Tuesday, March 19th. Milan

I made it boys. I got up at 4:30AM, showered, and got ready. I ate some leftover pizza for breakfast and checked out of my hotel.


My walk to the train station was long and arduous. The sun hadn't risen yet. I was walking through a neighborhood that I hadn't been to yet so it was a little weird, trying to figure out where Google Maps was directing me.

I made it to the train station on time but there was only one ticket kiosk. The dude in front of me didn't know wtf he was doing so by the time I bought my ticket, my train had left. This was worrying because I wanted to claim VAT at the airport, which would take time. Now that I missed that train, I was running low on time and I might miss out on about $65 back from the taxes I paid on my headphones and Milan jacket. As much as that $65 would be nice, it wouldn't be worth missing my flight.

The next train to Milan Malpensa left in 15 minutes, but Google Maps wanted me to take a train that arrived 5 minutes later. It took me a minute but I figured out that the first train would be making more stops and wouldn't actually arrive at the airport before the second train would.

I was annoyed because they didn't announce the platform my train would arrive at until literally 3 minutes before it arrived. I was so concerned that I was going to miss this train. This happened to me multiple times this trip so I guess this kind of thing is just a normal occurrence for train travel. I'm much more used to traveling by plane, where you know which gate you need to be at well ahead of time.


I finally made it onto the train and did the math. The train would arrive at 7:05AM and my plane to Frankfurt started boarding at 7:15AM. I had 10 minutes to make it through security AND make it to my gate. Yeah, definitely no way to claim VAT.


I arrived and hustled my way through security. I had gotten Global Entry right before this trip but it did me no good while traveling through Europe. It would have been clutch, too. Getting through security took like 20 minutes, whereas going through TSA pre-check or Global Entry was almost instantaneous.


By the time I got to my gate, they were already boarding. It was a load off of my mind because this was probably the last time on this trip that I would have to worry about getting somewhere on time. The woman at the gate made me check in my big backpack, which was strange. It wasn't an issue when I flew into Europe, but I guess they only allowed one carry on luggage per person on the flight.

The flight from Milan to Frankfurt was dope. You fly low enough to get a good look at the snow-capped Alps. I really wanted to go to Switzerland to go snowboarding during this trip, but it ended up being too expensive. I'll definitely make it happen when I come back though.


My flight arrived in Frankfurt and again I was in awe at how big Frankfurt's airport is. Going into the trip I was excited to see it because it's a pretty highly rated airport. It even has a movie theater and indoor surfing area, apparently.


My thoughts about the airport have changed though. Or I guess it's not the airport's fault, more the airline. Both times that I arrived in the airport, my flight didn't actually taxi into a gate. We would land and all passengers would have to squeeze into a bus that took us into the terminal. This added time into my already short layover. Which would be fine, except this would be my last chance to claim VAT. If I had enough time, I could locate the VAT desk, claim my $65, and still make it back in time to catch my flight.


But after the bus finally got us to the terminal, I not only didn't have time to locate the VAT desk, I actually had to hustle to my gate. I fucking HATE running through airports. This was the first time I've had to do it and I hope I never do it again.


You would think that the shorter the layover, the better. But after this trip, I think a 2 hour layover is ideal. A 2 hour layover would have given me enough time to claim VAT, fill my water bottle, and relax before my flight. Instead, my 1 hour layover resulted in me having to stress over getting to my gate in time.


I made it to my gate in time. Again they made us take a bus to our flight. I did a good job of getting to my gate on time because two more buses arrived after mine. I looked around and was gladly surprised at how empty the plane was. The row ahead of mine and behind me were empty. Or at least they were until a random German guy came last minute and sat in the row ahead of me. I guess this route isn't a very popular route. It makes sense considering LAX is a much bigger international airport and is so close to San Diego. Either way, I'm not complaining.


With no one around me, the flight back was super chill. I had movies downloaded to my Netflix, podcasts downloaded to Spotify, and my Nintendo Switch. The flight was a breeze.


One weird thing is the German dude in the row in front of me was watching some movie on the In Flight Entertainment that had nudity in it. There was a sex scene and this woman's breasts were just out and uncensored. I guess Germans don't care nearly as much about nudity as Americans do, lol.


He also pulled out some pamphlets. I read the titles and they were definitely Nazi literature. It was super strange.


We landed and I was excited to see how Global Entry worked. It was surprisingly simple. I went to a kiosk and answered a few questions about whether or not I was importing any livestock and whatnot. It took my fingerprints as well as a picture. It printed out a receipt and I was on my way.


I picked up my luggage from the carousel and made my way to the Global Entry line. I answered a few more questions about whether or not I was importing anything and was sent on my way.

All in all, it only took about 10-15 minutes between the time that I disembarked from the plane to when I was out of the airport. To be honest, we were the only international flight that arrived at that time so the benefit that I got from Global Entry wasn't as pronounced as it would normally be.


My sister picked me up and brought me back home. It felt good to be in a regular car again. I got some carne asada fries and called it a day.

Recap of the trip to come in another post.

Monday, March 18. Milan

My thoughts on the Derby are gonna have to wait. I can't even get myself to write about it yet. I'm super mad that we lost but it was an amazing experience nonetheless. More to come about the Derby.

I woke up feeling super super refreshed. I slept a full 8 hours for the first time in what seems like forever.

I had to hurry up and get ready because my hotel breakfast was only available until 10:30. I woke up at like 9:15AM, checked my email and saw that I was able to check in to my flights. Normally I'm much more on top of checking in to my flights ASAP, but the emotions from the Derby caught me slippin.

By the time I had finished checking into my flights, showering, and getting ready, it was 10:15AM. I scurried downstairs and had breakfast.

On that note, this hotel is amazing. It's probably the best hotel I've stayed in this whole trip. The breakfast is really good. It's close enough to San Siro to walk. The room is great. Shower and bed are great. Wifi is great. There's a really good chance that I'll come back to this hotel.

The one negative about this hotel (and it's a pretty big negative) is it isn't that close to a train station. It's not ridiculously far, but it's not close at all. More on that later in this post.

I didn't have any plans on doing anything crazy today. The main focus is preparing for my early ass flight tomorrow. I figured I could use today to get a good souvenir for this trip.

I've already gotten a couple of souvenirs. I got a Milan jacket and scarf. I got some magnets. One for me, one for my supervisor, and one for my coworker who's covering for me while I'm gone. I got some good Sennheiser headphones to replace the Sennheiser headphones that my sister gave me years ago (thanks Jamie! Lol). I think her ex gave them to her and she just wanted nothing to do with them. Those headphones finally broke while I was in Munich.

But fuck it! What's one more souvenir? I'm in Milan, arguably the fashion capital of the world. Why not be fake bourgie and get some high fashion shit!?

I walked to the nearest metro station. The ticket machine broke when I used it, which was annoying. I spent a solid five minutes trying to get it to fix itself and give me my money back. Five minutes is an eternity when you're at those machines. Thankfully there wasn't a long behind me or I would have just committed seppuku, lol.

I'm glad the machine broke because I decided to just walk the 45 minutes to the high fashion stores. I walked through Sempione Park and Castello Sforzeco, two places which I wanted to go to but wasn't motivated enough to actually go to. I'm glad I did though.

I arrived at Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, one of the rich shopping areas. It's this cool indoor mall right next to the Duomo. It sounds and looks cool but it's mostly high end fashion brands and overpriced touristy restaurants. I looked through wallets at Gucci, Prada, and Louis Vuitton. That idea was really dumb. It was like €310-€320 for a wallet with a brand name on it. I'll never understand high fashion.

I beat rush hour and got back to my hotel. It's a bit surreal to know that this trip is ending, but it does feel great that I'll be coming back to my regular, every day life. I don't think I'd be able to handle traveling like this for an extended period of time. I'll give a write up on things I've learned this trip in another post.

I started the packing process and prepared for restaurants to open again. That's one thing about Italy. You can find a restaurant from noon to 3:00PM, but almost all of them close for riposo (siesta) until 7:00PM.

When 7:00PM came, I went back to this pizza spot that wasn't bad. They were pretty American friendly. They let you order to go and they even sliced the pizzas for you.

Now I'm back at my hotel room, bullshitting and getting ready for tomorrow's flights.

