Europe or BUST

Iceland, 2012

kreydatus — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 20:40:00 GMT

Spent one week traveling around in Iceland, circumnavigating the entire island. I will write an extensive journal entry when I return home to America this week. Stay tuned.

Oslo, Norway 2012

kreydatus — Sun, 5 Aug 2012 22:15:00 GMT

We made it to Oslo, Norway via Stenaline ferry this afternoon around 6:30pm. Chris and I partied the night before and made some new friends in Aarhus, but we were hurting this morning when we woke up to catch our train to Frederikshavn, Denmark. We caught the Stenaline ferry at 10:00am, immediately went to our cabins and laid our heads down to rest for a few hours. OMG there were soo many *screaming* kids on the ferry, it was the perfect antidote to my raging hangover :-/

We arrived to Oslo, Norway about 6:40pm tonight, our friend Anders met us and escorted us to his house. We'll be staying with him until Monday. Anders cooked up the best dinner tonight: fresh Norwegian salmon, mushrooms, carrots, and onions in a red wine sauce, and the best potato salad in the world ! Afterwards he treated us to coffee, Irish-Creme ice cream and fresh strawberries : )

Today (Saturday) we woke up around 10:30am, Anders prepared yet another delicious meal for us for breakfast, and we all soon set off to begin today's activities. First we went to the Gustav Vigeland Park, a giant green park filled with impressive statues (click here to see the statues). After that we journeyed onward to pick up some items for an outdoor BBQ for all three of us, then we boarded a ferry to which took us to an island not far from the Oslo harbor. There we enjoyed the warm beautiful weather, the refreshing breeze, and great food from the BBQ. It was sooo hot outside ! See? it's not all freezing cold : )

We've returned to Andres's apartment, now we're going to take a nap before we go out to meet some folks for drinks later.

Last night was pretty fun. We met up with two friends of mine whom I met in 2009 here in Oslo at Et Glass bar, had a few drinks there and headed over to some other place, I forget the name. Time for a time out on the drinkies !

Today (Sunday) we will be heading to the Oseberg Viking Ship Museum (photos) and also the Vigeland Mausoleum (photos). It's another bright and sunny morning here in Oslo, Norway. I really love this country. Not sure what else we're doing this afternoon, probably just walk around.

Well we didn't actually just walk around, we nailed a few museums today, like the Vigeland Mausoleum (photos), Norwegian Historisk Museum, the NasjonalGalleriet (photos), and the Oseberg Viking Ship Museum (photos). The Vigeland Mausoleum is quite a wonder, it's a huge half pipe with the most AMAAAAZING acoustics inside. We were instructed to be as silent as possible, as the ashes of August Emanuel Vigeland are inside and it is a place of respect. Read a description about the mausoleum here.

We saw some original paintings by Pablo Picasso and Edvard Munch at the NasjonalGalleriet Museum, and probably the most Viking shit I've ever seen in my life at the Norwegian Historisk Museum. Thereafter we ventured onward to the Oseberg Viking Ship Museum, I've been once before but it was Chris and Anders's first time visiting. Read a description about the Oseberg Viking Ship Museum here.

Anders cooked up another delicious dinner for us this evening (he's such a fantastic host, I tell ya!), we watched a Norwegian movie called 'The Troll Hunter'. Well, we're in for the evening, I'm totally spent, my body is punishing me for not allowing myself to rest. Til next time, or tomorrow...

Åarhus, Denmark 2012

kreydatus — Thu, 2 Aug 2012 09:50:00 GMT

Chris and I left Copenhagen at 11am this morning via train to Åarhus to meet up with our friend Michael Glinka. We'll be staying in his town tonight and tomorrow night only. We haven't been eating as much, nor sleeping that much for that matter. I can't help but become irritated when I'm running on an empty stomach most of the time, and with very little sleep, not to mention the fact that I'm completely broke until I get paid on the 5th of August. I don't understand how Chris can feel totally fine just by living on a 200 calorie a day diet, he eats practically nothing! We travel pretty well together but I tend to become crabby at times when I haven't eaten anything. It's not fair for him but I try to keep quiet as much as possible whenever I enter into that mood, until I get some food in me, then I'm happy again : )

