please don't get me rescued...

*you live with someone else's dreams*

if you haven't flown ryanair before: don't. well, i guess that is a tad bit harsh, but i guess i am not the biggest fan of that airline. pj had his first experience with it from our departure from dublin to manchester. basically, you start queuing hours before you can actually get on the damned airplane. that makes for exciting times. also, the interior of the plane is so bright yellow, it probably could burn your eyes off. sleep isn't a big option (though when you have been awake for days, it is a little easier [see my trip to dublin]).

pj and i got to manchester safely, but not without losing our remaining supply of body wash. pj managed to leave his in the first hostel we stayed at in dublin then i got mine taken away by airport security. they are on top of their game. who knows what i would've done with that 40ml of body wash/shampoo combination.

anyways, manchester was okay. we had a long while until our train came to take us to newcastle and pj and i walked down the street from the train station (manchester picadilly for those scoring at home) and hit up a "nice little place" (see inside joke references for hamline in york kids) cafe nero for a little bit of recharge and rest. we then had to replenish our body wash supply, which i did at boots (the best little pharmacy in the world).

i know what you are thinking, all too exciting. well it was. it happened to be pj's birthday that very day, and we were on our way to newcastle to "tear it up: mpls style." the train ride up isn't too long, about two hours or so. pj and i got to newcastle and checked into the hostel, the albatross, and decided that we really wanted to see a castle and get some good fish and chips. we were recommended by the hostel guy to head our towards tynemouth, which is were castle/priory ruins are as well as "the best fish and chips in the area." well, we got on the metro line and went out to the sea. it was about a half hour ride or so, but definitely worth it.



^ tynemouth castle and priory.



^ tynemouth priory and graveyard.



^ tynemouth pier.



^ a fishing boat coming in with today's catch. note the flock of seagulls trailing it (finally an 80s reference!).

so after walking around the tynemouth priory for a while, pj and i went down towards the beach, took pictures, and enjoyed the sea. (ahh, good. the sea). we then went to the other side of the pier to a little rocky bay. well, being from minnesota (lake country) i noticed extremely calm water and an abundance of smooth stones. you know what that means: skipping rocks. pj and i basically spent the next 45 mins or so skipping rocks into the sea. probably up there with the best part of my entire trip. something so simple, yet so enjoyable. even if you were down on your luck and had nothing left, you'll always be able to skip a rock into the sea. really a great time. after that, we walked down the long tynemouth pier. this had to have been, oh, 300 yards. maybe more. i'm bad with distance measurement. it took a while, let's put it that way. after some more picture taking and a fishing boat sighting, we went to the fish and chips place. it was definitely a "dive" restaurant, but that is the way i like them. i must say, though, the chips were really quite weak, but the fish was excellent. we then went back to the hostel and prepared for our night of shenanigans. we first hit up an old pub by the old newcastle. i got to introduce pj to real english cask ale, which he liked quite a bit. the difference between english ales and american ales is that the english ones are subtle, the americans are a little more in-your-face (surprised?). the best part of that was when we ordered two beers, it came to £5. we had been paying €5 a beer in dublin. this was a stellar deal. you know it was going to be a good night when we were able to double our alcohol consumption and keep our tab the same amount. after a few pints there we decided to walk up to another bar where pj had seen a sign for cheeper beer. we got to this gigantic bar with a big staircase in the entrance way. we found out that they had a restaurant upstairs. anyways, the beer here was only £1.85 per pint of actually good cask ale. well, we made sure we had tried every different pint they had and then some. oh, and a bottle of newcastle just for good measure (we were in newcastle). the night then continued when pj and i, after numerous beers, decided we were hungry again. we stumbled upon (literally) a take-a-way pizza joint. pj and i walked in and basically it looked closed. lights weren't on and there were just two guys standing in the back. they noticed we walked in and immediately turned on their lights. i guess they were open, but looking back it seemed a little sketchy. either way, pj and i ordered a pepperoni pizza and devoured it outside in basically an windowsill by an alleyway. we exude class. we then hit up the final bar of the night, one that was recommended to us by a couple in the second bar we were at. i went up to the bar and noticed a cask beer on tap that was 7.5% abv. naturally, i ordered a round of those. the bartender then asks me if i know they are 7.5%, to which i reply: "thats why i'm ordering them." (good natured, i assure you). we then chatted with the nice bartender a while (she was cute if i remember correctly) about american beer. after finishing that beer off, pj and i tried to find another place to go, because we were in the mood for a more lively bar. we then walked by a place called "the lodge." well, you know we had to go here. many of you might remember (and have participated) in the many shenanigans that have taken place with me and my crew at the infamous lodge bar in mpls (the sign is still up on 5th). the place was DEAD. granted, this was a wednesday, but still. step up your "a" game, newcastle. seeing hardly anyone in the joint, pj and i decided to head back to the hostel and get some sleep because we definitely wanted to go around and take some pictures of the town before we had to leave the next morning. once back in the hostel, drunk-dials were made and candy was purchased (even tough i purchased oreos because i saw one hanging and thought i could get two for the price of one). oh, and pj and i (mostly i) got yelled at by the night receptionist for being "loud." me, loud? meh.

