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November 11, 2008

thoughts from the ferry

Travel Advice Comments Off on thoughts from the ferry

10/11/2008 – 8:05PM

Right, so I’m safely on the ferry and just now leaving the port in Bari. I’m notoriously late. Luckily, I wasn’t even running behind today. I was on the boat by 6:30. I was shocked to see the ferry leaving port at 7:50 – ten minutes before its scheduled departure. With my luck, its amazing I wasn’t running to see the bloody boat leaving without me.

I’ve just in the past five minutes realized one of the biggest downsides to traveling solo (at least traveling solo on a ferry where the vast majority of the passengers speak either Greek or Italian): I have no one to share my thoughts with. Normally, this isn’t a huge deal. But, when you have a really funny thought – as in a thought that makes you literally laugh out loud, as I just was – you really want to share it with someone. Since I don’t (damn you Brian), I decided to quick open the laptop and share it with any of the readers that still check my blog.

So, some quick background: One of the things I did this summer was hike the Great Glen Way, a 79 mile hike from Fort William to Inverness in the Highlands of Scotland. It was an outstanding week – also, as you can imagine, very exhausting. Brian and I rough camped along the way. To save weight, I ended up buying what is called a Hennessy Hammock – a lightweight (1.9kg) and compact hammock which serves as a tent. While not terribly warm, it was very practical for the hike Brian and I did. You might be thinking, ‘How can you sleep in a hammock?” Indeed, this was my thought as well. But, after trying one out, I was sold. I sleep just as well if not better than I do in a normal bed.

So, I’m on the ferry, as you know. With my InterRail pass I was essentially able to get a free trip to Greece (with the exception of paying port taxes, E7). The only stipulation is I don’t have a cabin – I have an oversized airplane seat. As I was just looking around the cabin, I noticed some thrifty travelers had already staked out their spot on the floor with their sleeping bags or blankets. I erupted into laughter when I imagined myself stringing my hammock up between two of the pillars in the cabin. I may actually see if they’ll let me. If not in the cabin, maybe on the outside deck. I can’t imagine it will be any colder than it was in the Highlands.

That’s it for now. cheers

October 28, 2008

breakfast in munich. lunch in salzburg. dinner in budapest.

Europe, Mainland Europe, Travel Photos 3 Replies

28.10.2008 – 10:12am

I’m just over one week into my three week InterRail journey throughout Europe. As I write this post, I’m sitting on a train going from Munich to Salzburg. I’ll spend the day in Salzburg before catching a train to Budapest.

I’m fully convinced train travel is the most enjoyable way to travel. If possible, I’d never again set foot on an airplane – let alone a bloody airport full of ques, chaos, security checks, baggage weight limits, and the list could go on. I’m sitting in a six-person cabin which Brian and I have to ourselves. There’s plenty of legroom with no one telling me to wear my seatbelt or when I can and can’t go to the toilet. Instead of the sounds of jet engines and views of only clouds, I’m listening to the clicking of the train tracks and watching the green, mountainous, countryside of southern Germany slowly pass by. I believe you feel much more connected to your journey on a train – you’re able to see the ground you cover and watch the landscapes gradually change.

I greatly enjoyed my three days spent in southern Germany – in Bavaria. Munich was lovely; a perfectly sized city of just over one million people. One million welcoming, laid back, and beer loving people – on average, Germans drink over 130 liters of beer a year. Munich is the perfect example of a city where you could come to spend a week and stay a lifetime. If only I knew German. Other than hello, goodbye, please, and thank you, “Noch zwei dunkle bitte,” is as far as I got. ‘I’d like two more dark beers please.”

Brian and I had our first German breakfast with our couchsurfing host, Tami. Tami took us to a large, open, Bavarian beer hall with tiled floors, dark wooden benches, and a high ceiling where we had pretzels, white sausages, and a wheat beer. Beautiful. I guess there are certain beers you drink at certain times of the day – a fruity wheat beer according to Tami is a breakfast beer. We unfortunately didn’t have much of a chance to get to know Tami as she left Saturday afternoon to see her boyfriend in France. She did give us the perfect introduction to Bavaria.

On Saturday afternoon, Brian and I had a couple hours to kill before catching a train to see the Neuschwanstein Castle in Fussen; the castle is a 19th century Bavarian palce and is one of the most photographed buildings in Germany. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and we decided we would grab a beer in one of Munich’s many biergartens. Our afternoon got off to a questionable start. We found ourselves a sunny table and sat down. Unlike the UK or Ireland, you don’t go to the bar to get your beers. Instead, a waitress comes to your table and takes your order … or so we thought. We sat down and waited. And waited. And waited. Something wasn’t right; there were two or three waitresses running around with food and beers, but none of them seemed to take notice of us.

Finally, someone took pity on us, “This table,” they said in broken English, “is reserved for everyday people.” I later found out that we were sitting in a Stammtisch – a regulars’ table. The waiters and waitresses will refuse service to tourists who occupy a local patron’s table. Some luck! We moved tables, and soon we had two 1 liter steins of Bavarian pilsner to enjoy.

