An Eastern European Adventure

Flash forward two years, May 17, 2009, I graduate with a BS in Civil Engineering from U of I, and my girlfriend at the time and I plan a trip to Eastern Europe prior to starting our respective lives in the 'real world.' The following week, we book a flight for (you're never going to believe this price) - $505 Round Trip Flight from Chicago to Munich returning Berlin to Chicago from June 7 to July 7, 2009. Slovenia and Turkey (Turkey checks off the continent of Asia!) were the highlights of the trip, two places that we knew absolutely NOTHING about prior to the trip. Such are the joys of backpacking - we had a semi-planned itinerary, but we winged the trip day by day, planning two to three days in advance at the most. Each location you visit, you meet someone new who recommends something new, you google it, simply because you've never heard of it, and you decide, "Hell yes I'm going there," and all of a sudden your 'planned' itinerary has changed. I call these locations "hidden gems" - places you'll never read about, but you learn via word of mouth. They are some of the most rewarding / best sites to see and to explore.

Six new countries toured, a missed flight home, with a 24 hour detour to Paris because of it, later, we arrived back home to my mom welcoming us home at O'Hare. Eventually, she hands me me my cell phone (my glorious good ole red flipadelphia phone - RIP). Ugh, I didn't want it, I didn't want to see it, I didn't want to touch it, I wanted to be back in Europe, anywhere in the world traveling, disconnected from everything, not a care in the world, but "what am I going to do tomorrow." I didn't want to take my backpack off. It contained everything I needed for a month, it was my home, my everything.

Next thing I know, reality hits, I start my job a month after I return, and from day one, I look forward to my next international adventure....in January, my friends Tim, Mike, and I decide to book a flight to Costa Rica....

A Life Changing Month - Western Europe

My trip began...well it almost didn't, I missed my local bus to the bus station, I was fortunate enough to catch a ride, caught my bus barely... two hours later, I arrive in Nottingham, Home to Robinhood, and I proceed to fail to flag down the local bus (every 30 minutes to the airport) and almost miss my flight, but fortunately there were a whopping FOUR gates in the entire airport. This would mark the beginning of 'walking on the tarmac' being the norm to board planes at small European airports.

That day, Saturday, March 17th, 2007 I began the journey that truly taught me the joys of backpacking. I posted a note on Facebook on March 16th, 2007 simply describing my excitement, it was hard to put it into words. I cannot wait to write this exact blurb of excitement later tonight or tomorrow about New Zealand. Anyway, 32 days later, I had trekked to 20 cities in Western Europe spanning 7 new countries. I had several friend's Spring Break itineraries and met up with various people in each city, met fellow travelers to hang out and travel with. I did most of the physical traveling alone and journalled every thought that came to my mind. All in all, despite travelling alone, I spent only 2 days entirely alone, 30 of the days I met up with friends or had made friends in the current or previous city. This is one of the best parts of backpacking. Backpackers have a certain connection, across the world, and are all driven to see, enjoy, and understand more about the world and other cultures. During this trip I fell in love with not only Europe, but I learned that one of the most rewarding things of traveling is the people who you meet, how you meet them, and the stories that fabricate from your time together.

That being said, I Love Hostels.

I shit you not, that is a hostel I stayed at, it was 13 euros per night. They make every trip that much better. Almost every one I have been to has been clean, secure, and they are an intricate part of each backpackers experience, not just because of the low price, but to meet fellow backpackers. I wish Americans didn't have such a skewed view of them, they are one of the best experiences while traveling.

Digressing back to my Western Europe Adventure.....Countless stories later, I arrived back at 20:52 at the Leeds Train Station on April 16, 2007 - yes, seriously, I remember the time. This trip was life changing and I knew it.

A month later, I met up with my parents in Scotland after they spent a week in Germany & Austria. We had "a brilliant time" together and enjoyed many memories. Finals came and went, and I enjoyed every last minute with my British mates for the few short weeks that I had left before it was time for me to return 'across the pond' to 'the states.' I cried my eyes out when I left, because I knew I would miss my friends, but I realized how incredible of an experience I had for the past 5 months. I never wanted it to end, however it was time to go.

I couldn't wait for my next adventure to begin! I had caught the infamous "travel bug" and as I let the trip soak in over the following weeks, I knew that I wanted to see as much of the world as I could during my life time.

Studying Abroad: The Beginning of My Global Adventures

Good morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening, and Good Night,


This is the glory of traveling throughout the world in this day and age....I post this blog at night, and it's the afternoon for my family in Chicago, the morning for my Grandparents in Vegas, and the Evening for my mates who I studied abroad with in England. Never did I realize, prior to January 2007, that I would have such an affinity for something that I had never experienced before...on the international scale anyway. I was fortunate to have traveled many of the beautiful Western United States on family vacations and a few short visits to the east coast - NYC, DC, and various locations in Florida...Never, however, had I left the country - that all changed January 17, 2007.

I packed up my belongings to live in England for 5 months, got a ride to the airport with my family, shed some tears, and my college roommate, Mark Schaffer and I boarded a plane from O'Hare to Manchester, England. Our excitement flying over Ireland and finally to England, where the cars were on the left side of the road, was unparalleled. We were actually flying over Europe, we knew this was a whole new chapter in our life that we were opening - but little did I know, how much it would change my life and how much I would learn. We parted ways, and I was on a train, on zero hours sleep, to Leeds, England, my home for the next five months. I knew no one, I was alone, but I was ready to face this challenge head on.

I arrived at my dorm, Bodington Hall - Seton House. It couldn't have been more than a minute until I heard the friendly greeting, "Hello Mate!!"...and next thing I knew, within 5 minutes of being there, my newly found friends were whisking me away to the local pub, in true British Fashion, for my first legal pint. I had a Tetley's Cask Ale - a local Leeds brew - my lips, my taste buds, my mind....I couldn't get enough of it. I already felt at home, and at this moment, I knew that I was going to have the time of my life here.

Over the next few weeks, I grew more and more accustomed to living in another country and a different culture, and I loved discussing the cultural differences with each new Brit I met. Three weeks later, I had my first 'backpacking' experience - a 2 hour train ride for a weekend in London, where I was meeting up with every University of Illinois student who was studying abroad in England - 20 to 30 students in all. Little did I know that this word "backpacking" which I did not fully understand at the time, would carve my life in a way I never thought it could. I had a great weekend, and was excited to plan further travels - within the next month, I spent a weekend in Liverpool, took a long weekend trip to Paris for 5 days, followed a week later by a 3 day weekend in Dublin and the Irish Countryside.

The next weekend was a pub crawl across campus, and it more than lived up to the hype, "The Otley Run" is a social get together (read: 'pub crawl') to 17 pubs along Otley Road, stretching 3 miles through downtown Leeds. The Goal - Have a pint of beer at each pub...oh, and this is almost always "Fancy Dress" or Themed, so everyone in your group is in costume. My whole dorm did it together - about 25 of us, and it was an absolute blast. One day, after a late night out, two of my best mates and I decided to go do another one...and one of them had an exam later that day...on a whim, just us 3...and it leads to new adventures....<---- The Condiment Challenge.

This would mark the last weekend of my life that I would not have the constant desire to see the world and expand my horizons. The following Saturday marked the first day of my life changing month long Western Euro-Trip.