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Tom W Backpacking Europe 2014
  • Road Trip 2016
  • Road Trip 2016

Tom W Backpacking Europe 2014

Ein 57-Tage Abenteuer von Road Trip 2016 Weiterlesen
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  • Road Trip 2016Tom W Backpacking Europe 2014Road Trip 2016
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    Mount Etna

    14. September 2014 in Italien ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Active volcano with lava flows as recently as 1 year ago. The hostel set this up with a local guide for the three of us who were staying over. It may be the best 60 euro I've ever spent. Our guide Carmelo Giuffrida (www.etnatao.com) is a local geologist with extensive knowledge of volcanos and Etna in particular. We hiked for hours and Carmelo showed us amazing formations and explained them extensively.

    Pictures of me with Carmelo, up on a vista and in a volcanic crater. More pics to come.    Weiterlesen

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    Leaving Catania heading to Roma

    15. September 2014 in Italien ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    I came for the volcano and am glad I did.

    Pic of the main church in town last night at sunset. The only nice thing in this town were the churches. Pic of the fireworks last night/this morning at 12:50 am. I'm not kidding and they did it the night before too. It was so loud it was impossible to sleep and lasted for a half an hour in total. I asked one of the people working at the hostel and they said they just do it sometimes no one really knows why. It was near lawlessness here. Being so close to Africa there are some real ass clowns in Sicily. They are not up here to contribute but rather trash the place up and act like punks. One kept touching my day pack so I turned to him and pointed to his arm and indicated I would snap his arm like a twig. He understood that language and moved on to easier prey. Up near Mount Etna however there were some small villages that were far cleaner and looked like nice places to stay. The vegetation and farms going up the mountain were incredibly lush from the great soil created from the thousands of years of lava flows that reach to the sea. Of course my requisite at the train station pic. I have to say having everything you need to live on your back and moving whenever you want has an enormous feeling of freedom that comes with it even with my pack topping 60 lbs. I'm thinking perhaps Prague after Roma.

    Good bye Mexico de Europa!    Weiterlesen

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    Roma, Italia

    15. September 2014 in Italien ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    That is not the train that brought me here but I wish it had been rather than the one that took 10 hours from Sicily and was hot as hell and jam packed. I guess this red train is the Italian version of France's TVG. Whatever it is it looks awesome and fast.

    Out front of the train station.

    New digs: Alessandra Palace Hostel. Less than 5 minute walk from the train station.

    I'm thinking about going on a Segway tour of ancient Roma. Seems almost blasphemous but I've wanted to ride a Segway for a while.

    I'm making my way to Zagreb, Croatia and think I'll split the trip up by going to Venice in a couple days.    Weiterlesen

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    Rome

    16. September 2014 in Italien ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    More pics. I walked all over ancient Rome my first day in town revisiting sites I had enjoyed before. I walked for over 6 hours so the Segway the next day was a nice break. Specifically I went to see the Trevi fountains and Fontana della Barcaccia below The Spanish Steps. Both were under major renovations which is good but the pace of restoration seemed to be crawling along. They should probably call the Germans if they ever want to get it completed.Weiterlesen

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    Rome

    17. September 2014 in Italien ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Segway tour of ancient Rome. I have been wanting to ride one for years and finally did. It's amazingly intuitive. You think where you want to go and as a result you then put more weight on your toes and the slight shift in balance tells the Segway to go that way. More weight on your toes as if to walk faster and it goes faster. More weight on your heels and it slows, then even balance and it stops. The more confident you are on it the better it responds almost like a horse. In no time I was driving it backwards and spinning it in circles. It was incredibly efficient for seeing Rome's ancient sites as they are spread out and the Segway's are quick. In a way they are perfect for Rome like a modern day mini-chariot.

    I went with Rex Tours www.rex-tours.com as they were the highest rated on Trip Advisor and Lorenzo the tour guide was an amazing Segway instructor, tour guide and friend to all. At one point we stopped at a small bar the locals frequent for espresso and gelato and had whatever we wanted at no additional cost go us. It was an unexpected surprise for me and nice taste of local Roman culture. If you go to Rome, go on this tour. Of the 2 times I have spent time in Rome this was the best thing I did.

    I think the pic of me in front of the The Colosseum on a Segway is my favorite of my European trek so far. To give you some idea of how above and beyond Lorenzo went he insisted on laying down on the dirty street to get the best angle of me in front of The Colosseum. The second pic is Lorenzo and I on the banks above where they held the chariot races 2000 years ago. From those banks he had us pick ruccola growing wild and wash it in the nearby fountain and taste it. It was incredibly spicy. I asked why they have all of these fountains that just run continuously and he said they feed off the aqueduct system and just drain back down and come back up again. The third pic is me in front of the Tiber river that will rise to nearly the level of the bridge behind me each year.    Weiterlesen

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    Leaving Roma headed to Zurich

    18. September 2014 in Italien ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    I've got plans up north so Croatia will have to wait. I'm spending 2 days in Zurich then I'm going to Stuttgart to visit the Mercedes-Benz museum.

    Roma Termini - It was fun but I won't miss the mass chaos of this place.

