Brandon O'Brien

Tuesday, September 24, 2013 @ 6:48 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 90

Some people in my room came in drunk at 4:45 this morning and proceeded to discuss food, religion, drinking and drug habits for an hour before finally going to bed. Needless to say I was pretty pissed off from being woken up that early and didn't really get good sleep after that.

It was raining when I woke up and hasn't stopped all day. I went to the Turkish Market that's pretty close to the hostel and got soaked. It would have been a fun time if it wasn't for the rain. There were tons of food, vegetable, fruit, bread, cloth, and misc vendors set up along a big street. Even in the rain it was still pretty busy.

Rather than deal with low 60's and constant rain I came back to the hostel to read and work. If the weather is nice tomorrow I'll head out and do some more exploring. If it's cold and raining again I'll probably just make it another working day. I'm passed the point in my travels where I feel the need to go out and get soaked all for a few photos. I saw the majority of what I wanted to see during the first two days when it was better weather.

Tags: daily journal, germany, berlin

Posted from: Germany

Monday, September 23, 2013 @ 9:19 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 89

I slept really well last night after the sleeper train the night before and hiking around with my backpack all day. This morning I got up, had a cup of coffee and then went out to get some food. Since all the markets were closed yesterday I didn't have a chance to pick up any breakfast food.

I went to Lidl and got an apple pastry for breakfast, lunch stuff (bread, strawberry preserves and fake Nutella) and some pasta for dinner. Back at the hostel I ate my breakfast and had some more coffee then set off for Checkpoint Charlie. Even though I have an unlimited train card, I wanted to get some fresh air and the walk was pretty nice.

Checkpoint Charlie is in the middle of a busy street surrounded by all kinds of restaurants, shops, street food vendors (Checkpoint Curry anyone?) and souvenir stands. There was also an outdoor museum with a lot of information about Checkpoint Charlie, the wall and the history surrounding it all.

From there I headed north and then got diverted over to Museum Island due to road construction. I saw the Berlin Cathedral and walked around some of the museums. I didn't go in any of them due to the entry costs being so high. Maybe later in the week I'll venture into one though.

One thing to note... for some reason there are a lot of... for a lack of a better word... gypsies, out around Berlin. I'm not sure what the scam is but I walked around enough today to pick up a sense for something not being right. Basically what happens is a young boy or girl will come up to you asking if you speak english. They have some kind of leaflets in their hand as well. All of this takes place in busy areas and their parents/cohorts aren't usually too far away.

I never acknowledged them so I'm not sure how the scam plays out, but I'm assuming they find out you speak English and either try to sell you some kind of leaflet or use it to distract you while someone else conveniently "bumps" into you and makes off with your valuables. I've read about those scams enough online to think that's probably what's going on.

Anyway, after museum island I went back to Alexanderplatz where I ate lunch and walked through a huge electronics store called Saturn. I was hoping I could get an actual European plug for my laptop so I didn't have to keep using my adapter. Unfortunately they didn't sell just the cord I needed.

I came back to the hostel and worked for several hours before making dinner. I overheard some people at the hostel today talking about how every Tuesday and Friday there's a huge Turkish outdoor market. It's within easy walking distance from my hostel so I'm going to head over there tomorrow and check it out.

Teaser photos:

Checkpoint Charlie

Checkpoint Charlie

Berlin Cathedral

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Tags: daily journal, germany, berlin

Posted from: Germany

Sunday, September 22, 2013 @ 4:41 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 88

The train ride last night went pretty well. I watched the countryside go by until it got dark, read for a bit and then went to sleep. I got up around 6 to get ready for the arrival into the Berlin HBF. The first thing I did when I got to the train station was buy a 7 day unlimited card for use on the S bahn and U bahn (underground and above ground trains).

I had a chai tea latte and a muffin for breakfast then started walking around the area near the train station. I saw the Reichstag (German Parliament building), the Brandenburg Gate and the Victory Column. All in all it was about 4 miles of walking first thing in the morning.

I got on the train to Alexanderplatz and walked around there for a bit. I saw the Berliner Fernsehturm (a giant tower in the middle of town). I ended up having some beer and tried some currywurst. I've been trying to try some of the local food wherever I go and currywurst was recommended for Berlin. It's basically a bratwurst cut up and covered in a curry/ketchup sauce and served with a roll. It was pretty good.

I got on the train to the area near my hostel which ended up being a really lively area full of Turkish restaurants, cafes, bars, markets and people everywhere. I eventually found the hostel and got checked in.

I walked over to a Lidl to get some food for the next few nights but unfortunately I forgot that most groceries are closed on Sunday. I'm getting pretty hungry but I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet for food. I'll probably have to give one of the turkish places a try since another food that was recommended to try in Berlin is a Doner (basically a Turkish version of the gyro).

I'm already feeling tired as well so I don't think tonight will be a late one. Tomorrow I'll set out to do some more exploring around the city.

