Baby's First Pub Crawl!

I went on a pub crawl last night! My first ever! I got into Berlin around 6 and was quickly energized by a magical German second wind. Das Winderein. Who knows. This was an "alternative" pub crawl, which meant the bars were interesting. First was a hippie-type bar with really bad murals of Janis Joplin and Bob Marley. Then a gothic bar. It was like a Hot Topic and all the goths glared at us, which was fitting. Next was an indie bar where they played Phoenix and Vampire Weekend and I got into hipster arguments with Brits. And finally some Berlin club thing but I left shortly after that.

Happy Australia Day! All the Australians I keep meeting are freaking out about Australia Day and so excited. I'm going to an Australian bar tonight I think to watch those Aussies celebrate.

By the way, I've developed a very strange speech as of late. I've been speaking with so many different people and so few Americans, I've picked up some weird inflections and accents? I think it will wear off when I'm home. Hopefully. It's very affected.

Berlin Bound

Auf Weidersehen Amsterdam! Yesterday was eventful because I ate a Cheese Pancake. There are pancakes joints all over Amsterdam and I needed to try one. I was secretly hoping for a giant Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuit frisbee with syrup on top because I am a simple Midwestern girl, but the cheese pancake was much closer to a saucer of cooked cheese. Imagine an extra cheesy pizza minus tomato sauce and bread. If you can get past the amount of cheesiness (no problem), it's good? Kinda? I put some syrup on it out of curiosity and that was no good.All in all, I really liked Amsterdam. I could envision myself living there. It's so small; you can walk pretty much end to end in 30 minutes. And perhaps there are some more Amsterdam stories for another time.

Today I spend 6 hours on a train to Berlin. I imagined Europe a lot smaller than this. Like Amsterdam to Berlin should be 2.5 hours TOPS.

Yes We Heineken!

I awoke this morning, snug in my hostel bed, and peeped out to Vondelpark all gray and covered in snow, inviting me to stay in my little hostel bunk. But no! I have a JAM(sterdam)-packed day planned. Sarah, my Portland friend from the London hostel, has joined me in Amsterdam! She shall be my partner in crimes and taker of photographs. First up? The Heineken Experience! Site of the original Heineken Brewery, and now home to a very well-produced Heineken museum-ish. I even successfully poured my own beer with appropriate technique and foam. New profession, found!

I'm so obnoxious

Lovely Sarah learning to pour a proper Heineken

Heineken Logos

Then we strolled over to the Hermitage Museum, which is the temporary home of the Vincent Van Gogh Museum during renovations. No photos allowed, but I was quite impressed with their Potato Eaters, as a former art history student and current lover of potatoes. They also had a wing of Impressionist works. Then a tram to the Anne Frank House. It was wonderfully well done and I highly recommend it to anyone in Amsterdam. Sarah and I then went

Alive in Amsterdam

After train hopping through half of Belgium, I successfully arrived in Amsterdam! But first, here's the train station of Antwerp.

Antwerp Train Station

Amsterdam is lovely! I got in around 6pm on Friday, so I strolled around near my hostel and actually went to see Django. Rick Steves said seeing a movie while traveling is ok, so you aren't allowed to judge me. Let's look at some cute Amsterdam.

Amsterdam looking picturesque

Pretty Canal.

Amsterdam at Night

On Monday I went to the Stedelijk Museum, the modern art museum. I loved it. They had a great amount of graphic design works as well. I made a big list of designers I need to look up. Really well done too. I always feel a bit "lost at sea" with contemporary art, but the SM had really accessible write-ups that definitely helped with context. They had a huge retrospective on Mike Kelley, so I immaturely enjoyed seeing my last name all over the place.

Neon Coolness

A striped selfie

Less Than Perfect

Mike Kelley exhibit

KELLEY SQUARED

Today I went on a walking tour and I'm planning Anne Frank house tomorrow.

Staying: Flying Pig Uptown

Get it, Ghent.

Ghent is too pretty. It seems unfair. I turn a corner and I'm hit with another  potential desktop background. Today I walked around for a while, tried to sketch, froze, walked some more, nibbled on Belgian chocolates. Nice day.

The dragon that protects Ghent from atop the cathedral

There was DRAMA last night. These six Netherland dudes came into the hostel room last night at 4:30am and turned on lights, talked super loudly for an HOUR, made "hilarious" fart noises for a solid 5 minutes and ignored us when we asked them to be quiet. Seriously, the WORST. I told on them this morning and they got kicked out. HAHA bye jerks!

Phlemish

So long London! I had a really nice time in London, to the point I may have gotten a bit TOO comfortable. It was easy. The last day I had a gross cold, so I just stayed in and did laundry. Very wise decision, feeling good today. Today I quickly walked from one train station in Brussels to another so I could see the Grande Palace. Wow-ee. Gorgeous. I'm glad I hop-skip-jumped out to see it. I also got a sugar and butter crepe which I thought was SO BELGIAN.