This is where it gets tough. Milan Malpensa is pretty far away. Far enough that ubering or taxiing is too expensive to be an option. FlixBus is super cheap but I'm afraid of hitting traffic.

I'd prefer to take a train because trains aren't affected by traffic, but Google maps wants me to take a local train and transfer to another train. The problem is the second train takes off 3 minutes after my first train arrives. In those three minutes I would have to get off, find the ticket machine, buy my ticket, find the right platform, and get onto the train. I'd actually I only have two minutes to make all of that happen, because train doors close one minute before departure.

So I'm kind of screwed. I've decided to walk from my hotel to the train station that Google maps wanted me to transfer at. My flight starts boarding at 7:15AM so the last train that could get me to the airport on time leaves at 6:14AM. It'll take me 33 minutes to walk there, maybe more considering I'm carrying everything I have on my back.

It will save me a little bit of money from buying that first train ticket. It'll take more time but it's more of a sure thing. I'm going to get less sleep but that's okay, I can deal with that. I've slept in for almost all of this trip, lol. I'll probably get some sleep on the transatlantic flight anyway.

It's 11:40PM and I'm still up. Got my alarm clock set for 4:30AM. WISH ME LUCK, BOYS!

Sunday, March 17th. Milan

I woke up this morning and this might be the happiest I've ever woken up. It's definitely the happiest I've woken up in recent memory. Milan is playing the biggest game of the season (so far) and this could decide if we make it to champions league next year. This could decide if we return to our former glory. It's been a long time since the Derby Della Madonnina has had this much in stake. The Derby is always special but this Derby is the most important one in years.

On top of all of that, I'm going to the fucking game! The fact that I was able to pull this trip off is huge. I'm so proud of myself. I've put myself in a position to where I could afford this trip. I stacked up enough vacation time to get the time off to go. I planned everything out mostly on my own. I've always wanted to make this trip happen and here I am, pulling it off! This is one thing I can cross off my bucket list.

I relaxed for most of the morning. I think that's mostly what I'm going to be doing for the remainder of this trip. All I'm going to do is focus on the Derby and relax. I'm exhausted. Milan doesn't really have all that much to do compared to the other cities I've been to so I figure hanging out and soaking in Italian culture is all I really want to do aside from the Derby.

My flight leaves super early (7:45 AM) from Milan Malpensa on Tuesday morning. It takes at least 50 minutes to get there. I'm a little bit worried about making it there that early, so I figure I'll definitely need to do my best to get to be early tomorrow so that I don't miss my flight.

I'm writing this as I prepare to head to the stadium. I'm super nervous but this is going to be an amazing time. I'll make a separate post for how the game went. There are no excuses, we should win this game. Forza Milan!

Saturday, March 16th. Como/Milan

I was able to get a decently early start on the day. I got the hop on/hop off water bus ticket, which took you to give different towns on Lake Como. I was only really interested in visiting Cernobbio, the town that has the villa that John Legend and Chrissy Teigan got married at. I also wanted to visit George Clooney's villa but it wasn't the easiest place to get to, so I skipped out on that.

This water bus was a lot more fun to ride in compared to the speed boat that takes you to Bellagio. When I got to Cernobbio, I was glad to see that the villa was only a 15 minute walk away. On the way there I stopped by this random alleyway that led right to the lake. I stood right on the water. I got on this moss covered rock, slipped, and ate shit. I didn't hurt myself or anything, although my ego did take a big hit lol. The two older Italian couples there with me made sure I was okay. I embarrassingly smiled it off and took some pics before scurrying off.

I couldn't get into the villa (of course), but I got some good pics of cool spots along the way. I got back on the water bus and headed back to Como.

I had two hours before my 2:00PM train to Milan arrived so I got some pizza and gelato before heading back to the train station.

I arrived in Milan and had to figure out how to get to my hotel. It was a 55 minute walk or 25 minutes by train. When I first arrived in Milan I didn't mind the walk to my hotel because it gave me a lay of the land and allowed me to soak in more of the culture.

At this point, however, I'm fucking exhausted. Three weeks is a long ass time for a vacation. I think two weeks is probably as long as a vacation should be. Backpacking is dope but it gets tiring, especially if you're going up hundreds of steps with all of your luggage on your back.

I took the train to my hotel. It's been a while since I've taken a local metro. I think the last time was in Munich.

The difference in local transportation is very different. In Germany they go by the honor system which is great. Milan is like the rest of the world where you can't get through the gate without your ticket. Little things like this make a world of difference when it comes to comparing countries/cities. Germany and Switzerland run public transportation on the honor system and somehow their public transportation seems cleaner and more efficient.

My hotel is pretty nice. It's probably the best hotel I've stayed at on this trip. It's a nice way to end the trip.

I went back to Casa Milan, the headquarters for everything AC Milan. It has a museum, bar, store, and ticket office. I had been to the store when I first arrived weeks ago when I bought my scarf. This time I went to the museum. Whole lot of history there. Only worth it for Milan nerds like myself though. Huge waste of money otherwise. I bought a sweet reversible jacket that I'm going to wear to the Derby.

On the way back to the hotel I stopped by a mini market to pick up some bottled water. The cashier finished up with the customer ahead of me and I could tell they were talking about tomorrow's Derby. I was hyped and hoped that the cashier spoke English so that we could talk about how badly Milan was going to beat Inter.

All that excitement ended when I heard the cashier end their convo and say "Forza Inter!" I was clearly a Milan supporter, with my huge Milan Store bag. I hid my bag and tried to end the transaction as quickly as possible, lol.

I got back to the hotel and rested for a bit before finding a good pizza spot. I got a pizza and brought it back to my hotel. I watched soccer and ate pizza in my room for the rest of the night. Pretty solid day if you ask me.

Friday, March 15th. Como/Bellagio

I woke up lazy af. I had wanted to get an early start to make up for not getting out on the lake yesterday, but fuck it. I'm on vacation and if I wanna sleep in then motherfucker I'm sleeping in. Lol

I got up and going at noon and had lunch downstairs at my hotel. The two servers were younger dudes who are my age. They were super cool and gave me advice on where to go and what to see.

I decided that I would go to Bellagio and if I had time, go up the Funicolare to Brunate. I got my ticket to Bellagio and finally arrived after a 45 minute ride.

Unfortunately the garden that I wanted to go to was closed. I had to settle for hanging out at two parks with great views. I noticed that multiple times this trip, I've seen swans in lakes. You only see one or two at a time. They're just out here in these cold lakes, CHILLIN. Having a favorite animal at my age seems kind of silly but if I had to pick one right now it'd be a swan.

Bellagio was super relaxing and I'm super glad that I came. There weren't any of the crazy villas that I was expecting, but hopefully I get to see some of those tomorrow at the other towns around the lake before I head back to Milan.

After arriving back into Como, I found a Brazilian churrascaria. I was super hungry so I was glad to find out that it was pretty damn good.

I spent the rest of the night chilling in Piazza Cavour again. The glimmer of the lights around the lake is so fucking crazy.

No excuses, I've got to get up early and see Brunate and the rest of the towns around the lake. Hopefully I can find George Clooney's villa, the Versace family's villa, and the place that John Legend and Chrissy Teigen got married.

Thursday, March 14th. Como

I didn't get into Como until 1:00PM. The weather was okay but the weather was going to be really good Friday, so I figured I'd save the boat rides to the other places around Lake Como for Friday.

I checked into my hotel and galavanted around Como. This is probably the smallest city that I've visited this entire trip.

I searched for a good restaurant to eat at and came across a good panini place. It's so weird searching for good places to eat because yelp isn't popular here. TripAdvisor is the closest thing to yelp and it's kind of inconsistent.

At any rate, the panino was really good. I found a popular bakery that was highly rated on TripAdvisor, and rightfully so. I got some random pastry (I forget the name) that was super good. Maybe I'll go back before I leave.

I did more laundry and listened to some soccer podcasts. They recapped the crazy champions league games that I watched earlier in the week and previewed the Derby Della Madonnina which is this Sunday. It got me even more hyped! This might be Milan's biggest game this season and I'm going to be there at the San Siro. Surrounded by tens of thousands of Milan fans, cheering on the team that I love. I've spent years watching this game from home but I'm finally here to witness it in person. Life GOALS, Got dammit!