Teaser photos:

Brandenburg Gate - Berlin

Top of the Victory Column

TV Tower and the Alexanderplatz

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Tags: daily journal, berlin, germany

Posted from: Germany

Saturday, September 21, 2013 @ 2:12 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 87

I'm writing this post a little early since I don't know when I'll have WiFi next. I've just been working on ClearCheckbook for the last few hours at the hostel. My train for Berlin leaves tonight at 7:00pm so I've got plenty of time to kill. I'm not exactly looking forward to a night on the train (at least I have a bunk in a 6 bunk room) but it's better than spending an extra night paying for a hostel then wasting an entire day on the train.

I'll probably head out in another hour or so and make my way up through the city to the train station. I'd rather stay here where I can get some work done though.

Amsterdam has been a cool place to visit and I think 4 full days was about the right amount of time. Unfortunately due to the weather I wasn't able to rent a bicycle and ride up to the windmills that are about 15 miles north of town. That was something I was looking forward to but I didn't want to risk getting caught in a chilly downpour for hours on a bike.

I've got 5 nights planned in Berlin before I head south to Prague in the Czech Republic.

Tags: daily journal, netherlands, amsterdam

Posted from: Netherlands

Friday, September 20, 2013 @ 4:58 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 86

Last night I headed out with a bunkmate named Antony from Australia. We had some drinks and got rained on while walking around the city. We passed through the red light district which seemed pretty wild at night.

This morning I took my time eating breakfast, answered a few emails (from up in my room... the WiFi here has been having some MAJOR issues lately but it appears to be cleared up now), then set out just before lunch to see the Van Gogh Museum.

I picked up a ticket by the I Amsterdam statue which got me in a "fast track" style admission line. It didn't cost any more but it saved me about 45 minutes worth of waiting in line. They only let people in every 2 hours to keep the amount of people in there from being too crazy. My ticket let me in at 1:00 so I had a sandwich and read by the I Amsterdam statue.

With about 15 minutes before entry, I went to the museum and still had to wait in line. It went really fast though and I was in the museum pretty soon after 1. The museum had several floors full of Van Gogh's work plus some other people who inspired him. I got to see a lot of his most famous pieces up close. Unfortunately Starry Night wasn't there. I was looking forward to seeing that one.

I spent 2 hours walking around and figured I'd leave before the next mass of people came flooding in. I bought some mixed veggies for dinner then came back to the hostel. It appears the WiFi issue has been fixed and it actually works down in the lounge now. Hopefully it stays that way tonight.

I have all day tomorrow to kill in Amsterdam before boarding my train to Berlin tomorrow night. I still need to print my train tickets. I'll either do that at the hostel if they're able or I'll have to find an internet cafe.

Teaser photos:

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Tags: daily journal, netherlands, amsterdam

Posted from: Netherlands

Thursday, September 19, 2013 @ 5:03 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 85

Today I went to the Anne Frank House. It took about a half hour to get to the ticket counter. Once inside it felt a bit like a cattle drive where there was just one continuous line that you followed as you made your way through the various rooms of the old house, attic and warehouse that made up the museum.

Putting the sheer number of people aside, it was actually humbling to see where her and her family and four others spent several years. The museum had excerpts from her diary and journals everywhere and most rooms had history about what happened there or what the room was used for.

I ate lunch outside the museum then, once again, aimlessly walked around Amsterdam. I eventually stumbled across the red light district and walked through there and then Chinatown. The smell from all the food in Chinatown was making me hungry again. I stopped for a beer and then went back down to the Albert Cuyp street again and bought another giant stroopwafel as a snack.

Back at the hostel I did a little work offline (the wifi here is obnoxiously horrible). I found out that I can get a shred of internet if I work in my bed. The wifi in the lounge simply won't connect either my phone or laptop.

I bought some wine that I'll have tonight with dinner. Not sure what I'll do after that. I guess it depends on whether or not it's supposed to rain. It would be fun to see Amsterdam at night but I don't feel like getting drenched.

Teaser photos:

Part of the line to get into the Anne Frank House

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Tags: daily journal, netherlands, amsterdam

Posted from: Netherlands

Wednesday, September 18, 2013 @ 8:05 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 84

I just wanted to walk around today and check out the various zones of the city. I went up to the Haarlemmerdijk street and then just walked around. Eventually I went down to Albert Cuyp. That's a street that on Wednesdays is basically one giant market street. I read on the tourist map they gave us at the hostel that Albert Cuyp is where you go for stroopwafels.

If you've never had a stroopwafel, they're amazing. Check out the stroopwafel page on Wikipedia for more information about them. They're essentially really thin soft wafer/waffle cut in half and filled with a caramel syrup. When served fresh and hot they're amazingly delicious.

I got to see them make it fresh in front of me then carried it around through the market. I ate it pretty quick before it had time to cool off.

I came back to the hostel to work a bit, then went out and got some bread, apples and oranges. I also got some pasta sauce so I could make some italian grilled cheeses for dinner with some cheese I had bought yesterday.

After dinner I went out and walked around Vondelpark for a while. It's a huge park just outside the hotel. Even in the rain there were a lot of people out running, jogging and bicycling. I was getting tired of the constant switching between rain and sun so I came back to the hostel and watched the latest episode of Dexter.

