It was a dark and stormy night...

Edinburgh is incredibly eerily enchanting. By day, it is a beautiful cobble-stoned monument to everything Scottish. Kilts, whisky, shortbread, haggis, William Wallace figurines, and the like are being sold all along the Royal Mile. But by night, a mist falls over the city and gives everything a magical glow. While getting ready for bed my first night in town, I looked out the window and saw the mist enveloping Herriot's School (J.K. Rowlings inspiration for Hogwarts). I knew the city would look amazing so I put down my toothbrush and picked up my camera for some night time shooting.

Edinburgh is the most haunted city with paranormal occurrences daily. I could see why after hearing some of the stories about its dark past filled with torture, disease, witch trials, and serial killers. As you walk down the Royal Mile at night in Old Town, you get the feeling as if you're transported back to the days of the West Port murders when two Irish immigrants went around killing people and selling their corpses for dissection. If you step down one of the alleyways, just make sure there isn't a shadowy man with a top hat and cloak following you.

Eeriness aside, it is very romantic and St. Giles Cathedral was a perfect subject for my new photography obsession. Unfortunately I sent away my tripod so I had to make due with street lamps and my rock solid body (feel free to laugh, I am) for stability.

The next day I went on the New Edinburgh tour, sampled some scotch (if you ever get the chance to have the Dalmore Gran Reserva or Ardbeg Uigeadail, I highly suggest you try them), and had a deep fried mars bar (awesome!). 

I am getting a train back to Glasgow in an hour or two and plan on bumming around until tomorrow morning when I fly back to Boston and this chapter of my life is over. Until the next chapter, goodbye and thanks for reading!

It's official....I am an old man

To answer my dad (I assume that is who tklonick is), the terrain has been mostly roads, some trails, bridleways, bogs, rivers, and manure soaked fields that have literally made the rubber peel off my hiking boots. The lack of adequate footwear is no longer a problem though because...

I AM DONE!!!

Aside from 2 days in which I sherpaed (sherpa'd?) both of our gear from Barnoldswick to Ingleton to Kendall and a few bus backs, I walked from Cheltenham to Glasgow (350ish miles) in 20 days. From this experience I have come to a few conclusions.

1. British food is not the best. - It could even be the worst. But that would be saying a lot because there are a lot of other countries out there. They do have one thing going for them, breakfast. The idea of the full english breakfast is great: Bacon, sausage, egg, mushrooms, plum tomato, baked beans, toast, cereal, orange juice, and tea or coffee. I was never a big breakfast guy but it has been nice getting a belly full of food for a long day hiking. 

Unfortunately some people's idea of a full english breakfast also includes black pudding and haggis. Black pudding is absolutely horrid and haggis is just....well haggis. There is nothing like it. There is no reason to ever have anything like it. But that is the only gastronomical claim to fame the Scottish have because they can not cook. I could go on, but won't for fear of turning you off the UK. Which I don't want to do because it is great. Just bring lots of granola bars....lots.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_pudding

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haggis

2. The British are incredibly helpful, just don't ask them for directions - I could go on for pages describing the incidents where complete strangers have been shockingly friendly. I could also go on describing the incidents where complete strangers have no idea where they are, where they are coming from, where they are going, or what country they are in. I'll give you a bit of both.

I had just gotten on a bus to try and find the B&B we had booked because it was getting late and we were not going to make it in time. I soon realized I was screwed. No one on the bus had ever heard of the place, the embedded map on my laptop had disappeared, and it was starting to rain. Luckily I met a girl named Ali and her mom was on the way to drive me around to find the place. As we were waiting for her mom in the drizzle, a man walks up to me and asks if I am walking from Land's End. Needless to say, I was a bit thrown off. "Well I'm not, but my friend is...why do you ask?"

