T minus 2 days till Ireland and UK

Wow the time really passes quickly.  Just a couple days from now I will be leaving from my home in France for my trip to UK and Ireland. 

It has been 7 month since I first came to France and now it is finally time to say goodbye.  Despite all my misgivings about Guebwiller I have really grown to the French way of life. 

The last day of school this past Friday I showed my kids some Canadian drinking games and they taught me some swear words in French.  Haha culture exchange × 9000! My collègues got me a bottle of wine and a card.  They had also wanted to go out for drinks together but unfortunately I had to meet my blablacar driver to move my stuff to Strasbourg so the drinks never panned out. 

I have really planned a lot for these upcoming 2 month of travel.  The most I have ever planned for any trip in fact.  Whether that is a good thing or bad remains to be seen.  So my plan is to go to Ireland,  Glasgow,  Edinburgh, Liverpool/Southport,  Manchester, Bristol,  London and Cambridge.  Then i fly back to France and pick up my bicycle from my friends place to go biking in the south of France from Nice to Portugal.  Finally I will come back to Strasbourg one more time to pick up my big suitcase and go to Amsterdam where my direct flight to Toronto is on July 1st.

I have already sent out many couchsurfing requests and have got most of the cities covered.  I also wanted to self develop while I'm traveling and improve my standup comedy routine.  So I have actually secured spots for open mic nights in Dublin,  Glasgow,  Liverpool already.  But I am still on the hunt for more! I am nervous and know there is going to be strong competition as the English are known for their wit. 

This is the first time in a while I have felt this nervous about any activity - not because I don't put myself out there.  But it is because I have just been more confident overall that most things feel like they are in my relm of comfort already.  So this is really exhilarating for me right now!

So the last things I need to take care of now is clean my kitchen and give in my keys tomorrow.  Then it's off to new adventures and new friends!

Peace from Guebwiller. 

Summer plans & Speed bump

This week has been so busy. I am moving out next week Monday and I am planning the rest of my summer.

So first up I will be going to Ireland and UK from April 28-May 19th. Then I am going to bike to the south of France to Portugal if I can manage and got the time. Finally my flight is from Amsterdam back to Toronto on July 1st, 2015.

This is going to be an epic trip I can already sense it. It's probably going to be my last big trip since I should get started on my hostel business. But already there has already been some speed bumps, writing it down here helps me keep sane and focused on the bigger picture.

So the first speed bump is my girlfriend and I broke up. She actually called me up today and we spoke very briefly. It sounded like she was crying on her end. I was calm almost stoic but deep down I was feeling it as well. So the whole situation is that we been dating for about 3-4 month in France. When we first got together there was the honeymoon period. We had both thought the distance between Vancouver and Toronto was not going to be a big deal at all. But after 1 week we quickly realized the impracticality of it all. But we were optimistic and agreed to live in the present.

This continued for some time and it was great. We had amazing times together like traveling to Mutzig fortress with her parents, Dijon and of course our regular rock climbing session. I think the relationship took a turn (for better imo) in Dijon. Prior to that I had felt the power imbalance in the relationship with her having more power. I was too into Alexia and told her as much. But we had a really great discussion in Dijon and I felt the power shift more into my favor or being about equal. The reason why I decided to talk so openly about this with her is I had thought our relationship would last not forever but for a significant amount of time. Significant enough for me to warrant this talk to ensure our continued happiness. In any case we returned from Dijon happy as ever as far as I can tell.

Fast-track to about 1 month ago. I realized there were somethings really bothering me about Alexia's personality her unique essence. I knew people don't change. So I did not ask her to. But I also knew me, and couldn't see us together after France. So we had our second serious talk. I told her we were probably going to break up after France. We both agreed that seemed to be the most rational course. I didn't think the news would affect either of us that much because we are both very rational people. But I think just stating out the future explicitly and coming to terms with it really put the nail in the coffin for our romance.

