Ten Years Later

Ten years later, I'm reading what I wrote at the moment on Facebook and the pictures I posted, plus the blog posts here. For the fifth anniversary of the trip in 2016, I wrote up a weekly list of highlights and lessons, and figured I should post them here for anyone who wants to read them (and for me to find later).

 

Week 1, days 1-6 (NYC, London)

Ten years ago, I was finishing up my stay in London, the first city on my 10-week long tour of Europe following my NASA layoff. London was the first city outside of North America that I had ever been to (at age 18, back in 1984) and I'd wanted to go back ever since. I finally got to see Stonehenge, and also loads of stuff in the city itself that my AirBnB host said she had never done in her 20+ years of living in London.

I learned my first two lessons of my trip while in London:

1. Make a list of things that you would like to do, but don't be bound by what's on the list (most likely reason for getting off schedule: transportation). These are things you WANT to do, not things you HAVE to do.
2. Wear shoes that are already broken in.

Week 2, days 7-13 (Paris, Amsterdam)

Ten years ago, I was on week 2 of my 10-week European Tour - 5 days in Paris, 2 days in Amsterdam, and 1 day in Cologne (cities 2, 3, and 4, and countries 3, 4, and 5 due to changing trains in Belgium). My boots finally got broken in after so much walking over the last 10 days in London and Paris, and my feet were grateful. And I finally got into the groove of "I can do/go whatever I want, whether it's on my daily list or not" rather than "I have to do everything on my list". And just when I got used to knowing how to get around via the Paris metro, it was time to change cities. Saw most of the main tourist sites in Paris and Amsterdam, visited the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, and had dinner with the descendants of my great-grandfather's brothers.

Lessons learned:

1. When you're there for 10 weeks, it's a marathon, not a sprint. It took a while for me to see this paradigm shift.
2. French trains require reservations, and they're serious about them. With my rail pass, I got to the station for my Paris to Amsterdam direct train, but I didn't have a reservation and they wouldn't let me on the train without one. I had to go back up to the ticket office and, in my first "Amazing Race" moment, told the clerk "book me on whatever train gets me to Amsterdam the soonest". But otherwise, the rail pass was awesome.
3. Play with your camera settings, you may end up with some really cool shots (like the Eiffel Tower in black and white, or a long-duration exposure while on a boat moving down the river).

Week 3, days 14-20 (Cologne, Copenhagen, Berlin, Prague)

Ten years ago, Week 3 of 10 on the road in Europe in 2011. Spent 2 days in Copenhagen (the nearby Viking Museum in nearby Roskilde is worth the trip!) and 3 days in Berlin, which was surreal from a historical perspective: I had been in London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen prior, which had all been bombed and/or occupied by the Nazis in WWII, and now this modern city houses the ghosts of that occupying force. Very interesting to be able to compare and contrast museums in each city. Berlin also gave me the chance to see some settings that have been historical in my own time, like the fall of the Berlin Wall. Biggest surprise of the trip so far: after just one day in Prague, it's an unexpected delight, I had no idea that it was the romanticized ideal of a European city that I had wanted to see, with old castles and bridges and stuff.

Lessons learned on this leg:

1. They don't have very good fajitas in Sweden (stopped in Malmo for dinner on the train ride from Copenhagen to Berlin).
2. Make sure you check VERY carefully that you have everything when you leave the train. The Copenhagen-to-Berlin was an overnight and my wallet fell out of my pants while sleeping. I was nearly off the train when I realized it, and had to pull up the mattress to find it (and I found some other stuff that other people had left).
3. Having a great time using AirBnB to find rooms. In London I had the master bedroom to myself while the owner was away on work; in Paris I had a tiny apartment to myself; in Copenhagen I had a couch/pullout bed in a guest room; in Berlin I had a huge room to myself and never saw the owners after the first night; and in Prague I had an apartment in a building that was built in the 1400s (which had since been updated with modern plumbing and electrical).

Week 4, days 21-27 (Prague, Vienna, Wachau district)

Ten years ago, Week 4 of 10 on the road in Europe in 2011. Finished up 5 days in Prague, then the first 3 days of a week in Austria starting with Vienna and then into the small towns of the countryside.

