In Stuttgart & I cant wait to leave

Currently, I am in Stuttgart, which cost way too much money to get to, way too much money for the hostel and could've been VERy expensive if I wasn't using this one site connecting drivers w hitchhikers. I actually DON't know how much that will cost but I'm assuming under 100 euros.... much cheaper than the train.. and hopefully cheaper than 60, which is price of the regional trains.

Its hard to enjoy this trip when I'm keeping myself under a budget. So when crappy things happen, my stomach just TWISTS. like having to pay way too much for the train (and wishing I had done the Rick Steves thing and bought a train pass... or just that I was german and could buy my tickets FAR in advance... 29 euro fares are such a tease).

There's really not that much to see in Stuttgart. I'm struggling to remember why I wanted to come here so bad. I did see the Mercedes-Benz Museum, which was kinda cool. Unfortunately, I somehow lost my wallet when I was leaving, didn't realize it till I had walked to an internet cafe 40 minutes away and so i HAD to backtrack BACK to the Mercedes Benz Museum. I looked where I ate lunch. Not there. I looked where I checked my bag. NOT THERE. So, my adrenaline is kinda pumping and I'm sweating heavily.. partially from speedwalking in the sun BACK to the museum and from nerves and trying to think of my other options. Then, it was at the information desk but unfortunately, the 100 euros in my wallet was gone. That's two days of my budget... roughly. Oh well.. c'est la vie. I'm just happy to have it


Oh and Munich was FANTASTIC. LOVEd Munich... and people in Frankfurt are extremely nice. Went there to drop off my 2 bags. SUPER nice people. oh my gosh.

Stuttgart - June 29, 2009 - The entry after my wallet was lost and then found...without 100€

Finally, I'm in Stuttgart and I have time to update my journal. Although being here makes me wish I had reversed my destinations a bit. Maybe Wien-Munich-Stuttgart and had just held off on Frankfurt for one more day to instead use it as a jumping point for Dresden. Enough about would've, could've, should'vs. This is what I've been up to.

Saturday: I hopped on the train to Munich with the generous help of Clemens. Uneventful train ride. I sat by a nun for part of the way, which I interpreted as a good omen. But I wonder if I could've saved money by getting right to the Germany-Austrian border and buying Schönes Wochenende ticket for Bavaria. Oh well.

So, I took the train to Munich and mostly studied and did my homework for my final. Because, even though the study abroad program was done, I still had to complete that. Oh fun times. When I arrived at the train station, I immediately tossed my stuff in a locker. It was so embarrassing to travel with so much stuff and it was all so ungodly heavy. The weight was not distributed whatsoever. (I still find it amazing that I was able to pack everything that I kept in a room for 3 months into a backpack, a duffel and a laptop bag).

Then, I arrived in my hostel, which was a block from the train station. There was a school group, so I felt ungodly uncomfortable. But everything was made better when I heard friendly American voices. They turned out to be from Boston - Casey and Adam. I initially thought they were brothers but apparently, they were just friends who had grown up together. One of their mothers paid for both of them to go travel around Europe for 6 weeks. Lucky friend for sure

Anyway, they were extremely friendly and invited me out. We went to a Persian restaurant, where I ordered a dish that I apparently had to prepare when I got it. I had bread, pita and this soup with potatoes, lamb, onions,etc that I had to mash with a mallet and then eat it with a fork...or bread. Wasn't quite sure but it was delicious. I also smoked hookah for the first time with the 2 boys from Boston and we talked about...mostly Boston. Then, we walked to the English Garten and I finally found the Biergarten that I could not find last time in my fruitless search. This time, it was fruitful and the fruit was beer. We sipped beer and talked about our passions.

Casey and Adam were amazingly driven. It made me wish I knew exactly what I wanted, like them i.e. what makes me happy that I could do it for the rest of my life. Even traveling makes me homesick for Seattle. Still, I do appreciate all the differences and the variance in my life. But I'll also appreciate being back home, where everything is simpler . Where I don't have to pay 2 € for an hour of internet, what I withdraw is what I withdraw without a hidden conversion fee, I know where to buy locks, I can use my debit card to pay for things and everything is just easier. I miss that.

Lately, I feel like I can't enjoy my experience because I'm too worried about spending money. I cannot stick to a budget to save my life. In Vienna, I stuck to a relatively good budget but still spent money on frivolous things and enjoyed myself. And now I'm hurting. I should've more hard on myself in the beginning. I should've planned earlier to take advantage of the cheap Bahn tickets but c'est la vie. Now I'm doing the Mit Fahrer thing and I might do couchsurfing in Köln and Düsseldorf coming back. Still not sure if I'm going to Trier or Baden-Baden. With the price of the Bahn, it now seems out of the way. But maybe I can get a good deal if I buy my tickets now. I could visit DB Bahn tomorrow??

