BrandonoBrien.com

Brandon O'Brien

Travel and Adventure Journal

I wanted a place to journal all my travels and adventures around the world. I always enjoy going back and reflecting on my past travels and getting to relive them through my words and photos.

Cinque Terre in Italy

What was the Europe 2013 Trip About?

I spent 6 months living and traveling through Europe. It started with a one-way ticket to Ireland and ended with me exploring 13 countries through the summer, fall and winter of 2013. These blog posts journal my experience through my words and photos.

I wrote the following before starting the trip. It does a great job of summing up my plan for the journey: Traveling is something I've loved doing for as long as I can remember. I've been lucky enough to travel out of the US a few times but never longer than 2 weeks at a time. I decided that I should go see the world and experience all it has to offer. I booked a one-way ticket to Dublin, Ireland to depart on June 26, 2013. After I get to Europe I'll let serendipity take hold and see where I end up. No schedules and no itinerary… just go with the flow. That's as close to a plan as I'm making.

I hope you find my journal inspiring and it gets you excited about planning a trip of your own. I recommend changing the post order and reading this section from the earliest posts to the latest, like you're traveling with me! You can change the order in the right sidebar in the Site Settings section.

Europe 2013 Trip Links: Preparation Map Photos Cost Breakdown Favorites

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Planning for Belgium

Tuesday, September 3, 2013 @ 8:02 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 69

After breakfast this morning I packed a lunch and went out to the beach to read for a while. After lunch I walked down to ASDA and got some more oranges and some pasta sauce for dinner tonight. It was getting pretty hot after the clouds broke so I came back to the hostel and worked on plans for Belgium.

I booked 3 nights in a hostel in Brussels and then 4 nights in a hostel in Bruges. From Bruges I can take day trips to some other cities such as Ghent.

I'm really looking forward to starting the next leg of my journey. Ireland and the UK have been great, but I'm ready to experience more of Europe than the English speaking countries. I'm also looking forward to trying some new beer. I've had some good beers, some average beers and some crappy beers while in the UK but I'm ready to try some Belgian beers. The hostel I'm staying at in Bruges has a bar with 25 different Belgian beers to try.

Tomorrow I'm going to head to the coach station and buy my bus tickets to Brussels. I'll need to get from Brighton to London and then from London to Brussels. I'm planning on taking the overnight bus so I don't waste a full day traveling. We'll see how that goes. I'm not sure what the plan is for when it comes time to cross over into France though. Will I have to get off the bus and onto a boat? Will the bus just drive onto a ferry? Maybe the ticket agent tomorrow will know.

Tags: daily journal, england, brighton

Posted from: England

Paddleboarding in Brighton

Wednesday, September 4, 2013 @ 9:01 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 70

I had a horrible night's sleep last night because the guy in the bunk above me must have been having some issues and literally tossed, turned, coughed, sneezed and shook the entire freaking night. Each time one or a combo of those would happen, it would send vibrations down to my bunk, amplifying them along the way.

When I woke up, I had a couple cups of coffee to snap me out of the bad mood I was in from having the worst night's sleep I can remember in recent years. After breakfast I changed into my beach gear with the plan to get my travel to Belgium booked for next week and to try my hand at stand up paddle boarding.

First, I wanted to get my travel booked and get it out of the way. I went to the bus station but realized the ticket office was a few blocks away. When I got there, I had to wait in line for almost an hour with other people trying to book train, bus and coach tickets.

I already had the coach information I wanted written down, but upon talking to the ticket agent he told me I could take a train to London for half the price of the coach and get there twice as fast. I was sold. The coach from London to Brussels was still the best option so I also booked that.

Yesterday when I was walking along the beach I saw a company advertising an hour long paddleboard rental for £10. I made mental note of where it was and went back today. I've never tried paddleboarding before but it didn't seem like it should be that hard. It seemed like it was mostly a balance sport and if you could master that, you'd be fine.

