View this trip on a map In 1996 I sold my trusty 1973 Volkswagon Camper and used the money to pay for a summer in Europe, a college man's right of passage. The trip included a 5 week study aboard program in Barcelona Spain, where I studied the Spanish language and a few other things.. like Spanish Art and Architecture, submersing myself in Gaudi! After Barcelona I equipped myself with a Euro-rail pass and set off across the continent. Since the entire trip was 9 weeks long, I cannot go into all the details.. but I will list out my route and destinations, along with some brief notes.

• Departed Portland Oregon for Barcelona Spain
• Barcelona - 5 weeks of speaking Spanish, seeing a lot of Gaudi, San Fermin in Pamplona, late nights at Port Olympico, lots of friends and all around time of my life.
• Paris - Le Louvre and all the other main tourist sites, bruised my foot jumping down a flight of stairs in the Metropolitan (can you say stupid?)
• Nice - Realized that taking the night train saves you a night of lodging (i.e., free sleep). Nice is Nice, rocky beaches, met some friends to travel with.
• Florence - Got there on a Sunday, saw David, got bored and just made the train to Pisa as it was leaving the station.. whew!
• Pisa - It's a leaning tower, not much else here. Ate cereal out of a beer can for dinner after they closed the Duomo. Caught a train to Rome at 11:00pm, the train was full and had to sleep shivering on the floor of the hallway.
• Rome - Rome in a day? No way.. way. Got off the train early morning, went straight to the sites, St. Peters, Colosseum, Pantheon, Circus Maximus and Forum etc... Woke up early the next day, went to the Cistine Chapel and then straight to the station for a noon train to Venice. I sat next to a nun.
• Venice - It's venice, there are canals and tourists, lots and lots of tourists.
• Vienna - Ahh Vienna, nice people, laid back, less tourists. A nice place to stay over.
• Praque - It's 1996, the Czech Republic hadn't been a country for long yet. Things are really cheap, nice people, good food, very unique. A bit run down at the time, perhaps the closest I will ever get to experiencing life behind the iron curtain.
• Berlin - The most fascinating place of my trip. The city just felt alive and welcoming. People mistook me for German several times, very few tourists, abundant youth and lot's of punk music. First time I ever saw water pipes above the street.
• Amsterdam - It felt like San Francisco in 1969. The parks were full of college students laughing in the grass. Riding bikes through the streets was like absolute freedom.
• Amsterdam to Portland