Huschka
Ryan Huschka Joined: July 25th 2008
Logged in: September 30th 2010
Logged in: September 30th 2010
Travel Blog Posts
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My final stop was Seville. Interestingly, Seville is the sister city of Kansas City---something I was told, but forgot, until I stepped off the train and saw a big sign for an exit to Kansas City Avenue. It is actually one of the main streets in Seville. I spent three nights in Seville and had plenty of time to take in the city without rushing myself. The first night I went on a tapas tour and then to a Flamenco show, both obligatory activities in Seville. Afterwards a big group of us went to check out the nightlife and ended up at a bar with predominately locals---which was quite an experience. I didn't really notice this in Barcelona, but all of the store fronts and shops would close during the middle of the day, usually from ... read more
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As many of you know I'm back in the US, but I thought I should give a recap of the time I spent in Spain! Barcelona definitely takes the award for best nightlife. It kind of has an unfair advantage, though, seeing that everyone takes mid-afternoon siestas to prepare themselves for a night out on the town. I arrived in Barcelona after a 10-hour day of travel from Nice. That was by far the longest I traveled during the day. I stayed just off of La Rambla, the main thoroughfare street lined with vendors, restaurants, shops, and street artists. During peak hours of the day it felt like you were constantly walking in a single-file line. I only had two nights there, so the next day I got up early and took in as much of ... read more
Eze Village
The Cote d´Azur, or the French Riviera, definitely attracts the rich and famous with its resorts and over-the-top and extravagant style. It can be very expensive---I paid 6 euros for a beer at the bar which many of you know is the equivalent of nine US dollars. It is possible to do it on a shoe string, though. I stayed at the Villa St. Exupery hostel and it really made the trip doable for someone in my situation. They had really good choices for dinner at the hostel and also had a bar that was obscenely cheap and a great place to meet fellow travelers. I also forgot to mention earlier---I hadn´t met many Americans while traveling in Eastern Europe, but I have started to meet a few in Amsterdam, Paris, and Nice. My hostel was ... read more
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I´m not even sure where, or how, to start describing Paris. I certainly wouldn´t do it justice even if I tried. I was only there three days and absolutely fell in love with the city. I will definitely be coming back! I stayed in Montmarte, an area of Paris that is up on a hill above the center of the city. I was very close to the Sacre Coeur. One night I did a Fat Tire bike tour which I would definitely recommend. It was a four-and-a-half hour tour that ended with us taking a cruise up and down the river and seeing Paris at night. There is also a free walking tour there that is about the best way to get quickly oriented with the city. I could go on and on about Paris, but ... read more
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First of all, I´ve been having a really tough time finding computers that are able to upload my photos. I was able to get a bunch done this week, however, so hopefully I can get several entries out soon. Also, many of you have sent me messages or emails....I will respond, I promise! Once I return to the states I´ll be able to respond to messages. Finally, in an effort to save time and avoid messing with travelblog´s photo uploading software any more than I have to, I haven´t labeled any of the photos. I also probably won´t go into much detail either. If you have any questions about something or wonder what it is, just let me know! When most people think of Amsterdam I think they automatically associate it with weekend craziness, stemming mostly ... read more
So I'm doing a really poor job updating this thing! Just wanted to drop a quick note to let you know that I just spent the last five days or so in Amsterdam and Paris and it was an incredibly quick, jam-packed couple of days. I took a night train from Paris and arrived in Nice this morning. I am going to use Nice as a base to explore the French Riviera the next couple days. Then, it's likely off to Barcelona and Sevilla to finish up the trip. The good news is that Nice should be a relaxing few days and I should have time to take care of the pictures and blog entries for Amsterdam and Paris. Hope everyone is doing well and I'll look forward to seeing many of you in a little ... read more
Belvedere
We arrived in Vienna (last) Thursday afternoon. The train ride from Ljubljana was just over five hours. One of the first things I noticed about Vienna is how incredibly clean the city is, which is especially impressive considering its size---around 1.8 million people. It is a great city to just stroll around in and you could spend several days just wandering and taking in the city's impressive architecture and numerous parks and gardens. Vienna is definitely more commercial and there is a more modern influence here than most of the places I have visited in Eastern Europe. Another general point on Vienna---the public transportation is amazing. The government must pour money into the subway system here---it's nicer than anything I've seen in the states. It was really the first place that I felt like I could ... read more
Ljubljana Castle
We arrived in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana on (last) Tuesday morning. Slovenia is a a very small country---population just over 2 million---and Ljubljana is a city of just 254,000. I have heard it referred to as a mini-Prague, but since I haven't been to Prague I can't really say whether that's an accurate description or not! Slovenia in general is very green and Ljubljana was no exception. After spending some time here I think it would be a great place to study abroad. It had a very vibrant, bustling nightlife with packed cafes all along the Ljubljanica River. It was also safe and the locals were very accommodating, making it easy to get around. There aren't really a lot of sights, but I thought it was a great place to spend a couple days. We ... read more
Overlooking Old Town and the city walls in Dubrovnik
Stunning. Breathtaking. Choose whatever superlative you wish. The Adriatic coast of Croatia has to be one of the best-kept secrets in Europe---although it's definitely becoming a hot spot for European travelers and backpackers and was really, perhaps, just a secret to me. We spent all of our time in the middle of Croatia's Adriatic coastline, known as Dalmatia. There are a lot of offshore islands and, of course, some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. There are also several historical cities and plenty of medieval architecture, making Croatia an ideal vacation spot. Moreover, the people were very, very friendly, making it easy for American travelers to get around. During our time there we checked out some sights, but mostly just kicked back, relaxed and enjoyed the picturesque views and beautiful weather. We arrived in ... read more
Kip and me on Castle Hill
Well, we got off to a rough start in Budapest and it may have been a bit of a sign of the days to come. I would say overall that I liked Budapest (there was some good aspects, bad aspects), but was definitely glad to leave after a couple days. First, Budapest is just much different than Krakow. It is two-and-a-half times the size of Krakow and generally not as easy to get around. The Danube River separates the former cities Buda and Pest---several bridges now connect the two cities. Buda is very hilly and has what remains of medieval Budapest. Pest is more commercial and generally where almost all of the sights are located and where everything is happening. Our problem was that our hostel was not really a good base from which to explore ... read more