I rented the board and got into the water. I realized right away that it wasn't going to be quite as easy as I though. For the first 15 minutes I just stayed on my knees paddling around. Eventually I stood up and paddled around for a while. The waves didn't seem too bad from shore but when you're on a 2 foot wide board trying to balance and paddle while not falling off, any disturbance in the water seems extreme.

My hour was coming to a close so I headed back to shore and officially made it without falling off! I was pretty proud of myself for that accomplishment. There was a group of people who took lessons and they went out a little after I did. I watched several of them fall in multiple times, so I felt like I at least did better than that, even without a minute of instruction!

I got back to the hostel, ate, showered and caught up on a few episodes of Dexter. Tomorrow I'll get up and run in the morning. It looks like it's the last hot day here for a while so I'll try to take advantage of it. I'm debating going to a digital art / electronic music show tomorrow night. I'll do a little more research and see if it looks worth it.

Teaser photos:

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Tags: daily journal, england, brighton

Posted from: England

Enjoying the Sun

Enjoying the Sun

Thursday, September 5, 2013 @ 6:57 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 71

Today is going to be the last warm day I have for quite a while. The high today was 84 degrees and there wasn't a cloud in the sky all day. Tonight rain comes in and the next couple of days are going to be at least 10 degrees cooler. Once I get into Belgium the weather looks like it's going to be in the 60's.

I started off this morning by getting up early and going for an hour long run. I came back completely drenched in sweat since it was already blazing hot, sunny and humid by the time I started. After showering I ate lunch then went out to the beach to read (under the cover of shade) for a while.

On the way back to the hostel I picked up a beard comb and scissors so I can keep some of the raggedness down as it grows longer. I also got some more soup, bread and apples from Tesco.

For dinner I had some soup and then spent a little while researching Firefox OS. Since it's supposed to rain all day tomorrow I think I'm going to work the ClearCheckbook mobile site and make it compatible for Firefox OS.

Teaser photos:

Enjoying a cider by the pier
Enjoying a cider by the pier
Brighton Pier at dusk
Brighton Pier at dusk

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Tags: daily journal, england, brighton

Posted from: England

Rain and Cold

Friday, September 6, 2013 @ 8:49 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 72

I woke up this morning to the sound of rain. I had breakfast then started working on some major updates to ClearCheckbook. The codebase that the site's currently using hasn't really been updated since the end of 2008 when I launched V3 of the site. What I'm working on now is upgrading all of the javascript libraries from Prototype to jQuery and I'm also working to make the site responsive (so it loads and looks better across a wide range of devices).

After lunch the rain finally stopped and the sun came out, but it was a full 20 degrees colder today than it was yesterday. I still had to walk around in jeans and a long sleeve shirt when I went out to pick up a few items for dinner.

I had some tomato and lentil soup (very good), bread and some steamed veggies for dinner. After dinner I worked on CCB some more until just a little while ago when huge groups started checking in and everyone started getting into Friday night party mode in the lobby.

I'll probably find time to do some much needed laundry tomorrow. There are a few laundromats I found near here so I'll head to one of them. I want to have a clean set of clothes before heading to Belgium!

Tags: daily journal, england, brighton

Posted from: England

Fresh Laundry!

Saturday, September 7, 2013 @ 7:19 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 73

Since I hadn't properly washed my clothes since Bristol (I've done ghetto laundry several times but a sink doesn't compare to a washer), I wanted to get that done before heading to Belgium. I found a laundromat and washed everything.

After getting back and eating lunch I started working on ClearCheckbook again. I've been doing that all day aside from running to ALDI to pick up some stuff for dinner. I got a microwaveable steamed veggies bowl and some chicken. I mixed the chicken with the rest of my pasta sauce and had all of it with some bread. The goal is to clear out the random stuff I have in the fridge before leaving on Monday.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow... probably just work some more. I've been on a roll the last few days and figure I might as well ride this motivation wave while I can.

