A Solo Travellers Mind

The first stop on my European adventures was a return to Belgium, where I met my dear friend Hans. I met Hans 3 years ago on a last minute rogue all inclusive holiday to Lanzarote (a holiday that nearly cost me my job, but that’s history now!). We stayed in touch, and soon i went to visit him again before i left the UK to travel, so it was only fitting to return. Out first time was spent celebrating his birthday, at a sushi restaurant. We had ALOT of sushi, trying lots of different things, which was very nice. I also met his extremely adorable kitten, who i soon fell in love with. Our second day in Belgium was spent exploring the cool giant windmills, which to me were new by to Hans were simply so normal he didn’t even see them.. crazy! We also went to a safari, where we walked round for ages, saw a giant elephant have a wee (if you’ve not witnessed such an act, its like a trap door opening and 10 liters of water falling out in a very non elegant way, but it was amusing). We saw the giraffes (ofc) and then drove around the parks auto safari where a camel ate leaves off the car, it was cool! We made some elite home made tacos, along with some elite breakys, explored local towns and shrift stores and had a good bye curry. It was very sweet!

The next stop was Germany, firstly Luneburg, and Hamburg, where I’d be staying with my friend Luisa, someone i met while travelling Australia (My wild times in Darwin were down to Luisa’s influence lol). The first night was her birthday party, so I attended a very German birthday party, before retreating to bed, to let the youngsters continue the party. I explored the city of Hamburg, seeing its very cool buildings, seeing and using one of the only mechanical lifts left in function in the world (this was very cool and kinda scary). I explored the red light district and finished off in the miniature wonderland witnesses the worlds largest model railway (its geeky, and VERY poverty stimulating, but also super cool). We spent a day exploring Luneburg and it’s quite amazing architecture, sort of reminding me of Edinburgh a little bit, before i made a pumpkin soup for everyone, in a quality that could feed a thousand…

My next stop was Berlin, a solo adventure. The hostel i stayed in was kinda shitty (no kitchen, crazy), but this did give me an excuse to explore the local foods, one night having a doner kebab which i thought id hate but it was actually so good, and another having some food at a food market in one of the cool districts. I explored the Berlin Wall, and the street art of Kreuzberg and the east side gallery, saw the world clock and a crazy man busking near by, and witnessed some of the light show on the Brandenburger Tor. I made friends during a walking tour, and subsequently spent the next few days with Sophie, where we explored the previously known east side and west side of Berlin. We went to a free museum where we had a giggle from a very serious German man stating that we simply could not wear our out door coats in the exhibition even though it was absolutely freezing! I visited the Topography of terror, a very educational museum highlighting how the Nazis rise to power, and honestly highlighting how history is unfortunately showing signs of repeating itself (that’s aimed at you, you far right crazy c*nts). One evening was spent exploring Berlin’s nightlife, which i think i will go back to explore one day properly, but currently is not a priority to me.

Next up, i returned to Luisa’s, this time in her home town of Dresden. Visiting Dresden was like stepping back in time, the buildings look like castles from an actual fairy tale. It’s rather beautiful. I wanted to explore some of the more rogue areas of the city, but unfortunately the winter flu hit me and I required an early night, before a long ride to Poland. Germany was another lovely time for me, catching up with friends, visiting different cities, and falling in love with Berlin a little. For someone that’s not a city bird, Berlin is very cool!

My first stop in Poland was Krakow. I spent my first day on 2 walking tours, the first of the old town, seeing the fire breathing dragon and cool fort within the city, and the second in the previously know Jewish quarter and previous Ghettos, learning about the history of this city. My hostel included breakfast and dinner which was amazing and the banquet almost topped the buffet spread I had in Lima. My second day in Krakow was spent visiting Auschwitz. It’s a very somber experience, but one i feel is important. Something i feel some strongly about in the current climate of the world, is trying to educate people on how governments are blaming minorities for the world’s problems because it’s easy for them. It’s exactly what happened before WW2 and I just wish others could understand this. The rest of my day was spent exploring art, a far happier time. I visited the Banksy museum and also visited some local art vendors, purchasing myself yet another piece to add to my growing collection from my travels, and of course, getting some gifts for the nearest and dearest! My last day in Krakow was spent visiting the markets, another meusum and then heading for a walk around a quarry/lake on the oitside of town, it was very lovely, and the weather was really ideal for the occasion. Unfortunately my cold was still around so i didnt swim, but hopefully some more cold water swimming opportunities arise! My evenings at my hostel were filled with lots of amusement, as we had a priest staying there! So we all sat around quizzing him on the life of priesthood and discussing all the ethical and philosophical questions of life. It was actually very nice!

