Zackberridge’s Weblog

Well, Ive actually been home now for almost 4 days, but i’m finally caught up with this blog.  I thank everyone for taking the time to read about my adventures.  I tried not to write too much, but enough to give a descent picture of my journeys. I have had an amazing ride throughout Western Europe while meeting new people from all over the world who all seemed as though Ive known for years, eating foods Ive never heard of and half the time couldnt pronounce, trying new beer and wine, playing music with fellow musicians, creating art in cities across the globe, having conversations and debates, having many ups and downs, as well as many new experiences.  It was healthy for my soul to experience such a vast array of cultures and customs.  It was educational as well as an exciting challenge learning French, Dutch, German, Swiss-German, and Italian.  It felt good to confront challenges and to overcome them, no matter the circumstances.  My trip re-enforced my appectance of peoples differences, attitudes, traditions and ideas, and to continue to view everyone as small pieces of the Whole Picture.  To see thru the surface of someone and getting to know their soul as a part of my own is very comforting to me and is no different in my home town than  across the globe, for everyone has the same essence within.  Ignorance is eveywhere, as well as intolerance, however, its our choice how we want to interpret it, accept it, and still continue to love one another.  During my trip I laughed, I smiled, I frowned, I worried, I stressed, I cried, I sang,  I played music, I walked a lot, I travelled, I climbed, I rode, I pondered, I grokked, I made art, I read, I wrote thoughts and ideas,  I spoke positives and negatives……………………………….and all I got was this fucking t-shirt!   

I apologize if the last sentece offended anyone, but I wrote it on the plane ride home, and after the stress I went thru in getting home, it made me laugh really hard when I wrote it, so I had to put it in the blog. Cheers! Zack-World Man

I never heard of this place until while doing some research I found a website for a small hostel in the city.  I initailly thought it was and hour and half outside of Rome, but was rather shocked to learn the day before my arrival, it was 6 hours south of !  It took 3 trains, and a lot of sitting to finally arrive at my destination.  From 10am, until 10pm I was on the road, sitting, sweating, and anxious about what was to come.  The sunset I saw from the train along the ocean side while going thru Pompei was a sign of the extraordinary beauty that was in store.  The Hostel host picked my up and I joined the group at a nearby cafe for some……..drinks!!  It felt kindof weird being the new guy, but after 10 min and 2 beers I was engulfed in conversation with some folks from Austria about music and guitars (and the worlds worst movie, ‘Hercules in New York with Arnold Strong’) It was hilarious hearing the drunk Austrians mockingly quote the movie because they sounded just like Arnold, ha!  We got in late that night, and woke up to a nice breakfast provided by the host.  We strolled thru the town in search of an internet cafe, and grabbed some pasta ingrediants from a very cheap market. (I bought a liter of water, one kiwi, and a pack of pasta noodles all for less than one Euro, equivalent to about a dollar).  We came home and devoured the meal and were watching a moving while waiting to go to the beach.  Three australians and Jon from San Diego were the new arrivals for the day, so we all piled in the car and went to the beach.  The water and view were spectacular, and instead of sand, the beach was full of small, smooth stones.  It was a little better than Galveston (just a little, LOL) I thought.  Than night the two austrians, Erin from Whales, and I had 6 bottles of wine and Klause (austria) had his guitar, so we all went to the beach around 1am and Klause and I played music until 6am. IT was probly the best night of my entire trip because the energy from the four of us was very positive and very accepting of each other (and of my musical flaws!). Its the kind of night that may never be matched by any other.  The following day, the 3 australians, California Jon, and I loaded into a small boat at the beach, navigated by PaPa (the hosts father) and we explored the grottos in the nearby island, as well as the main reason why I went to Praja, for the cliff jumping!  We jumped from 3 different heights; 8 meters, 16 meters, and 22 meters!  We jumped into the most amazing blue water Ive every had the experience of swimming in.  After my 2nd jump from the highest point I realized that the crotch of my bathing suit didnt survive, so that was the end of my swimming adventures.  That night I waited and hour and half for a train that was supposed to take me to another town where I would board another for Rome, however, not a single train stopped at the station, so I had to stay another night and get up at 5am, after 4 hours of sleep, and jog 20min (with all my luggage straped to me) to the station.  Well, I missed the street to the station, and so my jog turned out to be and hour run to the next town.  I finally made it to the station just in time to miss my train, so I just caught the next one and hour later. By missing that train, the snowball effect carried on and on, and eventuallly caused me to miss my flight home, and not being able to visit Rome.  I found a B&B to stay at that was 10min from the airport, and was right on the beach; very nice turn of events. Then next morning I was on the plane, first class and 7 glasses of Italian Red wine, and was glad to be coming home.  I also have to mention the flight leaving Rome was an hour and half late, which cause me to miss my connection flight from New Jersey to home, so I had to take my last leg in seat in coach.  There is a slight difference in flying coach and first class, but by then all I wanted to do was get to Houston, which I eventually did 3 hours and a sore ass, later.  My parents and Junebug picked me up from the airport that night and I realized very quickly that I did not miss Texas weather nor Pasadena pollution.  Oh, ya, and because of my travel delays I had a miss a concert that night that I had planned 2 months in advance to go to. But hey, I was home safe and whole and thats all I really cared about.  My next post will be my final thought. Cheers!

