Statistics

I am home in Seattle! I had one last adventure getting here though, after my flight from Berlin to London was cancelled yesterday - I ended up flying to London then Vancouver then here and didn't sleep the whole way, mostly because my sprained foot swelled up like a balloon from flying and was mildly excrutiating. But. I am happy I made it. The last few days in Berlin everything started falling apart physically (the ankle, some really gory blisters, a chipped tooth...), so I think it was a sign to come back. I can't tell you how happy I am to have my own room, and a shower where you can control the water temperature, and laundry that I can do in a machine instead of a sink!

As a wrap-up, I'd like to tell you my tallies of important accomplishments and general events on the trip, as well as to impart to you some hard-earned traveler wisdom :)

Stats:

Number of countries visited: 8 or 10 depending on how you count the UK... (Norway, Scotland, Wales, England, Ireland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany)

Number of languages I attempted to speak/learn: 10, but not always corresponding with the countries! (Norwegian, Welsh, Spanish, Basque/Euskara, French, Dutch, Farsi, Czech, Polish, German)

Number of currencies still lingering in my bag: 5 (kroner, pounds, euros, koruna, zloty)

Number of flights: 9 (I can't even count how many trains/buses!)

Number of different modes of transportation used: 9 (plane, bus, train, feet, bike, boat, car (only when with my uncle and the two times I hitched rides), taxi, u-bahn)

Number of different beers tasted: 30 (not bad considering I was under doctor's orders to not drink when I started the trip...)

Number of botanical gardens visited: 7 (Tromso, Oslo, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Wroclaw, Prague, Berlin... not counting innumerable regular gardens also)

Number of countries I vomited in: 3 (bringing my total to somewhere around ten, in case you were wondering.) Don't even ask about how many TIMES the vomiting occurred, because after my food poisoning in Amsterdam I lost count.


Important bits of travel wisdom I gained:

- If you need to, it's totally possible to cook rice in a microwave. Also, rice mixed with a packet of instant miso is a great emergency dinner. Especially if you've been vomiting all day.
- The most important phrase to know in a foreign language is "I'm sorry," followed by hello, please, thank you, and "where is the toilet?"
-Speaking of toilets, libraries are really good places to find free, clean bathrooms in Europe. Or you can do the shady "hang around the occupied bathroom waiting for someone to come out" thing.
- You really don't NEED most of the things you take for granted in everyday life. Cell phone, hair product, clean clothes, you know... all expendable. However, some travel essentials are: a good bandanna (it's a scarf! it's a kleenex! a dust/gas mask! a washcloth! a fashionable headband! show solidarity with the communist rally! wrap your sandwich in it! ...but wash it in between), some thin rope (the possibilities are really endless there), and a really well stocked first-aid kit. Seriously, don't skimp. You never know when you're going to need to perform a little home surgery. And for God's sake bring some pepto bismol and dramamine.


Well. That's all, I think - there are about a million stories I haven't told here, so please ask sometime. and on that note, I have 900 pictures to show you on my computer now! :)

Yours truly,
Taraneh