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To quickly catch up to speed, after I couch surfed in Clermont-Ferrand at Candice’s place (Thank you so much Candice, Ben and Max! I had an awesome time!) I did a 700 KM journey to Bilbao. There was a summer solstice festival going on throughout the city and people were lighting big ban fires all around. I took a long stroll through the city and visited the Guggenheim and got some great pictures, but can’t upload them now because the internet here is awful. After Bilbao, I stayed a night in Salamanca. I went to a local bar while there and watched a football (soccer) match between USA and Spain. USA won 2-0! I was tempted to start cheering, but didn’t have enough beers to convince myself it would be funny. Then I made the final leg of the journey to Baleal, Portugal. Since arriving, I’ve met up with my friend Pablo and we’ve hit the surf as much as possible. We also found a great deal on an awesome apartment on the Island of Baleal (Ilha do Baleal) where we will stay through August. Again, I would upload pictures but the internet is terrible and it’s prepaid so it’s expensive. I picked up my surf board and wet suit yesterday and ditched the rentals I’d been using and am anxious to get out and try it today, but first I need to get the motorcycle battery recharged as it is our only means of transport between towns (AKA grocery getter lol).

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!

Since Tornavacas, I stopped at a very small town, Aurizberri, near the France-Spain border, in midst of a mountain pass outside of Pamplona, Spain. I had planned on staying in the city, but bad weather added to the chaos of trying to find the hostel (that I didn’t particularly want to stay at), so I continued on until it got too dark, the road got too windy and I got too tired. Luckily I dipped into a brand-new hostel in the middle of nowhere that was closing for the night within minutes. The next day I took off early and continued to cruise country roads through the remainder of Spain and France. I was headed in the general direction of Tours and made it as far as Dangé-Saint-Romain, but not before getting run over in a toll station. Somewhere in the middle of the day, near Orthez, I pulled up behind a guy who apparently only had credit card and was in the cash only lane. Due to his overpacked car, when he threw his car into reverse and gassed it, he had no idea I was behind him. He ran his car up the front wheel of the bike and I held onto it before dropping it and jumping out of the way. He didn’t speak any English which made the situation all the more comical. Long in short, the fender was knocked off the front tire, but easily fixed and that was the extent of the damage. He gave me 100 euros for my trouble and to keep the police out of the picture. The next day was a speedy ride to Boulogne, getting there as early as possible to get some rest for the early and eventful day to come, which included an early morning ride to Calais (a main port city to catch a ferry from France to the UK) and the ride into London (on the left side of the road) where’d I’d be meeting up with my Mom. And what a week it has been! We tackled both London and Paris, in addition I got to have a New Zealand reunion with Danny and Todd (awesome to see you guys) in London, was out until sunrise then caught the train the next morning to Paris where my friend and new friend, Anzhelika and Bryndís, met up with us and gave a wonderful tour around Paris (thanks yet again!). Kira, who I also met in Barcelona with Anzhelika, and the rest of their Paris crew met up later and we drank the night away. Of course we hit the main tourist attractions in both London in Paris, as well as took a day trip from London to see Windsor Castle, Bath and Stonehenge. Outside of that it was pretty much the norm, my Mom pole dancing on the London subway, asking people if they “Want to have fun?” What more could you ask for? LOL! Joking aside, it was a wonderful week!

p.s. I’ve been recommended to advise that when viewing photos, especially panoramics, you can continue to click on the image past the page with the title to enlarge the image to full resolution. You’ll know when you’ve got it because the picture will be &^%*ing huge. It’s worth it for the panoramics!