I could feel Alexia feeling more guarded around me when we went out together soon after. Our rock climbing sessions and time together lost that shine. Sometimes last week before I left for Frankfurt I went to Strasbourg and we had another serious discussion about relationships and living in the moment. I had also started to read a book called the "Superior Man" which has some very interesting and non PC ideas about gender equality to the casual observer. But in my opinion people need to actually read it to understand the bigger picture. We agreed that Alexia was becoming more guarded due to the timeline on our relationship. I tried my best to convince her it was much better to live in the moment. But easier said then done right?

Finally today Alexia called me and broke up with me. I had anticipated this happening based on our previous conversations and texts. But it still feels.

Writing this really help me comes to term with this. I tried to write the story as I see it as objectively as possible but of course there are biases and one sided-ness to every story. I am not mad, hurt or frustrated at this point, The best way to describe it would be this empty feeling or lack of comfort. But I know I will be ok it just takes time and distractions at this point.

Despite all her quirks. I really liked Alexia. She was one of those amazing girls who could be silly, deep and really knows what she wants. We had the best conversations about relationships, the world and even philosophy (probably the best I have had of any ex girlfriends). Of course she is not as good as rock climbing as me, but she is always up to challenge herself ;D And she is really considerate of other people's feelings (to a fault sometimes imo :D)

The world is so big I am sure Alexia will find someone and they will make each other very happy. As for me I am also optimistic this will happen. The most important thing at this point in my life is to build my character and self develop. I have actually learned a lot these past few month thanks to my travels and Alexia. The biggest of which is my French improvements which I have Alexia to thank.

This turned from a Summer plans update to my talking about my relationship. But C'est la vie mais c'est un vie tres interresant et jolie!

A plus ma petite tete de ouiseau!

Jack.

Frankfurt party

What a crazy weekend trip to Frankfurt.  Too many stories to recall. But I will try my best to write it all down. 

So I decided to go to Frankfurt to visit my friend Min and Inhye.  They are both friends I met in Korea.  They don't know each other.

I met Min at a English exchange party in Busan.  Min has studied in Nancy in France so we were switching between French and English and got along really easily.  Unfortunately Min was only in Korea for a short time and he soon found a job in Czech Republic.  But in the month of so time he was in Busan we went out a lot to Thursday Party the local bar.  Min has since moved to Frankfurt and is now working for LG since 3 years ago.  Actually I saw him about 2 year ago last time also in Frankfurt.  This was when I was on my euro trip by myself.  He had just moved into his apartment and it was very sparsely furnished with just two single mattresses on the ground.  This time I came back there was a big upgrade.  He still lives in the same apartment with a great location right by the banks and train station.  But he has bought a bunch of furniture from Ikea haha so we didn't have to sleep on the ground this time!

As for Inhye  I met her in Seoul when I was doing the training for my teaching job.  We had a one week training session in Seoul with all the other teachers before we were sent to our respective placements.  Inhye is one of 2 Korean coordinators in my class and I was the class president.  JK is another coordinator and quite a serious but funny guy.  Anyways since I was class president I got people to contribute to a communal pool so we could buy some gifts for JK and Inhye before we graduated.  We got JK a starbucks card and a little plant for Inhye. Now Inhye is working as a tour guide in Frankfurt since February and she runs tours for Koreans who come to tour in Frankfurt and the surrounding area. 

So after I arrived in Frankfurt I toured around by myself and went on a free walking tour.  I had already been to Frankfurt before so the first day I saw everything there is to see basically.  The main point of the trip was to see my friends again anyways.  So in the evening I met up with Inhye first as Min still had work.  And I was so surprised her English got much worse!  Haha but eventually it came back little by little.  We then went out together with Min and ate traditional German fare in the city center.  German food is so filling and meaty haha. 

After dinner we dropped by starbucks to meet Inhye's roommate and work friend.  Then we parted ways and Min and I went to Saxenhousen the bar area in Frankfurt.  At this point  of the night we were already high and inebriated. 