I've visited Åarhus once before to meet Michael, he's a fantastic friend and tour guide. My bad mood dissipated once I got some food in my belly. First Michael took us to his gym so we could work out, Chris and I participated in his core class, it was pretty good ! Afterwards we were on our way to visit the ARoS Aarhus Museum of Modern Art. Michael just so happens to own three bicycles, so each of us got our own and we were soon riding around admiring all the classical Danish structures on the way to the ARoS Aarhus Museum of Modern Art. Wow, what a weird and eclectic modern art section they have! The classical art section was just as exquisite, but the modern art was definitely the most impressive. Danish design rules!!

After that we rode our bikes around town a little while longer, and eventually sat down to enjoy a couple beers.

Copenhagen, Denmark 2012

kreydatus — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 20:43:00 GMT

FINALLY WE'RE IN COPENHAGEN and boy am I feeling jet lagged. Chris and I have been awake for 24 hours straight, but we felt a second wave of energy hit us when we met our friend Kristoffer Baek at his apartment. We all went out this morning to grab some breakfast at a local eatery called Dyrehaven, we breathed the fresh air as we ate our Danish breakfasts. Afterwards we all set on foot to explore the city; Thank god we brought the SUN with us because the clouds looked very ominous this morning, thought it would be a day of rain for us...

We took a nap, four hours at least, I just woke up from it not too long ago - I'm feeling pretty groggy at this point but I'll be better soon, it's only 7:06pm. I will continue writing soon..

Last night (Monday the 30th) our friendly host introduced us to a few of a his friends, they came over to start the evening out having drinks at his apartment. From there we ventured on to a bar, met more locals, and drank more beer : )

Today my exhaustion from being jet lagged continues, but that didn't stop me from taking a 90-minute walk through town this morning by myself, Chris was still waking up. The air here in Copenhagen is incredibly fresh and revitalizing. Today we had few intermittent showers and thunderstorms pass through, nothing major. We spent over 5 1/2 hours riding bicycles around this accessible city, stopping for lunch at a Danish-Italian sandwich shop and eating our food next to a canal. A little later we took a stroll through Christiania to check out the thriving *hippie* community there, but still no photos are allowed within Christiania. After that we raced home to beat the next wave of showers, and soon we were taking a much needed nap. I just woke up about 40 minutes ago, enjoying some delicious espresso and thinking about this evening's plans. Tomorrow morning we leave Copenhagen to meet our friend Michal in his city of Århus.

Til Danmark, Norge, og Iceland med Christopher Brenneman

kreydatus — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 01:34:00 GMT

2 1/2 years ago I left my home in Boston to explore Europe on my own, now I doing the trip all over again (minus a few countries) with my boyfriend whom I met in 2010 in San Francisco, CA.

Chris and I are at the SFO airport waiting for our flight to Chicago, then to Syracuse, NY. We will be spending two days visiting family and friends in Auburn, NY.

Our visit to Auburn, NY was absolutely welcoming, it was great to see my family and AMY DANGER! (you are my whole...family) The weather was hot and humid, with a few overnight showers to cool everything off a bit. My sister Dion and her fiancee Paul hosted us our second night in Skaneateles, a wealthy town with many gothic-revival mansions and estates. Tons of wine to be had, plenty of laughs and memories were shared, and as quick as a flash Chris and I were already on our way to the Amtrak to NYC where we would spend one night before heading to JFK International Airport. We only spent a total of two days in CNY, that's plenty enough time for me (no offense mother!! :-)

Last night we arrived to NYC (I ALWAYS feel much happier when I visit NYC, jubilant even!), had a few drinks with our friend Jason and went to bed early. The next morning we were on our way to JFK International Airport, first stopping over in Iceland and then onward to our destination: Copenhagen, Denmark.

(excuse me, I will be appending to my blog intermittently...fyi)

MY LAST BLOG UNTIL NEXT TIME

kreydatus — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:10:00 GMT

Dear readers, I thank you all for your interest and committment into my travel writings. I'm in Reykjavik, Iceland now enjoying my last night here before I head back to Boston tomorrow evening. I just want to say that everything has been amazing, absolutely amazing. I will cherish these fond memories forever and I am looking towards the future.