    Frecciarossa train - Not quite as bad ass looking as the train I posted a pic of a couple days ago but it's real fast and I'd guess we are doing between 150-180 mph right now. My rail pass is first class if available. If you are over 26 yo and get a pass they only have first class. It's great unless down south here where the trains do not have that kind of seating. In this train its pretty much like business class on a plane with them feeding me and bringing plenty of juice and coffee and free high speed internet.    Weiterlesen

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    Switzerland

    18. September 2014 in der Schweiz ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Just rolling through on the train. I saw palm trees growing in one of these mountain towns. I'll be needing to look up the variety of Palm. I was in Rome this morning so it's quite a difference here from the vegetation and mountains to seeing the people at work in their farms along the tracks. Few people standing idle and everything tidy and organized.Weiterlesen

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    Leaving Zurich next stop Stuttgart

    20. September 2014 in der Schweiz ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    I enjoyed my stay in Zurich and would like to return here and to other parts of Switzerland. I found the people top be incredibly accommodating and pleasant while being quick and efficient. I'm glad I made it up here from southern Europe. The hostel was in the red light district and with it being legal there it was quite blatant and they allow for street prostitution so there were hookers everywhere. Along the street by the hostel were two stores, one pictured that I'm gonna call "The Ho Depot" that was specifically to outfit the working girls. Despite what some may consider seedy about where the hostel was located it felt totally safe and it didn't seem like they had many problems related to it but of course it's Switzerland.

    The Langstars backpackers hostel was a great find at 33 euro per night in a city known to be super expensive. They had a small bar and restaurant on-site and live music every night. All items at discount and in dorm kitchen complete minus burners but space for food prep and full fridge. The real find however was pointed out to me by the staff that around the corner was a discount supermarket with prices close to half the cost of other places. See earlier post of hookers in front of me at the super market.    Weiterlesen

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    Rolling in to Stuttgart, Germany

    20. September 2014 in Deutschland ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Here in Stuttgart with one objective; go to the Mercedes Benz museum but it looks to be quite a city to visit. It has several outdoors stores which are a welcome site (see picture) when you're been on the road for a month. I've realized there are a number of adjustments to my packing and clothing selections. I'm done with Merrell shoes, convinced they mostly make junk now after all but destroying a pair in a month. From now on Keen to go along with the fantastic hiking sandals I have from them. For whatever reason every clothing store is closed on Sunday here but I'll get up early before going to Frankfurt and get new shoes and packing cubes.Weiterlesen

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    Stuttgart, Germany

    21. September 2014 in Deutschland ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    A lot of churches here in Stuttgart. Nothing against churches but they have bells going off every hour and there's one right by the hostel making a lot of racket early in the morn. I felt like someone had a gong upside my head despite the fact I had ear plugs in. I took a picture of one last night as seen here.

    Yep, that's a picture of a full size Dodge Ram truck in the middle of Stuttgart. I saw an F-150 in Nice but didn't get a chance to take a picture picture of that.

    They have gone completely crazy with the pay to go to the bathroom concept in Stuttgart. As I really don't like to pay to go to the bathroom I believe my bladder has doubled in size in the last month. That is a pay for stand-alone bathroom right next to the bus stop. I really don't understand why they don't get the concept here given the enormous success of McDonald's and Starbucks giving away bathroom access, internet even free power. I don't want to use those establishments when in Europe, but hey I'm forced to when I know they're going to provide all those things without a hassle. Start a business in Europe with the fundamental concept around anything that costs you little give away for free. The brand loyalty from people is huge and they end up buying things from you. I've been to countless Starbucks already because I know I can get exactly what I want and I can get power and I can get free internet and I can use the bathroom. I'm sad to say I didn't even go to McDonalds a few times but it was the McCafe which is a full on euro style coffee shop. I'm already formulating a business concept around the needs of the $1,000,000,000 a year revenue generating backpacker community of which I am now a part of. The word of mouth in this community is enormous due to its easy to spot us and we stay at the same places.    Weiterlesen

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    Mercedes Benz Museum Stuttgart, Germany

    21. September 2014 in Deutschland ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Not sure what this BMW was doing right out front of the museum but I'm thinking that's a funeral wreath. Great museum in many ways including excellent food at the restaurant. I wanted pictures of the two models of Mercedes I was driven around in as a child and the one I owned. Got the first two but then the models that were on display chronologically abruptly stops around 1990. Hard to understand given many design changes since then. I will definitely be mentioning that in my trip Advisor review. Time to update your museum Mercedes Benz. I've been to the BMW museum in Munich and they brought it to modern day as should you.

    The history of the automobile they provide is amazing and incredible displays of the tech including the Kompressor super charger system that resulted in my selling my Benz rather than perish in it. You did get the impression they wanted credit for every automotive improvement ever but hey why not and that's probably why there was a massive showroom next door. It was kinda like the difference between U.S. Civil War texts in the north and south. Who knew the the pronged star of the Mercedes symbol represented its presence on air, land and sea?    Weiterlesen

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    Frankfurt, Germany

    22. September 2014 in Deutschland ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Got in to Frankfurt. Hostel is right in front of the train station. In the first pic I'm standing in front of the Frankfurt Hostel to show how close. After all the walking this is a nice change. Right next door to the hostel a 1 euro store with good backpacker supplies. Around the corner from the hostel the Sex Inn. I'm pretty sure I know what's going on there.Weiterlesen

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    Frankfurt, Germany

    23. September 2014 in Deutschland ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Finally in a city with real skyscrapers. People move with a mission. I am known to walk fast but these Frankfurters move quick and watch out for the ones on bikes.

    Over 20 food trucks outside the hostel with many types of food, full on pizza oven as pictured and small mobile grocery operations. Quite the impressive array of options. That's currywurst with dine kind of potato bacon hash. It was tasty.Weiterlesen

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