So, it's been a while.
First, apologies to greenpurple for not getting over to visit her before I left on Thursday. I got so damned busy the last day that I didn't even have time to call her until the last minute and then I was already on my way out. I'll come over when I get back, I promise! I need to see if my other helmet fits you and we'll take a little ride while your SO watches the litle jewel. :)
For those keeping track, I'm in Germany. Specifically Frankfurt. Alone. I got dumped the Saturday before I left. Update for those keeping track with the poem I wrote during the open mic and read at the Cantab on Wednesday before I left (a first for me, insafemode has been doing that forever), he actually wrote me the night before I left and apologized to me for hurting me. Seems he didn't realize how it would hurt me until he read my FetLife profile and what i wrote there. Again, I'm struck by how little some people can understand other people. Not everyone is empathetic. Also realizing how we weren't right for each other at all.
So, I came to Germany anyway. Not as brave as it sounds - I had a non-refundable ticket, so I was damned if I was going to be out $600 (fees and taxes are a bitch) so I went anyway. A friend was using couchsurfing.com and I figured, well, I'll try this. I'm still making up my trip as I go, but
I am in Frankfurt now staying with a wonderful host named Jens (J is pronounced like a Y), and he's been so nice. I'm going to Amsterdam on Sunday to stay with another couchsurfing host, and then I'm trying to line up a trip to Berlin next Thursday-Saturday. I fly back on Sunday (October 4th).
Nicky (Davis) is at my house, watching the puppies. Kittin is in love with him (she's a man ho, always has been) and Mikey loves him too (doesn't everyone?) and Nick will lay on the floor with Mikey who lies practically on top of him. I know they're in good hands.
radioactiveart drove me to the station in Worcester (thank you, again!), and i took off for Boston on the commuter rail. It turns out there are two different buses on the silver line and I got on the wrong one (of course). When I straightened that out, I got to the Icelandair counter 90 minutes before my flight. Luckily, since they only have one flight a day from Boston, they close their international flight later than other airlines, so I wasn't late. I got out on time (9:30PM), and got maybe four hours sleep on the flight. I changed planes in Keflavik, and that flight left 45 minutes late due to mechanical issues. That put me into Frankfurt Airport at around 1:30 (PM, aka 13:30), and I was supposed to meet Jens outside a different terminal at 1:40. Luckily, my luggage came out quickly and I caught the shuttle to the other terminal and found his car (and him) right away. We drove back to his apartment and I got my stuff in and settled down. By that time I felt a little sleepy, because it's 6 hours later there (so in my body it was 7am, with four or five hours sleep total).
I had a shower, Jens made spaghetti Carbonara (yum), and we talked about things to do in Frankfurt. After eating, we took the bus and then the train to the main station in Frankfurt (he lives out a little bit in a nice suburb) and he showed me all around downtown. It's an amazing place and I'm struck by how much history there is here. Thinking about things like the Roman Empire and all that - we're so much younger in the states in terms of buildings and "civilization." I guess it's just a different kind of history where we are.
So, we got home around 8pm and I was pretty much wiped out. We hung around some and I got to bed by 10pm and slept. The couch is very comfortable, and I needed sleep. I woke up at 9am and we had rolls with bread and cheese and he brought me some coffee, too. His whole family lives in a couple of buildings with apartments (two story), and it's really sweet. Beautiful parquet and tile floors and a little courtyard. His parents and brother have nice coffee makers so he went and got some coffee for me before I woke up (and fresh bread, they get it every morning here). Over breakfast, he showed me pictures of his travels to Africa - really made me want to go there sometime, too. Just amazing pictures.
