Dear E2,

I need your help. I'm planning a trip to Europe this spring (most likely during the last two weeks of May) and have been asking everyone I know for his or her advice. This has gotten me all kinds of answers, most of which contradict each other. "Make sure you go to Italy," one person said. "Don't go to Italy," another said. You can see the bind I'm in.

What I do know for sure is that I want to fly in and out of London (from Toronto) and spend some time in the U.K. I also want to see Ireland. I also want to see France, Austria and Germany, Italy and the Vatican if there's time. (And it should go without saying that if anyone schedules a western European nodermeet during the last two weeks of May, I want in!)

Here's where you come in: personal experiences are obviously more valuable to me than any travel brochure or guidebook. I've combed the internet and Wikitravel for thoughts, but I'd rather have honest-to-goodness advice from the people I trust (i.e. you).

If you have some -- any -- wisdom about travelling in Western Europe to impart, please /msg me. I'm looking for details on where to stay, little-known must-sees, what to eat and how to save money.

If you are in Western Europe and are interested in having a nodermeet during my visit, please /msg me. I love meeting noders.

How'd this come about?

I sort of came into some money unexpectedly -- a very generous family member made a bit of a killing with some investments and decided to share the wealth. My initial funds are sitting in a high-interest savings account, and I'll be adding to them on a monthly basis. I should be in a great position to travel halfway around the world by May, and will also not starve during my stay there. Huzzah!

I wasn't sure exactly what to use the money for, however, and was pondering some rather substantial purchases (including a new computer, and starting a savings fund for an eventual condo down payment and/or eventual retirement) when my good friend and effectively second mother put a stop to that.

"You're blowing it on a trip," she said. It was not a question. Now, I did reach the conclusion to use the money to travel on my own, but it was at that moment that I realized that all I'd been waiting for was one responsible adult to tell me to spend that money on a trip.

It then occurred to me that not only have I always wanted to go to Europe, but that I wanted to use the gift in a fashion my globetrotting grandma (by the generosity of whom I have this money) would approve of. I started doing the math and began to get very excited.

What, exactly, do you want to see?

England is a must and is non-negotiable. Not only has the country's history fascinated me for as long as I can remember, I recently learned of my own ancestral history there. My great-grandfather came to Canada from Lancashire when he was a teenager, then proceeded to serve in the Canadian forces in both world wars. I want to see Lancashire, where his father was also born. The family went to Lancashire from Ireland.

Ireland is also non-negotiable. My heritage is more Irish than anything else. I am named after a county and I have always wanted to go. It is that simple. 

I would very much like to see France. I love French history too. I'm also part French, though that part of the family inhabited New France for generations and I'm not even sure when they left France proper. 

Being the classical music nerd that I am, I am going to Austria. This, too, is non-negotiable. I must see Vienna. 

How much time do you have?

I'm planning on two weeks (15 days, more accurately) at the end of May, as I've said. How much time I'll spend in each destination has not yet been determined. 

What's been suggested to you so far?

Courtesy of everyone I've asked (a growing list if there ever was one!), here's what's been recommended:

• Prague, especially in spring
• The Anne Frank museum in Amsterdam (these two courtesy of a co-worker)
  