Tomorrow I'm going to try to make it to the Anne Frank house. I walked by this morning but the line was ridiculously long.

Teaser photos:

I amsterdam

More Amsterdam canals

Making Stroopwafels

A Super Stroopwafel

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Tags: daily journal, netherlands, amsterdam

Posted from: Netherlands

Tuesday, September 17, 2013 @ 7:10 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 83

I was a little unsure if I'd make all of my train connections from Bruges to Amsterdam but each train was on time and all the connections went flawlessly. I left Bruges at 9:18 this morning and arrived in Amsterdam at 1:08 this afternoon.

The first thing I noticed when I got out of the train station in Amsterdam was the sheer amounts of people here. Aside from perhaps Dublin, these were the most crowded sidewalks I've seen this trip. One really cool thing here is all of the bicyclists. They're everywhere! They have just about as much street space as the cars do.

When I was trying to find my hostel I got a little turned around and walked through a lot of the secondary streets here. Finally I made it to my hostel and checked in. So far this seems like your ordinary hostel except for the smoking room they have down in the bar/lounge area. It's a separate room with an exhaust so the smoke doesn't get into the rest of the place.

I walked around a little while but due to the amounts of people and the weather I didn't go too far. I made dinner and then attempted to go for another round of exploring but it started raining. I didn't really feel like being cold and wet tonight.

I think tonight I'll just chill here at the hostel and get up early to go explore around tomorrow.

Teaser photos:

Bruges to Antewerp

I amsterdam - Busy!

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Tags: daily journal, netherlands, amsterdam

Posted from: Netherlands

Monday, September 16, 2013 @ 4:48 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 82

I wanted to see a different city today and Ghent was on my list before I left the States. It's a 30 minute train ride from Bruges and the trains run very regularly. I went to the train station today to pick up my tickets to Amsterdam and buy a round trip to Ghent.

The lady at the ticket counter couldn't figure out what to do with my confirmation code which was pretty frustrating. To make it even more frustrating, I couldn't pull up the email with the information since there was no wifi available at the train station. I said screw it and figured I'd get it all taken care of later.

I jumped on a train to Ghent and watched the countryside pass by through the window. When I got to Ghent I jumped on a tram that took me to the city center. Ghent is a lot bigger than Bruges and has more of a "real city" feel. The old city center area was nice but I felt like half the place was under construction. A lot of the statues and buildings were surrounded by scaffolding and tarps so they could do whatever maintenance they needed to.

I walked around for a few hours and took some photos. There was some free wifi outside a McDonalds so I took a screenshot of my Amsterdam train ticket email and figured I'd try my luck getting the ticket printed at the Ghent train station.

Rather than hang out in Ghent all day aimlessly wandering around, I jumped on the tram back to the train station and successfully printed my ticket to Amsterdam. There was a train leaving back to Bruges a few minutes later so I got on it.

Back at the hostel I did some research into hotels in Paris. The hostel is getting pretty packed earlier than normal. A lot of English people just checked in and they're all hanging out drinking. After this blog post I'll probably get some dinner going and then have a drink at the hostel bar.

The first stage of my trip to Amsterdam leaves at 9:18 tomorrow morning so I won't stay up too late tonight.

Teaser photos:

St Nicholas Church in Ghent

Castle in Ghent

Canals in Ghent

Ghent Belfry

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Tags: daily journal, belgium, bruges, gent

Posted from: Belgium

Sunday, September 15, 2013 @ 4:48 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 81

The weather today was beautiful. I got up early, ate and then set out to explore as much of the city I could without the interference of rain.

I walked by canals, through parks, through markets that took up several streets, and by the windmills again. I covered a ton of ground today and got some great photos along the way. A few hours after I ate lunch I was getting hungry again so I stopped in a chocolate shop and got what was essentially a chocolate rice krispy treat and ate it by one of the canals.

The windmills looked great today with blue skies in the background. I got a few photos that I'll probably upload to indePrinted when I get a chance.

The town was packed today too. I'm not sure if it was due to the weather or the fact that it's a Sunday or a combination of both. There were massive groups of people on tours that blocked entire streets.

After walking around town for about 5 hours I came back to the hostel to do some planning for the rest of my trip. I was looking at the map and train routes and prices and figured I should probably get a more defined route ready for the next month of my trip so I make sure I'm in Paris by the 21st of October. It looks like after Amsterdam I'll head to Berlin, from Berlin to Prague, Prague to Vienna, Vienna to Verona, Verona to Vernazza (the Cinque Terre) and that's as far as I've got so far. Ultimately I'll end up in Naples so I can see Pompeii. From Naples I'll get a train to Rome and then from Rome there's an overnighter to Paris that will get me in on the 20th.

The unrelenting rain finally returned. I've done my fair share of walking for today so I'll just eat dinner and hang out at the hostel the rest of the night. Tomorrow I'm planning on visiting Ghent for the day since I've seen just about every nook and cranny here in Bruges.

Teaser photos:

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Tags: daily journal, belgium, bruges

Posted from: Belgium