Lessons learned on this leg:

1. Always carry your passport, you never know when a cop will stop you for jaywalking and ask for some ID before giving you a fine.
2. Sometimes taking the wrong way provides interesting vistas, even if it takes you nearly 3 km out of the way and you could have taken the shortcut that would have saved 45 minutes of walking.
3. Don't be so focused on one aspect of the travel that you miss other opportunities. I missed out on a boat ride on the Danube through a UNESCO World Heritage Site because I was only looking at train transportation.
4. It's good to be the king.

Week 5, days 28-34 (Salzkammergut, Salzburg, Munich)

Week 5 of 10 on the road in Europe, 5 years ago. Couldn't believe that it was halfway over already! This week covered the Austrian country, Salzburg, Munich, and Rothenberg. Third time in Germany on this trip, and I liked Munich (though I was a couple weeks too late for Oktoberfest. Even met someone who knew someone I knew while on a beer tour in Munich.

Lessons learned:

1. Don't leave your travel book on the train (but if you do, have an electronic backup).
2. Have an extra flash card in your camera case. My 16GB card filled up after 6565 (over 3500 since the trip started) and I had a spare. Wasn't sure I was going to need it but glad I had it.
3. A liter of beer is a lot.

Week 6, days 35-41 (Munich, Bavaria, Lucerne, Berne, Interlaken)

Week 6 of 10 on the road in Europe, five years ago. Finished up Munich and went to see Ludwig's Castles and up into the mountains at Zugspitze near the Austrian border. Left Bavaria for Switzerland, with daylong stops in Lucerne and Bern before settling in at Interlaken. Late October is shoulder season in Europe, so I'm getting to places that are ready to close for the summer/fall hiking season and won't reopen until December's ski season (I'm one of 2 people in the hotel in Interlaken, and it closes the day I check out). Got to go paragliding, which was pretty damn cool. Found out one of my Italy destinations (Cinque Terre) is closed due to mudslides and had to start thinking about how to change my route.

Lessons from this leg:

1. Turn the flash on when taking selfies in the snowy mountains, as the reflected light from the snow makes portraits too dark.
2. Switzerland has great chocolate.
3. Sometimes in a hostel someone will get up really early and start praying in the middle of the room. It wasn't the praying that was annoying, it was the lack of consideration for the other 5 people in the room who were sleeping.
4. Be cognizant of when the off-season is when you're traveling, and what that means for your travels.

Week 7, days 42-48 (Interlaken, Zermatt, Glacier Express, Milan, Venice, Naples)

Week 7 of 10 on the road in Europe. Finished up my time in Switzerland with a trip to see the Matterhorn and The Glacier Express train ride across the country. Then on to my 10th country, Italy, where I met my dad in Milan (his first trip to Italy too) and of course it was the one day of the week that The Last Supper church was closed. Two days in Venice, then an overnight train to Naples (my replacement city since Cinque Terre was no-go due to mudslides). First day there was Pompeii and Mt Vesuvius, capped off by pizza at Da Michele which allegedly invented the modern pizza.

Lessons from this leg:

1. Don't trust the German rail office to get the best route from Switzerland to Italy. I bought my tickets in Munich because October 30th was the last day for the Glacier Express, and booked my connection from St Moritz to Milan via a bus/bus/train combo, when I could have gone the whole way by train.
2. You can never have too much gelato or pizza in Italy.
3. I prefer a hardcopy guidebook over electronic versions - better for highlighting and taking notes, despite the bulk. I had left mine on the train in Salzburg a couple weeks before, and although I had electronic copies on my phone and computer, I found a hardcopy book is just more convenient. My dad brought a replacement copy.