So, I’ll be in Salzburg, Austria, by 11am to spend the day and hopefully go on some Salzburg tours. If all goes as planned, I’ll catch the 5pm train and be in Budapest by 11pm tonight. mk

This post was made possible by Local Salzburg Tours. 

April 1, 2008

week in ireland

Ireland Comments Off on week in ireland

After a week long holiday in Ireland, I’m back home in Edinburgh. And, I must say, it was a terrific trip. As I mentioned in my last post, I was quite stressed in the days working up to my departure from the Burgh. I wanted a perfect week for Lauren and myself. Nearly everyone I voiced my concerns to in the days before the trip had the same response, “Matt, you’re going to be in Ireland – it will be great no mater what happens.”

They were probably right – plus, everything went as good as I could have planned. A special week in a special country. Numerous times we’d be driving through a small Irish village, or sitting in a small pub, or taking in the beautiful scenery that Ireland provides and I’d just smile. It was such a terrific feeling to be back in the country and taking it all in with someone who had yet to experience the Irish way – their laid back attitude, the ambiance of their pubs, the spontaneity of traditional Irish music, and of course the many beautiful landscapes on the island the size of Iowa.

Considering the time and money we had at our disposal, we saw a good deal of things in the South and West of Ireland. We kissed the Blarney Stone at the Blarney Castle. We spent two nights in the picturesque seaside village of Kinsale in the posh accommodation of Dempsey’s Hostel (sarcasm). We toured one of the best surviving examples of a 17th century star shaped fort in Summercove. We somehow hired a car (when they gave me the keys I said to Lauren, “Run before they change their minds!”). We made the slow, meandering drive around the picture-perfect Ring of Kerry. We experienced Doolin and impromptu trad sessions in its three lovely pubs. We did the Cliffs of Moher. We made it back to my favorite County Galway town and had the craic with my mates. We drove the Sky Road of the Connemara which brings tears to one old Irish fisherman’s eyes. The craic was mighty.

The week flew by and it was difficult to say goodbye to a face from home – but, goodbyes are never easy. It was indeed an unforgettable week. Thanks Lauren for coming to visit.

February 12, 2008

lifestyle i’ve chosen

Scotland, Travel Advice 5 Replies

I sit down to write not with any exciting news of travels, pictures of places seen, or people met. I’d be foolish if I expected my journey of traveling and working abroad to be nothing but partying, pleasure, and completely enjoying myself. There are – without a doubt – going to be setbacks to conquer and hills to climb. I’d also be naive to not admit that thus far I’ve had a pretty good hand dealt to me.

Ireland treated me amazingly. Immediately upon my arrival to the country, I fell in love with the place, the people, and this was surely made possible by my (relatively) carefree three weeks of traveling. When the three weeks or so came to an end, I made the decision to work for face2face. While the work was difficult and I often questioned my employment with the company, it provided many advantages. Free accommodation – I was able to earn Euros while paying nothing for a place to sleep each night. Though I worked long and difficult hours, the pay was good. I believe hindsight has shown me that the greatest benefit from working for face2face wasn’t the free accommodation, it wasn’t the wages, it maybe wasn’t even the feeling of knowing that I was making a difference in the lives of others, but that it provided a perfect venue to make irreplaceable friendships. These friendships absolutely added to my experience in Ireland – an experience that I consider invaluable – one that I will surely remember the rest of my life.

In Galway, I had stupid luck. With zero experience serving, I quite frankly probably didn’t deserve the opportunity to work for Ard Bia. But thanks to the goodwill of the staff – namely my manager, within three days of my arrival to Galway, I was working for a brilliant restaurant. Again, I was able to meet wonderful people and immediately had a steady flow of income.

Things in Edinburgh are taking longer to fall completely into place. My attempts at finding gainful, full-time employment have so far been fruitless. I’ve spent more than a couple afternoons canvassing the town, introducing myself to potential employers, and dropping off my CV with hopes of finding the perfect job. As of yet, it hasn’t come my way. And, I have to realize, the perfect job may not immediately (or ever) fall into place. Luckily, the temp agency I’m working for has provided me with the opportunity to work – albeit, none of this work has been overly glamorous or exciting. But, it’s work nonetheless.

I guess the purpose behind this post is to show that this path I’ve chosen isn’t as easy as it’s maybe seen. I’m hundreds of miles away from close friends, familiarity, and most importantly family. I’m watching my two year old nephew grow up through occasional webcam hellos. Anyone who knew me well in university would know that telephone conversations with my parents were a two or three time a day occurrence. Lately, a weekly hello and email is the extent of my relationship with my folks and my sister. All this being said, I consider myself unbelievably lucky to know that I have the support of such a loving family – regardless of how many miles or time zones separate us. Lucky, as well, to be on this journey – challenges or not.

