was made in the past centuries in terms of equipment and knowledge. We then went to the second museum of the same name in Sierre (Sidders). It is a bit more modern and there is quite a bit less technical stuff. We then headed over to Provins, which is the dealer who Michel sells his grapes to. They were having a degustation of three different Fendants, a local AOC. To end the afternoon we visited "La Sierrvoire", a brew-pub in, you guessed it, Sierre. They also had a degustation, and we tried three varities, the "Clair" a slightly spicy pale ale, the "Blanche" a belgian style wheat beer and the "Rousse" an incredebly malty red.

Saturday: For lunch Rose-Marie (Michel's wife) made a wonderful tomatoe and cheese fondue, which you spread over potatoes. In the afternoon I went to Gaya's (a friend of Emilie) mother's sled-dog kennel to help Emilie feed them. Gregoire and I made some spaghetti bolognese thinking that Emilie and Gabriel might come and join us for supper, but they had sabdwiches after doing the invetory of a grocery store. Afterwards, I went bowling with Emilie and Gaya, and for once wasn't the worst player. Gaya went home after two games and Emilie took me to "Le Baroque", a small bar where we talked for a while before she took me back to Gregoire's.

Sunday: For lunch I went to Gisele's, who is Michel's sister, with Gregoire, Emilie and Gabriel. In the afternoon Gabriel and I were supposed to go rock-climbing, but both places were closed, so we went to the baths at Saillon with a friend of Gabriel's and her sister. I had supper at Jean-Luc's, with him as well as Emilie and Gabriel. Afterwards I went to see "Les petits mouchoirs", a French film, with Gregoire.

Monday: Gregoire took me to a small mountain with a great view over the valley. The snow had set in at higher altitudes, so when we got to a nice plateau we stopped climbing as the paths were slippery. I was able to take some great pictures from up there. We came back into Ardon and took an apero at the bistro where Gregoire's friends, who went to the play with us, work. In the afternoon I visited the two castles of Sion, Valere and Tourbillon, which are both on neighbooring hill tops overlooking the Valais. Afterwards I got my pack ready and went for a last supper at Michel and Rose-Marie's. They made me a typical valaisan supper, the "croûte au fromage" (cheese crust): bread with a bit of wine drizzled on, topped with ham slices, cheese and two eggs, quite a hardy meal. Then it was time to go grab my first train to Visp, then Zurich where I took a night-train to Vienna.

Emilie's birthday - Fête de la châtaigne - Bisse du Torrent-neuf - Vendange - Bex salt mines/Lavey-les-Bains

Saturday: In the afternoon, I met up with Gabriel in Sion, and he showed me downtown (keep in mind, the population is about 30,000). We then went to a newly opened brew-pub, where I saw beer towers ("girafes") for the first time. They are three and five liter cylinders with a tap on the bottom. It's the same principle as a pitcher, a group of friends orders one and shares it among themselves. We then headed back to his father's appartement to have a cheese fondue for supper. His dad showed up after supper, and we tasted a few of the local varieties of liquors and liqueurs, mainly based on local fruits such as apricots and pears. He also told me about his experience in the "patrouille des glaciers" (glacier patrol), which is a multi-discipline race from Zermatt to Verbier. They use "peaux de phoques" (seal skins) on their skies to go up mountains, since they also the ski to slide forwards, but block when going backwards, so it's possible to ski much like cross-country skiing, but uphill. Obviously, once at the top of the hill, you remove the peaux de phoques and simply ski down. The whole race lasts between six and aixteen hours, depending on your fitness. Gabriel and I then went to join Emilie at a local bar, as she was celebrating her birthday with some friends. We eventually ended up at a club named "trente quarante" (thirty forty), which as the name implies, is meant for the older crowd and ended the evening there.

Sunday: In the afternoon I went to the Fête de la chataigne (Chestnut festival) with Emilie and two of her friends. It's basically a steeet festival with a bunch of kiosks selling different types of food and local specialties. I tried a bunch of different cheeses and sausages. In the evening, I went to see "Des hommes et des dieux" (Men and Gods), which tells the true story of a French catholic monestary in the Maghreb during the 90s. The monks are witness to the rise of extremism in the region and though the local government wants them to leave, they decide to stay.

