Offenburg, Germany


i guess im definitely a country boy, because i have the best time whenever im in the country...

took a slowass train yesterday (i cant afford ICE) from frankfurt to here in Offenburg and was immediately charmed by the surrounding. It felt even better when i saw Dominik waiting for me in the station, he´s like one of my closest german mates back when we were in NZ, we had so much fun together back then.

he took me on a ride and we cruised along his farm, educating me along the way on farming, i learned how to make apple cider and wine, and also about harvesting maize, apple, potato and grape.

as he is staying only 10 minutes away from the french border, he amazed me by driving over the river Rhine to Strasbourg where we visited the legendary cathedral there. and just like that, i crossover from germany to france and back in a matter of two hours.

at night, we went to the weinfest (wine fest) and tried so many different varieties that gave me a major hangover this morning.

Weather has changed from shit to perfection today, so we will visit some castles and the infamous Black Forest later...

i love the country...

Frankfurt, Germany


The funniest thing happened today..i was at the tram station, trying to figure out where to get the ticket. So i asked this girl bout it, and she looked at me and gave me a sly smile, saying:' you dont need one', i went like:Really? then she turned serious: I mean it! Follow me.

so we hopped onto the tram, and stood strategically near the door; everytime it stops at a station, we would keep an eye for the ticket inspector, it was really comical the way she would scan the entire platform with just her eyes, you would never notice it unless you were paying attention to her.

and then it happened, just one stop prior to ours, these two strict looking officers came in, i swear my heart stopped beating for like two seconds, it reminded me so much of that time in Melbourne when i was caught redhanded traveling without a ticket, i totally freaked out...

very calmly, this cool german girl headed for the door, gave me the signal that says: get the fuck out of the train! NOW!

i recovered from my dumb-founded state, very quickly, if i may add, grabbed my backpack, and alighted the train, just as nonchalantly as she was, brushing by the officers, like damn, get outta my way..

and my, did we have a good laugh bout it, feeling very good that we just got away with murder...she was really awesome, and ended bringing me all the way to where i was headed to...

i should so stop committing all these misdemeanours...it's intolerable!

:p

Cologne, Germany



Damn, this sure is one cold country, if only i havent taken the sunshine in Madrid for granted, would have soaked up all the warmth before i come...

Contrary to what ive heard about the germans, they are really friendly folks! ive gotten help all the way from the airport to here in Eifelplatz, navigating through yet another very extensive rail network in which the germans are so proud of...

ive said this before, and i will say it again, my hosts are awesome! God must be on my side in letting me meet all this hospitable people, they make me feel so privileged!

im loving Cologne, it really is picturesque here, wish i had more time to explore the place and not have to rush to Munich like a maniac..


maybe i will stop by on my way up again...

Madrid


So i didnt make it to Portugal afterall, i was convinced by Fabi that my plan to do portugal in three days is a lousy one, it wont do justice to the country!

We said our farewells and parted ways, it´s hard but that´s what traveling is all about, you constantly meet new people and then you move on, telling each other that it is not the end, but merely a beginning of a wonderful friendship...

Im right now staying with Kristi and Steve from Massachusett, they are really cool folks, and im gonna hang around in Madrid for four days or so...

the city is massive but it doesnt intrigue me a great deal, i dont know, it must be the lack of character somehow, or maybe im just feeling that tiny bit of lethargy in my travel...will try to slow down a lil´and give a break to all that alcohol...

afterall, Oktoberfest is beckoning me and im just glad that i have something to look forward to...

Goodbye Spain!

Hasta Luego...




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Buenache de Alarcon

my cutie pie


aftermeal indulgence




Edu´s mom high on pot


aftermeal recreation


lunch with edu´s family and friends


all-night party


My mates


Josete caught in a foam fight


the real deal


learning how to bullfight from young!


