The Boys Are Back In Town

We're back!

Thankyou to everyone who rocked up Saturday night. What a night! If my liver wasnt hurting before, it is now. And my head certainly is. Still!. Sorry to those i didnt actually talk to about European madness but it was great to see you all again. As much as I loved travelling (and ive picked up the travelling bug now), its great to be back amongst mates. So much so I think I was kissing John. And what a kiss! The best in 3 months!
A big thankyou to Nick, cause without him my trip wouldnt have been anything like what it was. Having my wallet stolen, although a great story now, was a hassle and without Nick there to lend me money I would have been home a month and a half early. Anyway, I think a quick wrap up is required.

The Cities
Frankfurt: A great little city with greta people. First city we arrived in and not really sure what to expect but had a ball here. The soccer was awesome and some nice pubs.

Nurenburg: Not as lively as the other German cities but our first European clubbing experience was here.

Berlin: Apart from my sickness, had some good times here. Missed the final but the festivities after the third place playoff were fantastic. A nice city that will be on my list of a place to return to.

Copenhagen: First impression was it was Americanish. Great party atmosphere and the girls are brilliant though. And the erotica museum is not bad (Phatty and I got a couples discount!)

Oslo: Small but charming. Met the most beautiful girl I have ever seen just minutes after arriving. I was in love.

Stockholm: Old town section is fantastic. Found a sports pub that showed a Crows v Kangaroos footy match. As with all the Scandinavian cities, expensive.

Warsaw: Very cheap. Didnt really find much touristy stuff to do apart from things connected to the war but great cafes. Our cafe experiences were fantastic.

Krakow: One of the best places we visited. Well worth it. Great town, great people, stayed in a fantastic hostel....had an absolute ball here.

Prague: Although having my wallet stolen put a downer on the first day, I recovered and enjoyed myself. Like Poland, cheap. More of a chick city I think though. Would go back if accompanied by someone special.

Vienna: Tried some interesting versions of schnitzel here. Quite tasty. Similar to Germany in many respects. Lots of good shopping so like Prague, a good chick city.

Salzburg: Fantastic. Picturesque. Hows the serenity. Except for all the Sound of Music references everywhere quite a nice, quietish place to visit.

Munich: Was billed as a party city but a little quiet when we were there. Maybe they were just waiting for Octoberfest. Had fun still. Do want to go back there again.

Interlaken: Great place if you love adrenilen sports and the Alps. Has a bit of everything from white water rafting to skydiving to canyoning to hiking the mountains. Stayed in a great hostel. Will go back if have the money required for such a place.

Paris: Afetr reading the Da Vinci Code on a train trip not to long before arriving here, was looking forward to the times ahead. The known tourist attractions were great (maybe not the Louvre - Krystles paintings kick all the arses) and enjoyed walking around but again, though, more of a chick city. Do want to come back but with a girl.

Luxemburg City: Lovely city but not much to do. One day is sufficient.

Brugge: Had another ball here. Quite a few places seem to go off on the weekend and with their own brewery (which you can, and I did, tour), beers arent that expensive.

Amsterdam: Party town. Not much more to it. Pubs, and chicks everywhere. Not to mention druggies. Want to come back here but with a whole bunch of mates. Couldnt go wrong.

Culomberg: Cant thank Nicks cousin enough for her and her family's hospitality. Lovely, quiet town with easy access to lots of nearby towns. Enjoyed my stay immensly

Newcastle: Although one of the poorest English cities, the people are great and the city itself has a lot to offer. A nice welcome to Britain.

Edinburgh: Fantastic. Another city on the "going back to" list. Had a ball.

Inverness: Again, enjoyed my time here. A geat northern scottish town in the highlands. Our cycle to the Loch Ness Lake was the highlight. If you like things picturesque, here's where to go.

Windermere: Another beautiful, quietish town with photo opportunities of stunning scenery on every corner.