the next day, pj and i were up and at 'em pretty early, so we could shower and get off to take pictures around the glorious city that is newcastle, some of which can be seen below (oh, me and my bridges).



^ the new castle of newcastle.



^ the bridge on the newcastle brown ale bottle.



^ gateshead millennium bridge.

after trucking around the city, we went back to the hostel to check out and get our bags, then proceeded to the train station. next up: edinburgh. we were coming close to the end of our journey, but one of the best cities was next; of which you will hear more about in the next post.

*long division*

the auld and the new...

*in a neat little town they call dublin*

so, onward to dublin. which is were the next leg of my trip took place. you're all probably wondering how i got to dublin, right? well, the logical way would be to fly directly out of amsterdam and into dublin. but that isn't quite how i roll. seeing as i booked the second leg of my vacation before the first part, i had a flight out of manchester saturday morning preceding a flight out of amsterdam friday evening. well, finding a cheap, timely flight out of amsterdam was difficult. so i decided to fly in to gatwick (london) and well, try to train it up towards manchester for my early am flight to dublin. not so difficult, right? well, i like to make things complicated. after a train into london, i tubed it towards my starting point for the cross country train up to manchester. forgetting to re-set my clock for GMT from amsterdam time forced me to have a lot more time on my hands than i thought i had. the train station (euston) lacked proper seating, so sit on the floor is what i did to pass the time. being quite lazy, i passed on reading my book due to the fact that i would have to unpack my over-packed ruksack to get to it. there was an interesting sight to be had at the station, though, that provided ample entertainment. three young asian girls were practicing some sort of choreographed dance in the middle of the train station. it was quite interesting to see, because i couldn't quite hear the music they were dancing to, which they had playing from their iPhone (or iPod touch). but this lasted, seriously, over an hour. i really don't think there was any purpose to this other than pleasure on their part, but it did give something to do. it was better than staring at the dirty floor that i was sitting on. also, with my soundtrack including bon iver and beriut, it became quite hilarious.

well, after that, i got on the train and proceeded with my two hour train ride to manchester airport. i did pass through york on my way, which made me quite sad i was unable to stop any longer than two minutes. this just reinforced the fact that i finally feel at home in that great, old city. when i got to the manchester airport and into an elevator, someone tapped me on the shoulder with a proclamation of "tj!" well, not thinking i would run into anyone i knew at 2:30am in the manchester airport, i was quite stunned to turn around and see rachel, a irish friend from york. she was on her way home towards belfast and her plane left around the same time that mine did: 8am. this layover just got a bit better. i had someone to sit and pass the time with. so much better than trying to keep myself entertained for six hours. we walked the airport for a while, ensuring that we both knew where we had to go to get on our flights and then found a nice little spot (albeit cold) to sit and chat and wait for time to pass. rachel is a very nice and interesting person, and we had a great time sitting and just talking to keep each other from going insane with boredom.