One of the guys from one of my favorite podcasts will also be in attendance. He encouraged us to hit him up if we'll be in attendance and I slid in his IG DMs. He's an Interista but he's got great takes on Serie A and I consume their content every week. I've already supported them by buying some merch but it'd be nice to buy that guy a beer and talk calcio.

I wanted to see Captain Marvel in theaters and there's supposed to be a really good theater in Como. It's relatively cheap (€7.50 for a premium Dolby Atmosphere ticket) and it wasn't too far away.

I tried to take the bus but I ran into some issues. The sign says you can buy a ticket on board (with €1 extra charge applied) or you can buy a ticket at a parking meter. I got on the bus and the bus driver and tried to pay but the driver wouldn't take my money. He told me in broken English that you cannot buy a ticket on the bus. Embarrassed and not wanting to hold up the bus, I asked to be let off the bus, but the driver closed the door and drove off. I was so confused and embarrassed, lollll. I got off at the next stop and figured that it's only a 50 minute walk (~4km), and I might as well burn off some of the calories that I've gained this trip.

Little did I know, this walk was up this huge hill. I definitely worked my ass off, lol. I finally got to the theater and they were only showing the movie in Italian. Again, I felt embarrassed. It was pretty brutal lol. I had to work so hard to try to get to this movie theater, only for things to not work out. But part of traveling is being flexible and remaining positive.

I thought about trying to take the bus back but I couldn't find any of those dumb parking meters.

Wednesday March 13th. Florence

Got up really this morning to make sure I got in line early for the Accademia Gallery, which houses Michelangelo's David.

It's weird because I'm on vacation and I'm still walking up really to an alarm. You would think that bring in vacation meant that you can sleep in. But the early bird gets the worm damnit and getting up early means saving time waiting in lines.

The Accademia Gallery opens at 8:15AM and I got there at 9:00AM, but I only had to wait 30 minutes before I finally got a picture of the statue. I'm not a history or art buff, but it's worth seeing. I skipped out on the rest of the gallery cuz I'm really not into art like that, but I am glad that I saw David.

From there I wanted to go to Bologna, a neighboring city that is supposed to have the best food in Italy. It's only a short train ride away so I figured why not.

The only issue is I got to the train station and the cheapest round trip tickets were €55. Also, if I did go to Bologna, that would mean that I wouldn't be able to go to Palazzio Pitti to see the famous gardens there. I'm pretty much on budget for this trip so far but not skipping out on Bologna meant saving money and being able to see Palazzio Pitti, since it closed at 6:30PM. I made an executive decision and stayed in Florence. When I come back I'll definitely go to Bologna though.

I skipped out on breakfast (which has been a running theme on this trip) since I wanted to get to Accademia Gallery early. So I went to this highly rated panino place right next to the Duomo. Which reminds me, I didn't get to go to the Duomo. I'll have to go when I come back.

At any rate, the panini place was really good. They let you sample the cheese and meat before you make your sandwich. Definitely worth coming back to.

At this point it started to lightly rain. Thank God I went to Piazzale Michelangelo yesterday when it wasn't raining. I didn't want to go to Palazzio Pitti while it was raining, so I went back to the hotel and chilled. My hotel is on the same street as a bunch of high fashion places like Versace and whatnot. It's trippy because Florence is such a great city for a short vacation. It feels like a bigger Verona with more going on. I'll definitely be taking futurebae here.

By the time the rain let up it was already 4:00PM. It was still lightly raining but it was fine enough for me to trek over to Palazzio Pitti.

By the time I made it over there, the rain came back around. It was enough for me to not want to go around this outdoor garden, so I walked around and ended up going to a Caffe that was right on the river. I got some spaghetti (which was bomb) and chilled for a while. Tuscany is known for having bomb food and while it's not the best food I've ever had, I do agree that tuscans know how to cook damnit.

I got some gelato (sofa king good) and chilled on one of the bridges, people watching for a long while. I seriously feel like I could people watch for like half this trip and be content. It's free too, which is great.

I went back to the Irish pub that I went to last night to catch tonight's champion's league games. Barcelona destroyed Olypique Lyon as expected, so at halftime I went downstairs to where they were showing the Liverpool-Bayern Munich game. The basement had maybe 50 people in it and I sweatergod all 50 of them were white, lol. It was mostly college aged white kids, some of whom had Liverpool jerseys on.

The atmosphere was cool though. I love being drunk, surrounded by soccer fans, watching the game.

I was rooting for Liverpool and thankfully they spanked Bayern Munich in Munich.

Now I'm in my hotel room chilling. Lake Como tomorrow. I'm excited because it's supposed to be one of the most bourgie vacation spots in the world. George and Amal Clooney live there. John Legend and Chrissy Teigen got married there. It sounds like a great place to chill and relax.  I might fuck around and get a massage there. There isn't as much that it really want to see there so hopefully my Lake Como stay can act as the calm before the storm. Lord knows I need to muster up as much energy as I can for the Milan Derby, yadadamean!?

Tuesday, March 12th. Florence

People here dress nicely. I sound say thank it seems like most of the everyday people dress nice.

In Milan I felt like most people dressed for convenience. Older people dressed really nicely, but people my age were mostly dressing for convenience. Bubble jackets, jeans, and sneakers.

Here in Florence, I'm seeing a lot of dope coats and winter wear.

I got here at 1:00PM and my hotel room wasn't ready. I dropped my stuff off and went straight to a restaurant. I had a Florentine Steak (something Florence is known for). It was really good, but I wouldn't say it was the best steak I've ever had. The waiter saw that I was watching a podcast about calcio and we struck up a conversation about the Juventus-Atletico Madrid game that night. He was from a city near Naples but he's a Juve fan. I told him that I didn't think Juve would be able to bring it back from a 2-0 deficit. When he came back with the check he wrote 4-0 on it and said to remember 4-0 when the game is over tonight. We laughed and I went on my way.

I got some gelato and went exploring. Got a couple of pictures and finally checked into my room.

Florence is supposed to have one of the best sunset views in the world at Piazza Michelangelo. I made it up there (takes a decent hike up a bunch of stairs to get there) and I gotta say, it's deserving of the accolades. Seeing the sunset against the Duomo and all the surrounding red roofs is fucking crazy.

I chilled, got dinner, and went to an Irish pub to watch the champions league game. I made friends with this couple. The guy was from New Zealand and the girl was from England. They were cool and very friendly but lowkey I just wanted to catch the game. They kept wanting to talk and I obliged, but damn I missed out on Ronaldo's second goal.

As for the game, Juventus brought it back, won 3-0, did the inevitable and advanced. Ronaldo scored all three goals. That motherfucker is incredible.

Monday, March 11. Naples

Yeah, I'm sick. Lol. I figure that I'm coming back to Naples one day so missing out on Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii is okay if it means resting and making sure the rest of the trip isn't jeopardized.

I had breakfast at my hotel and went back to sleep. I woke and realized that in my excitement, I had forgotten to do the remainder of my laundry when I had first arrived to Naples. I went ahead and got that done and finally headed out of my hotel room early in the night.

I got some pizza with bread crumbs, mashed potatoes, and ham. Really good but super filling. Felt like a waste not being able to finish most of it but fuck ittt.

I continued galavanting around Naples. I've noticed a couple of things. Naples might beat out Manila for the city with drivers who are able to maneuver in tight spaces. These Neapolitans will make any car or motorcycle fit in a 10 foot wide street, even with a shitload of people walking about.

I'm here during Carnival so a lot of the museums are free to enter. I went to a couple but I'm not a huge museum guy so I only went to ones that I ran into during my walks. I didn't really plan on going to any of them.

I was hanging out in front of Castel Nuovo when a random dude came up to me and asked me questions in Italian. Some woman was with him and she greeted me as well. I couldn't understand them but I knew right away that this was a scam. I heard something about using my phone and him giving me €1 to use it. Apparently the lady had an emergency and they really needed to use it.

I've seen scams like these before. Stuff like street merchants trying to sell you bracelets and being so pushy that they put the bracelet on you. Gypsies who will do anything to scam you out of money.

In these situations you gotta just walk away. Some people (especially Americans) get annoyed when people touch them but you gotta just understand that that's how things are out here. If you walk away they'll give up eventually.

