I was 21 the first time I traveled on my own. The truth is, I was miserable a lot of the time. But that wasn’t just because I was alone. I had just had the summer of my life, studying abroad in Germany. I not only lived in Germany for the first time and improved my German. I met people from all over the world. Not just Europe, but truly the whole globe: Italy, Sweden, Georgia, Lybia, Israel, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong. It was incredible – so very eye-opening!

I had thought I would meet others at the school who would want to travel after the 8-week session. But everyone seemed to already have their own plans. So I took a deep breath – as well as what I’d learned already from traveling with my new friends that summer – and dove in! I cried a lot on the trains. But not really because I was alone. It was because I knew I would probably never see any of these new friends again. Okay, maybe I could travel to their respective countries for a visit … some day…. But in 20 years, I never have. I was just so sad!

But I still managed to see an awful lot of Europe on that trip. Well, some big highlights at least! Munich, Salzburg, Vienna, Budapest, Venice, and Florence. That was when I finally got to meet up with a few friends from my program. I’ve never been so happy to see two people in my life!! From there, we met up with our Italian friend at his parents’ summer villa and got to relax on the beach and have a local’s view of Rome! We stopped in Pisa as we headed back north, and I crashed with my friends who were staying with relatives in Lucerne.

When I got back to Freiburg, I had such a treat! For that one night, the students my class who were staying for the next session (along our fabulous teacher) had planned to meet up on Schlossberg – the scenic beer garden overlooking the city! I was thrilled to be able to see everyone again!

It was a tough trip … and a very long week alone. But I saw so much! And experienced so many wonderful things. Most of all, I was growing – and building my character. When I returned home, I was a different person. I was stronger and more confident. I was more independent. I knew myself a whole lot better … and I knew what I was capable of.

Since then, I’ve traveled many times by myself. Mostly in Britain, but also in Germany and Italy. Once I knew what to expect, I welcomed the time to myself. I knew it would be different from traveling with friends or family. There would be no one to laugh with (unless I met others along the way), and no one to look back and share the experiences with. But it was a time when I could decide to do whatever I wanted. Mostly, though, it was a time of introspection. A time to get to know myself even better.

I made some big life decisions on some of those trips. And I’ll always be grateful that I decided to travel on my own.

I was inspired to write about some of my past travels after reading a blog post by Sitting Pretty in the Queen City: What no one tells you about solo travel. Thanks!!

Here I am in Rome in 1996 (learning my truth?), after meeting up with friends. What a long time ago!