Brussels

Brussels

And onward to Ghent! Today really felt like day one of my adventure. But so did London. And Iceland. It was the first day away from English though. If it were not for the kindness of folks, I would be stuck wandering Belgium. I would become legend in these parts. On cold snow-covered nights, you can hear her cursing to herself... She is the Tourist of Flanders.

Anyway, that is not my fate. I made it! Ghent is stunning. A Disney princess should be singing over the canal in the morning. Jimminy Christmas it's beautiful! 100% credit to Justin Jackson for telling me to go here, otherwise I would have been unaware it existed.

And the hostel here is lovely! So clean and spacious and check that view. I really know how to pick 'em.

Staying: Hostel Uppelink

My room! Fireplace!

View outside my window. No joke.

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In my hostel I met this very cool girl from Dublin traveling around. She's rad. We walked around a bit and found this restaurant full of people, all locals. Good sign. The menu was all in Dutch and we were a bit lost. "Spare Ribs" were obvious, so we ordered a "Halve Kib" of those. I assumed this must be "half rack." Incorrect, Lizziepie. It meant half a chicken. So we got an order of spare ribs and half a chicken. Needless to say, I've had more protein tonight than the previous week.

And before the meal, they brought out bread and salad and these little bowls with sauces. We assumed they were unique Belgian sauces for the bread. We were sampling them and putting them on the bread. Um no. Salad dressing. I even said one tasted like Thousand Island. Because it was straight up Thousand Island dressing I was putting on bread. My coolness is off the charts.

The Rain and The Slain

'Ello 'ello! I've been bopping around London Town these past two days! It wasn't particularly conducive to photos though, so bear with me.I made lovely friends! A Yankee, a Canuck, and a Spaniard walk into a hostel bar... They're very nice folks and we've been hanging out quite a bit these past 36 hours. Look how adorable and happy we look:

Monday was snowy which was beautiful until it turned to cold rain. We decided to hang out in museums for the day. British Museum (aka setting of the cinematic masterpiece The Mummy Returns starring Brendan Fraiser). Did you know I own The Mummy trilogy? Is that embarrassing? Is it embarrassing I was annoyed the third one included was Dragon Emperor and not Scorpion King? What does it say about me that I like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in a platonic and totally non-ironic way? ANYWAY, I saw some mummies and very impressive artifacts. No Scorpion King, but I did see THE Rosetta Stone.

Next up was the National Gallery! Lots of all-star painters in there. Van Gogh, da Vinci, Monet, Gaughin. Very cool. I did some sketching.

Then quite spontaneously, Tim suggested we go see a show. We settled on Spamalot after a delightful exchange with the ticket lady; she could do stand-up. But first, to the pub to kill some time! Great times were had all around, bonding commenced.

Spamalot was fun. A good choice since it's so English. Only complaint is that it was 85% Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which I didn't realize it was a direct adaptation. Same jokes. Good jokes, but same ones.

The next day, Sarah and I went to the famous Camden Stable Markets. Open air vendors covering a huge expansive area that used to be horse trade I believe? I bought a "jumper" and a vintage satin jacket. I wanted to buy so much stuffffffff.

Then I took a nap because I am human and enjoy an occasional nap. Then I went on a Grim Reaper Tour this evening. They covered Tower of London executions, plague, Bedlam, and Jack the Ripper. We walked around the East End for the most part, which was a new area for me.

I got Indian food for the third time since England. HELPME. SAVEMEFROMMYSELF. I love Indian.

Tomorrow is my pilgrimage to Harry Potter Studios! SLYTHERIN OUT*

*originally I meant that to be like a rapper leaving, but it's also like I'm slithering out which is great. Don't you love it when I explain jokes?

American Tourist in London

Today I was a tourist. I went on a nice walking tour. It was good to get some context and history. I also signed up from a Grim Reaper tour I'll do another night. I love grisly ghostly tours! And here are some nice touristy photos.

I will share my favorite factoid from the tour. When Vice Admiral Lord Nelson died at sea after the Battle of Trafalger, they brought his body back in a brandy barrel for preservation. However, by the time they got to England half the barrel was empty because crew members kept sneaking drinks! And that's where we get the term "a stiff drink." Har har har I love it. I'm going to the pub.

Tim Walker

After the previous post, I was walking along and I saw a big pretty building. "Hm, what's that? Since I do whatever I want whenever I want I guess I might as well wander over there." It turned out to be the Somerset House and they had a free exhibit on Tim Walker. I literally stumbled into it.It was MAGICAL. There were no photos allowed, but here are a bunch of his images and a few photos of the exhibit. There were these enormous fantastical props all around. I loved it so much and bought my first souvenir: a postcard with one of his images.

London Calling

I'm in London, or as far as I'm concerned home of Harry Potter, Doctor Who, and nudie Prince Harry. And a rich history and culture and blah blah.

