August 20

We were shocked when we woke up at 7:30 am to see people swarming all around us to get to their flights. No one, especially security guards, bothered us the entire night. This is just one more reason why Germany is awesome. They don’t bother the bums if the bums aren’t bothering anybody. It was a little creepy when I woke up to see an old lady in a wheelchair staring at me. After staring for a few minutes she finally asked what we were up to. She told us how great it was for us to be touring Europe and seeing the world. She believed that everybody should do it in their lifetime. I agreed. She said how when she was younger, she wanted to remodel the kitchen but her seventeen year old daughter wanted them to both go travel around Europe together. She decided the kitchen could wait, so she left her home in Canada for a while and went to travel with her daughter.

Once we got packed and ready to take on the day, we began to figure out where exactly we wanted to go. All we were sure of was that we wanted to go to Heidelberg to see the town and the castle as the Guggenbillers had suggested twenty-two days earlier. After that, however, we had no idea how we were going to spend our last full day outside of Paris. After we got to Heidelberg, we asked the information booth if there was a train station near the castle. She told us that there wasn’t and that it was about an hour walk to get there. We grabbed a map and started walking realizing that we had the entire day to get there. Since my bag is weighing about fifty pounds and Ben’s is up to around forty pounds due to acquired souvenirs, we only made it about a half mile before we stopped for our first break. While breaking, we took a look at the map to see that there was actually a train station on the map directly adjacent to the castle. Somewhat irritated, we walked back to the main train station to figure out how to get to the other station. Once we figured it out, it only took us about twenty minutes of waiting and riding to get near the castle. Although we had gotten close, it was going to be no easy task to get up to the castle. The way up to the castle included a climb up a steep rode and then up a zigzagging path back and forth along the hillside. We took a couple breaks on the way up before getting to the castle. This was one of the coolest castles we have seen so far. It is made of red bricks and covered a huge area. Although the towers weren’t extremely tall, there were many and each was impressive. One of the lookout towers had actually broken in half so one half was still standing and the other was implanted into a crater it made in the earth. It was neat that they just left it as it was instead of trying to restore it. Besides the great view of the castle, there was also an amazing view of the town of Heidelberg. There is a river that runs through it called the Neckar, which is also the same river that runs through Stuttgart and Reutlingen. It was definitely worth the climb, despite the extreme heat that is currently stifling Western Germany. It was hot and humid, and we were making the trek at noon which inflated the problem. It will be nice if we can get into that shower at the airport again tonight.

After Heidelberg, we decided to pick a random small town to go to since we have had such success with this strategy. We picked the town of Frankenthal. Before we left the station toward the small town, we reserved our train to Paris for the following day. We were excited to learn that it was a high speed bullet train. We had hoped to do this sometime while in Europe but had heard on multiple occasions that they were ridiculously expensive. We only had to pay 5.00 Euros apiece though. Since I had less than a Euro on me, Ben had to pay for both and now I must pay him back in US Dollars. We also found internet at that train station as was thrilled to learn that our student ID cards had been returned to Reese from London. We had left our student cards our London hostel since nobody was around when we needed to check out back on June 26. Alyssa Sahr had been visiting London and I joking suggested that she stay at Hostel 8 in London so she could pick up our student ID cards. Ben and I were both shocked to find out that she actually did us this huge favor. Ben had actually planned on driving out to Saginaw Valley the day after we got back to get a new one since he needs his to punch into work. This is just another instance of how things have been going during this amazing trip.

Upon our arrival, we had no idea where anything was, but we wanted at least to find a supermarket. I had 0.81 Euro to shop with and Ben had only slightly more. After walking into a few stores to find that they weren’t grocery stores, we finally just sat on a bench in the main section of town. I went out to explore by myself so we both didn’t have to carry our bags. I ended up finding two grocery stores right next to each other and bought a giant loaf of flatbread for 0.59 Euro bringing my remaining total to twenty-two cents to last me three more days. I shouldn’t have a problem since I have a stockpile of four sleeves of cookies, a half loaf of sliced bread, a package of meat (which probably should get eaten soon since I’ve been carrying it around in my bag for five days), the loaf of bread I bought today, and a bag of rolls I found in the train station. I’m sure I can span out this food over the course of three days, especially since I’m already sick of eating cookies and bread, so I won’t have to worry about over eating.

