Eurotrip I

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How to read me: This is dedicated to the people I know and care about. Think of this space as my opportunity to share with them this, what has been my greatest adventure ever. Nontheless, as I have been told before I tend to write too much. So here's the deal: if you are the kind of person who likes pictures more, click on the presentations and enjoy the pics. If you are more into the experience and wanna enjoy reading witty tails, be my guest and continue reading. A word of advise though, do not read it all at once, take your time as there is plenty I wrote ... enjoy!

Motivation:

It has been a year since my mom passed to a better life, and she grew all her life fond of Europe. She had gone for a couple of months to Barcelona and always recalled it as her best vacation ever. She was very commited to her beliefs and kept always hope that one day she could visit the capitals of catholicism. In a way, I want to make myself believe that by wearing her crucifix, the one she used to pray with within her last days, I carry her with me allowing her to finally fullfill her most desired dream.

It can appear as rather a harsh experience to tick from my list so many cities in so little time, but bearing what was said above you can get my idea. For a more selfish point of view you must know that I lived in London for two years and one year in Uppsala and had only seen the south of Spain. Therefore, I wanted desperately to go for a global sightseeing of west Europe; and by doing so, finally get rid of the feeling that I know nothing about this beautiful full of culture land.

Journey

We start our journey two months before my travel, when I found myself approaching to the summer rapidly. So I get into the oracle “Google” and asked the best way for traveling. No sooner had I asked than I got linked to this interRail global pass. Apparently one could travel all around Europe without caring too much about destinations or fees. Then one gets into thinking the cheapest way of make it possible, and out of the blue I learnt about night trains.

First I must mention about this last trip I did to Spain with a friend. Don’t get me wrong, it was wicked, but if I had the opportunity to do it again I would take the hostels off. Not a good value for money. Instead of aiming for the bogus media-fallacy confortable hostel experience I’d go for the real backpacking. Something I otta say about my journey to Spain, is that I realised then I’m not a museum guy. What I enjoy the most is to go for a walk along the old town and take a few pictures. Talking perhaps with natives if possible and meeting new people. Yet I’m far away from my real obsession when traveling … yeah! The food! There’s nothing in the world that pleases me more than getting to try new traditional food.

Being Colombian stood me in good stead as in my country needn’t one have to travel more than 60 km to get a whole new kind of dish. Were I to be asked I’d admit that food is my “talón de Aquiles”.

Firstly, you have to know that InterRail doesn’t work in your country of residence, so on the 29th I went from Stockholm to Kobenham. My anxiety was growing with every km traveled. Kobenham was beautiful, it was sunny and full of energy with young people all around the streets, full of tourists. While walking along the river one could see the colourful plazas full of smiley charming faces. The down side is that I had only 4 hours to remain there, I had to go to Hamburg and get connected next morning to Berlin. So be it, the journey to Hamburg was beautiful we crossed the sea by ferry. The landscape was beautiful but then again my Germanic curse was freed again to chase me.

You will see, as soon as I put feet in Germany the weather gets crapy. I have been told cock and bull stories about this great weather in Germany but haven’t succeeded in experiencing one yet. So there we were, enjoying the weather and the landscape till I received a SMS saying I was in Germany. Immediately it became cloudy, gray and rainy. On the ferry I met a friend of a friend studying in Uppsala. I was planning to stay the night in a pub while waiting for my next train to Berlin but instead I got to hang out with him and his brother. They were living in a very heated night live neighborhood and one could distinguish it wasn’t Sweden anymore. The order was once more broken. The street was full of bars, shops and girls trying to get your attention … well your money. We went for the preferred German dish known in all European whereabouts. Have you got it yet? Yeah baby, it was a proper kebab … yeas Shadan, it was proper!

The next day off to Berlin I went, but still not good news about the weather.

Berlin: Not bearing the weather I started walking all around taking pictures of the city and contemplating the great buildings and much more. Even though I was enjoying the city I felt like something was missing from this historical representative. I found myself comparing it with London, Madrid and Amsterdam. About 7 pm I was done with the sightseeing. I think that Berlin must be mostly about museums and I was skipping that part entirely. I found myself bored in a Burger King as I didn’t want to eat kebab again. Berlin is very gentle with the wallet I must admit; It was cheap and cheerful. So there I was, not knowing what to do and not wanting to go to the train station to spend the night. So once more I invoked the power and knowledge of the oracle and learnt that there was a salsa place called Soda Bar. I enjoyed a great night of dancing surrounded by beautiful girls. I met there a half Spanish half Colombian girl and her friend and danced all night with them. What are the odds? She was studying physics in a very recognised university in Germany, the Humboldt University. Let me frame it a bit for you, it was dancing salsa, bachata and merengue with a witty girl and at the same time complementing with some exquisite insights in quantum mechanics! How good! I had a ball that night. 

