A week from departure!

It is now exactly one week until I depart for Amsterdam to begin this project! Until now, I have been engrossed in the busiest semester I have ever had, and the reality of this trip has only begun to set in now. I just completed my last final paper of the year and I can focus, finally, on this trip and the work that I intend to create from it.

I am in equal measures more excited and nervous, more dedicated and apprehensive, than I have ever been in my life. I have absolutely no doubt that the next month will be one that changes my life forever.

I do still have some significant work ahead of me in the next week: I have to move out of my dorm for the summer, I have one last final on Friday (Modern European History, what better way to put myself into the right mindset for this project), and finally I need to pack everything I need to survive a month in Europe into a backpack. Then, I'll go. It's really that simple, now. I cannot thank everyone who has worked with me to make this a reality enough. Thank you all.

I have been asked by a few people for an itinerary. I will give you one, O Demanding Audience, but I ask that you grant me significant understanding if I should stray from it when I get my feet on the ground in Europe. The nature of this trip requires me to be flexible, and I prefer flexibility in travel, anyway, so take all dates and times as approximate, and take even those approximations with a grain of salt. If I am in Vienna on Monday and find that the project requires me to be in Linz by Tuesday, I will do everything in my power to make it happen. I will be sure to keep this site updated along the way!

Also, please, feel free to comment on these posts or any other you find interesting as this project progresses. I am very interested in hearing feedback and would certainly welcome encouragement along the way!

May 6 - 7: Travel by air from Aberdeen, SD, USA to Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Flight scheduled to land at roughly 10 AM local time.
May 7 - 8: Stay in Amsterdam at Hostel Amsterdam Stadsdoelen, Kloveniersburgwal 97.
May 9: Travel by rail from Amsterdam to Vienna, Austria.
May 9 - 13: Stay in Vienna at Hostel Ruthensteiner, Robert Hamerlinggasse 24.
May 14: Travel by rail from Vienna to Brussels, Belgium.
May 14 - 19: Stay in Brussels at Meininger Hotel Brussels Centre, Quai du Hainut / Henegouwenkaai 33.
May 20: Travel by rail from Brussels to Paris, France.
May 20 - 25: Stay in Paris at Arty Paris, 62 rue des Morillons.
May 26: Travel by rail from Paris to Pau, France.
May 26 - 27: Stay in Pau at Altica Pau, 1 Rue De Tiredous, Boulevard Olof Palme.
May 28: Travel by rail from Pau to Toulouse, France.
May 28 - 29: Stay in Toulouse at La Petite Auberge de Saint-Sernin, 17 Rue d'Embarthe.
May 30: Travel by rail from Toulouse to Lyon, France.
May 30 - 31: Stay in Lyon at Cool & Bed, 32 quai Arloing.
June 1: Travel by rail from Lyon to Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Stay in Amsterdam at Flying Pig Uptown, Vossiusstraat 46.
June 2: Travel by air from Amsterdam to Burlington, VT, USA. Flight scheduled to land at roughly 11:15 PM local time.