• Flying in and out of London because it's cheaper than flying in and out of just about everywhere else (courtesy of one of my housemates, who just finished a six-week internship in said city)
• "You have two weeks? Three places. AT MOST go to your essential places, or you will end up going to nowhere having been everywhere. Talk quieter than usual. Eat food whose name you do not understand." (Thanks, DonJaime!
• "Hi, you don't mention Berlin, but I have visited it twice (I live in the UK) and think it's really worth seeing. On my two visits I stayed at the Circus Hostel - colourful, friendly and (imho) well-priced. Website: http://www.circus-berlin.de/ It's pretty central and very relaxed. I recommend the East Side Gallery (the partial remains of some of the Berlin Wall), but there is tons to see. If you want any more info, msg me, but don't want to go on at length unless you're interested! Enjoy your trip - it sounds fantastic!" (Thanks, squeezie!)
• "Oh no! From the way it looks, we will miss each other by 2 weeks...maybe three. I'm going to spend the end of April and beginning of May (or so it seems so far) in England. We are going to be getting Britnoders together and Dimview and maybe some other Europey types may come over....I'll keep you posted, it's contingent on a wedding, so it may be that we will overlap afterall!! (mobissimo.com for the cheapest air fares ever...although a travel agent can sometimes do better.)" (Thanks, Junkill!)
• "If you're going to be in England, contact the britnoders. Given notice they will make you very welcome. (And are lovely people)." (Thanks, Andrew Aguecheek!
• "I've been to Paris three times. It's worth visiting, though you already have a Brit-heavy schedule. And if you want to see the Cote d'azur, check out Frejus. Fewer trendy tourists and actual Roman ruins." (Thanks, Timeshredder!)
• "Go to Prague. Seriously. I went there, then just had to move there." (Thanks, sirspens!)
• "I must say that two weeks for four countries seems like a short time, especially since you will need at least half a day to travel between countries each time! You'll have three days per country... So I'd advise sticking with the countries you chose and not adding any more (although I would love to recommend Amsterdam to you...) But, in France, don't miss Paris (duh!!) and on your way to Wien you might stop along the way at Strasbourg, Muenchen or Salzburg. All very nice. In England, London is not to be missed and you could try Oxford or Cambridge." (Thanks, sloebertje!)
• "This sounds like a blast! Unfortunately I've never been to these countries (except the UK, but I'm sure the Britnoders would be a better source on that) so I can't help you out, but I do want to know if we'll be seeing pictures, perhaps a Flickr album?" (You bet, rootbeer277!)
• "Given how many places you want to get to in a fortnight, I wonder whether it might make sense to fly in near one end of your path through Europe and out near the other, rather than just going to and from London. For example, YYZ-LHR/MUC-YYZ would probably be not much more expensive than YYZ-LHR-YYZ, could still be done with direct flights on Air Canada, and would save some backtracking on the ground. Something like YYZ-SNN/VIE-YYZ would be even better geographically, but more expensive, and it would likely involve some suboptimal air routes. And then there are some rather unlikely combinations that work out to be surprisingly affordable, like YYZ-LCY (via ZRH) / PRG-YYZ (via FRA). So my advice is to experiment a bit with the possibilities (I think there's also some discount airline that does cheap-o flights from Hamilton to Liverpool, but I can't vouch for it.) As for what to do and see while you're there, I'm torn between trying to add destinations to your list and counselling you to limit the number so as to spend a decent amount of time in each place. I do want to put in another good word for Prague, though, especially since you're into music. Prague is a wonderful place for wandering into baroque churches and discovering serendipitous and inexpensive recitals of music that's been being performed in them for the past few hundred years. (Thanks, WaldemarExkul!)
• your suggestion here!

Why do you need our help? Aren't there sites for this sort of thing?

Of course there are, but I like the personal touch. And besides, Everythingians know everything. Teehee.

Thank you in advance for your assistance. I hope to meet some of you in the spring.

Love,

libertas

I am driving through the woods, past my past, toward my future. The road turns and I'm at odds with oncoming traffic again, watching as the other drivers roll sedately past me on the way to anywhere but here. It's a big white car and the interior looks red. My heart speeds up and my stomach contracts and I surreptitiously glance through the windshield, through the driver's side window in that split second before it's too far past me to be able to see anymore.

it's not him
it is never him
I live in constant fear that it will be.

I live in constant fear that it won't be.

No, this isn't love. This is just the echoes of what we called love when we were young and alone and needed something we could control. This is the fear that he will see me and think there's still a chance. This is the remorse from years of things I didn't say and things I never accepted his apologies for. He did try to apologize. Or maybe it was his way of giving up trying.

Here is an excuse for all my mistakes. I haven't grown up, but I'd like to pretend that I have. As proof, I offer you my career, my wife, and my drinking habits. But I haven't grown up, haven't changed my ways since we were young and dumb and ruining our lives.

As proof, I offer you my unborn child.

Sitting in a restaurant with my best friend and my little sister and all my memories of things we did in years gone by, staring down the barrel of our collective histories, I find the questions remain much the same. My old teacher and my friend's new colleague, one and the same, asks us when their baby is due. I wonder if she knows that he and I dated, that I left, and he stayed, and the life that baby is being born in to. Because we do. I do. The knowledge settles on me and I wonder if it quiets me and if everyone else hears that silence. I wonder if they ignore it, as I would, for politeness' sake. This is something that teacher would never understand. This is something we all know. Chips and salsa wash that particular retort out of my mouth.

