Steigenheimer Hotel, Hahn, Germany

The Hahn airport is most definitely out in the middle of nowhere. It seems to be built around an abandoned US military base. Walking around was much akin to wandering around in a ghost town. After checking into the hotel I finally found somewhere to get something to eat... only to find it didn't open for another hour. But when it finally did open I had a great plate of 4 cheese gnocchi and then went back to my room. Since I have to get up tomorrow at 4:30 I'm going to take a shower and turn in early. If all goes according to plan I should be in Sweden tomorrow.

Kaiserslautern, Germany

Less than 12 hours and I'll be on a train to the Frankfurt/Hahn airport. I'm just sitting here tonight trying to figure out what I've forgotten... but that's silly, since I'm sure I'll forget something anyway. Might as well just let it up to fate. I went out today and picked up a few little odds and ends I could think of. Tomorrow morning I have to go return a few movies and make a quick bank deposit and then I'll call a cab and head for the train station. There are three trains to Hahn tomorrow; I'm opting for the middle one. That leaves at 10:33hrs and should put me in Hahn around 14:30. Check-in time for the hotel isn't until 18:00 but I'm sure I can find something to occupy my time until then. The tough part is going to be occupying my time until tomorrow morning, since sleep doesn't seem to be in the picture.

Kaiserslautern, Germany

Well, I'm all packed and ready to go. Just two more days. I stopped at the bank today and picked up some Danish and Swedish money. Nothing really left to do except get on the road.

Kaiserslautern, Germany

Ok, we've got rain. A lot of it. And it shows no signs of letting up. I talked with Jeff Stabley tonight, finally got his number. It was good to talk with him again. Tonight I'm just taking it easy, smoking a Monte Cristo Habana and sipping on 25 year Balvenie (ah, but I will miss Cuban cigars and decently priced scotch when I return to the states). I filled my flask with the remaining scotch from the bottle... a little taste to carry with me.


For some reason, I've still put off stuffing everything into my pack... but I'll have to do it tomorrow. I'm really ready. I can feel it deep in my bones, the wanderlust is already starting to take control... I'd leave this very moment if I didn't already have arrangements made for the flight on Sunday. I'm ready for the rails and ready to experience Europe and all it has to offer. I still have a little bit of Rick Steves' _Europe 101_ to read through. It's proving to be a nice refresher. I haven't run across anything that I hadn't learned at some point in school... but certainly it was good to refresh my memory.


I had considered putting a Canadian flag on my pack, just to keep it from catching the wrong eyes... but I've decided against it. I'll take things as they come and hopefully all will be well. I think as long as I don't travel with an American flag or a 'Kill 'em All - Let God Sort 'em Out : God Bless the USA' t-shirt I should be fine. If I can work it out time-wise I'm going to try and be in Holland over my birthday. What better place to spend it on the road?

Kaiserslautern, Germany

The weather has been absolutely beautiful over the last two weeks. Today however the distant sound of thunder has prevailed throughout the morning. It's dark and damp and has the look of coming rain. In Germany, that usually means about a solid week of wet weather. Of course my understanding is that Scandinavia is quite rainy as well so perhaps I should just plan on beginning my travels in wet weather.


I ordered money this morning and made my hotel reservations for the Frankfurt/Hahn airport. A few errands left to run but that's really about it and then I'm all ready. I have everything together but I haven't stuffed it into my pack yet. But I'll probably do that tonight.

Kaiserslautern, Germany

I didn't get much done today. So tomorrow I'm going to have a lot to do. I need to do a final packing. Return some books to the library. Make a reservation for the hotel at the airport. Order Swedish and Danish money from the bank and check the train schedule.


I'm ready to go. A lot of people have been asking me if I'm worried about traveling with consideration to the current political climate. I am not. I am reasonably sure it will not affect things and I will have a great trip.

Kaiserslautern, Germany

Tonight I'm going to pack... again. I've basically got all my stuff together but tonight I'm going to see how it all fits and how manageable everything is. I'm not sure if I like the daypack that is attached to my backpack for this trip. I may end up leaving it off and using a different daypack. I'm going to use my Vortex 4800 for my main pack though. And tonight I'll probably decide if I'm going to drag a sleeping bag around with me. I think it will be warm enough that I won't really need one (I'm going to have my silk sleep sheet) but if I decide to stay outdoors at all (like on the beach in Barcelona or Greece) I might appreciate having it with me.


I've also got to run to the bank tomorrow and grab some Sweedish Krona (and I should probably grab a few Danish Krona as well). That way I'll at least have a few bucks in local currency when my flight arrives Sunday morning. The rest of my trip is pretty well covered by the Euro until I get to Eastern Europe. I'm not going to use any credit cards. I'm taking my bank card and my PayPal Visa debit card. No bills when I get back! Except to develop film. My mom sent me a bunch of Hershey stuff (like keychains, small decks of playing cards, magnets, etc.) to give out to people along the way. I've read that it's helpful to have small gifts to give people you meet. So that should help out a lot.

Kaiserslautern, Germany

A week from tonight I should be posting from Scandinavia... most probably Copenhagen. I've decided to take the train to Hahn, Saturday afternoon and then spend the night at the hotel by the airport. The hotel has a free shuttle that leaves at 5:30 to get me there in time for my early flight Sunday morning. They even serve a breakfast at 5:00 so I can grab a cup of coffee before I leave. Then by 9:00 I should have my backpack collected and will probably be hunting around for a way to Copenhagen where I'll probably spend the night at the Sleep-In-Heaven hostel (we'll see if it actually lives up to its name).


I'm going to try and post every day this week to get used to blogging every day. Of course, I'll be keeping my hard-copy journal in which I'm sure I'll write at least once a day, but I want to try and keep the blog up-to-date as well. The war in Iraq wages on but I refuse to let the current political climate hold me back from exploring Europe before I head back to the states.


Since the movers will probably pack up the house while I'm in another country I'm going to take the rest of the cigars I have in my humidor on the road with me. If I get a chance this week I might head out to the cigar shop in K-Town and see if I can find an inexpensive travel humidor to keep them safe and fresh. I know I still have an excellent Cuban Romeo & Julieta corona as well as a few other very nice sticks that have yet to be smoked. I imagine they'll make a few nice relaxing breaks along the way.