Amsterdam

Okay, so I've been a few places before finding myself here, but I was waiting for a USB port so I could upload photos in this blog. Still hasn't happened, but I'll write anyway, and then give another slide show when I get the chance.

The Aran Islands in Ireland were incredible. The ruins there were even more impressive than the ruins in the Orkney Islands, Scotland. Hard to believe people could build such things, you'll see what I mean when I get to the pictures. They are built entirely of stone, but there is no grout to hold it all together.

I also had my first bike-riding experience in the Aran Islands. After 7 hours on a bike, I could hardly sit down. And since it used a whole new set of muscles, my legs were really sore too. But it was totally worth it, since I got to see more of the island I was on that way.

After Aran Islands I found myself in Cork. Pretty small town, but again, pubs are easier to find than anything else. The Irish really seem to value their pub time.

While in Cork I visited the nearby Blarney Castle. And yes, I kissed the rock that claims to give you the gift of gab - along with thousands of other tourists. I had to hang a bit upside down to get the job done, but there is a guy there to help out us rock kissers. I made the visit with two other Americans, and we picked up a (self-proclaimed) Kiwi along the way.

From Cork I took a cheap flight into Amsterdam, and I have been here for 4 days now. I have done a couple of the cliche tourist things: visited a coffee shop and checked out the redlight district. Neither were as fun as just wandering the city, without a map, and getting lost. Of course I could have rented a bike, but I am starting to wonder about the bike thing. I see them all over the city, but they are always locked up, and almost all the people are walking. So I walked as well. At least that way I didn't have to check to be going the right way in traffic; I only had to watch out for people who wanted to run me over (both bikes and cars).

In my random wanderings I found the Heineken Experience, so I gave it a go. It was quite fun, and Heineken off the tap in the brewery is much better than all those green bottles in the States.

That is about it for this entry. I found a great hostel out of the city on the beach, and though it is too cold for swimming, getting bundled up and watching the stars is great fun. The people here are awesome, both the staff and other visitors. This is definitely one of the more friendly places I have stayed (go Flying Pig).

Some Photos and an Update

This here is a shot of the Necropolis in Glasgow, Scotland. These are some of the smaller monuments erected to dead loved ones.

Dublin was a great city, but a little overwhelming. There are people everywhere, but I suppose that is to be expected, after all, it is a city. I went on a long walk through the city on my second full day there, through Phoenix park. It was really nice, but I didn't find much to take pictures of. I even got lost along the way, but it was okay, I just had to go a little further than the guide said to get to the small village I found lunch in.

While looking for lunch I ran into a guy from the Netherlands. Turns out he was on the same walk I was, using the same guide book. We walked along together for a while, and then I left him so I could move along to the Guinness Brewery before it closed.

The Guinness Brewery was something else. I have done a couple brewery tours before, but this one was self-guided. They had the usual information on how beer is brewed, but the best part was the 3 floors that covered various parts of Guinness history. That was neat to learn about, other brewery tours I have done belonged to beers that have only been around for a short time compared to Guinness. At the end everyone (of age) gets a free beer, up in a bar from which you can see the city of Dublin from 360 degrees.

My last day in Dublin I had decided that I had seen enough of the city, so I went out to the Howth Peninsula, where things were supposed to be a little quieter. And they were. I thought I would hike to the highest point, but got rained out, so I walked around the small fishing town instead. Of course, then the rain cleared up.

Looking back on the Howth Peninsula from the piers.

At the end of the pier, taking a picture of the island just off the peninsula.

St. Mary's Church, found in Howth. It was left to ruins long ago, built even longer ago. What can be seen now was built around the 16th century. Now it is a cemetery, and there are even graves inside the ruin. I just happened to be walking down the street when I looked through the entrance and saw the rainbow.

I have now arrived in Galway, Ireland. People here are more than friendly, and last night I met great people in the hostel from Poland, among other places. We all sat around, drinking tea, coffee, or beer, chatting and listening to guitar music. People who could play took turns; it was an enjoyable evening.