Reykjavik is cold right now, bitterly cold. A fresh blanket of snow has coated the city overnight and the mountains look majestic against the tie died sky.

I had a blast at Barbara bar on Saturday night, thank you Lilja for being one of the most profound people in my life. Thank you Haffie and Fanny, Patrick and the two little ones. I'm going to miss you !

From Reykjavik, Iceland this is Josh Kreydatus, I am discontinuing my blog for the time being. Over and out, til next time... ;-)

Berlin, Germany - My last night in Berlin before returning to America..

kreydatus — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 20:06:00 GMT

Yes, I'm going back to America, let us rejoice. Picked up a couple Kreuzberg t-shirts this afternoon, it was a pleasant but party sunny day. I'm not exactly sure where my feelings lie right now but at the moment nothing has surfaced to the extremes, yet. The last night of Iceland with my work camp I bawled my eyes out, but only because I was very drunk and listening to Extreme 'More Than Words' - a tune that hits me every time. Who knows what might happen when I'm in Berlin tonight or tomorrow, but I have a feeling that I keep better composure this time around.

I will be going to Iceland first before I reach America, it's cheaper that way and plus I need to say good bye to a few people. I'll be there for just the weekend, until Monday the 30th.

My friend Laura Makinen just arrived to Berlin tonight from San Francisco, I think we might meet up and say hello, grab a drink, etc. Oscar and I will probably go out and have a drink too.

I'm excited to leave and be among my people, family and friends again. Totally.

So it's 8:14pm, I'm not sure exactly what to do right now but I feel as though I should leave this place and venture out to see what's up.

Berghain last night..

kreydatus — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:35:00 GMT

First I went out to Geburtstagsklub for a few hours, until 3am. Oscar and I walked to Berghain since it was so close by. Coming up to this building feels a little overwhelming, the bass is thumping and you can feel the pulses even before you step onto the property. This is Berlin's number one nightclub, it stays open for days, doesn't have a single mirror inside the place, and it resembles the bat cave.

There was definitely a line, about 70 people ahead of us when we got there but it was moving steadily. I guess we stood there for a good 20 minutes until we got in, to the side of us a patron was thrown out for ridiculous behavior I assume. This girl was on the ground screaming and crying her eyes out, I couldn't tell which language it was but it was if she reverted to being 5 years old again having a temper tantrum. That was hilarious to watch, but also sad because we all knew she was messed up on drugs.

So we get in, and inside is a coat check and security pass, the security guys pat you down before you can come inside, no cameras are allowed, not even cell phone cameras.

So I guess the rumors of having to wait in line for hours until you get in, that the security are assholes, highly selective, etc.. it really didn't happen in front of my eyes. It feels like that part got skipped for me.

Okay this place is a giant GIANT building. The inside kind of looks like the Mako factory in Final Fantasy 7 when you first walk in, very industrial. There are 2 dance rooms, one of which was playing deep minimal techno, and the other room which played hard techno. I think I peed in the sink is what I can remember, I thought it was the men's trough !

I was kinda feeling the music, kinda not, a little on the fence with the DJ's. Don't get me wrong, I love minimal techno. I explored the whole place, there's a lounge room, a dark room, everyone's in there doing their thing. But after a while I really just wanted to go home, Oscar and I agreed to go and we left around 7:30am. I don't even remember getting home, and, I don't even know why I'm awake right now.

Less than a week away until I leave Berlin ..

kreydatus — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:54:00 GMT

This is the last weekend I have in Berlin and tonight I plan on going to Berghain tonight with my buddy Oscar and a few of his friends, this will be my first time going and I'm eagerly anticipating whether we'll get in or not. Everyone tells me "oh it's selective, the security can be assholes, they let some people in and not others, you'll wait in line forever." Well, I'm not worried, I'm excited to go out and party it up in this great city before I return to America next weekend. It's sad, I don't really want to leave but I feel it's time now, I've been on the road for 3 months, visited 10 countries in 3 months - that's a lot to soak up in such a small amount of time.

