Munich & Hamburg

After leaving Florence, I spent three days in Germany. There is a sleeper train which runs most nights directly to Munich from Florence, and, being a bit of a nerd, couldn't resist taking this out of sheer curiosity. Plus, I reasoned, it was better value, seeing as I was paying for both transport and accommodation together.

On the other hand, it wasn't exactly a good night's sleep. Not through any fault of the train operator; nope, I was so enthralled with the novelty and romance of travelling at speed through the night to a different country, from the comfort of a bed in my own cabin, that I probably had all of about 3 hours sleep. Had I been less of a loser, though, I would have slept much more soundly as I can assure you that lying on a bed in a train, with your head on a pillow gazing out at the dark night, is very soothing indeed.

I arrived in Munich at 6:30 in the morning, which was actually lovely, even though some night owls might disagree. It was nice to walk through the city when all was quiet, and admire the buildings without all the tourists getting in the way of a good photo. It was, however, a long day, and by 6 in the evening I was totally pooped.

One of the reasons for going to Munich was that it is possible to do a day trip to Neuschwanstein Castle, which I had wanted to visit. In the end, though, I decided against it for a number of reasons: I was still really tired (and I know my limits as an introvert), the cost was higher than I had thought, and the travelling time would have been around a 4 hour round trip which I wasn't really up for. So instead, I visited Munich's Toy Museum in the morning, and then went to the Alte Pinakothek in the afternoon, one of Munich's art galleries.

The Toy Museum is a small place, ensconced in a little tower/turret thing near to the Town Hall. There are four rooms on separate floors as you go down a spiral staircase, all of which have interesting collections of German-made toys throughout the ages showing beautiful craftsmanship. It cost €4 for entry, and, while it didn't take long to see the whole place, it was a pleasant enough visit.

The tower where the Toy Museum is situated

It was a relief to get to the Alte Pinakotek, as it had started raining quite heavily at this point. The gallery is undergoing renovation so some parts were closed to the public, which meant a reduced entry rate. I have absolutely no knowledge of art, and my appreciation is rather simplistic - I just like looking at the pictures. They had a few Heironymous Bosch pieces, though, which made me happy as I do like his work.

There is also a lovely cafe inside the gallery, with a gorgeous seating area and nice high ceilings. It was utterly comforting to sit in there with a cappuccino, reading my book and watching the rain from my window seat. 

I only spent two full days in Munich, but that was enough for me. It was nice, but I have no desire to revisit. Perhaps for someone who is a beer aficionado it would be a fun trip as there are unsurprisingly plenty of pubs and beer gardens, but as I am not much of a drinker when I am alone, and detest beer in any case, this alas was not alas an aspect I could appreciate.

I then caught a train to Hamburg. I had only intended this to be a quick stopover to break up my journey to Copenhagen, as I would have had to change trains here anyway. But having had a brief glimpse of the place, I'm deeply regretting that as it seemed much more interesting than Munich. The warehouse district I found very impressive, as I did the inner/smaller lake. I didn't even have time to set foot on the Reeperbahn, Hamburg's seedy (read: entertaining) street.

Hamburg's warehouse district

Hamburg's Inner Alster (Lake)

On Plans.

I like plans. Plans are good. They give you the security of knowing what's going to happen, and make you feel a bit more prepared for that unknown that is the future. I like planning things, and they give me something to look forward to.

So I think I've made my opinions clear. I have for the last two or so years, been pondering and planning this trip of mine. Partly to give me something to look forward to, but also to give me some modicum of control and of knowing how to cope in a country where I don't speak the language.

Now that I'm here, however, I don't like my plans any more. I had aimed to spend a week or so at a time visiting different cities, and to intersperse that with a few weeks at a time with farmstays such as through Workaway or WWOOF. I figured this would offer a nice break from the constant travelling, walking and sightseeing, and balance things out. I like my quiet peaceful countryside, so it sounded ideal.

