Grindstaff Publishing

Alone in Europe, train on a boat to Hamburg, lost, crap hostel in a punk district, American politics, currywurst, red wine and journaling, exploring innocent love and the sex district, cheap bus to Berlin, chasing sunset over Brandenburg Gate and Victory Column, Berlin Wall, Charlottenburg Palace, community talks in the hostel, drunk Australian guy, socks from a gypsy, homesickness, McDonalds, bus to Poland...Germany.

Denmark was the country which stood at the precipice of the grand European adventure. Reed and I had traveled through Scandinavia and Denmark was the final stop for him, for us as traveling companions, for me as a sheltered wanderer. There was a haze over our final country but it wasn't dark. It held something whithin which I would soon found out to be beautiful and rewarding. This chapter is me before I was alone in Europe.

Train to Copenhagen, party hostel, free walking tour, chance encounter which changed my life, budgeting, food truck emporium, Nyhavn district, brothel turned hostel, last duo days, beers and goodbyes...alone.

Sweden and Norway brought stability to the routine of travel but contemplation of what was to come, a reality where I was all alone in the vastness of a different continent. Viking ships and Swedish craft beer helped bring levity to the travel and the atmosphere of Scandinavia brought a lightness to everything around us. The calm before the storm has never been so peaceful and full of adventure!

Back in Sweden, Gothenburg, college town, late night beers with locals, nautical scene, refugees, nearly alone, beers to quell the pending isolation...Sweden...again

Train to Oslo, no place to stay, last minute bookings, island hike, Viking Ship Museum, stave church, expensive craft beer, Olympic ski jump, giant gnome, Werner Herzog talks, train back to Sweden...Norway.

Ferry to Stockholm from Finland, sleeping in tiny capsules, picturesque medieval town center, small boat hostel, grafitti, supreme craft beer, pizza, locals who are too good looking, train to Norway...Chapter 4.

Losing my backpack full of 'essentials,' Helsinki, Olympic hostel, sweating men, island fortress, lost luggage, over-priced craft beer, train to Turku, boat hostel, ferry to Sweden, Czech girl, autumnal storm, facing the elements, and landing in Stockholm...Chapter 3.

Finland is about adaptation...arriving with lost luggage the adventure starts the minute our alcohol-addled brains are tasked with dealing with adversity. How do we cope? Movement...to fortified islands, Olympic stadium hostels, boat hostels, ferries, and finally Sockholm. Along the way, the idea of writing a book begins to fester!

Room To Roam Chapter 2 was all about Iceland. The beauty, the Big Nature, the beer... Months of waiting culminated in a New York to Reykjavik flight fueled by Aurora Borealis. Join the writer as he talks about the first hostel experience, the excitement of meeting his friend in Europe, and the amazement that ensues. Plus a beer explodes during recording so...happy 5th anniversary!