Backpacking through Europe in 1994

Day 51 • October 27, 1994
Back to Copenhagen, Denmark, and then to Lund, Sweeden

Thirty years ago today, my dream of becoming an International Freelance Photographer moved from possibility to reality.

Back on Day 44 in Copenhagen, I had met with Jan, the editor of the Danish magazine Chili. He liked my work and said he wanted to publish one of my photographs. But it wasn’t until today — when I went back to their office — that he officially chose the image and confirmed they would pay me for it.

It wasn’t a huge amount of money (400 Danish Kroner, roughly $80 at the time), but that wasn’t the point. Getting published in a real magazine, in another country, meant something. It was the first real validation that maybe my photography was respected enough to be published here.

**Chicago Cultural Center**
This is the photograph that Jan, the editor at *Chili* magazine, chose to publish. I had taken it in Chicago during a road trip with Tim Skrastins just two months before I left for Europe. When Jan told me he wanted to use it in a story about homelessness in America, it felt surreal. This image — taken on a casual trip with my best friend — became the first photograph of mine that was ever published internationally. On this day, that dream I had back in The Dome living room officially became real!

Welcome to the Youth Hostel “The Train” in Lund, Sweden.

My Photographs from today in LUND, sweden

The Train Hostel in Lund

After a long day of trains, buses, and walking, I finally arrived at my hostel in Lund, Sweden. It wasn’t a regular building — it was an old train with sleeping cars that had been converted into hostel rooms. I dropped my bags on the wooden platform right outside my car and took this photo. It felt so cool to be staying in a piece of old railway history.

Train Car Corridor

The hallway inside the converted train hostel. My room was down at the end of this narrow corridor. Everything about it felt like a real, working train from another era — the narrow walkway, the old doors, the metal walls.

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My Bunk for the Night

This was my bed on the bottom bunk inside the converted train car hostel in Lund. Someone else was sleeping on the top bunk above me. The space was extremely tight — just enough room to sit up, with storage straps and a small ladder to reach the upper bunk.

More Bikes Than I’d Ever Seen

When I stepped off the train in Lund, this is what greeted me — a massive sea of bicycles stretching as far as I could see. I had never seen anything like it. Back home in Nebraska, bikes were something kids rode around the neighborhood. Here in Sweden, it looked like half the city commuted by bicycle. It was one of those small moments that really drove home how different everyday life was in Europe compared to what I was used to.

Unlocked

Another look at the sea of bikes at the train station in Lund. What amazed me was that almost none of them were locked. People just left their bikes here — sometimes for hours — with complete trust that they’d still be there when they returned. It was a small detail, but it said a lot about the culture I was walking through.

DAY 51 / 10-27-94
Traveling through Copenhagen, Denmark to Lund, Sweeden

Today was pretty good but very exhaustive. I woke up at 6:30, showered, ate breakfast with Dorte & Anker; and Dorte took me to the station at 7:20.

Actually, my train didn’t leave until 8:30, but it was raining and Dorte had to be at work at 7:30 – so it was go then or walk in the rain. So I didn’t mind the wait.

The train arrived in Copenhagen at 1:15. I didn’t have enough money for a locker (actually I only had enough for the bus) so I had to carry everything with me.

It was about a 10 or 15 minute walk from where the bus left me to the Chili office, so I was tired when I arrived.

But it was worth it though, because Jan, the editor, liked my pictures enough that he chose to publish one, “Chicago Cultural Center,” in their December issue!

And to top it off, they are going to pay me 400 Kroner! That’s about $80! Not a whole lot of cash, but that is just a bonus. The real prize is getting published! Combine this experience with Skratch’s newspaper work and I think we are going to make an awesome team!

I had to hurry though, because the bus tickets only stay valid for one hour and my hour was up and I didn’t have any money left to buy another ticket. So I literally ran back to the bus stop – but I made it.

I had to take a train, ferry, and another train to get here to Lund, Sweden. I got in about 6, and found the hostel. It’s pretty cool, an old train with sleeping cars that have been converted.

After checking in I walked around and found an ATM. I have to stay in the hostel tonight because Joe is out of town. But I’ll be with him over the weekend.

I had the strangest feelings walking around tonight. Because I was homesick I was thinking about Kearney and since it’s Thursday I knew everyone would be at the Backlot. And for just a moment I wanted to be there too, before I remembered that I HATE the Backlot and that I’m in SWEEDEN for Christ’s sake! Then I was O.K.

When I got back to the hostel I ate the sandwiches that I had made at Dorte’s. I also found a current copy of National Geographic, which I took back to my bunk to read before I fell asleep at 9:00, completely tired.

Looking Back

This was a huge day in my life!

I had made those business cards back in the living room of The Dome, declaring myself an International Freelance Photographer. At the time, it was mostly hope and bravado. I had no real proof it could actually happen. But on this day, that dream became real.

Jan, the editor at Chili magazine, officially chose one of my photographs to publish. It wasn’t a massive paycheck — 400 Kroner — but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that someone in another country looked at my work and said, “We want this.” For the first time, I felt like maybe I wasn’t just pretending.

That confidence stayed with me. Over the years, I’ve photographed adventures and sold images from trips to Belize, the Amazon Jungle, and Puerto Vallarta. I’ve even photographed weddings in Peru. And in the coming year, I have trips planned to Fiji, Curaçao, and Portugal. All of it traces back, in some way, to that small moment in Copenhagen when an editor said yes.

Looking back now, I’m proud of that 22-year-old kid who believed he could do this — even when almost no one else did. On this day, the dream stopped being something I hoped for and started becoming something I lived.

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