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After I returned to Frankfurt, it took a few days while I waited for the motorcycle to get maintenance done and to renew the registration for the bike. Meanwhile, I took the opportunity to catch up with friends (Tim, great to see you!), a few movies and sleep. I’ve now started the journey west, returning to Portugal where I’ll stay with my friend Pablo for the summer. I left a couple days ago from Frankfurt, stopping in Stuttgart to meet Andy for lunch then continued on to Reconvilier, Switzerland to stay yet again with Michael. There was an annual festival going on in a nearby town and Michael’s hockey team had a tent setup, serving drinks and music, it was a good time. The next day I got up (late) and when I was fully recovered, continued the journey west to Clermont-Ferrand where I am couch surfing at Candice’s place. I’ll stay here an extra day to rest then keep on west tomorrow.

A few friends, Bekah, Cassandre and Lindsey, that I had met in Berlin reunited in Prague for a fun filled couple of days. The ride from Berlin to Prague was the first complete sunny day I had in 2.5 weeks and some of the country side was beautiful. Upon arriving in Prague, I met James and the group grew larger yet. A night out in Prague was followed by a packed day, touring the city and renting a paddle boat which four of us took out on the river while enjoying sangria, baguettes, meat and cheese. One more easy night out was followed by a long travel day: Prague to Frankfurt to London. I started late from Prague and needed to make up travel time so that meant very few breaks. Then I was greeted by thunderstorms as I approached ever closer to Frankfurt. As I was within the city’s grasp, rush hour started while the rain continued to flow. Running dangerously short on time I diverted directly to the airport, stripped out of my motorcycle gear in the parking garage, threw on street clothes and hopped a plane from Frankfurt to London. I slept for a few hours at London-Heathrow airport then caught a plane back to Frankfurt at 6 AM. As ridiculous as this sounds, it was necessary in order to keep my round-the-world ticket valid. If I would skip any legs of the ticket, the rest of the flights would have been canceled. So having traveled to UK via motorbike and ferry, no longer needing the flight from Frankfurt to London to travel around the UK, I simply pushed the two flights back to back to keep the ticket alive and waste as little time as possible. As unnecessary as this sounds, things work out in funny ways. One of the first friends I met along my journey, Andy, whom I met in the Blue Mountains of Australia happened to be returning from Australia after 9 months abroad and arriving this morning as well. So after a bit of pre-coordination we met up in the airport and grabbed some coffee and exchanged tails from the last 9 months. I got to witness his reunion with family after 9 months away and meet them all as well, it was one of the best mornings I’ve had yet! All the best back home Andy!

I left off while in Invergordon, a town tucked away in the Scottish Highlands. As planned, upon leaving made my way across Scotland to catch a ferry that delivered me right into Belfast. Other than it being a long traveling day that started at sunrise, it was uneventful until the evening. I arrived at the hostel in Dublin around 6 PM, dropped off my stuff, met up with James and his friends and we were off. We all grabbed some food then went out for a night on the town. Belfast nightlife was…interesting. The next day I made the short journey to Dublin which was a very unpleasant day. It was hard rain, wind and cold for the entire journey. My gear was soaked to the extent that 2 days wasn’t enough time to dry it out. But the day had a wonderful balance to it as I met up with my friend Brian as well as met a couple new friends at the hostel and we grabbed a bite to eat and then myself, Brain, and Ray Ray hit the town. The next day was spent in bed. (I managed to get out in the early evening and take a stroll and grab some food). The next day was another grueling journey, starting with a 8 AM ferry ride from Dublin to Holyhead in the UK, then I ride clear across the country to Canterbury. After a couple hours riding, I noticed the chain looking not so good. So I located a motorcycle shop nearby and had them do some emergency maintenance work. So that turned a long day into a really long day, arriving in Canterbury around 10:30 PM. Canterbury, which is a lovely place and Kipps Hostel is awesome, was just a pit-stop for the continuing journey the next morning that put me onto yet another ferry, traveling from Dover to Calais, France and then through France, Belgium into the Netherlands and Amsterdam. The journey took twice as long as I anticipated as it was plagued by thunderstorms, which were unridable, and a lightning strike that was merely 200 yards off. But the spoils of “victory” were again worth it. After a nights rest in Amsterdam, my friends Alex and Sanne, whom I met in Barcelona, were so kind as to take days off work to show me around the entire city and invite me along to a mid-week party. The next morning it was back on the move and I settled on making another long journey to Berlin, which was worth it. A group of us that met at the hostel went out for a couple drinks and then two of us went on a walking tour of Berlin today which was great to hear the specific history on the triumphs and tragedy that happened within this city. Tomorrow I’m off to Prague!

Hahaha just messing, I’m in the Scottish Highlands at the moment, 25 miles north of Inverness at a remote hostel. Besides a few other travelers, the hostel is also shared with some cats, chickens and a peacock (the bird family stays outside). Rewinding a few days, after leaving London and the wonderful week getting to see dear friends and having a great time hanging out with Mom, I made my way to York and stopped over for the evening at a peaceful hostel located on the outskirts of the city. The next day I made the journey to Edinburgh where I had an eventful couple days. Edinburgh is a beautiful city full of life, and the hostel where I stayed is located at the foot of Edinburgh Castle. At the hostel, I met a couple guys from the States, Alex and Robert, and we hit the town both nights and had a blast. Alex likes to cook so graciously made dinner for the 3 of us both nights, I supplied the beer and soon “Brooklyn!” became the household joke (it’s from the Simpsons). Our entourage kept growing after the first night when stray single travelers joined our group, one of which was a wonderful Londoner named Jess. After saying goodbye to my new friends and departing Edinburgh, I made my way into the Highlands and towards the hostel I’m at now. I’ll be leaving tomorrow, making a long journey to Stranraer to catch a ferry to Belfast where I will meet up with James, a friend I met in New Zealand. Can’t wait!