Looking Back at Gustav Euro Tour 2017: Part 3 (of 5) The Beauty Leg

NOTE: If you are reading this on a desktop computer, hover over all pictures for additional anecdotes! There doesn’t appear to be a way to read the captions on mobile browsers that I have, though.

Other Parts of this Series: Part 1 - Why and How

Part 2 - The Concert Leg

Part 4 - The Future Leg

Part 5 - Ireland & The UK

After the final concert in Cluj-Napoca, I was pretty much free to go wherever I wanted. While I originally wanted to go to the Ukraine and Russia, recent events in the USA made me want to avoid those places for now. Instead, I decided to go down to Greece. However, trains aren't like in the rest of Europe. They were much less frequent and a lot slower. Getting down to Greece would be very tough, and I almost failed to find a way.

But first I needed to get down to Bucharest. One place I was told I should visit in Cluj-Napoca is the Turda Salt Mines. As I did my research, I discovered the place isn't close to public transportation. Instead, I'd take the train to Bucharest but instead get off at a nearby station called Cimpia Turzii, take a bus to Turda, and then walk more than 45 minutes uphill to the Salt Mines, WITH BOTH OF MY BAGS. Along the way I was nearly attacked by a dog, and then near the end it started to rain. But I eventually made the mines, which also had free lockers to store one of my bags plus my laptop.

It was a very deep descent and because of the long elevator lines I opted to go up and down narrow lengths of stairs (so narrow that sometimes I had to stop for minutes to allow people going the opposite direction to pass). Eventually I made it to the bottom where the was a gift shop where I bought two small rocks that I had planned on giving to friends as souvenirs... or so I thought.

After visiting the mines I also took a brief bath in the salt baths (no pictures from this)... but it was not very enjoyable. At least I got to shower there.

Going back to the Cimpia Turzii station was... not good. While I took a shuttle back downtown, I was not able to find the bus stop to head back (and Google and Apple Maps did not help). Since I had many hours to spare I started walking slowly back to the station, which was going to take a few hours. Eventually I walked by some kids who... for reasons I don't remember figured out I was stuck and helped me find a taxi back to the train station (which only cost me about $5 USD). Unfortunately, during the ordeal I noticed my backpack pocket with my two souvenir rocks was open. While one was still in there, the other had fallen out. I didn't spend a whole lot on them, but it still really hurt to have that happen. It was probably the first time on the trip I permanently lost something. I'm not going to lie... I did cry over it, especially during the 11 hour train ride to Constanta that I barely got any sleep on.

The theme continued. I was still having issues sleeping... and it'd get worse! All the seats were taken so I had to sleep on the hard floors in the bar area. I'm not sure I slept for even a minute. With no food, Wi-Fi or phone signal that was a really bad ride.

I decided to keep the remaining rock for myself (It remains on my dresser at home) and look for other souvenirs for my friends. Luckily, since everything in Romania was inexpensive... a solution later came.

Instead of going straight to Bucharest, I stayed on the train and went to Constanta instead. There, I was able to store one of my bags and take a little tour of the beach before I went to my hostel in Bucharest. It was a very... pleasant walk... for reasons I won't elaborate on... but come on, if you know anything about European beaches you'd know why. Although in hindsight I should have spent the night there, I had already booked a hostel in Bucharest that I couldn't cancel (and I tried!), so I headed back.

Again, due to whole "tired" thing, I mainly stayed around my hostel. Since my hostel was right next to the train station I saw almost none of Bucharest before I headed to Brasov. This led me to believe Bucharest was boring and dull... luckily I scheduled a return where I was proven wrong. But first...

Prior to Brasov I took a pit stop in Sinaia, a city a few websites I read listed as a "must stop" in Romania. They were right! The interiors of both castles were beautiful and fairy tale like.

Finally I made it to Brasov. I walked about 40 minutes to my hotel (the only hotel I stayed in outside of Norway, but it wasn't very good) and accidentally found the Old Town where I had an incredible selection of restaurants, and decided on an Irish pub.

The main attraction of Brasov is actually "Dracula's Castle" in nearby Bran. Although it isn't really Dracula's Castle, it was still very fun to visit. The bus I took wasn't that long, but I did sit next to an old lady who hit on me the whole time... yeah... The whole town was made for tourists, with shops and attractions everywhere. I visited a haunted house, and bought a lot of magnets, keychains, bottle openers, and jewelry for all my friends (thus finding a solution after the Turda debacle) for less than $40. I even still have a few extras left if anyone wants.

