Weißwurst, Schießhaus and Kartoffelsalat - The Great German Gastronomic Adventure!

Today I write from Copenhagen, capital of Denmark, and I am fairly certain home to the BEST weather in the world today. The sun is shining, the sea breeze is refreshing, and the temperature has just hit 24° - perfect weather to sit on the grass in the park and catch up on a blog entry! My travels have continued to be action packed, with very little sleep in the last couple of weeks – yet some great memories to go with the long nights and early mornings!!!

I have been incredibly lucky to have stayed with the most amazing people since arriving back in Germany, and to everyone who has opened their homes to me, I can’t thank you all enough! It has been great to catch up with so many people who have spent time on my own couch in Adelaide, or travelled with me over the last couple of years, and I look forward to seeing you all again on whatever adventures the world offers us in the future.

Frankfurt, Germany

183 down... 183 to go. Half way!!!

Today marks the half way point of my journey; a journey which has so far taken me to 27 countries across three continents, has introduced me to an unbelievable number of amazing people, from an incredibly diverse range of backgrounds, religions, beliefs and cultures, and has opened my eyes – and my mind – to a world I could previously barely even imagine, let alone believe exists!

In many ways, it seems like only yesterday I was saying goodbye to my friends and family at Adelaide Airport, and setting out on an adventure I knew would change my life forever. I wasn’t well the day I left Australia, and my departure was a mix of nerves and excitement at the journey ahead, apprehension at leaving my family behind for so long, and plain misery as my fever took my temperature from boiling hot to freezing cold, and left me with a wonderful Australian farewell gift – an entire outfit of sweat-soaked clothes!

Brussels... bon chocolat, bon amis, et une blanchisserie!!!

Brussels, the capital of Belgium, was my next stop, and with Ali still in tow, we headed back across the English Channel in search of warmer weather, cheaper coffee, and after two weeks of taking it easy – another foreign language to deal with! Brussels is a big, bustling capital city – and with a central location within Europe, it also the capital of the European Union (EU), and home to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

Where's me jumper? Ireland!!!

This afternoon I find myself in quite the unexpected situation – lying on a couch in the sun, on a balcony in Würzburg, Germany. Making the experience even more authentic ‘Deutschlandish’ is the luxury Mercedes dealership and car-yard the apartment overlooks, the smell of last night’s Wurst and Kammsteak dinner still wafting from the BBQ next to me, and the multiple crates of Flötzinger Bräu Beer stacked next to me – no doubt waiting for someone to find some energy and inspiration in the great weather to deal with them. I have become quite well acquainted with this exposed-to-the-elements couch (it has been my bed for the last couple of nights!), and while I am sure my choice of accommodation is not typical for this rather affluent area, I do consider myself quite the hero of the neighbourhood – I am the self-appointed protector of the entire luxury fleet of Mercedes vehicles below!!! I challenge you to find a guard dog that can not only watch over a full luxury car-yard, but can also dial the Polizia! Of course, I also challenge myself to be able to communicate with the operator once the call goes through.

After a whirlwind week back in Australia, my travels have now resumed as planned, and I am looking forward to three weeks of everything German (I may even try some of the food, just to mix things up a bit!), before heading north to Denmark, and then on to the UK for the remainder of the European summer. My well-intentioned plans to get up-to-date with my blog on the 28 hour journey back to Europe died at the exact moment the family of seven (with new-born twins, and one particularly pesky pair of 8 year old legs that enjoyed the back of my seat) sat down behind me on the plane, and any thoughts of catching up stayed hidden for the duration of the journey. Not that I would complain about such things – it was only a Sydney to Frankfurt flight… a mere 19 hours of fun!

My last entry finished off in Italy – thoroughly wined and dined – and after saying goodbye to Clem, Eliza and Lee, it was time to get in touch with my inner Leprechaun, as the next chapter of my journey began – Ireland!

Making love in Italy!!! Prego!

This morning I write from a massive chunk of engineering goodness, miraculously floating 10,000m in the air somewhere over the Middle East. My travel plans have taken a rather unexpected turn, as today I make the 16,000km journey back across the globe to Australia for a week, before returning to Europe to continue my journey as originally planned. I’ve made the extremely hard decision to fly home for my grandfather’s funeral, and while I am excited about seeing family and friends after over five months away, I am also apprehensive about heading home mid-journey – for this was a one year adventure I set out upon!

Sofia, Bulgaria

I have spent an amazing couple of weeks with friends in Italy, Ireland and Belgium, and my one-week holiday back to my own bed, and my mum’s cooking in Adelaide should provide ample time to catch up on blogs!!! My last update finished up in Skopje, Macedonia, and after a one night, whirlwind stopover in Sofia, Bulgaria, I was on my first plane in a while, on my way to the sunshine, stone-fruit and silliness of Italy!!!