The title is a phrase I had to use quite a bit while in Italy.  It took severl tries and several teachers to finally get it down, but now its etched into my brain forever.  My journey to Italy was started with a beautiful scenic train ride thru the swiss alps and into Milan.  After some transportation confusion, again(by now it was very expected and thus less frustrating…….but only by a little), my host picked me up from the metro station and we went to his flat and ate some pasta, hell ya!  My host Fede was a great guy and we got along really well.  His english was close to an intermediate level, so it was a very educational stay for the both of us.  That night we picked up his friend Nuncio, another great guy, and we met with the couchsurfing group of Milan for some drinks and drunked photos! Every cafe that had happy hour also includes a buffet of really good finger foods and snacks, unlike the typical fried stuff you find in the states.  The next day we woke up really late and relaxed around the house. It was the first time of my trip that I didnt go anywhere during the day and it was wonderful.  When I found out Fede was as big a Pink Floyd fan as I, we watched a Dvd of the band and drank Bacardi drinks, very nice complimented with a cool breeze from outside. And after following up with a Dvd from ‘The Boss” Bruce Springstein, we met up again with the CS Milan group for………….more drinks!  This time there were a lot of new faces, as well as another girl from Houston who lives in Spain. It was a bit refreshing to speak with another American, but I didnt want to spend the whole time talking about back home.  After the cafe we all walked to popular square at a nearby church where the locals hang out and play music and in the summer they project a movie onto a very large screen hanging on the wall. All for free.  The night life was very full of life and happy people.  The next day we woke up late, again, and late afternoon met with Nuncio and the three of us visited an expo at a nearby museum, which had a free display of Italian modern art and design. It was very interesting, some was very appealing, some was horrible (in my opinion), but it was free none-the-less =).  Next we met again with the CS group for my last night in Milan.  Again, there were many new faces in the crowd, so we had another night of cheers and jolly, ha! ( i dont think Ive ever used the word ‘jolly’ in a sentence!) .  The next morning we woke up bright and early, only to get to the train station 5 mins too late, just in time to miss my train.  But it was ok, because there was another the next hour. (the missed train would be the 1st of 3 missed trains, followed by 2 flights while in Italy, grrr). I was stuck in the crossroads of deciding to visit Rome for a few days, or stay with my original plan and visit a small Italian city about 5 hours south of Rome.  I decided to make the long journey because the pictures I saw from the hostels website were absolutely breathtaking, and lets face it, Rome is very beautiful. So I changed my plans that would allow me to arrive in Rome the day I was supposed to fly out, at 6am, which would give me 5-6hours to see the collesium, vatican, and other famous sites.  Unfortunately I would never have the chance due to a string of bad luck trying to make it home, but thats another story for another time.

