He does have news, though he's only a little less coy than normal.

And the internet is gone again. I seem to have a knack of picking apartments in broadband black spots. This time, the absence may be permanent, after our already-useless ISP decided to downgrade their local transmitter, putting us completely out of reach.

My master-plan is proceeding smoothly. You may know what it is, but if not, it's not difficult to extrapolate. All my applications for September were accepted (a fine ego boost!), so now I have the luxury of choosing the most challenging option. Once that's trained my mind and bloodied my soul, I shall take the rare (and welcome) opportunity to work in the US. So in less than 18 months, I plan to be living and working in the US. That ought to be followed by a proper jaunt across the Pacific, taking in New Zealand, South-East Asia, Central Asia, and finally, the Middle East. Of course, I'm at complete liberty to amend that itinerary. I'm almost as likely to head east and take the Trans-Siberian. After that? Perhaps a Ph.D.; perhaps not. I'm aware of my constraints, but I treat the world as my oyster, and I'd like to sample every last bit before going on to master it.

Budapest

The interior of St. Stephen's Cathedral.


The plaza outside the cathedral.


The upper front exterior of the cathedral.


The Gang of Four fellow explorers from the hostel, representing Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands.


My urge to jump was tempered by the knowledge that the barge was en route to Bratislava.


The (dirty) Danube, with Buda on the left and Pest on the right.


Crossing the Chain Bridge.


Peeking across the river at the Parliament building.


Looking across to Pest.


That wall was wonderful to laze on. Let's not mention the vertical drop on the other side.


I like the colour in this picture. It was taken from Buda's Castle Hill.


Sunshine breaks on Fisherman's Bastion.


Budapest, if you haven't noticed already, is frequently beautiful.


The stupendous Parliament building bathed in sunset gold.


Moonrise over Pest.


Two travellers stand above the centre of the Danube. You may recognise the skanky, dishevelled backpacker on the right...

My route across Europe

In case you're curious, here's a list of all the inter-city journeys I made as I crossed Europe. And I wonder why I'm still tired...

• Dublin - Rosslare
• Rosslare - Fishguard
• Fishguard - Swansea
• Swansea - London
• London - Bruxelles (Brussels)
• Bruxelles (Brussels) - Liège
• Liège - Aachen
• Aachen - Köln (Cologne)
• Köln (Cologne) - Mannheim
• Mannheim - Basel
• Basel - Interlaken
• Interlaken - Luzern (Lucerne)
• Luzern (Lucerne) - Bern
• Bern - Spiez
• Spiez - Interlaken
• Interlaken - Lauterbrunnen
• Lauterbrunnen - Stechelberg
• Stechelberg - Mürren
• Mürren - Stechelberg
• Stechelberg - Lauterbrunnen
• Lauterbrunnen - Interlaken
• Interlaken - Bern
• Bern - Zürich
• Zürich - Wien (Vienna)
• Wien (Vienna) - Budapest
• Budapest - Суботица (Subotica)
• Суботица (Subotica) - Београд (Belgrade)
• Београд (Belgrade) - Ниш (Niš)
• Ниш (Niš) - Димитровград (Dimitrovgrad)
• Димитровград (Dimitrovgrad) - София (Sofia)
• София (Sofia) - İstanbul
• İstanbul - London
• London - Dublin
  

Switzerland: The Bernese Alps

Aya Sofia!

If ever a train ride was worthy of the label "ghetto", that was it. Fortunately, I lost only 5 euro, 7 dinar, my English-Bulgarian phrase notes, and some of my Western prejudices and standards. I also acquired a marriage proposal, a short time in true squalor, a glance into deep poverty, some sketchy companions, two unsuccessful muggings, a knack for paying bribes, and a few really good stories.

Now I'm in crazy Istanbul. More to follow.

Alarmist?

The trip has been amazing so far. Budapest was especially fun. Right now, I'm chilling on my last night in Belgrade, Serbia. Ever wondered what a bomb site looks like up close? Ever been morbidly curious to see the sick devastation wrought by a cruise missile? Come and have a look around; you'll have plenty of spots to choose from.

On Saturday, I'll be in Istanbul, and I'm really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, to get there, I may have to endure the sketchiest 24 hours of my life. I'll be travelling by train from Belgrade to Sofia to Istanbul... and I haven't been able to reserve a cabin or sleeper of any kind. I'm told that it may be possible once I reach Sofia. There is no way I'm going overnight through Bulgaria in a regular seat; the daytime journey will be unpleasant enough. The "trains" I saw in northern Serbia were Third World at best. I never expected to see bare metal boxes without doors, air-conditioning, food, water or toilets, and people clinging onto the sides, pass as inter-city transportation in Europe. Then again, if you'd seen the camps and shanty towns that pass as regional cities in these parts... And beyond the seating conditions, the stories and warnings I've heard from fellow travellers are giving me the jitters.

If the first leg of the journey turns out to be repulsive, I may take the emergency option of an overnight bus from Sofia to Istanbul. Yes, it may well be nastier than an overnight Greyhound, but I've been told it's less dangerous than the train.

In all my travelling, I've never been so apprehensive. I hope my worries are overblown.

Really!!!

And now for Europe...