Glasgow, Then Dublin

Glasgow was quite a bit different from the other places I visited in Scotland, though it was nice. The locals were very friendly, I had a great time with all that I met. Pubs were like fast food joints in the States: everywhere you look you could find at least one or two.

I made a visit to the Necropolis, and it was something else. Some of the monuments erected were so big they could be lived in. And as morbid as it might sound, I was a little disappointed at the lack of tombs. I suppose I expected something like can be found in some old churches in this part of the world. In fact, I found no open tombs, but that is probably okay. Even though I think I wanted to see it, it might have given me nightmares or something. Not a good thing to have in a hostel when the room you sleep in is shared with 9 other people.

Much of the city looks to be industrial. Sure, there are old buildings like seen in Edinburgh, but also a lot of factory-looking areas. Some places even look run down, like they could use a little pick me up. But, the city was much less touristy, and the general feel of the place made up for what it lacked in appearance.

On Saturday night I found my way to Dublin. My flight was delayed, so it was more like very early Sunday before I arrived. I had considered renting a car because I thought Ireland drove on the right side of the road, but then decided I was too exhausted to find myself around the city at night in an unfamiliar car. Boy am I glad I did that, because when I got into the cab I learned that they drive on the left side of the road, and automatics are hard to find. I just wish my cab fare would have been less than €30 - it might have been had I found a hostel in the city to stay in, but because of a Sting concert, all hostels had been booked far in advance, and I ended up staying at a B&B. Too bad the trains don't run that late at night.

Yesterday I came back into the city, found a cheap hostel, and now I am ready to explore Dublin. I can't wait to go on the Guinness tour. Lucky for me, my student ID will get me a good discount on this one. Hope to get some more pictures up soon, which should remind me to use my camera. Sometimes I get so involved in what I am doing I forget I have the camera in my backpack.

Pictures!!

So, I finally got onto a computer that could handle uploading pictures from my memory card. I considered putting the photos in with previously published posts, but decided they could go in their own.

This is another picture from Skara Brae. The place was really amazing. To think that at one time people actually lived in tiny little stone dwellings.
This was a ruin I found along my hike. The roof has caved in, and the back wall is nearly gone. I did climb inside, but it was not easy. More like crawling, the opening was very low. Not much to see inside though, but it was interesting to see how thick the walls were. This is believed to be a bit younger than Skara Brae, but still very old.

An awesome rock formation from along the hike. I'll have to fill in the name later.

The outside of the Italian Chapel. This was a prisoner of war site during WWII. The Italians were doing all they could to make their camp feel more like home, and the last thing they built was this chapel. Since it was war time, and they were prisoners, not much was made available to them by way of building materials. They used all they could get, but mostly it was scraps.

Inside the chapel. It looks like bricks, but don't be fooled. The walls are actually painted to give it the look it has. It was a very small chapel.

Edinburgh castle. I didn't go inside, it was too full of tourists. And the price was unreal. It was nice to view from the outside though.

This is an old castle that is in ruins now. I saw it from the ferry on my way to the Isle of Mull. It was on the mainland. Kinda hard to see, since it now has moss growing all over it. If I had more time in this area, I think it might be fun to go hunt it down, and see it from the ground.

Duart Castle from the ferry on the approach to the Isle of Mull. This castle is the reason I made the trip out to the Isle of Mull. It is owned (and still lived in) by the chief of the MacLean clan. There is some relation on my mom's side of the family, they were McLeans. This castle was nearly empty, and more affordable to visit. More fun too, since it wasn't a guided tour, you could just wander through at your leisure.

I really liked the color of this tree. It was at the Torosay Castle and Gardens, only down the road from Duart Castle. It is a short tree, only about as high as my waist. The gardens were fun to wander through, though in the summer the plants are probably nicer.

Torosay Castle, from the bottom of the gardens.

The stream that runs through the gardens.

That's it for pictures now. Today I take a bus to Glasgow, Scotland, and then on Saturday I fly off to Dublin. Hope you enjoyed the slideshow.