A lot has happened in the last 11 days. First, a special thanks to Michael for the hospitality in Switzerland. I had an awesome time hanging out with him, Vincent and friends in Reconvilier and the surrounding towns. The fondue was awesome and the pick up hockey was a huge bonus! So after delaying the departure from Reconvilier a couple days, I made the journey to Nice, France. It was long but beautiful (at times), which included passing through 4 major cities and crossing two mountain ranges, part of which was through the Mont Blanc Tunnel. Nice is wonderful, except my experience was limited to the hostel due to illness and time constraints. I woke early the next morning, with nearly no voice left, and made the journey to Sète, France. The ride was again breathtaking and Sète is an intricate city well worth the visit. Of course I regret now not taking photos, but for lack of better words felt like shit and had a fast developing infection in a cut on the bottom of my foot which was occupying my thoughts. The plan for the next day was to head 100 KM north into France, stopping near the town of Millau to experience the world’s highest bridge, and then head straight back south and onwards to Barcelona. I woke to a throbbing foot and rain, but couldn’t let that deter the adventure. The bridge is epic in proportion and the setting is almost too picturesque, with the town of Millau sitting far below in the valley west of the bridge. Then continued ride to Barcelona was uneventful, but reached a crescendo as I entered the city. It was alive and traffic was chaos. I took full advantage of having a motorcycle in rush hour traffic, zooming between cars, skipping to the front of red light queues and blazing down the bus lanes. And Barcelona only got better. The hostel was fantastic and the people were even better. The effect carried over to my immune system, healing up my foot and illness in no time. There was a hostel arranged night out on the town which brought us to a small but well styled club. In addition, the Barcelona football (soccer) team won the first of three potential championship games and the city went nuts. Flags flying and horns honking city wide, making rush hour look docile. I met couple friends, Anzhelika and Kira, who had been studying in Paris and taking the last weeks of there time in Europe to do a bit a traveling and we had a hell of a time taking in all of Barcelona we could, rainstorms and all. In addition, serendipitously met a couple from Netherlands, Alex and Sanne, who treated me to a beer and offered to take me around Amsterdam when I past though, I can’t wait! After saying goodbye to my new friends, whom I’ll be seeing shortly in Paris, I made the 650 KM journey to Madrid. It was a grueling day. The weather was nice but the wind was intense, and a late start and long ride put me into Madrid near midnight, exhausted (getting lost in Madrid didn’t help either). I checked into the hostel, or at least tried but had to wait 40 minutes for a group of 20 to check in before me. So I went down to the hostel bar and drank a few beers, looking extra creepy in full motorcycle gear and feeling illness coming back due to the stress of the days ride and lack of sleep in Barcelona. After finally checking in, I dropped my stuff off, changed, grabbed a couple more beers and decided to call it a night. I slept late the next day and through the night could feel my body’s internal fight, doing all it could to ward off illness. Despite it’s best efforts, a poorly run hostel with dirty bed sheets and pillow cases, as well as stuffy, extremely hot and noisey rooms contributed to a blazing eye infection and increase illness. With one eye crusted shut, I dragged myself out of bed only to discover my pants were nowhere to be found. Even though I have two pair of the rather stylish zip-off all-purpose pants, the ones missing contained my wallet (money, currency collection from all over the world, credit cards, ATM card, license and Euro-version-AAA card, etc) as well as my motorcycle keys, luggage keys and chain key. Scrambling, it was soon obvious they were nowhere to be found. Trying to calm myself, I grabbed a shower and thought about WTF I was going to do. Only having one day in Madrid to enjoy the city I didn’t want this to cause any more problems then it inevitably would already, so I jumped on Skype, canceled all the cards, ordered replacements and had some emergency cash wired to me (thanks Mom!). And luckily I have a spare set of keys for the bike, except not for the luggage and remain locked out of half of it, which has all my camping gear. I managed to still make a day of it and enjoyed Madrid after loading up on eye drops and coffee. Funny how the body works when you refuse to have anything but a good time. By the next morning, I was half-healed and during the peaceful trip to Lisbon, the sun and fresh air managed to clear up most the rest. And Lisbon was just what the doctor ordered, what an amazing city. The vibe, the geography, architecture and people (the perfect weather helped too). The hostel was one of the top I’ve stayed at the people matched. Special thanks to Aaron and Min for making the stay in Lisbon all the better. I set off from Lisbon around midday today, taking all country roads through Portugal and Spain, a level of peace I haven’t experienced in quite sometime. I have 4 days and 3 nights to make my way 2000 KM to Calais, France to catch a ferry to Dover, UK then to ride to London where I’ll meet my Mom for what is shaping up to be one hell of a week. I made it to a small town called Jerte where I couldn’t find the hostel. It was around 8 PM and I decided to continue on and see what happens. I went another 20 KM or so before spotting an awesome hostel off the main road just outside Tornavacas, Spain. It is a wonderful place, Puerto de Tornavacas, I highly recommend it. Tomorrow I’ll keep making my way towards Calais.

