07/26 Hamburg, Germany

We rolled early into Hamburg.  Since we had reduced our load to just the essentials, we could now fit all of our belongings into a single locker.  We wandered about Hamburg searching for a suitable place to put down some breakfast and a few early morning beers.  That day had been earmarked as a day to relax, to kick back and enjoy the city’s parks and its many bridges.   …

07/12 Helsinki, Finland

I woke from a dream, fixing my eyes on the unseen shadows of the dark room and began tracing the steps of the dream that had just left my grasp.  I got up, sat at a table in the corner of the room and stared out at the moon. …

10/17 Stromboli, Italy

The next morning I hooked up with a young married couple from the states, heading in the same direction.  Since we had a few hours until our boat was scheduled to depart we headed into the countryside to get a feel of the island.  My German friend from the previous day had not resurfaced.   …

11/27 Pamukkale, Turkey

A small mini-bus arrived and toted us off to Pamukkale.  I only knew what I had read in the bible and in travel brochures about Pamukkale.  I understood that it was one of the seven churches Apostle Paul wrote letters to and was coined the “Cotton Castle” of the ancient world.  There was an extremely old hot spring that was believed to have healing power and over time became a center of a pagan cult.  Large limestone steatite created a beautiful arrangement of pools.  …

07/15 Archipelago, Sweden

The young man, who originally invited me to his parent’s house, got up at first light and ran off to work.  His friend Brent left to pick up his girl friend.  I began to prepare omelets for the returning couple and took the liberty of cleaning up the house from the night before.  Brent’s girlfriend was very sweet and quite attractive.  …

09/21 Versailles, France

The wind blowing through the trees surrounding Versailles whispered voices from it past.  Is it a revolt?  No it is a revolution.  Words.  Words that had challenged the cast system of the church and the rich.  Science, literature and invention tore the fabric of the aristocrats.  It started here.  A revolution now and then can be healthy thing.  I followed an English speaking tour to gather additional information.  It was a beautiful home but the maintenance bill must have been outrageous.  I guess it is good to be King?  …

11/06 Nikolaos, Greece

I woke to the sound of wind that seemed to be gaining strength.  It sounded like cats crying in the distance but no, it was closer.  I went out onto the balcony and noticed two of our lady friends down in the street trying to get somebody’s attention.  Apparently the door was locked and they had no key.  We had an early boat and needed to get moving.  Elspeth discovered her girlfriend never made it back from last night and she presumed she may have gotten lucky.  Either way she wasn’t going to hop on the ferry without her, so we left the two behind. …

10/11 Pompeii, Italy

I rose early to get a head start on the tourists and encountered a thief with a taxi.  Once we reached Pompeii he tried to double then rate we agreed on.  I wouldn’t give him a dime more so the argument continued until I was imposing on his next victim.  A few impolite gestures and more than a few choice works as he sped off.  I looked around and noticed I was the only person wandering about the ruins but it was still early in the day, which was kind of a weird feeling.  After about an hour or so I saw another individual and then two young men wandered up to me and inquired if I had any hash to sell. …

08/01 Gloriette, Vienna Austria

One thing was for certain, I needed a shower.  Sleeping out with element guarantees one thing, we were up early, so we took advantage and started searching for a room.  Luckily we found a room in the area that accommodated our needs, but we couldn’t check in until later that afternoon, so we reserved a room.  They were kind enough to watch our bags, allow us to scamper off and tour the city.  …

10/10 Rome, Italy

Early morning trekked across town and I followed the cats to the Coliseum.  I was disappointed it was a ruin.  I would really have enjoyed if it had been rebuilt and had the opportunity to see mock gladiatorial games or mythological dramas within its walls.  When I was young my exposure to that type of history was either through reading books or viewing movies but to actually stand in such a historical site awakened the senses of my imagination.  I could almost make out the roar of the lions and the cheer from the crowd. …

10/12 Napes Italy

When I woke up I notice that my knife was unchaperoned, sitting all by itself.  Most likely it was pushed away by me while I slept.  There were two elderly gentlemen sitting alongside the same bench staring at me and the knife.  I had gotten less than an hour of sleep and was still very tired and in need of a shower.  I followed those two gentlemen back into the heart of Naples.   …

05/30 Stonehenge, England

Like a string of pearls, one complaint began to lead into another.  One minute it’s the weather, next minute it’s the price of food, carrying too much shit and then it was his feet.  “I’m not walking any further, maybe I’ll just fly home”, confronted Jim.  I reminded him that I was not his mother and if he thought I wanted to hear this shit, he had bigger problems than just his feet.  “Nobody’s putting a gun to your head and you don’t need my permission to make choices”.  I explained that I was not budgeted for repeating every other step and had a plan of what I wanted to see and experience and sometimes those things aren’t at the end of a train line.  “I’m committed to go forward and if you find it in your best interest to detour, I’m more than willing to meet you anywhere else on the map”.  “There’s no rule that says we have to do everything together”.  I provided an example of picking up women.  “I expect this to happen along the way and when we reach that fork in the road I’m sure you’re not going to be wanting me hanging around as a third wheel or vice versa.  We’ll just meet up someplace down the road”.  I tried to be a good person and attempt to avoid confrontations but traveling together has a tendency to bring these things to the surface.  Conflicts start and end with words.

Surely I dreamt today, or did I see. I wandered in this forest thoughtlessly
the clever boy that I once knew; with pebbles white and bread crumbs too
left no trail and lost my way, where all my pictures were thrown away

Through the forest, in the middle of a glade, forever nagging to persuade
no plank or bridge was placed in sight, only fists clinched as if to fight
the wind, the wind has caused me harm; you pulled too many false alarms.

09/29 Strasborg, Germany

I stopped in Karlsuhe for something to eat and decided to head through Offerberg and then into Strasborg for a day or two.  I had had four consecutive days of good weather and today was no different.  The water just smiled back with the reflection of the autumn leaves.  I loved the way the city was broken into pieces by the water.   …

06/02 South Wales

We had purchased a train pass for the British railway that provided a few consecutive days on a train and then the use of a car.  Our plan was to more or less travel north by train until we reached Inverness Scotland, from there we would rent a car and travel the West Coast of Scotland southward until we reached Liverpool.  …