I arrived in Zurich after a 6hour train ride from Germany. Long, but very scenic (at least the parts I saw then I was awake), and then I had to take another 20min train to the town I was staying in called Windisch.   I met my hosts wife at the rendevous point, and we walk to their apartment to put my things away and to eat. They live on the 12th floor, and the view from the back terrace was amazing.  Next we went for a walk and she showed me around the city and the ancient Roman amphitheater that was still somewhat intact.  The city was beautiful, and amazingly clean.  Apparently all of Switzerland is very clean, and the residents are required to recycle everything.  My host told me that per capita, Switzerland is the richest country and on average when a citizen dies, they have close to 3 million dollars in money and assests combined….wow, i know where I want to die!   (sorry, thats a bit morbid)  The Swiss are one the only countries in Eastern Europe that are not a part of the EU (European Union) therefore, I had to change my currency, which is a hassel and with commision, you always come out shorthanded).  I didnt plan on spending much, so I had to pay with euro’s several times, which seemed to irritated some people, but what the hell, I had to ead (and have my beer!)  The next day I took the train back into Zurich, and after leaving the train station I just walked straight with no plans and no where I needed to go, or anything in particular I wanted to see.  I lucked out and walked straight to Lake Zurich, and was blown away by the view.  I took the sidewalk along the lake, thru several parks, until I found a spot at the edge to the water that had perftect skipping stones, so I threw my share into the lake.  I wanted to go to the beach there, which costs 6 franks, and being the brainless tourist I handed the guy a coin that had a 10 on it, thinking “wow, its really cheap out here.”  The man looked at me and hesitated before saying, “thats only 10 cents. “    I laughed  and walked off thinking, “the beach here sucks anyways”  haha! I then went to a park and took my shoes and shirt off, and layed in the sun for nearly an hour.  It was the first time of my trip that I completely relaxed for that long a period and it felt great.  Afterwards I went back near the train station for a bite to eat and I drew a picture while I muched on some strange looking, but delicious food.  I returned the house  in Windisch and watched some of the olympics before staying up with my host and learning about creating websites, which I think will become my next project while I start farming.  The next morning I left early for my last country, which turned out to be my favorite….Italia!

My visit in Cologne (Koln) was very brief. I arrived around 10:30 pm, after walking past the street I was supposed to turn on, thus putting me 45 min late.  I basically had one whole day, and then I had to leave early the next morning, and unfortunately my host had to work, so I didnt really get to know her very well.  The first night we had a beer together with Jack from Australia, another couchsurfer at her place. We conversed for an hour or so about our lives in a nutshell before going to bed.  The next day, well the first half, I spent hanging out with Jack in the city and we had some really good conversations about the Australian life and his journey to Cologne, then to Zurich for a job interview, as well as some really good Greek food and beer.  After he caught his train to Zurich, I visited a sports museum where my host, Anita, works.  She let me in free and I browsed around for almost 2 hours.  The museum was great because it contains a lot of ancient olympic arifacts, such a discs (that was one of my better track and field events in school……..1st place in distict in 8th grade, ya mon!)  Next I visited the “Dom” which means church.  This time I got to go to the top, which was very dizzying (made up word, but you get the point) walking up a spiral stairwell for over 500 feet, but the view from the top was certainly worth it.  Then put on my headphones with my music (the best of course=)  ) and strolled thru the city with no paricular place to go.  I ate some great, freshly made spinich pizza and had a great german beer (Reissdorf Kolsch) while I wrote in my journal.  Next, I walked along the Rhine river to a botanical garden that was absolutely beautiful.  I found a spot of soft grass and took my socks and shoes off and walked around, absorbing the earths energy.  It was very therapeutic for my  poor blistered feet (everday of my trip so far, I must have walked at least 10-15 miles). I returned home that night for some much needed rest, and to prepare for my trip to Zurich, Switzerland.