I wanted to try some svogliatella, this pastry that Naples is known for. I passed as couple of places that didn't have any more svogliatella before I ended up at Gran Caffe Gambrinus, some famous place. It's overpriced but not by a ridiculous amount. I FaceTimed my family because it's my dad's bday. That was nice.

My hotel has a park area right across the street. I chilled and people watched before finding a pizzeria that was showing the Roma-Empoli game.

My train to Florence doesn't leave until 10:30AM tomorrow so I don't have to rush to get ready like I have for the other train rides over taken for this trip. And the ride isn't as long as I'm used to on this trip, at a little less than 3 hours. I'm hyped to see Michelangelo's David. I'm hyped to see the sunset, which is supposed to be world class.

Sunday March 10. Naples

My train from Verona to Naples left at 8:45AM so it was another early morning for your boy. The train ride itself was cool. The views were cool and definitely Italian but it had nothing on the views of the Alps when I rode from Germany, through Austria, and into Italy.

I arrived in Naples and boy, does this city have character. I can see why people would say it's dirty. It's really not that dirty though. It doesn't have trash on the streets the way San Francisco and New York does. I think it get its dirty reputation from the old, smog stained buildings. I don't even mind the look. It feels very authentic.

It was a fucking HIKE to my hotel though. Naples is full of small, tight alleyways. I can see why it gets a reputation as being dangerous because if someone stole something from me and took off running, it'd be incredibly easy to get away. To be fair, I didn't feel unsafe at all.

By the time I unpacked and was ready to head out into the city, it was already 3:00PM. I hadn't had breakfast since the train in was so early, so I was super excited to get some of this world famous napoletano pizza.

And it didn't disappoint! It's just as good as advertised. The crust might be the most amazing part. I'm not the best food critic so I'll just describe it as tasty, incredible, and more soupy than any other pizza I've had. You definitely notice the local Italian oil.

I found a bar that was showing the Napoli-Sassuolo game. I hung out, got wine drunk, and was happy that Napoli (who is ahead of Milan in the table) dropped points to lowly Sassuolo.

I spent what was left of the night walking around and getting a lay of the land. Napoli is much scarier at night, lol. Those small alleys turn into very dark alleys and when you find yourself alone, it's not the best feeling lol.

I planned out the next day (Mount Vesuvius) and rested. I feel like I might be getting sick. Too much moving around and not enough resting. Hopefully it's not the case but we'll see tomorrow morning.

Saturday, March 9th. Verona

My train to Verona was pretty dope. I had a first class ticket and it was cool. It's not a huuuuge difference from second class but it was nice.

I was sitting with a Russian family from Moscow. I fell asleep and woke up shortly after, as the attendant checked our tickets. The Dad struck up a quick conversation with me but he didn't know much English. His wife asked if she could see my Nintendo switch. I let her see it really quickly. She saw Pokemon and asked if her daughter could play. I changed the language on my switch to Russian and the daughter was ecstatic.

The mom was very thankful and gave me some chocolate. The Dad busted out some jagermeister and offered me some. It was like 10:30AM but you can't turn down that offer lol.

We talked for a little bit, with both his daughter and Google translate acting as our translator.

Their family were skiing the Austrian Alps. Fucking bourgie ass family, lol. They brought their skiis and everything. It turns out that both he and his wife are morticians. He said that his wife was the "Death Doctor." I was scared so I left that joke alone, lollll.

He encouraged his daughter to speak to be in English for practice. She was cool. She's 8 years old, swims, skiis, and reads for fun. She plays Pokemon go on her phone. She was explaining how in Russia they have to download an emulator or something that in order to play. She seemed pretty tech savvy for her age.

Shout out to that family. They were cool af.

The remainder of the rain ride was great. The views were craaazy. You see the snow-capped Alps and all these cool villages. It felt like Switzerland but not as grandiose.

I finally arrived in Verona and God damn was it a welcome sight. I think it was kind of draining, staying in all of these big cities with big buildings. Verona has a very old-school, small city feeling. It came at just the other time for me. That's a lie, I probably would have been happier if I had been there a day or two earlier lol.

I checked in to my bed and breakfast place. It was very much a family owned business. The business messaged me on Whatsapp to confirm details with me. It was weird but kind of cool at the same time.

I got settled in and headed out. I struggled to open the front door because none of my keys worked. I was so confused. I tried one more key and I actually turned it so hard that the key broke off LOL. I messaged the guy on Whatsapp and he came and gave me a replacement key. It turns out that there's a switch on the wall that you flip to open the door. Smmfh.

I only had a couple of hours to roam around because Milan played Chievo Verona at 8:30PM. Thankfully Verona is a super small city and you can walk from one end of the city to the other in less than 30 minutes.

I skipped out on Juliet's balcony and grabbing her breast (yeah, it's a real thing lol). I crossed Castelvecchio Bridge and went up to Piazza Castele San Pietro. That whole shit is a fucking VIBE. Definitely worth going back. Being there during sunset was the exact kind of thing I wanted to do on this trip.

I went back to my B&B and relaxed before the game. It was nice to finally have a room to myself. For the rest of the trip I'll have my own room. Actually, starting tomorrow in Naples, I'll have hotel rooms. It's fucking lit!

I made my way over to the game. It was super hype for me because of the feeling. You could see the bright lights of the Stadio Bentegodi off in the distance. It was walking distance away but the light made it feel like it was so far away. I was getting more and more hyped the closer I got.

Imagine my surprise when I got to the stadium and there was a FAT line to get in. On top of that, I had to buy my ticket there because you couldn't purchase tickets online. They only had €50 tickets left an I had to wait in the crazy line. Italy is dope but the smaller cities really gotta get their shit together lol. It's ridiculous that you can't buy tickets online.

I finally got in and I couldn't figure out where my seat was. I walked in just as the game started and I didn't feel like searching anymore. I looked around and other Milan fans were standing on this perch, so I followed suit. I stood on that perch the entire game. It actually offered a great view and I didn't mind standing.

The game itself was wonderful. Lucas Biglia scored on a free kick (who knew he could score free kick? Lol) but Andrea Conti didn't defend a cross well, allowed a free header on goal, and we conceded right before halftime. The  Chievo Verona fans lit up the Bentegodi with excitement. I've never seen so many old people (especially grandmas) cheering so loudly and violently. We went into halftime a little nervous, especially considering our coach got sent off for dissent. We're a much better team than Chievo Verona so the home fans were super happy to be tied at halftime. They had every right to be happy.

Thankfully Milan isn't that far from Verona (I think it's like a 2 hour train ride) and
many Milan fans made the trip. If I had to guess, half of the stadium was Milan fans. It was wild. I really picked a great time to make this trip. The team is in great spirits and it really feels like this is the beginning of a beautiful thing

The Curva Sud (Milan's most dedicated fan base) created an electric atmosphere. They were chanting in unison the entire game, as loud as possible. The way they stay organized is incredible. They lit red flares when we scored and changed the name of any player who scored. It's seriously hard to describe how incredible it is to be there to witness it in person.

In the second half our star striker Krzysztof Piatek scored and put the game away. I don't know most of Milan's changes because they're in Italian but I know Piatek's chant. Witnessing him score and how the Curva celebrates him was so dope. Being able to recite the chant along with tens of thousands of other Milan fans was DOPE.

After the game ended I made my way back to my B&B, smiling and happy to finally have a room to myself. Naples and incredible pizza tomorrow, I'm HYPED.

Friday, March 8th. Munich

I woke up and tried to get reasonably early start. I wanted to get to take the 2.5 hour train to Neuschwanstein Castle, spend however long there, make it back on another 2.5 hour train ride, and get to Munich in time to wrap up whatever I wanted to go in Munich.

I had breakfast at the hotel and took a 9:30AM train. The train ride was pretty nice. Again, the German countryside is fucking amazing.

I got off the train, took a bus, and finally made it to the bottom of the hill that Neuschwanstein Castle sits on. You could either hike for 30 minutes or pay to take a horse carriage up. It was low-key a tough hike but it was well worth it.