then, the time finally came: time to queue for ryan air. if you aren't familiar with ryan air, i'll explain: they are a low-budget airline that flies throughout europe. very low budget. everything costs extra and there are no assigned seats; first come, first served. it is definitely one of those "hurry up and wait" sort of experiences. once i got past check-in and security, i was able to sit and relax for a bit. i was quite hungry and, well, i hadn't slept in oh - 24 hours at that point. all seemed lost when i noticed a restaurant deal: £5 for a pint and a breakfast sandwich. heaven. the pint was carling, but the sandwich was three bangers. spot on. that is just what i needed for a little energy just to get on the airplane and then pass out immediately from the jolt of alcohol. the flight only really takes like 40mins, but it was a rainy day in manchester (surprise) so we did sit for a little bit on the runway. falling asleep and waking up landing in dublin was like heaven. i got off the airplane, through customs and immigration, and onto a bus towards the temple bar area. and, then, i finally felt alive: the lack of sleep worn off by the sensation of early morning dublin on a beautiful day.



^ first pic in dublin of the liffey (taken on the ha'penny bridge).

well, for the first leg of being in dublin, i would be by myself. erin (as you know, a friend from hamline studying in york) was going to be arriving in dublin later in the afternoon. so the morning was mine to waste and enjoy. i dropped my bags off at the hostel (oliver st. john gogarty) and aimed to wander around this fair city, map in hand (i wasn't going to have paris 2.0). i first stopped off around trinity college and just enjoyed the place fully. that is such a beautiful campus, probably the coolest looking collegiate campus i have ever seen (granted i haven't seen that many, but still).



^ bell tower in trinity college (if you walk under it and the bell dings, you're a virgin).



^ o'connell monument (on o'connell street) - to daniel o'connell, 19th century nationalist leader.

after trinity college, i did a little more wandering around the temple bar, trying to find a good pub to sit at and watch the biggest football match of the day, chelsea v. manchester united. this was basically it. for all the marbles (as kg would say). i found my way back to oliver st. john gogarty (they have a bar as well w/ sky sports) and found a nice little table to watch the match. here i also had my first guinness in dublin. let's just say there ain't nothing like the real thing, baby. seriously. liquid gold. i must say i helped myself to two or three of these delicious concoctions (my liquid lunch) and watched chelsea destroy man u. (it was a good match, even though the ref did have a few bad calls on both ends). i then wandered back to the hostel, checked in, and showered like i had never showered before (ha, almost). erin then arrived in dublin and i met up with her and we wandered around dublin - looking for a place to eat. now, things in dublin (especially the temple bar) are quite expensive. basically €10 a meal and €5 a pint. now this isn't terrible, but when you consider the prices back in york are closer to £2 a pint and £6 a plate, you feel a bit gouged (see gouger, louie the). after a great dinner, erin and i found probably the second or third greatest bar east of the mississippi - the auld dubliner. we went in around 5pm (mind you a saturday) and it was packed with drunken irishmen (and irishwomen). there was an acoustic act named bryan boyd (i think) playing at the time and everyone was singing every word to every cover song he played as if they actually knew the words (i heard a lot of mumbled yelling, but when in ireland...). the atmosphere was amazing. erin and i hung out here for the majority of the time and eventually called it a night. pj was coming in early the next day and i needed to be up and at 'em, ready to conquer dublin.

fast forward to sunday morning (easter sunday, mind you) and pj arrives. i met him outside the ha'penny bridge, and let me tell you, it was amazing to see a familiar face again, especially when it was pj's. damn, i've missed that kid. anyways, we dropped pj's stuff off at the hostel and began our wandering around dublin. this constituted with an ever important early morning guinness. i was just making sure they still tasted as good as the day before, honest.



^ let me tell you a story about a bridge...

so pj and i did some more wandering of dublin, checking out some pretty neat sights and all, then we managed to go on the free tour of dublin put on by neweurope. now, let me just tell you, this was awesome: because it was free as well as actually interesting. neweurope does a great job of finding motivated people to give you an interesting tour.



^ our infamous tour group

now the tour takes about three hours (with a little break in the middle) and walks basically all of the neat places in the immediate area of dublin. we saw some former castles, some cheeky u2 historical locations, and learned a lot about the history of dublin itself. i could go on forever, but i wouldn't want to spoil it when you go. honest.



^ a dublin version of justice (notice no blindfold, uneven scales, and drawn sword).