Monday: In the morning we vendanged a few hundred kilos of Fendant, another Valais specific white-grape variety. In the afternoon, I went with Gregoire to see the bisse du torrent neuf. A bisse is a small man-made stream on the side of the mountain. The purpose is bring water from the mountains down,into the plains to irrigate the different crops. They were quite dangrous to build at the time, and the one we visited had a chapel at the beginning of the trail where the workers would pray before heading out to work in the morning.

Tuesday: The last day of the vendange, we got a couples thousand kilos off the mountain. Parts of the vineyard are inaccesable by road, and so the collecting bins had to be airlifted out. The last of the rows were inaccesible by road, so I wore the "cacolet" to brong down cases by the road. The cacolet is backpack like and allows someone else to install three cases of grapes on your back, weighing about 50 kilos. I only had two trips to do with it, which was just enough to realise how hard it must have been previously when all the grapes were transported like that.

Wedesnday: In the morning, I visited the salt mines at Bex, which are still in use today. They took us around the old parts of the mine, most of them dug out by hand with hammer and chisel. They have a wine cellar in the mines with 5000 bottles, and since the mines are at a constant 18°C all year round (because of a reaction between water and gypsum in the rock around the mines), with a constant humidity level, one year aged in the mines is the equivalent to four years in a normal cellar. In the afternoon I went to Lavey-les-Bains with Grégoire. It's the biggest thermal baths in the region, and their thermal source has water coming out at 70°C, which they cool down for all the different pools. I tried a hammam for the first time, which is basically a sauna but with a constant 100% humidity. I also had a sauna and tried out chromotherapy, which uses music, lights and aromas to either calm you or energize you. Of course, I spent a good amount of time in the thermal baths as well.

Amsterdam - Sweden 1 - 4 Netherlands - Train to Sion - Vendange - Mini-vendange

Monday: I relaxed in the morning, then in the afternoon I went window shopping around Amsterdam. In the evening I went to the hotel room of some of the Litchtensteiners I met before heading out to a bar with them.

Tuesday: I decided that I wanted to go see the football match that was being played in the evening. It took me about an hour and a half to find out exactly who sold tickets to the match and finally buy them. I took the rest of the afternoon easy, and eventually headed out to go see the match. Basically, everyone on the metro was going to the Amsterdam ArenA, so just about all of them were chanting and jumping (there will be a YouTube video eventually). I had a beer before going into the stadium, since the beer they serve inside is *gasp* non-alcoholic beer. I missed the national anthems, but got to my seat just as the match got underway. I sat down only to have to get up a few minutes later, as Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored the opener at the 4th minute. A beautiful pass from Sneijder opened up the Swedish defense, giving room for van der Vaart to pick out a lonely Huntelaar. In the 37th minute, again Sneijder with the key pass to Ibrahim Afellay who was two on one with Huntelaar on his right. The keeper was aware of the pass option, and even so, Afellay was able to tuck it in at ground level in the far corner.

In the second half, the Dutch domination continued. Afellay did his show off far on the left flank with some nice standing tricks, just to get the crowd going, before crossing it to a completley open Huntelaar, who simply headed the ball in past the keeper (56'). The final goal for the Netherlands came in the 59th minute, a beautifully weighted pass from Sneijder (my personal Man of the Match, with key passes on all of the goals) to Huntelaar freed him to run up the left flank, and pass it to Afellay going by three swedish defenders, who, although his first touch wasn't great, kept his calm and easily put the ball past the keeper. The Dutch then lost their concentration and allowed a very easy headed goal from a free-kick (69'). The great Ruud van Nistelrooy got subbed in towards the end of the match, and as soon as he approached the sideline to wait for the substitution, the whole crowd started chanting "Ruud, Ruud, Ruud". After the match, I went to one of the on-site bars, as the metros are overcrowded. I chatted with two Swedes that were in Amsterdam to see the match and visit the city for a few days. We headed back to the downtown together, and they wanted to see the Red Light District. I took them to some of the streets I had seen with my two Montreal friends a few days earlier. They seemed to find the area pretty interesting as I lost both of them to the red lights within only two street corners.

