e i f f e l t o w e r

breakfast in munich. lunch in salzburg. dinner in budapest.

28.10.2008 - 10:12am

I’m just over one week into my three week InterRail journey throughout Europe. As I write this post, I’m sitting on a train going from Munich to Salzburg. I’ll spend the day in Salzburg before catching a train to Budapest.

I’m fully convinced train travel is the most enjoyable way to travel. If possible, I’d never again set foot on an airplane – let alone a bloody airport full of ques, chaos, security checks, baggage weight limits, and the list could go on. I’m sitting in a six-person cabin which Brian and I have to ourselves. There’s plenty of legroom with no one telling me to wear my seatbelt or when I can and can’t go to the toilet. Instead of the sounds of jet engines and views of only clouds, I’m listening to the clicking of the train tracks and watching the green, mountainous, countryside of southern Germany slowly pass by. I believe you feel much more connected to your journey on a train – you’re able to see the ground you cover and watch the landscapes gradually change.

I greatly enjoyed my three days spent in southern Germany - in Bavaria. Munich was lovely; a perfectly sized city of just over one million people. One million welcoming, laid back, and beer loving people – on average, Germans drink over 130 liters of beer a year. Munich is the perfect example of a city where you could come to spend a week and stay a lifetime. If only I knew German. Other than hello, goodbye, please, and thank you, “Noch zwei dunkle bitte,” is as far as I got. ‘I’d like two more dark beers please.”

Brian and I had our first German breakfast with our couchsurfing host, Tami. Tami took us to a large, open, Bavarian beer hall with tiled floors, dark wooden benches, and a high ceiling where we had pretzels, white sausages, and a wheat beer. Beautiful. I guess there are certain beers you drink at certain times of the day – a fruity wheat beer according to Tami is a breakfast beer. We unfortunately didn’t have much of a chance to get to know Tami as she left Saturday afternoon to see her boyfriend in France. She did give us the perfect introduction to Bavaria.

On Saturday afternoon, Brian and I had a couple hours to kill before catching a train to see the Neuschwanstein Castle in Fussen; the castle is a 19th century Bavarian palce and is one of the most photographed buildings in Germany. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and we decided we would grab a beer in one of Munich’s many biergartens. Our afternoon got off to a questionable start. We found ourselves a sunny table and sat down. Unlike the UK or Ireland, you don’t go to the bar to get your beers. Instead, a waitress comes to your table and takes your order ... or so we thought. We sat down and waited. And waited. And waited. Something wasn’t right; there were two or three waitresses running around with food and beers, but none of them seemed to take notice of us.

Finally, someone took pity on us, "This table," they said in broken English, "is reserved for everyday people." I later found out that we were sitting in a Stammtisch - a regulars' table. The waiters and waitresses will refuse service to tourists who occupy a local patron's table. Some luck! We moved tables, and soon we had two 1 liter steins of Bavarian pilsner to enjoy.

So, I'll be in Salzburg, Austria, by 11am to spend the day. If all goes as planned, I'll catch the 5pm train and be in Budapest by 11pm tonight. mk

city of l i g h t s

Paris. The City of Love. The City of Lights. Two million people in Paris proper with ten million in the entire metropolitan area. 72 million tourists come to Paris each year, and right now, Matthew Kyhnn is one of them.

I will say, as an American who speaks only English, its not exactly an easy place to be. After spending ten months in English speaking Scotland, you quickly forget how stressful, frustrating, and bewildering it is to try and navigate and survive in a city the size of Paris where literally no one speaks English.

Brian and I arrived in Paris with zero plans as far as accommodation. Always a good decision. After a couple hours of wandering the city's streets and subways, we finally found a hostel we had looked up online. Unfortunately, we also found they were full and had no bed available. The French bloke working the front desk offered no help in finding an alternative place to stay. He simply pointed two ways out of the hostel, and told us, "If you walk towards the canal, you may find a hostel, but I don't know if they'll have rooms." Fun. As it turns out, we ended up checking into a dodgy one star hotel. We had no toilet - no toilet as in, no toilet in the entire 'hotel.' Also, we had to pay E3 extra each for a shower. Either way, it was a place to sleep. First impressions of Paris weren't too good.