"Hi I am Phil and I own the B&B where you are staying tonight, I am your savior, I will drive you around the countryside so that you can walk without your packs for a day, my wife will give you homeopathic remedies to fix your broken legs, I will drop you by supermarkets to get food, I will print off and laminate maps for you to use so you don't get lost, and so on"

Obviously, I am paraphrasing. He did not say that. However he did do all that. Phil and Jennifer run a fantastic B&B in Hilderstone and I can not speak highly enough about it. If you are ever in the area, check it out.

http://www.highfieldsfarm.talktalk.net/index.htm

When going in to Carlisle a week or so later, Alex decided to run on ahead with the maps to make up some ground because I was a bit lame that day. I thought everything would be ok because coming in to Carlisle from the south I would pass through the fairly dense town of Diggby. However, due to lack of signs for the Carlisle town centre I had to ask a store clerk if they knew how to get there. 

"Hmm that's a tough one, I am not really sure. I think it is that way. Try going down that way and asking someone else for directions."

Ok, she wasn't the brightest. Maybe the next person I run in to will be able to help. Soon I came across two men walking a dog.

"Carlisle? Ooh yea, you probably shouldn't be on this road. You can go back to the motorway."

"I am walking there."

"Oh shit, that's at least a mile away. Get a cab."

I also didn't get anywhere with the rambling drunk scotsman. Words to the wise, when buying the granola bars get maps.

3. I am an old man - People have been telling me this for years but I never accepted it. I knew it though when I had to use my makeshift cane to hobble my achy bones up the stairs in a country estate to get a cup of tea and head to bed while the sun was still shining. It also doesn't help that I yell at people driving by and shake my cane because they are going "too dang fast....damn kids!" So to all those that call me an old man, you were/are right and I am accepting donations of prune juice and depends. 

As for now, I am in Glasgow. Tomorrow I am heading to Edinburgh for 3 days, then back to Glasgow to fly back to Boston on the 30th. The walk is over and the trip is nearing its end. The time has flown by and it has been great but I am looking forward to getting back to the Cape and my family and Cassie. Till next time, ta ta!

What do you want to hear about?

If you are interested in hearing more about the adventure that I am on with my friend Alex Lagina, check out his blog at www.alongwalkoffashortpier.wordpress.com . Also feel free to leave questions or comments about some of my posts or what I have been doing and I will be sure to respond. They can be about the European excursion with my sister as well because I know I skipped over a lot of stuff. Thanks!

Rain rain go away, come again some other month

After day 1 of hiking I was pretty sure this was the worst idea I had ever had. And that says a lot because I have had some real bad ideas in my life. Real bad. For example, when I was a wee lad I thought it would be fun to play around with a hatchet with my neighbor. I thought it was best that we not wear shoes. You can see where that one is going. Sorry Elias and I am sure it will grow back. 

I thought hiking this was a worse idea. But that is understandable. I was just at the peak of my cold symptoms. Very sore throat, achy, fever, chills, clogged nose, the works. Not to mention I had just walked about 17 miles with a very heavy pack on. I found out a few days later that it weighs close to 60 lbs. Anyone that has ever walked a considerable distance knows that is a ton. I had even gotten so depressed that I had e-mailed my parents and told them it was the first time I was homesick since my first encounter with scout camp some 10 years ago. I was in a bad state.

Things are considerably better now. My cold is all but kicked so I am feeling much better. The pack still weighs a ton and has now contributed to my feet being constantly sore and half blistered. The feet aren't the real problem though. It is my knee giving out. I tore my LCL a few years ago playing rugby and it seems like that is rearing its ugly head as my right knee is beginning to buckle. Going down hill is incredibly painful. Some proper walking poles would help immensely. Unfortunately, fund are limited so I will have to make due with a stick. 

But here I am just complaining about my problems. I haven't even told you about the glorious English weather. Probably because there isn't much. It rains everyday basically. And the lack of quality water proofing results in a water logged pack. Unfortunately  that doesn't mean the weight is watered down. 

We have had a few spots of sunshine and blue sky which has been great and you can really see how beautiful the English countryside is. So far we have walked from Cheltenham to Tewkesbury to Worcester (It has a shire that is famous for some sauce) to Cookley (story about that to come) to Wolverhampton to Hilderstone/Stafford (another story as well) and to Leek. Today we are going to try and make Buxton tonight and after that we start in to the Peaks district and on to the Pennine Way. Should be gorgeous.