We've had three days of fine sunny weather, the temperature has been perfect lately but tomorrow it will be cloudy once again with more showers to follow.

I'm totally excited to return to America, I'm spending the entire month of December back home with my family in Auburn, NY - that's central NY state in the finger lakes region. I just want to help my family out for a while, work at my mom's bar and earn a little money so I can venture back out and experience San Francisco for the rest of winter. I think that is a good plan and it seems like it will work out.

There's really not much more to say about today, I love Berlin, I'm going to be back, and hopefully yes I would like to live here some day.

Over and out, good bye.

When in Rome, Italy....

kreydatus — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:09:00 GMT

Hi Rome ! your weather has been absolutely wonderful today. Too bad we only stayed for two days and we're leaving you tomorrow night to return to Berlin. You're kind of expensive you know, but I have to say that you are 10 steps up from the quality of life that Athens supports. I am in love with all of your classical architecture, art, people and your food. I will miss you dearly, Love Josh.

Last night in Athens, Greece

kreydatus — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:31:00 GMT

Alright hey, welcome. I woke up especially early today to catch the breakfast served in the hotel eating area which was quite nice, very good. But for another reason, I was hoping to catch the boys of ULVER up and eating as well. Unfortunately they weren't there so Oscar and I had a bite to eat and just sat in silence for a while trying to wake up.

We checked out around noon and sat in the lobby trying to figure out our travel plans. We needed to leave Athens for the sake of our sanity, we can no longer stand to be around these goons any longer, and I'm talking about the civilians here. So sitting there, comparing prices for flights to Italy was a long and dull process but we finally decided on an Easyjet flight to Rome, Italy for tomorrow afternoon. YAY !

Then lo and behold one of the guy's from the band emerges with a cup of coffee and sits down across from me. Nonchalantly I greet him first, he introduces himself as Daniel (Moth Light band), I did the same, so did Oscar. Daniel is a very nice guy, from London and he's now a member of ULVER. Last night he handled piano and guitar duties on stage, did a great job of that as well. We joke around for a bit, talking about the ghettoness of Athens and how we can't wait to leave this place, then we talk about music and bands we like. Great conversationalist, I'd like to be his friend in fact.

Tor came down afterwards, said hello and introduced himself. He's more of the quiet shy type which is what I heard from some people that he's very much like that. He didn't really talk to us, just walked around and looked confused more than ever. I think perhaps he was waiting for the others to join him for the tour of the Acropolis.

It was about time for Oscar and I to leave the hotel and look for a hostel some 15 minutes away by walking. I gave Daniel a copy of my music and we left the place. It was another gorgeous sunny day, I didn't expect anything less than that.

So now we're here in the hostel, no desire to go outside or do anything right now. I just wish it were tomorrow already so we could leave this place.

Good bye Athens, if I didnt' see you then I wouldn't have been able to see my band.

it's been real.

Athens, Greece & ULVER live at Gagarin 2009

kreydatus — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 02:12:00 GMT

Ok, you may have noticed that I quit doing the 'Day 1, Day 2, Day 3' etc. I will now blog every so often as when I feel like doing it.

Athens, Greece ! Wow. What a filthy city. I mean, save for the ancient ruins of Acropolis and the tiny tourist trap that's nestled below it, those parts are actually quite nice. But I mean, wow. um. WOW. Oscar and I had no idea it would be this dirty.

I invited my friend Oscar Von Seth to Athens with me for one reason only: to witness ULVER perform LIVE at the Gagarin club. Ulver is my favorite band, ever. They're quite sacred to me, period. Experiencing this performance by a band that I admire is something like the second coming of Jesus to me.

Now, we arrived yesterday at 3:30pm coming from Berlin, Germany. The weather is PERFECT here, plentiful sunshine and beautiful temperatures, absolutely perfect I tell you. Now for all of you who have been reading about my gripes of Berlin weather for the past 3 weeks, this is exactly what I needed, a BREAK.