Tags: daily journal, england, brighton

Posted from: England

My Last Night in Brighton!

Sunday, September 8, 2013 @ 6:04 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 74

Tonight is my last night in Brighton and I couldn't be more excited to get the rest of my journey started. I'll post more of my impressions and thoughts about the UK and Ireland tomorrow before getting on my coach to Belgium.

This morning I got up early to go for a run. The temperature might have dropped 20 degrees from the highs a few days ago, but the weather started out great. It was alternating between clouds and blue sky while on my run. I actually finished my run a few minutes quicker than normal and I think that's because of the weather.

Back at the hostel I showered and then worked on ClearCheckbook the rest of the day. The weather has been alternating between sunny, cloudy and torrential downpours all day. Fortunately I haven't been caught out in the rain today.

During my 9 hour "layover" in London I'm planning on seeing a few of the big sights that are within easy walking distance from the Victoria Coach station. Those include Buckingham Palace, Parliament (Big Ben) and the London Eye.

Tags: daily journal, england, brighton

Posted from: England

Last day in the UK.  Belgium here I come!

Last day in the UK. Belgium here I come!

Monday, September 9, 2013 @ 4:10 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 75

Well, today is my last day in the UK for this trip. In a few hours I'll board a coach that will take me to Brussels, Belgium overnight.

I've had a lot of fun in the Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales but I'm ready to move on. I'm not sure if it was due to the time of year or if that's how it always is, but it seemed like most places I went in Ireland and the UK were filled with people who were there to party. It was a rarity to come across a fellow long term traveler.

Today also marks the last day I'll be in an English speaking country until I return back to the States on December 17th. That's a full three months of being in countries where I don't speak the native language. I'm sure it'll be challenging but that's also a part of this trip that will be sure to stick out in my mind when I look back on it.

I'm in London's Victoria Coach Station right now. When I arrived here from Brighton it was pouring down rain. I wanted to see some of the sights so I checked my big bag and set out. I got pretty wet and ended up spending a little time in a pub waiting for the rain to die down.

When it looked like the rain was slowing, I took off and saw Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, Parliament and Westminster Abbey. I've got to get rid of the rest of my GBP before I leave. Between dinner and a few more drinks that shouldn't be a problem.

I'll upload photos from today once I'm settled into my hostel in Brussels. It's 4:10 now and the sun finally broke through the clouds. I'll probably go out and explore a little more, even if it's just to a nearby pub for a drink and maybe dinner.

Teaser photos:

Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
London Eye
London Eye
Telephone box
Telephone box
Big Ben
Big Ben

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Tags: daily journal, england, london

Posted from: England

Bienvenue en Belgique! Belgium welcomes me with rain

Bienvenue en Belgique! Belgium welcomes me with rain

Tuesday, September 10, 2013 @ 2:35 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 76

After writing my blog post yesterday I went to a pub across the street from the Victoria Coach station and had a beer and re-read my journal entries from the first half of the trip. I had to check in an hour before departure so they could print a ticket and run my passport so I did that then waited for the coach to show up.

There was a bit of a mad rush to get on board because everyone wanted a good seat so they could sleep the whole trip. It turned out all the hassle wasn't really necessary since there were so few people on the coach that it didn't matter.

Sleeping on an overnight bus is about the same as trying to sleep on a plane, except without the steady, basically unchanging vibrations you get from jet engines. We got to Dover where we had to give up our passports to the French authorities. After that we waited for about an hour before driving onto a big train that took us through the channel tunnel. I was in and out of sleep during this time.

I must have got a few good hours of sleep because I woke up around 4am and then was in and out of sleep until we pulled into Brussels a little after 7 local time.

It was a bit strange stepping off the bus into Brussels. First off, the weather was absolutely freezing. I had my long sleeved shirt on and I had to put on my jacket and rain coat just to stay warm. I eventually made my way to a Starbucks and ordered a coffee and used their electricity to charge up my phone. Unfortunately they didn't have wifi I could use.