Rocking Ferries

My Ferry ride back from the Orkney Islands was a little different than the ride up there. The weather was a bit harsher, and the ferry was definitely rocking most of the journey. Had I been awake it might have been a little disturbing, but it actually made sleeping a little more comfortable, at least when it wasn't too hard. More than once I woke up because of the waves.

I'm now in Edinburgh, just getting started. Out for a self-guided city walk today. Stopped into a library for free internet, and a place to wait out the rain that was just starting to come down hard. I see sun coming in through the windows now though, so back to my walk. This city is amazing with its castle and old churches. I'm even staying in a church this time around, but it has been converted to a hostel, so I'm not freeloading.

Orkney Islands

On Saturday night I arrived in the Orkney Islands. It was too late to see anything as the ferry pulled in, it docked about 11pm. I was exhausted, after traveling for about 24 hours, and just wanted to find my hostel and get to bed. Along the way I met some great people, and still am meeting great people. Meeting all kinds of people with all kinds of backgrounds is perhaps one of my favorite things of traveling.

Sunday morning really started my adventure here, and I learned that the Orkney Islands are a great place. Nearly everything was shut down because it was Sunday in Kirkwall, the small town I ended up staying in. Pubs and grocery stores were open, but not much else. Not that it mattered, not much in the mood for shopping anyway. I spent the entire day wandering around with the person I shared my hostel room with - an awesome girl from New Zealand. Though the one thing she wanted to do was missed, we still found plenty of fun in this small town.

Monday I started the day by getting up early and catching a bus to Scara Brae, a Neolithic site believed to be about 5,000 years old. Below is a picture of the ruins:


Mostly they are roped off, to keep people from walking through them so they'll last longer. They were buried under sand and discovered in about 1850 after a large storm blew away sand that was covering them.

From Scara Brae I started a 12.5 mile hike along the coast back to the next largest town, called Stromness. The scariest part for me was the cows. Early on in the hike I had to cross a pasture full of the things. It wouldn't have been too bad except as I approached, they all stood up and started watching me. Talk about creepy.

Along the way I came across more ruins, which could be walked around. It was another hut, but the roof has caved in along with most of the back end of the rock wall. Still neat to see though. All day long there was no rain. Odd, considering that all day yesterday there was plenty, along with wind. Locals have told me that I got lucky to have such a nice day for the walk, especially this late in September.

Today is my last day, tonight I head back to the mainland. It will be another night spent sleeping on the mode of transportation, but catching up on sleep hasn't been much of a problem yet.

I'll add more pictures next time, having computer problems and don't feel much like figuring them out right now.

Museums

Yesterday my main objective was seeing some museums that were listed as free in my travel guide. The first one was the British Museum. It is a huge place, and while there, I started to get the feeling that maybe I don't care much for museums. The place was crawling with school kids, and they were loud. And the part of the museum that I was most interested in, the section on Greece, was closed. I did see some pretty cool things though, like a pipe from Africa. Pictures didn't turn out because of the glass. I thought it was a rather humorous piece, though I am sure for the people who used it, it was not so funny. It was a woman with a pregnant belly, smirking with her hand up to cover part of her smirk. The part of the pipe that was smoked from was coming from her belly button, and the stuff to be smoked went into the top of her head. It was carved out of wood, and nearly black in color. The little card said it was from the Republic of Congo.

The second museum I visited was the Museum of Natural History, and it was much nicer for someone like me. There were interpretive displays all over the place, and most exhibits were set up for visitors to follow through in a certain order. One fun exhibit was on earthquakes, and the room actually shook around for a few seconds. Most kids in there were younger, and quieter. Thought the museum was smaller, I spent more time there.

