Back in the USA

It’s 4:05am and I decided that now is as good a time as any to start writing about my 8 day adventure to Europe. I arrived down in Philly at 6:30pm yesterday which was closer to 12:30am from the time zone I came from. When I got back to my house, I threw my dirty clothes in the washer, watched some Sixers, and went to sleep at 8:30pm which is why I’m writing at such a bizarre hour.

I want to organize the trip into about 5 or 6 different posts highlighting each of the cities I went to. I generally try to write with the reader in mind, but this will be more for my mental memory of the trip when I think back to it. So if you don’t like it, get the fuck out.

1/16/17

Martin Luther King Day was my unintended day to travel. I had packed the night before and was only putting on the finishing touches in the morning. A few tips I learned from previous trips:

  • You need this.

    Bring band aids (I walk around a ton and a sore on an ankle can be devastating as I’ll write about)

  • Bring an extra contact case & toothbrush (The cleaning service lost both my toothbrush and contact case last time and made it challenging to replace when traveling)
  • Remember the European charger adapter

Things I forgot to bring:

  • Shampoo
  • Mouthwash
  • Enough deodorant

I know these sound stupid but these minor steps in preparation can solve major issues. I went to work for a few hours where I made the intelligent decision to book a few tours through the Trip Advisor sister site, Viator. I chose a tour of a mountain in Switzerland and a Hofbrauhaus beer tour in Munich. I left there and came back to my place to take a shit. I immediately regretted it because then I had to shower after. I wasn’t going to spend 8+ hours traveling without feeling like a fully clean human being.

Red rocks near Vegas

Jeff and I drove to the airport. I checked in my sole bag and went through security with ease. I had two of the bigger Hop Devils and one of the worst wraps ever prepared at Chickie & Pete’s. I boarded the plane to JFK and was sat next to an older gentleman. I can’t remember how we got to talking but it turned out he was a botanist and a professor for a small school in Utah. I had re-read the 7 habits of Highly Effective People and Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People, so I was happy to put these practices to the test. We talked for the entire 30 minute ride about the places he’s visited and how different wildlife grows in various areas. Not my specialty, but he said I could call him anytime and he’d show me around Red Rocks of the Vegas area. The sickos probably envision this as a queer meetup but it was purely being friendly.

I got off the short connection to JFK and went to Buffalo Wild Wings where I had a few wings and 2 more beers. I boarded the plane to Zurich, Switzerland and was off on my trip. Not too many people were on the flight which is nice. I got to watch Neighbors 2 (not very good) and was unsuccessful getting any sleep as I was to arrive at 8am to Zurich, which is when I would normally be going to sleep. People do this.

Didn’t move for 8 hours. Probably still there.