Well I have sadly said good-bye to Wolfi and Annie in Mainz. I was able to attend yet another strangers birthday where we played "Who Am I?" I was unfamiliar with the game and it took the stupid American a few rounds to catch on but basically a sticky note on your forehead with the name of a person, fictional or real, alive or dead. You can ask yes or no questions until you get a no, then onto the next person. Well 5 or 6 rounds later, I am given the strong clue of a famous German serial killer. Yep, Hitler. Kind of forgot about that dude while spending my time in Germany. In an attempt to get some local history, I tried to find a concentration camp museum today without an address and had little luck but I still have a couple days in Germany. So I arrived in Hamburg yesterday afternoon via train, then an inter city train, some wandering and I miraculously stumbled across my hostel. Things dont usually work so easy for me. Anywho, set off to wander the city this morning. First stop, of course a park. Waterfalls, trees, yoga, and reading, and later I discovered a nasty sunburn on my pale white skin. I will either come home golden brown or red and peeling. The latter I assume, but the former I still dream of. First stop on the solo sightseeing tour-Old Town Hall. Huge, old, cool place. A man asks me if I speak English. Why yes I do and would love to speak to anyone who will listen! Question asked, on his way and Im on mine. A few minutes later, we pass each other again. He introduced himself as a wandering tourist from Argentina and we agreed to navigate and see the sights together. Nice man, learned a lot about Egypt(so excited!), and I really enjoyed a travel partner. As much as it scares me to think about going on a 4 month trip with one person- 24 hours a day together, 120+ days, different ideas of travel, many emotions on both ends, ahhhh- I must admit I would enjoy someone to help navigate strange places, take pictures, and just talk to. On the other end, I have met a lot of great people and sure to meet many more because I was solo. Well, I am solo for this trip and even though I can do this, I must admit the people who said I was crazy might not have been so crazy themselves. Train ride to a new city, find a hostel, city map, list of parks and sites, wander and repeat a few days later. Fun but exhausting.
Well I depart for Cologne or Köln tomorrow or Saturday where I will meet my friend from Amsterdam. Looking forward to some conversation and taking the backseat to navigating. As long as I find a park and dont spend much money, I am perfectly content wherever I am. Europe really isnt that expensive when you are on a super budget like myself. The most expensive thing is hostels and trains. I live off bread and fruit(cheap and vegan!), no souveneirs, and almost no toursity crap. It only gets expensive when you decide to stay for 3 months and see 20 or so cities. But really, who would be crazy enough to do that?
Well its nearly impossibly to ever put into words or pictures all that I have seen so far and am wondering where all the new images, people, and experiences that I encounter every day will go? So move over Mid-western American anthropology(honestly paid money for that) and the hours of crappy movies(for which I can still never get that time back), I have more important things to remember.
Well internet cost money here as I brag about how cheap Europe can be. I wont eat out anywhere (4 times in my 3 weeks here) because I cant rationalize paying more than a euro or two for a meal of fruit and bread, but when I find an internet cafe I act like a millionaire who has endless hours and money to spend. So in the interest of time, well lets be honest, I have more time than I know what to do with. Ok in the interest of money, I will depart. Next city Köln, and I will update once I get to Prague. Cheers!
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