So as I'm peeking in to another Le Sabre, it hits me, like it did those nights lying in bed talking with words hushed by emotion and hope. I am in vet school, becoming a doctor. He is married and having a child. We are both exactly where we wanted to be at this point in our lives. I wonder if he is happy with it.

I wonder if I am.

I let the cars roll by. I look in the windows, but I never look in the rear-view mirror.

I've come to the realization that I have multiple personality disorder. Or is it dissociative identity disorder? To be honest it's probably more commonly referred to as aimless youth with no direction in life disorder. Minus the disorder part. And probably the youth part as I'm rapidly approaching thirty.

The problem is that I want to do everything. EVERYTHING. I find most things fascinating and would willingly try out any job. Even the stinky nasty ones that involve crawling around in underground pipes...or do those only exist in movies?

I graduated from college with an art degree and was prepared to spend the rest of my life being artistic and designing crap on my computer that would either be visually appealing for the sake of being visually appealing or cause people to purchase items. But before this, before I even applied to college, I wanted to be a teacher. A lawyer. An archaeologist. A photographer. A writer.

Even after graduating I wanted to be all of these things, though I had swapped archaeologist for anthropologist - which I hadn't even known about prior to freshman year cultural anthropology. So there I was, in "the real world" working in a mind numbing atmosphere as a junior graphic designer for a community college. Enter E2 and a way to appease two of my needs...those of a writer and those of an anthropology enthusiast. 

Fast forward a few years, one rocky relationship, a job change and a nervously filled out and mailed application...and I was back in school. Again. For a bachelor's degree. Again.

My theory was that while I could very easily have gone straight to graduate school with the degree I already had, it would be better to get the foundation I needed rather than play catch up. As it turns out I should have just saved myself the aggravation and the incurred debt.

So here I am married, in my last year of graduate school, irritated by departmental incompetence and increasingly turning to my beginnings...as an artist. In the past two months I seem to have had a thought shift. Again. I've been working out techniques for a secret desire to create a minicomic that has been haunting me all year. I've been whole heartedly embracing the current craft movement in all of its cheesy-yet-awesome glory. I've been operating as a knock-off wedding photographer since the summer.

I want to carry out my own research. I want to freelance as a designer. I want to make things with my hands. I want to learn to write with emotion without having to be emotional at the same time. I want to be a photojournalist. I want to contribute something worthwhile. I want to be someone's mother. I want to own a house. I want to make things grow.  I want school to be over.

For now I'll try to be content with the hand full of things I am. Next summer, though...I could be on my way to fulfilling my über secret childhood dream of being a spy.

♫ Da do. A little transparency for the month of October. I cast my votes, I spin the wheel, I send messages (some frivolous, some not), and I talk a lot.

Below is a record of all nodes read and all votes cast by me from the 1st to the 30th. It's long but it's there if you want to check it.

The opinions are my own. I'll stand by them.

Nodes do not necessarily appear in the order that I read them (accurate to the day I read them not the order), as I tend to open a whole bunch of tabs in FireFox and float between nodes as I stumble around.

Of messages there are but three kinds: Some are meant to say, "I enjoyed this" and often relate a little anecdote related to the node in some way. This lets the noder know their work is being read and enjoyed. Downvote explanations are the other, because I would like to know why something was downvoted, so I extend the courtesy to others. The last one is corrections of various types, most typos and spelling issues.

The wheel is spun every time I use up all my votes. Due to the time difference between the server and my house, sometimes I get to vote twice a day. That's why there are more than ten votes spent during a day and two "Spins!".

---

Topic: A belated fair well to Robert Jordan. October 1st 2007
Read:
destruction by Present (+)
Dream Log: July 24, 2003 by The Prophet(+) October 1, 2007 by Ancientsnow(+), Oolong(+), sam512(+)
(sent comment to sam512)
Girlfriend aura by semen_tornado, sud, Jaez, museman
October by Jet-Poop(+)
god, waiting for the bus by pensandfeathers(+)
Chernobyl by Mr. Option(+)
It's never lupus. by hapax(+)
E2 Poll: (+) for artman's new e2
Spin!: Nothing.