We ended up spending a couple hours sitting and walking around Frankenthal before heading back to the Frankfurt airport to claim a spot for the night. We only need to make sure now to wake up in time to make it to our train from Mannheim to Paris at 1:41 pm.

August 21

We were able to sleep in until 7:30 am. After barely making it until 10:00 pm the previous night, we had gotten more than our fair share of sleep. Again, we spent the entire night unbothered by security guards. We took our time eating breakfast and getting ready for the day. Our only task at hand was to make it to our train in Mannheim by 1:41 pm. We ended up leaving the Frankfurt airport by 8:30 am, so it wasn’t going to be a problem. Once we arrived in Mannheim (about a half hour away) we went to our train’s platform to begin our four hour wait. We lasted about a half hour before we felt the need to get up and start wondering around the area. Since we had less than a single Euro in cash combined, it didn’t look like our purchasing power was going to be too high. Ben did have a 5.00 Euro bill that he was planning on saving to cash in with his VAT refund money at the airport, but he ended up spending it on a pipe and tobacco. I still owed him 5.00 Euros from the train ride, so I bought his pipe for him to pay him back. I also bought a pack of five cheap cigars for one Euro as a way to hopefully pass the time while Ben was smoking his pipe. However, after smoking only one half of the tiny cigar, I had already gave one to Ben and sold the other three to him for 0.60 Euro. I don’t think I’ll have to worry about taking up a bad habit like cigars.

Once our train finally arrived, we boarded and waited in anticipation to reach top speed. I was relatively disappointed because it felt like we were probably only going about 100 mph when we were supposed to be going about 200 mph. However, when I got up to use the restroom, I saw that the sign said we were traveling at 296 kph, which is about the equivalent of 200 mph. Not many people can say they used the restroom while traveling 200 mph across the countryside.

It only took us three hours to travel from Mannheim to Paris and we were immediately reminded why we had disliked Paris. Hardly anybody spoke English and the people who did rarely were of any help. Every time we talked to somebody they would tell us something different. We weren’t in the city more than ten minutes and we were already jumping terminal gate turnstiles to get to the train because the people wouldn’t give us the passes that our Eurail tickets entitled us to. Since we were struggling so much with getting around the city, we limited our excursions to the Eiffel Tower, Arc of Triumph, and Champs de Elysees down to only the Arc of Triumph. It was impressive, but it was even more entertaining to watch the people taking hundreds of pictures as if it might change at any minute. I couldn’t help but thinking about how their attitudes would change if only they have experienced half the things we have over the past sixty-one days. Seeing the Arc probably doesn’t even crack our top 100 list. However, there will be no better site than seeing our parents waiting for us in the airport in Toronto. After leaving the Arc, this was our next task; get to the airport safely without getting arrested and begin the two day wait until our flight left.

At the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, we looked around for a place to sleep for the night. It was only 8:00 pm, but I already felt like I could go to sleep for the night. Ben forced us to stay up until dark, however, but we didn’t last much longer than that. I passed the time by watching Ben smoke his new pipe. And when I say “smoke his pipe” I mean that in the most literal sense. He began with one bowl of tobacco, but was able to light another bowl before I could start heading to my bed. After his second bowl had begun to burn out, he started complaining that the smoke was beginning to taste like wood. Pretty soon, his corncob pipe was turning black on the outside. Once the corncob started to burn all the way through, he put in down on the concrete and it proceeded to burn all the way down to nothing. His brand new pipe is now nothing more than a pile of ashes. Not many people can say they literally smoked a pipe to ashes.

