Sam's Eurotrip

I feel like it’s been quite a while since I’ve blogged though it’s only been about four days… perhaps that’s due to having traveled so far and seen so many cool things in such a short time!

Let me begin the recap last Friday where I left off, which was with Megan, Anna, Rob, and I arriving in Munich. While Anna and Megan rested during the afternoon after our train in from Linz, Rob and I jumped on another train (taking advantage of the day we’d already used on our rail passes) and headed southwest to Füssen, just outside of which sit the castles of Neuschwanstein (built and occupied by King Ludwig) and Hohenschwangau (King Ludwig’s father’s estate). Neuschwanstein is iconic, perched on a cliff at the base of the Alps and looking like something straight out of a fairytale. We only had about an hour to hike up to the bridge overlooking the castle and back down in order to catch the bus and train back to Munich, but it was a great side-trip and I’m really glad I went. The area is known for its castles and other extravagant relics, earning its name as the Romantic Road.

Friday night in Munich was calm as we were all pretty exhausted and we did our best to rest up for a day of exploring on Saturday. By the next morning, however, our briefly clear skies and sun had turned to an ugly overcast which ended up producing showers for most of the day. It was perfect weather to stroll only a bit under an umbrella and take shelter for the afternoon inside the Hofbrauhaus, home to Hofbrau beers. The beer hall is HUGE, and we enjoyed trying the famous brews first with a German family of four and then a trio of Munich residents who were enjoying the rainy afternoon the same way we were. All seven of the tablemates spoke English, and we actually ended up heading to another beer hall with the three guys before splitting for some dinner and drinks of our own. We had a great night and the girls really enjoyed themselves as it was their last in the country before heading back to the states.

Sunday morning we all got up and helped the girls to pack their things before going to the Hauptbahnhof (main train station for you non-German speakers) and bidding them adieu. It was so much fun traveling with Anna and Megan, learning more about each of them and really gaining an appreciation for their personalities and senses of humor – Rob and I have both found ourselves missing them a lot in the last few days! The rest of Sunday was spent killing time in Munich – mostly walking around and seeing things as the weather had finally turned nice – before catching our overnight train to Italy. I really enjoyed relaxing on the banks of the Isar River, which were packed with Munich residents and visitors alike enjoying the sunny afternoon. After an unsuccessful attempt to find an English movie theater to kill more time we slowly began making our way back to the train station – grabbing a McFlurry, some potato wedges, and some beers along the way – to head south!

My first overnight train experience was interesting to say the least. The cabin was called a cuchette with six bunks and very little room to move around much less store our belongings. It was full, too, and made for a restless night. Though our final destination on the Sunday/Monday overnight was Lake Como in the north of Italy, we trained through Florence in order to take advantage of being able to use an overnight and to meet up with some friends and family – Rob’s friend Metello and my cousin Meg! Met and Rob did a study abroad program in Toledo and he now lives in Florence working toward becoming an attorney. We grabbed cappuccinos and croissants with Met, allowing him and Rob to catch up, before meeting up with Meg for a second round of breakfast. Both rendezvous were great! It was neat to be back in Florence since my one night there in 2003 seemed to go by so quickly, especially so because the streets were empty as the sun was rising when we got in from our overnight – it was awesome to see all the sights without the flocks of tourists.

Just before lunch we got on our train to Milan, through which we would connect to Como, and then take a bus to Menaggio which lies on the northwest coast of the lake. It was a lot of traveling with some complications (higher-than-expected train fares, confusing bus schedules, and a jerk of a hostel manager) but the journey has been well worth it. Lake Como is absolutely beautiful! Known for its villas, many owned by celebrities (i.e., George Clooney), and beautiful scenery (the Alps plunge straight down into a turquoise green lake), it is a pretty stunning place! Unfortunately it was cloudy and rainy yesterday (Monday) when we got in, through the night, and through much of today (Tuesday). We took a ferry across the lake to Belaggio to do some laundry – there are no such facilities in Menaggio as it’s quite small, and the hostel doesn’t have a dryer – and did our best to stay dry for much of today. However, the sun has come out in the last two hours and the views couldn’t be more spectacular. We’re hoping for more sun tomorrow since we’ll have to kill most of the day in Menaggio/Como/Milano before our overnight to Barcelona.

Some other random thoughts about the trip so far that are noteworthy… 1) Italian trains are the worst that I’ve been on so far. They run pretty unreliably (don’t trust the timetables in the stations) and are downright slow and dirty. Oh well. 2) I’ve really gotten used to the whole backpacking life: going to the market to get 2, 3, 4, or more meals’ worth of food at a time; taking advantage of things like WCs, internet, showers, and comfortable places to sleep when possible; and really taking the time to appreciate the places I’m going and the things I’m seeing. That last bit can be the hardest at times, especially when it’s easy to get caught up in the planning and stress of travel, but by far the most rewarding. I’ve covered parts of four countries in fewer than two weeks, thousands of miles of road and rail, and have really enjoyed learning some basic quirks of the different cultures into which I’ve been immersed. That being said, I’m excited to get out of central Europe and head somewhere that the sun and warmth should be more reliable – España!

Love and happy thoughts to everyone back home, and to those elsewhere who might be following along! More to come soon from the Iberian Peninsula!

Cheers,
Sam

Meg and I during my morning in Florence!

The Olympic Park in Munich - same place I saw the urban surfers.

Neuschwanstein Castle - the scaffolding is unfortunate but it was still really cool!

Cathedral in Munich as seen from the Oktoberfest Park.

View from above the main square in Munich.

View from the balcony of the hostel in Menaggio - pretty cool!

Cool wooden boat tied up in Menaggio on Lake Como - Dad, you would have loved it!

The town across the lake bathed in some afternoon sunlight.

A plane taking off from the lake landing strip in Como.

The breakwater in Menaggio all lit up at night.