What’s this? A timely update? Nooooo. Maybe.

Right now I’m on a train from Starnberg to Jülich, a town near Cologne where a friend of mine lives. And, as promised, I shall now recall my days in Munich.

Though the train from Berlin was slightly delayed, by only one hour, it was much more pleasant than getting to Berlin. The train was comfortable, quiet, smooth, and without incident. I arrived in Starnberg, a little late, and was greeted by excited cousin Ariane. She’s the third of three Ariana’s, the first being my great aunt Ariane, and the second being my mother. It seems like a popular name. It was a bit late so she took me home, picked up one of her twin boys, Valentine, and we drank beer and ate the most amazing klops I’ve ever had. It may seem like all meat and bread, but I do love Bavarian food. I really had no plan for Munich and Bavaria other than meeting and visiting my relatives, so Ariane made me a small list of possible things to see and do in the city the next day. After much visiting I retired for the night in what may only have been a couch, but was easily the most comfortable bed I’ve slept in since London.

Greetings from rainy Munich! Starnberg, actually. There’s quite a lot of ground to cover with this update, I’ve been through quite a number of places since Scotland!

Lets start chronologically. And a fair warning, this is going to be very long. But that’s when happens when I don’t update for a while.

When last I left off, I was on a train heading to New Castle to take an overnight ferry to Amsterdam. Well, I did indeed take an overnight ferry to Amsterdam! And I must say, it was the most disappointing part of my trip thus far. Something had to be. The ferry is marketed as a luxury cruise ferry. I won’t really dispute that, and I think I would have really had a great time in the boat if I was there with a friend. It’s not really even the ferries fault, really. There just wasn’t any mingling going on. Everyone on board had come with a larger group of people, and no one was really interesting in socializing outside their group. So unless I wanted to drink by myself in one of the three bars on board (one of which I actually thought was alright) or gamble in the inboard casino (which was just blackjack, roulette, and slots) I was basically left to drink scotch by myself (and I did have some fantastic scotch with me) and go see Iron Man 3 in the inboard cinema (which wasn’t actually very good. Granted I missed the first 30 minutes. I was drinking scotch.) I did have a good laugh with the DJ in the “club”, who was delighted to play some Rush for me, but otherwise I think I could have found a less expensive way to Amsterdam and been just as happy.

That is to say, Gullible went to Scotland.

I’ve just sat down on the train to Newcastle from Edinburgh. From there I’ll be taking an overnight ferry to my next stop: Amsterdam. I’m in a first class coach for the next hour and a half.

Cork will easily go down as the most relaxing leg of my journey, I think. Beautiful countryside, and none of the city bustle that goes along with staying in a major centre like Glasgow. Vanessa was a most kind and gracious host and really went out of her way to make me feel at home. I’ve got some fantastic photos of Ireland that have thus far made their way to Facebook, but my connections have been a bit spotty and uploading is a bit slow going. One I’ve got a good strong uplink I’ll be posting all of my photos to Flickr and embedding them here for all to see.

Greetings from green Ireland!
The ferry ride dot Dublin was without incident, which I suppose (while not making for interesting stories) is the best you could ask for. The ship was actually quite large, even including a movie theatre! I didn’t opt to see Iron Man 3 while aboard, but I did enjoy a pint of Guinness from the on board bar. A few hours an half of Trainspotting later, we were in Dublin!

I had originally thought to walk from the port to my hostel, but after checking the maps and distances again I decided against the idea. I then decided to take a bus, but unfortunately could not make any change until just after it pulled away. Aright, plan C, taxi. Obviously not my first choice, especially for saving money, but I’m flexible. It turned out to not be that bad, cost less than €15 and my driver was very nice and pointed out a good number of things to see during my stay. It was also a bit lucky because finding the hostel was actually a bit trickier than expected. But we got it sorted and I made it to the hostel. I checked in and got settled (top bunk on the too floor) and went out for a walk through downtown Dublin in search of a SIM card. I was able to track down a Tesco and picked up a SIM with €10 credit that would double to €20 once activated, and popped it into my older 3GS. It was interesting to go back to using my old phone, but I’m glad I brought it. There was wifi in the hostel but I wasn’t able to get much reception from my bunk. After my walk I turned in, a full day of travelling by rail and water takes a lot out of you.

Well, I’ve always wanted to say this but I never actually thought I would. I’m about to board a ferry to Ireland. Well, in two hours anyway.

But that’s getting a bit far ahead, isn’t it!
I landed in London on the 29th after an amazing stay in Kingston with Tony. My hosts in London, Anorra and JB, were unfortunately not able to actually be in London while I was there due to visa complications. But their lovely friend Mathilde is taking care if their flat and was a lovely host and guide.

After landing in London, and experiencing the trains and tube for the first time, Mathilde met me at Victoria station. Obviously being from Saskatoon I’m not exactly used to busy subway systems, but what little time I’ve spent in Toronto and Montreal, and to a lesser extent Vancouver, gave me at least a tiny bit of preparation. By the end of my stay though I think I had it pretty figured out.

Mathilde guided me ‘home’ and proceeded to take me out around London to help tire me out and combat the impending jet lag. We say Westminster Abby, the London eye, Buckingham Palace, and I’m sure a few other landmarks I can’t recall but the are pictures of, jut to get the “touristy” things out of the way early.

To be honest London went by much much faster than I actually expected, though everyone and my mother warned me that it would happen. I spent the next few days essentially wondering around London, getting lost, getting found, and generally seeing all that I cared to see. It’s hard to meet people in a place like London when you’re only there for a few days, Mathilde managed to introduce me to a few people before I left.

The sheer size of the city was something I could not be prepared for. Toronto and Vancouver are big, but they feel like Saskatoon compared to London. I’m very pleased with myself, though. Navigating London on my own and never getting so lost I was actually in danger of not being found. It’s a great boost of confidence, to know that I can go to such an intimidating place and be alright.

We’re starting to board the ferry so I’d best wrap up. This morning I took the train from London to Holyhead and will fery the rest of he way. I’ll be spending two nights in Dublin before I make my way to Cork.

I’ve got many stories already of London and will do my best to recall and share a few of them soon. I’ve quite a few pictures already as well and will be compiling a public album which I will try to update as Internet allows.

Until my next update, later days.