Praha: Finally I succeeded in keeping up with the journey. I was stroked with praha, a gorgeous city full of old pieces of art. The city was there for the river, and they made the most of it at every bank. I took so many pictures and was really exited about its beauty.

Ohh I forgot to tell you, the weather was awesome, I even got a tan! There I was, daydreaming with this city, imagined myself back in the old days. On a whim I decided to get lost in the city and put my map away for the rest of the day. I felt that the city was so easy to follow; it takes you on a continued nice walk. The view from the hill near the castle was beautiful. For my surprise the city was a bargain too. I was astonished by buying a seafood starter, a bohemian potato soup and a traditional gullash along with two jars of beer for just 12 euro. Having come from Sweden one gets a biased perception of esthetics. Sweden stands very high in the beauty meter when it comes to girls. However, walking by I got enchanted with an exotic east European look. I knew this already as I shared plenty with a gorgeous girl from Moldova that I met in London who is definitely a live example of this. The warmth of the people I asked was charming and albeit they struggled so much with English, they were making their best to help me.

Basel: Many had said to me that travelling by night trains is tough. That one can’t really get any good sleep. I always replied the same; there is nothing as harsh as the army. There, one gets to sleep at most 5 hours if lucky and the scenarios are not always the most comfty ones. Bearing this in mind I’d say that it was a rather good night sleep. The train was on time and one could recline the seat if wanted. Looking at the before-hand printed maps I realised that Zurich nor Basel were big cities, and that it would take a short time to complete my schedule in each city. So I got off the train at Basel and went around till midday. My first impression was that it was a quite expensive city once the conversions are made. I knew that the city wasn’t anything out of this world, but I wanted to get a glimpse of Swiss from a different angle than Zurich. It was organized and pretty in a simple way. I enjoyed walking the alleys and seeing the simplicity of the architecture.

Zurich: On the contrary this city was nothing less than spectacular. I planned my walk in the train and managed to follow the path with no difficulties. First I got in the city walking down this Oxford-circus-like street with huge shop windows showing expensive clothing and jewelry. It was significantly apparent that the style of life here was way out of my league, but “una vez al año no hace daño”. So I wore my posher’s mood and made my way to the old town. The weather was incredible, the touch of the sun, the elegance of the city and the unique and magnificent I-don’t-give-a-crap-cause-I’m-millionaire way of living was almost orgasmical. I felt living in a James Bond film and learnt that a Suiss rather than the English one represents better this character. The city has been designed to always have great views; every corner has the potential to become the front picture of a brochure. The bridges crossing the lake looked brilliant and don’t know why but the lake was crystal clear, making the city look like a porcelain or a fancy teacup. If there were any word describing this feeling it would be elegance.

I enjoyed feeding the swans and walking through the bahía and sat and made silly chitchat with some people. The sunset gave it a magical touch forcing me to leave a peace of my heart there. To round it off I had to go for the traditional dish and got the most beautiful made Cordon-blue ever tasted. That night on the train, I chatted with an adventurous girl from North Carolina till my energy wore out.

Wien: Having been in Praha and Zurich gave me a bogus feeling that those were going to be unbeatable. I couldn’t have been more wrong! Wien was majestic, mystic. Every new step offered a greater building, plaza or monumental piece of art. One could easily let go in the epoch. I wanted to see everything and it became an obsession. I learnt though that the city required plenty time and got sored legs by trying to rush all around its beautiful streets. I was told that what was traditional there were sausages that I’m reluctant to eat everyday. That’s why I went for a cheap but tasty pizza. I know that some of you started thinking about my Germanic curse, well Austria proved to be part of this damnation also. Hard as I tried I had to stop for shelter in the middle of my walks. Everything there was overwhelming and the details really shoking. I wonder what made these guys so different from the Germans. They developed a sense of art and esthetics so deep and meaningful. Finally, shattered and all wet after being showered all day I made my way to the train station and for my surprise I shared seats with three charming Spanish girls with a very pronounced sense of humor and were there to enlighten my night! They persuaded me to go to include Pamplona as one of my destinations.