So Oscar and I take a cab from the airport to Omonia Sq. The area is very busy with motorcyclists everywhere, they will run you over no doubt about it. We find an internet cafe, search for a nearby hostel and go about our way to locate it. On the way to the hostel I recognize Jørn from ULVER standing outside on a street corner in front of a hotel. My heart skipped a beat as we walk past him and I say to myself omfg, that is Jørn. I kept walking but kicked myself in the ass to turn around and ask him if he is from the band ULVER. Jørn seemed not to notice that I barked excuse me at him. He looked over and then I asked him if he was with the band ULVER. When he said yes I was like a happy school girl, introducing myself and telling him my story of traveling around Europe and my reason for coming to Athens. BEST RANDOM MOMENT EVER. I still can't believe it.

So we get to the hostel and already it looks like a disgusting dump. It's inside of this building that looked like a jailhouse, the hostel itself looked like some old guy's apartment. Thank god Oscar was there with me on this trip. The dude is from Guam, he made special note of this to us, like we cared. This place was so awful that I am going to skip writing about it because I'm becoming upset just thinking about it. But then again, we humbled ourselves into taking this place, Athens is shitty as it is so we would go through it just for one night.

We went out and took a walk around the city center for about an hour, it's wretched. People are shooting up drugs right out in the open, infact Oscar and I witnessed some guy shooting up, a needle into his hand in front of everyone. People are pissing everywhere, I cannot believe how grotesque the standards of living are around here. I'm sorry I don't understand but c'mon.

I hardly got any sleep at all, I was up all night. We booked from that place first thing in the morning without even saying good bye. Wow.

So a new day ahead of us, a fresh whole new day and we decided to check into the very same hotel that ULVER are staying at. Can we say stalker? no, we're not stalkers, I'm just living my dream man. The hotel is still booked but we can come back after 12 to make a booking so we dropped our heavy bags off and did a little sight seeing.

Walking down towards the Acropolis and everything seems a bit hectic but normal Athens routine for everyone. Motorcycles are blazing by the dozens, as well as the cars. There are these guys who sell this kind of toy made from sticky slime or whatever, they're everywhere, we see them along the way, everywhere. Not only that but old Greek woman are following you around trying to sell you a homemade shawl that you're mother would love to have. The street vendors increase twofold and ever more as you approach the more touristy parts of Athens near the Acropolis. Down under the Acropolis is the posh and clean area, full of tourists and cafes, waiters trying to usher you into their restaurants every which way you turn. Oscar and I had a little lunch there, the salads are excellent, didn't try much of anything else. So we decide to back in the direction of the hotel and check in. The guys from ULVER were outside loading themselves into the van, presumably to drive off to the venue and set up for the show. I waited a little bit until they left, was feeling a bit shy. The doors opened at the venue around 8:00 and the show didn't start until 9:15. It was totally packed by the time the band started. It was at this place called Gagarin in Athens, pretty cool venue, it's small but not the most acoustically optimized place in the world. ULVER finally appeared on stage with a few other people I didn't recognize. They started the show with a track from METAMORPHOSIS, one of my favorite E.P's that they've put out. Their live set had a great setup for a small studio band - a grand piano, orchestra chimes, kettle drums, turntables, a few laptops, guitar, drum set. The LED lights were quite amazing, and totally bright. Kris sang wonderfully, moved around a little bit, swayed with the music but from his body language one can tell that he isn't used to doing live performances at all. I really thought that his vocals could have been mixed in well with the music rather than blurred into the underwater sound of the music - it's not the band's fault, it's the shitty acoustics of the venue. They performed pieces from most of all their albums, including Teachings in Silence, Blood Inside (IN THE RED was the highlight of their performance), Shadows of the Sun, and some others. What was really the icing on the cake was when after they finished they waited about 20 minutes to perform a track from Bertatt for the audience ! it was most awesome !!! Kris's vocals sounded sooooooo amazing and in the forefront of everything else. That's when I thought the music was mixed in beautifully. I believe it was Knut, their old guitar player, who was on stage playing the guitar parts. Anyway, Kris said it was a surprise and kinda random to do this and very much unrehearsed. Overall I'd say that the band did an exceptional job and I am very impressed with the performance and this unique opportunity to witness them live, and also to share it with a friend from Stockholm. Oscar and I stuck around to invade the merch table, I bought a nice shirt and then took a nice 30 minute walk back to the hotel and crash for the night. Yeah, it was an early night for both of us, although I did want to stay up and see the band for a drink. That didn't happen until the next morning :-)