Wedesnday: I headed for the Centraal Station to catch the first of my four trains to get to Sion, Switzerland, (Amsterdam - Frankfurt - Bern - Visp - Sion) which took a total of 10 hours. When I got here, there was a lovely home cooked meal, which was a great change from all the restaurant suppers I have been eating.

Thursday: I spent most of the day at the vineyard, picking grapes and dumping cases into bigger containers. This is Michel's (the grandfather of the two Swiss that came to visit us in Montreal the last two summers, Emilie in 2009 and Gabriel in 2010) commercial production, which is handled by a dealer and sent off to Martigny for vinification. All of the pickers were of course invited to a wonderful Raclette supper, which was delicious and very filling after a hard days work.

Friday: Michel and I went to pick nine cases of Cabernet Franc grapes. We vinified it at one of his friends house. The first step, after picking the grapes, is to pass them through the crusher-destemmer, which, as the name implies, crushes the grapes to make must and removes the stems (which are undesired in the must). Nine cases of grapes half-filled a 200 liter barrel. We then added sulfite and yeast was added later in the evening. In the evening, I was invited to a play by Grégoire, Emilie and Gabriel's uncle, with who I am staying, and two of his friends. The play was quite interesting. In the first part, it is a normal play about work overload and a worker's trouble keeping up with his changing work environment. In the second part, the same play is repeated, but the public is invited to stop the play when they had an idea about how the main character could better cope with his situation and come act out their idea on stage. Of course, the other actors play along and try to stay as true to character as possible, though there is obviously no script. There were maybe ten interventions from the public and though some of them were unsuccesful, most helped out the main characters standing with his colleagues and his boss.

Afterwards, I went to a bar in Sion for a couple of hours with Emilie and two of her friends, who then brought me back to Ardon, which is where I am staying.

Train to Cologne - Cologne - Amsterdam - Tour and pub crawl

Thursday: I checked out of my hostel in Hamburg and took a 4 hour train to Cologne, about two and a half of which I spent standing because the train was completley full. I checked into my hostel and went out for a Kölsch (the local beer style, the name means "From Cologne" in the local dialect).

Friday: I went into downtown Köln and headed for the tourist office to see what I should check out. They also had both of the original "Eau de Cologne". The person at the tourist office was very helpful, and showed four bars very close by that served different brands of Kölsch, so I decided to do a small beer tour. I tasted Früh, Sion, Petar's and Gaffel, the last of which I prefer the most. I then walked around the downtown area to do some sightseeing. Afterwards, I came back to Ehrenfeld, which is the neighborhood where the hostel is in. I napped and then went out to a brew pub which is the smallest brewery in all of Köln. Of course, they brew their own Kölsch, which is actually quite truer to style then the ones brewed by the big breweries (lots of yeast in suspension, which means quite a bit more fruitiness). I ate Leberkäse, which is a typical Bavarian meal, a meat loaf with liver in it, very tasty. I came back to the bar at the hostel and met two english guys who I talked to for a bit. Eventually, it was getting late enough that the clubs wouldn't be empty, so I walked to Grüner Weg, a previous industrial zone, which now hosts a few night clubs. I asked a group of three locals which nightclub they recommended, and they said they were going to Papierfabrik (you can probably guess, it used to be a paper factory). I hung around with them and had a great night dancing.

Saturday: I got up, packed, check-out and ate breakfast then headed to the central train station to catch a train to Amsterdam. I checked in and then met up with I guy I knew from Muncih, who's from Montreal. He is travelling around Europe for a couple of months while his girlfriend is studying in France for a semester. We ate at a small chinese restaurant, then did a tour around the Red Light District.

Sunday: I did the tour of Amsterdam, which I had done four years ago, but was happy to find out was not at all the same. It started in Dam square (where the first dam was built to be able to construct a city). There we saw the National Monument, the Royal Palace, the New Church and the old Post office building (as you can probably tell by now, the Dutch are very pragmatic when naming things). We walked aroung for four hours and saw a bunch of sights, including of course the Red Light District and the Old Church (which happens to be in the Red Light District, very handy to get your sins pardoned). Afterwards, I went to a bar in Leidseplein with some people I met on the tour. I then went to nap and got ready for the pub crawl. We visited six night clubs, and I met a group of about 20 students from Lichtenstein who were celebrating the start of their last year of high school. Obviously, lots of talking and dancing, as well as a bit of drinking ensued.

