Euro Adventure!

Hey guys! I hope all of you are doing well! It has been too long since I last updated due
to the heavy work load and busy class schedule so apologies for not updating
sooner. I am currently on a train that
just left Gothenburg and is headed for Oslo, the capital of Norway. This will be my first time in Norway, and I
am greatly looking forward to the adventure ahead of me. As of right now, I plan to stop in Oslo for
about five hours and then take the night train going to Bergen along the coast-
and I am hoping that I get the opportunity to hope on a boat and go see the
fjords up close. While I am sitting here
and writing, I would like to talk about the amazing trip I took about a month
ago that took me deep into mainland Europe.
It basically started right when my exams were completed.
After
completing my exam for “Basics in Supply Chain Management,” I would have a
little over a week off to go and do whatever I wanted. Around this time, I received a check from my
school, refunding me some of the money I got in loans from Wells Fargo. This would allow me to be able to afford a
trip that would take me down into mainland Europe. With my exam being completed on a Saturday, I
would be leaving early Monday morning to go on this trip. On Sunday, I had a bit of an adventure going
and seeing the famous Swedish moose on a “moose safari.”
While the bus ride was two hours
one way (four hours total, of course) and we were only at the site for about an
hour to an hour and a half, it was a great time. We were loaded onto surplus Swedish Army
wagons that were towed by a farm tractor, and we were led out into a large
pasture that had steams and trees strewn about.
From the wagons; two bulls, two cows, and two calves would come up to
the wagon and eat pieces of apple that we were given to feed them with. They were even trained to eat apples sticking
out of our mouths- which I had to try.
It was certainly different from my pet beagle doing that back home. After hundreds of pictures being taken, we
hopped back on the bus for the trip home.
The time spent after the moose
safari was time that was split- from hanging out with friends to packing for
this epic adventure. The plan was rather
simple: prepare for the trip, get on the bus going to Copenhagen, and at the
train station there I would buy a Eurail Pass.
Sense my bus left at 3:30 in the morning, I didn’t bother going to
sleep, due to the fact I would be able to sleep for four and a half hours on
the bus ride down there. With my
backpack packed and a massive number of snakes in my stomach, I said my
goodbyes to some friends and started my walk down to the bus station in
downtown Jonkoping. With the bus service
ending at 23:00 that evening, I would have to walk down to the bus station,
which was a 45 minute walk away. With a
35 lbs backpack on and being rather tired from the long day, that walk ended up
being an hour. Showing up at the bus
stop, I only had to wait ten minutes for the bus to show. Putting my bag in the luggage compartment and
settling into my seat, I quickly drifted off to sleep and woke up five minutes
outside of Copenhagen.
Waking up and looking outside into
the city, excitement welled up within me and I began to think about all of the
possibilities in front of me. To be
honest, the last time I was this excited was waking up on the couch in my
apartment back in Chicago (my bed was in storage) realizing that I would be
leaving for Sweden that day. Walking off
of the bus, I made my way to the massive train station in downtown
Copenhagen. The last time I was there as
you guys might remember was when my friend Laura and I ended up spending the
night there after we missed our bus going back to Jonkoping. Going into the station, I quietly waited for
the counter that sold the Eurail Passes to open. With the counter opening an hour later, I
bought my pass, asked which trains I needed to take to get to Amsterdam, and
made my way to the train platform. After
hopping on the train, I settled in for a trip that would take around fourteen
hours, along with five separate transfers in three different countries.
The trains in Europe are absolutely
amazing. The ride is so smooth and quiet,
the seats are comfortable, and the coaches are very clean. Sitting next to the window, I got fantastic
views of Denmark and the surrounding waterways.
One of the things that I got a huge kick out of was when we would go
over massive bridges that spanned a couple of kilometers in length. The bridge was very thin so you were not able
to see any part of the bridge, so it appeared that you were flying 50 meters or
so above the water. Sitting across the
table in front of my seat was a gentleman from the United Kingdom, from the
suburbs of Newcastle. We had a great
conversation about Europe, life in his and my countries and hometowns, the
capitals of Sweden and Denmark, and where we were going on this trip. This is when he informed me that we were
going to take a ferry to get down to Germany.
When I say “we,” I meant he, myself, the passengers on the train, and
the train itself.