Topic: It's that time of year again! There's also this and this, if you're so inclined. October 2nd 2007
Read:
October 2, 2007 by Mitzi(+)
Merry Marvel Marching Society by Ed the comic guy
Looked at Doctor Fugwump_root but found it was empty. Weird.
Vampire Squid From Hell by Mr.Sparkle
Losing my father by Endperform(+)
I want you in my mouth by lovejoyman(+)
Sukiyaki Western Django by mauler
stetson hat by NothingLasts4ever
The Poet and The Worm by borgo (+)
gateway drug by Nobody in Particular (heh heh heh), bad_oyster, reefer
Autumn night wind by equistate
Sand crab by Anark
Nobody writes poetry about science by rummage(+), Jack(+), Noung(+)
I'm damn sociable for a hermit by the.web.hermit (+)
Ninja Batman and the Black and White City by artman2003 (+)
Cutting the pie by reefer(+)
President Reagan's Evil Empire Speech by Dis
Spin!: Nothing.

October 3rd 2007
Read:
The Poet and The Worm by Apollyon (+)
A Marriage made in IRC by Endperform (+)
Endperform's Scatch Pad.
(Sent message to Endperform due to catbox request)
Blue Line. A Being With. by BROCKEN
Grilled Turmeric chicken with black beans and cous cous by futilelord(+)
SinFest by xunker, wonko
body count by borgo (message sent to borgo)
Digital Hell by Endperform ( C! +)
Indianapolis Motor Speedway by rcottrel (-)
(No message sent as user is fled)(Downvoted for short length and lack of quality. Old style E1 write-up.)
A requiem for words by Major General Panic (+)
Our tomorrow starts today: one minute to midnight in Iraq by Noung (+), StrawberryFrog (+)
Lego Star Wars: The Video Game by RPGeek(+)
Wednesday Morning, 3 AM by Semiq(+)
Spin!: 10 XP. Nickle back. Nothing.

October 4th 2007 Read:
dedicated to Everything's hot inner beauty by Lucy-S(+)
Real stories end with 'I laughed and laughed' by telni
Tufts of wind break in behind by ushdfgakjasgh(+)
Want to be shot in the US or beaten in the UK? by Yonder
Guns don't kill people. Wait, guns do kill people by sensei, Shanoyu, crayz, ToasterLeavings, daz eddy, GirlsDontLikeMe, Skoob
This is my rifle by synx, kessenich, Doremus
Patton's weather prayer by SkiBum5
A sea of glass mingled with fire by waterhouse
And as he sang the world began to fall apart by Johnny Boy
I want a first kiss by transform, consumagenerica, metalangel
The Terrible Secret of Space by Milen, Riptor, Haschel47
Things I've Discovered About Marriage By Our 15th Anniversary by Hosiah(+)
Elton John in child porn probe by aneurin(+)
All right. She can fly circles around Uranus, but where's the bathroom? by NightShadow(+)
(growled at the write-ups below it, but stayed my hand from terrible downvote smiting)
I still miss you, now and then. You'll never know. by graceness(+), morfin (+)
Programmer Hell by Endperform (+)
The Basement by Atsuko(+)
How it is that we stop asking questions by Templeton (+)
Internet Movie Night by Glowing Fish
Criterion by Webster 1913
virii by cosmonaut, whizkid
Spin!: Nothing.

October 5th, 2007
Read:
October 4, 2007 by greth
(sent message to greth)
NaNoWriMo by Ereneta
shopping list by Endperform
Cut the Rope by originalzin
For when you and your shiftless friends go shopping by sensei
Japanese Slang by sensei, Starrynight

October 7th, 2007
Read:
Miracle Bra by Andara(+)
Refrigerium by hapax (+)
delmonico potatoes by teleny (+)
More than we bargained for by kanoodle (+)
Scramble City by rootbeer277 (+)
Listen, we ended up ruined. I find my answers where I can. by Danneeness (+)
paper jam by Endperform (+)
The Strickland Demon by Timeshredder (+)
Don't be an ass at a restaurant by RMSzero (+)
The customer is always right by jaeger1, ism (+), Wallyberg, Nekojin.
(Node needs pruning I think...)
Agnes Hungerford by aneurin (+)
The Apparition in the Changing Rooms by Andara (+) Eastern Promises by Transitional Man (+)
motion to strike by *worldlymother*
satellites fallen from grace by etouffee(+), calliope(+), Jack(+), mauler(+)
I am the one who stood beside you and smiled by Byzantine
64 Arts by renster(+)
Bob Mover by EWI(+)
October 2, 2002 by EWI, Gamaliel, cami(+)
Neon lights under your car do not make it look like it's floating by QXZ
Spin!: Nothing.
Spin!: 1XP. Nickel back. Nothing.

