Massive Update

Alright, I'm sorry. I'm lazy and irresponsible and now I have to reap what I have sown. It's time to update, though I have no idea how I'm going to do so, I've done so many things since updating.

I think I'll start with our trip long ago to Northern Ireland, which included the capital city of Belfast and Giant's Causeway. Most of the pictures I have are of the Causeway, but it's worth noting that Belfast is an interesting city. If you know the history of Ireland/Northern Ireland/England, you probably know that Belfast is a pretty volatile city still dealing with the political situation there. We were lucky enough to witness a parade while we were there, which was quite interesting and actually a bit strange, as apparently 12 year old kids are allowed to get wasted in the streets if there's a parade going on. Interesting. Anyways, here are some pictures of Giant's Causeway, one of the most bizarre landscapes I've ever seen. Those columns of rock were all formed naturally by volcanoes or something.







Now, London and Amsterdam. I have to say, this was probably the best weekend of my life. Traveling alone, and with such a complicated itinerary was quite challenging, and although I did massively screw it up at the end, it felt really good to know I could travel the world with no ones help but my own. I met up with Val in London, which is an enormous city where everything is ridiculously expensive, but still a really awesome place. We went and saw all the major sites. Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, The Parliament Building, and The London Eye. We also met up with our friend Kate for dinner, which was simply magnificent. It was odd being in London right after they had been attacked a couple times, but nothing scary really happened.



Then I went on to Amsterdam and met up with a friend, Bill, who was studying there. We wandered around what is, in my opinion, the greatest city in the world for a long time and made a lot of new friends at various bars. Amsterdam really is the most bizarre place in the world, it's really hard to imagine such a city existing in the same world as West Michigan. We think we have freedoms in America... I saw some very strange things in Amsterdam, and it was such an incredible experience I really can't even try to explain it here without sounding like a hyperbolic asshole, so just take it from me, if you ever have a chance to go, go.

We met up with a guy we know who actually lives in Amsterdam on the second day and spent most of the afternoon in Amsterdam's biggest park drinking white beer on the outdoor patio of The Film Museum and having fantastic conversations. If there's one thing that teaches you a lot in studying abroad, it's all the amazing conversations you'll have with people who are nothing like you. It really changes your perspective on yourself, on your country, and on the world in general. This kind of thing is why I wanted to do this trip, to learn and grow as a person. I've done so more than I could have ever imagined.

So that night we went to see my favorite band, The Hold Steady. Now, if a year ago you would have asked me what my dream night would have been, I probably would have answered, "seeing The Hold Steady in Amsterdam." It turned out to be a night beyond anything I could have expected. We had so much fun seeing the best rock and roll band in the world, and actually got to talk with the guys in the band afterward. Craig Finn, who is my idol and this generations Bruce Springsteen, was an incredibly nice guy. When he found out I was studying in Dublin he offered to put me on the guest list for the sold out festival they were playing there the next weekend, and even suggested we meet up and I show them around the city the night before. This absolutely blew my mind, and he and I emailed back and forth a couple times after that before realizing they would be getting in too late for it to work out. It didn't really matter, the fact was my favorite musician was emailing me and wanted to hang out. It's so refreshing to know that rock stars can still be nice guys.








The next morning, our friend Robin informed us that we would be going boating around the city on his friends boat. This was the greatest thing I have ever done. Amsterdam is a city of canals and beautiful architecture, and I got to see it the best way possible: from the water with lots of Heinekens. I still don't have the good pictures of the city but I can at least post a few of the boat ride. I did manage to fall into the water trying to board the boat. This was especially embarrassing considering I've been boarding boats my whole life.




After the boat ride and a whole weekend of not sleeping and drinking a bit too heavily, it was time for me to catch the train back to Eindhoven so I could get on a plane and head back to Dublin. This turned out to be a miserable failure as I fell asleep (or passed out, depending on how you look at it) on the train, missing the stop and by extension, my flight back to London. I had to get a hotel room in Eindhoven, an early flight to London, and then wait in the airport there for 12 hours before being able to get a flight back to Dublin. Quite a trip it was. I'll never forget this weekend, it was absolutely incredible.

I guess now I'll post some more Ireland pictures. The first is a few of us at The Brazen Head in Dublin, the oldest pub in the country I believe. Vikings used to drink there. We got caught in the heaviest rain of all time on our way there. The others are from the day trip to Howth I posted about, the one where I went swimming and lost my glasses to the Irish sea. That cliff with the rocky cove at the bottom in the area we climbed and went swimming. That was another awesome day, despite the loss of my precious glasses.







Then last weekend we went to Salzburg, Austria. Austria is an incredible place. Salzburg is snuggled right into the middle of the Austrian Alps and is the home of Mozart, The Sound of Music, and Red Bull. Fascinating! It is beautiful in every way, probably the most beautiful area I've ever been to. We climbed some mountains, saw magnificent churches, drank at a monastery where they wash out your (huge) mugs with holy water, took a tour through the Bavarian Mountains in Germany, and ate the world's best apple strudel. Quite a weekend!













So now is the home stretch. This weekend we head to Barcelona, Spain for a very hot, very awesome long weekend on the beach, and then we have one last week before heading back to the states on Saturday. I'll write more about what it's like that this is all coming to an end later. It's very hard to think about. Work has been good as well, I think I will officially be a published author soon!

