Solo trips have become part of my yearly routine. It’s a moment I chose to explore new places, meet new people and widen my world by acquiring different experience on how people live around the world. Though visiting Europe has always been on top of my adventure list, it was since summer 2017 that I started planning about that trip (always plan your trips in advance at least 4 months before departure date). By winter break, everything was ready in order to go and visit the land of the so-called “colonizers”.
This might sound absurd to some, but solo trips are empowering. After spending two weeks in Europe, here’s a summary of things that I learned through my journey.
- Meeting new people is exciting, empowering and an altogether amazing experience. Knowing that you can befriend absolute strangers is empowering. From my friend’s female friend in Germany to the Turkish family that I met in Prague just cause we shared Turkish as a language, it gives a sense of security when a complete stranger trusts you during the short time that you spend together.
- There’s so much to learn out there! Change is disturbing, which explains why we do not want to get out of our comfort zones and explore what the world has in store for us. Getting out of your boundaries has so much to teach us, both good and bad. There’s so much to learn with every experience, with every person we meet, with every feeling we go through!
- Germans get seriously offended when they’re asked “So what do you think about Hitler?” Read up a little before you ask such questions. On the other hand, Germany has pleasant things to talk about and its people especially the younger generation are hospitable.
- Spanish is so sexy of course when you know how to speak it. My friend Albert wouldn’t tell me the contrary.
- Age is just a number. We live in a society that expects us to follow the dogma of our predecessor by making some sort of achievement at some specific age such getting a job by 25, having kids by 27, retire by 60, dressing according to your age and everything that gets along with. My friend, age is just a number.
- People should learn from German on how to make cakes, I mean real tasty sweet cakes.
- Goodbyes are so painful. Sometimes connecting with people takes less than a few hours, and there has to come a point where you say goodbye. It’s one of the most heartbreaking parts of travel.
Have you ever been on a solo trip? How was your own experience? you can share it in the comment session 🙂