Continuing along my eastern travel trajectory, my next stop after Berlin was Krakow, Poland. I honestly didn’t know what to expect of Poland before I arrived in Krakow; growing up, all I ever heard about the country was its involvement in World War II, but I knew there was much more to Poland than I gave it credit for. The one thing I did expect to find in Krakow was a stereotypical “Eastern European” vibe full of old, damaged, or otherwise neglected buildings scattered throughout town. I was always told there was a distinct difference between Western and Eastern Europe and I hoped this was my chance to experience the latter. Much to my surprise, Krakow feels very much like the rest of Europe I’ve seen so far; it’s an absolute wonderful city full of history, delightful people, and absolutely incredible (and cheap) food!
I can’t seem to get enough of Germany. There is just something about this great country that I find fascinating. It might be that everything here is so much cheaper than the rest of Europe, that transportation is wonderfully efficient, that a beer cost as much as a bottle of soda, that the food is spectacular, or that the people here are so welcoming, but damn if I'm not in love with this country. From Ireland, I booked a cheap flight to Oslo for €20, but once I realized how absurdly expensive Norway is, I was not keen on spending the next month of my life hemorrhaging money in Scandinavia. I debated returning to Germany, until a friend of mine from the US, Jon, told me he had one week off between jobs and wanted to visit Berlin. I was all too happy to skip my flight to Oslo and book a new flight to Germany at the last minute.
Since this blog’s inception, I've made it a point to write every entry from my perspective at the time when the events/adventures occurred. Even though these entries are now many, many months behind their respective dates, I always try to stay true to the moment even it means stating things I know do not occur in the future. Initially, this long turnaround rate was a severe thorn in my side, but I’ve come to appreciate the delay in publishing my stories to the public domain as it gives me the chance to personally relive the tales as well edit for content or length. Now that I’ve finally reached my trip to Dublin though, I find myself in a bit of a quandary and feel it necessary to break from tradition.
If you’ve followed my blog even haphazardly over the last few months, you know that I spent a semester abroad in college in Milan, Italy on exchange at Bocconi University. I’ve made reference to this six-month period of my life more times than I can count and will continue to do so for one very important reason - it was the first time I ever stepped foot outside the US. It was a monumental moment in my life, and my experiences during that semester still influence my decisions and outlook in life to this day. In fact, one of underlying reasons why I left my life in NYC to travel the world is directly linked to my time in Milan all those years ago.
Most people in the US believe hitchhiking is a method of travel “below” them reserved only for the homeless, hippies, or criminals of society, but after my first hitchhiking trip I can honestly say this is untrue. Now this isn’t to say you won’t encounter these particular demographics of the population while hitchhiking, but much to my surprise I discovered there are important skills that can be cultivated by traveling in this manner. So instead of shelling out money for a self-improvement class, consider packing a bag and heading for the highway! Here are the top ten things I learned from my first hitchhiking trip!
I honestly don’t know where to begin with this story. Over the last five days, I traveled with a friend, Artyom, from Utrecht, Netherlands to Copenhagen, Denmark and Hamburg, Germany without paying a dime for transportation. This leg of my trip completely transformed my perspective on a means of travel I believed was reserved for homeless, hippies, and convicts: hitchhiking. To top it all off, the entire trip was completely spur of the moment; if it weren't for my detour to Cologne, I might never have met up with Artyom, but looking back is an experience I wouldn’t trade for the world.
Since I began this blog I feel like I’m constantly berating myself for posting these entries months behind schedule, but there is a silver lining to it all - it gives me the chance to relive stories that already feel like they occurred ages ago. Cologne for me is particularly special because, looking back, it marks the beginning of when I finally deviated from my original "plan" I outlined back in the US. I knew it would happen eventually, and actually looked forward to it, I just didn't know when it would happen. The only reason why I even ventured out to Cologne in the first place was to meet up with a friend, Stephan, who I met on the very first day of my travels back in Faro, Portugal. I never considered Cologne as a city I'd visit on this trip, but in my experience the best way to travel is with a local; it doesn't even matter what city it is, whenever opportunity presents itself, I always take it.
While in Munich I took a short day trip out to visit the Dachau Concentration Camp and I remember seeing two phrases repeated posted throughout the memorial: “Never Forget” and “Never Again.” Now I fully understand the seriousness of never forgetting the terrible atrocities of the Holocaust, but I would use those exact same phrases to describe my experience at Neuschwanstein Castle.
Since I started my trip back in June, I've noticed the most outgoing and friendly people all seem to be Germans. The typical stereotype played up in most television shows and movies is that Germans are always hardworking, punctual, and utterly lacking in personality due to their cold hard adherence to facts and schedules. While I'm sure there are many Germans who fit this mold, in my experience such lunacy could not be further from the truth. From day one in Faro (and later Lisbon and Valencia) the friendliest people I meet all seem the German. I've greatly looked forward to finally visiting Germany especially since I missed out on visiting the country (along with Switzerland) while on exchange in Milan back in college.