It was pretty much as beautiful as I hoped it would be. I was a little disappointed that Queen Mary's Bridge was closed, but it was still fine. Queen Mary's Bridge offers the best view of Neuschwanstein Castle. Maybe I'll come back one day.

Right after I found out that the bridge was closed, I realized that I had lost my power bank. I just have left it on the train. I was actually kind of shook because a power bank is one of the most important things to bring with you when you travel, especially to another continent.

This changed my plans a little bit. Thankfully I was staying in one of the most advanced cities in the world. I would have been more worried if I was staying in Verona or Naples and had to find a good power bank. I spent a good amount of the rest of the night shopping. I ended up with a decent power bank and some bourgie headphones. The over ear headphones that my sister had given me years ago had broken a couple days prior so I figured I might as well get some good over ear headphones here.

For dinner I wanted to get more of the wagyu beef that I had the night prior. I searched for good wagyu beef in Munich and found a couple of spots. I walked to like 4 different spots and every single one had lines out the door. It was ridiculous! None of them could sit a single person. I went to some famous beer garden but it was way too loud and boisterous. I wanted to just relax and chill by myself and this vibe was not doing it for me. I ended up settling for some bratwurst. It was cheap and it was fire. I didn't get my wagyu beef but I was pretty content.

I must have spent at least an hour or an hour and a half walking around lol. Somehow I accumulated the most steps this day than I did on any other day of this trip. And I spent 5 hours of the day on a train!

I spent the rest of the night charging stuff, finishing laundry, and planning stuff out. I was disappointed that I didn't get to go to the English garden. It's supposed to be Munich's version of Central Park. It's actually even bigger than Central Park. But I figured I needed to keep my eyes on the prize and focus on being in good condition to make it to the Milan game in Verona the next day.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with Munich. It seems like a great city to make a base and take day trips to surrounding areas. It's very modern, has a great culture, and caters pretty well to tourists. Is it on my bucket list to come back? Not really. Would I complain if I came back? Not at all.

Thursday, March 7th. Munich

I woke up this morning and had to get to my FlixBus at 9:30. I helped some Filipino aunties from Switzerland find their way to their bus. That was cool.

The FlixBus was pretty cool. Cheap and efficient. WiFi sucked, but whatever.

During the drive I noticed that Germans drive pretty well. Slower traffic actually merges to the right and allows faster vehicles to pass on the left. It was impressive.

During our drive I tried to pinpoint why traveling in Europe's countryside has been so much more enjoyable for me than seeing the countryside in America. I think it's the trees. I've seen a bunch of different trees that I've never seen before. I've read that trees in New England give the same feeling. Maybe I'll visit one day.

My hostel was super close to Munich Central Station. It barely even felt like a hostel. It was somewhere between a hotel and a hostel. I only shared this room with two other people, which was nice. They were younger dudes and they spoke Spanish. I didn't bother to talk to them because aside from the initial hellos (exchanged in English), they were always sleeping. Apparently people really sleep 9-10 hours sometimes. That's so strange to me lol.

It was the point in the trip where my laundry was piling up. I spent a lot of time doing laundry before I finally got out and moved around.

Munich feels a lot like Madrid. Very modern city with pretty much anything you could ask for in a contemporary city. Being here makes me feel like I'm a part of a city that has their shit together.

I will say that there are so many tall people here. I've seen so many men and women who are taller than me.

I walked around and searched for a good restaurant. I hadn't eaten a meal and the sun was going down so I was looking for a good, hearty meal. I found a spot that ended up being really good. The waiter recommended a sampler platter that gives a good idea of bavarian food.

It came with veal schnitzel, sausage, wagyu beef, veggies, sauerkraut, and mashed potatoes. It was a LOT. I didn't finish it but it was fucking amazingggg. The wagyu beef might be the best thing I've tried on this trip so far. Soooo good. The sauerkraut was good. Sausage was pretty standard. I don't think I really fuck with schnitzel. It's tenderized meat, breaded and deep fried. That sounds like it's right up my alley but my Americanized palate needed more seasoning. I needed some cajun spice or something on that bitch!

After the meal I headed towards the English Garden. It was only 8:00PM on a Thursday and I noticed all of the shops were closing down. Strange. I got to the park and that motherfucker was poorly lit. To the point that I turned right around and noped the fuck out of there lol. I figured I could go back the next day after I come back from my day trip to Neuschwanstein Castle.

I spent the rest of the night walking around and enjoying the scenery. I've seriously done so much walking this trip. I would probably benefit from getting a foot massage from one of the many Thai spas that I've seen multiple times on this trip.

Today felt like the most "travel day" day so far. Most of the day was spent getting ready, traveling, and doing laundry. Hopefully tomorrow feels more vacation like.

Christmas markets

Wednesday, March 6th. Prague

Woke up in my top bunk, feeling super weirded out by the fact that I woke up in a top bunk. How old am I? Lol.

Staying in hostels has been fun but when I do this trip again I definitely gotta get hotel rooms.

No breakfast today. We're getting straight to the shits! No plan, just gonna venture out and get lost in this wonderful city.
That's one of the great things about cities like Prague. The main part of the city isn't that big, so you can easily get lost and not really feel lost. Especially when the city has physical borders, like a river cutting through. If you get lost, just find your way to the river and work your way back to wherever it is you need to go!

I headed back towards Charles Bridge. Only this time I wanted to cross the bridge directly to the north of Charles Bridge. I got there and seeing that area again, only this time in the morning, was wild. Such a beautiful place. I chilled on the bridge for like half an hour before crossing.

I made my way towards the Prague Castle but came across a cool little park at the base of the hill. Chilled there for a little bit and made my way up the stairs that lead up to the castle. Those stairs are no joke lol.

Finally made my way in to the castle. It was dope! More of what I came to expect. Cool architecture, cool cobblestone streets, just dope. But nothing too out of the ordinary for these European cities. I didn't care to go inside or up the tower at St. Vitus Cathedral. I'm of the belief that once you see any of these European churches, you've more or less seen them all. The first few times are super cool, but eventually you become numb to them.

There's exceptions of course. La Sagrada Familia, Notre Dame, and St. Peter's Basilica come to mind. But I didn't think I'd get as much from seeing the inside of this castle and cathedral as I would from exploring more.

I stopped by a Starbucks to get some bottled water. One bad thing about Prague is it feels like money exchange and mini markets are scams. I withdrew $40 worth of Czech currency last night and there was an ATM fee of like $6.50. Apparently mini markets also overcharge for everything. So weird for a tourist like myself. The 1 liter water bottle from Starbucks ended up costing around $4. I figured that if I was going to be overcharged for water, I might as well spend it at an American owned business, right? Lol. MURRCA.

My plan was to head back towards the hostel, leave my external battery pack to charge, and grab some food from that burger place I wasn't able to go to last night.

On the way back, however, I ran into a cool little mini festival at the bottom of Charles Bridge. I got a small bowl with some weird pasta/potato thing with sausage in it as well as some beer. While scarfing that down, I realized that I might not come back to this side of the river and I hadn't yet gone to Petrin Hill.

So I sucked it up and started to head in that direction. I found another park right by the river and chilled for a bit. Chillin is starting to become a recurring theme here lol.

Petrin Hill is pretty high up and I had to pretty much walk back up the hill that I had just come down from. Half way up the hill was yet another dope park. I found a spot with a good view, laid down, and watched the clouds for like 45 minutes.

This is the part where good music comes into play. You can't just play your regular poppy, Top 40 joints. Imagine getting here and playing "Buy You A Drank." Lollll.

Nah, you gotta get into your atmospheric, moody vibe. Today's music choice was one of my favorite albums, Beach House's "Teen Dream."

I probably would have been content to spend the rest of the afternoon at that spot but I still hadn't actually made it to Petrin Hill yet, lol. So off I went.

I hadn't gone more than 100 yards before this group of three girls stopped me. They were friendly travelers, just wanting to say hi, ask where I was going, and keep me company. It was two German girls and a Pole.

Before you get any thoughts, I found out that these girls were 16 and 17 years old. R. Kelly is in the news cycle right now so I'm too scared to even try to make a joke about these girls, lolllllll.

But these young girls were super friendly! We hung out, got to the top of Petrin Hill, and went to the top of the tower. Turns out they're friends from school and they're here on holiday. Apparently kids as young as 15 just up and travel around Europe with no parental supervision. That tripped me tf out.

