Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. The palaces, cathedrals, and architecture do not disappoint, especially when they’re lit up at night! Prague has a great charm, even though it is buzzing with visitors. Upon arrival we walked 4km from the train stop to the hostel with our big backpacks – it would have been entertaining to see us dodging, bobbing and weaving through the crowds!

Prague is a city where it’s great to just walk around! The beauty of the city is evident when looking down most of the streets! And to beat the heat, we ducked into several basement pubs for a cold Czech beer! It’s great having beer cheaper than water or Coca-Cola! My kind of place.

We also stopped in the Museum of Communism, which gave a very interesting view of typical life in the country during the Cold War era. Prague played an important role in the eventual collapse of the USSR with its Velvet Revolution, in which it peacefully transitioned from a communist state to a democratic state. Fascinating history. We also checked out a memorial to the victims of communism – which is the ghoulish looking photo below.

We’re getting ready to head off to Vienna, Austria tomorrow. From there we head east! Until then!

Cheers, Shawn

We made it to Krakow, Poland! On the first evening we found a very chill pub that brews its own beer. The honey beer was to die for! If anyone plans to visit Poland, their beer is top rate! Not only their beer, but their food as well.

We walked into a little restaurant that was attached to a family’s home. Even though we didn’t speak Polish, and our host didn’t speak English, we were able to order a delicious dinner of bacon/cheese pierogies with sauerkraut. On top of this, the prices are great!

But we did more than eat and drink the whole time! Some of the highlights include wandering around the beautiful square, and running into a live outdoors concert. A group of about 12 singers were performing traditional Polish songs – along with honouring the service personnel in Poland’s military.

During one day in Poland, we made a trip out to Auschwitz, the ominous Nazi extermination camp. I knew that this was going to be a heavy experience, but seeing the mountains of prisoners’ shoes, baby clothes, and human hair was very shocking. A staggering 1.2 million people lost their lives here, many of whom were Jewish people. We remember those who lost their lives here, and ensure that nothing like this happens again.

Our time in Poland has been great. The vibe, food, and people were fantastic. I definitely recommend visiting Poland for my fellow travellers. From Krakow we head east to Prague, in the Czech Republic. Until then!

Cheers,

Shawn

Hi everyone,

Due to a recent purchase of a chess board, I’ve been distracted from my blog writing! I’ll try harder to establish a better work/personal life balance, hehe.

We made our way into Germany – first to Cologne and then to Berlin. Cologne was a very chill city to relax and recharge. After traveling for over two months, we’ve come to realize that downtime is a definite must!

Right near our hostel was the beautiful Cologne Cathedral, a fascinating and huge gothic church. Check out the photos. Other highlights include the Roman-German Museum, which contains a vast array of Roman ruins from the era of the Roman Empire, and much more. A must for history buffs everywhere!

On the 30th anniversary of my life’s journey, we hopped a bus to Berlin. Berlin is a city of beauty, history, and charm.  We visited the Topography of Terror, a museum outlining the horrors of the Nazi regime. This was certainly a heavy visit, one to remember those who died/suffered under the regime, and to ensure that it never happens again.

We also visited the remaining portions of the Berlin Wall – quite something to see in person. I can only image what it was like to be here when the wall originally fell! Other highlights of the city include the Brandenburg Gate, the Pergamon Museum (ancient civilizations), the Neues Museum (ancient Egypt), and the Altes Museum (a collection of artifacts, coins, and exhibits from ancient civilizations. Very interesting!

From Berlin we head out to Krakow, Poland. Onwards and forwards!

Cheers, Shawn

Amsterdam is a city like none other! When we flew into the Amsterdam airport, the border officer asked, “What are you doing in the Netherlands?” We replied, “We’re staying at a hostel downtown.” He looked at us, stamped our passports, and replied, “Have fun!”

And fun we had. Jon and I met up with our buddy Mike, who we knew from back in Canada. Now we’re the Canadian trio meandering around Europe! The first day in Amsterdam we wandered around the city and found out some bizarre facts:

• Many of the city’s buildings are not straight and are actually leaning – apparently to make it easier to hoist supplies into the buildings
• Watch out for the bikes and trams! Both will ring a bell when they’re approaching, but will NOT stop for you. Pedestrians beware!
• An open mind goes a long way to making for a peaceful and prosperous society

The Netherlands has a long history of accepting outsiders and permitting social aspects that may be considered taboo. Some examples include religious tolerance before its neighbours, providing a safe environment for those in the prostitution trade, and legalizing marijuana. While these issues are contentious in many parts of the world, Amsterdam has found a way to make it work.