There is no denying that this is a remarkable experience and I hope that my knees, legs, and feet hold up so I can properly finish it out in Glasgow by the 30th. 

 

The end of Europe and off to Merry ol' England

After sleeping through our stop in Berlin, we caught a bus back to our hostel and checked in. Our room could have been out of an ikea catalog. It was very nice and clean but nothing German. Even the name of the place, "Circus Hostel", wasn't special. At least in Munich the place was called Jaeger's. 

We went on the New Europe tour and checked out the East Side Gallery. It was interesting that they would patch up the wall and repaint it instead of letting it degrade naturally. But it makes sense that they would want to use a sign of their previous oppression as a canvas for expression.

Unfortunately we did not have enough time to get to any of the galleries or to really explore the city but I would definitely want to come back. 

We caught a train early the next morning for Amsterdam. The train itself was an experience. I went to the bar car to find some nibbles and unknowingly stumbled upon a German bachelorette party headed to the city of sin. They were nuts. Apparently it is customary for people to pay the bachelorette to let her do crazy stuff to them like cut out the tag of your underwear (or if you don't have a tag, a huge portion of the waistband...I am down to 2.5 pairs of boxers on the trip). Europeans are nuts.

Once into Amsterdam we spent about 3 hours trying to find a place to sleep for the night. We ended up staying in a real dive of a hostel called Bob's. I do not recommend the place. We then went out to see the Anne Frank House and explore the city. The smell of pot everywhere and y walking by a window and seeing a woman selling her services even put my sister out of her element. It seemed like everyone we met in the hostel or talked to was in a daze and had no other interests aside from sitting around, smoking weed, and playing video games. While very picturesque with all the canals, it is a filthy city with a very seedy side...rather a number of seedy sides. 

We caught a train the following morning to Brussels, set our bags down in a hostel, and headed back out for Bruges. 

Bruges is gorgeous, clean, and incredibly touristy. We went on a brewery tour, sampled the local cuisine of fries with seasoned mayonnaise (sounds gross but was great), and checked out some old windmills.

Came back to Brussels real late and called it a night. The next day we wanted to wander around and check out Brussels but everything was closed for some national holiday. It was very eery walking around a major metropolitan area in the middle of a weekday and seeing everything closed up and no one around. It reminded me of a horror movie and I was waiting for zombies to pop out from around a corner and start chasing us. Anyway I got the flight to Manchester later that day and took a train to Leeds. I have been here the past few days with a great friend of mine from Australia, Jo Minnitt , and she's been showing me around the countryside, university, and english culture. It has been a great time and I am catching a train in a few hours to Cheltenham where I am meeting up with Alex and to start walking. The weather has been amazing and hasn't rained a drop so I don't know why everyone complains about English weather. I am going to regret saying that because I believe its supposed to rain soon. Oh well.

Pip pip cheerio!

Beer beer everywhere but caution you'll be drunk

I like Germany. More specifically I like Bavaria. The Bavarians rock. They have beer houses everywhere. Literally everywhere. We hopped a train to Garmisch-Partenkirchen and after some amazing strudel at a local cafe we caught a gondola from the olympic stadium to Eckbauer on top of the mountain. As far as I could tell Eckbauer consisted of the lift station, a dirt trail to a private house and another trail that passed by a beer house (everywhere). Since we were thoroughly exhausted from sitting all day we grabbed a couple beers and took in the Bavarian Alps which included the largest mountain in Germany (Zugspitze).

After the beers, Kate was in her happy place. This happy place led to sliding down the mountain side on her butt and tripping a lot. The picture below is her after the first of her many shortcuts down the mountain. The flower in her hair adds class.

We soon made out way to the next sign of civilization, Forsthaus Graseck, which had 2 or 3 houses and...I bet you can guess what else...a beer house. Kate still feeling happy decided to forego more beer and chase goats instead.

After getting a little lost and hiking unnecessarily up a mountain, we found our way down to the Partnach Gorge and hiked through. It was breathtaking and the serene aqua glow emitted from the glacial water was interrupted only by the roar of the water.