We came back down from Petrin Hill and went our separate ways. Shout out to the homies Selene, Corra, and Elena! On my way back to the hostel I found two sports bars that looked like prospective spots to go to for the champions league games later that night.

I got back to the hostel and at this point I was EXHAUSTED. It was only 5:30 but I had walked and hiked soooo much. I later was notified by my Fitbit that I had climbed 100 floors that day. I was super content to just hang out and relax for a while. I chilled in a common area of my hostel for a bit before I would go to that burger place that I wasn't able to go to the night prior.

Some Asian girl from some random Asian country (can't remember which) came into the common area and sat down. We struck up a conversation and I told her how I was going to the burger place and a sports bar afterwards and she should come join. She said she had just eaten but she might be down to come watch the games. She told me to come get her from her hostel room before I went to the game. It was lit!

So I bid her adieu (lol) and started heading downstairs. This tall German guy was walking down the stairs with me and said he overheard that I was trying to watch the champions league games. He had watched the champions league games the night prior at a small bar right in front of our hostel. We decided we would watch the night's games together. It was lit! I was slowly building a SQUAD.

So me and the homie Tom went to the burger place and of course it was full again. We decided to check out another spot that my sister recommended named Lokal. Lokal was only a block away so it was perfect. It was this huge dining hall that served local Czech food.

They sat us down at a table with a woman and man who seemed friendly. They were German as well (lots of Germans come to Prague for small trips, apparently). We struck up conversations and swapped traveling stories. They recommended some places for my trip to Munich. Shout out to them too, damnit!

Tom and I finished our meals and headed back to the hostel. We would rest for a little bit before heading out to the sports bars. I went to see if Asian girl homie wanted to come with but I couldn't find her. Fuck it, her loss!

Tom and I checked a couple of bars, all of which ended up not having any more seats. We finally landed at this Irish pub in Old Town. We got a good two person table with direct views of both games. It was super lit! I was soooo happy because it was the first time I had gotten to watch soccer games in Europe with another soccer fan who actually followed the sport.

Thankfully both games were entertaining. Two giants faced off between Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United and two lesser teams face off between Roma-Porto. There was a table of Italian Roma fans next to us and most of the other people in the bar seemed to be rooting for Manchester United. It was a tremendous atmosphere. This was exactly the kind of thing I was hoping for when I planned this trip.

Both games were fun, entertaining, and slightly controversial. A perfect trinity for neutrals like myself. I was hoping Roma would win and they didn't, but it's fine.

By the time Tom and I got back to the hostel it was pretty late, like 12:30. I would have to wake up, shower, and check out, and get to the train station before my FlixBus arrived at 10:45AM. To make matters worse, Tom and I noticed that one of the two showers available on our floor went out of service that day.

So I made an executive decision and showered at 1:30AM. I couldn't risk waking up and having to wait for the one shower that was available on our floor. I showered and wasn't able to fall asleep until 2:30AM.

Tuesday March 5th. Prague

I haven't stopped smiling since I got here. This place is fucking amazing.

I stepped out of the train station and was greeted with beautiful Czech architecture.  Every building looks like it's from the 1700's or older. And yes they do come together well. Cobblestone streets. Just beautiful. I've only been here for a few hours and this might be my favorite city as far as buildings and architecture goes.

I found my hostel and got settled in. I've run into some interesting personalities at hostels so far. In Berlin it was the unnecessarily loud American. Here it was the nervous traveler. This guy came in right after me to check in, but was sort of pushy about getting checked in and was obviously nervous about something. The fact that his English wasn't great wasn't helping matters either. I let the receptionist check him in first. Hopefully that guy is doing alright.

The game plan was to get to the Adidas store to get running or soccer gloves. Such is my luck, they didn't have any. I figured I'd just say fuck it and not get any, since these two nights in Prague are supposed to be the coldest temps that I'll run into during this trip.

So now I have to try to find this burger joint that my sister recommended to me. Conveniently it's right down the block. I get there and it looks pretty legit but the seating area is tiny af and there were no empty tables. I didn't feel like dealing with all that so I went and found this Mongolian BBQ spot that was actually really good. I've determined that Prague is a foodie's paradise. Every single food place looks amazing.

The sun's down and it's dark af but this is exactly how I wanted it to be when I got to the Charles bridge. I make my way over there through the maze of wonderful architecture. Apparently the buildings are a mix of Roman, Baroque, Gothic, and a myriad of other styles. It's crazy because the way they illuminate these classic buildings with those yellow-orange (fluorescent?) light bulbs makes it feel like you're walking through Disneyland for the first time. Being here feels like I'm in the grown up version of Disneyland. I would go as far as to say that it feels magical, lol.

It was pretty fucking cold. 39° with a wind chill of 34°. But I got a hot chocolate from some street cafe and thugged it out. And I'm glad I did because walking up to and seeing Charles Bridge lit up for the first time is definitely one of the dopest experiences of my life. It feels like you're in the middle of a fantasy land.

The first thing you see is this huge tower at the near end of the bridge. Then you get closer and see Prague Castle off in the distance. Serious Disneyland vibes here. Anyone who tells me Disneyland wasn't inspired by Prague is a fucking liar.

Then you see the Vltava River flowing. The way the city lights flicker against the water. Weird ass statues (lol).

With it being late at night and the weather getting so cold, Charles bridge didn't have too many visitors. Which is right up my alley. I love solitude.

This isn't to say that it was peaceful and quiet, because there were hundreds of seagulls chillin on the river, screeching and hollering. It sounded like a huge seagull orgy lol.

That said, being there at that moment was a MOOD. Words can't really do it justice. I'll definitely be back here one day.

Going to Charles bridge at night is already one of the highlights of the trip. I honestly dgaf what I do tomorrow with my full day here because seeing Charles bridge like this made it worth it to come to Prague. That said, I plan on checking out some of the food spots that my sister recommended. Her and her boyfriend recommended some park on top of a hill overlooking the city that you can drink at. That sounds like it's RIGHT up my alley.

Hopefully I can do all that and go to a sports bar to catch the champions league games at night. Apparently Real Madrid just got knocked out by Ajax and I missed it. Let's hope Juventus don't advance either. That'd be the cherry on top of my already awesome Prague experience.

Tuesday, March 5th. Leaving Berlin

Another day that I woke up super early. This time at 4:30AM. I'm probably getting like 6.5 hours of sleep, which isn't ideal. I end up having to come back and take naps. Which isn't a big deal, but definitely isn't ideal. Hopefully my circadian rhythm catches up soon.

No breakfast today. I stayed up until 8:30AM before deciding to try to nap now instead of later on the train. After my nap I planned out the day. I wanted to get to Berlin Central Station by 12:15PM since my train to Prague left at 12:59PM.

I wanted to see Checkpoint Charlie which was walking distance from my hostel. I ended up taking the train and saved a couple of minutes. I got out of the train station and Checkpoint Charlie was right there. I think that feeling is one of my favorite feelings in the world. The moment you stumble into a destination/monument/whatever and see it for the first time is fucking nuts.

As for Checkpoint Charlie, it's okay. It's kind of what you expect. It's the little booth, with some historical monument looking stuff. The street it's on feels very tourist trappy. I went and took pictures with the guys dressed up as soldiers for €3. Totally a tourist trap ripoff, but fuck it!

I had about two hours to eat and get to Berlin Central Station. There was a currywurst spot that I passed that looked promising, but it didn't have seating. I was hoping to find somewhere I could chill for a bit and maybe find some WiFi.

Thankfully a McDonald's was right there! I know, I know, what kind of loser would go to McDonald's overseas? Lol. But it was perfect for what I was looking for! I didn't have any other German food that I wanted to try (I'm going to Munich in a couple of days anyway), it had a comfortable seating area, and had WiFi. I ordered some chicken wings and scarfed that shit down while game planning the rest of the day.

I made my way to the train station. One thing I'll note is that it's wonderful giving yourself able amounts of time to get to your destination. I'm backpacking so sometimes I'll walk super duper slow, leisurely and at my own pace. It's rough when you're in a rush and you have to make quick decisions in a pinch. My mommy always told us that it's better to be super early than to be right on time.