October 8th, 2007 Read: Off the catwalk, into the dark by Dimview(+)
Starry, Starry Night by iceowl
1,340,666 women just like me by radlab0(+)
Cave Story by quamaretto
October 8, 2007 by all.i.ask, Mitzi (+), Ysardo(+), Endperform (+), perhapsadingo8yrbaby (+), doyle (+)
Tennesse Williams by Present(+)
Your perfectly normal ideas have not already occured to others by William42(-)
(message sent to William42) (Downvoted for lack of links and because it is a "Your Ideas Node" and I hate those)
Is Deodorant Better than Antiperspirant? by Zanth(-), Sinepyriah
(no message sent for downvote, user appears to be fled.) (Downvoted because it is superseded by Sinepyriah's WU)
Spin!: Nothing! (See a pattern?)

October 9th 2007
Turning text upside down by WWWWolf, obijosh
cakewalk by futilelord
I walk around when I'm high by junkpile, piq
They're drugs, they change you by pig, pedrolio
How I nearly killed myself masturbating by Katyana, Jamyn, renster, DoctorNo
when dogs puke by stylee
Pokeconomy Fears Collapse as New Legislation Bans Sport-Fighting by lee_cad(+)
How Pikachu would sing "A Bushel And a Peck" by generic-man
The spider mental-matrix by BorisVian
An 80 year-old's view on Racism by Tarquinious
here's the mutiny I promised you and here's the party it turned into by HoracePhair, icicle
October 9, 2007 by krenseby, Endperform, Transitional Man
x86 by everyone, Zorin, kamiel
What strawberries are called in other languages by tobtoh
Patti Smith by Tlachtga
Vanna White is now obsolete by termchimp(+)
Pat Sajak by mrichich(+)
Why does Karl Marx drink only herbal tea? by ryano (-), Doremus(-)
(message sent to ryano, no message to Doremus as user is fled)(Downvoted first one for being a single shot one line joke node, downvoted the other for being a response node in the style of a message board)
How Sarah saved New York by Excalibre(+)
E2 Poll: (+) for I have never infringed copyrights, and I never will: it's plain wrong.
plasma conduit by dizzy(+)
How to make a Lightsabre by Zanth(+), WickerNipple(+)
Spin!: 1XP. 10XP. Nickel back. 1XP. Nickel back. Nothing.

October 10th, 2007
Read:
Reading the Web by TumbleCow
The Weaponization of Pop Culture by Igloowhite

Topic: A sentimental agent gets a medal.
October 11th, 2007
Read:
The Everything Editor's Job by Jet-Poop(+)
E2 Editor Doc
unsubscribe by Endperform(+)
The freedom to express dissent in America by Kiwi Peach Pie(+), robwicks, Miss_Little, ushdfgakjasgh(+)
Talk about the weather by Jack(+)
GURPS by Lanatha(+), Scupper(+), Jet-Poop(+), sabby(+)
Djarum Blacks by ashesindust
Draco Malfoy by Teiresias, Miss_Little(+)
October 11, 2007 by Inebriated Poet(+),maxClimb(+) (sent message to Inebriated Poet)
October 10, 2007 by fidomaster, Devon, teleny I've never suffered from nostalgia by Forfeit(+) Reading the Web by TumbleCow(+)
Irish Car Bomb by mkb(+), Mr. Hotel(+), 7-2521(+), humbabba(+), lsthomas25
Using Asteroids to explain the topological classification of 2-manifolds by sockpuppet(+)
Jennifer, is she your friend? by witchiepoo
Rampancy by mblase, Webster 1913
Spin!: 10XP. Nothing.
Spin!: An easter egg.