Still raining and cold in Berlin

kreydatus — Wed, 4 Nov 2009 12:48:00 GMT

So I guess it's going to raining here non-stop for the next 10 days as the extended forecast predicts. That's awful. I really want to go out and experience the city life and nature that is all around me, comfortably.

I'm doing some research on how to obtain a European work visa and it's actually rather difficult for non-EU citizens. It's somewhat dampening my spirits just a bit but you can read about it here, here's one article I found:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4970177_european-work-visa.html

No matter what I must return to the states by Christmas anyway so I have no other choice in the matter. We'll see what happens I suppose.

The rain has turned into wet snow now. This will serve as inspiration for my music, this inclement weather.

The GREAT news is that I purchased tickets for ULVER in Athens, Greece for November 14tH !!!!!!! so excitedddddddddddddddddddd FINALLY get to see them.

Berlin is cold these days..

kreydatus — Mon, 2 Nov 2009 21:08:00 GMT

Right now I could use my winter clothes that are packed away in boxes in the basement of 67 Wyman St. It's been a shitty, cold and rainy day here in Berlin today and it will continue for the rest of the week. I'm not complaining ! and if it sounds like I am, well, you would be too if you added up the amount of money you exchange everyday from the American dollar to the Euro, it's really expensive now. I gave up sewing the crotches of my H&M throwaway pants and decided to invest into a pair of durable black Levi jeans (Levi are my favorite brand, if I can find anything that doesn't have the shitty fashion stripes across the thighs). I also bought a new pair of boots to go along with it. Sigh, yes. Now I feel slightly better and my feet are dry !

This entire week I've spent in Berlin has been a very pleasurable one actually. The first day I arrived I was immediately greeted with my new pal Oscar from Stockholm, we met in Stockholm a couple weeks prior and we both planned on being in Berlin at the same time. It was great to see him, we've only known each other for less than 1 month and we're starting to become pretty good buds already. I treated ourselves to Amsterdam's 'finest' which totally had us laughing our asses off for days. But from that we discovered and got to know each others little 'quirks' and our personalities shown even more, I hate to say it but I feel slightly more 'normal' now than I ever have felt since I left Boston.

Oscar had shown me around a little bit, parts of Fredericksheim and Kreuzberg are my notable favorites. We haven't gone clubbing yet, and I haven't been out anywhere either. The cold weather and the short daylight hours are keeping me indoors for the most part. Now only the internet is my nexus of communication while I shelter myself away from the non-English speaking world.

I have a friend, Lorenz, who hooked me up with a little job under-the-table for 4 days to set up a spook house in this giant building that was once a Communist school. It was pretty cool actually to do this job, I spent a number of hours painting the walls black, artfully hanging fake cobwebs all over the place, staple-gunning egg crate foam to the floor, other odds and ends and yeah, that's it mostly. I should be getting paid for that but I can wait, I'm lucky that I had that opportunity thrown at me. Today the building has closed it's doors and will face demolition in the near future.

So I've been staying in Charlottenberg, West Berlin, kind of a more posh area. It's okay. nothing to do there. Now I'm in Fredericksheim, East Berlin. Oscar set that one up for me, it's a much nicer area with plenty to do and see. When Oscar returns to Berlin from Stockholm next Wednesday he and I will be sharing this room that I'm staying in now, it's huge.

So other than that I'm thinking about my plans for the future. Do I want to stay in Berlin or do I want to go back to the states. I have no clue what I want to do anymore. I'm not prepared to brace this winter that is about to happen in Europe and I certainly do not have a job here. I had to put my student loans on forbearance because I can't afford it right now. I seriously love being in Europe, but I also miss being around people I know and love. I guess I can make my decision once I return to America next month to visit my family and friends for Christmas.