Tour of Berlin and Pub crawl - Bundestag and train to Hamburg - Tour of Hamburg

Monday; I took the free tour of Berlin offered by Sandeman's New Europe. The tour guide was extremely entertaining, giving us a brief history of the city before taking us around the city. He told us that the city is actually built on swamp land, so that explains the bad odours you get sometimes. We started at the Brandenburger Tor, then saw the Bundestag (parlement), the Holocaust memorial and the Führerbunker (which is actually only a patch of grass). And these are only the first places we visited,for more, check out my pictures on Facebook. I then came back to the hostel to get ready for my first pub crawl, which was great fun.

Tuesday: I went into the dome they have installed on the Bundestag when it was renovated to become the seat of parliament once again in 1999, since West Germany's parlement was in Bonn because the Bundestag was in No Man's Land during the division. The tour guide had warned that the line-up could be quite long and I ended up spending about 3 hours in all to get up to the dome. The view is quite impressive, and they have a free audio-guide which explains the more important buildings of Berlin, a good few of which I had seen during the tour.

I then took an hour and a half train to Hamburg, checked into my hostel and explored the neighborhood by foot. Turns out the hostel is in Altona, but within walking distance of Reeperbahn, which is Hamburg's red light district. Lot's of casinos, strip clubs and brothels.

Wedensday: I had from someone in Munich that lived in Hamburg for a few years that Altona had a big Turkish community, so I got up and decided to look for a Turkish barber shop. After about 15 minutes, I found one, went in and asked if he spoke English. No. Well, that's ok, all I wanted was a really short hair cut and a straight blade shave. I then did the free tour, which started at the Rathaus (city hall) a huge building and testament to the wealth that the shipping companies have brought to the city of Hamburg. After that we visited a few churches, and then a few Kontorhause (accounting houses, used as offices for the army of accountants the shipping companies needed to keep track of all of the goods passing through the city). The guide also talked about the great fire of 1842, which destroyed about 25% of the city. Thus, very few historic buildings are left, since in 1943 the city was bombed for 8 consecutive days by the Americans and the British. At the time, it was the largest bombing, and it created a fire storm, basically like a tornado of fire. Temperatures reached up to 900°C and wind speeds up to 240km/h. The guide finished the tour by telling the story of a famous Hamburg pirate Klaus Störtebecke. We finished the tour in the old habour, so I decided to come back by ferry, touring around the new harbour, which of course is huge. Afterwards, I got ready for the pub crawl. We were a smallish group, but we had an amazing time in bars and clubs in the Reeperbahn. We started off at the 99¢ bar, where, yup, everything is 99¢. We also checked out the bar where The Beatles started their international career (there's actually a Beatlesplatz in Reeperbahn) though it was closed because it was Wedensday. We then did a few different bars and a club to end the night.

Schloß Hohenscwangau and Neuschwanstein - Last day in Munich and Night train - First day in Berlin

Friday: I visited Füssen, which is just on the border of Austria, and also home to two famous (one more than the other) castles. Schloß Hohenschwangau (High place of swans) was built by Maximillian II of Bavaria and his wife Princess Maria of Prussia (same Maria as Marienplatz in Munich). It was built as a summer residence for private suppers and hunting on the remains of a 12th century castle that had been destroyed. Their sons Otto and Ludwig II spent most of their time there as children and when their father died, Ludwig became king of Bavaria (technically Crown-prince, as his brother Otto was eldest but was considered unfit to reign for mental reasons). Within months of his father's death, Ludwig had work on Schloß Neuschwanstein (New swan stone) start. He had installed himself in his father's residence and had a telescope pointed farther up the mountain to watch the progress on the construction of his own castle. After 17 years, he himself died and any further construction was halted.

Today, that leaves us with an impressive castle, the inspiration behind Disney's own castle, albeit with an incomplete interior. The guided tour takes you through the 17 rooms that were completed (sorry there are no pictures of the inside, they are forbidden due to copyright reasons) out of a total of some 50 that were originally planned.