Okay, back to describing my trip. After getting a nice buzz at the Biergarten, we headed back to the hostel to see what was up. Absolutely nothing. We went down to the bar and no was there. So after ordering a round, we talked to the bartender and a Munich guy, Martin, and busted out the Wii for some good 'ole international Wii bowling. (I can't always be exploring and trying new things. Isn't traveling about playing wii bowling with 2 boys from Boston and some Germans?) Sebastian, the bartender, and Martin kicked ass but I did a nice 3rd place. However, the Boston boys let down the American male race. Overall, it was a fun time and I liked how the hostel had that available. Adam used his failed Wii bowling prowess to hit on some German high school chicks, who were extremely rude. I tried talking to them too and they basically shunned me.

The next day, I took a train to Garmisch-Partenkirchen for some hiking. The funny thing was it was practically on the border of Austria. Something to consider when booking a trip aka backtracking. But it was absolutely gorgeous there. Reminded me of the Cascades but ... more civilized. There were so many happy cows & nice people on the trail too to help me out. But I just hate the incessant question, "Are you alone? GASP!!" ... yes, of course I'm alone. Get over it

So, I hiked Wank Mountain - FUN! Saw the two villages and then I went back to the hostel to finish up the three essays for my final. There was a crazy, literally crazy Slovakian in the hostel - about 40 years old. He was talkign to me, told me I voted for him, not Obama and then said he was Bill Gates's son. At one point, he was speaking Slovakian and then, he was punching and kicking the air angrily... a bit too close to my laptop. While finishing my essays, I watched Brazil beat USA in soccer. Bummer but I didn't expect much. The Germans who were also watching didn't seem to be too enthused.

On the 28th, I took an overpriced train to Frankfurt. My original cheap plan would've worked but I didn't wake up early enough and it would've required to much getting on and off. With my bags and their weight, I thought that would be too much work. Now, I'm not so sure. But that's easier to say when I just have my backpack. I arrived in Frankfurt, checked my huge bag and took the u-bahn to the storage place. I was exhausted and breathless when I arrived but they were extremely nice and helpful. Unfortunately, I had to pay a deposit of 58€ and I'm not quite sure how I'm going to get that back since they mentioned something about account number... yeah.

Then, I left Frankfurt and took the train to Salzburg (another overpriced ticket) and arrived in the midday to walk to my hostel. It was incredibly quiet there, like no one was there. In the 1st night, I met a Berliner who hated Stuttgart and had way too many stereotypes about USA. I was trying to explain how they were only stereotypes but he refused to listen. Frustrating. I fell asleep earlier that night than I had in a while - 11:30pm. The hostel is frustrating because they overcharge for everything and its 25€/night. Breakfast is 7€! Even the tv, they charge for! Arriving in Stuttgart, I could see there wasn't much. I'm regretting coming to this town.

Today, June 30th, I explored what Stuttgart had to offer aka the Mercedes-Benz museum. Apparently, I'm not as interested in cars as I previously thought. I wish I had a guardian angel to tell me this was a horrible idea. I should've just shifted everything and stayed extra days in Munich and Berlin or something. So I went to the museum, saw cars and left. Decided to walk to an internet cafe and realized my wallet was missing. So I frantically walked back to the museum (20-30 minute walk), tracing my steps. I looked where I ate lunch - not there. Where I left my jacket - not there. By then, I was on the verge of tears ant trying to figure out my plan of action for what I should do if I lost my wallet. Fortunately, the information desk had found it. I almost died of happiness but as a strong lesson to me, my money of 100€ was not there.

With my budget, that news was devastating. That's 2-3 days of awesomeness. On the brightside, I am getting a much cheaper ride to Dresden tomorrow. Not sure how much it will cost. But I know it won't be 111€ (ICE train) or 60€ (regional train). I am missing Nürnberg but c'est la vie. What's there anyway? So, from 2pm-6pm, I'm doing a rideshare thing to Dresden and then, it's hello Dresden, you former DDR city, you.

I can definitely tell its tourist season here. I'm hearing so much American English, its not even funny. But it helps when meeting people because I can just join in and ask where they're from. Good convo starter. (althought slightly a bit odd). I'm sitting in a park in Stuttgart right now, while writing this. There's a whole bunch of frat boys drinking near me. Talking about jizzing in girls faces. Gross, dudes!! Why are American guys disgusting sometimes?

Seeing them all together makes me kinda miss being with people. A lot. If I was with someone, the wallet thing would have never happened. I'll be more aware now.

my itinerary so far

Starting to plan my trip!

This is what I have booked so far

June 27th - June 29th: My hostel in Munich 

July 3rd - July 6th: My hostel in Berlin - Wombats City Hostel

July 13th - July 16th: My hostel in Paris - Lucky Youth Backpacker Apartments (yes, DURING Bastille Day because I'm missing Independence Day. Might as well celebrate w/ the FRENCH)

July 16th - July 19th: My Chunnel Pass from Paris to London, my hostel in London and my Ryan Air flight to Dusseldorf

July 22nd: My flight home from Frankfurt

My, what large gaps I have. I also have NO idea if I want to travel to Amsterdam or not. I was going to book the hostel but had difficulty finding a good one at a good rate. I have a list of my destinations day-by-day... but we'll see how well I stick to it. The large cities so far are ABSOLUTES though.