Finally after walking around Brasov one more time, I was off to Bucharest again. This time I booked a cheap AirBnB closer to Old Town. Plus, I was staying with two cute girls! They were very nice, but I didn't see them much. After getting off the train I had to take a long bus ride to the apartment complex. It was during the ride that I discovered that the city was actually very lovely, almost reminding me of Las Vegas. I knew I was going to have a fun time. Bucharest was the first stop since Paris where I woke up and went to bed in the same room, giving me a whole day to see as many things as I could. Notably there were multiple giant shopping malls downtown, and some lovely parks.

Alas, I didn't see everything. There's apparently a very cool library I didn't check out, for example. I really do need to give Bucharest, Cluj, and Constanta another look someday.

I nearly missed my train ride to Sofia, Bulgaria but I was able to make it after being scammed by someone who claimed to be helping me. (I probably would have figured it out myself, but after he showed me the ticket office he demanded all my remaining money... about $2... which could have bought me food and water for the train... instead...) The train was about 10 hours long during which there were no cars that sold snacks or drinks. There was also no WiFi. Since I no longer had money to buy water it was a very very brutal 10 hours. Although I loaded up some TV shows onto my laptop, there were no outlets on the train so when it died, it died. I did have leftover salami but I didn't like it very much. It wound up having to do.

Eventually I made it to Sofia, but it was so late (11PM) there was no public transportation to my hostel. The first thing I did of course was find a market to buy bottled water. Bulgaria was even cheaper than Romania and I bought a big bottle for less than $1 USD. However the taxi I wound up having to take was pretty high, probably more than $40 but I don't remember.

What was originally going to be a brief layover wound up lasting more than a day due to logistics. I would find out that train rides from Bulgaria to Greece don't exist, so my only option was to book a bus from Sofia to Thessaloniki. This meant I would be spending two nights in Sofia.

The city was gorgeous. It may have been one of my favorite cities and I did not regret adding it. In addition, because of the cheap prices I was able to stock up on toiletries like toothpaste and shampoo (I actually was able to use them even months after my trip ended) and enjoyed meals like sushi and pizza for a fraction of what I would pay anywhere else.

Unfortunately the hostel I was staying at (the only one that would take me in so late) wasn't very good. Since I wasn't the last person to show up, we were constantly being woken up by arriving guests. Also, I was starting to run into trouble with getting bitten by mosquitoes. (This happened in Bucharest as well) I never thought to wear bug spray and it became a huge problem. I didn't get much sleep either of my nights in Sofia due to bugs flying near my ear and/or biting me. To top it off, my second night I fell victim to a very loud snorer, and I wasn't able to overcome the noise and I wound up being awake the entire night. It was a nightmare of epic proportions. As you can see, a lack of sleep was a huge theme... and this still isn't the worst one!

Eventually I went to the bus station... but due to faulty directions from Google Maps I went to the wrong bus station and nearly missed my bus. Fortunately I was directed to the right station (literally the next lot over) and was on my way to Greece. I tried to take a nap on the bus but was mostly unsuccessful and I was even starting to tear up because of it.

Luckily I had a private room in Thessaloniki and once I got there I was able to rest. I explored the city a little bit but not a whole lot.

I shut all the windows to prevent bugs from getting in, but some moths were already inside. I was able to get rid of all of them and tried to get a good night's sleep, and also was able to stream a lot of the A's home win against The Giants (which was roughly during 5-8AM in Greece), and for the most part succeeded.

The next day I took a train to Athens. Like the Romania trains there was no WiFi, food, or drinks. So it was a very long 5 hour ride. Worst, I was having trouble reaching my AirBnB host. Sure enough, when I got to my place I found out the owner was unable to have me stay and I was forced to find last minute accommodations. Luckily, an inexpensive shared room was found just a few blocks away... and no one else booked the room so I actually had it all to myself! The trip was saved. I was actually able to recover from a lot of the sleep debt I built up on the trip. This was good because things were about to get really bad. After a nap I found an English-friendly barber shop (possibly near a college) and had a chicken gyro. It was too late to go to the ruins and museums, so I planned that for the next day.

Athens was simply stunning. Seeing the old ruins was breathtaking. The streets nearby were lively and full of shops and food stands. I bought a few magnets and a tote bag I would use for the remainder of the trip for excess clothes as my two main bags were getting harder to pack.