Belen and her Sangria


Me practicing on the pavement before the real deal

Alcala La Real, Andalucia


Alright, im seriously running a lil´late behind schedule, fine, i´ll confess, i DO have an itinerary to follow...

as much as i would like more flexibility in my travel and stay on much longer here in Spain, ive bought a ticket from Madrid to Cologne on the 26th of september, i really needa be in Germany by then if im serious about making it to Oktoberfest...

i know this is all very bad planning on my part, as it is, im not ready to leave Spain yet. damn, im having so much fun here! if i could do anything differently, i would have left London much earlier...sigh...anyway, that´s that...

So we left Buenache De Alarcon and make our way down south into the region of Andalucia...they say southern Spain is the place to go if you wanna see the very Spanish side of the country...

it took us hours on the road and arent we thankful that we´re traveling in Fabi´s comfortable Merc? (you have no idea how rich my spanish hosts are, the spoilt kids!)

we arrived in Alcala for yet another festival that continues on after Buenache, and as much as im loving it, i told the boys that i will have to leave for Portugal by tomorrow, im really running out of time and i will hate to miss Portugal before going to Germany...

back to the bad planning part, im gonna be punished with a whopping 100 euro for getting a bus ticket this late, still cant get used to spending so much after not spending anything at all for two weeks... :p

Oh yeah, i did it, i did it...

I challenged the bull! the feeling was indescribable when the entire arena cheered you on and cried: Torero! Torero! (an honour for the bullfighters) i know the reason im getting so much attention is because im a foreigner, but who cares? it really was awesome to be lifted up in the air and hear thunderous applause...

why dont time just stop when you´re dying for it to?

Valencia

Buenache De Alarcon, Cuenca


this is just so thrilling, after a week in Valencia, im ready to get into more action with the locals, so i followed Edu and Fabi back to the village to see more of the local traditions and to experience the authentic spanish lifestyle...

When i mentioned village, i really did mean it...this is a community of 700 people where everyone knows each other and they dont mind just their own business...it so happen that the village is having a week-long festival where people dance and drink whole day and get involved in a whole range of local activities...

being the only foreigner there, everyone is trying their best to showcase their spanish hospitality, i feel so welcome amidst the local and really enjoy getting all the fuss from them.

Edu´s mom is an excellent cook, there was so much food that i was spoilt for choice, and everyone is trying to get me to try everything and make an effort to stuff me with as much food as possible. The wine that was offered is first-rated, the grapes come from Edu´s vineyard and is the very best, aint i the luckiest freak on earth?

When night falls, we went to join the dancing marathon at the local community hall, i let myself be taught some spanish traditional dance routine by some ladies who just couldnt lay their hands off me...haha...no, seriously...

we later went star gazing at the moor, staring into the millions of shining starlets, allowed our thoughts be wandering across the endless field of wheats and sunflowers, at a chilly temperature of 10 degrees...it was very relaxing...

apparently when the people get into the action of partying, they dont believe in taking a break, it really is a marathon, and the event is a whole night/morning affair, where people just keep going, songs after songs, drinks after drinks, the stamina they have is astounding, considering some of the folks are way past their prime...

at 5 in the morning, the major event kickstarted - Bullfighting. Ppl of all ages gathered at the arena and cheered upon the courageous bullfighters...and no, u dont need to be trained to be one, anyone can just step into the rink as and when they feel like it, and trust me, you really need to be very drunk to do that...

I was encouraged and challenged to perform the act by Jose, edu´s brother, but his mom wont hear of it. It is like nothing you see on television, when you are upclose and personal to the raging bulls. The moment it charges so near the bullfighters, bellowing for all it´s worth, it just send a chill to you, giving you the cringe, the flinch, the gasp, and everything all at once.

we will witness the act again this afternoon, and hopefully by then i will have garnered the courage to actually step into the rink...

Im falling in love with the craziness of the people here...


p/s: i still dont encourage animal cruelty, but they dont actually kill the bulls here, just waving some pink and yellow cloth before it and taunting it...it´s not right, but it´s Spain...