Instead of condemning others for various perceived vices, it may serve the greater good to look at these issues in a real world context, and remember who is worthy to throw the first stone.

Now I promise I’ll get off the soapbox! We checked out some fantastic sites, including the Vincent van Gogh Museum. This 19th century Dutch artist added so much to art as we know it today. A fascinating artist, personality, and legacy! We also checked out the Rijksmuseum, which showcases numerous art pieces, artifacts, and historical exhibits. If you’re in Amsterdam, you must check it out!

While in Amsterdam, we arrived for the worst storm recorded ever for the month of July. While we were wandering around the van Gogh Museum, trees were being ripped from their roots, the trams were shut down, and many umbrellas met their maker! My umbrella was not sparred… luckily I had a poncho that my Dad gave to me prior to starting the trip! Thanks Dad!

All in all, Amsterdam was a blast. Now we head into Germany. Cheers!

I nabbed a few photos from the following site: http://www.amsterdam.info. They permit use of their photos so long as they are credited – I’m getting good with all this copyright stuff!

Ireland was a blast! From Belfast we hopped a bus to the Republic of Ireland, to Galway City. This chill little city was hosting its annual Galway International Arts Festival. The exhibits included a giant whale air balloon, many amazing surreal sculptures by Patricia Paccinini, and much more. Very cool!

We took a day trip from Galway to the Cliffs of Moher. These are some fantastic ocean cliffs that rise 120 meters above the Atlantic Ocean. Standing at the edge and dangling our feet over the edge was quite the experience! We also checked out some fantastic castles.

We then hopped accross the country to Dublin! We had a great pub experience while in the city. We skipped the very touristy Temple Bar area, and found a local pub called The Deer’s Head. The people we met were very friendly and generous. We ended up staying for six hours, but only paid for a few beers. When we shared our backpacking stories and plans, our new friends kept feeding us Guinness, chicken wings, and fries! A true Dublin experience! If you’re in Dublin, check out The Deer’s Head!

Included with the photos is a rather strange statue of Lady Justice. She’s holding her sword in an offensive position, with her back facing the people. Back when the British occupied Ireland, they had a different sense of justice! Not to fear, however, as the Republic of Ireland obtained its freedom in 1921. The history of Ireland is quite fascinating – I recommend Googling it!

Now off to Amsterdam! We’ll try to behave ourselves – until then!

Cheers,

Shawn

We made the journey to Belfast in Northern Ireland, UK. We have enjoyed the beauty of the surrounding area, and learned much about the region’s political history. To be honest, the past troubles of the area brought a heaviness that I haven’t yet experienced on the trip.

We flew into Belfast on July 14, one day after a “Marching Season” riot took place in the city. For some background, Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom (with England, Scotland, and Wales). Northern Ireland has a majority population of Unionists and Protestants, who seek continued union with the United Kingdon, and a minority of Republicans and Catholics who seek to join the Republic of Ireland. Each year during the “Marching Season,” the Unionists march to celebrate the victory of the Unionists over those wanting a united Ireland. Sadly the 2015 celebration resulted in clashes including fire bombs, fires on the street, and confrontations with police.

We took the bus from the airport to the city centre, and then walked to our hostel. While looking around we saw smoldering fire piles from 2 nights ago. The size of these fires must have been huge to smolder for two full days. We saw the very large wall that separate the Republican and Unionist sections of the city. After seeing the rough state of the city on our walk to the hostel, Jon and I wondered what we had gotten ourselves into.

To gain a deeper insight, we hired a local cab driver, Peter, who lived through the past conflicts of Northern Ireland. I won’t go into the details here, but Peter discussed The Troubles that erupted into a near civil war in Northern Ireland. A peace agreement was made in 1998, which set up a strong roadmap to peace for the region. Peter personally lost close family members in the conflicts, but has a strong hope and belief that the situation is and continues to become much better.

Aside from the riots on the 13th, the region continues to be a peaceful and beautiful place. The people that we have met in Belfast have been very welcoming, and are committed to the ongoing peace in this beautiful region! Today the two sides have laid down their arms, and express themselves in artistic murals throughout the city. While some are rather intense, they provide a unique insight into the region’s past. Check out the photos.

Enough with the heavy stuff! Yesterday we had an amazing day trip out to the Giant’s Causeway. This is an amazing sight of natural beauty, with 40,000 basalt columns that form into hexagonal (six-sided) columns. There is a very interesting geographical explanation for how this happened – feel free to Google it for more details! The 40,000 columns go along the coast cliffs of Northern Ireland – a truly beautiful site. The photos are quite fantastic!

The natural beauty of Northern Ireland is astounding. I’ve never quite seen such lushness in the greenery! If you can make it out to Northern Ireland, I highly recommend it. Tomorrow we hop a bus to Galway City, in western Ireland. Onward and forward!