I tried to see a lot of the monuments but I ran out of time. I wasn't able to find the former Olympic Stadium until after it closed, since Google Maps would only show me where the new one was.

Seeing the Greek Theater was meaningful since I had seen and been in many performances in the UC Berkeley Greek Theater. The below picture from Acropolis is one of my favorite pictures from the whole trip. A fellow American tourist complimented my A's shirt! I recall seeing Raider gear (pretty common during the whole trip, so common I didn't think to mention all the other times I saw them), some SF Giants and even Stanford, but none of my favorite teams.

Of course, there were so many awesome sights and I can't post everything in this blog post, but I posted a lot of pics on my Facebook and Instagram feeds. You can message me and I can direct you to them.

Next up was to go to Italy. In order to do so, I decided to head onto a ferry. I took a train from Athens to Patras and set forth on an overnight ferry to Bari, Italy. Unfortunately due to logistical reasons I wasn't able to see much at all of Patras. To save money I tried to walk 45 minutes from the train station to the ferry building despite holding three bags and the hot weather. (There was no bus transportation) Eventually, a taxi saw me and drove me over, promising not to charge much, but he took all my remaining cash. (Second time I was scammed in less than a week) Then, I found out the ferry building didn't store bags, so I was stuck there for three+ hours. At least they had WiFi.

The ferry itself was very fun. It was very good looking inside, like a fancy hotel, and it was very roomy. Because private beds and rooms, even hostel-like rooms, were super expensive, all I had was admittance to the ferry. That meant I can roam around the main areas but I had nowhere to sleep. Luckily the main room and "restaurant" had some couches and futons that many patrons used as beds. I wound up doing that too. I was able to get 2-3 hours of sleep but it was pretty tough. I kept moving around and even tried to sleep outside, but it was much too windy.

After a ferry ride that lasted sixteen hours we arrived in Italy. The port town was a little one called Bari. I struggled finding the way out by foot and actually walked nearly a mile before realizing there was probably no way out. I had to turn back and take a bus out. Once I got to the heart of the city my phone died and so was my charger (There were no outlets on the ferry). I took a few pictures with my digital camera instead, but since I had three bags on me I couldn't go inside many of the buildings. I wound up taking another bus to the train station as it was too far to walk. There were a few shops in the central area and I had lunch and my first Italian pizza. I was then off to Rome in a train ride that took about 5 hours.

For my first night in Rome I made my way to my AirBnB. It was really Italy where I discovered how much of a bad idea it was to travel to Europe in August. The metro station that I needed to take was closed for renovations, so I had to take a crowded, slow bus to my place instead. (A 10 minute trip from the train station to my room was more like 25) But it was fine. Much like Bucharest and Athens, since I was very tired and most of the attractions of Rome were closed by the time I arrived, I only walked around the block to look for food. I bought a few snacks from a nearby grocery store and then went to bed.

Of course the first stop of the full day in Rome was the Colosseum. There was a long line to get in but I was able to sort of bypass it by buying tickets online... but there was a little delay when the ticket was sent to my Spam folder because of the foreign language. It was a very cool experience. Interesting people watching: Saw my first and only Sharks hat of the trip on a kid, and the Kansas State Women's Basketball team was around. (I have photo evidence of both, but I'm already posting too many pics here)

The next stop was a fast food lasagna place. After that a street merchant started sweet talking me... then "forced" (intimidated me) to buying some souvenirs. (There's more to it but I don't want to talk about it) I wound up losing 15 euros, which was all my remaining food money. However, I learned a valuable lesson to avoid talking to merchants. It never happened again. I still have both bracelets but I don't wear them.

The next stop was the Pantheon. It was here I saw someone else in Cal gear for the first time. The inside was very pretty. Outside there was one of many water fountains that had fresh, usually cold, water that I made sure to have every chance I got as it was very hot.

After a not very long walk I made it to the Vatican. It was as incredible as one can imagine. The entrance to Saint Peter's Cathedral was truly a sight to behold. Inside was even more incredible. I bought some souvenirs for my more religious friends. I rekindled with my spiritual side and knelt down and prayed to God. I was starting to get a nervous breakdown. This day marked the one month anniversary of the trip. I missed my friends very much. Plus I still felt bad about losing that money. I started crying.