With a lot of time to kill before I could check into my hostel I decided to wander around and make my way toward the Grote Markt (main old square) here in Brussels. The city started off looking like any big city I've been to but as I got closer to the square the buildings got older and more "European" looking. It had just finished raining and I got to the square and took some photos.

Not sure what to do now I decided to hunt down some WIFI. I walked roughly toward my hostel and found a few pockets of free wifi here and there and was able to check a few emails. Carrying around all my gear was starting to get annoying so I went to the hostel and dropped my bag off. I charged my phone and used the internet until around 11:00. The rain had been on and off all day today but I was looking out the window to bright blue skies.

Since I was cooped up on a bus all night I decided to walk down to the Atomium (a giant building made up of tubes connecting giant spheres). It was supposed to be around 7 miles round trip which sounded good to me. Unfortunately on the way there it started downpouring again. I hid in a park under some trees for about 10 minutes until it lightened up enough for me to venture out again. I got some good photos of Atomium but was starting to get really hungry.

Since I didn't have cell connection and couldn't find any wireless internet I just set off in a random direction in hopes I'd find some food. After about 10 minutes of walking I came to a "Fritkot" which is a restaurant that specializes in Frites (fries). I had some of them with a stuffed pita and they were sooooo much better than the soggy worthless chips you get in England. I'm not sure why Brits find those poor excuses for fries acceptable but they do. The French/Belgians certainly know how to do their fries right. They actually double fry them so they all come out nice and crispy.

While I was eating it started raining like mad again. Without any real options I put on my rain coat and started walking back to the hostel. After about an hour the rain finally stopped and the skies cleared up again.

I stopped in some random little market and bought some massive Pink Lady apples and ate one as I walked the rest of the way back to the hostel. Once back, I checked in and got situated in my bed. This hostel is a half hotel, half hostel and it has a really cool vibe. A lot of concrete and a very modern feel to it.

I'm extremely tired now and it's only 4:30. Between sleeping on the bus and about 9 miles of walking today I'm beat. I had a late lunch so I'm not sure what I'll do for dinner. There's a full kitchen here but I'm not sure what I'm in the mood to make. I'll probably hang out a bit and maybe get some Belgian waffles for dinner instead of making something myself.

Teaser photos:

Grand' Place-Grote Markt, Brussels
Grand' Place-Grote Markt, Brussels
Atomium from a distance
Atomium from a distance
Cool sculpture
Cool sculpture

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Tags: daily journal, belgium, brussels

Posted from: Belgium

Walking Around Brussels and Belgian Beers

Walking Around Brussels and Belgian Beers

Wednesday, September 11, 2013 @ 2:56 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 77

I ran out to a Carefore market to pick up some food for dinner and lunches over the next few days. I picked up some chocolate croissants for breakfast and some fruit to snack on. After that I went to Aldi and got what I thought was peanut butter but ended up being some kind of weird biscotti cookie tasting spread. It was alright at first but didn't sit to well later on. I had a couple beers, watched the latest episode of Breaking Bad, then went to bed.

There was a couple in my room that was spending 2 weeks traveling around Europe from England. I talked to them a little bit then went to bed. I was exhausted from traveling and walking all over Brussels so I slept really well.

This morning I got up and had a croissant and some grapes for breakfast. The croissant was really good! I microwaved it for 30 seconds so the chocolate inside was nice and melted. I found some peanut butter in the shared food shelf at the hostel and used that to make a sandwich for lunch. I didn't want to have another one with that weird spread.

My plan for the day was to see a few of the sights and have some Belgian beers. I started off by going to the Manneken Pis fountain. The fountain is of a little dude peeing and is supposed to represent the irreverent spirit of Brussels. It gets dressed up in a different outfit a few times a week. The fountain is tiny and is located in a random intersection in Brussels but it was pretty funny to see.