I'm leaving tomorrow morning to travel to Amsterdam by train. I've got a 5-day Eurail pass for Benelux-Germany so I can travel between those countries for five separate days (they don't have to be consecutive). My host in Amsterdam is going to meet me at the train station and another friend has recomended places to get the best chocolate and do some shopping (I'm bringing chocolate back, yum). I'll stay in Amsterdam until Wednesday and come back to Frankfurt to see Matthew Herbert do a show at the Robert Johnson club and he's also recording material for his next album there. I'll get a credit on the album if I want, and I'll get a promo copy when it's finished. I've enjoyed his work since I discovered the Herbert album "Foreign Bodies," and "The Audience" and the title track are staples of my downtempo/Cantab repertoire.
Next Thursday I'm going to Berlin and I'll be there until Saturday. I'm still working out my couch-surf there, but I will get it straight soon. This is just amazing and I'm struck by how much I'm learning about the country and the culture being with a local host. People can be so open and amazingly gracious - it just makes me feel good about getting out in the world.
I fly home on Sunday at 2pm from Frankfurt. This is a completely different trip from what I planned when I booked the ticket a month ago. I've learned a lot about myself, and even though it sucked to be dumped like that, I got a decent poem out of it (the first in about three months, which I wrote during the open mic and read that night - the 23rd, right before I left), and I'm taking my first European trip. It makes me realize I want to travel more, and I discovered couch surfing for myself - something I'd heard about, and I'm very glad I get to experience first hand. I've had a lot of people (some in real life, others online) say how much they admire the way I'm still doing this trip instead of staying home and hiding after things didn't work out with Todd. I thought about not going for about five minutes after he dumped me (when I was first bawling my eyes out) but then I said "there is no way in hell I'm going to give this trip up." At first, it was just about the money (I told myself). But then it became a test to see how I can adapt and travel by myself in the big world. In a way, it's a reaffirmation of the goodness of people and proving that it's right to trust people, and even when someone burns me, I have to take that as an individual experience and not let it taint my ability to trust other people afterward. I've realized that I still have issues with trust, and I want to be a healthy person who can still trust, and do it more completely but in a safe way.
I've also come to really appreciate my friends, and realize I need to open up more with them, because they're awesome and will give me so much if I just let them. People like insafemode , hazakaza ,greenpurple and radioactiveart and so many more....you've all been there for me, and I appreciate that so very much. Thank you for being my friends, and I look forward to sharing my trip (and all my adventures afterward) with you.
For those keeping track, I'm in Germany. Specifically Frankfurt. Alone. I got dumped the Saturday before I left. Update for those keeping track with the poem I wrote during the open mic and read at the Cantab on Wednesday before I left (a first for me, insafemode has been doing that forever), he actually wrote me the night before I left and apologized to me for hurting me. Seems he didn't realize how it would hurt me until he read my FetLife profile and what i wrote there. Again, I'm struck by how little some people can understand other people. Not everyone is empathetic. Also realizing how we weren't right for each other at all.
So, I came to Germany anyway. Not as brave as it sounds - I had a non-refundable ticket, so I was damned if I was going to be out $600 (fees and taxes are a bitch) so I went anyway. A friend was using couchsurfing.com and I figured, well, I'll try this. I'm still making up my trip as I go, but
I am in Frankfurt now staying with a wonderful host named Jens (J is pronounced like a Y), and he's been so nice. I'm going to Amsterdam on Sunday to stay with another couchsurfing host, and then I'm trying to line up a trip to Berlin next Thursday-Saturday. I fly back on Sunday (October 4th).
Nicky (Davis) is at my house, watching the puppies. Kittin is in love with him (she's a man ho, always has been) and Mikey loves him too (doesn't everyone?) and Nick will lay on the floor with Mikey who lies practically on top of him. I know they're in good hands.
radioactiveart drove me to the station in Worcester (thank you, again!), and i took off for Boston on the commuter rail. It turns out there are two different buses on the silver line and I got on the wrong one (of course). When I straightened that out, I got to the Icelandair counter 90 minutes before my flight. Luckily, since they only have one flight a day from Boston, they close their international flight later than other airlines, so I wasn't late. I got out on time (9:30PM), and got maybe four hours sleep on the flight. I changed planes in Keflavik, and that flight left 45 minutes late due to mechanical issues. That put me into Frankfurt Airport at around 1:30 (PM, aka 13:30), and I was supposed to meet Jens outside a different terminal at 1:40. Luckily, my luggage came out quickly and I caught the shuttle to the other terminal and found his car (and him) right away. We drove back to his apartment and I got my stuff in and settled down. By that time I felt a little sleepy, because it's 6 hours later there (so in my body it was 7am, with four or five hours sleep total).