After the second museum I decided it was time for a pint, and went on a search for a pub. I found a little tiny one tucked away in an alley, if it could be called that. There were definitely no cars going down that alley. It was in that bar that I was served my first warm beer. I've always been told by people that the British drink their beer warm, but I never saw it on my last trip here. And upon arrival this time, I noticed that most taps said ''Extra Cold,'' or something to that effect. I also found my first real British IPA at that little pub, and had a great conversation with a man from Ireland. He gave me some suggestions of places to visit once I get to his country. I think I might check it out.

That's it for now. I'm heading to the Orkney Islands starting tonight. It'll be a long travel, but I am looking forward to seeing all I can.

I've Made It

To London that is. Not getting much sleep on the flight makes for a long day, and I still have a couple of hours before I can check into my hostel. Glad I decided to stay for two nights, since the museums I want to see while I'm here wouldn't be enjoyable today for how tired I am. Hopefully a short nap will make for a better evening.

I did get a chance to read about London in my guide on the plane. Since the guide is meant for people traveling on a budget, it includes attractions that are free. Hopefully I'll remember to take a few pictures so I can show off what I have been seeing. The British Museum and the Museum of Natural History sound like my kind of thing. If not, there is always the city wandering that I did last time I was here. As long as the rain keeps itself under control, that makes for a great way to spend the day.

6 Days Left

In 6 days I will be on a flight to take me out of the US. And I still only have that planned. I finally went and got new shoes today, the backpack I plan on using for the trip is currently in UPS' possession, and there are no accommodations reserved. But still, I think it will work out just fine.

Instead of putting much effort into planning my 3 month Euro-trip, I've been going camping. Two weekends ago I went with my sister to a place called Icicle Creek. As kids our parents took us there a few times, and we got lucky and ended up at the same campground we remembered so well. We stayed for two nights, and had a great time. Had I not needed to return for a doctor's appointment, we would have stayed longer, since I had no real plans and she didn't have to work again until the next weekend. Even though we didn't stay near the sites we had remembered using in the past, we still got a great site with its own beach. Pretty lucky, considering we got to the campground at 7pm on Sunday night, Labor Day weekend. We thought for sure all the sites would be full, but we kept our fingers crossed and it worked. Just finding a site was nice, since all the campgrounds we had passed en-route to our destination had full signs. But in terms of sites in the campground, we had scored.

Last weekend I went camping with my Dad. We went to a place called Kalaloch, also a place I had been taken as a kid. I think the last time I had been to that campground was when I was 16, right before I left for my first adventure in Europe. Though I went there several summers as a kid, and my Dad had done the same, neither of us had ever stayed in one of the most sought after campsites: one on the bluff, over-looking the Pacific. Our first night as we pulled through the campground, we were not surprised to find that all the bluff sites were occupied, as they always are. But before going and paying for our second night's camping, we decided to give the bluff one last walk through, to see if anyone was leaving. And we got lucky. Moving camp was fun to watch, especially for other people, I'm sure. Anything heavy was thrown hastily into my car, and then me and my Dad went back for the tent. Instead of taking the time and effort to take the tent down, we picked it up, mattresses and all, and carried it put together to our new site. One camper in a nearby site called it the Sunday Shuffle. Apparently, that kind of thing happens on a regular basis. I wonder how many other campgrounds are like that? And I wonder how long our site was empty before it had new owners? People had come by in the evening to see if we would be leaving in the morning, but we had no visitors the morning we left.

I suppose now I should get to work on figuring out what exactly I will be doing once I arrive in London. Stay in the city for a night or two, or head up to Scotland to the places I've decided I would like to see on the trip? Whatever I decide, I think I'll try to go for one more camping trip before I leave though. It has been loads of fun.

Euro-Trip

The Euro-trip is getting closer. Today I got my tickets through United, turns out I had enough miles for a freebie. I will be leaving on the 18th of September from Seattle, and staying away until the 12th of December. Hopefully I am coming back early enough to miss the start of the Christmas rush, but if not I suppose I won't care because I would have just spent nearly 3 months in Europe.

So far life is grand on my quest to avoid the working world. I wonder how long I can keep this up? I suppose at some point I will need to generate some kind of cash in-flow, but until then I'll keep finding new adventures.