I was positively giddy coming off the plane. I've never been to London before. Makes me feel bad about how neutral I was about Iceland. Not to further shit on Iceland, but I was really excited about daylight. It's the little things that get me excited. Seriously. Other things that made me happy as a clam today: squeezing in TWO movies on my short flight, hearing British children speak, and not being on a top bunk.

My hostel is cute as a lil BUTTON. It's the former home of a cookie heir which puts me at 2 out of 2 for Cookie Related Hostels (Iceland hostel was a converted cookie factory and the wifi password was cookiemonster). **Behind the Scenes Blog: I originally wrote "biscuit" instead of "cookie" in this paragraph**

And here is my bed! I feel like an American Girl doll in this thing and love it. Maybe it's the Lilliputian proportions? I'm SO a Samantha. I also have to duck my head at a few spots around here like a damn Amazonian Princess.

Today was Tate Modern and walking around a bit. I'm currently walking to Covent Gardens and stopped into a cafe for a SPOT O TEA and some wifi that's much better than my hostel's. Btw, click the photos to make them bigger and read my always sparkling captions.

Staying: Palmers Lodge Swiss Cottage

More Iceland

Here are some photos of Iceland!

I went to the Harbour House Museum, part of the Reykjavik Art Museum, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The have a permanent exhibit on Erros, an Icelandic graphic artist who donated the works. I love when art and design overlap. The work was largely lithographs and silkscreens, which I'm terribly interested in. I loved his comic book style "Facescapes."

I then went to the National Museum of Iceland, which was well done, but boring for me. Sorry, Iceland. I was expecting more Vikings.

Finally I went to Iceland's most popular restaurant, Bæjarins Beztu! It's a small hot dog stand that has been proclaimed "Best Hot Dogs of Europe." So there you have it. It was quite good. According to wikipedia it comes with ketchup, sweet mustard, fried onion, raw onion, and a remoulade. But I didn't taste any Heinz 57. *snaps fingers in a sassy fashion and struts off to London*

Commence

I made it. I am typing this from a coffee shop in Reykjavik. Currently pooped because we basically flew past night and I can't check into my hostel for a good ol' American NAP until 2pm. But HERE.I'm pretty proud to think that I got my butt to Iceland totally by myself. Reykjavik is cute; unfortunately Iceland was dark when I was getting in. The sun is finally beginning to peek out at 10:30! And it will set at 6pm womp womp. I also found a Subway which amused me. My hostel is next to a Dominos. People keep thinking I'm Icelandic... until they see my very troubled face when they start speaking Icelandic. Especially that one poor man that was just trying to get a sticker off my back.

Staying: Kex Hostel

THE TRIP

So I'm going on a trip. A little two-month solo backpacking excursion through Europe in January and February. Bananas!Here's a tentative plan: Reykjavik 1.9-1.11 London 1.11-1.20 Gent and Brussels Day Trip 1.20 Amsterdam 1.20-1.25 Berlin 1.25-1.28 (Dessau Day Trip) Prague 1.28-2.05 Vienna 2.05-2.07 Istanbul 2.07-2.12 Vienna Day Trip Zagreb 2.12-2.16 Venice Day Trip Basel 2.16-2.19 Blah Blah Blah do whatever Frankfurt 2.25 Reykjavik 2.25-2.27

I google mapped "Europe" and made a little route. I feel like that is a dumb way to plan a trip, but here we are.

Liz, why? Why why why? It's partly a John-Mayer-esque quarter life crisis, sure. But I also never did the backpacking thing after college, and I feel like it's now or never. I started to question the whole thing, so I promptly quit my job and booked my tickets.

I'm also a fan of forcibly shoving yourself out of your comfort zone.

By Yourself? I'm doing it by myself because I really can't expect anyone else to want to spend tons of $$$ to go freeze their tuchus off with me. I'd love to have a friend join me, but I didn't want "find travel companion" to turn into another excuse. I also think traveling solo will result in a totally different experience. Like in a good way. (?)

I'm usually pretty good at meeting people, so I do hope to make some friends while over there. Otherwise this trip will be thousands of instagram selfies.

It's WINTER! I'm aware. Not exactly ideal. However, I'm 23 and going to be unemployed for two months. Everything will be cheaper! The eurail pass is 20% off, and I'll roll around in giant empty hostels. Maybe jump around from bunkbed to bunkbed? Also, I think locals will take pity on me and talk to me and tell me interesting things. And buy me drinks.

What're You Going to DO? I want to draw a lot. I'm not planning on bringing a computer or my nice camera. I just want to see cool things, meet different people, and document that. It's a pretty selfish trip, being honest. Write and draw, draw and write. It's my young adult pilgrimage.

What About After? I'm going to stay in Brooklyn (I'm subletting while I'm gone), work on my portfolio, and start my job search. I'd also love to design a book about my trip, but that may be a bit ambitious. Let's just see how it goes first.