Saturday: I decided to leave Munich. I went to the central station to reserve a bed on the night train from Munich to Berlin. Afterwards, I went back to the camp to pack and wish farewell to the people I met there.

Sunday: My first experience on a night train went pretty well. I only woke up a couple of times, and one of them was because I noticed we weren't moving anymore. As soon as the train got going agaim, I fell right back asleep. My one problem is that as with normal trains, they only pass by after you have boarded to check your ticket. That meant that I was half sleeping (I was excepting it after all) when the controller passed by. That means that dozy me met generally grumpy German ticket controller and didn't really understand exactly what he wanted. After that I was set for the night.

And so I woke up nine and a half hours later to get ready for a day in Berlin. After leaving the train, I went straight to the youth hostel to drop off my big pack (it was obviously too early for check-in) and asked the receptionist what there was to see in Berlin on a Sunday (as everywhere else in Germany, everything but restaurants/bars and museums are closed). She told me that the typical thing to do was to go to flea markets, and she recommended a few that were quite nice. The bigger of the two is located in a huge park right where the Berlin wall passed, and there is still a piece of it left, with a huge amount of wall paintings on it. I relaxed in the park for a while and listened to the live bands that just pop on to the stage in front of a crowd sitting on a hill. I had heard that Berlin was much more artsy than Munich, and my impression at the flea market was that the city youth was filled with Xavier Dolans and hipsters. I then came back to check in and headed back out to a sports bar to see Bayern Munich lose to Borussia Dortmund (2-0). The better of the two teams won, as Bayern have still not shaken off their terrible beginning of season form.

Schwabing / Basel 1 - 2 Bayern - Oktoberfest - Nuremberg

Tuesday: I walked around Schwabing neighborhood for a few hours. It has one of Munich's Universities, so the population is quite a bit younger compared to the rest of the town. It is also known for being the more bohemian neighborhood of Munich. I had supper in an Indian restaurant. Butter and tandoori chicjen, yum. Afterwards I went to the same sports bar to watch FC Bayern win their opening away game of the Champion's League. They got off to their typical start for the new season: hesitant ball possession and mistimed passes. They were punished early on (18') by a goal from  on a defensive error by Daniel van Buyten, surprise. Schweinsteiger equalised with a penalty before half-time. Coach Luis van Gaal pulled his typical motivational speech during the pause, and a different team came back onto the pitch for the second half. After playing very hard for the winner, Schweinsteiger got a beautiful tap-in goal (88') from a Badstuber free-kick. Bayern now take top of their group. Other good news is that Arjen Robben will be resuming training soon, though van Gaal has stated that he wants him completley fit before he sees any matchtime.

Wednsday: After having walked so much the previous day, I decided to take it easy and go watch "The Town" directed by and starring Ben Affleck. During breakfast I met two guys from Montreal, and in the evening I went to Oktoberfest with them as well as a British guy and a German girl. It was definatley the funnest of my times going, as the dancing had started.

Thursday: I went for a little day-trip to Nuremburg. It's a very lovely city with an amazing view of the place from the castle, but the people remind me of Parisians, which isn't something I found enjoyable. I tried some Feserweiße (not completly fermented white wine, so it's sparkling and slightly sweet) and Zwieblkuchen (a sort of loaf of bread topped with onions and cheese) both of which are typical bavarian specialties for tgis time of year. In the evening I tried Nürnberger sausage, which are quite a bit smaller than what you find in Munich. They also use different spices, which was a welcomed change.

Deutsches Museum - Olympiapark

Sunday: I visited the Deutsches Museum today. It's basically a huge natural science museum. They have a replica of a mine (not recommended for really tall people or claustrophobics). They also have physics, chemistry, astronomy, as well as marine transport and aviation expositions. I stayed for around 5 hours snd those are about the only sections I had time to visit, among many more. I went to a vietnamese restaurant for supper, which I stumbled upon on my way back.

Monday: I visited the Olypiapark, the spot where the 1972 Olympics were held. This obviously includes the Olypiastadion, which was also used during the 2006 World Cup. When I got to the site, I immediatley saw the mount there, which I decided to go up and have lunch on the small platform. I then came back down and went into the tower installed there, which gives you an amazing view of all of Munich from 180 meters. It was fun finding all the different buildings I have visited from there. On my way back, I saw tge first effects of the public transport strike. The metro just suddenly changed directions at the stop I was waiting for it, though it was going into the city center, which is where I wanted to go.