After we successfully made it though that excursion safely, we went inside to find a bed. (There is a story from a previous experience a couple years ago that I could flashback to, but it would take much too long, so if your curious you will just have to ask in person.) It didn’t take long to fall into a deep sleep in a corner somewhere in the airport. Sleep came around 10:00 pm.

August 22

I woke up at 4:30 am feeling rested enough to take on the day, but realized the time and rolled back over for a while longer. I awoke again at 6:30 am now feeling as though I had slept until noon, but Ben wasn’t awake yet so I drifted back into sleep yet again. When we finally woke up for good, it was 8:45 am. At which point I felt as though I could sleep the entire day away in I wanted to. However, I did force myself to get up to start taking care of the business of the day. The first order of business was to eat breakfast. Then we packed our bags and began walking around the airport to find out information for our flight the following day. Again, the people weren’t especially helpful and I could begin to feel a general resentment toward us for not knowing French. We didn’t find out anything more than where we needed to be to check in. We figured that we would go to the line as soon as we woke up in the morning even though it wouldn’t be open yet. We might as well wait in line than somewhere else. After sitting around for a while reading books and listening to I-pods, we got on the airport shuttle train to head to the other terminal where we spotted a park the day before. Ben took a nap and I finished my book and ate lunch. We laid around in the grass for a while before heading back to our terminal. There we went and sat on a ledge while Ben smoked his last cigar. The light was just starting to fade when we went back to claim our spots on the airport floor. It was about shortly after 9:00 pm when we called it a night. The excitement of the following day would hopefully come quicker if we slept away the hours.

August 23

The day started with a prompt wake up call from a French security guard at 7:30 am. As I predicted, I was not able to sleep well due to excitement for the next day. When we did get up, however, we went directly to where our check-in line was supposed to be and began a day full of waiting. We sat in line for about three hours before we were able to check into our flight. The only excitement during this stretch came when we heard a ruckus coming from the adjacent hall. I jumped up and ran over to see what was going on and all I saw was a bunch of people running and yelling, “Police! Police!” I went outside to see a man getting chased by a single individual who continued the chant calling for the police. It seemed as though someone had made a pickpocket attempt but was unsuccessful in his getaway. The suspect stopped running when he got to a crowd and started to walk to try to blend in. After another guy found him again, he took off running. Meanwhile, the man in pursuit continued calling for the police. I watched the entire scene for about five minutes and never saw a police officer come to the rescue. During this time, I stood next to four security guards who seemed content to just be spectators. The chase ended up getting too far away for me to see anymore, so I went back to Ben and our bags to continue waiting.

After we had finally checked in and successfully made it through security, we had another three hour wait until our flight departed. Ben had eaten all his food previous to going through security so he didn’t have to carry it, so it looked like he would be making the eleven hour trip with an empty stomach. I had a few snacks left from my grocery stash, but I would need to ration myself if I didn’t want to go hungry at all. Our first flight to Reykjavik was on an older model Boeing 757 which didn’t have the in-seat entertainment system upgrade yet, which made the flight seem a little longer than the three hours it actually took. After an hour layover, we were on our way to Toronto. This 757 had the entertainment system which allowed me to watch two movies and four sitcom episodes, making the trip fly by. After we landed in Toronto, we had our passports examined twice before going through customs and immigration and then picking up our bags. It was only a few minutes later that I videotaped our reunion with our waiting parents. It felt so good to see my parents and join them for the remaining five hours to Reese. I was also thrilled that Mrs. Burnison had made cookies and my mother brought me a root beer which I had told her I had been craving since they are non-existent in Europe. There are no Taco Bells in Canada apparently, so we had to settle for Wendy’s as our first meal back in North America. It looked like we were all out of thrills until we had to go through US customs to get back in the States.