The thing is, though, I'm actually enjoying the travelling, walking and sightseeing. I don't really want to be lingering for weeks at a time in one place. I'm currently on my first farmstay, at a riding school southeast of Florence in the Tuscan countryside hillside and had planned to stay here three weeks. So far I've been here three days. While it's a lovely place, the whole ethos of workstays just doesn't seem to fit in with what I want any more. Plans and desires and motivations morph and evolve, and I think I need to be honest with myself and acknowledge that maybe, what is better right now is to wing it, and just do the backpacking-round-cities thing. I don't do spontaneous that easily when it comes to going places, so this is kind of a shock for me. But I'm going to go with it.

What it does mean, though, is that because I won't be spending 3 or 4 weeks at each farmstay, my trip will be significantly shorter than planned. I don't want to stay in one place for too long, but my budget constraints mean I can't just use that extra time to travel to other places. It's a possibility, but it's unlikely.

So. I will be leaving my workstay in Tuscany at the end of the week, and deciding where to go next. It wasn't what was planned, but it's what I want to do, so nyer nyer to the haterz.

Florence

Oh, Firenze. So many people told me before I left the UK how beautiful they thought Florence was. I remembered their comments, while remaining a bit skeptical - purely because whenever a lot of people tell me how amazing a thing is, my patented Anti-Peer-Pressure mechanism (aka Being Contrary) sets in. Which is why it took me two years to listen to people and sit down and watch Game of Thrones, now my favourite TV show.

I digress. Like I said, I didn't get my hopes up about Florence. But it didn't matter, I fell in love as soon as I got near my hostel and realised how close I was staying to the Duomo. I can step outside my hostel and see the cathedral down a narrow street.

I spent the first afternoon of my stay just sitting outside the Duomo and admiring its beauty, whilst eating the best gelato ever (from Edoardo - if you're in Florence, it's highly recommended), and listening to a man play songs from Amélie on the accordion. 

I could seriously just walk the streets of Florence and nothing else, and be happy. And that, indeed, is more or less what I did.

I am currently staying at a riding school in Tuscany, not too far from Florence. So there will be less of the frenzied city updates, but hopefully not for too long.

Herculaneum

As I mentioned in my previous post, my main reason for coming to Naples in the first place was to visit Pompeii. Just because, you know, it had to be done. But a couple of months ago, my tattooist (who has a degree in anthropology, so I trust her judgement) said that Herculaneum is generally considered to be a better visit than Pompeii. I had sort of hoped I might manage to squeeze both in, which I might have done had I been more organised/less tired.

I set off from my hostel a little after 9, and got to Herculaneum around 10am. It *should* be extremely easy to get there; however, Naples aren't exactly very forthcoming with their railway route maps or departure boards so I took a guess and fortunately won.

Anyhoo. The site itself is really close to the train station, a 5 minute walk down the main road and you're there. I spent an enjoyable couple of hours wandering round the ruins and looking at all the different buildings and rooms which had been excavated.

Here would be a nice moment for me to share some interesting fact-aroons about Herculaneum. Sadly, my brain just doesn't work that way and so I can't remember anything useful. However, I will share some interesting photos instead.

The view when entering the site

Thermopolium - an establishment serving lunchtime hot food

Hanging round at another thermopolium. Didn't get any lunch though. #PoorService

I came out of Herculaneum around noon. If I'd had the energy, it would have been possible to fit Pompeii in as well, as the site was open until 7pm, but it would have been a long and tiring day. So instead, I headed back to Naples and went to the Archaeological Museum. I'm very glad I did, because this is where many of the artifacts retrieved from both Pompeii and Herculaneum are stored, so in my opinion if you go to the sites themselves, the museum is a must-visit too.

I spent a couple of hours in there, though I neglected to acquire a map and I have a feeling I missed out on some rooms - again, as with the rest of Naples, any helpful signage seems to be not only optional, but actually frowned upon. Maybe it's to ensure people earn the privilege of visiting them, I don't know. I did, however, manage to find the 'Secret Cabinet' - this is the room containing all the ruder pieces of art excavated from the volcano sites, including many, many, many phalluses (they were used as good luck talismans and were often placed over doorways to ward off evil). Don't be frightened, though, I took no pictures.

