Coffee on the Keyboard

Mail Call

Wow, holy cow, and I am impressed! The Eurail pass came in the mail today. Why can’t everything I buy show up that fast? (And don’t say because everything I buy doesn’t cost $650.)

I just want to say thank you again to my Grandma and promise to write and send pictures.

Well now, I’ve got the pack, the plane ticket, the passport, the Eurail pass, the camera. Now I just need some shorts that fit right and we’re all set! I leave in three weeks. How am I ever going to concentrate on exams?

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And the Big Steel Rail Gonna Carry Me

Well it’s done and I did it. I am soon to be the proud owner of a Eurail Youth Pass. I went with the one-month unlimited railpass, good in all 18 Eurail countries (covers Western Europe and Greece, essentially). I won’t start using it right away, and it will expire before I leave, but all the extra days are covered by other forms of travel, mostly plane.

My camera also arrived, but I have a little problem: the battery can’t be charged in the camera, so I needed to order a battery charger to test it out. So, if you’re the guy on eBay I bought it from, please forgive the slow feedback, but I need to test the camera. The charger should be here Monday or Tuesday.

Reminder: If you’re going to be in Europe between 18 May and 28 June, let me know!

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Thank You!

My wonderful Grandmother offered to buy my Eurail pass, which saved me almost $650 and let me get a decent camera to take on the trip, as well as letting me live just a little more comfortably, so Thank you, Grandma.

Other than that the trip is still on as planned. I haven’t had to do too much lately, but I changed my reservation for the second stay in Dublin from Abraham House to Ashfield House, which I hear better things about and is much more central to the city (though it’s probably a difference of 5 instead of 10 minutes walking).

Still trying to meet up with as many people as I can while I’m there, including my buddies JD in Dublin, Spencer in Paris, and my German brother Christian in Berlin.

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Counter Clockwise

Here’s my new rough sketch of where I’ll be in Europe:

• 6-9am, 18 May — Breakfast at Heathrow
• 18-22 May — Ireland (Based in Dublin, Abraham Hostel)
• 22-24 May — Paris (Absolute Paris Hostel)
• 25 May - 1 June — Spain/Portugal
• 2-9 June — South of France
• 10-17 June — Italy
• 18-21 June –Berlin (Staying with my German brother)
• 21-24 June — Liverpool (Embassie Hostel)
• 24-28 June — Ireland (again in Dublin, Abraham Hostel unless it sucks the first time)
• 9pm 28-8am 29 June — Heathrow or surround bars.

From the 25th to the 17th isn’t really specific. I don’t know where I’ll be and when, but that’s kind of the circular path I’m planning. That way I end up in Berlin when I’m supposed to (getting there either the 17th or 18th).

Giving a lot of time to Ireland, obviously. I want to try to get in a lot of Dublin and also around to other cities like Derry and such. Maybe I’ll spend 24 hours following Ulysses. Honestly I figured I would start and end in English-speaking countries and if I was scheduling the flights now I’d probably take a day or two less in Dublin on the way out. Oh well, I’ll just know that city best.

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