After my mother answered all the questions from the border patrol guard, we were informed that our vehicle and bags needed to be searched since we were coming home from Europe. Ben and I had to fill out customs forms to list all the things we had acquired over the months. The young guy inside the customs building was having a good laugh when we were explaining the stories behind some of our acquisitions. When I told him I was listing my shoes that I found in the woods in Berlin as a ten dollar value he started laughing and asking some more questions out of pure curiosity. He then left after he let me into the bathroom, and when he walked back in from the inspection going on in the van, he jokingly asked, “is that a big bag of parsley in your bag?” We got a kick out of his humor due to our previous experience with grumpy border patrol officers.

Once we made it back into the great US of A, we had no problems making back to Reese. I was happy to see Nate and Cara waiting for us at the Burnison’s house and to see my car waiting for me as well. After we said our temporary goodbyes, my parents followed me to Speedy Q to make sure I had enough gasoline to make it home, since I left the tank with mere fumes sixty-three days ago. I made it home around 1:30 am and was glad to see Granny still awake to greet me. She also had freshly baked cookies and cold milk waiting for me as if she had read my mind from thousands of miles away. At this point I had been awake for over twenty-four hours due to jet lag and longed for my own bed drastically. When I finally collapsed underneath the covers, it was about 2:30 am. It didn’t take long to find sleep. It was good to be home.

I’d like to thank everybody for following and supporting us during our trip. I never imagined how many people would actually take up reading this blog on a regular basis. It’s good to know we have that many people who care and are legitimately interested in our undertakings. Besides learning (or being reminded) about how many great people surround us in our daily lives, we also learned to be thankful for some of the values that we take for granted every day. If there is one lesson that we have learned from this entire trip, it is that the United States of America is the best country to live in on the planet. It will be a long time before I find myself complaining about our government and policies despite all that we think they are lacking sometimes. I would also like to encourage others to go on a similar excursion sometime in their lives. If it is something that interests you, don’t put it off if you can do it now because you never know how long of a window you will have to pull something like this off. Your outlook on life will change for the better; I guarantee it.

Even though I have tried to describe all the details of our experiences, there are still a great deal of things that were not put down on paper. I’m also quite sure that many people have a few inquiries to make, so don’t be afraid to ask. I anticipate enjoying conversations about this trip for many years to come, so I don’t expect to get annoyed anytime soon by repeating stories or answers to questions. I hope to catch up with everybody soon!

The following is a few things I have compiled over the months:

Things I forgot to add:

1. There was an older Canadian guy that practically walked us all the way to Buckingham Palace while we were in London. He was really nice and we had an interesting conversation. He also used a map he had bought in the 70’s to get direct us.

2. I made Ben throw his socks away in Rome. I could smell them through two plastic bags and when he pulled them out I nearly puked. He took them out of the room immediately, but the room never smelled right after that. I made him throw them out and then gave him a pair of mine.

3. There was a gorgeous girl in Barcelona that waited on us at the bar when we were desperate for food. She didn’t speak a word of English so it was really frustrating knowing there was no way to talk to her.

4. While walking down the La Rambla in Barcelona, I accidentally kicked over this guys change bucket he had sitting out in the walkway. We were in a hurry and I was looking up at street signs to make sure we didn’t miss our road when my foot hit something solid and change went flying everywhere. Ben was kind enough to take a picture of me helping the guy pick up his money from the street. The only thing the guy said to me was “Not funny.”

5. June 24th. I don’t know why I decided not to write that day.

6. After a guy was rude to us for not knowing French, Ben said after we had walked away, “Well if it weren’t for my country, you’d all be speaking German!”

7. There was a topless sunbather laying on the pool deck in Rome. It’s not really a big deal, but probably worth a mention.

8. On June 30, we had to get to our train from London to Manchester and check out of our hostel. When we went down to check out, there was nobody there, so we couldn’t pick up our student IDs that we had left as collateral. We had to make the easy decision to leave our student cards behind since we had already paid about fifty dollars apiece for our tickets. Two months later, I found out that Alyssa Sahr actually picked up the cards for us when she visited London herself. They are now waiting for us in Reese as I write this.

