London: Day 2

London is delivering today on the dreary weather. Good thing is that there is plenty to do indoors, including seeing the platform and the loads of free museums. As I write this I am just south of the British Museum, where I have just seen the Rosetta Stone. Once I finish this coffee it's off to the Globe Theatre, where Shakespeare made his name, and then the palace before finishing up at some more museums on the way back.

London: Day 1

UK immigration was an absolute nightmare today, but when I arrived at Phoenix Hostel it was still too early to check in. So naturally I decided to go ahead and see some of the major sights since it was a beautiful clear day. I was able to see Tower Bridge, London Tower, the Houses of Parliament, the Gherkin, and the eye before checking in for a solid nap. It's now 20:40 and I am gonna go check them out again when it turns dark.

On another note entirely, Guinness really is extraordinarily better here.

It begins...

I had quite a nice little headache last night with KLM/Delta Airlines. It seemed that sometime since booking in January, my itinerary changed and an error in their system resulted in a failure to notify me via email. After a good half-hour on the phone with them, everything appears to be in order (fingers crossed) and I am finally slated to leave for Europe this afternoon as planned. The current plan goes something like this:
-London, England
-Munich, Germany
-Salzburg, Austria
-Linz, Austria
-Vienna, Austria
-Budapest, Hungary(?)
-Berlin, Germany
-return via London

Thanks to new technology, I will hopefully be able to update this blog on-the-go via my smartphone in little snippets. So if there's anybody out there reading this, stay tuned for snippets!

Update from the Midwest

It's been ages since I've gotten to travel now, so this blog has really settled down (read: died). But I do have something in the works: a three-week trip to Europe in May. The current plan entails flying into London, and through a series of planes, trains, and automobiles seeing Berlin, Munich, Linz, Vienna, and potentially Barcelona or Prague. Along the way I'll reconnect with friends from my time abroad and no doubt make a whole slew of new ones.

Expect more as I plan more. As with the four-week expedition into China, I'll be keeping it light with only a carry on bag and maybe a small daypack. This time I'll be retiring that old canvas rucksack in favor of something a bit more modern: the Osprey Porter 46. I've put hours into researching new gear, and have to admit I can't wait to try it out.