http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/celind/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from celind en-us Fri, 16 May 2008 11:06:48 BST Fri, 16 May 2008 11:06:48 BST A bum. A beggar. Lives on the street. Not any street though but Princes Street in Edinburgh. Sits outside a store in rags with some text on a piece of cardboard telling his story in a few lines. Basically the reason why we should give him money. Hersquos in his 20rsquos. No visible signs of physical or mental defects. A cell phone rings. In todayrsquos day and age everyone has a cell pho http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Edinburgh/blog-275917.html There is no doubt that he's Italian. At first sight he could be an important business man with his nice suit and greasy hair. Turns out he is not. He's on vacation from his job as a truck driver. He has visited his girlfriend in Denmark over the Christmas holidays. A girlfriend who lives in Sweden due to bad politics in Denmark... Wonder if he got that right...But again wonder what is the la http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Bavaria/Munich/blog-275481.html The guy has a theory. rdquoThere are no fiordsrdquo. Even though the cruise ship gracefully sails up the fiord leading to Oslo the Swedish guy is convinced. He tries to convince some American tourists to accept his statement. Itrsquos all just a conspiracy. Maybe by the Norwegian government in order to attract tourists. Maybe itrsquos just an illusion. Many of the passengers are spending http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Norway/Ostlandet/Oslo/blog-275479.html Amy is going home to see her family. She is curious about Sweden even though she has no clue about its whereabouts. Central America maybe Doesnrsquot matter...The meal includes a small dessert. I consume the dessert before the meal. She asks if that is a custom in Sweden. No itrsquos just me. Whatever. rdquoHouston we have a problemrdquo. Houston is down there when I ask her if wersqu http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Texas/Houston/blog-275477.html The bus between Mobile AL and New Orleans LA isnrsquot full not even close. Shersquos sitting in the back of the bus mixing her soda with vodka. Alcohol is prohibited on Greyhound buses and she has to hide it. She hasnrsquot seen her child in many years the father took it away. She is an exotic dancer. She is going to New Orleans to visit her mother not to try her luck like many other http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Alabama/Mobile/blog-275476.html At first sight the guy seems rather normal. After having released a few incomprehensible murmurs this perception is radically altered. Before having even landed his butt on the seat he has initiated the deadend conversation. Conversations with the trainplanebus neighbor can be quite interesting and kill some serious time. This guy is a one of those oneway streeters. To his defense could be m http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Stockholm/blog-275475.html Subletting the apartment for the summer seemed to be a great idea. Most of my rent would be absorbed and the temporary tenant would get a nice and quiet place at a reduced price. His name was Russell. American guy in his 40's calm and quiet drink and smoke free riding around New Orleans on his bicycle. Wouldn't cause any trouble with the apartment complex manager would keep a very low profi http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Louisiana/New-Orleans/blog-275474.html The night ferry between Rostock Germany and Trelleborg Sweden is by no possible means designed to carry regular passengers. A crappy cafeteria a small shop a reception that does not strike me as being the most informative ever and two very small couches outside the shop. Since I have no cabin I have to settle for the couches. The only other passenger stupid enough not to take a cabin is the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Skane/blog-275473.html After having spent way too much time on a train literally too long time after having taken the wrong turn and traveled halfways through France in the wrong direction and having found a nice little hotel I feel a strong urge to socialize. The little hotel in Nice is nice. Probably not honored with a bunch of stars in any hotel guide. But it's clean safe affordable and there are quite a few f http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Provence-Alpes-C-te-d--Azur/Nice/blog-275470.html Chicago is admittedly a rather violent city. The city has a history of violence going back to the days of Al Capone and his likes. Crime rates and unemployment rates in some parts of the city are or at least were insanely high. Given these facts and being a pretty experienced traveler I trust nobody. Inspired by the spirit of the moment in combination with a few beers I decide to go against http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Illinois/Chicago/blog-275468.html Staying in a youth hostel is sometimes the most wonderful way of travelling mostly because of the people you meet. Schwedenhaus The Swedish House in Innsbruck is of the nicer kind. Right on the river Inn at the foot of the mountains. Wonderful. I'm stuffed in to a room with one Italian guy and one German dude.The Italian speaks very little English. With a mix of ItalianSpanishEnglish I am a http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Austria/Tyrol/Innsbruck/blog-275467.html After a tough game of beach soccer it is customary to go for a postgame analysis at the closest place that serves beer. Ok maybe not but that's the outcome of this particular game of Swedes versus locals. One local joins our little group of Scandinavians. He's not from California. Moved out there to catch a break. Pretty much like everyone else in LA. So what do you do for a living. I'm a http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Los-Angeles/Venice-Beach/blog-275465.html It's not really clear why he decided to go to Stockholm. Just a short vacation I guess. Staying at a youth hostel makes it impossible not to talk to strangers. He's from England somewhere. Name is Gregory or maybe Jeff. Or something. He suggests going to a pub for a beer. Since the alternative is turning in a 9pm I'm in. We have a couple of beers nothing extravagant over some casual conversat http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Sweden/Stockholm/blog-275463.html There are beggars and there are beggars. The reasons for begging for money are endless and not really of interest for the people being bothered. But there are the kind of beggars that aggressively bug you for money or other valuables. They use an approaching sales technique running all over the place asking for donations. Returning like boomerangs they tend to annoy the hell out of Everyday J http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Andalusia/M-laga/blog-275462.html The school spirit for commuter college University of New Orleans is not exactly of the most exciting kind. Most students are fairly well aware of the fact that UNO has an athletics department but that's about it. UNO Privateers not being extremely successful in most sports especially compared to big brother Louisiana State Tigers does not help. Therefore it is a delight to see the same guy sh http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Louisiana/New-Orleans/blog-275460.html You should have been here just a few minutes ago says the cashier at Blockbuster when we enter the place. Yeah What happened a few minutes ago is our obvious response. We were robbed the tall black fellow announces with a tone of indifference in his voice. What seems to be a normal evening at the normal Blockbuster store at the normal little shopping center apparently has offered quite a http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Louisiana/New-Orleans/blog-275459.html Canrsquot remember the real names of the two American guys on tour in Europe. Bill and Ted maybe. Or Jay and Silent Bob. Or Batman and Robin. Doesnrsquot really matter. Bill and Ted have come to symbolize the essence of budget travel. Backpacking Europe 101. They liked Amsterdam they like to party ldquoif I know what they meanrdquo. I know what they mean. They would also like to go to Swe http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Czech-Republic/North/Prague/blog-275456.html Summertime is the time when Europe is invaded by tourists. Tourists from all over the world. A large share of these tourists and a very noticeable category consists of American backpackers. On a pilgrimage they distribute themselves across the continent. They all travel with different motives in different constellations and with different itineraries. But they have certain things in common. Ame http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Veneto/Venice/blog-275454.html Major highprofile cities have a tendency to attract odd people. People of supernormal or unconventional behavior roam the streets of these cities adding to the charm or as a deterrent depending on whorsquos behind the camera. Amsterdam in the liberal Netherlands is no exception. The Dam square in the heart of the city is the ideal spot for peoplewatching. This spot is the gathering point fo http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Netherlands/North-Holland/Amsterdam/blog-275453.html The best way to meet extraordinary characters must be when traveling by train. Rarely do you encounter as many lost souls in transit to wherever they think they need to go. Most people reach their destinations without any significant difficulties but it puzzles me how this category of ldquoextraordinary charactersrdquo are not stuck in transit for all eternity. Belgium is probably not popula http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Belgium/Antwerp-Province/Antwerp/blog-275452.html