I'm a little nervous now. Sure, I'm excited, but this is the time when the anxiety creeps in. I can no longer escape the fact that I'll be alone, without no one to turn to, through several foreign countries. Yes, the 24 hours before departure have a habit of suppressing all my previous confidence... but only for those 24 hours.

It'll be fine once I'm on the ferry. Until then, a gaggle of little doubts will merrily Morris-dance around my skull.

My trip plan has altered slightly. My first bed will be in Brussels instead of Paris. Since it'll take me 22 hours and 5 connections to get there, I'm giving it two nights. I'm now ending the journey in Istanbul rather than Ephesus. Also, I'll poke my head into Luxembourg, and I've dropped Zurich and Salzburg. This way, I'll be spending a little longer in each of my stops, which should make the trek less tiring without being less rewarding.

Onward, pseudo-soldier.

Winter-railing!

The drift has been arrested.

Last time I wrote, I was rather listless. Now that I've taken decisions and chosen my gambles, I'm looking to the future with optimism instead of foreboding.

The option(s) chosen may surprise. You'll hear in due course - but naturally, one has to be wary of the corporate minions who trawl the web.

To date, I've only visited 12 countries - a rather pathetic total. Just after my 25th birthday, I set myself a target: while I'm still 25, I want to bring that number to 25. Thereafter, the total should always exceed my age.

I'm devoting this year to exploring Europe. Adventure one kicks off in ten days. The mission: to cross Europe without flying. The intended route: Dublin - Holyhead - London - Paris - Interlaken - Zurich - Salzburg - Vienna - Budapest - Belgrade - Sofia - Istanbul - Ephesus. In eighteen days, I aim to sample Alpine adventure, the high art of Mitteleurope, the decay and buzz of the old Eastern bloc, and the greatest city in world history. Capital of three empires, spanning 1600 years? Beat that.

As a trip like this can't be fully booked in advance, I'll be improvising and playing with the itinerary as I travel. I like to live by my wits! After Budapest, for example, there are potential pitfalls. (Let's not mention thieves and sketchy hostels.) The Belgrade - Sofia line is currently out of service, so unless that's restored in time, I'll have to divert. One option would be time-consuming - to continue south from Belgrade, to Skopje in Macedonia, and then Thessaloniki in Greece before heading for Istanbul. The other possibility would be to eschew both Belgrade and Sofia in favour of Transylvania.

This trip will see me set foot in at least six new countries - Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Turkey - bringing me to a total of eighteen.

Before anyone asks: yes, it would be easier, more comfortable, quicker, and cheaper to fly directly from Dublin to Switzerland... but where's the fun in that? At the age of 25, I'll have entirely crossed two continents by land. While not a spectacular achievement, it is a minor one - and one to built upon. It won't surprise you to learn that I plan to ramp that number up from two to five before I'm 30.

This is by far the most exciting trip I've taken since I was 21 - and I am *stoked*.

Beyond one's control...

Four months ago, I was planning my professional studies abroad.

Now, not only can I no longer afford that, but I may have to keep working to support my family, even though I live apart from them.

How quickly prospects change.

Québec (Photos)

Québec, founded in 1608, is celebrating its 400th anniversary this year. It's an interesting little city, though it would be an inhospitable home in winter. For those who think Boston, Montreal and Philadelphia are "like European cities", think again. (Or visit Europe.) Québec puts all three in their (proper, North American) place; there's nowhere like it in North America.

Note: As I didn't bring a tripod on tour, my night shots are all hand-held long exposures. I'm delighted with their quality; all my practice is finally paying off. You need ninja stillness to pull off a two-second exposure.


This fountain lies just outside the city walls. In the background sits l'Hôtel du Parlement, home of l'Assemblée nationale, Québec's provincial parliament. Its Second Empire architecture resembles Philadelphia's City Hall, and sets it apart from other provincial parliament buildings.


Porte St. Louis - one of the four gates in the city walls.


Part of the massive Château Frontenac hotel, as viewed from the Terrasse Dufferin, a boardwalk overlooking the Basse-Ville (Lower Town).



The upper part of Le Château Frontenac. This building hosted two summits of Allied leaders in 1943 and 1944. I wonder which room is cheaper per night: Roosevelt's or Churchill's?


L'Édifice Price, Vieux-Québec's tallest structure. This small skyscraper from the Depression era was built in a fine Art Deco style.


A shot taken around le Séminaire de Québec and le Musée de l'Amérique française.


Cannons along the walls of l'Haute Ville (the Upper Town), overlooking the vast St. Lawrence River.


Another picture from the Upper Town. The statue is of Mgr François de Laval.


A narrow street in la Basse-Ville (the Lower Town), harbouring more than its fair share of souvenir shops.


An impressive mural in the Lower Town. Place Royale, the site of the founding settlement, is visible on the left.


The Funiculaire ferries people between the Lower and Upper Town. It's cool, but I preferred to use l'Escalier Casse-Cou (the Break-Neck Stairs).


The QE2 was docked at Québec on its final cruise around the world. I had no idea that cruise ships sailed so far upriver - Québec is hundreds of kilometres from the sea.


The bow of the departing QE2. The ship is enormous; even the Titanic was smaller.