So we randomly came by a bar where there was a live filming of an interview of some former soccer stars. Then we came to a club/dance club where we sat down.  I was offered some traditional Frankfurt apple wine.  It was so bitter!  We were all having a great time and then these two Japanese girls joined our table.  One of them is quite older maybe 40 years old the other girl looked like she is 19 or 20 year olds.  While talking to them at one point I realized they were prostitutes and we were their mark.  Lols so I stopped engaging them.  They then turned their focus to some other guys sitting in our table.  It was really strangely similar to my experience in Japan with Adam and Roman.  CAtsu cAtsu.  Anyways I was thinking about the situation and thought maybe I'm making a mistake but after we left I double checked with Min and he agrees they were definitely prostitutes.  The funny thing is the other guys talking to them had no idea. But after talking they realized too and we had a good conversation about our common run in with the prostitutes haha. 

So after that Min wanted to go to a club.  I was like I'm too high and tired to go to a club.  But there was no convincing him.  So we took a cab about 20 mins outside of the city.  But as soon as we arrived I had to sit down to clear my head.  And after Min realized I was too tired we called another cab to go back home and went to sleep haha. 

The second day we did a day trip to Weisbaden the spa town close to Frankfurt.  We arrived and walked around the town square talking to friendly Germans and getting free food from various people.  There was a lot of stag/hen parties going on in the city and we kept running into the groups.  It looked like they had to complete a certain set of challenges. We went to the spa and it was sooooo relaxing. The interesting thing about German spas is that they are coed and nude.  It was my first experience with a coed nude spa and it was really cool.  There were  definitely more guys but everyone was really comfortable with their sexuality and both men and women walked around completely naked in the spa.  We stayed there about 1 hour since they charge by the hour.  As we left we met this 90 year old grandpa from China who has lived all over the world.  We chatted with him for a bit and checked out the other sites in Weisbaden. 

We finally arrived back in Frankfurt and Min found a beer pong tournament in a nearby hostel.  So we signed up and played some beer pong with the other people there.  We were actually first up facing Andrea from Italy and Florian from Germany.  Non of us had played beer pong before so it was a slow going affair.  But by the end of the night Min was a prodigy and sinking many shots.  After our game we went out for a smoke with Andrea and Florian.  We had a great conversation about Salvia the legal drug in Canada.  Apparently you can also eat it and that is what they do in Italy.  Andrea actually has some growing in his back yard in Italy and he says it is quite common to use it in food for Italians.  Haha so we all learned something new. 

I also met Tan a 30 something Asian Hulk from Texas.  He is here to visit his daughter from when he was stationed here in Germany and knocked up a German girl.  He was a really cool dude.  While he and Min played together on beer pong I chatted with Tans friend. I can't remember her name but she is also from America and we talked for a bit and joined another table together.  She put me on the spot and asked me to do a joke for the table.  Lols I did the whale joke but no one got it.  Haha cèst la vie. 

After it was around 11pm and Min and I headed out to grab some burgers since they closed at 11. Luckily we made it in time has some German burgers.  It wasn't actually that great.  I definitely has better burgers in Toronto.  We walked around to get back home.  Min kept trying to talk to random girls on the street and I was telling him to stop but he wouldn't listen haha.  Then we met some Peruvian middle age ladies and German guys drinking outside of the big Euro sign.  We chatted for a bit and they gave us some Peruvian hard liquor to try. 

Finally we went home and called it a night.  Oh and before that we skype Adam first haha. 

I took the 10am bus back to freiburg where I will hitchike back home like last time ☺

So all in all a great weekend in Frankfurt and we definitely got many memories and stories. 

Total cost for 2 days 3 nights in Frankfurt including transportation to and from = 130 euros

Spot the spiderman! There are 4-5 of these in Frankfurt. It is a big banking city and so they like to compare themself to Manhattan. The river that runs through Frankfurt is called the Mein and so they call themselves Meinhattan :D 

We had honey butter chips from Korea! They were the fuckin bomb and it is almost impossible to get them even in Korea. You cannot buy it outside of Korea. In Korea it is a common thing to post photos of you with this cause they are so rare to find! Definitely my favourite potatoe chips now!

