6/13 – Matt and I toured the Old Jewish Quarter (Josfove) in Prague and the Communist Museum before deciding to grab a last minute Eurolines bus to Munich. We arrived late that evening and went straight to bed.

6/14 – The next day we did a free Sandeman tour of Munich that gave us a great overview of the city. With the help of our guide we managed to track down a small bar that sold Weissbier brewed by in monks in their monastery. At 7pm got our BMW 3 series convertible from Avis and started the drive to Switzerland. An epic drive on the Autobahn led got to our hotel at around midnight, a rustic place called Gästehaus Hirschen in Schwellbrunn, Switzerland. We had made our reservation on booking.com and warned the place we’d be coming in late.

The place was deserted.

After banging on the door, trying every door around the entire building, and even trying a few windows we gave up. At this point we were very deep in the Swiss Alps and decided to just keep driving towards a hotel that we knew was at the base of Säntis der berg. We passed through a small village on our way that had a locked hotel. When we stood at the front door we noticed nearby was a set of stairs going down to a dark basement. We faintly heard voices on the other side of a sketchy door at the bottom. At this point in the night we were happy for any signs of life.

It turned out that the nearly the whole town (~10 people) were all holed up down there drinking. They offered us free drinks and a place to spend the night. We decided to keep going after a few drinks. As kind as the people were, the place and village had a Human Centipede vibe.

6/15 – We woke up in the middle of the mountains, literally. Nearby was a gondola that brought us 2502 meters (8208 feet) up to the top of Säntis der berg for the legendary view. They say you’re able to see 6 countries from the top of Säntis; Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, France and Italy. It was epic. After we made our way to the largest waterfall in Europe, Rhein Falls. It was not quite as epic. A short drive brought us to Zurich for night followed by a dinner at Adler’s Swiss Chuchi, a famous fondue spot in the city. It did not disappoint.

Matt (Right) and I (left) on top of Säntis der berg

We spent a couple days in Zurich learning the city… and that the best chocolate is found at Sprüngli and Péclard. Sprüngli was best known for its Truffles De Jour and macaroons (not pictured). Péclard achieved fame through their chocolate, specifically their hot chocolate.

Sprüngli

Péclard

On 6/17 we returned the car to Zurich. Matt flew to London and I took a sleeper train from Munich to Budapest (which got routed through Slovakia due to Eastern European flooding) as a connection to a flight to Athens, Greece. After traveling a solid 28 hours and landing in Greece in the evening I went to bed and prepared for the Greek part of my trip.

I spent my few days in Amsterdam just biking around and exploring. When it came to the nightlife I took it on with Donny, a substitute teacher from California I met in my hostel. For those who don’t know – Amsterdam has quite the nightlife.

6/7 This was the Friday of the world famous cheese festival in Alkmaar. I also had the pleasure of seeing my good friend Henk, who resides in the city. He showed me around the town of Alkmaar, through his gallery in the city, and then showed me the nearby beach in Egmond. We grabbed a bite to eat by the ocean and caught up on each others lives. That night I spent in Alkmaar.

Alkmaar Cheese Festival

Alkmaar with myself (Left), Henk (Middle), and Claudio (Right)

6/8 After saying goodbye to Henk (and being shown to where I could get freshly made Stroopwafels in Alkmaar) I made my way back to Amsterdam. I grabbed my bike and toured the Van Gogh Museum followed by the House of Bols. Both were awesome. The Van Gogh museum traced Van Gogh’s life through his artwork and was highly supplemented by the audio tour. The House of Bols explored the senses involved in enjoying alcohol and the history of Genever.

Later in the night I met up Corinne, Maria, and Theadros who I was connected to by a friend for a BBQ. They were a bright and driven group and it was a pleasure getting to know all of them.

BBQ with Theadros (Left), Maria (Middle), and Corinne (Right)

The rest of my time in Amsterdam went by as a blur. I managed to see the Anne Frank House, eat Indonesian food, and spent a day with Theadros learning about his expertise in coffee. Corinne was beyond hospitable and let me stay in her place. I also pretty much lived off of Stroopwafels, going through a pack a day. For those who don’t know, Wikipedia defines a Stroopwafel as “a waffle made from two thin layers of baked batter with a caramel-like syrup filling in the middle.”

In Prague I was met by Matt Jayson, my future roommate in San Francisco. Prague is a beautiful city, but after two days of seeing the sites (and a bar crawl) we decided for something more spontaneous. We’ve managed to secure ourselves a BMW 3 series convertible in Munich in order to create an impromptu Euro road-trip…

ALL MY PICTURES CAN BE FOUND HERE (if you want some without the watermark just email me).

For my story I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing William Dunlop, Motorcycle Racer, John Harris, Vice President of the Joey Dunlop Foundation, and Barry Steels,
UK Representative for the Joey Dunlop Foundation. I also have phone interviews planned with Michael Dunlop and John McGuinness who are both motorcycle racers

6/1 – 6/2 This was a 28 hour travel day that On my travel day I had the pleasure of meeting Stan (pseudonym “Stan Dando”), who was an adventure writer. He travels the world and writes about his crazy experiences for number of in print newspapers. We parted ways in London and I power-toured the city (Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, the Parliament Buildings, and London Eye) during a 4 hour layover. Through ridiculous luck I managed to secure a bed & breakfast for the night with Cindy at Berkeley House in Douglas, IOM. Upon arriving at the island I learned the bus system was on strike, but managed to find a ride into Douglas. I dropped by stuff off in the B&B I hauled up to the press office at the grandstand to finalize my accreditation. Now that business was done I reached out to Sean & Niko, the two Canadians I met on my first day in Dublin that planted the seed of coming to the TT. When I connected with them they had met two Englishmen, Kyle & Fraser. All of us went out for a few* beers.