^ rory gallagher corner (put there by the edge of u2).



^ ha'penny bridge.



^ temple bar (no it's not a bar, well, it is, but the area came first, not the actual bar).

after the tour, peej and i did some more exploring and then hit up our new favourite bar, the auld dubliner. when we got in, they were playing music (live music basically all day long) and it was fantastic. erin eventually met us there after her tour around ireland (which i would've loved to go on, yet timing was bad for pj and i). we then wandered around to find someplace to eat, eventually settling on gourmet burger kitchen. now, if you have read my blog before, you'll know that the burgers over here in europe "ain't quite right." well, dublin continued this trend. erin got the veggie burger, i stayed with the safe bet of a chicken burger (which was actually quite okay) and pj, against my warnings, went with the burger. yup. they haven't gotten any better. live and learn. oh, and never eat at this place, seriously six terrible onion rings for €4. tsk, tsk. after dinner we went to: you guessed it, the auld dubliner. there peej and i met a pair of sexy german gals we proceeded to talk to and attempt to dance with for the rest of the night. they were on our tour during the day and actually remembered us (mainly because i'm loud and pj has a crazy camera set-up, oh and we're american. duh!). while we would never see them again on the trip, we made the most of our time with them. pj and i made the most of dublin with too many pints and way too many shots of jameson. well, when in ireland... do as the irish do. and we did.

the next day, we were up and at 'em early - and went with erin to the guinness brewery. this was a major point of the trip because, well, pj and i like beer and like guinness. and guinness is from ireland. need i say more? it is a beer drinkers mecca. pilgrimage once a lifetime sort of thing. the guinness brewery is definitely worth it. being as it is so big, you really are just left to wander on your own, but it is very well done. there is a lot to it and a lot to see. we were considering eating at the restaurant there, but at €15 a plate, we figured we could find a better way to spend our money, like on pints of guinness at the auld dubliner (actually this did happen, no joke). i did love the tour though, and got a pretty sweet bottle opener for my keychain.



^ guinness 2010 american ad campaign.



^ pj and his guinness at the gravity bar.



^ erin and pj with their almost finished guinness pints.

after this, the group of us proceeded around ireland again, finding a cool william butler yeats exhibit and a cool old cathedral. well, and some more beer. erin had to leave us around four to get back to the airport so she could fly home, which was sad, but it was awesome that she was able to come to dublin and meet up with me and eventually pj. the more the merrier in dublin is definitely a true statement.



^ YEATS! (i thought it might be william blake)

that night, pj and i took it quite easy, seeing as we had hit it pretty hard the previous night. we went back to the auld dubliner and this time chatted up a young irish lad named conner. he was a pretty cool dude and talked with us about all things ireland. it was nice to meet a local and actually talk some beer, internationally of course. pj and i then called it an early night and headed to our new hostel, the four courts. we hit the sack, but not without playing a few games of billiards. preparing for the continued adventure the next day of drinking our way across europe.



^ jameson distillery.

so, if you couldn't guess by now, the next day, our main focus was to hit the jameson distillery as early as possible. this meant we got there around 10am. this tour was a lot different than the guinness brewery, but in a good way. we were brought through in a small group by a tour guide (who just so happened to be a packer fan, no joke. he had a packer wrist band. and he actually knew his shit - someone howard would get along with quite well i would figure). we were then selected to take part in the jameson taste test. we, and a few select others, were given three shots in front of them. a shot of jameson, a shot of johnny walker black, and a shot of jack daniels. we then went through the taste test. and seriously, i still thought the jameson was the best. i'm not the biggest fan of irish whiskey, but this stuff was a lot better than the jack or the johnny. we also got some awesome certificates out of the deal and another jameson drink. (so three shots and a cocktail at 10am, good morning, ireland).



^ the taste-test mat.

after this, pj and i did some more wandering of dublin, stopping at a pretty good chinese restaurant for lunch along the way. we did hit up the auld dubliner again before dinner, and again after dinner. but dinner was had at our favourite restaurant name while wandering the temple bar, hungry hungry harry's. it was basically a little independent fast food joint, but it was damn good. i got a chicken wrap and fries - so delicious. and cheap too, which was the point. then to the auld dubliner to close out the night.