After we exited the gorge there was only a ticket booth and...yea you should know by now...a beer house. The guys there were great and we had a broken conversation with them and bought a bottle of moonshine made specially by the owner. He claimed it was so great that it will never make you throw up no matter how much you drink. Either that or it will make you throw up if you drink it at all. I couldn't tell. He was speaking German and I was kind of drunk at that point. Did I mention I love Germany?

Beautiful scenery + hiking + lots of great beer = great day

We headed back to Munich and caught the night train to Berlin. Time to go have some more beer.

Walker Florence Ranger

The next day Kate and I took a day trip to Lucca. Lucca is famous for its intact renaissance era city walls that surround the city. After having the best salami in Italy and walking half way around the city, we climbed a tower that had gorgeous views of the city.  (Kate taking in the scenery...and a good book)

After walking around the rest of the city we caught a train back to Florence. We got a quick dinner that wasn't so quick at Club Paradiso, a small restaurant that was down the street from the hostel. Great meal. When the owner wasn't sitting with us and discussing how the only way out of the American depression now is to start a world war, he was whistling the Addams Family theme, Super Marios Bros. and Manama Na from the Muppets. The restaurant used to be convent and had all its original tile, beams, and apparently flat screen tv that had Chuck Norris kicking butt and taking names. It was a once in a lifetime experience and just what we needed before hopping a night train to Munich.

Once in Munich we crashed in the lobby of the Jaeger Hostel until Frances woke up and we began the less than stellar New Munich tour. The New Europe tours are great in general but the tour guide does make a huge difference. Just so happens we got a dud this time. No worries because after we went to the Englischer Gardens and saw some surfers and enjoyed a meal at a beer garden. Surfing... not something you would expect to see in the middle of Munich.

After outrunning a cyclone and having some kebabs we all headed out to find a bar. Apparently the concierge at the hostel thought Sunny played for the other team because she sent him and consequently us to the gay bars. After another failed attempt to find a beer hall, we copped out and went for the touristy Hofbrauhaus. We made it just in time for a round of beers and went back to the hostel.

Today we went to Dachau Concentration Camp. It was incredibly sobering and was without a doubt the most moving experience I have had yet on this trip. The most chilling moment was when I heard how the statue by Glid Nandor depicted the twisted bodies of prisoners that decided to take their own lives by crawling into the electrified barbed wire fence.

We came back to Munich, indulged in the Augustiner Braustubl beer hall  (liverwurst isn't bad, blood sausage is horrendous), and relaxed around the hostel and watched the final of Champions League. Tomorrow we wrap up Munich, head to Berlin on a night train and head out to Amsterdam the following day. 

Gute Nacht!

And on your left we have inertia

Florence has been great. The Boboli Gardens were big enough but very poorly maintained. That did however mean less tourists and gave kind of a cool worn look.

 After waiting in line at the Uffizi for an hour and running into Nessy we got more than our fill of renaissance art and decided to get some lunch at the Oil Shoppe. It was awesome and you had a choice of meat, cheese, 4 veggies, and sauce. Great panini and great price. After searching for a gelato place we had recommended to us we were redirected by a local to Vivoli.

I have never tasted anything like it. It blew my mind. Everyone always talks about how amazing gelato is and I never understood it really. I mean it was always enjoyable but this stuff was orgasmable. Katie later informed me that Vivoli isn't even the best. I guess I will have to come back and see if she's just blowing steam.

We then got a little lost trying to find David and stumbled upon the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata. We were instantly wowed. The detail and ornateness of the inside was incredibly misleading given the plain exterior. We were soon showed out though because Kate had bare shoulders. I wish I could say this was the first time she was kicked out/not let in. Kate really loves Catholicism. 

David did not disappoint. I had no idea it was David as in David and Goliath. And I did not know he was holding his sling. Learn something new everyday. I think when traveling it should be learn 20 somethings a day.

