Wanderlust

Consider this a warning. I have a vacation planned. Or perhaps I should say I have a plane ticket to Germany and I cannot stop planning. I am as indecisive as my little sister at Halloween; "I want to be a cowgirl, no a ballerina, no a monster, a witch, a ballerina who wears cowboy boots!!!!...."

For some reason, in my brain, getting off of the continent instantly makes the rest of the world easy access.   In my head it's like America has this big bubble over it and once you break free you're in "the rest of the world" and this lovely not America place has magic trains that cost a dollar and suddenly it is possible to travel from Berlin to Jerusalem via Hyderabad in just a matter of hours.  Logically I know this is not true.  A Eurorail pass costs a few hundred dollars depending on how many countries you want to see and the duration of your trip.  A train takes eight hours to get from Berlin to Munich.  Of course considering the train from San Francisco takes twelve hours to get to Los Angeles, it makes it all seem so close!

Right now I pour over travel books, I consult Anthony Bourdain, I somehow try to decide where and how long to stay while trying to keep the magic fairy train out of my head.  If I keep my travels on a schedule and only go to a handful of cities I can keep this trip somewhat affordable. I must remember that it takes time to really see a place so taking my time is better than trying to just zoom past it all. It is so tempting to get the super expensive all access train pass and think that once I get to Munich, I should just hop on down to Italy and from there Spain is right next door... and hell, if I'm in Spain I really ought to travel south for just a little bit to get to Morocco... there's just so much I've never seen.   For once I can say it is good I am traveling on a used shoestring budget and cannot possibly get the super train pass.  I am forced to think this through and plan carefully.

I've got nearly three months left and somehow need to find a way to make myself chill out.  All of this possibility keeps me up far too late at night.