Hey guys!
I’ve got a pretty incredible season unfolding, and have a ton of pictures to share. The short of it is that I’m studying abroad in Copenhagen this semester, and have the opportunity to do a ton of traveling on weekends due to a carefully arranged class schedule and close attention to the allocation of the overly-generous financial aid I’ve been given for studying abroad this semester. I’ve had to scrape by in a few instances, and sometimes forego things like “food” or a “good place to sleep” [who needs it, am I right??], but pretty much I’m using the financial aid money I’ve been given for meal plans and out-of-program boarding and personal expenses and housing to pay for all of this.
It certainly helps that everything in Europe is pretty easy to get to from Copenhagen, and I like to think that I know how to travel as cheaply as possible, but all in all it’s just been the biggest blessing, and I can’t even begin to describe how incredible this semester has been so far.
Small parks, Big parks, I’m hitting them all. I am indeed a credit whore, but more than that, I actually loooooove going to small parks – I find them fascinating. The more out of the way, the more nobody ever has (or ever should go there), the more I love the place. I think it’s hilarious. There ARE some parks here nobody on TPR has hit before (hello Trans-Caucasus region) and some that you’ve seen a million times. But at any rate, I hope you guys enjoy. Be prepared though, I was able to go pretty much everywhere.
The way I travel is mostly by one cardinal rule – the more other people have been there, the less I’m interested. I’m not afraid to take risks, I love extreme scenery, always look for a good ol’ adventure, and I think the best way to travel is with no expectations, a goofy sense of humor, a trusty map, and by talking to as many people as you can manage to meet.
My Photo TR style has generally more writing than most others, and then only the best pictures, unless there really aren’t a lot of pictures from the park in question (I find it refreshing when picture reviews are sharp and to the point, and try to do the same in my own reports). And there will probably [definitely] be a fair number of jumping shots. And I’ll also definitely include some of my favorite pictures from along the way that have nothing to do with roller coasters, because sometimes, although we go through a lot to deny it, there is more to this world than the next credit. And I’ve decided that the most confusing and interesting way to do this will have nothing to do with chronological order in the long run, so be prepared for THAT!
Anyways, I’ve learned a ton getting the opportunity to travel so much. But I suppose the two biggest things are:
1) The world is an enormous place. You will never ever ever run out of things to see or people to meet, and the beauty of it all is overwhelming
2) The world is smaller than I’d ever imagined. Really, if you want to go somewhere, anywhere, there’s a way, and finding that way is terrifically exciting.
I hope you guys can get something out of this!
A brief estimated trajectory of this Photo TR (stuff in blue is now up on the page that's listed):
• Gardaland, etc (because Raptor seems to be a topic of controversy I’d love to chime in on, and nobody told me this place was full of MAGIC!) - now up just down below
• 19 hours in Paris (including Disneyland, of course, and a whirlwind of crepes) - page 3
• The parks of Turkey!!!!! And why it's my favorite country - page 3-5
• How little there is to do in Cologne (except of course, ride roller coasters), and why you should go to Berlin, despite it’s lack of theme parks - page 5
• SO much UAE, featuring Dubai (which I’m still not convinced is a real place it’s that unbelievable) and also “it’s-hard-not-to-poop-yourself-Formula-Rossa” - Page 6
• Chakazoolu and Adhari in Bahrain, during the protests (not my best trip pla… actually no, that WAS my best trip planning) - page 6
• The UK [Cheers!] at its finest (including my 300th credit on Nemesis) - page 8
• Greece - Meteora, one of the most underappreciated sites in Europe, Athens, and Allou fun park - page 8
• Things to do in Norway. Tromso, Fjords, Arctic Circle, Northern Lights, then Oslo and Tusenfryd - page 9
• A shortstop tour of Scandinavia, Bergen, Sojnefjord, and Liseberg - page 9
• Then back to Italy. Milan, Europark Idroscalo, Mirabilandia... and the rest of Northern Italy - page 10
• Then to Germany. Or maybe the Netherlands.
• Why you should travel throughout Eastern Europe, including Vampires in Transylvania, Vidampark in Budapest (from the outside- it’s closed on weekdays until… the week after I was there), The Baltic region in midwinter, and 1 picture of the Czech Republic’s only park from a regional train in the rain super zoomed in out of focus and through a large forest
• Parks in the Republic of Georgia and some mountains (holy Kazbegi!!)
• Among other things
And there will be more of course, I’ll let you know when I get there.
Also, I’m very much anticipating that the actual order of this report won’t in fact resemble what I’ve listed here, but I’ll try my best. And I’ll update the order of the report here in this first post, as the TR is actualized.
Awesome, thanks soooooo much for reading, I’d love for you to comment or just say hi, and I hope you guys enjoy!
WOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!!
-Danny