Cheers!

We made the northward journey to Edinburgh and have been enjoying the natural beauty of the city. Earlier today I wandered through Holyrood Park to “Arthur’s Seat,” a beautiful peak overlooking the Edinburgh Castle! Check out the photos.

A trip to Scotland wouldn’t be complete without trying haggis, a tasty dish that includes sheep liver, heart, lung, and stomach. Highly recommended! If you can’t handle the full dish, you can try a sample on your burger!

The Edinburgh Castle is a beautiful medieval castle perched on a high point in the city. According to some researchers, this may have been one of the most attacked fortresses in the world – we managed to avoid the cannon fire!

The galleries and museums in Edinburgh were also very interesting. A main exhibit is the Millennium Clock, which was built to commemorate human suffering of the 20th century. Even though it sounds (and is) rather dark, this was fascinating to see. Every hour the clock and its tower toll and provides an animatronics display. If you’re ever in Edinburgh, check it out at the National Museum of Scotland!

We’ll be flying out to Belfast on July 14th to begin our Ireland adventure. Until then!

Cheers,

Shawn

Hi Everyone,

I know it’s been a while, but I’ve been having too much fun in London! We spent a good ten days in the UK’s capital, checking out all kinds of amazing sights, monuments, museums and shows. We are very grateful to Laura, a fellow traveller and friend that we met in Morocco, for hosting us. We had a blast Laura!

A bonus for budget travellers, most of London’s museums are completely free! This includes the world-class British Museum, which has a stunning array of artifacts from the ancient to modern world, including the Rosetta Stone, sculptures from the Parthenon, and an Egyptian Sphinx (yes this is a huge Sphinx that was somehow transported from Egypt). Some of the other London museums we checked out include the Science Museum, Museum of Natural History, the Tate Modern Art Museum, and the National Gallery. Fantastic!

Of course we also checked out the iconic sites of Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, the changing of the guard, and the Tower of London. We caught London in the midst of an “English heat wave,” temperatures got up to 32 degrees in London. Although this heat is unheard of in London, we had already been acclimatized to it by our time in Spain and Morocco. Even though our stay in London has been the longest of the trip, I feel like we could spend a month longer in this splendid city!

We also have a claim to surviving London during a tube (subway) strike for 1.5 days. While it was chaos trying to cross London during this time, we did appreciate the tube workers for scheduling their strike from 6:30pm on Wednesday until first thing Friday morning. I was half expecting to see the tube workers line up in a queue (line) to start their strike! All was back to normal operations Friday morning so that we could catch our bus north to Edinburgh. I quite enjoy British efficiency!

Now it’s onward to Scotland! Haggis awaits me!

Cheers, Shawn

Made it to the enchanting city of Paris! The cheap flights in Europe are really helping the budget! We are staying in a little community in the outskirts of Paris called Malakoff. It has a quaint feel of a smaller town, but is only a 20 minute metro ride to the city centre. I highly recommend staying in Malakoff to my fellow travellers.

On our first evening here, we hopped the metro to the Arc de Triomphe – a grande monument first ordered built by Napoleon over 200 years ago. While walking underneath the arch I had to remember how small I am in the world!

From the Arc we strolled over to the Eiffel Tower – lit up all nicely as it was night time. It’s quite a site seeing the tower in person. An interesting fact – the Eiffel Tower may have the highest concentration of selfie-stick sellers in the world!

On our second day we headed out to the lavish palace and gardens of Versailles. This site was ordered built by King Louis XIV – a king with fine tastes! The extravagence, style, art, and detail of the palace and gardens is exceptional. Check out the photos!

On our third day we checked out the National Museum of Modern Art. The pieces from Dali, Picasso, an many other prominent artists were inspiring. In the afternoon we ran into a street music festival with very colourful music, costume, and dance! Aftewards we took a spin around Notre Dame Cathedral. The French certainly do have style!

On our fourth and final day, we spent a fully packed day exploring the Louvre – a museum with a staggering collection of paintings, sculptures, relics, lavish apartments, and a collection of sphynxs from Egypt! I was quite surprised to see a full room dedicated to an Egyptian pharoh from the 18th dynasty – Akhenaten. He tried to convert Egypt to a monotheist religion – Google him!

My exerience in Paris has been awesome. The Parisians that we’ve met have been very friendly and helpful. Previously I’ve heard that Parisians could be rude or unfriendly. I’m writing to say that this stereotype is not necessarily true. Even though I speak with terribly broken French, my time here has been great – both due to the city and its beautiful people!

Now we’re off to London! Cheers!