elPierro's VirtualTourist Home Page

Especially when you cannot read most of the words in the picture itself.

I'm Peter, 25yrs old and living in the Netherlands. IfI just moved to Roermond, a medium sized town of 50,000 inhabitants... but you can read more about that in the travel tips.

I am currently working for UPS in Roermond and when I am not working I am either drinking beer, on the internet, or backpacking. I really love to travel and meet people from all around the globe. It's what travelling makes so great.

The latest journey: From a weekend in Bucharest by bus to Istanbul to spend 5 days relaxing in this really nice city.

9 Jan: Lille - France
9 April: Amsterdam - Netherlands
26 April: Dusseldorf - Germany
8-10 June: Bucharest- Romania
11-16 June: Istanbul - Turkey
13 June: Anadolu Kavagi

Comming up:
15 Sep: Buenos Aires - Argentina
Overland all the way to...
4-Oct: Santiago de Chile - Chile

Yeah, I could bore you with lots of things, but it's probably most appropriate to tell something about my travellings.

My way of travelling is on my self with the backpack and though the car always looks like a tempting way to travel around, I have got that aviation addiction, so I always fly to my start point and fly back from my final point. In between it's just trains, busses, boats.. anything that moves. It's a much funnier way to travel as well. At first I though travelling by yourself would be lonely, and it can be if you hit some remote places in Scandinavia, but by yourself you meet so much more people you'd otherwise wouldn't speak at all.

I have been to almost every county in Western-Central Europe, only in the east I still need to visit some places. Last year spring/summer I have done a 3 week tour through Central europe. Tourists easily overlook the "poor" east but the truth is that it's very interesting, it's cheap, and people are very friendly. You just have to get used to crappy busses, some additional waiting time to buy tickets for trains/busses. And if you are tired of meeting Aussies (don't know why you could..) this is the spot.. just lots of British around here (something with cheep beer..).

For those curious, after more pics and my travel reports, go visit:
http://www.ballofdirt.com/members/7901.html

My personal top 5 countries to visit:
1. Norway - visit Oslo in summer, and take the daytrain Oslo-Bergen.

2. Slovakia - you'd be surprised. A small proud country. People are friendly, they have got splendid castles, the beer is better then in Czech and cheaper as well.

3. Slovenia - In stiff competition with Slovakia, Slovenia offers a westernized city with very nice capital, friendly people, and MOUNTAINS.

4. Sweden, avoid the south, but go to Stockholm, and make your way up to Sundsvall and ?stersund. And do it in late june/early july. Nice temperatures (around 22c) and you see the magic of the sun that just doesn't set (Stockholm is pitchblack at midnight, sunrise at 3:00, Sundsvall only has twilight)

5. United Kingdom. Not only easy to get around (ok, except for those pounds, miles, inches and driving on the left) but also lots of fun when it doesn't rain. There's enough cities, you are allowed to get drunk by 8PM and there's always the great scenery of Wales and Scotland.

Definately don't visit:
1. Wallonia - The French spoken part of Belgium, roads are bad in all of Belgium, but Wallonia doesn't have beaches, Brugges or Antwerp.

2. Finland - Avoid cities during midsummernight, everyone hides in the countryside. It's flat like holland, and dirty like Belgium. Helsinki is the only good option here.

3. Czech Republic. Yeah, it's not that bad.. but from all the central European countries, the least interesting.

My personal top 5 cities to visit:
1. Berlin, definately the best city I have seen so far. Keep wanting to go back there.
2. New York, the cities of cities.
3. Tokyo, it's sooo Japanese. It's sooo great.
4. London, Berlin is very European, but London is very British and therefore a very interesting place to visit.
5. Madrid, The vibe here is amazing, and the city is beautiful old .
6. Stockholm, laidback and undiscovered.
7. Krakow, wath an athmosphere in this city. It's everything but dusty and grey.
8. Osaka, much crazier than Tokyo, this is your flying highway, rollercoaster-in-a-mall place, definately worth the visit.
9. Budapest, not for sightseeing, but they have a way with throwing a party.
10. Istanbul, lot's of nasty stuff in this city, but somehow it's also a great place to see.