Anyways, take care everyone. Of course I love you all and look forward to seeing you soon.

Dublin, Howth, Belfast, and pending travels

Well, it's been a couple weeks since my last read update, so I suppose it's time to let you all know what's been going on and what adventures are to come.

So a the weekend before last was a lovely one. We hung out in Dublin, which at this point seems like it should have gotten boring but certainly hasn't. We managed quite a productive weekend for once, in which we managed a bit of culture. On Saturday we went to the theater to see a musical, which was very exciting for me because I've never really done it. We saw Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, a fantastic musical about a barber who is driven crazy by revenge and ends up killing customers and putting them into meat pies. A very uplifting story, as you can tell. The production of the thing was really amazing, it was so crazy for me to see how well the live musicians, singers, lighting, and stage design all came together so flawlessly. I love going to concerts, but this was just a whole different level of impressive. Anyway, Tim Burton is making the musical into a movie starring Johnny Depp. Should be cool.


Then the next day some of us did a day trip out to a beautiful little seaside town called Howth. When we got there they were having their weekly outdoor market, which basically is a bunch of tents set up with awesome food you can taste and buy. It was a really nice day so we bought a bunch of fancy breads, cheeses, meats, and a couple bottles of wine and had ourselves a picnic right on the ocean. Definitely one of those relaxing moments where you just realize how awesome life is. After the picnic we found and fed some seals, which was hilarious. What strange creatures they are. So after the relaxing morning we went on a hike through the hills and cliffs along the ocean just outside of Howth. After hiking a long distance we came across a large cliff with a treacherous path carved into it that lead down to a small cove on the water. We managed our way down to the water where Steve and I decided to have a little adventure. So there we were, climbing over these insane rocks on the water and just kind of exploring. After much sweat and effort was expelled we realized how bad getting back was going to suck and decided the best idea would probably be to swim back. So we threw our clothes over the girls and entered the mighty Irish Sea. The thing about the Irish Sea is that it's a lot like Lake Superior, only salt water. It's bloody freezing! So I'm climbing into the water in my boxers with my glasses on, which I had planned to swim right over to the girls to avoid the danger of throwing to them, when I slip on a rock and get struck in the face by a large wave. Boom! My glasses are gone. Swallowed by the sea, sunk into the gallows. Now I'm blind and a bit panicked as I'm remembering how bad of a swimmer I am and realizing the strength of the water. Oh well, there was no turning back, so I struggled my way through the water back to shore. I have to say, it was actually pretty incredible. I'm in the Irish Sea, back stroking my way to shore and everywhere I look I'm surrounded by rocks and cliffs and birds. A pretty striking moment, and just another of hundreds where I have been really taken back by the fact that this is my life. Anyways, I ordered some contacts which I'm praying will show up today. Sightseeing is considerably less fun when you don't have your sight.

Then this past weekend we did an overnight trip to Belfast, which is the capital of Northern Ireland. I'm not sure if you guys are familiar with the history of the situation, but Ireland and Northern Ireland have a pretty violent past. Northern Ireland is actually a part of the United Kingdom, so it was my first trip outside the country, though it almost seemed like a technicality. Belfast has some really cool architecture and an astounding amount of history, so walking around the city was pretty cool. Sunday we took a day trip out to Giant's Causeway, about an hour outside of Belfast on Ireland's north coast. It was one of the strangest natural things I've ever seen. It's basically a huge cluster of columns of hexagonal shaped rocks that fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. It looked like a man made patio that rose to sporadic heights, but it was actually formed somehow by volcanos millions of years ago. I'll put up pictures of this peculiar site when someone makes some available to me.

So then there is the future. It's finally time to explore a bit of Europe! This weekend I go to London and Amsterdam. In London I'll get to hang out with Val and Kate, which I couldn't be more excited for. It'll be nice to see some friends from back home, especially Val who I miss a lot. Amsterdam should be amazing as well. Then after that I'm hoping Val makes a trip to Dublin so I can show off my vast knowledge of my large European city. That would probably be mid July, which would be followed by our group trip to Salzburg, Austria the last weekend in July. The last trip we have planned is for Barcelona, Spain the first weekend in August. I really can't believe I'm going to be doing these things. I couldn't be more excited!

As always, I hope all is well back home and hope to hear from you all! Leave comments so I know at least someone is reading my nonsense.

Love you guys.

Pic Dump

Alright, some more pictures from the Galway/Cliffs of Moher trip have surfaced so I thought I'd throw a few up here quick.

A few pictures to tease your appetite.

Pictured above is what is called the Dolmen. Basically it's a tomb that has been, somehow, standing there like that for 6,500 years. That means it's older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian Pyramids. And it's just sitting there in this huge field of rocks. Insane.

This is a shot of the castle tower on The Cliffs of Moher. These pictures are really good, but not the best ones that were taken. Those are even more impressive. This place was just incredible.
Shot of the cliffs facing south.
North again toward the castle. Clearly we walked a long ways. Much farther than we were supposed to.
This is a castle where some psycho killed six of her husbands.
Here is a few of us at the pub in Galway. I believe this was The King's Head, it's been there since mid-evil times or something. All I know is the cover band played Radiohead.
Dance move?
Anyways, more pictures to come I promise!