We spent yesterday exploring the city on our own and with a walking tour. We ended up back at the hostel where said unhelpful French bloke worked the next morning. As it turns out, the hostel was again full, but they held our bags for the day. While we were there, we met an ex-pat American lady who worked for the hostel and led tours. She was lovely and took us on a very informative and laid back tour of the city.

We ended up checking into a new hostel last night. It was the first time since I've again left traveling where I've had to opportunity to sit down with other fellow travelers and just, hang out. Over a couple bottles of wine we exchanged stories, discussed our travels, and really just had the craic. It was brilliant. Very refreshing.

Yesterday ended with Brian and I sitting at the base of the Eiffel Tower and drinking a bottle of wine. An epic way to spend an evening. When I think of Europe, the first thing that comes to my mind is the Eiffel Tower. It was a stunning sight - illuminated in blue sparkling every hour on the hour (to the tune of E2,000 a day).

I realized again last night how lucky I am to be where I'm at in my life. I've met so many wonderful people along the way, seen so many sights, and learned so much about myself. I'm not ready for this portion of my life to finish, but sooner or later I'm afraid it will. It will have most definitely been a journey I'll never forget.

cheers, mk

safe in the 'dam

I've made it safely to Amsterdam.

First impressions can be summed up with, 'wow.' What a bizarre city. Amsterdam is best known for the presence of decriminalized drugs and legalized prostitution. True, this was more than evident in the quick hour long stroll I had throughout the city before checking into a hostel. But, lesser known, perhaps, is the beauty of the city. Touted as being one of Europe's 'most beautiful cities,' you can see the draw many people have to Amsterdam. The city centre is filled with winding, 17th century cobblestone streets and a maze of canals - thus Amsterdam is also known as the, 'Venice of the North.'

The ferry ride was less than ideal. I spent most of my time curled up in my tiny, two berth, cabin fighting off seasickness. I never got sick, but I sure got close.

Regardless, I'm here. Its an exciting feeling to again begin traveling. mk

goodbyes

Oh my, a new post on Matt's blog! Shocking, I know.

As I sit down to write, I'm on a train leaving Scotland and heading to Newcastle. From Newcastle, I'm catching an overnight ferry to Amsterdam to meet up with my mate Lyndon from Ireland. We'll spend a couple nights in Amsterdam before Brian and I leave for a month long trip around mainland Europe. We have InterRail passes and will be traveling via train throughout the continent.

To say I have mixed emotions right now would be a complete and total understatement. I'm excited for what the next month or more may bring. It should be unbelievable. Yet I've just had to say goodbye to Nicole, my girlfriend of seven months -a goodbye that we both knew was going to come sooner or later. A difficult goodbye, to say the least. I'm so lucky to have met her and spent the time with her I did. Who knows what the future will bring? Being seperated will undoubtedly be difficult, but this I suppose is the story and definition of life. I spent nine months and 18 days living in Scotland. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by. I'll miss Scotland. A brilliant country with so much history, pride, and beauty.

My summer flew by. I use the term summer quite liberally as there wasn't much for a 'summer' in Edinburgh. You could probably count on one hand the number of sunny days we saw. Towards the end of June I went away on holiday with Nicole to Prague. I quickly fell in love with Prague - a beautiful city with much to offer by way of arts, culture, and architecture (and really good lager!). Prague feels very much like an Eastern European city that isn't yet ready for the massive influx of tourists its seen in the past couple years. When I arrived back to Edinburgh, I found work in a small, city centre, real ale pub. It was a welcome change to the high street, brewery owned pub where I spent my first six months working. One of the smallest pubs in Edinburgh, we served quality cask ales and had a solid group of regulars.

I chuckled as I was reading my last post as I ended with the talk of not knowning what I'm doing with my life. I still don't, I suppose. I do know that without soon finding a source of income, my days of traveling Europe will soon come to an end. And, without any work visas lined up, finding a source of income may prove to be difficult. But, for now, I have what I imagine will be an unbelivable month ahead of me. cheers, mk