My mom's advice helped today because even though I gave myself plenty of time to get to the train station, actually getting to my train was a fucking nightmare. I arrived to this Berlin Central Station (which is fucking HUGE) and had to find a self service terminal to print my ticket out. It wasn't the easiest thing to do. I had studied the instructions that were emailed to me but they weren't very clear. They were sort of general tips instead of terribly specific instructions. Thankfully I found the self service terminal (though it was like finding a needle in a haystack) and printed my ticket.

The only issue is the ticket didn't list the platform that I needed to go to. I had noticed this issue in the emailed instructions, and surely enough here I was, having to figure out where the fuck to go to meet my train. It didn't help that there were like 20 different platforms, including the platforms for the local trains.

I looked for the giant board that announces arrivals and departures. For some reason it only listed arrivals up through like 12:20PM. With my train arriving at 12:59, this did me no good. Thankfully it was 12:00PM and I had plenty of time to spare.

I walked my ass from platform to platform, checking which trains were arriving at which time. These platform schedules showed trains that were arriving after mine. Which was good news because eventually I'd run into the platform that my train would arrive at and my worries would be put to rest.

Imagine my horror when I got to the last platform and I didn't see "Prague" or "Praha" on any of the arrival schedules. I was pisssssed!

I went back to the big board of Arrivals and they still weren't showing any arrivals past 12:40. Now I'm starting to judge this German train station. What happened to German engineering and efficiency!? The Japanese would NEVER let anything like this happen! Lol.

In situations like these, it helps to take a breather, sit down, and go over the facts. You know that the platform upstairs aren't the ones you're looking for because those are reserved for local trains. These underground platforms are definitely the ones you're looking for because all of these other destinations are in other countries or far away German cities. I sat down, drank some water, and figured I'd go back to the big board and eventually they'd have my train listed. They'd have to!

Finally it gets to 12:30, less than 30 minutes before my train departs, and my train is listed there. Platform 1. My stress levels subside and I head down there. I realize there's already a bunch of people inside the train already. How the fuck did they get there so early if they had just announced which platform the train would arrive at?

I finally figured out that this train on platform 1 was a delayed train to Munich. It was supposed to depart at 12:30 and still hadn't moved. I waited and waited and this train just wouldn't budge. It's already 12:50 and they haven't moved. So strange. 12:53 and they still haven't moved. So weird. I hear on the overhead speaker that the train to Prague was arriving. I thought "motherfucker, now I gotta wait for this Munich train to depart before I can get on my Prague train."

But without any prior announcement (that I heard, at least), another train pulls up on my opposite side, to platform 2. I see the sign and sure enough it's my Prague train. Right on time. Thank GOD. I get on the train and go on my merry way to Prague.

I wasn't expecting much from this particular train experience because I got a cheap second class ticket. Normally I would have splurged and gotten a first class ticket cuz I'm a first class BITCH like that lol. But iirc, first class tickets were damn near twice the price of second class tickets. I don't need more leg room THAT badly. The €39 second class tickets would more than do.

And it worked out pretty well! I was in a small car with six seats. Thankfully there were only three others in the car, so we all had a bunch of room. I was worried too, because the way the car was set up was like that creepy train ride they took in eurotrip. People came and went as we made a few stops but overall it was well worth the money. I bought first class tickets for two of my upcoming train rides so we'll see if that was money well spent.

Monday March 4th. Berlin

I woke up to my roommates talking about stuff. One guy was way too loud. I think he was drunk. Eventually I fall back asleep. I got up early, like 4:30. Showered and had breakfast at the cafe downstairs.

Went to the Brandenburg Gate. It was pretty surreal. That whole area is nuts. The Brandenburg Gate directly faces the Victory Column so I figured I might as well go there. This messed with my original plan to go to the Reichstag Building and Potsdamer Platz since they were both near the Brandenburg Gate. But whatever, spontaneity! Lol. That was a loooong ass walk. It was through a humongous park that was pretty cool. The park was full of trees that had no leaves, just the way that you always see in World War II movies. The Victory Column was really dope, especially the way the statue shines in the sun.

I walked back through the other side of the park to the Reichstag Building. When I finally got there I was pretty impressed. It looks so genuinely German. I wanted to go to the glass dome on top of the Reichstag but you have to book it in advance. I believe it's free as well. It's supposed to give a dope 360° view of the city and I loooove that stuff. Maybe I'll come back and see it one day.

Fortunately you don't have to make a reservation to go to the TV Tower. The TV Tower is tall af and you can see it from anywhere in the city. For some reason it reminds me Big Brother from "1984." I was able to make a reservation online anyway, which would save me time when I did get there.

From the Reichstag Building I walked towards Potsdamer Platz. Fortunately I ran into the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe on the way there. That place is trippy.

I finally got over to the Potsdamer Platz and it was a crazy contrast to the rest of Berlin. It felt so modern. It felt like Las Vegas mixed with New York. I dunno, it was some weird combination. They say that it's a good way to see how the separation of East and West Germany changed Berlin. One side modernized while the other started traditional.

The way that Berlin has combined the old architecture with the new is so refreshing, especially compared to Milan. The new and contemporary buildings here don't stick it like a sore thumb the way they do in Milan. They say that the level of bureacracy in Italy is ridiculous so I guess that's one hurdle that Milan has to overcome. I don't think Germany has the same level of bureacracy. If I had to guess, Germany seems like one of the most progressive countries I've ever been to. I feel like the quality of life here in Berlin is so high. I wasn't ridiculously excited about Berlin when I booked this trip, but it's definitely exceeded my expectations.

Anyway, I took a train over to the TV Tower. I had some more time to kill so I went to a döner spot. It was pretty good, but not ridiculously great. I didn't expect it to be because it was just a döner spot that was convenient. I headed over to the TV Tower which wasn't far. But on the way there the weather went crazy. There were craaazy strong winds, enough that we all had trouble walking. It was really fun lol. The wind stopped for 10 seconds and it immediately went into a crazy rain storm. Everyone had to rush indoors. I powered over to the TV Tower place and made my way through.

Even though I had only made a reservation two hours prior, the reservation saved me soooo much time. I skipped a bunch of long lines. The view was fucking amazing. The Eiffel Tower is still the dopest 360° view that I've ever seen, but The TV Tower was dope in its own way.

After that I started to feel tired again. I knew I still wanted to see Checkpoint Charlie and maybe go to a beer garden. But jetlag crept in so I figured I'd go back to the hostel to recharge. I took a quick nap and headed out. I stepped out the front door and was greeted with another fucking rain storm. Weather changes here so much in such a short span of time. It's honestly a welcome feeling for me, since we don't get extreme weather in San Diego. I ended up drinking beer in the common area of my hostel. Once the rain calmed down, I headed over to the Adidas store which thankfully was only three train stops away. I shopped at a couple stores before buying a beanie at Adidas. I wanted gloves but they didn't have any in my size. I would have gotten Nike gloves but you can't wear Adidas and Nike together! Lol. I figure I'll just get some gloves at the Adidas in Prague 😀.

I went to get schnitzel for dinner. I went to this highly rated restaurant and honestly, schnitzel isn't much to write home about. I'm taking currywurst over schnitzel any day of the week. I do think that I would get tired of currywurst if I had it all the time, but for someone who's only in town for two nights, currywurst was fucking AMAZING.

My train doesn't leave Berlin for Prague until 12:45PM tomorrow. I'm hoping I can go to Checkpoint Charlie (walking distance from my hostel) and get one more good meal in before I leave. Might have to fuck around and get currywurst one more time, lol

Sunday March 3rd. Berlin

I stayed up most of the night, didn't get much rest. Got up early and got breakfast. Checked out early and got going because it would take a long time to get to the airport for my flight to Berlin. Only so many trains ran that early in the morning.

Got to the train station, transferred. Almost forgot to validate my ticket. Got to the airport. Almost got off at the wrong terminal. Security wouldn't let you past with more than one bag. This caught me off guard. Who knew easyjet was stricter than TSA? Lol. I was super worried that I wouldn't be able to fit everything into the big bag my sister lent me, but thankfully it did.

The one bag thing threw a wrench in my timing and now I was running late. I had to hustle to the gate (which was the furthest gate away. Because of course it was) because it was already boarding. I get to the gate and they're still checking people in. They weren't letting anyone on yet but the good news was I didn't miss my flight.

