Planes, Trains, and Hostels. With close to 2 decades of school behind me, I decided it was time to explore the world outside the class room, and that world begins with Western Europe. I’m ready to live out of a back pack, sleep on sailing TGVs, plan my days around discovering architecture older then the country I live in, and most of all discover the Discovery Channel without the TV.
I’ve outlined Dates and Times, but after the arrivals and before the departures the adventure hasn’t been written. My preparation consisted of the excited obsession of someone counting down the days to their trip months in advance. From the rails of Europe’s country side to the character rich hostels that cover the continent, I powered through the internet and got lost in guide books for hours as I “researched” my trip (as a university student the word ‘research’ is usually attached to the negative connotations of deadlines and procrastination, but not this time). I wanted to be that guy that gets on a plane, lands in a foreign country and then just survives, but I’m a planner. The good news is, for the next month and a half I have planned for some spontaneity...
My partner in crime is my younger brother. Our background: he crashed my ‘only-child party’ when I was 2, but we’ve been pretty tight ever since. He is not a planner. He heard whispers of a summer Europe journey, liked summer, had heard of Europe, so he joined the team.
Beyond mapping out our Eurail path, and scouting out potential accommodations, we focused on the most important kind of travel ground work; cinematic preparation. As a twenty-something backpacker the following films must be watched… and lessons must be learned: Hostel, Turistas, Midnight Express, Return to Paradise, the Beach, and Victor’s 3 minute tour in Rules of Attraction.
The fight begins tomorrow with our 8 hour flight into London. From there it’s Neil and I vs Europa, punch for punch, for all 12 rounds. Stay tuned, this reality doesn’t fit on your TV.
I’ve outlined Dates and Times, but after the arrivals and before the departures the adventure hasn’t been written. My preparation consisted of the excited obsession of someone counting down the days to their trip months in advance. From the rails of Europe’s country side to the character rich hostels that cover the continent, I powered through the internet and got lost in guide books for hours as I “researched” my trip (as a university student the word ‘research’ is usually attached to the negative connotations of deadlines and procrastination, but not this time). I wanted to be that guy that gets on a plane, lands in a foreign country and then just survives, but I’m a planner. The good news is, for the next month and a half I have planned for some spontaneity...
My partner in crime is my younger brother. Our background: he crashed my ‘only-child party’ when I was 2, but we’ve been pretty tight ever since. He is not a planner. He heard whispers of a summer Europe journey, liked summer, had heard of Europe, so he joined the team.
Beyond mapping out our Eurail path, and scouting out potential accommodations, we focused on the most important kind of travel ground work; cinematic preparation. As a twenty-something backpacker the following films must be watched… and lessons must be learned: Hostel, Turistas, Midnight Express, Return to Paradise, the Beach, and Victor’s 3 minute tour in Rules of Attraction.
The fight begins tomorrow with our 8 hour flight into London. From there it’s Neil and I vs Europa, punch for punch, for all 12 rounds. Stay tuned, this reality doesn’t fit on your TV.
4 comments:
The little sis is stuck in 'the Gary' but that's cool. I'm gonna miss you guys so give Europe a solid punch in teh face form A-list...love you guys! :)
hey guys - sounds like fun, just remember not to bathe for a few days and you'll fit right in ;) Will you be going anywhere near Amsterdam? "You know what's legal in Amsterdam don't you" - Kumar Patel
Welcome to Londonistan! Stay awake as long as you can...
London will be great - but only the beginning of a great adventure! Don't forget to come home!
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