General Observations:

1. The United States is the best country in the world to live in…no matter how many problems we think we have.

2. Most people don’t live up to the stereotypes that we have been led to believe in the US. Although a lot of the Irish are short with red hair and the Italians are fiery darker skinned people, most other things are myths. For example, the Irish hardly drink at all because they can’t afford to pay 5.00 Euros for a beer.

3. Almost every public bathroom facility charges you to use it. A lot of them don’t even give you change back if you don’t have exact change.

4. There are few public drinking fountains, especially in France.

5. Even the poorest sections of Europe don’t offer groceries for as cheap as in the US.

6. No country is as fat as the US. This one isn’t even close.

7. Most businesses close quite a bit earlier than in the US.

8. Siesta time is hard to get used to. Don’t expect to find any place to eat in Spain (or even Italy and Greece for the most part) between the hours of 2:00 pm and 6:00 pm.

9. The most comfortable bed is your own bed.

10. People are crazy all over the world.

11. Almost all youth speak multiple languages, especially in Germany, Switzerland, and Scandinavia.



Words of advice to anyone else who wants to backpack through Europe on a budget:

1. When you find free water, drink as much as you can and fill your bottle to the brim.

2. When you find a free public bathroom, USE IT.

3. Drink a lot of water before you leave for your daily excursion each morning.

4. Always try to have some food stored in your backpack. There is nothing worse than not eating for twelve hours just to find that everything is closed.

5. Try to have everything planned at least a day or two in advance. Being spontaneous can be fun, but not knowing where your going to sleep for the night when its 8:00 pm can be frustrating.

6. After booking accommodations, write down the full address and as detailed directions as you can. Then double and triple check it to make sure it’s right. Missing one little detail can turn a fifteen minute walk into a two hour excursion.

7. Pack as light as possible. It’s surprising how little you need. Also, wearing the same shirt for a few days in a row isn’t really as disgusting as it sounds.

8. Pay attention to details, especially while walking around in the cities. It is easy to get lost and you never know when your going to want to remember where you saw that grocery store or cheap hotel.

9. Don’t worry about hygiene too much. It’s one thing to be healthy. It’s another thing to have to smell pretty all the time.

10. Keep your feet happy. If your feet ain’t happy, ain’t no body happy. And I mean NO BODY. Your travel partner doesn’t want to hear you complaining all the time. A good pair of walking shoes and Dr. Scholl’s insoles are a sound investment.

11. If your traveling with the same person for more than a week, you have to learn to just let some things go. Your never going to want to do the same things every time, so just pick your battles wisely.

12. If your in a place that is excessively hot, make yourself get up early to see the sites. It will be much cooler, the lines will be shorter at the attractions, and you can sleep when you get back. You can then go on an evening adventure if you haven’t accomplished enough for the day.

13. You can always delete your pictures and videos, don’t hesitate to take them. They might get annoying after taking a couple hundred, but think of how cool they will be in ten years.

14. Always keep your computer, camera, etc. fully charged if possible. You don’t want to have to cut your picture taking short or not be able to get onto the internet at a crucial point.

15. Have a watch with an alarm. Most cheap hotels or hostels don’t have alarm clocks. When you need to wake up at a certain time to catch a train or a ferry, you don’t want to have to wake up every hour to see if it’s time to get up.

16. Don’t be afraid to ask directions or ask for help. The worst thing somebody will do to you is ignore you. Trust me, it doesn’t hurt, and you will get used to it.

17. Try to learn at least a few common phrases of the country’s language. If you start off a conversation with a greeting in their native language, they will be much more willing to help you.

18. Don’t be afraid to try to speak another language. It will be awkward at first, but the locals will respect you more for trying to speak their language than for speaking perfect English. Remember, you’re never going to see these people again in your life (unless you hit it off), so don’t worry about what they might think of you.

