I can say no to Peer Pressure. . .

I had a plan Friday night. It was to go to a friend's apartment, drink a few beers, and then duck out before they all went clubbing. "I have stuff I need to get done," I told myself, "furthermore, I haven't showered in God knows how long, and am in no state to be seen in public."

To seal the deal, I dressed in not club appropriate clothes, didn't bring much money, and 'forgot' my ID.

It didn't work. They convinced me to go to a rock club (called 'Rock Studio') where on Fridays groups of five get in for five euros. For some reason, we also got a free bottle of Smirnoff. The people were not dressed in conventional clubbing outfits, and although we were heckled a little, we got in even though 3 of us didn't have ID.

It was my first time in a rock club, and I found a lot of it just too funny. For instance, mosh pits. What is going on? I mean. . . huh? No rhythm, not many girls . . . people running running into each other and knocking stuff over. What is also sort of funny is how much my neck hurts after head banging all night.

"You're only young once," I thought as I bent over the bathroom sink like an animal over a watering hole in the Serengeti, scooping free water into my mouth.

And I'm only in Germany once. Well, maybe not quite true, but it was the line that got me to come out and party. After all, what's life without experience?

The Plan

The people who I talk to back home know that I have a really long semester break coming up. "Hey, losers," I say, "guess who's going to be traveling Europe for about two months while you're stuck in school? Me!"

And I have, in fact, already booked two short trips: one to Ireland (fly into Cork and then out of Dublin six days later) and one to Amsterdam for three days. They're gonna be completely awesome. But they're nothing compared to the master trip that's currently being planned.

Since I'm studying German, I figured I should probably travel around Germany. See all the big cities and such. So, I have made a rough itinerary that will last about 12 days. I could type it, but pictures speak louder than words.

The picture attached to this post is my planned route, and all the letters are the stops. Will it happen? Hope so. It would be great. You can tell, because it's roughly shaped like a heart. Or like Pac Man getting ready to eat Bremen.

Nothing's certain yet, so don't get too excited. That's my job. Life is sweet :)

I hope I find time to write about it, just like I haven't done for Prague and the Weimar/Berlin trip. Oh well.