October 12th, 2007
Read:
Is Deckard a replicant? by chinoodle, Rollo, brainwave, Kesper North, Pretzellogic, Mr. Option, Alchemy
SinFest by xunker, wonko

Ocotober 13th, 2007
Read:
scar fetish by Karla(+), heyoka(+), handy245
It's Up To You. No Really, It's Up To You. by secondchances(+)
Ordinary Horror by Jet-Poop(+)
I remember seeing you for the first time by blowdart(+), tentative(+)
Twinkle, twinkle, like a star. Does love flourish from afar? by aneurin(+)
Making the heartless girl cry by supermancan(+), all.i.ask(+)
"hunt and peck" isn't the only alternative to your "proper way to type" you elitist prick! by vstarre(+)
Spin!: Nothing.

October 14th, 2007
Read:
portal by Wntrmute(+), WWWWolf(+), Webster 1913
(sent message to Wntrmute
Nuclear Cats Get New Home by Lost and Found(+), m_turner (+)
John Mytton by aneurin(+)
A-portable by fuzzy and blue(+)
Radio jamming by smartalix(+)
Tora by AndieX(+)
tawhid by hotthamir(+)
S/PDIF by earthquake, BeatFreak(+)
It all starts with breathing by etouffee
Sabriel by Nadine_2
Five Good Emperors by Sol Invictus(+)
keystone by Simulacron3(+)
All of what I almost remember by The Debutante(+)
When you are smart, nothing is true by hamster bong(+), personne(+)
UK General Election 2007 by aneurin(+)
It all starts with breathing by etouffee(+)
(message sent to etouffee)
Linda's Banana Cake by Wiccanpiper(+)
Sabrage by pypr(+)
calaverita by Swap(+)
Spin!: 10XP. Nickel back. Nothing!
Spin!: Nothing!

Octorber 15, 2007
Read:
o ;pbr upi by vstarre(+)
Crisis of the Third Century by Sol Invictus(+)
I'm white, upper-middle-class in the richest country in the world-what need have I for God? by Lencil(+), Jaez(+), the.web.hermit(+)
One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding by libertas(+)
The Vending Machine Murders by sam512(+)
Silent Running by kthejoker(+)
Lord, have mercy by Quizro(+)
My Little Pony turns nice girls into porn stars by jam-master jim(+)
Spin!: 10XP. Nickel back. Nothing.

Ocober 16, 2007
Read:
Reality vs. action movie psychosis by sausagehead Silent movie by mikemoto, atesh(+)
(nearly downvoted the mikemoto wu but stayed my hand because it has yet to be superseded by anything) October 16, 2007 by Endperform(+), RACECAR(+), artman2003(+)
(sent message to artman2003)
bananarchy by Void_Ptr(+)
Hamilton College by Bananarchy(+)
Misanthropic bitch by Bananarchy
Goat milk by Bananarchy(+)
gjetost by Bananarchy(+)
Wrong Way by klash(+)
Inhuman by kioshoa(-)
(message sent to kioshoa)
Spin!: Nothing.

October 17, 2007
Read:
dictator game by cretog8
ultimatum game by cretog8
Investment game by cretog8
Chatterbox by DickR
(sent message to DickR)
Outback Steakhouse by susan (the real one)

Topic: 'Tis now the very witching time of night, when churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out' ~ William Shakespeare
October 18, 2007
Read:
Nuclear Weapons Do Not Function Without Yellow Tape by Yurei(+)
The Biggy Hat Show by artman2003(+)
Onion News Network by SyntaxVorlon(+)
Facing East From Indian Country by Cliopatria(+)
Captives & Cousins by Cliopatria(+)
Cherokee Women by Cliopatria(+)
Suburban Warriors: The Origins of the New American Right by Cliopatria
Why masturbating with Icy Hot is a bad idea by Dyslexic, dannye, Roninspoon, lioncub(+), Alpheus(+), xmatt(+)
Spin!: Nothing.

Topic: Worship the Truck Farmer at the church of your choice!
October 19, 2007
Read:
Hill's 4th Harmony by mywiseman.com(+)
Hill's 4th Harmony - Chapter 2 by mywiseman.com(+)
(Read by request. Node Audit. Will ching one of them with next C!)
Orthographic projection by koniosis(+)
rasul by hotthamir(-)
(message sent to rasul. Downvoted for insufficient content.)
Football League by