6/3 I met up with Kyle & Fraser who gave me a ride to photograph at Ballaugh Bridge, one of the most famous spots on the racetrack. Here the racers have their motorcycles go airborne for brief moment before accelerating to over 150 mph after. Sean and Niko were already waiting for us at the bridge. After watching the 1st supersport race and superstock race with a sidecar lap in between, we quickly went to Quarry Bends for a different view. This was followed by a few* beers in a Ramsey pub on the ride back to Douglas. During our drive back to Douglas though the Mountain section of the course we ran into a freshly fallen motorcyclist. We stopped to help and while calling in for an ambulance, which in turn called in a helicopter (don’t worry, the rider was okay, just bruised up). In Douglas I split from the group to do photography for a Motocross event held on the Promenade. Cindy has arranged for me to stay at a different bed and breakfast, The Greshham, for the rest of my stay, since she was at capacity every other night. Gill and Peter Bradley, who ran the Gresham, hosted me and took excellent care of everything. That night Kyle, Fraser, Sean, Niko, and I all went out for a few* beers again.

Ballaugh Bridge

Motorcycle Accident

Douglas Promenade Events

The rest of the week went in a similar fashion. I would wake up to the most delicious full English breakfast cooked by Peter Bradley and then proceed to photograph the race. Afterwards I would do photography for events on the Douglas Promenade followed by beers with Kyle, Fraser, Sean, and Niko.

6/5 My last day followed the same routine, but I had to be at the airport for a 6:15 flight. I managed to arrange a pickup from a corner of the race course at Barragh Bridge. This allowed me to do photography for the 2nd Supersport Race race and then get picked up immediately after. Oddly enough everything worked out and I’m off to Amsterdam!

Ireland has been absolutely incredible.

5/29 – I landed in Dublin at 8:00 am in the morning with only a 32.5 pound bag and a small day backpack to last me my 50 days in Europe. After getting through customs I found my way to the bus that would take me from the Dublin airport to town center, so I could get to my hostel. At the bus stop I ran into two sisters, Kaylee and Dani, who were traveling Europe together and, by coincidence, were staying at the same hostel as me. After we checked into the hostel we went off to some of the tourist spots in Dublin (The Old Jameson Distillery & The Guinness Storehouse). At the Guinness Storehouse I ran into the Tamoney family from my hometown, which was a insane surprise.

After we got back to the hostel and parted ways. I was really feeling the jet lag so I just wanted a quick dinner, Irish stew, and then to head to bed. I ended up meeting two Canadians at dinner, Sean and Niko, who were traveling to Ireland for the Isle of Man TT. All of us had the pleasure of meeting a group of elderly ladies who were visiting their homeland of Ireland. Many Guinness’s later I finally made it to back to my hostel to sleep.

5/30 – The next day I hopped on the Paddywagon and toured The Burren and the Cliffs of Moher. It dropped me off in Cork at a hostel around 7 at night with the promise of fetching me at noon the next day. I ended up meeting Samir, who was working at the hostel. When he got off work we went for drinks in the city.

5/31 – I spent the morning in Cork exploring: I rang the Shandon bells at the Church of St. Anne, I ate handmade sausages from the English Market, and I met Tony Linehan in Linehan’s Sweet Factory. He and his father make traditional boiled sweets and Tony marks the 4th generation of the family business. At noon I boarded the Paddywagon again and it took me to Blarney Castle. There I kissed the Blarney Stone, got the “gift of gab,” and we then made our way to Cobh. At Cobh I saw the Titanic experience and learned Cobh was the last town the Titanic visited before it sunk. After we made our way back to Dublin where I met up with two friends of mine, Trevor and Jason, and we went out in the Temple Bar District. At Temple bar we watched Dave Browne play guitar, the Guinness book of world record holder for longest nonstop guitar playing, totaled at 114 hours.

Today I officially got word that I’m going to be an accredited photographer for the Isle of Man TT 2013. I’m immediately making my way to the island the fastest way possible. This takes me by bus to London and then a flight from London to the island. So now I’m off the the Isle of Man!

• Ireland
• The Netherlands
• Czech Republic
• Hungary
• Greece
• Spain

I’ll be posting photos on a Flickr – they can be found here. I’ve decided not to bring a laptop, which will be the longest I’ve gone without a personal computer since the age of 5.

My goal is to try and post at least once in this blog per country, which will come out to about a post every week (internet permitting). Back to last minute packing – stay tuned!

• May 28th 2013 I will be flying from Chicago to Dublin, Ireland
• June 3rd 2013 I will be flying from Dublin to Frankfurt, Germany
• July 5th-9th 2013 I have a prepaid hotel in Pamplona, Spain for the San Fermin Festival (also known as the Running of the Bulls)
• July 15th 2013 I will be flying from Madrid, Spain to San Francisco, California

As a fresh college graduate, my financial resources are limited, so I’ll be doing this trip backpack and hostel style. I won’t be posting any of my advanced plans, because I don’t want to get kidnapped, skinned, and turned into a lampshade somewhere. But should you need a piece of lead-oxide infused crystal from Waterford, Ireland or something to that nature in one of the cities I’ll be visiting, send me an email, I’ve got time to spare.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my site and feel free to donate to my trip via the right sidebar button!