Me and Inhye

Casino in Weisbaden

Fighting off the Chimera 

infront of the summer residence of the duke or something or other. 

Tan and Min playing beer pong. 

Me and Tan's friend forgot her name. 

Coming back there was something going on in Mannheim, lots of police presence. 

Peace from Frankfurt 

Journey back to Guebwiller - bus and hitchiking.

I headed out on Wednesday at 8am with the Meinfern.de buses. They are kind of like the Megabusses of Germany. For my journey I was going from Munich to Freibourg for only 15 Euros. Unfortunately from Freibourg I would have to either catch another train plus bus to go back to Guebwiller which would have been about 30 Euros. So instead I decided to hitchhike and it worked out really well!

So I got to the highway entrance and started my jouney armed with my trusty marker and sign for Colmar. After of about 20 minutes I got picked up by a nice lady who dropped me off at Baden Kritziger. There I hitched a ride to the border between Germany and France. Then hitched going in the direction of Colmar and finally got a ride from the motorway to Guebwiller.

So in total I hitched 4 times to arrive at my house in Guebwiller. Took about 5 hours with planning, walking and traveling by car. It was well worth it I met so many cool people, had great conversations and saved a ton of money.

In fact the best was for my last ride I jumped on with Joseline who is a 50 year old librarian director of the library next to my school. So she invited me to go to a bar on another day and I have plans to invite her over to our house to cook her something to thank her.

I can say I walked across the Rhine which divides Germany and France

One of the last things I saw in Munich on the morning I left. 

Peace from Guebwiller.

Munich day 2 - Neuschwanstein castle, cold hard hustla and Drinking with Germans

For my second day in Munich I checked out the famous Neuschwanstein castle with my new friends. Because we were 5 we got the discount rate and it was only 8 euro for round trip!  Of course that was because of me,  I gelled everyone together! We took the early train at 9 and it was completely packed with tourists going to the castle. By now our contingent had expanded from the original 6 of yesterday. We were joined by an Aussie who lives in London - Adam.  He is hilarious and full of funny stories.  So we bonded over our travel experiences.  He told me about drop bears and so now I know not to be susceptible to these Aussie tricksters haha. 

Anyways we arrived at the castle and my friends had to line up in the long ticket line while I took the reserved route which was a breeze.  I had researched up beforehand and knew about the logistics situation and so planned ahead (for once lols).  While at the ticket counter I worked my magic and actually was able to buy tickets for my friends as well so they didn't have to wait in line.  Of course that's what happens when you roll with me - certain perks should be expected ☺

I really should have gotten more tickets than I needed to be honest cause the line was so long I don't think I would have had trouble scalping then for double the price!  But a las friends before money reigned supreme for the day. 

We toured the castle which was magnificent,  built by the recluse King Ludwig who never married.  Most suspected he was a homosexual and had such a relationship with his composer friend Richard Wagner the musician. 

After the tour we went to the famous bridge where the most famous photos of the castle are taken.  Adam myself,  Megan and Nick took the harrowing climb up the snowed and sloshed in back mountains for a better vantage point free from tourists.  It was definitely not for the feint of hearts.  The roads were slippery from the recent snow melt and every couple of minutes snow from the nearby trees would fall down to or near us with a thundering roar or sometimes with a small whimper.  It doesn't hurt when it hits you but in the pristine landscape it really gives you a jolt.  The most dangerous part of the climb is probably the lack of railings,  a few steps to the left and you will be tumbling down hundreds of feet below to the canyon gorge where even the rescue persons cannot get to you due to the foliage. 

But of course everything is fine and we took some amazing photos and hangout at the vantage point just chilling and relaxing. 

Me and Adam. Topless photos - we were totally sober lols 

I call this pondering

Nick being a boss haha

After we got back to the hostel around 8pm I chilled out in the bar with some new people. I met so many people to name and had great conversations and general schnanagins. I actually met a bunch of UK and Ireland people so now I don't need to find couchsurfers when I visit at the end of April :D Score!