I had a shower, Jens made spaghetti Carbonara (yum), and we talked about things to do in Frankfurt. After eating, we took the bus and then the train to the main station in Frankfurt (he lives out a little bit in a nice suburb) and he showed me all around downtown. It's an amazing place and I'm struck by how much history there is here. Thinking about things like the Roman Empire and all that - we're so much younger in the states in terms of buildings and "civilization." I guess it's just a different kind of history where we are.
So, we got home around 8pm and I was pretty much wiped out. We hung around some and I got to bed by 10pm and slept. The couch is very comfortable, and I needed sleep. I woke up at 9am and we had rolls with bread and cheese and he brought me some coffee, too. His whole family lives in a couple of buildings with apartments (two story), and it's really sweet. Beautiful parquet and tile floors and a little courtyard. His parents and brother have nice coffee makers so he went and got some coffee for me before I woke up (and fresh bread, they get it every morning here). Over breakfast, he showed me pictures of his travels to Africa - really made me want to go there sometime, too. Just amazing pictures.
I'm leaving tomorrow morning to travel to Amsterdam by train. I've got a 5-day Eurail pass for Benelux-Germany so I can travel between those countries for five separate days (they don't have to be consecutive). My host in Amsterdam is going to meet me at the train station and another friend has recomended places to get the best chocolate and do some shopping (I'm bringing chocolate back, yum). I'll stay in Amsterdam until Wednesday and come back to Frankfurt to see Matthew Herbert do a show at the Robert Johnson club and he's also recording material for his next album there. I'll get a credit on the album if I want, and I'll get a promo copy when it's finished. I've enjoyed his work since I discovered the Herbert album "Foreign Bodies," and "The Audience" and the title track are staples of my downtempo/Cantab repertoire.
Next Thursday I'm going to Berlin and I'll be there until Saturday. I'm still working out my couch-surf there, but I will get it straight soon. This is just amazing and I'm struck by how much I'm learning about the country and the culture being with a local host. People can be so open and amazingly gracious - it just makes me feel good about getting out in the world.
I fly home on Sunday at 2pm from Frankfurt. This is a completely different trip from what I planned when I booked the ticket a month ago. I've learned a lot about myself, and even though it sucked to be dumped like that, I got a decent poem out of it (the first in about three months, which I wrote during the open mic and read that night - the 23rd, right before I left), and I'm taking my first European trip. It makes me realize I want to travel more, and I discovered couch surfing for myself - something I'd heard about, and I'm very glad I get to experience first hand. I've had a lot of people (some in real life, others online) say how much they admire the way I'm still doing this trip instead of staying home and hiding after things didn't work out with Todd. I thought about not going for about five minutes after he dumped me (when I was first bawling my eyes out) but then I said "there is no way in hell I'm going to give this trip up." At first, it was just about the money (I told myself). But then it became a test to see how I can adapt and travel by myself in the big world. In a way, it's a reaffirmation of the goodness of people and proving that it's right to trust people, and even when someone burns me, I have to take that as an individual experience and not let it taint my ability to trust other people afterward. I've realized that I still have issues with trust, and I want to be a healthy person who can still trust, and do it more completely but in a safe way.
I've also come to really appreciate my friends, and realize I need to open up more with them, because they're awesome and will give me so much if I just let them. People like insafemode , hazakaza ,greenpurple and radioactiveart and so many more....you've all been there for me, and I appreciate that so very much. Thank you for being my friends, and I look forward to sharing my trip (and all my adventures afterward) with you.