So with the lifestyle I’ve chosen comes ups and downs. It’s all part of the experience. I’ll remember the ups and the downs will surely make me a stronger person.

stay well, everyone. thanks for reading. – mdk

February 8, 2008

Sevilla and Madrid: Pictures

Europe, Travel Photos 5 Replies

Below, you’ll find some pictures from my time in Spain – a wonderful two weeks of relaxation, sun, brilliant food, and beautiful cities. When needed, I’ve included some commentary and/or explanation of the shots. So, enjoy …

(editors note: you may notice my clothing changes infrequently throughout these photos – for three weeks, i lived out of a day pack sized backpack -luckily, many of the hostels we found had laundry facilities!)

brian, myself, and cat – drinking tinto de verano

Brian standing outside the Sevilla Cathedral. Sevilla’s Cathedral is the third largest in the world and the construction of it began sometime around 1400. It was fascinating. This one blew me away. The organ has 6700 pipes.


views from the top


Looking up at the cathedral through the orange trees – the trees seemingly lined every street of the city. Unfortunately, a forbidden fruit for the oranges were apparently quite sour.

The cathedral at night.


The Plaza de Espana. A half circle of buildings surrounded by a moat. We didn’t go in, but from what I understand, the buildings are used mainly for government functions. What I do know, is the Plaza was lined with very comfortable looking benches that would be ideal for an afternoon siesta.

Okay, maybe we kind of went inside … a view looking out.

The inside of a Sevilla bar. Hanging from the ceiling, you see the legs of pigs – jamon. Nearly every bar in Sevilla had jamon hanging from the ceiling – hooves and all. Jamon is served very thinly sliced either by itself or on bread. Good, but extremely expensive – a small tapa (four slices

ish) would be €2 or €3. In bulk, jamon sells for €60 – €70 per kilogram. After being slaughtered, the legs are let to dry for about two weeks – then, comes anywhere from nine months to two years of curing. In fairness, I should let you know I didn’t learn this all from my conversations with the Spainish barmen – remember, I don’t speak Spainish. Wikipedia.org provides more than you’d ever want to know about jamon – check out the article here.


Guadalquivir river running through Sevilla



The Torre del Oro (Gold Tower) in Sevilla. Situated on the banks of the river, it provided protection from enemy ships trying to head upstream … constructed sometime in the 12th century.

Brian and I on our Sevici bikes – we were flying, I’m not sure how Cat was able to get a shot of us (sarcasm, notice the kickstands).

brian, myself, cat, and cat’s friend nancy drinking mediocre beers

Our last evening with Cat – we were on our way to catch the 1am bus to Madrid.

We arrived in Madrid shortly after 7am. We were tired, frustrated, and delirious. After mindlessly studying a map of the city for some time, we decided to leave the bus station (note: we weren’t entirely sure what bus station we were at). We really had no clue where we were going. After ten minutes of walking through the cold, dark, area surrounding the bus station, we promptly turned around. Plan B was getting on the Madrid Metro. After boarding a couple wrong trains, we eventually made our way to our destination, Sol.


Straight from Sevilla to the very center of Spain. This stone block is found in the city center Puerta del Sol in Madrid – it marks the radial center of all the Spainish roads – Kilometer Zero.

brian, lost at Kilometer Zero one Madrid morning

Billboard on the top of one of the buildings surrounding the Puerta del Sol – something like the first billboard ever constructed in Madrid …


Yes! The Iowa Restaurant. In Madrid?!

The Royal Palace of Madrid – the largest palace in Europe with over 2800 rooms. It was nice, but probably not worth my five Euros – equally impressive from the outside where the view was free.

The Madrid Cathedral. Neoclassical design – construction didn’t begin until the end of the nineteenth century, stopped completely during the Spanish Civil War, and wasn’t completed until 1993.

Plaza Mayor in Madrid

Below I have some pictures of the rarer types of tapas I ate while in Madrid. I think I enjoyed Madrid more than Sevilla – the deciding factor was the tapas. In Madrid, you’d go to a bar, order a beer, and get a plate of tapas – free of charge. Brilliant.

braided lamb intestines

kidneys (from some animal)

Oreja a la Plancha – delicious. Okay, well interesting. If you were a ‘food texture’ person, you probably wouldn’t be able to eat them – they chew exactly as you’d expect oreja a la plancha to chew. Oh, oreja a la plancha are diced pigs ears.


Brian, myself, and our two friends from La Sobebria (Lincoln and Julio). In the week that we spent in Madrid, La Soberia was our nightly watering hole. We became the locals … from Iowa. Each night, we’d sit in from of Lincoln who was the tapas chef. We’d spend the night drinking Cruzcampo, eating plates of tapas, and having the craic. I told you most bars would serve you a small plate of tapas with a beer – by the weeks end, Lincoln was shoving plates of food to us throughout the entire evening.

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Backpacking Matt

Kia Ora - I'm Matt. Adventurer, Instagrammer and New Zealand travel planning expert living in Queenstown, NZ. Founder of Planit NZ - New Zealand's largest travel planning & booking website.

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