Alright I'm going out now, talk later. chow chow.

Berlin, Germany - rest and respite..

kreydatus — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:00:00 GMT

I made it to Berlin, Germany this morning by Eurostar buslines again - this time it was a more pleasant ride, not overbooked and I had 2 seats to myself to sprawl out on, however I could manage. I'm staying at a flat in Berlin for 25 euros a night, fully furnished, the works to say the least. LUCKED OUT. It's super bright, funky colors and decor, I love it.

Right now I'm having coffee with Oscar von Seth somewhere, sapping up their internet because I don't have internet in my flat building.

more later.

Amsterdam, Holland - completely surreal..

kreydatus — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:40:00 GMT

The bus ride from London to Amsterdam was hellish. So when I arrived to Amsterdam it was a beautiful sunny day but I was in a pisser of a mood, as you can imagine that means it wasn't good. No sleep, the bus driver was rude, the people on the were sick and hacking up death, ugh typical backpacker story probably. I found my hostel, The Flying Pig in Uptown without a problem - this city is quite small.

The first thing I did was look for a coffee shop (SURPRISE). I stumbled upon Tweedies coffee shop located in uptown near the gardens. So I go in, nobody is in there except for the dude with the dreads behind the counter. Yes, it smells like weed.

To everyone in my family who doesn't understand what 'coffee shops' are in Amsterdam, they are places you can go and buy and smoke different types of Marijuana and also have your coffee or tea with it. It's completely legal here in the Netherlands, prostitution is also legal.

so anyway, I sit down at the counter and survey the area. It's pretty quiet this early in the morning. To play it cool I just ordered a hot tea and sat there drinking it for about a half hour until I felt a little more comfortable before I tried anything else. I don't like waking into surprises and leaving disoriented without testing the waters first.

After that I wandered around the town for a few hours, soaking it all in, the canals and the bridges over them are the most charming parts of this city aside from the architecture. The buildings here remind me of the ceramic Christmas villages that light up from inside, every Christmas my mother sets this little village up around the tree. That's what the architecture looks like (if my mother is reading this)

The people are not the nicest people, ironically, being in such a laid back city. I feel as though everyone can tell that I'm American even without me speaking a word. Sometimes the feelings a a little daunting but I just go on with it knowing that I am just passing through for a couple days and keep my cool about me.

I've been into a few of the coffee shops, the aesthetic styles of these places range from dug-out Rastafarian dwellings to VERY posh / fancy shops. They really do look like novelty shops, some of them, like candy stores.

I'm not exactly what to do today, it is raining a little bit, I want to go see a few more museums like the torture museum and perhaps the national museum, I went to the sex museum yesterday - wow.

Amsterdam's social and humanities structure is centered around sex and drugs.

There is a Red Light District here. I happened to walk through it yesterday, girls are dancing in the windows and pointing at passerbys to come into their dens. I just laughed to myself at all of them, it seems all so surreal, like not even real at all, or like this city is a giant theme park here to entertain everybody and all the tourists who come here for only 2 good reasons at all.

So yes, tonight I leave around 11:00pm and I will be waking up in Berlin, Germany tomorrow morning WOOHOO !

London, England - the whole weekend.

kreydatus — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:09:00 GMT

This is truly a city you must explore for more than one weekend, I mean I only came here to breeze through the big parts of the city and experience the savory nightlife in London for just the weekend, and I did just that. This place is very expensive and my backpacker budget simply cannot afford to stay here any longer until I find a decent job.

A friend of mine introduced me to a Londoner who I think is a total peach, charming person indeed. Saturday night was a great night starting at The Eagle and then partying at XXL, I do believe it has been the highlight of my European excursion so far. So thank you Andreas for showing a foreigner vagabond traveler a great time in London, and thank you Dirk for putting me in touch.

