night 166 has no photo and it's one of only two places i failed to document during this time. night 166 was spent in an airplane traveling over the top of the world, down past greenland and through the northern lights. it was a hard night. there was sadness and weight laced with anticipation of the fresh start i would make for myself during my journey.
nights 167 to 172 i was in paris with my dear friend, karina. we met exactly ten years ago on a night bus from melbourne to sydney and have spent the past decade in very good touch {think novella length letters passing back and forth across the internet between the uk and the us}. as you know, we had a magical new year's eve together. paris was the perfect place to get my travel groove set. highlights: monet's waterlilies at the musee de l'orangerie, taking runs to the eiffel tower, nye with karina, and the hummus from israel.
nights 173 to 177 were spent in vienna. my sister lives here with her boyfriend of six {?} years who i met for the first time on this trip. despite the language barrier, he and i hit it off splendidly and i had a fantastic time being given the local's tour of the food and wine here {i had more alcohol in these five days that i usually have in five months}. they were both fantastic hosts and my german is just not-horrible enough to get by in the city that was in general, wonderful and easy to navigate. highlights: the food, getting a little drunk that last day, navigating such a friendly city, boot shopping, rene magritte exhibit with my sister {a linguistics phd candidate}, and klimt's the kiss.
nights 178 to 180 were spent tucked into a corner of my parent's living room having horrible nightmares, late night gchat conversations and radiohead ticket strategizing. it was..................hard seeing my parents age, seeing them with clear eyes, speaking and hearing the realities of the life they have chosen. this hardness came with lots of gifts. i have an incredible relationship with my mother. we had lots of good talks. highlights: running in the austrian countryside, eating home cooked meals, the chocolate factory near my parent's place, and resting for a few days.
nights 181 to 185 were in rome {by way of a day trip to venice}. this was the portion of the trip i set aside to travel by myself somewhere and i wish i had allotted more time. aside from the late night panic that first greeted me on the train platform {as i realized the directions i had printed off to the hostel were more than a bit vague and what the hell was i doing there anyway!?!?!} i had so much fun in rome. i could spend days just meandering the city, bumping into the pantheon and happening across the colosseum during my wanderings. strangely one of my other favorite things was the relationship between pedestrians and cars. so many unregulated crosswalks across massively busy streets and you just have to gather your confidence about you and boldly stop traffic. and it worked. and on the small back streets, i loved how they belonged to pedestrians who would casually give way to cars as they slowly squeezed past. i loved it. and the city was generous in return. i fell in love with two paintings here and four friends. more stories later. highlights: walking, running around the villa borghese, my new friends, being alone, michaelangelo's pieta & the sistine chapel, giulio gargellini's ressurection, and klimt's the three ages.
night 186 was a lone night in a hostel dorm in dublin while waiting for my two cousins to come join and we transferred to the guesthouse side of the building to a much nicer accommodation. i arrived late after a fun flight with two irish men and a woman from seattle now living in ireland.
nights 187 and 188 were spent in dublin, drinking with the girls, navigating a city that drives on the left and getting really good food recommendations. the two daves that worked at the guesthouse where we stayed were beyond fantastic. the city was a bit grey but was livened by the silliness of two younger cousins. highlights: caravaggio's the taking of christ, drinking whiskey with the girls, beef & guinness stew from the brazen head, strangely, the bog bodies from the archeology museum, and running around phoenix park.
{hannah is covering her mouth because she just got news she was
not rejected from harvard law school. she's going to the 2nd round.}
nights 189 to 190 we traipsed down to killarney as i navigated {very safely!} driving on the left. car conversations are always the best and the countryside was beautiful. killarney national park was amazing and i got a bit of alone time hiking muckross lake on a beautifully grey day. exhaustion started to settle in as i kept mellow nights at the hostel chatting with a random drunk irish dude and the hostel's rather fantastic worker, pete. highlights: finding a ton of gluten free food in small town ireland, hanging with pete, the countryside, quiet nights & a short run through killarney park on the last morning.
nights 191 and 192 – galway by way of the cliffs of moher. more lovely countryside driving. more great conversations and amazingly sweet people. the irish are really truly friendly. i got a run in along salt hill staring out at the ocean and feeling the space stretch out around and above me. highlights: the cliffs of moher & help a little lost dog find its owner.
night 193 saw us safely back to dublin {same room, different bed} but i was exhausted beyond measure. almost went to sleep before 8pm. we were all feeling the weight of pending departures and a return to life facing the individual uncertainty and change we three had spent the last week hashing out amongst ourselves and our wonderfully tangential conversations. highlights: learning how to laugh with abandon with the girls.
nights 194 and 195 – back to vienna. a surprise welcome at the airport by ellie and emmerich. so wonderful to see a friendly face when i was expecting to navigate the transit system. we celebrated with a little whiskey i brought back from ireland. and now we are up to today. my last full day in europe. i'm going to get myself moving soon, collect some things i had left with my parents, see some more klimt, have a lovely dinner with my sister and emmerich and then get on an early morning flight to come home.
nomad nate, writing from vienna.
2 comments:
I think this is one of my favorite posts of yours (so far) documenting the trip.
of course. you are such a literal/linear person. :)
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