Love Is Everywhere!

LIKE ALWAYS, MY PICTURES CAN BE FOUND AT www.flickr.com/photos/jamierushell. I know I haven't written in a really long time, But I did say in my first blog that I make no promises as to my consistency! After Prague I went to Bratislava, Slovakia - it's a beautiful historical city, but really small. I did get a free private tour, though! I was out in the town center and met a guy originally from Nigeria who grew up in the UK. He's been studying history in Bratislava for two years, so he took me all around the city and actually knew most of the stories behind all the sights. And as far as random nights go, I think Bratislava holds the title so far! A group of about 12 of us went to a shisha/"chill out" bar one night and just as we were getting ready to leave a waitress and bartender came out and put a giant loaf of buttered bread with chopped onions (a Slovakian thing, I guess?) on our table and gave us each a free shot. Next, a guy wearing wooden clogs came around and served everyone pickled sausages out of a wooden wagon! We saw a sign that we think explained what it was all about, but of course it was in Slovakian so we still have no clue. But that just adds to the randomness, I guess! My next stop was Ljubljana, Slovenia (pronounced loob-lee-ana), where I met a group of about six guys travelling the heavy metal festival circuit through Europe. Ljubljana is another small historical town really only known for it's palace. The great thing is part of the palace is open through the night, so you can get great views of the city and the mountains in both light and dark. There was a beautiful lightning storm one night, too! It had been so hot before that I was just excited to see rain again. I also found another artist squat turned bar, similar to Tacheles in Berlin, but the artists didn't live there anymore. There was a small stage inside for live bands, but most of the tables were outside, among the art. The outer wall of one building was all done in mosaic using broken dishes, bottles, and jars, and also had a miniature David-like sculpture. The other buildings had all different styles of decoration: painting, sculpture, graffiti, mosaic - you name it. I didn't stay long in Ljubljana before moving on to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, where I had my first couchsurfing experience! There were two people who lived in the flat, and three of us were surfing there, so there were lots of people to meet. While we were there one of the other surfers and I met up with two local girls who had previously surfed with him. They showed us all around the city before taking us out for a traditional Croatian lunch; it was more or less a kebab, but still really good. Later I took myself to see the new Harry Potter movie, because I felt like I was missing out - I still haven't read the new book yet! I took a night train to a beach town called Split and didn't realize until I got there that I'd left my wallet at the train station in Zagreb - I don't recommend that anyone do that. I did lose my debit card but luckily I still had my credit card, so it was only a minor hassle. I stayed in a great little guesthouse while in Split, where my roommates were a Chilean girl, three turtles that live in the garden, and a baby lizard who hung out on the wall by my bed. I did a bit of sightseeing in Split - the city center is built inside the ruins of the old castle and castle walls. For the most part, though, I sat at the beach and didn't do anything worthwhile with my time - which is exactly what I had gone there to do! I moved on from Split to Munich, Germany, where all my plans changed completely, and still are changing! I was going to stay for about a week just to relax a bit, but once I got to the Tent, an ex-hippy commune turned campground just outside the city, I quickly decided to stay for three weeks. I met some of the most amazing people there, lots of whom were staying the whole summer, or at least a few weeks. Almost immediately I met an American named Sarah, and two Lauras - an English one and an Australian. There were loads of cool guys there, but I think we all kind of missed having "girlfriends" so we all got pretty close. Then there's Dominik, a legend at the Tent. He was born and raised in Germany, but fancies himself Irish. He speaks fluent English with a perfect Irish accent, and knows most Irish folk songs better than the Irish do. For some reason even he can't seem to explain, he's fallen in love with the Irish culture. He's the type you either love or you hate, though - he's a punk with a red mohawk who wears a kilt all the time and comes off as pretty extreme. You can't help but be friends with him, though! We had a campfire every night and nearly always someone had a guitar, and I got to introduce s'mores to all the non-Americans! While in Munich I was able to get a job handing out flyers for the