Arrival in Prague - 9/8/10

Hey everyone,

I made it to Prague OK.  Just arrived at my hotel.  Weather outside isn’t pretty but thankfully not raining.  Going to freshen up and will be heading out for a walking tour at 2pm.

Talk soon,

Fahad

Vacation face

EuroTrip 2010 - Prague, Krakow, & Budapest

My dear friends and economic rivals,

I wanted to let you know I'll be leaving for another big trip this Tuesday.  I'll be visiting Prague, Czech Republic, then Krakow, Poland, and finally Budapest, Hungary.  I'll be in each city for 5 days.  I shall return to the US on Friday, September 24th.

I'll be sending updates as much as I can during the trip.  Feel free to email me back if you wish.  I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

See you or talk to you when I return.

Regards,

Fahad

Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam - 7/2/09

Hey everyone,

I'm currently at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.  My flight to De Gaulle will be leaving in about 2 hours and then back to JFK tonight.  Should reach home very late.  I've finally come to the end of my journey.  Amsterdam is quite the place.

I will talk to you all back in the States.  Enjoy the pics below.

Until then,

Fahad

Satisfying night!

Mysterious plant...

Delicious pastry

Heineken Brewery

Amsterdam - Day 2 - 6/29/09

Hey everyone,

This is Fahad reporting from Amsterdam.  It's 6:36pm and very sunny and hot outside.  Quite unusual for what you would expect from Europe.  I am currently in a coffee shop…yeah, one of those.  There is some reggae music playing in the background and it smells like a rock concert.  I am on my way to meet May, a friend of a friend, in Leidseplein.  Hopefully I won't be too late.  Had a very nice day today.  Ate some apricot waffles for breakfast and then went on a nice canal tour where they show you well-known areas of the Amsterdam.  Will be sadly returning home on Thursday.  Enjoy the video and pics below.

Fahad

Video from the canal tour:

Dam Square

Narrowest alley in Amsterdam

Canal tour

House boat...my dream...

First night in Amsterdam - 6/27/09

Hey folks,

I've reached the final leg of my 3 city European tour.  Got into Amsterdam last night.  What can I say…the sights and sounds were quite overwhelming as soon as I walked out of Amsterdam Centraal (the train station).  I was lucky enough to meet up with Adrian, the fellow from Ottawa whom I met in Iceland, and a Dutch friend of his from another part of the Netherlands.  I've heard about Amsterdam many times but the words don't compare to walking the streets and seeing it all with my own eyes.

Going to be walking around and taking the city in a little more.  Hopefully later on I'll go on a canal boat tour.  Should be fun.

Fahad

Roaming the streets of Amsterdam at night.

Dublin Airport - 6/27/09

Hey everyone,

I'm currently at Dublin Airport.  My flight back to De Gaulle will be boarding in about an hour so I thought I'd shoot you a quick email.  Tonight I'll be in Amsterdam, the city where crazy shit happens.

I had a pleasant last day in Dublin yesterday.  As I told you in a previous email I lost my right contact 2 days ago and foolishly forgot to bring extras or my glasses.  Luckily I found a local optician, Grant’s Temple Bar Opticians, who were able to fill my prescription in one day!  If you are ever in Dublin and in need of glasses I highly recommend them.  I needed new glasses either way so I wasn't too upset over the rather expensive price tag.

I didn't want to do anything until I had my full vision back so I waited around until 12pm until my frames were ready.  After I picked them up I hit a few stop.  

After checking out some other stores I decided to have dinner at The Pig's Ear that serves traditional Irish food.  It was a little pricey (with very ungenerous proportions!) but I figured what the heck.  I considered getting duck but I couldn't bring myself to do it.  Ducks are just too cute.  I finally went with the Irish sirloin which wasn't bad.

I was feeling quite full after those last two meals (I had salmon and eggs for breakfast) so I decided instead of hitting the pubs I was just going to walk around town to work off some calories.  

I was tired from my long walk and came back to get some sleep.  I then checked out and took the bus to the airport where I am now.

I've definitely enjoyed my time in Dublin but I am very much looking forward to Amsterdam.

Until next time...

Fahad

Irish stew

Duck...just too cute to eat.