Great to meet you as well François, big hugs :-)

The one thing I haven't done here is visit the national museum or any other museums. It's tough to do all that when I'm lugging around a heavy backpack that is not only annoying to me but to others around me. The museums will always be there, and I will certainly have a place to live so I can return and see all that there is to be seen.

tonight I leave around 22:00 via National Express bus to Amsterdam, arriving to Amsterdam tomorrow morning around 10:45am. I'll stick around there for a couple days and then head en route to Berlin where I feel like I will finally plant my feet down and relax for a bit. I will have officially traveled for 2 months straight by November 1st, seeing 6 countries in a 2 month period. That's enough for me, for now anyway.

ULVER IN ATHENS NOVEMBER 14TH

ahhhh I can't wait.

London, England

kreydatus — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 11:35:00 GMT

So I left Edinburgh by overnight bus and arrived to London yesterday morning around 7:30am. My first thought was yes, it's rainy, typical description of London but that's fine, at least it was predictable haha. Checked into The Clink hostel near Kings Cross St. Pancras station, it's pretty nice here actually, probably the funkiest hostel I've ever stayed in. This place is a 200 year old court house converted into a hostel dormitory; everything is still intact from the witness stands to the prosecutors stand. The original placards are still on the walls, and I'm currently sitting in the T.V room which is where all the proceedings took place. It's pretty cool here.

I really needed to get some sleep in but not before I took the 3 hour walking day tour around London. Yes we saw all the sights, the Buckingham Palace, Westminster Chapel, Big Ben, the changing of the royal guards, etc and more. Took a nice two hour nap (much needed!) at the hostel and prepped myself for a night out into town.

One thing that I have to note about London is that, and I have often said this about other cities, but this city truly does remind me of a giant version of Boston, it's true ! It's not comparably socially by any means but the landscape and some of the architecture really does look like Boston a little bit. I guess perhaps I miss Boston just a tiny bit, I think about it quite often. I want my bike back. I don't want to carry my crap around all the time now that it's becoming colder. I think once I'm in in Berlin I am going to plant my feet down for a while and just unwind, allow my batteries to recharge.

Another thing I've noticed about London, and especially last night, is not everyone here is totally open to Americans stepping foot into their territory. No hostility at all, I've just heard comments about Americans being here, and not nice ones at that. Oh well, to be expected I guess.

I love it here nonetheless. Gotta go now, bye.

Day 2 & 3 - Edinburgh, Scotland

kreydatus — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:23:00 GMT

Hey, I highly suggest Edinburgh, Scotland to anyone who would like to visit the U.K for their first time. There is just SO much history to this place and the people here are quite funny as well. Last night and the day before were so much fun, met a new friend, went on a day time and night time walking tour through this beautiful medieval city. Last night's HAUNTED EDINBURGH walking tour through the old town and through the forgotten underground streets is really quite eerie. Someone fainted when our tour guide was describing in vivid detail all the uses for the torture devices salvaged from different parts of the world that were on display in one of the rooms we visited. Yes, Edinburgh was once a brutal, grisly, bloody town filled with witch hunts, torture, death and filth. But now it's a bustling haven for students, tourists and vagabonds like myself. I highly suggest it. Over and out. DO IT.

LONDON NEXT !

Day 1 - Edinburgh, Scotland

kreydatus — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:52:00 GMT

Wow. Finally, I'm amongst my English speaking people. I arrived last night around 9pm and searched around for my hostel which is located on Cockburn St. Yes I chuckled to myself too. This whole city is really quite medieval, reminding me of Boston in a way, and I'm a bit relieved to see some resemblance in this old old town.

My hostel is huge. My room has 12 bunks in it and to my surprise I am the only one sleeping in there ! I woke up this morning with nobody else in there except for me. I'm happy about that because I was able to fit in a little mini Yoga session and stretch out for a bit. My body aches, my right hip kills me from all the walking and bearing of the weight from my bag. (I had a serious hip injury a few years ago from doing lunges at a gym and it hasn't healed properly.)

So enough of the complaining. I have a free walking tour to do soon and I'm excited to get to it. It's only been a few hours since I've been awake but I can tell that I'm going to love this city very much. I see from the map that it's quite small and I think spending just a week here will be quite fine with me.

Also the transition from the Kroner to the British Pound is quite an adjustment. Gotta pinch my pennies ! er...pencies. heh.

Okay I'll return with more news later on. chow chow.