I started walking toward Jubelpark which has Brussels version of the Arc de Triomphe but on my way it started to cloud up and look like it was about to pour again. Rather than get caught in the same situation as yesterday I decided to eat lunch in the Grote Markt and then find a bar to have a drink at. In my research I found the Delerium Cafe that has a Guinness World Record for most number of beers at 2400. I had a beer there, then went next door to their Monistarium for a trappist beer.

It rained when I was in both of the bars so my intuition to drink instead of getting rained on was correct. When the rain slowed down and I was finished with my second beer I set out to find some frites. I stumbled across the Friktos Tabora and got some frites with andalouse sauce. I think it's some kind of mix of mayo, ketchup and peppers. Whatever it was it tasted really good. It reminded me a bit of animal style fries at In-n-Out.

Sufficiently happy after eating the frites I set off for another bar I found online called Moeder Lambic and had a beer there. Belgian beers really are good. I had 3 different beers today and each of them was different but really good. Also, the lowest ABV of any of them was 8%!

I decided it was probably time to head back to the hostel so that's what I did. I stopped at a Lidl along the way and got a pepper, pasta and pasta sauce for dinner. I'll probably start making that in a little bit before the kitchen gets overrun.

For tomorrow I'm thinking about getting a day pass for the metro so I can see more of the sights without getting rained on and stranded a few miles from the hostel. I also need to buy my ticket to Bruges tomorrow.

Teaser photos:

Manneken Pis
Manneken Pis
Delerium Cafe
Delerium Cafe
Frites with andalouse sauce
Frites with andalouse sauce

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Tags: daily journal, belgium, brussels

Posted from: Belgium

Getting lost in Brussels

Getting lost in Brussels

Thursday, September 12, 2013 @ 1:54 PM in 2013 Europe

Day 78

The kitchen was slammed last night. There were a couple giant groups that were all trying to cook at the same time (and the kitchen is pretty small). I ended up making my pasta with red peppers, listened to a Coffee Break French podcast then went up to my room to read and shower before bed.

This morning I got up and had another chocolate croissant for breakfast then wanted to head out to the Parc du Cinquantenaire to see the Arc de Triomphe here in Brussels. I just checked the map and it should have been a 9.5 mile round trip but I got completely lost. I got so used to having a data connection and the ability to see where I was at any given time on the maps on my phone. After a couple mile detour I finally made it to the park and saw the Arc de Triomphe. The arc here is made up of three arcs where the one in Paris is a single arc.

I had lunch at the park then went to the Central Station to buy my train ticket to get to Bruges tomorrow. After buying the ticket I went over to the Grote Markt again in search of a Belgian waffle. I passed a few stands that seemed a little pricey but finally found one that looked good. I got a waffle with powdered sugar on it. The waffle was fresh out of the griddle and tasted amazing.

I ate the waffle in the Grote Markt then stopped by the Carefour express on the way back to the hostel to pick up some breakfast for tomorrow and some beers to enjoy tonight. I got a couple trappist beers and a random Belgian beer to sample.

I've just been hanging out at the hostel now enjoying the beers and some grapes that I bought. I'll probably try to eat a little early in case the huge groups descend on the kitchen like a swarm of locusts again tonight.

Tomorrow I head to Bruges to get the feel of a smaller Belgian city. Brussels has been fun but it definitely has that "big modern city" feel that I've come to be unenthusiastic about. There are areas (like the Grote Markt) that have that old European charm, but it seems like a lot of Brussels could be mistaken for any other large city throughout the world.

Teaser photos:

Arc de Triomphe in Brussels
Arc de Triomphe in Brussels
Belgian flag at Arc de Triomphe
Belgian flag at Arc de Triomphe
Belgian waffle with sugar
Belgian waffle with sugar
Me at the Grote Markt
Me at the Grote Markt

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Tags: daily journal, belgium, brussels

Posted from: Belgium

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