Shawn's European Adventure
The following pages contain 164 pictures (of 284 taken; you don't think I could actually fit that many online, do you?) from my trip to Europe (as well as three videos). In June of 2005 I went to Europe and travelled through five countries: Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, and France. I went alone, living out of a 30-lbs backpack, travelling by train, and staying in hostels in each of my cities. [NOTE: If you are interested in all 284 pictures, please email me and I will burn a CD of them for you and mail them (I'd appreciate reimbursement for postage).]
The pages that follow will take you through my trip, showing you the pictures I took (with explanations, of course) and telling you about the places I visited, the things I saw, and the people I met. Much of the text will come from excerpts from my journal, though in some cases I will likely summarize or even expound as I may think of things to say now that will be clearer than what I said in my journal. Any time you see text in italics you'll know it's from my journal. If you see plain text, it's my current thoughts on whatever I happen to be talking about.
 | Monday, May 30, 2005 (Atlanta, GA, USA)
I began my trip from Atlanta, GA, where I flew to Chicago, IL, and from there to Madrid, Spain, where I went through customs, and then caught a flight to Frankfurt, Germany. Mom and I got to Atlanta this afternoon. We ventured out for dinner at Cafe Tu Tu Tango. After taking the metro, the bus we needed wasn't running, so we had quite a walk (just under two miles one way). Expensive meal, but all of it oh so worth it. We had stuffed mushrooms (the best!), skewered shrimp, artichoke and shrim dip, and mango duck quesedilla, all excellent choices.
The next morning,...mom and I went to the Georgia capitol. There was a free museum up top and it was really neat. |
Wednesday, June 1, 2005 (from the Madrid-Barajas Airport, Spain)
Travel like I mean it, but does meaning it always have to include lost and confused?...There were no lines for me at the airport. I've really been in the zone, which is a good way to start this trip. On the Chicago to Madrid flight (8 hours, of which I think I slept <2, not consecutive) I sat next to a guy from Chicago named Mike. Very interesting and friendly person and we had good conversation. He's been to Europe a few times before and is now goin to tour southern Spain for a week.
I thought the whole going to Europe thing would sink in on the plane across the Atlantic. Quite the contrary, excepting the conversations with Mike, it was dull and long (and marginally uncomfortable when I couldn't sleep). But now that I'm here in the Madrid airport, it's hitting. I think it first clicked when I went through security passing to another terminal. The guard spoke no English and I was so flustered with the security check at all that at first I didn't understand "reloj" (watch). But having a moment to sit will help (is helping)...
The airport here is very different from the US (aside from the 90's flashback security!). They don't board in sections and they only announce the boarding call once: when they start. Most of the planes are not parked at the myriad gates, but are arranged on an airfield. We are bussed to them and board by stairs.
And with that lively intro to my trip, it's time to sink in to where things really get going: Germany! I've made my flight and at last I'm settled in at my first city. Jet lag hasn't set it just yet, but it will as the day wears on (and I'm pleased to say that I adjusted quickly). But all of this will come shortly.
On to Germany!
On the likely chance that you can't stay enraptured enough to go through ALL of this material in one sitting, below I've listed a map of the pages in the order you'll see them if you simply keep following the links. So if you do have to quit and come back later before getting to the end, make a note of the last page you viewed (I'll label them at the top). Then when you reload the disk and open this page, you can just click on the next page in sequence below (instead of having to sort through folders and files to find it).