Dachau - Oktoberfest - Mainz 2 - 1 Bayern

Sorry I haven't been keeping the blog up to date too much recently. Here is what I've done recently.

Thursday: I went to visit the Dachau concentration camp. Not much to say about that visit, quite a personal experience.

Afterwards, I went out to eat some nice pizza at an italian cafe-bar with an american and an italian.

Friday: I went to Oktoberfest with the six australian and one american girl I met at the campsite. Photos are on Facebook. Again, not much to say. I drank some beer, came back to have a nap, then went out to this little restaurant that's about 10 minutes walk to have pizza again (I couldn't do the whole meat is the main part of your meal thing yet).

Saturday: I spend most of the morning and afternoon just walking around downtown Munich. I came back to a sports bar around the Tent to watch the Mainz - Bayern match. Not much to say about the match, they did the same errors as in the previous one, with a different outcome. The amount of defensive errors they are making combined with their lack of form is causing them lots of problems at the moment.

City tour

I met two americans who are travelling alone, so I joined them on the free city tour. We walked around for about two hours and saw all the sights within walking distance of downtown Munich. The Viktualiensmarkt, an old style food market, the old and new city halls, then Marienplatz, Frauenkirche, a huge church and we finished at Odeonsplatz, which has an exact copy of a Venician statue display.

Afterwards, the two americans and I went to see the river surfing on the Isar. Pretty amazing to think it is done so close to downtown Munich. We then walked through the Englischer Garten to the Biergarten and had lunch.

I came back for a nap and after supper decided I would go to Oktoberfest again. We managed to get a table and I started to chat with a local girl, a half english and half german conversation, as both of us tried to practice our weak language, ensued for half an hour.

On the way back on the tram I met a wonderful lady that had worked at the german house during Expo 67.

Bayern 2 - 1 Hoffenheim and the Isar

This after-noon I went to a FC Bayern fanshop to get #10 Robben on my jersey. The employees were quite nice with me. I asked them if there was a chance to buy tickets to the game on Saturday anywhere. They said my best bet was to go to the FCB headquarters next to the Allianz Arena, where the tickets are sold. They explained to me that on the day before the match, some new tickets are available for sale, usually because season ticket holders can't go and so sell them off that way. All currently available tickets are sold out, and I learned yesterday at the tour that it has always been that way for FCB matches (another Munich club, 1860 München, used to be part owner but now only rents it on matchdays in the second division).

I saw someone on my way to the tram who works at the tent and is a friend of Lorna who recommended that on a lovely day like today, I should go to a field that is on edge of the Isar, the river that crosses Munich.

I found a sports bar really close to the camp, so I went out there tonight to watch thr Bayern - Hoffenheim match.

Hoffenheim took the lead early, scoring after only 30 seconds. Bayern played a typical game with lots of ball possession, although the early conceded goal left to a pressure and so nervous passes. Thomas Müller eventually scored the equaliser, through a Ribery pass, who on the same play injured himself (may be out for a few weeks). Daniel van Buyten eventually scored the winner in the 90th minute with a suspicion of offside on the headed pass. Coach van Gaal subbed off Kroos for Olic and Contento for Pranjic at half-time, maybe for poor performance, but more likely since Bayern will be playing four games in two weeks.

Allianz Arena and Englischer Garten

I visited the Allianz Arena today. It was extraordinary. It's just so huge from the outside. Just as big on the inside, it felt amazing being in there even though it was empty. I did the guided tour of the stadium. They take you around the different rooms, although not onto the pitch. You also get to go to the locker rooms, and they play the Champion's League anthem as you walk into the corridor that leads out to the pitch. Just as a visitor you feel moved, I can't even imagine how the players must feel!

Afterwards, I went to the Englischer Garten, which is a really calming place, with a lovely beer garden and a chinese tower. It is one of the biggest parks of it's type in the world (a bit bigger than Central Park).