^ me trying to be artsy.

before we went to bed, a couple of americans (guy and a girl) came into our room to get unpacked before they enjoyed dublin for a bit more. pj and i proceeded to sit up and talk with them for about a half hour before they left. we found out that they would be going to edinburgh as well in a couple days, small world. just was i was crawling in to bed realized i had been talking to them the entire time in nothing but my underwear. seriously. my tight black sport trunks. wow. later, pj would tell me he thought i was just "putting out the vibe" for this girl. it was her first time in a hostel. good thing i was there in almost all my glory to welcome her. (key point is to remember this, as it will be helpful for the next post). we then got our asses up at 4am and caught a shuttle towards the airport. ryan air part deux. and on to newcastle via manchester for the next leg of our adventure - which will appear in the next post.

*and who the hell was i?*

den haag, rock city...

*my my my*

so, there we were: trapped in an amsterdam rail station. no clue where we were going and what we would be doing. for mellissa and catherine, the worry was where they would be sleeping and how and when they would be getting back to paris. for me, i was just hoping i would have enough cell phone battery life left to get a hold of matt so that i could meet up with him in amsterdam. no sleep, a long bus ride, and a confusing country equal not the best of times, but we made the most of it. mellissa was craving meat for some reason, but the bk in the station didn't open up for another few hours. we finally discovered how to purchase tickets and were able to get on a train towards amsterdam central. once we got there, we began to wander around the city that is amsterdam. we had no purpose, but that was nice. my back was just killing me from the heavy backpack that had partnered my travels for the entire trip.

the first thing i noticed of amsterdam was the insane amount of bicycles that populated anywhere a lock could be hitched up. seriously. i think there are three bikes to every one person in amsterdam. it was crazy. and i thought mpls biked a lot. it's not nothing on the netherlands.

so, for the first part of our day in amsterdam, we basically walked around... for hours. we did find a tiny little shop that had free internet if you purchased a drink, i finally got some early grey tea, which i had been craving for quite a many days. (i'm hooked, no joke). it was weird to access facebook and twitter and gmail again. i had an inclination to check the sports pages from the stribe, but i knew that i would probably be on for hours if i went down that path. my excitement for the twins knows no bounds.



^ canal life



^ a fucking mall. seriously. (they had €299 true religion basic joeys)



^ look familiar, NE bulldog patrons?



^ amsterdam, and the livings easy

so while we walked around exploring 'dam, all i could think about is how i could kill 8 hours until matt got in from work. eventually, i settled in at the grasshopper and had a few overpriced pints of grolsch. finally, time rolled around and he arrived and my trip to the netherlands really began. we hit up a few bars around amsterdam, then proceeded to train it back to den haag or more exactly the beach-side district of scheveningen. we got some amazing turkish pizzas and just relaxed back at his apartment. now, i am all for this, because after being basically on foot for four days, i was ready to go somewhere where i didn't have to "check-out" the next day or worry about some punk kid trying to mess with my backpack. i was in an actual home. such a difference.

now, matt lives in amazing place. it is about three blocks from the beach in just a very lovely part of den haag. the place is huge and i was able to make my own food, watch some tv and use the internet. also, he has an extra phone, so i was equipped with an iphone for the length of my stay in the netherlands. that, my friends, was probably the most amazing thing. the next day, matt and i just sort of hung around the apartment for most of the morning and afternoon, seeing as it was raining out at the time (and we had hit it pretty hard the night before and matt had to "work from home that day). this is the day i was introduced to espresso. i have never been a coffee fan, and well, i was not quite sure what espresso was. matt gave me a crash course: it is a shot of basically six cups of coffee. well, after two of those, you are feeling quite wired for the rest of the day. i could see drinking espresso. but i would still take a cup of earl grey any day.