And then they started measuring people's baggage. It had to fit in that stupid metal box thing. I knew for a fact that my big ass bag wouldn't fit in it, especially after the Frankenstein experiment I did after security gave me shit for having more than one bag. I figured they'd charge me to check my bag in. They'd even charge me extra because my bag was bigger than regulation. Thankfully the strict woman who was checking people's baggage didn't end up checking with me. I got in and everything worked out. WHEW.

I land in Berlin and it's cold and light rain. Just as I would have expected from Berlin. I dunno why I always expected Berlin to be cold with slight rain, but here we are. I probably have seem too many WW2 movies lol.

I'm jetlagged and it's affecting my decision making. It took me far longer than it should have to figure out how to get my train ticket and which trains to take to get to my hostel. I run into that PIN issue with paying for my train ticket with my credit card (wtf!) so I use my debit card. I had no choice but to eat a foreign transaction fee. Whateverrrrr. Finally make it to the hostel and the staff is great. They offer me coffee and water (I take water), give me a map, and explain the surrounding areas. Seriously great experience with the hostel staff.

I get to my hostel room that I'm sharing with 7 strangers. Such a weird experience. I feel like I'm in college again lol. I'm jetlagged and I know it's affecting my experience because my body's sore and tired. My navigating skills aren't as sharp as they typically are.

But I say fuck it. As badly as I want to, i can't just sleep now. It would ruin my sleep schedule. Plus I would wake up at like midnight and wouldn't be able to do shit. That would effectively ruin a full day's worth of being in Berlin.

So I venture off to find some German food. On the way there I figure I found rectify my credit card PIN situation, so I call my credit card company and finally figure out how to change my PIN on my credit card. I later saw that I could have done that on my banking app lol.

There's good doner (don't ask me to use the proper German letters cuz I don't know that shit and I'm too lazy to Google and copy/paste lol) and currywurst nearby. I walk in that direction and try to figure out what the move was. These random young German girls stop me and talk to me in German. They looked like johavah's witnesses. I stop them and say in English that I don't understand them. Turns out they actually we're Jehovah's witnesses. They were 20 and 19 years old from Utah and Virginia and we talked briefly about their experiences as Americans abroad. They showed me where the currywurst was and were generally nice about everything. Funny experience considering my old supervisor is Mormon. I also saw Book of Mormon on Broadway last October so it was a funny experience for me. I know Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons are different, but still.

I found a liquor store and figured I should fill my ThermoFlask. Had to make sure I didn't get water with gas in it, like I did in Milan.

With the Jehovah's witnesses' help I found the currywurst spot. There's a bank next door so I withdraw money from my credit card. Typically you never want to withdraw money from your credit card but I think my card (NFCU Visa flagship rewards) is an exception to the rule. I've lowkey been excited to see if it really is fine to withdraw money from it while overseas. If I'm wrong and I eat a fee, then fuck ittt.

I finally get to the currywurst spot and it's fucking AMAZING. Hands down one of the best experiences on this trip so far. It felt like super good drunk food. You buy the currywurst and eat it at these table stands. Felt like a genuine Berlin experience. The currywurst was so good too! It's sausage that came with fries. They put some weird seasoning (I don't think it was real curry. At the very least it wasn't spicy) as well as ketchup and mayo on top. It was fucking delicious. Super filling too. If I was with someone it definitely would have been a situation where you split one between yourselves.

I figured I was already in the direction of the East Side Gallery (longest reasoning stretch of the Berlin Wall) so I might as well check it out. It looks like it might start to rain but momma didn't raise no bitch! So I took the train over.

Sidenote: Berlin's train system is pretty dope. It runs on the honor system, is efficient, and is just so well run. Color me impressed.

I get off the train and start heading towards the East Side Gallery and of course it's raining hard now. Not terrible hard, but enough to be annoying. I wait it out in hopes that the rain will let up eventually but it never does. I decide to thug it out and go anyway. It honestly isn't that impressive lol. The art is cool but I don't think I'm much of an art guy. Or at least not a big painting guy. It was a dope experience regardless but I didn't stick around too long because of the rain.

I wanted to get to a sports bar to watch the Napoli-Juventus game but that wasn't for another couple of hours. There was a sports bar nearby but they were sitting a German Bundesliga game between two shitty teams that I didn't care about. I decided to chill at a Starbucks while I figure out what the gameplan was for the rest of the night. After a while I figured I'd call it an early night and get an early start on the next morning.

Saturday, March 2nd. Milan

Woke up tired from all the travel. Went to breakfast(which wasn't bad). Went back and planned on doing things in Milan, but ended up taking a nap. Woke up, went to the Duomo and galleria. Has gelato. Went straight to San Siro from there.

I was supposed to take one train and transfer over to another train but the trains were packed. I decided to walk instead of taking the second train. It was only 2.3 km, not that far at all. Saved money. I didn't have that many euros either.

I walked up and when I finally saw the San Siro, it really was magical. It's kind of breathtaking, but that might be just because I'm a Milan fan.

I walked around the stadium just to get a feel. I went in early, but they wouldn't let me in with my battery pack. They said it was too big. I asked if I could store it somewhere and they said I had to ask someone from one of the kiosks. Wtf!

I bought a beer and the worker kept the battery pack there.

Impressions from the game:

The players seem much taller in person. The goal and box seem way closer in person. The chants are just as amazing as you would expect.

Ugly game but the important thing is we got the three points. Now we've leapfrogged inter and we're in third! Amazing.

I was so glad when I returned to the beer kiosk and the lady gave me back my battery pack. I figured the trains would be even more packed than before, so I walked back to the train station that I took on the way there. But I didn't have many euros and any time I tried to pay for my ticket with my credit card, the machine asked for my PIN. But I've never set up a PIN for my credit card, so it wouldn't accept my card. I didn't feel like trying to fix the situation while hundreds of people were coming through the station, waiting in line behind me.

So I went to the nearby McDonald's and ate real quick. I came back, paid for my ticket with euros (iirc) and came back to the hotel. They weren't showing the roma-lazio game at the restaurant bar, so I called it a night. I didn't get much sleep and it hurt my sleep schedule.

My general impression of Milan is that it isn't my favorite city (shoutout to Barcelona). It feels like it's outdated? Not contemporary enough for my liking? I dunno. The architecture is underwhelming. You can tell that smog has taken its toll on the buildings and the city in general. There are some nicer buildings but they stick out like a sore thumb. And not in a good way. They've got to find a way to mesh the old with the new here. There's a ton of graffiti. Not a bad or good thing, but there's a ton of graffiti.

I don't think Milan as a city sucks though. I clearly love AC Milan. I'm just not that into fashion or art like that. I will be back to catch a Milan game when we're finally back in champions league, where we belong. Matter of fact, I'll be back sooner than that. I'll be back in two weeks for the Derby Della Madonnina. *AIRHORN*

Friday, March 1st. Milan

Got in through security with TSA pre-check, solid first experience.

Waited forever for flight. Flight wasn't full. Three seats in row ahead of us were empty. Maybe it was just a party of three that missed the flight.

Lufthansa experience was solid. The in flight entertainment was really good. Seat was tiny though.

Landed in Frankfurt. That airport is fuck humongous. Which is cool except for when you have to get to the opposite side of the terminal for a connecting flight. Plus they changed the gate on me.

Landed in Milan malpensa. That airport isn't impressive at all. Took a long ass train to Milan Central (maybe one hour long).

Arrived in Milan Central, had to figure out how to get to the hotel. The plan was to take a metro train but the line to buy tickets was long af. And I didn't have any euros on me so I might have needed to convert my dollars before buying a ticket.

So I said fuck it and walked it. It was 5km away. Got a decent feel for this side of the city. It was a long ass walk though, especially with my huge ass backpacks.

Finally checked in. Took a shower and headed to casa Milan. Bought a scarf. Then headed to a super market to get snacks and water. Got some bread and water. Only issue is I forgot to make sure it was flat water. Now I have a 12 pack of gas water. It's not terrible but damn I wish I had flat water.

Went downstairs to the hotel restaurant/bar. Watched inter lose 2-1 to Cagliari. Woohoo!