Prost

My first day of Oktoberfest. I went to the Hacker-Pschorr tent with the three british guys I met at The Tent. Even though we we tried to get there early, we got into the beer tent at about 9:30, which is apparently too late to get a table.

We wandered a bit to see what it was like inside, and eventually a nice waitress told us where to stand so that she could serve us. Lot's of drinking ensued.

They have wonderful food there. I had Schweinshaxen (pork knuckle. As always, lots of greatly cooked meat, some dumplings and sauerkraut. Around mid-day, the Oompa band started and really got the party started.

After about three Maße, I thought I had enough, so I went back to camp to have a nap, as everything is closed on Sundays except restaurants and bars (again because of the fact that most Bavarians are practicing Catholics). After my nap I chatted with an Australian couple and a Norwegian that had been to Afghanistan (military service still being compulsary in Norway). The Norsk and I eventually started the fire, after which I met Lorna, an American who has been WWOOFing (Worldwide Work Opportunities on Organic Farms) for the past three years (since she has dual citizenship, american and italian). She knows a few of the employees from The Tent and mentionned one that could inform me about a day trip at a camp in the south of Bavaria.

Köln 0 - Bayern 0

I got woken up by Aussies this morning at about 6:30. I learned later that they must've been heading out to the Theresienwies'n wher Oktoberfest is held, to wait in line. The first barrel gets tapped at noon on the opening day ("O'Zapft is!" or "It's tapped") and the line-up starts at 7:00. The person at the reception recommended not going today, since I will be here a while, as it will be hard to get a table (which is required to be served). He said that no sporting events are broadcast at Oktoberfest, so as the kick-off of the Köln - Bayern match approaches, there might be some spots available, as fans will leave to go watch the game elsewhere.

It was such a lovely and sunny day that I decided to go to Schloß (or Schloss, which means castle) Nymphenburg to have lunch on a park bench. The castle is quite beautiful and the whole area is extremely calming.

When the Bayern match was about to start, I went into the Zentrum (city center) to find a sports bar. While I was on the tram, I saw the key words I was looking for: "sports café" and "Sky" (the satellite broadcaster of the Bundesliga, the german league). I met two English guys, fans of Arsenal (a London football club) and we chatted during half time and most of the second half. Bayern played their typical game: game, collected and lots of ball possesion. They were unsuccesful for the full 90 minutes, and drew at home on the opening day of Oktoberfest, quite a rarity. One of their main problems is that they are still missing last summers star signing: Arjen Robben, due to injury.

I have finally found a pillow, and it's small enough to pack if I end up doing camping later on my trip.

Afterwards, I headed back to camp to eat supper (great goulash), and chatted with a few people.

First night at The Tent

Today I got up, showered and packed, as I was headed to The Tent, in the northwest of Munich. I took the U-Bahn into town, then the tram to go there. I set my tent up next to a group of three Brits that are here for a few days. We chatted for a couple of hours over beer (even though they had taken a "skinful" last night and were hungover). I was happy to rest my feet, since I've developed blisters. We went into town at about 3:00, where we went to an Ayinger (a brewery) bar. I had an amazing plate of pork roast with dumplings, as well as a Helles (see photo). The Germans, but more specifically the Bavarians, seem to love meat. Afterwards, we went to a typical German bar on a side street. Of about 25, we were the only obvious foreigners. I had a half-liter of Paulaner Salvator (a Doppelbock), which I thought had set me up to sleep. I tried to find a pillow (unsuccesfully), before heading back to the campsite. I hung around the huge campfire to warm up, then eventually went to bed, only to be woken up about an hour later by some rowdy Scots (ironically, my british acquaintaces had said they would be rowdy since they were Scots, more tongue-in-cheek I had thought). Sleep eventually came, only to be woken up by Aussies at a 6:30. More on that later!

Plane and arrival

Servus! (southern german way of saying hello or goodbye).

I decided to leave with only one back-pack, in which I packed a tent, a sleeping bag and camp matress, as well as clothes and the other necessities. I will be staying at "The Tent", about 15 minutes by tram from downtown Munich, for the two weeks of Oktoberfest. My second stop should be Switzerland. I should be there in time to do the "vendages", cutting off bunches of grapes, and all the other steps necessary to get fermentation going. I will also check to see if camping is possible in Greece and Turkey, my other planned destinations afterwards. Of course, even for those southern destinations, it may not be feasible temperature-wise.