Enjoying my Cuban

Dublin Airport

Dublin - Day 4 - 6/26/09

Hey everyone,

It's my last day in Dublin.  Yesterday I went on a tour for a few hours and saw Malahide and the castle there.  I was feeling a little ill on the bus but had some coffee and felt better.  Very nice scenery.  Got some beautiful pictures as well.  Today I just did some walking around and am getting psyched for my visit to lovely Amsterdam.  Dublin is a gorgeous city.  I encourage you all to check it out if you can.  I should be in Amsterdam tomorrow evening so I'll send you a message tomorrow night or Sunday.  I look forward to telling you about my (mis)adventures there.  Talk to you soon.

Fahad

Kilmainham Goal

Malahide Castle

Dublin - Day 2 - 6/24/09

Yo folks,

It's almost 2am and I just got back to my hotel.  I visited the Guinness Storehouse and the Old Jameson Distillery today.  Very cool.  Temple Bar area is very exciting with lots of people walking around going to late night clubs.  Unfortunately a little while ago I lost my right contact and didn't bring any extras or my glasses.  Dumb move.  The weather has been sunny and around the 70s and 80s.  Unbelievable, huh?  I'm going to bed now and visit an optician in the morning.  Good day to you all.

Fahad

Guinness Storehouse

History, baby...

Stuffed cat at Old Jameson Distillery

Dublin - Day 1 - 6/23/09

Hey homies,

It's my first full day in Dublin.  I got up bright and early in time for breakfast.  It was a little too filling and not very sweet but I got plenty of coffee to get my day started.  I've been walking up Grafton Street checking out the local shops.  Tomorrow I'm going to take a tour where you can take a bus to whatever popular attraction you like, stay as long as you want, then get back on the bus for the next stop.  This is called the Dublin On/Off Tour.  Should be quite nice.  I'm hoping to also check out some more scenic places away from the big city as well. 

I'm going to grab some lunch and hopefully take in some Temple Bar nightlife later on.  Will keep you posted.  Check out my videos below as well as the pics.

Fahad

Outside St. Patrick’s Cathedral:

Next to the River Liffey in Dublin:

Grafton Street

Phil Lynott, the dude from Thin Lizzy who died.

First pint of Guinness in Dublin

Trinity College

First night in Dublin - 6/22/09

Hey everyone,

Got to Dublin around 8pm tonight.  Had a slight delay with my flight but everything is peachy keen.

When I got off the shuttle bus from the airport, I was in the center of the city saw the beautiful architecture.  Very impressed with seeing just a little.  

I'm staying in the Temple Bar area and it seems there is a lot of action going on here so I'm very excited.  When I got to my hotel room, however, I realized why it was so cheap.  The elevator was broken so I had to drag my suitcase up the stairs.  When I finally got to my room I noticed a curious stain on one of my bed sheets.  I was apprehensive to investigate but I discovered it was spilled beer!  I'm wasn't terribly impressed. 

I'll be walking around tomorrow and on Wednesday most likely taking a tour where you can visit all the top Dublin sites at your own pace.  Should be a fun time.

Will keep you updated as things move along.

Fahad

View from plane

Me on the plane

Final Day in Reykjavik - 6/21/09

Hey everyone,

Today I went for a hike through some underground caves in Iceland.  We saw a 900-year-old skeleton of a sheep, I kid you not.  They aren’t sure how the poor thing got down there.  The entire caving experience was amazing.  

After that I went over to The Blue Lagoon which is very popular amongst tourists.  It was nice but I think somewhat overrated.  I heard it described by someone on tripadvisor.com as an oversized hot tub which is an accurate description.

I’ll be leaving Reykjavik early tomorrow morning and should be in Dublin in the afternoon.  I hope you’ve been enjoying my updates. 

Until next time,

Fahad

In the caves with my tour group

900-year-old sheep remains

Outside The Blue Lagoon

Hlölla bátar

Hey folks,

I´m about to leave for a hiking trip and The Blue Lagoon so I only have a minute but here are some pics from a place I ate last night, Hlölla bátar, a popular 24 hour eatery chain in Iceland.  Yes, the sub was delicious.

Until next time,

Fahad

Open wide...

Popular Icelandic beer

Reykjavik - Day 4 - 6/20/09

Hey folks,

It is now my fourth day in Reykjavik.  It’s been daylight here the whole time.  I’m starting to forget what it’s like to be in the dark.