After a brief rest back at the hostel we met back up with Nessy and some crazy Nova Scotian girls and headed for the Piazza Michelangelo. It was gorgeous and we watched the sun set over Florence and had some champagne. 

The rest of the night was great. The girls were absolutely crazy. For starters they downed an entire bottle of vod (vodka in Nova Scotian lingo) with a bit of help from my sis and then proceeded to run off down alleyways, hop on passing tour busses  and mopeds of random Florentines. I will try and find the vid (Nova Scotian for video) of their adventures of the night. After buying a glowing tiara from a peddler we were picked up by one of the tour bus drivers that the girls had endeared themselves to. Connie then narrated as we rode around the city. In the words of my sister "I have never laughed so hard". I can't decided which was funnier, Connie saying "and on your left we have inertia" as the bus turned and she flew into the window or if Emily dancing around with the bus driver in the middle of the train station. 

It was a great night.

We are in Munich now and are loving it so far. 

Auf Wiedersehen!

Check please

So I said the hostel in Marseille was quaint comfy and quirky...it is quaint. Comfy? Not anymore. Quirky? Definitely.



The guy running the place, Jean, is a complete creeper. If he lived in the states, we would be on the sex offender registry. I wouldn't be surprised if he was in France (that is saying a lot) and just never informed his visitors. It is akin to how he isn't actually running a hostel. Or dealing hash. Or trying to nail every girl that comes into his hostel even though he is a 50 year old fatty. Including my sister.



The man does have his game down though. Every night we stayed there he would take a different girl on his moped on a romantic drive through Marseille to a scenic port tucked away in the cliffside. Then after buying them a drink he would drive back, stop by the side of the road, and pick a flower to put in the girls hair. It would have been smooth if he hadn't outright asked the girls for a kiss... or tried to massage them constantly... or tell them how sensual he thought they were... or brought out a vibrator at a bbq on the deck of the hostel.



Yes you read that right.



He is a waste of air. Aside from him, Marseille is a nice enough place. Its laid back, has beautiful people, and beautiful scenery.



They are so laid back though that they never pick up after their dog makes une doo doo. Or any trash in general. There are some beautiful people. Some being the operative word. Unfortunately everyone thinks they are. This includes 80 year old women and men that like treating every beach as a nude beach and girls that apparently have never heard the term muffin top.



While on the topic of beaches, apparently no men under the age of 40 have chest or facial hair. I got a lot of looks at the beach. I have yet to determine if that was a good or bad thing. I am assuming bad since everyone ran out of the water once I got in.



But we are not in Marseille. We are comfortably situated high on the shin of Italy in Florence. It is amazing. Especially compared to Rome. Rome stank, was hot, muggy, expensive, the people were incredibly rude and pushy. The only thing it had going for it was crumbly old buildings. Those were worth the stop. One day was more than enough.



To jump back a bit... the rest of Ireland was great and pretending to be a photographer for national geographic does work if you are trying to get on to the grounds of an old Irish castle. And apparently it is not a big deal if you smack a chandelier off the ceiling of a restaurant with your enormously oversized back pack. So feel free to do that, I did.



Cherbourg has very little to offer aside from a truck filled with slaughtered pigs.



Paris is great and I can see why so many of my friends love it. It is an incredibly gorgeous city. A place for lovers without a doubt (they are all about PDA). It was a tad weird being there with my sister. C'est la vie.



Prior to leaving, Hannah had mentioned to me the lack of accommodations for anyone with any sort of disabilitiy and she could not have been more right. As many issues that I have with the US, it has to be said that everyone accommodates the widest range of people. Aside from that the French need to change their policies on tripod usage on national monuments and escargot is not half bad. 2 days wasn't enough time and I hope to get back sometime in the near future.



The same could be said of Tours and the Loire Valley. We only had a day but had some spectacular food (foie gras is amazing but incredibly bad in so many ways), biked out to the Chateau Villandry, and enjoyed some local wine.



And that prety much sums up the trip thus far. Tomorrow we are going to the Boboli Gardens and Uffizi. No idea what is going on after that but possibly Venice, Interlochen, or straight to Munich.

Ciao!