Of the long list of things I had to do before my departure, only one wasn't accomplished (kegging two brews) which is a feat considering it's length. Both were brewed in May, which is quite a while. Both are Belgian strong ales and if they had been brewed recently, I would have come back to nicely aged Trippels.

The plane from Montreal to Philedelphia went fine. It was quite a short one, but the wait at the airport was somewhat long, especially considering that I had lunch before leaving from Montreal, and ate supper on the plane from Philedelphia to Munich. Not all that much to do in an airport for three and a half hours. I was only able to sleep about two or three hours on the plane from Philedelphia to Munich.

The Munich airport is very new looking. When I arrived, the first place to eat that I saw was showing a replay of the Roma at Bayern Munich match (Roma 0 - Bayern 2). I sat down and ordered a breakfast combo (no kidding): two veal sausages, a pretzel and a wheat beer (kleines weißbier). I ordered in german, and when the waitress came with my plate, I asked if it had rained yesterday, in english, as the ball seemed to slide really well on the pitch. She didn't understand at first what I was saying, since I guess she thought I was still speaking german. I took a train into the city center, and from there a metro to my hostel, where I will be staying the first night. I found a towel at a sports shop near Marienplatz (where Bayern Munich celebrate their titles). Other good news is that I found a free Wi-Fi network also not far from Marienplatz at a café.

Plane and train

So, last evening I booked my flight and ordered my Eurail train pass. I also reserved my first night at a youth hostel in Munich, just to be sure I have a place to stay when I get there. I will be getting in pretty early (8:50), so if I can just leave my luggage there, maybe rest a bit on a couch, then I can head out and do some sight-seeing before the crazy Oktoberfest crowds arrive. On another note, hostels seem to be completly booked for both week-ends of Oktoberfest. I have been thinking of other possibilities, such as visiting other parts of Germany, say leaving by train around supper time from Munich and staying a night or two in other cities. Another option is taking a night train, that way I could go see some countries that are a bit farther but that I don't want to spend more than a few days visiting.

After having thought about how long I wanted to leave for, since booking a return flight at the same time is much cheaper, I finally decided to go for 3 months, so my return is on December 15th.

I know it seems like a long time now, to be away from family and friends. But it seems like a reasonable amount of time considering my current travel plans.

I guess time will tell, but I'm sure I will find some other place to visit if my current list runs out early.

I also invited a bunch of friends for a farewell party at a bar in Old Longueuil this coming Saturday.

I have quite a few things to get done to be ready to leave, so I will stop this post here.

Explanations

Plans are starting to come together in my head. I woke up yesterday morning (Saturday) thinking I would leave for about a month, visit Munich for Oktoberfest and attend a few Bayern Munich matches, then visit Istanbul, some family friends in Switzerland, then some of my sisters friends she met 4 years ago when she visited Europe herself (where I actually went to meet her and travel for 20 days) in Sweden and Norway. After having thought about it, I realise that the money I had set out for this trip might last longer than I thought since I could very well spend more time with the family friends than I had planned. I also figure that if I really want to take advantage of this opportunity that I have in my life to travel without any big reason to come back, I should go for as long as I can. I also met a customer of where I work that is going to spend 6 weeks in Belgium (where I think he originally comes from) that invited me to go visit him.
The subject of Edel, me and my ex's dog, came up with my sister. Of course, I feel Emma should have a say in who gets to keep her, it is the least that I owe her.
Other than that, I've been thinking about what to do luggage wise. I may go to MEC to see my options when it comes to back-packs, if that is the option I end up choosing.
On a final note for now, I know this kind of a quick decision doesn't seem typical of me, but for some strange reason, this just seems like what I'm supposed to do right now with my life. I think that going back to school (where my ex and I went to the same classes) and seeing the same people, the same classrooms, etc. would be too quick.
It seems there is something calling me to travel right now, which calms me incredibly when faced with the uncertainty that I meet in the near future.

The beginning

Today is the day I decided to live life for real, to travel, to forget about worries, and school, and my part time job. Today is the day I decided to travel.