Well...
Since Valencia there was 3 days in Barcelona, 1 night in Baden-Baden, Germany (next to / in the Black Forest). After that it was Berlin for 2 nights, then Warsaw, Poland... then Krakov for 2 nights.
I've discovered that the 3 months I was going to spend in Western Europe, was actually far too much time and that I was eager for some uncharted territory, so begun my meandering to Central Europe.
Baden-Baden was a quaint little town, surround by trees and lots of expensive hotels. It was a Wednesday evening when I arrived, so there was little opportunity / energy to do much.
As I was arriving without prior accommodation plans and the Tourist Information Office was just closed, I headed towards the signs with pictures of beds on them. Eventually it became apparent that I was getting lost, so I asked the first guy to pass for directions.
This turned out to be Euger (Yooger), the old building restorer with the carefully crafted handlebar moustache, that was thick in the middle, and spiralled into thinner extremities at either end. He was really considerate and a great start insofar as my meeting of a German local.
So we went to his car, where he had a map, and he found that the nearest Youth Hostel was at the other end of town, so low and behold he tells me to get in the car and he gives me a lift! Awesome luck! I could tell straight away he wasn't the stabbing / axe-murderer type, just by the way he giggled to himself when he'd say something in English.
So he was nice enough to take me to the hostel, which, even though a Hostelling International Hostel, I was gladly willing to settle for - it was comfortable enough and I'd been travelling all day pretty much. I put my stuff away, attempted a cold-water shave and went off for a couple of beers.
That evening I got to know my sole roomate, Bob, a bit, and the next morning I let him drive me around a bit. We eventually got to a castle on the hill and then he drove me to the train station.
He was the youngest 47 year old I'd ever met, from Colorado. He had been laid off from IBM and was working freelance for computer / administration companies (at least I think he was, may have just forgotten and be making stuff up).
Earlier in the morning he showed me some fascinating, yet incomprehendable pictures of the 3rd fastest computer in the world from his webspace, after I'd booked a hostel bed in Berlin and found out train times. It also turned out he was friends with a few members from some Metal bands I know, which was cool.
I've spent 8hours or so on trains today to get to Prague and just had a nice meal in a little, local place around the corner from my hostel. Unfortunately I'm quite tired now, so going to cut this post a little short, but don't worry! There will be another not too far away!