Stepping back for a moment, I’ve traveled nearly 12000 KM through Europe, spanning the entire continent and it’s been one hell of a journey, the highest highs and the lowest lows, including a motorcycle accident in Croatia that I failed to blog about, summing up to the experience of a lifetime, loving every moment. But this wouldn’t have been possible without all the wonderful people in my life who have helped out along way and for that I feel blessed and wanted to stop and thank you all. From the people whom I’ve had only single, but inspiring conversations and may never see again to the people that are there no matter what happens, ready to lend a hand if needed. So to all of my friends I’ve met along the way I want to give thanks and say that you’ve truly made this journey worth making, enriching it, blessing it and I hope I have done the same for you. With love, Tim.

After a painful repair bill in Vienna, I made the a late ride to Munich. A friend met in Vienna, Pablo, and myself met up around midnight and didn’t waste anytime sampling the nightlife. The next day we went around Munich, checking out surfers in the park that catch an artificial wave in a fast flowing creek, the city center, the BMW Museum, Olympic Park and ended the evening at Hofbrauhaus, where some tables are reserved for life and only the family or invited friends can sit at said table. That brings me to yesterday and the weather couldn’t have been better for the ride from Munich to Reconvilier, a town about an hour north of Bern, Switzerland, where I’m staying with a friend I met in Hong Kong. On the way here I detoured to Neuschwanstein Castle, in Germany and snapped some photos after illegally riding up the road to the base of the castle, oops. I’ll be in Switzerland for a couple days before starting the journey through France and Spain, into Portugal.

Vienna is truly a beautiful city. Average buildings are picture worthy and sprawling parks are plentiful. Besides the multiple walking tours of the city, I met quite a few fellow travelers, including a group from the States and a gent from Chile. The pace has been slow, but eventful. On the second night here, my new friend Pablo from Chile and I attended the Hungarian Folk Music jam session put on by my local friend Peter and his band. It was of course a good time and the music was great, special thanks to Peter for the invite. Since we’ve hit a couple bars with the guys from the States, who also got me hooked on playing dominoes, and made our way to a local karaoke bar which was a good time as well. I spent today walking around some palace grounds, which at times seemed endless. It was so beautiful I had to go back for seconds this evening. Tomorrow I find out if the motorcycle is ready, if so I’ll be on my way.

After resting an extra day in Sofia, I continued the journey into Serbia. The ride leaving Sofia, Bulgaria into Serbia and onward to Belgrade was much more pleasant than I expected. Likewise, upon arriving in Belgrade, I was impressed at the city’s quality. It is by far a nicer place than Sofia. As I rode around the city looking for the hostel I ran into Eddie who I met at the hostel in Sofia. He had heard about a music festival going on in one of the parks, so after a quick shower and chat with some fellow travelers at the hostel, we set out to roam around Belgrade and eventually make our way to the music festival. We ended up meeting a group of people from Belgrade also going to the concert so we joined with them and had a good time listening to techno and rock in the park. Unfortunately I only got a few pictures of Belgrade and didn’t get any of the main sightseeing bits as it was late by the time we set off. I set off the next morning for Budapest, Hungary. The ride was very windy which made it tiring and the scenery was that of Midwest USA, although I had a good time blowing through Serbian toll booths. When I arrived in Budapest, having studied the map a few times over, I managed to go straight to the hostel without getting lost. I stayed at a place called the Goat Hostel which was small but wonderful. It was already 7 PM by the time I got settled in so the night consisted of chatting up other people staying at the hostel as well as heading down the street for some Turkish food. I spent the next day walking around most part of central Budapest, snapping some great pictures of the city before packing up and heading on to Vienna. I would have like to stay in Budapest longer as it is a beautiful city and things are quite cheap, but a pressing service appointment at the BMW dealer in Vienna didn’t allow. So I arrived in Vienna last night, brought the motorcycle to the service center early this morning and am now “stuck” in Vienna for 6 days while they handle repairs. Tonight I’ll be heading to a bar to watch a friend, who I met in Stuttgart, play folk music with his band. Folk music + Vienna = ? (the answer has to be fun, right?)