I lost track of time and found out that the Sistine Chapel was going to close by the time I arrived, so I rushed over but the entrance was pretty hard to find. All I could find was the Vatican Museum and that too was about to close. Eventually the more I looked at my map the more I realized the museum IS where the Chapel is located. So I went into the Museum just a few minutes before they cut off new guests. There was so many beautiful works of art and I kind of had to rush through it all to get to the Chapel in time. Again, there's too many pics here already so you can check my Facebook page for more. The Sistine Chapel forbid photos but many people took them anyway. I did not. I enjoyed the ceiling art very much. Many other rooms that did allow photography (see below) also had great art. I'd later see many ceiling artwork in the final month of the trip.

After being done with the Chapel I had dinner and ice cream and went "home" where I rested. Although it was a Saturday, many locals were on vacation so a lot of clubs were closed.

The next morning I set off to make a quick visit to Pisa. Of course I was there to visit Pisa Tower, or "The Leaning Tower". It was a great pleasure to climb it. I also visited the Cathedral next door.

Shortly after that, I took the train to Florence. Just like Rome, I got to my AirBnB that night, went to a nearby grocery store for dinner, then went to bed.

Remember when I said I hadn't had my worst sleep experience yet? Well, despite going to bed kind of early. I never was able to fall asleep. There were no bugs and although I had roommates they were not loud. It was inexplicable. Perhaps due to the heat I started having uncontrollable itching in certain areas of my body (like my arms and legs, which were visibly getting red). I did not have quality lotion on me, and I basically suffered through the night. I maybe got 2 hours of sleep max.

Despite being very tired, in the morning I set off for the main attraction, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. I also stopped by some other churches on the way.

Unfortunately most areas of the church required passes that were sold out. I was still able to see the inside, along with a free guided tour, and was blown away by the details of the interior.

There wasn't much else to do since just my luck I was here on a Monday so all the museums were closed. After going back to the AirBnB I tried to take a nap and failed, basically looking at my phone for two hours. I then left and hiked up to the Piazzale Michelangelo. There were some cool souvenirs including shirts with Ezio from Assassin's Creed (none of which I bought) and I had some cheap wine and deli meats I bought at a grocery store earlier in the day. Along the hike I visited a few more churches.

That night, I tried to get a better night's sleep, but I wound up being held up when my Milan AirBnB owners messaged me to cancel. I had to scramble to find a new home and the stress, combined with the same heat and itching, resulted in a second sleepless night.

This had an insane domino effect that ruined the next few weeks. I got to Venice but was so dizzy I could barely walk the 15 minutes to my hostel. Once I was in, I decided not to take a nap since it was still mid-day and I only had one night here. I went and immediately got lunch. I had a seafood pasta.

Right after that, I stopped by another church. Within minutes, it started. I had serious food poisoning and had to run to find a place I could use the restroom. After leaving a McDonalds, I thought I was in the clear.

Keep in mind I was still very much without energy due to the lack of sleep. There were times I even sat on a bench to rest. It was also here that I picked up more magnets for my friends. Eventually I found the main square in the Piazza San Marco. Unfortunately the beautiful church was already closed, and the Campanile only took cash. So I decided to do both the next morning before I left. That would not happen.

Then... it happened again! An uncontrollable rush in my gut had me scrambling to find another restroom. The public bathrooms all charged a fee, so I found a restaurant inside a hotel to have a snack and use their restroom. I got to try to the famous Spritz cocktail, which was probably a bad idea in my condition, and had a few snacks.

In my delusion I started humming a cheesy pop tune based on the cheesy pop songs being played at the hotel. It would become the (still unfinished/unreleased) song "Heartbreak in Venice."

I couldn't stay in the area and had to go back to my hostel. Because of how confusing the city is, and I didn't want to use up too much data, I constantly got lost. I'd look at my phone and find out I needed to go the opposite direction. I'd do that, look at my phone a minute later and find out I went the wrong way AGAIN (Yes, this really happened). Overall it took more than an hour to get back (could have been 30) but it did mean more time to explore Venice. One place I unintentionally found was the famous Rialto Bridge. I decided to cross it and take some selfies (where I clearly look unwell). Eventually I found the hostel but was told I needed cash to pay for the stay. So I had to leave again, and the nearest ATM was ways away. I did all of this while feeling horrible.

Eventually, I got to lie down and rest. Then I realized in addition to my food poisoning (which did have me going to the bathroom almost hourly at this point), I also had a fever.