we then went (after the hangovers sufficed) into the heart of den haag to do a little sight-seeing. this is where my first experience with gyros occurred. i, being one of the pickiest eaters on the planet, had never taken the time to try a pita gyro. don't ask me why, because i have had plenty of chances (seeing as i lived three blocks from santana's for almost two years). but, i loved it. gyro meat is awesome and well, for only 5 euros, it was a bargain. next, we went to check out an irish pub that matt goes to quite often. there, we met a group called the legal aliens, a collection of people who live in den haag but are transplants from other countries. they let us sit with them (or me for that matter, seeing as i was under-qualified, matt had no problem) and we joined a pub quiz with them. during the quiz, our group won three free beers, which was amazing. included in the group was a girl who was born in crystal, mn! what are the odds? everyone was extremely friendly and we ended up actually winning the damn pub quiz, which gave us a round of fantastic beer for the entire group. all in all, it was a great day and evening. with all that beer, well, matt and i were feeling quite "on it" so-to-speak. free beer is anyone's friend, trust me. it is nice that the public transportation in den haag goes everywhere, and matt and i took quite good advantage of that.

the next day i spent lying around while matt was off at work. the weather outside was a bit rainy and windy. and matt has cable. so... let's just say it was nice to be able to not have to do anything or be anywhere. a relaxing day in the middle of the trip is well needed. that evening, matt and i went next door to a truly dutch pub. there is a no smoking law in effect in the netherlands where you are not able to smoke in bars, much like the rest of the world it seems. well, here, they smoke. basically because no one but the local dutch go to this tiny pub. matt said that the first few times he came in, the bar basically stopped and turned to look at him. it was pretty sweet though. something you would find up north in minnesota. that tiny, small-town bar, where only the locals go and only the locals are accepted. but they poured us a few 1/2 pints, which i enjoyed thoroughly. next, we went to this little take-a-way place down the road. they have these deep-fried brie cheese pockets. basically, crack in cheese form. amazing. i'm surprised the 'sconis haven't discovered this yet. but brie may be out of their league (just kidding to all my wisconsin friends). we also got these deep-fried... balls of goodness. i had no clue what they were, but they were tasty. i guess some traditional netherlands snack or something. plus, the guy working the shop was really cool. he chatted us up for a while as he and matt talked all things haag. that evening, since we decided we needed at least one night of taking it easy, we turned on a movie and just hung out. the movie, she's out of my league, was pretty damn good, actually. i'm not usually one for romantic comedies, but this one actually had some "comedy" to it, which can be lacking in films of the same genre.

thursday in den haag, my last full day and night. this day, i actually got out and explored a bit more than i had in the previous days. the beach is always my favourite part of any city, especially if it is on the sea. it was a crazily windy day in the netherlands this day and, well, walking down the beach felt as if you could get blown over at any moment and end up somewhere in scandinavia. there were a lot of people out on the water, surprisingly, wind surfing, kite surfing, and regular surfing, i believe. that was probably the most interesting thing to see out there. just hoards of people racing towards the mighty north sea. it was no calm day, either, which is what must make it much more exciting. the sea is an amazing thing. i am always in awe of it every time i am in its presence. that evening, erickson and i ate some pizza and drank some more rum, which was a common occurrence in my time in the hague. we then decided to head out to a few bars around town. the first bar was quite dead, but after we decided to go to the local casino. i have never been one to frequent casinos (basically because i never have money to gamble in the first place) but this was a pretty interesting place. well, i have really only ever been to casinos in the states (mainly minnesota and wisconsin). they had a lot of games that i had never heard of, and erickson was ready to put down a few bills and see what happened. roulette is a very interesting game. i think if you really sat there long enough you could make some money, but then again, everything is really based upon luck. we weren't that lucky that night, but i didn't have any money to gamble with so that didn't help. all in all, it was a good end to a pretty great stay in the netherlands.



^ scheveningen pier



^ scheveningen coastline



^ wind-surfer



^ the lone surfer



^ the street where i stayed (i really don't think anyone actually can read dutch)



^ chinatown: den haag

the next day, i had to group all of my shit together and get ready for my departure flight from amsterdam to london. the next stop on my trip being dublin, but seeing as i booked the second half before the first half, i had quite the round-a-bout way getting to dublin. after i got all of my stuff packed and organized, i headed to the heart of den haag for one last bout at sight-seeing. i managed to find the gyro place again and got in a tasting of one of my new favourite foods. then, onto the train towards amsterdam airport, which is where the next part of my trip will begin - in the next post.

*this once was an island*