Back home at last

We got to the airport pretty early where I promptly shed my jacket and pyjamas (I was using them as makeshift thermals). We were one of the first to check in and we hung out at the cafe afterwards. A crowd soon gathered at the arrivals gate, and it turned out that one of the Finnish silver medallists was on his way home from Italy. Dave grabbed my Suomi (i.e. Finland) beanie and stood around waiting for the athlete in the hope that he'd get on Finnish TV. Unfortunately, we heard from Päivi that Dave didn't make the news.

Finland overview

Days spent: 4 nights (2 in Helsinki, 2 in Pietarsaari/Jakobstad)
Aussies met: None!
Winter activities undertaken: 5
Times carded at pub/club: 1

The voyage home

...is a great movie.

Anyway, the series of flights home turned out a lot better than I had expected. I managed about 6 hours sleep in total and watched a couple of movies and TV programs. The food was pretty dodgey as usual, and I intentionally didn't eat too much for 'breakfast' so I could have some proper food upon arrival. We got through customs without any drama, and the only annoying thing was waiting a very long time for our baggage to get sput out by the Sydney International Airport baggage carousels of doom.

We were eventually greeted by our respective parents (both of whom got there late) and I ran into Jon, a former tutor from uni and a good friend, who was also coming back from Europe, but from Frankfurt through Singapore (kinda makes me wonder why they didn't put us through Germany instead of England).

It's a strange feeling - I'm happy to be home but at the same time I want to go back to Europe where I had so much fun.

"And now my 'final thought'..."

It's been a great journey. Saw many cities, many sights, and met many great people. If I could go through it again I would not hesitate one bit. It's been quite a life-changing experience for me, and I never really expected to get so influenced by such a short trip. I feel more motivated to try new things, to see new places, and to just 'do stuff' in general. I've also been inspired to spend a year overseas somewhere. I'm leaning towards Germany right now because of the beer, the language, and the people... but there are other possibilities (Canada and Japan just to name a couple).

I'd also like to extend my thanks to Dave for putting up with my crap for so long and for trying to make sure I didn't drink too much (which usually didn't work out too well). Thanks to all the people who gave us a bed (or mattress, or caravan) to sleep in and being such great hosts to both of us.

I'll be back, Europe. I'll be back.

Europe overview

Time spent: 6 weeks
Time spent on plane or train: At least 3 and a half days
Money spent: Far too much
Fridge magnets bought: 10


As Tim Shaw from Demtel would say... "But wait, there's more!"

Adrian and Dave's Eurotrip: Deleted scenes

One way street

When we arrived in London, we had a coupon for an airport transfer to our hostel. The driver, whose name escapes me, was a very helpful fellow. He showed us around the urban sights of London, gave us some tips about drinking and staying safe... and he took us the wrong way down a one-way street. He took a wrong turn and suddenly there was a stream of traffic coming towards us. Cabs were beeping, motorcycle riders were waving their arms (which seemed dangerous seeing as their arms should be on the handlebars)... it was great!

Paris: City of love

We were walking to the 'Peace and Love' after arriving at Paris Nord station, and just as we got there we witnessed a massive brawl involving several school kids. Later on, in our first experience with the Paris Metro (mass transit system), we saw yet another fight. It was amusing that the ticket vendor was watching the fight and laughing. City of love indeed.

Absinthe!

Not really too notable, but we had a shot of absinthe at the 'Peace and Love' on our first night there. It tasted pretty bad, and didn't make me hallucinate, so it was pretty disappointing. Apparently the more commercial brands of absinthe have been watered down, so to speak.

Gypsies, tramps and thieves

We got to Rome, booked our tickets, and decided to stop by a Maccas for a quick feed. When we were sitting down and eating our burgers and fries, a gypsy comes up to us asking for money. Dave offered her some fries. She took the whole pack!

Speaking of crazy gypsies, when we took a walking tour of the city, we happened across a group of gypsies trying to distract us with a baby. Chris, the tour guide, told us to stay away from them cause they'll steal our wallets. As we were crossing the road one of the gypsies starts yelling at me. It was incredibly weird.

After the walking tour, we took the train back to the hostel. We were with a couple of Americans, and started talking about how crazy the gypsies were, and how it was so obvious that they wanted to pick our pockets. While this was all happening, one of the Americans had his wallet lifted. Fortunately, he felt it and pushed the pickpocket, causing him to drop the wallet. The pickpocket promptly left the train at the stop.

Not the best of travel shoes

Throughout the trip I was wearing a pair of Allen Iverson shoes that I got during my last trip overseas (2002/2003). It was very worn out, and probably wasn't the best pair of shoes I could have been wearing in the European winter. The sole was very worn out, which meant I had barely any grip. This wasn't too good for wet marble floors or ice. The shoe was also very cold, especially when I was wearing only one pair of socks. Oh well, I managed to make it 6 weeks without buying a new pair while I was over there.

Cunning German beer bottle opening tricks

When we were in the metro system in Hamburg, we decided to start drinking our beers (you can drink beer in public there). As the bottles weren't twist tops, and we didn't have any beer bottle openers, Finn had to improvise. He calmly took a bottle and opened another bottle with it using the first bottle's cap. For the last bottle, he got Jenny's lighter and used the bottom to force the cap off. I have yet to duplicate such amazing German skill.

"Welcome to Finland"

Crazy drivers in Finland - on the way from the airport a truck nearly turned into the bus that we were in. Päivi looked at us and said "Welcome to Finland".

Entire butt

As we were walking along in Helsinki we saw a cafe/restaurant sign with the day's specials. The sign read "Entire Butt - 5 Euros". Wonder what that was all about.

The WC

After we had just boarded our final long-distance train in Europe (from Pietarsaari to Helsinki), Dave decided to use the WC (water closet, or simply 'toilet' as we would say) and, to his surprise, a woman was inside, forgetting to lock the door behind her. Dave and I were in hysterics at the incident.