try not to open any doors

Some trips just don't end the way you'd like. 

Upon arrival we made our way over to the car parked at the airport. After stripping down every piece of luggage, we sadly realized that my mum misplaced the keys somewhere along trip. 

This caused a lot of hair-pullage because we were so ready to go home by that time, and that is a rare thing because my mom and I are the two most easy going people on the planet, especially my mom. 

Example:

In high school, I once thought that somebody had stolen the car. I called my mom and told her that the car was taken, and she told me to relax and not to worry about it. Most parents would castrate their children over the phone, but my mom just kept cool. I found the car later after realizing I'd parked it elsewhere. 

Long story short, my mum and aunt were towed away and spent the night in Mississauga, where they would await a new set of keys the next morning. My mom cried because she felt so stupid, and I hate seeing my mom cry. I'm sure once she ate a Bounty bar and drank a Diet Coke everything was cool. 

the banks of the Danube

Budapest was simply incredible. It's always at the top of the list when asked about favorite cities. The city was just another classic example of glorious European park/city integration. I was out for a run one afternoon and decided to head down to a park on the banks of the Danube river. There were cafes lining the river selling everything from beer to ice cream. Massive gardens, free-roaming dogs, softened running tracks and lawns groomed to perfection. 

 

Aside from being the most polluted river in all of Europe (due to incredible amounts of boat traffic), the sight of it at dusk is incomparable. Apparently you're in love if the Danube glows blue at night. I wouldn't go that far, but boy was it ever blue. 

Later on in the evening there was a river cruise with dinner and wine. It was one of those occasions where I couldn't decide whether I wanted to capture the beauty on camera, or simply take it in and enjoy the breeze. In comparison to most of the camera-happy Yanks that occupied the boat, I think I was relatively tamed in terms of snapping shots. 

I should also make note that I was the official digital camera whiz of the night. Once some of the older fogies caught word that I knew how to take night shots without the use of flash, I was a hot commodity. Two-thirds of that boat now (hopefully) know how to properly program their cameras. 

Also, funny story: there were some old Jewish women from New Jersey asking for help. Once I made some adjustments they continuously said things like 

"Oh my gaawd, Awndy. Thank you sooww muuwch for fixing my cowmera, yow my heroww!"

So yeah, really hard to dictate a Jewish-Jersey accent, but I do a good impersonation. 

a bugs life

Apparently there's been some confusion. I am not coming back on the 8th, because I'm already here. I'm in my condo unpacking and enjoying the water (Toronto has the world's best water).

ps. this post needed some spice so I threw in a Photo Booth shot. I take the funniest shots on the Bulge setting, mostly because I look like Flik.

london calling

Ahhh London...

The Andy has landed, and I currently sit in an internet cafe beneath a hostel. Oh how this reminds me of the good old days. I remember when we'd be sitting in Queenstown at some internet cafe playing World of Warcraft for hours. And by playing I mean me hating every moment because I sucked at it and am a devout Command & Conquer fan. What was I talking about again?

London. What a busy city, my god. Even as I sit here not I peer over to a subway map that appears to be a sprawling maze of twists, turns, and diagonals. We've mostly avoided using transportation, as it has caused mass headaches and confusion. Millions of people walk the streets, and most of them are dressed better than the last. So, so much money here. Every bloke has either a Ferrari or a BMW Z3, and a brand new Civic is considered below-grade.

My hotel is situated right outside of Kensington Park, which has been such a bonus because every morning I treat myself to an hour walk through the park, past the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, past a few palaces with swans on the lawn and through the park, which makes Victoria Park look like a grass stain on a pair of jeans. Just to get an americano.

From there we've been doing a lot of bus tours and a bit of shopping. The fish and chips are boombastic, and again, the ability to roam the streets with a beer is ever-present. The cans of Foster's here have the widget in the can, which ups the quality so much from a carbonation point of view.

The city is massive. At least with the other cities I've visited, when you walk somewhere you actually feel like you've made some progress. Here, you walk for an hour and barely make a blip on the map. The cars drive on the other side, so I've been in a few close-calls already. All buses are double decker,and I've seen every major monument in the city there is to see (save for a few musical monuments and addresses that I wanted to see but won't).

Seeing as I have six minutes left, I will conclude the final Spreken Ze Talk from overseas. I will still continue to update this blog once I return home tomorrow, so if you feel like a good read (and one that hasn't been quite so rushed), tune in and I'll throw a lot more content up.

All I can say for now is that I'm sad to be going home, but am pleased to know that I'll see most of you when I get back. Thank you so much for the feedback and the nice emails and kind words. It's been a positive (and stressful) experience, not only to document for myself, but to let those who are interested know what's been happening.

Thanks again and stay tuned for more

back to the futuren

Okez-dokez. Seeing as I am in Frankfurt, Germanz, I am using the hotel kezboard and the kezs are all mixed up. Most obviouslz, the place of the Y key has been swapped for the Z key, for speed and linguistic reasons. So Iäm choosing not to edit anz of this post for pure comedic reasons.

Ive also chosen not to skim through cities as I've been doing latelz. Thez're all amaying places and deserve proper right ups, so I will visit them all at later dates when I'm good and readz.

But reallz, Slovakia, Hungarz, Cyech Republic, Austria, and Germanz have all been incrediblz beauitful. There have been so manz hilights along the waz and so manz rolls of film taken. I plan to set aside a sum of monez to get these rolls processed when I get home, mostlz so thez don't end up in the bin of exposed film downstairs in the studio - which I've never had the time or monez to process mzself.

So zes, tonight will be the last night in the European Union before embarking on to the United Kingdom for four dazs. We'll be in downtown London near South Kensington for that remainder of time. To be honest I have no idea what we're doing. I'll probablz end up doing what I do in everz citz: get all buyyed up on cheap beer and go running around the citz for an hour or two. This is bz far the fastest, easiest, most amusing waz to see the sights and mazbe even get into a little trouble while zou're at it.

Also, if anzone would like a postcard, send zour info to me and I'll do mz absolute best to get them out.

Furthermore, another reason to have a beer in celebration: Hue was accepted to plaz at NXNE this summer. Boo za ka sha.

pps. since this post is boring as hell so far, I should mention that I was sitting in Vienna enjoying a beer and Beyonce walked behind me. I said to a friend 'Oh hey, that was Beyonce'.