Valencia

This has gotta be the coolest place ever, first off, ive succeeded in getting off the tourist trail, and now i dont see anymore bloody tourist, getting in my way all the time, taking pictures of everyone and everything (a little like me, hehe), and annoy the helloutta me...

yes, this is the ultimate spanish experience, im staying with the spanish, eating like a spanish, and party like one!

met up with Eduardo at the bus station and the dude wasted no time in bringing me to savour some of the weirdest food ever, Jamon and Fuet...they are some fermented, uncooked meat from God knows which part of which animal and he refused to tell me...and no, i didnt really enjoy it...

the highlight of the day was obviously the drinking session that happens before dinner...oh yeah, their timing is all screwed up, lunch at 2pm, siesta thereafter, and then dinner at 10pm! I particularly enjoyed the San Miguel and the Sangria that the folks have prepared, and of course, the sweet wine MISTELLA, it´s gotta be the best sweet wine ever, so cheap and yet so toxic... :p

the next day we had Paella, Gazpacho and Fideua at the local restaurant, and as it is a buffet, we ate till we could hardly move...

the thing i like about the spanish is that, they are just such a carefree and laidback bunch, imagine sleeping in till noon and party whole night till the next morning! and no, apparently u dont need a reason to party, i was asking edu on saturday night what was the occasion of the party that his friends were throwing on the rooftop, and he gave me a blank stare as if i was from outer space, ´we party every weekend!´, he said...

im really enjoying my sojourn here as im meeting new friends every day, my spanish vocabulary has increased in a tremendous rate and im starting to feel like a spaniard myself...lying on the beach whole afternoon and sunbathed till we got so tanned, and then off to the bar for tapas and beer...

now that´s life!

Barcelona

La Sagrada Familia




Parc Guell


Palao Nacional


Birdseye view of Barcelona


Museo de la Art


Placa Catalunya


La Pedrera


Casa Batllo

geez, im just so loving the free internet service that can be found in certain corners of downtown barcelona...

was talking to my fellow roomies yesterday and it turned out they are all architects and sculptors! three japanese, one russian and one romanian.

It was a very informative talk that lasted till 2am, and i learned a great deal about some of the buildings and sculptures in town, mostly by Gaudi, Picasso and Fuster, it sorta broaden your mind when you listen to their interpretation of a certain monument and building.

Took a walk to Parc Guell (by Gaudi) this morning and went looking for that certain characteristic that my friends have mentioned, well off the beaten track from the tourist path, and sure enough, there it is, that little detail that spells Gaudi, his intention and his little secret...It´s like reading Da Vinci Code once again...

will go back to Sagrada Familia tonight to decipher some more hidden codes in the building that reflect certain history...the building is still under construction (rumoured to be completed by 2026), though not under Gaudi´s supervision anymore...needless to say that after his death and the lack of a blueprint for the building because he was working purely based on his imagination, no one can complete his masterpiece the way he had wanted it to be...it´s just so easy to distinguish the difference...will try to get a good picture later to post it here...

this is all very intriguing indeed...

Barcelona


now that´s what im talking about, a bit of sunshine!

Barcelona is a vibrant metropolitan with so much to see and so much to do...i arrived here in the afternoon and was immediately slapped with the integrated underground and railway map; i dare say that the metro here is even more complicated than the london underground...

first of all, their public transportation is not THAT integrated, i got lost so many times trying to get from the TMB to the FGC rail (think of our Star and Putra lines), their connecting stations are not CONNECTED at all, you have to get out of the underground, walk on the street for a couple of blocks and get into another underground station, in the same area...

and no, the spaniards speak either very little or no english at all...ive learned to communicate with them in broken spanish along with lotsa hand gestures, it is kinda fun...the people are friendly and eager to help, they will go all out in bringing you to your destination even if it means they are getting out of their way...now u know why i love them so much...

im staying in a hostel on top of the mountain in the middle of a national park, it is still in zone 1 in barcelona but you get away from the city buzz at night, and you are also rewarded with a glorious view of central Barcelona...

Been walking around rather than taking the underground because that´s how you get to explore the city (and to save money, of course). Their buildings are very unique and lotsa them are inspired by Gaudi, that include the infamous Sagradia Familia and La Cathedral...

will post some pictures later...

First pit stop: London - Barcelona

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