Damocles
Douglas Moser Joined: April 4th 2008
Logged in: June 23rd 2009
Logged in: June 23rd 2009
We leave May 14. We're planning to hit most of Western Europe this summer, staring in Ireland, then going east through Northern Europe, but missing Scandinavia, until we get to Prague, then we're heading west again through Southern Europe. We're trying to make it to Portugal before heading back to Dublin to fly back home Aug. 13. And yes, the rubber chicken is coming with us.
I've been to Europe before, but haven't been there in 10 years. I visited Ireland and the UK for three weeks right after graduating high school in 1996, then studied in London for a semester in college in the spring of 1998. While there, I was on the Continent for the first time, going to Amsterdam and Paris.
Travel Blog Posts
The train ride from Porto was delayed by laundry. The hostel would wash for you, but the dryers in much of Europe suck. We gave our dirty stuff to the desk the night before we were to head for Lisbon/Madread/Barcelona, feeling safe because we didn't have to leave the hostel for our train until 4 pm. After much prodding Wednesday afternoon, we finally got a folded load of wet laundry back and missed our train to Lisbon. We were more irritated than actually set off course because the trains run from Porto frequently, and we didn't have to catch our overnight to Madrid until about 10 pm. We made it to Lisbon a little after 9, fearing the moldy and smelly mess developing in our bags, searched for some food, and hopped the overnight. We didn't ... read more
The beach is a mat of pebbles spreading for two miles in a grand broad arc, Nice's stony embrace of the Mediterranean. The sea fondled the shore with gentle sloshing caresses under a gray early morning sky. No one was on the beach, save one man in a white t-shirt and brown shorts fishing off the end of a curved, jumbled jetty. I crept out onto the jetty and found a flat rock facing east toward blue shadow mountains whose tops followed the waves of an invisible conductor's baton. A dull red haze hung above the highest and nearest peak, surrounded by painful purple bruises. Soon a trio of old folks strolled up to the shoreline about 50 yards away to look at the sea before disappearing to the east. A small black crab scuttled about ... read more
Sandeman
After finally escaping the fiendish clutches of Lagos -- and our own demented devices -- we landed in Porto, Porgual's second-largest city. It lies in the north of the country, on the Douro River near the Atlantic Ocean. It's an ancient city set on a number of hills overlooking its river. Most famously, the city is home to a number of port wine cellars, notably Sandeman's. Not particularly a fan of port, but Sandeman's is cool because it's logo, which is over 200 years old, is a shady looking character in a cape and large-brimmed hat. Our intentions on coming north were to hang here for a few days, catch a huge city festival in honor of São João (Saint John) Monday and head to Santiago de Compostela Tuesday. We arrived rather late, probably close to ... read more
Cliffs
Yeah, so much for staying here for three or four days. We've been here for almost three weeks now, but after some serious beach, serious sun and serious partying, it's time to move on. Jay and I were very close to finding jobs here and staying until the middle of July. Eventually, though, we decided to keep moving, see most of what we came here to see, and come back next May for jobs. Lagos is a small city overrun by Australians and Canadians. Americans, Kiwis and Brits make cameo appearances. The old part of the city, where we spent almost all of our time, is narrow streets and small white buildings enclosed in ancient city walls. It was originally a shipping outpost built by Henry the Navigator in the 15th century. At its best it ... read more
Lisbon
Following our disasters in Madrid, Jay and I fled to Salamanca Thursday to get the earliest train to Lisbon. We thought an overnight train from Madrid would cost more, so we took the free ride to Salamanca, stayed in the train station -- after having the great fortune of replacing Pacman the Sacman -- and grabbed a 5 am train to Lisboa. The train was one of the shadiest shitboxes I have ever seen in my life. It was probably 40 years old and had the old-fashioned cabins with sliding doors. There were sleeper rooms, but that was definitely extra. We found ourselves in a cabin with an older Portuguese couple who looked very alarmed when we walked in and sat down. Not that I blame them; we had to have been an alarming sight, with ... read more
By the way, check back on previous entries for pictures when I get them developed. If they'll put them on CD instead of prints, I'll add them to the right blog. We had a great time in Barcelona. The hostel, despite the initial boar encounter, was great, set in what I think was a wildlife reserve on the edge of the city. It was a three-building compound on the top of the hill in the woods. They served olive loaf sandwiches and warm milk for breakfast, which I wasn't expecting, but we could buy a huge hot Spanish meal for €6 in the afternoon. The old Gothic part of Barcelona is beautiful. It boasts a couple very old cathedrals. One, the Cathedral of St. Mary was built in the 1300s and is still in use today. ... read more
Wild boar
We got the 4 p.m. high speed train (called a TGV train) out of Brussels to Lyon Wednesday. I didn't think our pass would cover the entire cost of the high speed trains, but luckily I was wrong. Don't mind making a happy mistake once in a while. The only thing we had to pay was a €3 reservation fee for each ticket. It was overbooked, though, and only one ticket had a seat number. The other was for what amounted to standing-room-only in between cars. Jay lost the coin toss and got stuck there. Next time, I think he wants to do best-of-three Rock Paper Scissors. He's better at that than me. The train made several stops on the way to Lyon, so the fact that Jay couldn't have a seat was probably due to ... read more
Stadhuis
So far, the itinerary is holding up. After a night in Cork, Ireland, Jay and I headed back to Dublin Monday evening. Cork is a nice little city, also building and feeling the boost of the recent boom. As a result of the newfound prosperity, the island is also experiencing a tourism boom. When we got off the train late Sunday afternoon, Jay and I met five raucous Welshmen, who sang an impressive version of John Denver's "Country Roads" when Jay told them he lived in West Virginia. They were with a man from Surry, England, who works for oil companies diving to repair their rigs. Monday we hiked around the city a bit, checking out the downtown area and a random sculpture museum that featured Irish sculptors, and some photographers. Most of the works were ... read more
Leprechaun
After a long but uneventful flight, Jay and I landed in Dublin Thursday morning on schedule. Neither of us slept much, so we were exhausted. We took a bus from the airport to the city and wandered around for a couple hours looking for a hostel Jay stayed in several years ago. After asking directions and walking a few miles (don't ask how many kilometres that is because I don't know), we found it. The hostel, called the Avalon, is in a gorgeous old brownstone building on Auinger Street, about half a mile south of the River Liffey. The area is decent, but it's really close to St. Stephen's Green, a large gated park with statues, trees, flowers and ponds with aggressive and angry geese. Doesn't sound too different from Boston Common come to think of ... read more
Martinsburg
I skipped out of Huntingdon early Saturday afternoon for Martinsburg, WV. My apartment is clean and shut down, I saw most of the people I had on my list (of course it was a last minute whirlwind tour) and PanThar is carefully stowed with Mom for the summer. Jay's parents gave us their beautiful house to have a going away party. I wouldn't have recommended that, but they're generous people. They made us a great spread of food -- barbecue, tuna salad, pasta salad, chips, burgers, dogs, beer, etc. -- then fled for an overnight stay at a hotel. They told Jay, "We're too old for this anymore. I remember your graduation party. See you tomorrow." That was a good time. We had about 20 people over, many of whom have dangerous reputations in these situations, ... read more
Country we're in now 
Countries we had no intention of going near, but found ourselves in anyway 
Countries we're planning to visit 
Countries we've visited 
