🇪🇺 Email #8: The Last European Stops
This post is part of the Europe & Asia 2005 Retrospectives series. It is a raw record of the journey, preserved exactly as it was written in internet cafes and sent as an email to family and friends. While my travel style has evolved, the desire to experience the world and the wanderlust expressed in these notes remain the same.
Original Email Date: November 15, 2005
Location(s): Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt
I am now in Frankfurt, my last stop before I leave for Asia. Tomorrow I'll meet up with my mom at the Frankfurt airport, we'll spend half a day in Frankfurt, and then we'll be off to Thailand (SS - where are my travel tips? SP - where are we meeting up?). I'm excited to travel with my mom, but I'll definitely miss being a solo traveller. There is so much I enjoyed about travelling around Europe by myself.
In the past week or so, I have been in Prague, Berlin, and Amsterdam. Prague is a gorgeous city. There was not a single street that I walked down that was not picture-worthy. The sights - Charles Bridge, Prague Castle, Old Town Square, etc. are all amazing, but the highlight was this bar that was recommended to me by an American who is now living there. When you first walk in, it looks like a trendy wine bar, but when you venture further back and go down some stairs, you end up in a catacomb, where there are different cavernous rooms, each with its own bar and DJ spinning different types of music - it was awesome.
Berlin was great for all its history and its memorials, but the city itself is still rebuilding, and the skyline is unremarkable, minus a
building here or there. I went on a walking tour, which was recommended by every traveller I met who had been to Berlin, and it was definitely one of the best tours I have been on ever (sorry LH - it was better than Mike's in Munich), and it was free. We started at the Brandenburg Gates, and walked through the city, stopping at the Reichstag (their parliament), the Holocaust Memorial, the site of Hitler's Bunker, Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall, the Nazi Book Burning Memorial, and a bunch of other important buildings and sites. I also went to the Jewish Museum and a concentration camp just outside of Berlin, which were incredibly moving.
The other thing I did in Berlin was meet up with my friend JJ, who is touring Europe with a band called Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Has anyone ever heard of them? They were great - totally not what I had expected when Jeff said he was doing the lighting. Anyways, JJ - it was so great to see you in Berlin. The show was awesome (especially the lights)!!! And thanks again for dinner - I owe you one when we both get home to SF.
So I ended up spending my birthday (thanks for all the birthday wishes) in Amsterdam, and as many of you predicted, I would find people to celebrate. Actually, I met them on the Heineken Brewery Tour, which is nothing special except that you can get seriously drunk there. They give you three tokens for beer, but if you sit in the bar long enough, people who don't really drink will give you their tokens too. We would have stayed there all night except that they closed at 6 PM. Afterwards, we went to dinner, took a walk around the Red Light District, and ended up in some cafes and bars. JL - You and your crazy friends would love it there. I did hit a couple of museums (Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum) and the Anne Frank House, also while I was there.
Well, this is the final update from Europe. More to come when I arrive in Asia...
Meeting up with my mom in Frankfurt before traveling to Asia.
JH and Ski Crew - I am in for a trip this year (at least for the weekend - the other days will be dependent on where I am staffed). But I'm very excited for our trip to Austria when LH graduates!!!
AH - I'll make sure to stay away from the poultry in Asia. Also, AS will be back soon for any work-related items. :)
AS- Are you sad that your trip is almost over? We'll have to trade travel notes when I get back, since we went to completely different places.
The Retrospective Reflection (2026)
Wrapping up my time in Europe felt like a collision of history and celebration. From the solemn memorials of Berlin to a birthday spent in the cafes of Amsterdam, these final days were a crash course in the diversity of the continent.
Looking back at this entry, I can feel the bittersweet transition of ending a solo journey to begin one with my mom. In 2005, Berlin still felt like a city under construction, and my notes reflect a raw engagement with its history that felt very immediate. I love the memory of meeting a friend from home touring with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. I had no idea they would become indie rock icons. It was just another example of the unexpected experiences and reunions that happen when you travel.
Spending my 30th birthday in Amsterdam with a group of strangers from a brewery tour is a reminder that solo travel is rarely lonely. You are always just one shared beer token away from a new group of friends. However, milestone birthdays are meant to be shared with those you love, so I have since made up for that by celebrating my 40th in Bali and 50th in Palm Springs with some of my favorite people. As I prepared to meet my mom in Frankfurt, I was leaving behind the relentless European pace for a new rhythm in Asia, though I clearly wasn't ready to stop the adventure just yet.