Berlin-Magdeburg: The day started with a very crapy weather as expected, so arriving at the train station I decided not to stay that day in Berlin but instead in a small town near by. I could have chosen any town better than Magdeburg but not in the tourist information nor the tickets office I got help in this regard, they were so tough and straight to the point. So, without any help I opened my map and spotted this small town. This was one of the cities bombed in WW2 and promised a simple day on this foreseen awful German weather. I had to wait in the train station for the rain to die out. The walk was unpleasant and the town didn’t offer much to stick the eye in. So I made several breaks and had to buy an umbrella to be able to continue.

Basically it was a day lost in my, so far, beautiful European trip. Finally I decided to get some food and after looking for good places I found “Leo’s schlemmer Bistro”. It looked pretty expensive, in Sweden a place like that would have cost like 20 euros for what I ate.

What was really funny was trying to order food. The waitress struggled so much in trying to help. She proved to be very diligent though. She couldn’t utter any word in English but showed herself aiming to help me in a remarkable way. After some technical difficulties I decided what to eat and while waiting I took my diary and continued writing. She thought I was a food critic and I joked a bit with it. A couple of times she tried to ask silly basic questions and I was sympathetic. The food felt like a party of flavors in my mouth it was so good. I knew Seljanka is a traditional Russian soup, but here it was really worthy as it had this kick in the mouth, like spicy but not too much. The other stuff was a sort of chicken breast with melted cheese and pork inside served with a roast beef sauce … gorgeous!

I asked for the bill when returning from the kitchen, she gently left a piece of paper that read “you are sexy” I got petrified not knowing what to do! My train was leaving in 30 minutes! just the time I had to get to the train station, we took a picture together and invited her to Sweden, I hope she understood that!

Munich: This city gave me a better impression than Berlin. Apparently the natives enjoy a better quality of life. Plenty bicycles and pedestrian paths. The old town was simple to walk through and the monastery called my attention. Finally the weather decided to make up for those rainy days experienced before and eventhough it wasn’t entirely summer-like it was enjoyable. Something I wonder is the reason why there are so many churches in Germany. More than 5 in the old town and plenty others around. Despite the fact that nothing compares to the job done in Zurich regarding riverbanks, Munich strives in embellishing its riverbanks. What I liked very much was the central plaza; there is a small market and many options to choose for lunch. As usual I wanted something traditional so I went for the sausages in sweet mustard, a special pork roll and a gigantic jar of beer! It was really good and the beer complemented the meal at the best German style. After that I was ready to go on and saw monumental buildings and ended up in a beautiful park full of teenagers swimming in the river, letting themselves flow with the high current. I rested an hour enjoying this atmosphere, it was crowded and people were drinking beer and eating pretzels. Check how the maps ended up after each journey!

Rome: The day started as usual with a prolonged walk. It was incredible, sunny as never seen before in Europe. I felt almost in Cartagena, if there had been any salitre smell the experience would have been complete! Every day spent in Europe, meeting Italians made me realised how close the Italian culture is to mine. The streets crowded, the cars willing to run you over if necessary, the walk paths so tiny that one has to step down to the motorway very often. It was absolute chaos, but it is about this non-organized way what makes Rome that particular. When entering the first Basilica I broke into tears, I felt sophocated and had to sit down. It remained me so much of my mother who would have appreciated deeply being there in my position. As I mentioned before, one of the reasons of being on my journey was symbolic. The crucifix I carry represents my mother’s presence and every step walked has been in her company. The coliseum was fantastic, majestic. There were plenty funny Italians wearing gladiator customs and serving as models while people took pictures, in the meanwhile they were joking and it was hilarious. On several plazas I filmed very good musicians and it gave the place a unique style. I am starting to feel very tired after walking everyday like 10 hours, I think I can use some rest.

Venice: That night I had the pleasure of meeting a very charming and talkative girl from Texas who had an expressive smile. We learnt that both had to arrive in Venice at 1 am and didn’t want to pay for accommodation. So we agreed to go for the nightlife instead. We arrived there and everything was quiet to our surprise, like if aliens had come whipping out human race from the place. I had the feeling of having Venice for my own. At 4 am we sat and admired the colors of the sunrise. The company made it very special! At day, I appreciated how busy it gets and got overwhelmed by the beauty hidden behind the chaotic and messy city. One couldn’t spot any trace of symmetry or tendency, but it made it particularly special. I tried a kind of croissant with mozzarella, spinach and prosciutto. The food was always amazing in Italy. Venice was there for you to get lost. It is the motivation of its structure, so I got so lost so many times, but suddenly I would bump into a magnificent peace of art. Every time I talked to a native I could feel their self-confidence and sense of humor. They were helpful and the best guides.

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