I chose to stay in another Dutch city that wasnt a tourist town.  I was greeted by most host Jeorone and his girlfriend-on there bikes of course =) and we went straight to a cafe for some ‘beerchips’, which are the standard drink order in Holland.  When at a bar or cafe, unless you specify what kind of beer, they will just bring what their specialty is. So its very simple to order drinks in the Netherlands. (in case you dont know by now, I really enjoy my brew~)   After a few drinks we dropped my things off at there home (more like a loft) that was built in the early 20’s.  We met with some of there friends for……..more drinks! and then went to their friends bar for………more drinks!  My first night there was great for I was very much welcomed in their circle of friends.  The next day my host showed me the whole city (which isnt very big), and of course the windmills and other Dutch standards.  We went to the outdoor market where I tried a raw Herring with onions for my first time…..and most likely my last.  I finally found a food item that I wasnt very fond of, but it was a great experience to eat that slimy fish…ugh.  I also sampled a typical Dutch snack that was made from two very thin and hot waffels with syrup in the middle.  Now thats what Im talking about!  I visited a bell tower that is the tallest in Europe, but it closed down when we arrived so I couldnt go to the top, so instead we had more drinks a the cafe next door.  That night my host , his girlfriend and I ate a Spanish restraunt, with real Spanish food and not Mexican.  I had a hard time seperating the two in my head because Im so used to Spanish refrenced with Mexican, but two very different cultures and foods.  Next my host and I went out again and met a lot of random people and several different bars. (by the way, to put into perspective, the glasses the beer is served in is between 8 and 10 oz, so it was easy to drink so many because they were so small and cheap)  I met an angry Dutchman who was heavily intoxicated and was very arrogant towards me because I am American, so I just laughed at him and told him I liked him because he was full of fire and passion. OF course he had no clue what I was saying, so he certainly didnt get my sarcasm, but oh well.  My departure day was very stressful because I thought i lost my passport, which would have been REALLY bad, but it turns out it was under the couch at Jeorone’s house. (not sure how it got there….probly had to do with the beer drinking, ha!)  After it was recovered I made my trip down to Cologne, Germany for what I hoped would be a blurry visit to many breweries.

My train ride from Brussels to Amsterdam was another smooth transtion from one world to the next. Amsterdam is a very beautiful city as well as a very hot spot for tourists. Holland is very well know for the windmills (as well as the wooden shoes, but that didnt excite me very much……..wooden shoes?) for the windmills were originally used to pump the water out of the city since much of Amsterdam and northern Netherlands were very much marshlands. Then they began to use the power of the windmills to saw wood, grind wheat and corn, and various other uses, which allowed the Dutch people to become very advanced and speedy ship builders and tradesmen. At one point the dutch were extremely wealthy from the selling of timber and ships, and the international trading they were able to do with their superior ships and products. As most us of know New York was originally called New Amstedam because the dutch settled there first. There were two common dutch surnames, the Yans and the Kees; hence the term ‘yankess.’ Also, the word dollar came from the dutch word for currency, dòllàr (pronounced slightly different), which came from the german word for currency ‘dommelsch’ meaning ‘from the valley.’

I had a great time, as well as some great food while in Amsterdam. I met with two friends, whom I met in Paris while staying at the same house, on my second day and we went to the Van Gogh museum. Being an artist I really was inspired by Van Gogh’s brilliant, innovative approach to his unconventional style of art. He refused to conform to any specific style and felt that true art from nature has no limits and no rules, therefore it is perfect anyway it comes out, and I agree with that completely. (particularly because if I try to draw a tree, it never looks exactly like what I see, so its a good excuse for me, ha!) At the same time I was saddened by his life story of selling very few paintings during his struggling life, ending up in a mental hospital, and then finally taking his own life at an early age because he suffered from Parkisons disease and could not do what he loved so much, which was to create art.

My last day in Amsterdam I rented a bicycle and crused around the city looking for the Anne Frank house, but the line to get in was extremely long and I was pressed for time, so I didnt get to see the attic. Amsterdam is THE city of bikes. There are twice as many bikes as cars, and the cyclists even have their own streets and traffic signals, as well as guaranteed right of way at all times. (thats what Im talking about!) The city is full of canals that are the result of the cities irrigation of the water, and there are over a thousand bridges in the small city. I think I walked over everysingle one on my first night after several really strong beers and being lost in a city who’s street names are impossible to read, much less remember. Plus my mind wasnt clear because I thought I lost my phone and was trying hard to remember where the pub was located that I was at, and that turned out to be a 2 hour fiasco because every damn street looked the same. Turns out my phone was on my bed in my hostel the whole time….wooo hoo! Well, thats all I will blog about for my Amsterdam trip, and because I got lost so many times I was a bit relieved to leave the city. Plus the Dutch language is very strange to me. cheers!