Week 8, days 49-55 (Naples, Rome, Florence)

Ten years ago, week 8 of 10 on the road in Europe. Our trip to the Amalfi Coast was marred by my dad getting his pocket picked in Naples, so we had to wait until I had a wifi signal to use Skype to call home and cancel the cards. That was fun. Had to update our transport details on the fly due to a train strike and a rockslide. Five nights in Rome was amazing and off-season is the best time to go because there are no lines (like only a 15-minute wait for the Vatican), it was the city I had been most looking forward to and it didn’t disappoint. I ended up with just one day in Florence (again, no lines at the museums).

Lessons from this leg:

1. Don’t accidentally put your wallet in your back pocket in Naples.
2. Make sure you check the map closely when booking an AirBnB room – I misread the Rome location as “near the Vatican” when it actually was “take the bus from the stop near the Vatican for 30 minutes and then walk 15 minutes”.
3. You can’t open a front-loading washing machine while it’s in its cycle, even if it seems like it’s been going forever. If you do, you break it and have to pay for repairs.
4. If your journeys include rail, make sure you have or can make backup plans.

Week 9, days 56-62 (Pisa, Italian Riviera, Provence, Barcelona)

Ten years ago, week 9 of 10 on the road in Europe. Passed through Pisa on the way up to Monte Carlo, and due to the closure of the Cinque Terre towns, we had a half-day train ride up to Nice on the French Riviera with nothing to break up the time except a layover in Genoa for dinner. Lunch in Nice, afternoon and evening in Monte Carlo, and dinner back in Nice with the money I won at the Monte Carlo casino. Rented a car in Provence and spent the next 2 days driving through Aix, Arles, and lots of small towns and wineries in the area. My dad then flew home from Marseilles while I continued on to Barcelona – finally a country whose language I could speak, as long as they were speaking Spanish and not Catalan. Barcelona was my 7th city in which I found a Hard Rock Café and my 9th city that had been a former Olympics host city. The Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona was a very close second to St Paul’s in Rome for most impressive church on my whole trip.

Lessons:

1. You can’t have too much gelato in Italy. In 12 days I had gelato 14 times for a total of 30 scoops. Yes, I counted.
2. If you’re going to rent a car in Europe, you better know how to drive stick. Fortunately my dad did, and the muscle memory came back after a few instances of grinding gears.
3. If you have the opportunity, sit on the ocean side of the bus or train when going along the coast.

Week 10, days 63-69 (Madrid, Gibraltar, Tangier, flying home)

Ten years ago, week 10 of 10 on the road in Europe. Finished up my last day in Barcelona, then had 3 days in Madrid staying with my friend Alan and his family. Took a 5-hour train ride to Algeciras and then a bus ride to Gibraltar for a little slice of England. Ferry ride to Tangier, Morocco (lifetime continent #6 and country #28, and new country #13 on this trip) which felt to me like the most foreign country I've ever been in (ahead of China). One last day in Madrid before flying home (MAD-FRA-IAH) in time for Thanksgiving dinner and the Texas vs Texas A&M game. I arrived home on Thanksgiving Day, which was Day 69 of my trip.

People talk about "the trip of a lifetime" and for me this was it. I can't see myself taking a 10-week trip again, unless I win the lottery or until after I retire, and Europe is so compact and full of countries that I can't think of where I could go and see so much. I was warned (repeatedly) ahead of time to not do so much, changing cities every 3-4 days, but I wanted a breadth of Europe and not a depth (save that for my next trip there) so it worked out pretty much how I wanted.

NASA people will understand this analogy I made early on in the trip, the difference between Flight Planning and Flight Operations. You have a checklist and timeline, and preparation is crucial, but those are just guidelines for when you have to make real-time changes due to weather, train strikes, or just "hey, that looks cool, I want to do that instead". All of which I ran into.

General lessons I learned before, during, and after the trip:

1. Try to step out of your comfort zone once in a while, especially with local food. Do something that your friends and family won't be able to believe that you did.
2. Be flexible in your plans, and expect the unexpected.
3. You're a tourist, so you get to do touristy things. But try not to look like a tourist while doing them.
4. Don't forget to have fun. When you get back home, even the bad stuff will make for a good story.

Here's my overall train, bus, car, and boat journey over the whole trip, from London to Tangier (the colors are not significant, it's just what Google Maps put).