~*~SOLO TRAVELS~*~

As you might already know, I ended up traveling alone in Europe for 2 weeks just before coming here to Oxford. I should have written a blog during that time but I was having way too fun to sit down for long enough to do such a thing. =) Before August 25Th I never would have imagined myself traveling around Europe alone. I saw myself much too unorganized, irresponsible and having the worst sense of navigation in the world. These things and more combined=no chance of traveling alone. And really the idea of solo travel had not even crossed my mind much. It was that day in Cologne, Germany when I was with the person I was suppose to travel with that the idea popped in my head. I tried to ignore it, but it didn't go away.

Before night fall I knew 100% in my mind I was heading out ALONE the next day. Talked to the guy, and there were no hard feelings. He is really nice don’t get me wrong, it's just we wanted to see and do very different things than the other. I set out to Berlin at 7am the next morning. It was the beginning of THE craziest adventure I have ever had!

I loved Berlin! I was my favorite city that I spent time in. I could definitely live there for a while. The history, the culture, the people, the buildings, I loved it all. I will spare you of all the details of the many different people I met while I was traveling. Usually I met people in the hostel I stayed in, but sometimes I met them randomly too. Like, the group I hung out with in Berlin, I met them on a bridge on my first night there. We were inseparable after that. In Vienna, I met a group I got along fantastically with on the train. If you know me, I am a rather outgoing person. But I was much more so because of being alone. If you want to have friends and not be solo all the time you HAVE to put yourself out there. Then once you do it a few times, it becomes second nature to strike up conversation with new people.

We always traded emails as new friends and I departed, as I did travel without a phone. I am sure that some of the people I met I will never see again. And that is what makes it all the more beautiful. They are persons I won’t forget, and that I will always look back on and smile and wonder where in the world they are. =) It was interesting how close you could get to someone after only knowing them a day or two, I suppose it is due to the circumstances we are under while traveling. Interestingly though, I made a few friends who I WILL be seeing this semester. My favorites were Jo and Rob; I met them in Vienna and hung out with them the entire time there. Jo GOES to Oxford! How crazy is that? So she and I will most definitely be hanging out here and I can’t wait for her to return. Rob doesn’t go to Oxford but he lives nearby. Then there is Tim, I met him in Munich. He is from Australia but he is studying in Manchester this year. We are going to go to a Manchester game together this term, can’t wait!

In order of my adventures, I went to; Cologne, Berlin, Prague, Salzburg, Vienna, and Munich. Like I said Berlin=my favorite. I thoroughly enjoyed Germany. I didn’t think I would like it so much. But I love Munich too! Munich is a very different feel though than Berlin, because it is Bavarian there, which is a different culture all together. Prague is such a romantic city, I vowed to never return there unless I was with the man I was in love with. Cologne you can do in a day, if you don’t have a ton of time in Germany I would skip it actually. Salzburg was beautiful; it is where they filmed the Sound of Music. I was supposed to go to Zurich, but I couldn’t get myself to leave Munich, so I never made it to Switzerland like I had intended to do.

All to say, traveling alone was fantastic! It is hard to put into words what it was really like. It is something that I really wish everyone would try. I didn’t think I could do it, but I did it and I did it good! It grew me and it challenged me and it most definitely made me more independent ;) My next adventure you ask? I am actually going to Dublin tomorrow and I am traveling all over the south and the west of Ireland. I am so excited! I was planning to go alone, but a friend here from Oxford decided she wanted to do what I was doing too. So Sarah and I are embarking on this adventure together. Until next time….CHEERS!!