The ferry is nothing short of
amazing- a massive floating platform that is able to move quickly across large
bodies of water while carrying arguably the heaviest form of human
transportation in present day. Not only
did this thing carry a train, but semi-trucks, and well over a hundred personal
vehicles as well. Sporting a small
section for slot machines, a duty-free shop, four restaurants, and multiple
gift shops, this was a ship to behold.
The trip across to Germany lasted around 45 minutes, which was followed
by another two hours to Hamburg. Hamburg
was a very short visit, lasting only an hour and a half or so. The train arriving to Hamburg was late,
causing me to miss my connection heading towards Amsterdam. After visiting the ticket office, I was able
to get a new list of connecting trains which would actually get me to Amsterdam
an hour earlier than my original itinerary- go figure. I ended up walking around Hamburg for a short
while and taking a few pictures while enjoying my first taste of Germany, a
country I wanted to visit for an incredibly long time.
After hopping back on the train, we
made our way to Amsterdam. After three
more train rides and a bus ride as well, I arrived in Amsterdam eager to
explore the city. I went and checked my
backpack in a storage locker and set out to see the city known for its canals,
beautiful townhomes, and of course: the legal use of soft recreational drugs
and prostitution. But just like many
places, the well-known city doesn’t really represent the surrounding areas;
just like Paris in France and Chicago in Illinois. Never the less, I enjoyed my time looking
around the old city and its beautiful buildings. One of the areas I checked out was the famous
Red Light District.
This district is filled to the brim
of glass plated doors lined with pink/red lights where a scantily clad woman
would be waiting behind, trying to essentially perform the “elevator speech of
seduction acts” in order to entice men to spend time with them in the room
behind where they stood. They would open
the door and call out to you, and try to pull you into conversation, which
would always lead to the question: “So
would you like to come on back with me?”
My answer was always the same, I don’t have any cash on me but I would
be in the area later. According to what
I have heard and what I have seen, I am willing to bet almost none of the
working ladies were actually Dutch. The
vast majority of them had Eastern European accents, my guess being mainly
Russian and Ukrainian. To be honest, I
have great pity on them. I know it is
their own choice to do this line of work, but let’s face it: no young girl in
grade school aspires to be a hooker.
One other thing about the Red Light
District you should know though: it has some of the most beautiful streets,
canals, and buildings around. I was
absolutely fascinated how this Red Light District was beautiful, while any
other red light district area in the world is usually the dumpiest section of
the nearby major city. Much to my dismay
in terms of being outside, the weather turned against me. Not having internet on the train and not
knowing if I could even buy a Eurail Pass in Copenhagen, I didn’t reserve a
place to stay for the night- but no matter, I will just walk around the city
till 3 or so, and then catch some sleep on a bench in the “warm” train station.
That was the plan until I found out
that they closed the station to keep people from going in there to sleep
(perfect) and it began to pour rain outside with wind blowing at least 40 miles
per hour. I tried to find somewhere to
rest, first next to the building, but I kept on getting wet from the rain, so I
moved to a bus stop- but I began to realize I would be an easy target for a
mugger so I began to pace up and down the side of the train station to stay
awake and keep warm. After 5:30 rolled
around, they reopened the train station and I made my way up to the train
platform to find a bench up there sense there will little traffic that early in
the morning. After resting for ten
minutes or so, two guys approached me and asked if I was tired. Confirming their suspicions, one of the guys
said he had an idea that I should try which was sure to wake me up. With my senses being hyped up to make sure
they weren’t going to try anything (we were also in a police guarded facility)
I imagined that they would give me directions to a nearby coffee shop, which of
course sells more than pastries in their cases.
The guy then proceeded to pull out a bag with a white powder (meth) and
a bag of pills (ecstasy). “This should
wake you up!” he exclaimed, “interested!?”
Thanking him but declining, I bid the duo goodbye and went off to try
and find another place to rest.
Sitting down for a minute, I closed my eyes and
thought I would be able to be left alone for at least 20 minutes. I was wrong.
I felt a foot kick the bottom of my foot and a Dutch “Hello!?” be stated
directly in front of me. I immediately
snapped to attention and came face to face with two of Amsterdam’s finest
(police officers). I quickly responded
with a hello back, and he stated that sleeping was not allowed in the
station. I explained to the officers
that I was just waiting for my train and that I wouldn’t be a bother to them
again. With that being said, they turned
around and left. With it still being
pitch black outside at 8:00 AM and the weather was worse if anything, I decided
it would be a good idea to go and move onto Brussels.