Somehow I still got enough rest to at least have a bit of energy, but not a lot. I wound up taking a ferry-bus from my hostel to the train station (which was pretty nice) and I decided to leave Venice without seeing the attractions I missed. In doing so I actually got to Milan before I could even check in to my replacement AirBnB. I don't remember how I passed the time and its possible I just waited at the doorstep for a while.

I had nearly an entire day in Milan but spent it sleeping, getting stomach pills for the issues I was still having, and getting stomach-friendly groceries at a shop nearby. It was clear my trip to Milan was also going to be ruined. In fact, I considered cancelling the remainder of the trip and coming home. I decided I could not stand the idea of missing Barcelona and Berlin, plus the cost would be too high.

For my second day in Milan I did make it out to the stunning Piazza del Duomo, the cathedral and its museums. I decided to still have a pizza in my last day in Italy, which probably didn't help my stomach problems. I also checked out my first football stadium of the trip in San Siro Stadium. That wound up being it as I had to save the rest for a potential return to Italy in a future year. I did get some much needed rest during my stay at least, but it was unfortunate to have Venice and Milan ruined for me. (In addition, I won't make either during this year's Italian trip, but hopefully there will be other trips in later years)

Getting out of Italy proved to be a challenge. When I got to the train station there were only expensive train rides to Nice, but the alternatives (like Zurich) were even worse. I wound up paying the (roughly $60) ride to Nice. It was actually a pleasant ride as we passed some coastal Italian cities, as well as Monaco. (The Monte Carlo stop was underground so I didn't see too much of it though, and the few seconds I did I wasn't able to get my phone out in time to take pics)

Once I got to Nice I did notice that my stamina had gotten better. I was carrying my bags to my AirBnB with a lot more ease. I had a late check in time so I had time to walk around and eat. My fever was gone as well. However, I was still having trouble eating and still needed to go to the bathroom frequently.

Much like Venice and unlike the other cities, I just had the one night. So once my bags were dropped off I went back to the city and explored.

I entered a park and hiked up all the way to the top of the hill. Not bad for being sick. Unfortunately I didn't know the park closes and when I got back to the entrance where I came, the gate was closed. No one helped, and some teens nearby even started laughing loudly at me. Unable to speak French or call anyone, I explored around to find another way out. After walking more than 30 minutes I succeeded.

I had a few hours to spend the next morning/afternoon so I walked around the city some more. I found the street where the terrorist attack happened a year earlier than killed (among others) a Cal student. I repped Cal in his honor.

I said a prayer at the Cathedrale Sainte-Reparate then had some gelato at the famous Fennochio. It was really good!

The train ride to Marseille was crowded but, happily, didn't cost me anything on top of my Eurail pass. Much like Milan, my first night was mostly spent at my AirBnB (which was far away from the central area) and the nearby grocery store. I worked on catching up on sleep but on Twitter I was getting word of the infamous Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia as well as the murder of an activist. I probably spent a lot of the night glued to my phone before I decided I had to sleep.

My flight to Barcelona was late at night so I dropped my bags off at the train station and explored the main areas of Marseille. There were a few churches and forts I looked at. Unfortunately my health issues were still a problem. I actually had Subway for lunch as they were the only place I could find that took debit cards. (But then it turned out my card was declined... so I wound up going to an ATM anyway... where my cards weren't declined... yeah) I wound up throwing away half the sandwich as I got ill every time I took a bite halfway through (and not because it tasted bad) Somehow I was able to hike up almost an hour to the Notre Dame de la Garde anyway.

Once I was in the Notre Dame de la Garde, I found out there was a Mass scheduled when I was there. Knowing I had a lot of time to kill, I stayed for it. While I couldn't understand French I could still participate in prayers and sing the church songs, which had the words and notes in the program.

Afterwards I went to the Longchamp Park and Palace, which was gorgeous.

I ran out of stuff to do, and also realized I had a deadline to retrieve my bags, so I decided to get to the airport really early. I went on a train to Aix-En-Provence since the airport I needed was named "Provence" and I thought Aix meant Air. I wound up going to a completely different city. I freaked out and thought for sure I was stuck, but fortunately there was a bus to the airport from there as well. I did not get to see any of the town (or take pics). I did make it to the airport in time and it was off to Barcelona!

Although Barcelona and Madrid are a part of the Beauty Leg, I will recall my adventures there in Part 4 due to how big this blog post has gotten and how slow my browser is getting as I edit it. See you there!

NEXT - PART 4