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I'm hoooooommmeee!
Big up! Missed the UK, it's good to be back. The journey's been fucking amazing.
Favourite Countries - Poland and Hungary
Number of Countries Visited - 10
Longest Journey - 41 hours from Budapest to Oslo
Number of hours spent actually on trains (estimated) - about 80 hours, I believe.
Times sleeping rough - Three - Venice, Zurich and Malmo
Song of the Journey - Bob Dylan - Don't think twice, It's alright
Album of the Journey - Arcade Fire - Funeral or Crazy Arm - Born to Ruin
Book of the Journey - Jack Kerouac, On The Road
Beer of the Journey - Tyskie from tap for 75 fucking pence. Big up!
Favourite Train Journey - Milan to Zurich, the alps were fucking beautiful
Longest time gone without a shower - 4 days
Longest time gone without brushing teeth - 5 days
Longest time gone without eating more than a twix - 2 days
Night I got the most drunk - Budapest, I was drunk. Venice too.
Favourite Pass time - We went to the river in Budapest where there was a main road with a wall we could sit on. At 6am we watched the sunrise with beers and a Cinnamon Swirl and waved at passing cars until we got a hat-trick of waves back. It was fucking quality.
Longest Walk - 35km from one end of the lake in Zurich to Rapperswil on the other end.
Least favourite town - Bratislava in Slovakia, blergh.
Time I came closest to dying - Either from dehydration and exhaustion on the epic walk in 38 degree heat, I got caught in a forked lightning storm at 4am, got followed around by a very strange man at 5am in some city who looked like the kind of guy you see on crime watch.
Most money made from Busking - 60 Euros!! Big up!
Number of times visiting McDonalds or Burger King - 8
Nicest people met - I met some fucking amazing people, in fact, that's probably the best thing about going. I met a wizard in a square in Krakow with a guitar who I spoke to and he taught me that I should let go of all my restrictions and inhibitions and 'let go' of my life in general, and rely on the universe to guide me. I met a crazy bum in Poznan who I gave money to and he showed me all the contents of his bag, including 3 lady's handbags, some decorative boxer shorts, and a toy mobile phone which made sounds, which he pressed against my ear and said 'It's for you!!!'. The mobile phone then opened up to reveal two glacier sweets. I munched them down like an old twix. I also had a few awesome days with Whiterussian in Oslo, meeting her was excellent.
Other Funny moments - Seeing what can only be described as the drunkest man I've ever seen in my entire life stagger into the railway station in Malmo at 3am, fall around a bit, then fall into the tiny gap between the train and the station floor, shouting madly. I and a nice Norwegian man literally had to lift him and all his weight out. He then fell asleep on the side of the platform until 5am when we left. He was in a bad way.
In Bergen, I ended up jamming with 7 lovely Italian guys in the hostel until 5am. I was literally the only one who could sing in tune, so they revered me as some kind of God. They were cool.
Number of run ins with the Police - 2 - Once in Venice and the other in Krakow, both involving playing guitar in the middle of a square at 5am.
Lessons learnt - The Road is life. There are alot of amazing, crazy, happy people in the world, but many more lonely people who just don't have anything to hold onto. I met alot of homeless people, bums, travellers, old people who didn't have anything to do with themselves anymore, and they just really struck me as lonely, lonely people (kind of Eleanor Rigby style). The entire journey also helped me to clear my head, and now I've decided to give my band a 'proper go' for at least another year rather than move to London to study music. This kinda scares me, but I know it's the right thing to do.
Anyway! I'm back. Hope you've all been cool when I've been gone. I could get used to this whole being clean, having a place to sleep and food to eat kind of thing.
peace out x