My next stop in Poland was Zakapone, in the Tatra mountains. My first evening was spend getting equanted with the area, visiting a very cute wooden church and walking through the woods near by. It’s a very cute little area! The next day me, and my new friends seized the day, even though it was absolutely pouring of rain. We did a hike to Mount Nosal, and proceeded to get very wet and cold, before spending the evening at the spa and pools. The pools had a fun zone with 5 water slides, which me and Arte went on ALOT, we then enjoyed the various saunas and steam rooms in the spa, including a brine spa (still not too sure what this did?) and a cold plunge pool. This pool was very small, however we decided 5 people could fit easily, made all the more hilarious by the fact the spa was a non textile spa and thus 5 of us were in this tiny cold plunge pool in the nude… suddenly we were all besties! Both myself and Kaisa found the concept of a naked spa hilarious, however the Dutch boys felt right at home, given this is something normal in the Netherlands. The next day we hiked to Morskie Oko lake, a 21km day. The wheather had improved a lot but once at altitude we were greated by lots of snow and snow showers. To us it felt like Christmas! The hike was mostly an easy incline, with only the hike to the second lake showing challenge and mainly due to the ice and snow. It was a very nice day, which followed some card games and mulled beer… My final day was spent in the town, purchasing some gifts for people, the town is very cute, and mainly a cool place due to the mountains you can see surrounding it! Zakopone is definitely a place i would return too!

My last night in Poland was spent at a very odd hostel in Krakow, somewhere to just rest my head before a very early flight to Italy. My room mates were too rather scary looking middle aged polish men, however they did just leave me to it, and soon enough it was 3 am and i was up and at the airport.

In Italy i came to Lake Como, deciding on this as it was an easy place to transfer to Switzerland from, and it seemed like a very pretty place. It was the very end of the season, so the whole place was very quiet, but this was nice, and meant the beaches and hikes were all to myself. My first day a hiked to a view point before check in, and then had Avery early night, having been up since 3am that day! My second day I explored the town, and its surround nature and towns with a little 12km hike, finishing with a dip on the lake. It was chilly, but nothing too crazy if I’m honest. That evening I made friends with another girl staying here, working remotely for a little bit before returning home. We had some dinner time chit chat before i headed to my bed, hoping for a more settled night. The previous night my room mates was a nut job, who’d woken me up a 5am with the typing sound of her phone. I asked her to not do that, too which she got extremely aggressive and defences. I changed rooms after this lol. Luckily my new roomie was silent as a mouse, and a peaceful night was had. My third day at the lake was a chilly one, with some cloudy weather, so i took this as an opportunity for a Netflix day! A much needed one too!

My final stop on the trip was Switzerland!The bus route to Switzerland was pretty simply, and included a trip through one of the longest tunnels in Europe (You can imagine my autistic brain liked this). I also met a lovely wee man along the way, who gave me all the tips and tricks to a long and happy life (continuing to travel was at the top!). At the end of my bus ride I was greeted by Sandro, my old house mate from newcastle upon tyne. Where a long awaited catch up commenced, and a new UNO obsession was born!

Now given it was now November in Switzerland, it was kinda chilly, and it meant some hikes weren’t possible because of the snow, but we didnt let this stop us! Up first was Bürgenstock Felsenweg Wanderung. This was a very cute walk, where rabbits and some very cute baby cows were spotted! It was also the moment I realised the public transport system is Switzerland is truely something else, and if the rest of the world ran like this itd be unbelievable! You can count on the transport system to the minute. The evening was chilled, filled with tasty food and card games of various sorts!

The next day was a rainy one, so we stuck to exploring Sandro city, and also visiting some cool meusum/ illusion place. It provided many hours of entertainment, specifically in the mirror maze! Post mirror maze, we headed for a doner, a new love id found since Berlin! This doner was honestly almost as good, and given i was in Switzerland, it was a cheap feed!

The next day we took a trip to Castle Meggenhorn, probably one of the coolest castles ive seen in terms of the architecture (maybe not as cool as Eileen Donnel in Scotland). We cycled there, and then made the walk back along the Lucerne Lake, and past the Lucerne beach, and back through the town, checking out some of the cool street art i was keen to see too!

Next up was the Hochstuckli Rundwanderung, this was a BIG hike, and involved a difficult hike up a ski slope (the ski lift wasnt open lol). Then we hiked up to Hochstuckli (1600m at the highest peak). The whole hike was unbelievable, and we even got to experience a sky bridge! The evening finished with some UNO (of course) and a very tasty Swiss pizza like thing.

Our final day of hiking was across Seelisberg, where the hike finished at an Alpine lake, where I went for a very cold, but very fun dip. Marking the end of my final hike in Switzerland with a bang!
That eve me and Sandro cooked up a final meal, a very tasty chicken salad, finished with a Swiss doughnut, and enjoy a final round of Uno (the card game obsession was well and truely alive!).

The next day was an early start, ready to fly back to the UK, for the mad packing rush to once again, move to the otherside of the world!