5 Things To Know About Solo Travelling

1. You can get sooo lonely

   It’s confronting how lonely you can be in a sea of strangers.

   You can find comfort in others travelling like yourself. But sometimes you don’t click with anyone at a new city. And this is when anxiety can nuzzle in.
   You get home sick, you miss your friends, your family, your dog.

   You miss comfort

   But that’s part of solo travelling. Luckily we can combat the loneliness with facetiming our families whenever we like. It’s never been easier to connect with those you love. But I’d say its better to challenge it. Push through and spend time with you. Because (see #2).
   

2. You work out a lot about yourself

   You have little responsibilities and a lot of time. It’s great. You find out what makes you tick. What you’re like in different situations that you probably haven’t been in before. Like when a bus leaves you at a pit stop between Berlin and Amsterdam. Who? Me? Maybe.

   For myself I spent a lot of time thinking; analysing myself. I got confirmation that I’m pretty introverted. I like people. I like listening to stories. But I don’t talk a lot.

   I found out I like doing my own thing, exploring cities listening to music, at my own pace.
   But then socialising more at night going on adventures with new friends.

   I liked little routines. Getting a pastry and a coffee somewhere for breakfast. I’d get spanakopita and a freddo cappuccino most mornings in Greece.

   I liked seeing sunsets in different cities and swimming at as many beaches as I could. Basic? Yes. Regrets? No. These are little things but they make up you.
   

3. Keep your wits

   Buses leave and people steal.

   I was left at a pit stop between Berlin and Amsterdam. The communication between the bus driver with myself and my friend led us to believe we were stopping for a while. The bus left and we literally ran after it wailing our arms but to no avail.

   We called the bus company and asked for our luggage to be looked after in Amsterdam but they reported there being no extra luggage on board. Hmmmm suspicious.

   I met a lot of people that had their passports and wallets stolen. Bags taken from the beach. Mobbed by robbers in the streets of Spain. So just keep your wits.

   But the silver lining is, without my bags being lost, I wouldn’t have a story, I wouldn’t have a lesson and I wouldn’t have hitchhiked to the Netherlands.
   

4. People are nicer than you think

   French people are nice. Strangers have stories. People are genuinely awesome when you put in effort to be kind.

   You will have food cooked for you. You’ll be invited to visit their homes. I crashed at people’s houses in Germany, England, Holland. I drank coffee and grappa on a farm with a Montenegrin grandma that couldn’t speak a word of english.

   I was picked up by a german man my age from that pit stop I was left at. We hitchhiked to the border of Germany and Holland. There’s a lot of kind people out there. Sometimes they even feel like family.
   

5. Temporary families

   You don’t have a home anymore. You are constantly moving from one place to the next. Again it’s a comfort thing and it can be hard. But it breeds a unique relationship that refreshes at each stop.

   You make new friends and family. If you’re in a city for a week, you can create some real bonds with people.

   I made a friend in Athens and we travelled to the island of Crete together. We said our goodbyes and he said I should visit him in Germany. A couple months later when I was travelling up north I met up with him in Prague, he drove me to his flat in Dresden and I spent a week there living like a German.

   I even went to his university and sat in on his english class. I helped assess the presentations.

   You make friends and family easily when you’re solo.
   But in the end you say your goodbyes, add each other on socials, and hope you see them again one day.
   
   Maybe they won’t be temporary.