London: Great way to finish the trip. Didnt want to leave. A lot different to what Id imagined. Going back for sure. Heaps of people and cars, especially after all the bikes on mainland Europe but a happening place. Expensive but worth it.


The Girls
All European girls must be lesbians. None of them would sleep with me. However, here is how I rate them:
The Hottest: The Danish take out this honour. Never in my life have I seen so many hot girls in one place. I have always been attracted to blondes and Denmark is a good example of why. Sweden is not too far behind. Germany takes out the bronze.

The Disappointing: Was slightly disappointed with the French. Had heard many good things about these girls but they failed to make a big impression on me. Their accent though is one thing they had going for them.

The Surprise: I was very surprised with the English girls. They almost found themselves on the hottest list. Got along with them quite well, both in England and those that had ventured to mainland Europe as well. They werent absolute stunners like the Danes or Swedes but they had this quality about them. The only downfall is the English accent. Was quite annoying at times. But that didnt stop good quality conversations (on their part, my part of the conversation was probably pathetic. I do remember talking to one in Switzerland and when I asked her for the third time "so where in England are you from" I realised it was probably time to stop drinking), and having some good times. My respect for the English has risen slightly.

The Verdict: Nothing beats a good Aussie girl. It didnt matter what country I was in, it almost always ended with me talking to the Aussies at the end of the night. Maybe it was cause they were the only ones who could understand me after a few. I had no intention of wanting to meet Aussies but as nice as the fantasy (or reality for Nick!) is of meeting and falling in love with a hot European is, my personality, likes and dislikes dont sit too well with the Europeans. It was hard to find a European girl that wanted to hang out for longer than 10 minutes but the Aussies never seemed to want to leave. There was one night in Brugge (when with some Aussie and Dutch girls) where I had this big realisation that as hot as the European girls are, I was never really going to get along with them that well. Strangely, the Irish are similar to Aussies and I could perhaps settle for one of them.

Music
It wasnt often that we heard some good tunes from Down Under. The only Aussie stuff we heard was:
A Savage Garden song (twice)
a couple of ACDC songs
Shut uppa your face (I never laughed so hard when I heard it)
Land Down Under by Men At Work
An Australian Crawl song
some Creedence Clearwater but later found out they arent Australian. Nevertheless, it was funny hearing a Norwegian band to a cover of Have You Ever Seen The Rain

Scandinavia loves Bruce Springstein. Either they are just getting his last album or he has made a new one cause it was selling big over there. Love there covers also.
Bryan Adams was a favourite amongst most Europeans. In every country we visited it didnt take long to hear one of his songs. To a lesser extent, Phil Collins was popular too. I heard him in 3 months what Id heard of him in my previous 22 years of my life.

Wherever we went a lone shout of "play some Barnsey!" rose from the crowd but I was drowned out by crazy Europeans and received weird looks. Even weirder ones for "play some Choirboys!". Would it really have been that difficult to have the heavenly sounds of Khe San, Working Class Man, Flame Trees, Cheap Wine or Run To Paradise bless my ears?


The Beer
I cant give you an exact count of what I drank in the course of my jouney but anywhere between 75 to 100 different types were sampled. Although I was able to give my taste buds that "there's are party in my mouth and everyones invited" feeling in Amsterdam where the green label of a Pale Ale could be found, Belgium I think take the honours of the best beer. All their beers rated from good to absolutely fantastic. Most German beers were quite good also. The local beers of each country/city were generally soothing on the pallet and I did stick to them a bit. Im sorry John but the English beers were rubbish as were most British beers. Maybe one day Ill give a run down on each beer (the ones I can remember that is!)


Conclusion
Absolutely loved travelling. My first venture off of Aussie soil and dont regret most of it. Some things I would change (like having my bloody wallet stolen!) but so many good memories it would be hard to find fault with much. Again, a big thankyou to Nick. Will do it all again once Ive paid of all my debts and hope that many more of you will join me next time. However, until that time, look forward to many more drunken nights in Adelaide - the greatest city on earth, with the greatest beer and the greatest women.