J'adore Marseille

So I may be a bit behind with the blogging but I just wanted to say how awesome Marseille is. It is definitely a factor of our hostel. It is the most quaint comfy and quirky place I have ever stayed in and I am pretty sure I am going to build a house just like it. I'll get to talking about the rest of our travels in Ireland, Cherbourg, Paris, and the Loire Valley in a day or two. Au revoir!

Hard out of the gate....St. James Gate that is

There is nothing like the feeling of getting your passport stamped with a new country. For my sister and I, that occurred around 7 AM this morning (Dublin time, 2AM NY time).

Today was rough but amazing! After arriving, we hopped on a double decker bus to take us into the city. Well not so much hopped. More like crouched. Being a double decker, the ceilings are a bit low and I am a bit tall. Added with the fact that my pack sticks out over my head and it made for an interesting experience trying to navigate my way up the stairs to the top floor.

After a short bus ride in, we were dropped off by the tallest sculpture in the world, the Millennium Spire or Spire of Dublin. I found it particularly interesting that the spire was named for the turning of the millennia but wasn't built until three years later in 2003.

We proceeded to walk into the heart of Dublin and Temple Bar. We dropped our packs off at Barnacles Temple Bar House hostel and consulted a local on the street for a good cheap cafe.

Once rejuvenated by our coffee, we felt ready to tackle the 3 hour long free walking tour of Dublin hosted by SANDEMANs New Europe. Aside from seeing some amazing sites such as Dublin Castle, Christchurch Cathedral, and Trinity College, our tour guide was hilarious and gave us a run down on the entire history of Ireland along with some interesting trivia. For instance, did you know that it was legal to shoot a Catholic as long as you used a crossbow and did it on a Wednesday. The tour was over around 2 and we figured when in Ireland do as the Irish, so we went to get a Guinness straight from the source. 

The factory was huge. The price of admission was a bit steep for a self guided tour but was worth it considering the free pint and amazing view from the Gravity Bar at the top.

We were thoroughly whipped after the tour and went back to the hostel, cooked up some dinner, and headed out for a drink at The Auld Dubliner in Temple Bar. After a Bushmill's on the rocks, Kate was ready to coma. She went to bed and I grabbed my tripod and went back out to get some night shots of Temple Bar. I ran in to Dalissia and Cathy, fellow backpackers we met on the flight over, and we went out to The Quay Bar and Temple Bar. By midnight I was spent and called it a night.

Until tomorrow, Tìoraidh!

...and beyond

If you are interested in checking out more about what we're experiencing, Google the following:  Fuzzy Brushes, Jedi Library at Trinity College, 2nd largest collection of Korans in the world, Barbara Walters Potatoes, the Titanic and the Liffey Bridge, and Fr. Pat Noise.

*pictures will be up soon

Here we go!!

Hey everyone!

Here is a quick rundown of the shenanigans I'll be getting into over the next two months.

May 12th: Land in Dublin, Ireland and bum around Ireland, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands for three weeks with my sister, Kate. This is going to be without a doubt the longest time we have ever spent together...ever. Aside from trying to experience as much of the local cultures on a truncated timetable, I am hoping we don't kill each other. Seriously. If I have not posted for more than a week, start dragging the Seine. But really I am looking forward to getting to know my sister better since I do not see an opportunity in the future where we would ever get to do this again.

While zipping about the mainland, I am going to try and meet up with an Aussie frisbee mate, Peter Allen, my Intention-ally close friend, Katie Caruso, and my good friend from senior design, Frances Sennett.

June 2nd: Meet up with a great friend and fellow adventurer (one-upped) Alex Lagina somewhere near Honeybourne, England. I will be joining Alex for a month as he walks from the very south of England to the very north of Scotland.

June 30th: Part ways with Alex and hop a flight from Glasgow back to Boston where my dad will be waiting to whisk me away to our house in Cape Cod for our annual family vacation.

Hopefully within the next few days (or hours) I will have a link to a flickr or picasa account that will have all my photos from my adventures.

Thanks to my mom and dad, friends and family for making the next few months possible!