free bike tour, which was great because it gave me something to do during the days and put a bit of extra cash in my wallet. If anyone's going to Munich soon, ask me for the spiel about how great the tour is! Of course I did some sightseeing as well - Munich especially, but Bavaria as a whole has a lot of really interesting history. I'm finding I like Germany more and more every time I learn something new about it. Aussie Laura and I made a day trip to see Neuschwanstein Castle - the famous one that the Disney castle is modeled after. We didn't go inside, but we hiked all around it and saw lots of gorgeous views of the castle and the surrounding area. We were also able to hike to the bottom of a waterfall flowing straight from the Alps. I don't know if it was just my imagination, but when we filled our bottles, it really was the best water I've ever tasted! My favorite place in Munich, I think, was the Death Park. It's a children's park near the campsite that children should never be allowed to play at! All the toys spin or rock or swing or do something to make you fall off them - it's near impossible to leave the Death Park without a wound and a story to go with it. One of my last days in Munich I woke up with no plans, but feeling a bit drastic. By the end of the day my hair was black and purple and I had a shiny new nose piercing! I'm not really sure what happened - it started with purple tips for the Love Parade, and one thing just let to another. I'm quite happy with my changes, though. When it was finally time to leave the Tent I couldn't believe the time had gone so quickly - I'd just gotten there! But now I had someone to travel with: an Australian named Christina who'd been at the Tent for about a week. She came with me to the Love Parade in Essen, Germany, where this year's theme was "Love is Everywhere". That was their way of flipping the bird to Berlin, who's been trying to get rid of the parade for years. Essen was also my second couchsurfing experience - and it was even better than the first. We stayed with a guy named Gunther, who showed us all around the city and introduced us to some of his friends. I don't think this year's Love Parade lived up to the reputation it had in Berlin, but it was still absolutely fantastic! We got there early and people watched until the music started, then we walked the parade route for a while dancing behind all the different floats. There was nowhere to sit down (Essen's one major flaw that Berlin didn't have), so Christina and I went home to rest for a bit before going to the main stage for the final show. We hadn't been meeting many people until we got the idea (or rather, stole the idea from two German guys) to make a Free Hugs sign, and we were suddenly so popular! We met lots of locals to dance with for the finale, which was a great show. Blue Man Group even made a surprise appearance! After being in Munich my plans to stick to Eastern Europe fell through, so Christina and I went to Brugge, Belgium after the Love Parade. My first time travelling everyone told me I had to go to Brugge because it was so beautiful and amazing. It was beautiful, but I think my expectations were a bit high. I found it pretty small and touristy; Belgium is famous for it's waffles and fries, though, so of course we had to indulge in he local delicacies. A group of us from the hostel did meet some locals while there, and a few of us got a (pretty bad) tour of the city that consisted of things like "this is where I went to school till I was 8" and "this is the intersection where I fell off my bike and broke my arm once." After two days in Brugge, the next was Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, which so far is one of my favorite cities. It's a student and artist city, with so much see and do! We spent an entire day going to different art galleries and quirky shops. We even attended an art show opening party, but didn't feel posh enough to stay long. We spent another day exploring the city looking for street art - and there's heaps to be seen! We found a few different "series" of stickers that we followed all over town, and we saw spray painted shoes hung up all over the city! They were all brand new k-swiss shoes, that had been painted black and were strung up on signs, posts, bike racks, or whatever else they would stay on. Naturally, I stole a pair as a souvenir. We also got to see a skateboard/BMX/breakdancing competition, which was something random and out of the ordinary to do. Christina and I came to Amsterdam the other day, where we're staying at another campsite outside the city, and have been searching for more street art. Tomorrow, though, we go our separate ways! She's still decided between France and Spain, and I'm flying back to Ireland (but to the North this time) to visit my friend Damon, who was a staff member at the Tent - I just can't get away from my Munich friends!