World Tour

As you’ve probably heard, I’m going on a little trip. I’m going to try to keep these entries short so that I can update more frequently. So here’s a quick layout of my trip and my preliminary thoughts on each place before I get there:

Luneburg (Aug 1-5): This is where my uncle, Paul (he’s requested not to be called Uncle Paul) and my cousins Johannes and Clara live - I just landed here this afternoon. It’s a suburb of Hamburg and so far it's more of a Framingham than a Sudbury - if Framingham was more of a college town, and less commercialized, so actually more like Concord. Most of you probably don't understand that analogy, don't worry it's not that accurate.

-Hamburg: Surprisingly to me, this is the 7^th largest city in Europe, larger than Munich, Barcelona, Amsterdam, or Athens. It is a port city (sorry Joyce, you were right) and I’m going to be seeing a soccer, er football, match between Chelsea and local team Hamburger SV with Johannes there on August 4^th. This could be the most underrated city on the trip; I’m excited.

-Berlin: One of the six cities in Europe larger than Hamburg, I’m hoping that Clara will show me around for a day. In Beijing, a few Swedes I met called it the most fun city in Europe for their dollar, er Euro. I haven’t heard much about it, but I’m optimistic.

Paris (Aug 5/6-11): I can’t freaking wait to come here! I’ve only heard great things, plus the ultimate compliment to Shanghai that I’ve heard is that it’s the “Paris of the East.” What better way to put that to the test than to visit the Paris of Earth first? I’ve read a fair amount about Paris, but am definitely open to hearing about more fun places to go, especially in young person/nightlife terms. I’ll open up a forum later so that anybody who’s travelled there before as a young lad/lass can give me a few pointers. I can use all the help I can get. (Side note: I’m going to a Paris St. Germaine [PSG] soccer match on the 7^th)

Madrid (Aug 11/12-14): In stark contrast to the next place, I haven’t heard one glowing review of Madrid yet. But everyone says that I should at least go there while I’m in the area. Sounds like a really low bar to get over. I’ve allotted some time here just in case it exceeds expectations and I actually like it. Otherwise I could spend one of these days at Figueres (for the Dali museum) and there’s a soccer tourney in another town in Spain with Atletico Madrid that I may try and catch.

Barcelona (Aug 14/15-18): I’ve only heard gushing reviews of Barcelona and, before I read the guidebook at the airport, couldn’t name one monumental site there. Sounds like a real cultural hub that has places to explore during the day and likes to party all night. While Paris is the best bet to be my favorite destination, I could easily see the Catalonian capitol taking that title. I’ll also start a forum for this as well… it’ll be more important here because it’s such an unknown for me. FC Barcelona will be in America of all places while I’m there, so I may need help finding a soccer match to go to in Spain to complete my football tour of Europe.

Munich (Aug 18/19-21): I went here when I was 12 and I remember loving the weiss wurst (white sausage – no jokes please). I’ll be meeting up with my cousin Matthias here. Every guidebook of Munich I’ve seen so far has entire sections devoted to their beerhalls. Let’s just say I’m giddy. (Potential Bayern Munich game 8/20!)

Brussels (August 23^rd): I stop by in Luneburg to pick up my stuff, shower for the first time in weeks, etc before coming here to launch over to Shanghai. I have a late morning flight, so I’ll only have time for breakfast. Belgian waffles anyone?

So that’s it for my extremely brief introduction to my trip… I guess I rambled a bit. I expect that will be my longest post until I get to Shanghai, but I also know better than to think I know what to expect out of me (what?). To get more frequent updates from me you can follow me on twitter at @s_lauer.

Auf Wiedersehen from Lauer East,

Stephen “Scuba” Lauer

Shameless Plugs:

To my dad, Greg Lauer, who has been invaluable as ever throughout this entire process. He’s at least as excited about this trip as I am and I couldn’t ask for a better #1 fan (or 1b after you mom). I’ll also give him credit ahead of time for helping me survive when I inevitably lose my credit card/phone/passport at some point during this trip.

To my Aunt Laurie for meeting up with me at JFK airport and discussing Shanghai and Paris, somehow getting me even more amped for this trip.

To my uncle, Paul, in advance for not only putting me up at his place in Luneburg but for serving as my European base. Oh and for getting me a ticket to the Hamburger SV game!

And lastly, to the girl who sat next to me on the plane, Maria Metzler of Aldenburg, for being an enjoyable flight companion and especially for telling me that Justin Timberlake/Janet Jackson’s “Wardrobe Malfunction” was called Nippleblitzen in Germany. Awesome.

I'll leave you with this video that I saw when I got off the plane in Dusseldorf.