Finally we went back to Jean's again for the second night and this time as he was hosting a party with his German roomates. I invited Sascha as well and was challenged to a drinking game with the German. To find out the result watch below. 

I forget everyone's names but my host Sascha is the one winking to my left and Stella is looking like a creep in the back far right lols

To top off the night the Germans were heading to a club but it was already 12am and I needed to get up tomorrow to catch the bus at 8am. So I bid them farewell and headed back with Sascha. But sleeping was not in the cards for me. I stayed up and talked to Sascha and his roomates until 5am. And woke up at 6:30am.

Peace from Munich.

Munich day 1: walking tour, river surfing and Party Munich style.

I saw the craziest thing today in Munich. River surfing! Ok but before that let me tell you about the rest of my day. 

So to start off the day I wanted to check to see if there are free walking tours offered.  So as usual I walked towards my hostel as they usually have information on this type of stuff.  I headed out around 8am and the streets were deserted -  probably because today is a national holiday on account of Easter.  Munich as a whole has a very clean and rich feel to it.  The buildings look brand new but are built in a pre 21st century style.  The reason is that during the war the Germans were losing and the base of Nazism started in Munich actually.  So they knew their city was not going to survive at the end of the war.  So they actually took arrival photographs of all the buildings and after the bombing they rebuilt what they could to have it look exactly the same as before.

I passed by Wombats hostel on the way to mine.  And my previous experience with Wombats in Vienna was amazing so I thought I try my luck.  And it was another home run for Wombats.  I cannot say enough good things about this chain hostel.  The staff was super friendly and gave me tips about where I should go even though she knew I didn't stay at the hostel.  So the walking tour started later and I checked out a palace by myself on her recommendation.

The palace was huge including the garden.  I didn't go inside as I didn't have enough time and barely explored 10% of the grounds. 

After the palace I went back to the hostel and started the walking tour.  I met up with Phillip,  Megan,  Pierre,  Valérie and we decided to check out the famous Hofbrahaus beer Hall in the evening together.  This beer Hall is famous for their role in WWII as the place where Hitler wrote many of his speeches and conducted his meetings.  Today it is known for its Bavarian food and amazing beer. 

Meanwhile before the dinner Pierre, Megan and I checked out the English garden where we saw Germans surfing on the river drain duct system!  It was too amazing to describe in words so I am just going to link you to the video

And the explanation of why this thing occurs and the nuances are explained here.  I goggled it cause it was really interesting.  Yea I am pretty much the coolest guy you will ever meet ☺

http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/places/noah-lederman/munich-surfing

For dinner Stella, Pierre, Val, Megan, Phillip, Jean, Nick and I headed out to Hofbrahhaus - the famous beer hall in Munich. We all stuffed our faces with coma inducing German fare. I got the knuckle of lamb it was such a big portion and so meaty! Of course the big draw of the place is the beer and it is true what they say German beer really is the best! I usually don't like beer but their local brew had no bitter taste and was actually kind of sweet. We each chugged 0.8L mugs. And the long tables of the hall ensured us great conversation with strangers around us who quickly became new friends. I met a Lebanon couple, 3 Israel girls and a German at my table and we all got along smashingly - even the Arab vs Israle history didn't stop the common language of beer and good times!

Stella (Australian), Phillip (English), Pierre & Val (Montreal Canada), Megan (USA), Nick (Korean) and me!

Me and Jean (French)

Nick & Phil 

Preparing to high 5

Beer hall, upper flow used for concerts in the evening and drinking 

After the Hofbrauhaus, Jean who lives in Munich invited us to his place for more partying. He had these Game of Thrones type of chairs in his common room and we all took turns posing around on them getting more smashed on the delicious German brew and teaching each other drinking games form our own countries.

Finally I headed back to Sascha's place around 3am.

Great first day in Munich!

Peace from Munich.