19. Don’t be afraid to try to spark up a conversation with somebody just for the sake of conversation. You may gain a friend for life, or at least gain some key information on the local city.

20. Practice your charades before your trip. It’s amazing how well two people can communicate who don’t even speak a word of the other’s language.

21. Don’t get caught up in the big picture of your trip for too long. You will miss home and your trip will seem never ending (if you do it right anyway), but just worry about one day at a time. It will seem like your on your trip for an eternity, but in another sense, you’ll be a month in and it will seem like you just started a couple days ago.

22. Always let your mom know where you are or are going to be. If you can’t keep her informed for her sake, do it for your own sake. A good mother will annoy you to death if she doesn’t know what’s going on.

23. Don’t be afraid to fit in with locals. Try to take part in as many foreign traditions as possible. Just make sure to respect their traditions and you will not regret it. You may not enjoy it at the moment, but it will make your trip much more memorable. It might also make you appreciate your own life a little more.

24. Take your backpack on a few practice runs before your trip. Your shoulders will probably hurt the first couple times, but it will get better. You don’t want sore shoulders to be added into the equation of the stress of the first few days of a trip.

25. Be sure to read the prices before you order something and remember what they are. Sometimes people will try to take advantage of you when they get a sense that you are a tourist.

26. Try not to stick out. It is a little overrated hide the fact that you’re an American, but some people will hold it against you. I found the best way to introduce yourself is as “an ignorant American.” They usually find it pretty funny and then they’ll assume that you don’t fall into that stereotype.

27. You are an ignorant American. Don’t think that America is better than another culture just because they are different. Trust me, there are many more important reasons as to why America is better.

28. If you’re not enjoying a place, just think about the next exciting place that you will be heading soon. Also, this is why we never planned more than two or three days in advance, because plans change based on what your experiences in a certain place. You may want to stay longer as well.

29. Go to Ireland. The people are the most friendly in the world and the sites are awesome.

30. Thou can not live by bread alone. Although bread (especially French-style baguettes) is extremely cheap and fairly tasty, after eating nothing but bread for a week, you’ll be willing to spend a lot more than you normally would for a good meal. Just allow yourself to eat a decent meal every couple days as a minimum. One solid meal a day is a good goal, but sometimes unrealistic to the typical budget.

31. Try to schedule your trips through Spain, Italy, Greece, etc. as close to spring or fall as possible. The summer heat is nearly unbearable (thus the concept of Siesta time) and the ferry prices are cheaper in low season.

32. Don’t expect to buy anything during Siesta time in Italy, Greece, and especially Spain.

33. Keep a journal of your experiences. It will make for some great reading material over the years. It will also prevent you from forgetting all the many memories you’ll create.

34. Sometimes you must think like a homeless person to find a place to sleep. I good piece of cardboard can go a long way.

35. Don’t dump out your water bottle until you know the drinking fountain works and has drinkable water.

36. Always allow for more time when traveling with a girl. This is possibly the most self-explanatory piece of advice ever stated.

37. If faced with a food shortage, eat the best tasting (and usually highest energy content) food first. This will make you less tempted later on to eat before you absolutely need to.

38. Bring a good, but disposable book to read. After you finish it, most hostels have a place for book trading.

39. When looking for a place to sleep in a big city, just hop on a train to the airport. There are a bunch of nice spots to set up camp in airports.

40. If you are looking for a place to sleep in a city without an airport, you can usually find a night train to sleep on. Then just come right back the next morning if you have more things to do in the city. It’s better than sleeping outside in the rain at least.

41. Never pay for a map. If the tourist information booth won’t give you one for free, just go to the nearest hotel. Almost all hotels have a map of the area and are usually willing to give them to you, even if you are not a guest.

42. Complaining doesn’t make any situation better.

43. If you need a translator, try to find a younger person. In most countries, the youth learn English in school at an early age, even though many people over thirty or forty won’t be able to speak English.