Naples

I really wasn't looking forward to Naples. The suburbs I saw from my train ride in looked grim and dismal. Also, Bill Bryson had nothing nice whatever to say about the place in Here and There, so it wasn't looking promising. I only had one full day, so I was fully expecting to just visit Pompeii or Herculaneum, and that would be it.

My arrival certainly didn't get off to a good start. The short walk from the train station to my hostel proved all the stereotypes about Italian men and their attitude to women, and I felt really uncomfortable. Especially when I realised how much of a dive the area my hostel was in - in the market area, covered with litter, and generally just looking rough. I had visions of... Well, I'm not going to say what those visions were, because my family are reading this and I don't want to worry them.

In any case, all's well. I met up with a fellow traveller literally as I checked in at the hostel, and we went for a walk along the coastline to try and find some interesting parts of Naples. It wasn't pleasant in some areas - I think I may have seen a homeless man squatting by the side of a busy main road but I looked away out of decorum.

We got to the Castel Dell' Ovo. A lovely old building, and you can climb almost to the top which gives you a great view over the bay. Plus, it was free of charge which is always good in my book. The free entry I think may have contributed to the number of people loitering around, but in a good way - there were locals just sat on the cannons, reading books.

Castel dell' Ovo. Sadly it was a grey and rainy day so the Mediterranean was an uncharacteristic shade of grey

We then managed to find the posh part of Naples - entirely by accident. It was bizarre, but that's because I've only ever seen shops of that calibre in drizzly cold Bond Street in London, rather than a sunny coastal town. Needless to say, I had no desire to linger and risk spending my money in Prada or Valentino. We did, however, manage to find a couple more old pretty buildings.

After a brief detour of getting lost - and by brief I mean two hours - it was dinnertime, so on the recommendation of the hostel staff headed to Gino Sorbillo's. Seriously. Possibly the best pizza of my life. And, and! To further endear myself to the area, there was an older gentleman sat at a table nearby, with a King Charles spaniel on his lap, which was just totally normal. Perfect.

Last night there was a walking tour arranged by one of the hostel staff, so I headed out with a few others. When I say 'walking tour', I really mean our host just walked us to the cheapest/best drinking spots in the area. Apparently Naples is the cheapest place for alcohol... I had a bottle (yes, you read that right) of gin and tonic for €1.50. Dangerous stuff. But the atmosphere was brilliant, I don't think I could even compare it to anywhere else.

And what really won me over to Naples? Yes, it's dirty and grimy. But it's so vibrant, and real, and just the atmosphere feels totally alive and fun. 

Rome Part 2

Now that I have a better internet connection, I've been able to upload a selection of photos from Rome. Enjoy! (or not - my photography skills are not that great).

Trastevere

See how much I like bridges?

Castel Sant' Angelo

Pantheon

Inside the Pantheon

The Colosseum

Rome

The day of my adventure finally came, and on the 11th May I was off. I'd had three hours sleep and no breakfast, so by the time I arrived in Rome at 1pm I was feeling pretty weak, and as a consequence found the whole thing a bit overwhelming. Nevertheless, I found my hostel without too much difficulty.

I stayed at the Orsa Maggiore, which is a women-only hostel. It was nice and quiet, and the staff very helpful. The rooms are a bit basic - the shower cubicle doors were almost falling off - but clean, and the hostel is in a lovely area. Trastevere is on the west side of the river; it's a little distance from the main sights (thought still easily accessible), but that are plenty of pretty little piazzas, along with lots of nice bars and restaurants.

During my first 24 hours in Rome, I was mistaken for an Italian on three separate occasions. I was a bit confused, but according to the hostel receptionist (who started chattering in Italian to me when I checked in), I "have an Italian face".. Whatever that means.

I've spent most of my time just walking around the city. Partly because I find I get my bearings better and appreciate the sights more, but also because I just don't like buses - they're bad enough at home, without having to factor in unknown ticketing systems and foreign languages as well. But my feet are now more or less broken as a consequence.

