Berlin, I love the nightlife...

Day 37

As my final night in Copenhagen involved numerous drinks and drinking games, the morning of Day 37 was not fun. And to think, I had seven hours of travel ahead of me. The body just ain't as tolerant as it used to be. In the end, a healthy breakfast of Maccas seemed to do the trick and it kept the nausea at bay as I sat on the rocking trains. Halfway through the trip, it hit me that Denmark and Berlin are separated by a sea. How the hell does the train go over without a change? Soon enough I discovered how when an announcement came over the loud speaker telling everyone to get off the train as it was going into a ferry. Not one of those tiny harbour ferries. This was a huge ocean liner. It was actually quite cool to make this trip over the ocean, plus I could enjoy the cool sea breezes from the upper deck. As we reached Germany, I got back onboard the train and soon enough I was in Berlin.

Braving the elements in Copenhagen...

Day 33

Checked out of my hostel in Stockholm and headed to Copenhagen. As the long train journey began, I noticed that the usual panels above each seat indicating whether it was reserved or not were missing from this train. I then heard over the PA that it was a high speed service to Copenhagen. Shit. It was then that I realised that this train required a reservation. I checked my book and sure enough it said a reservation was required. However I then checked my app which I've been using quite religiously on this trip and it said a reservation wasn't required. Nevertheless, it was pretty obvious that one was required.

And that concludes my USA trip...

Day 18

Honestly these last few days in the US were pretty empty/slow since after Jersey, I was really mellow and going at a very relaxed pace. Day 18 was pretty much dedicated to souvenir shopping. Loaded up with chocolate from the Herscheys store, as well as a few Friends memorabilia from the NBC store, I went and waited in line at TKTS in Times Square for discounted tickets to Avenue Q (40% off). Ended up waiting in line for about 75 minutes before I got my tickets, but thankfully, once you buy once, if you decide to go see another show in the following seven days, you get to go straight to the front of the line. Definitely was going to use that advantage.

Avalon thankfully nothing like the Jersey Shore...

Day 15

ROAD TRIP!! My friend, Dave, who I met while backpacking three years ago lives in New Jersey and he said he would pick me up from Newark (North NJ) and we'd head to his holiday house in Avalon way at the bottom of NJ. A short train ride later, I was in Newark station waiting for my ride. And it was dirty. Not only that, there were hobos everywhere and I actually felt a bit unsafe just sitting in one spot so I constantly walked around. I guess it was my own fault for getting there half an hour early. Upside though was that the station had a strong police presence so that put me at ease slightly.

Welcome to 2011...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 

It's now 2pm Swiss time on Janauary 1st, which would be the end of the first day in Sydney. Only just got up an hour ago, after quite a late night. Ended up spending NYE as a bartender at my uncle's and aunt's restaurant last night. It was so fast-paced. I've never worked in such an environment. I'll certainly have a bit more patience next time I eat at a busy restaurant lol. I did however have easy access to the alcohol, plus a certain alcoholic holiday punch that we had made for our guests. It was made with lychee juice, orange juice, Campari and Cointreu and tasted absolutely amazing. And since it was right there in front of me, I ended drinking around two litres of that throughout the night lol. I also learnt how to pour beer from a tap (and also how to drink from the tap lol). As midnight approached, we simply put on the radio since we were still in the process of closing up the restaurant. Countdown in German!! Once midnight struck, champagne was flowing, and it was just a more relaxed atmosphere than the hectic pace earlier on in the night when the restaurant was packed. Fireworks were going off outside, but they were nowhere near as good as the ones in Sydney lol. Here's a short clip of the fireworks and my thoughts at the start of the new year on Facebook. After I could drink no more champagne, I ended up heading out for more drinks at a nearby bar with some of the people from the restaurant. I guess that this year's start was a bit quieter than what I would have liked (plus their fireworks are nothing compared to Sydney's), but I guess the fact that I'm in Europe has to count for something lol.

Rome was disappointing...

So last time I posted, I was about to head off and catch my overnight train to Rome. It's now five days later and I'm in Florence (so much for posting once I got to Rome lol). Anyways, my email had been hacked in that time, so I've been trying to sort all that out, as well as making sure all my other accounts were OK. If you have received an email from me saying that I'm in the UK and need money desperately, ignore it. If you've been following my blog, then you'll know that I'm fine and am nowhere near the UK. Anyways, I'm now in Florence, and I have free time, so let the recounting begin.

Still alive after Hamburg, Berlin and Prague...

Well well well...once again, it's been a long time since the last post. I am still alive. In the past nine days, I've been to three cities: Hamburg, Berlin and Prague.

Day 40: Leaving Amsterdam for Berlin. Was woken up quite early by the Brits who had an extremely early plane to catch. Mind you, they were still quite high on weed and shrooms. Used the early wake-up call to get everything packed and was curious to see what the Brits had left behind in their sleep-deprived and high state. Looking around on the ground, I saw a few coins, which added up to about 10 euros. But my most impressive find was when I looked under one of the beds and found a phone. It was a Nokia something, designed as a music player. Looks like I got myself a new phone (albeit quite scratched). But I doubt I'll be using it since I don't have the charger plus I really want a different phone lol.

For me, Bruges shits all over Amsterdam...

Well it's been a while since I've posted, and I would like you all to know that I'm still alive lol. I haven't been able to post since I've been having so much fun in Bruges to type up a lengthy post, and plus I haven't had access to internet to do anything besides the occasional email check and facebook status update. Anyways, I'm now using free internet in Amsterdam's library so I can take my time and give an account of the last week.

Day 33: Last day in Paris, and all I did was some souvenir shopping and Wii tennis during the day. For my last night, I went out with my cousin and her friends and had an awesome dinner with lots of wine. I'm not usually a fan of wine, but I couldn't say no to alcohol lol. Anyways, pretty much just a nice little night out with alcohol to celebrate my last night in Paris.