You Can Find Me In St. Louie ...

All,

Well, as I think most of you probably know, I am back in St. Louis, and starting to get back into the swing of things stateside. I spent my last night in Europe getting rained on in Dublin and sleeping with the window open in my Temple Bar hostel so I could hear the Irish music drifting through the air. It was actually a really cool deal, and in some weird way, was a really peaceful way to say goodbye to Europe. After another brief stop in NYC it was back to St. Louis where I celebrated my Dad's birthday on the 4th and then headed up to Ohio to see Christie for the weekend. After that, I headed back to St. Louis and watched the Blues kick off the home schedule in style with two wins last weekend.

I figured I would just throw out one more blog as kind of a summary slash final thoughts type of thing. Well, the first thing that has been crossing my mind since I got home is the fact that one of the awesome things about traveling is that it really makes you appreciate your home. Of course you are able to indulge in other cultures and see landscapes that blow your mind, but you are always glad to be home no matter what. Especially traveling abroad, when you are constantly asked about your city and have to describe it to people. I would always tell folks that St. Louis is just the typical American metropolis, with the benefit of having influences from all over the U.S. And you know what? I think that is what makes the Midwest so awesome, you get a little bit of the whole country. I could not be happier to be back home and close to all of those I love, both two-legged and four-legged.

Well, back to the topic at hand, the actual trip. Probably the most common question I get asked is "What was your favorite place?". I really cannot hammer down one place as my favorite, but there are three places that were absolutely awesome in every way, shape, and form. Those three places were Hvar Island, Croatia, Cinque Terre, Italy, and Gimmelwald, Switzerland. All three places combined jaw-dropping scenery with an intimacy only found in smaller to medium sized towns. Sure, you can fall in love with a city of millions like Barcelona or Munich in 4 days, but you really can't get that intimacy thing going in that short of time. So, the whole "What places did you like best? " answer breaks down like this:

Places I cannot wait to go back to: Hvar Island, Gimmelwald, Cinque Terre, Barcelona, and Munich

Places I would love to return to and spend a couple days given the chance: Brussels, Paris, Florence, Cesky Krumlov, Budapest, Lucerne, NYC

Places I have probably said goodbye to: Dublin, Killarney, Geneva, Split, Vienna, Fussen

As far as my best memories of the trip, those are hands down the times when I was the only tourist somewhere, and just got to feel like a local for a few minutes. A few that come to mind are when I watched the Gaelic football match in the pub in Killarney, when I strolled into a local tapas bar on my rental bike in Barcelona, the time I went to the hockey game in Fussen, and when I enjoyed a few yeast beers outside the Eggenberg Brewery in Cesky Krumlov. Those are the moments when you are really traveling, not just being a tourist. Well, it's about time to end the blog, and officially end Eurotrip II. In the end, it was everything I thought it would be and then some, and I can't wait to do it again someday. Until then, there's always travelblog.org and the travel channel!

Here are some random stats/awards:

Cities Visited (stayed the night) - 15
Countries Visited (stayed the night) - 10
Flights Taken - 6
Disposable Cameras used after my Digital Camera broke - 5
Bed Bug Incidents - 1 (ask me in person if your interested in the gory details)
IPOD Headphones that broke: 2
Best Breathtaking Scenery: Alps from Gimmelwald
Nicest/Cleanest Hostel: 2GO4 Hostel Brussels
Best Hostel Atmosphere: Mountain Hostel, Gimmelwald
Best Meal: Fettuccine with Salmon in Hvar
Best Beer: Yeast Beer, Eggenberg Brewery, Cesky Krumlov
Best Soft Drink: Club Orange, Ireland
Most Common Hat Spotted in Europe - New York Yankees (So annoying)
Best Beach: Monterosso, Cinque Terre
Best Pizza: Prosciutto, Spinach, and Gorgonzola in Munich
Most Scenic Church: Sagrada Familia, Barcelona
Best Train System: Switzerland
Biggest Regret: Not going to see the David statue in Florence

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