Yesterday I got up bright and early to go on The Golden Circle Route tour (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Circle_%28Iceland%29).  I saw some great sites of Iceland including The Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Plant (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nesjavellir), þingvellir where the Icelandic Parliament first met in 930 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9Eingvellir), The Gullfoss Waterfall (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullfoss), and Hukadalur Valley which has several geysirs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haukadalur#Haukadalur.2C_Golden_Circle).  I took a lot of beautiful pics which you will see when I return.  I also took some amazing videos of The Gullfoss Waterfall and one of a geysir going off.

I met a nice fellow from Ottawa on the tour named Adrian who was studying in Sweden.  After the tour we met up at a local establishment and decided to try some hakarl (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakarl), a popular delicacy in Iceland which is simply fermented shark.  I was previously told it was absolutely disgusting but I decided to try it anyway.  I had the first piece without smelling it and while it definitely wasn’t good, I can’t say it was the absolute worst thing I’ve ever tasted.  I smelled the second piece and got a whiff of the ammonia used to prepare it which wasn’t too pleasant.  I’ve attached a picture taken with my phone of the hakarl tasting experience.

After that I went out and experienced some Icelandic nightlife.  I went to a local music club called Nasa and saw an Icelandic band whose name I don’t recall.  I took a bit of a tumble walking down some stairs and scraped my knee a bit but I am all right.  The band was fun and I had a great time dancing with all the locals there even though I didn’t understand anything the band was saying.

I went to another place afterwards at around 3:30am and talked with someone from Montreal.  I told her I was from New Jersey and she told a funny slogan she came up with for us:  "New Jersey - America’s Storage Space".  

I decided I was tired from all the nightlife after 4am so after I got some pizza I headed back to my hotel.  Things were still going strong and I could hear music being played from a lot of clubs.  These folks love to party and don’t seem to sleep.  Things don’t really get going around here until after midnight.

Today I’m going to take in some local downtown sites including The National Museum of Iceland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceland_National_Museum) and check out some local shops.  Shopping in Iceland is tax-free.

Tomorrow I’m going to go on a hiking tour and after that will visit The Blue Lagoon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Lagoon_%28geothermal_spa%29), a geothermal spa which is a popular tourist spot.  

I’ll be leaving here early on Monday and then heading over to Dublin via De Gaulle.

Until then...

Fahad

Gulfoss Waterfall:

Geysir erupting:

þingvellir

Geysir

Me looking badass

Hákarl with Brennivín chaser

Me trying hákarl

Icelandic band at Nasa

Yours truly at Nasa

Reykjavik - Day 2 - 6/18/09

Hey folks,

It is my second day here in Reykjavik, Iceland.  I did a lot of walking today.  Today I checked out Perlan ("The Pearl", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perlan).  You get a very nice view of the city up there.  The weather shifted between warm and sunny to very windy.

I’ve been here since 12pm yesterday and I’ve gotten a total of about 5 hours sleep.  This 24-hour daylight is screwing up an already awful sleeping pattern.

Tomorrow I’ll be going on The Golden Circle Route (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Circle_(Iceland)) and checking out some popular Icelandic sites.  Should be exciting.

Until next time,

Fahad

Perlan

View from Perlan

Taken at a photo booth in Kringlan Mall in Reykjavik

Reykjavik - Day 1 - 6/17/09

Hi everyone,

I made it to Reykjavik in one piece.  It seems I came in the middle of a big celebration for Iceland’s National Day.  There are a lot of people out on the street where my hotel is and I’m feeling a little claustrophobic.  People stop and I want to keep on truckin´.  Hopefully it will calm down a bit tomorrow.  This is supposed to be the last day of a week long celebration.

They are getting 24 hours of daylight these days.  Going to be weird late at night.  I hear it stays open late around here.  Should be interesting.  

Fahad

Me somewhere on Laugarvegur

This was taken at 11:30pm in Reykjavik.

Flight to Reykjavik - 6/17/09

Howdy folks,

My flight to Reykjavik is about to leave in 5 minutes so I will make this brief.  Soon I'll be in Iceland, land of mystery and intrigue.  I will keep you all abreast of my activities. 

Keep it real,

Fahad