I also seem to have developed an appreciation for bridges. Or maybe the ones in Rome are especially beautiful. Either way, I have quite happily spent time just walking up and down the Tiber, and this morning I spent a good couple of hours just sat by the riverside near one of the bridges (Ponte Cestio if you really care), people watching and sketching.

I can't make up my mind about Rome as a whole. On occasions, I found myself feeling a bit annoyed with it; the smelliness, noisiness, and the terrifying ordeal that is attempting to cross the road or basically go anywhere near Italian drivers. But I'm not sure whether my annoyance was just me feeling a tad homesick, because, really, everyone knows there is no better place than Yorkshire. But the next minute, I would be marvelling at how unreal it all seemed, so many old buildings and ruins just lying around in the city.

Anyway. Now would be an appropriate time for photos, wouldn't it? Unfortunately, you're going to have to wait. The internet connection here is so poor it's just not possible - it's taken me nearly two hours just to check my emails and onward routes. I just tried to upload one photo and I swear my netbook let out a cry of pain. The next opportunity, there will be photos. But for now, onto Naples!

In Which I Say Goodbye

I've come to the conclusion that I'm terrible at goodbyes. Some people can say exactly the right things, which are sincere and caring and clever, whilst also successfully navigating hugs and working out which direction to walk in.

I am not one of those people. I pause and gape like a gutted guppy, feeling like there is more I want to say but not quite managing to get anything out other than the usual little insignificant tokens. And then still usually end up doing the 'awkward hug', or tripping up as I'm walking away.

However, my goodbyes are done. I even found time to say goodbye to this beast:

The to-do list has been fully ticked - actually that's a lie, I still have a crap-ton of things left to do but I'm running out of time so I'm just going to bury my head in the sand.

I have managed to pack, though. Gadgets and gizmos and coping mechanisms galore, all just-about stuffed inside a carry-on size backpack:

Why yes, I am taking a graffiti'ed My Little Pony with me. Childhood nostalgia ftw.

The sheer fact of what I am going to do has hit me, and to be honest I can't decide whether I feel dazed or panicked... It switches from one to the other.

I certainly don't feel ready. My comfort-zone loving introvert side doesn't relax until I know exactly where I'm going, what I'm doing and whether there will be a nice quiet room somewhere with no people... Which won't really happen for the next four months, in all likelihood.

Still, for all that I don't feel ready, and despite worrying that I won't have enough introvert-friendly downtime, I am bloody excited. I'm looking forward to gaining some new perspectives, learning more about other countries, and spending more time outside than I currently do. I suppose I'm also looking forward to meeting new people as well, albeit somewhat begrudgingly.

In Which I Leave Work (Temporarily)

Yesterday was my last day at work, for exactly six months. Of course I've had 'last days' at previous jobs before, but this one felt different. Sad because I'm leaving behind a lovely bunch of people, who have made the last 18 months at the company not just bearable, but actually entertaining, and frequently downright hilarious. Well, apart from when I make puns that are so bad I'm asked to leave.

But odd because I will be coming back. I have no idea what things will be like when I return, but because I have a fixed return date, it doesn't really feel like a proper goodbye.

Still.

I was nevertheless a bit emotional when it came to the actual goodbye time. My workmates all chipped in for a magnificent spread of food, so we spent the entire working day gorging ourselves on crisps, popcorn, cookies and brownies. I also received some lovely leaving presents, both useful and pretty (the perfect combination).

Why yes, those chocolates on the right are indeed gin truffles.

It struck me, though, that I've never spent this amount of time not working before. I had two months off a couple of years ago for an operation but, given that I spent a lot of that time lolling around on super-strength painkillers, it wasn't exactly an ideal opportunity to go gallivanting around. It feels quite weird as a (supposed) adult who's been working more or less full-time since the age of 18, to now have six months off where I don't have to turn up to a place of employment on time, dressed appropriately in order to spend 7 hours a day performing mostly pointless tasks. 

Cause for celebration, I feel. So tonight I am off to dine with some of my favourite friends at a Mongolian barbecue restaurant, and watch a show at the Hebden Bridge Burlesque Festival.