Jet Lagged Gianna

Four episodes of The Affair, 3 true crime podcasts, 2 chapters of The Power of Now, and 1 bag of funyuns later, I was in Berlin. It felt great to be back. I took the familiar subway to the Wombats Hostel to check in.

The temperature had dropped drastically. It was a comfortable low 70’s for the rest of my time in Berlin. I even wore a sweater on my way to dinner.

Hanger was setting in and I needed food. I chose the closest vegan restaurant to my hostel. The place was called Soy and it had the best food I had on my trip. I wasn’t expecting much considering I did zero research before showing up here.

I ordered the coconut mushroom noodle soup. Holy Cow. It was so rich in mushroomy flavor and creamy. It was probably the best thai inspired dish I ever had until I actually got to Thailand.

I opted out of the bar that night. Instead, I laid in my bunk watching the newest season of Stranger Things.

I continued my Netflix binge watching the next day. I was pretty pooped from the past 6 weeks of non-stop travel. I got take-out from Swing Kitchen, the vegan burger restaurant, and ate in the hostel kitchen while watching my show. I probably seemed pretty anti-social.

A few hours later, I returned to my dorm room to find a girl from the UK and a guy from Delaware talking. They asked my name, and suddenly I had friends again. The girl, Maddie, and I decided to head to the grocery store to find ingredients for dinner. We both chose pasta with sauce and veggies. I shared my zucchini with her, and she shared her spinach with me.

After dinner, Maddie convinced me to head up to the hostel bar with her. Somehow, three hours later, I found myself wandering the streets with a bunch of kids from the UK looking for a club.

We got denied from the first club we tried, probably because we all looked super young and we showed up 15 minutes before the club even opened. Embarrassing. Yet hilarious.

We quickly gave up trying to get into a club when we came across a delicious looking falafel stand. We ordered massive sandwiches and walked back to the hostel, all satisfied with how the night turned out.

The next day, I had leftover pasta for breakfast with Maddie. She went on the free walking tour (I still never got around to doing it) and I had to go shopping. The next leg of my trip was quickly approaching and I was not prepared at all. I’d been putting this off until the last minute because I do not enjoy shopping.

Primark might be the most amazing store in the world. It’s like the European version of Forever 21, but cheaper. I bought a bra for $1.50. $1.50!!!! And it’s cute and does the job.

I was going somewhere hot next. Hotter than Europe. I needed light shorts and t shirts. Stuff that covered my shoulders. Stuff that I could hike in. Bug spray and more sunscreen. Any guesses where I was going??

After my shopping spree, I treated myself to another soup at Soy. I got another coconut veggie soup that was just as good as the last one. They even had a lunch time discount. YUM!!!

Over the past few days, I’d developed a pretty bad toothache. It ached all day long, especially when I was chewing (hence all the soup). I tried to ignore it, but I realized my best bet would be to see a dentist before I flew to Southeast Asia. Germany is known for its great healthcare system, and I had spend an outrageous amount of money on travel insurance, so I thought it wouldn’t hurt to get the tooth checked out.

I found a dentist that seemed to cater to tourists online. They even had availability that day. But suddenly, the words on the webpage turned from English to German and it took me 20 minutes of switching between the google translate tab and the dentist’s website before I was actually able to schedule something.

I picked up my massive backpack from the hostel and got on a train that would supposedly take me right to the office. The situation turned out to be a dental disaster!

The woman at the front desk didn’t speak English. And apparently I accidentally scheduled myself for a teeth cleaning, not a tooth examination. Face palm. The woman said I could wait in the lobby for the dentist, but it might be a few hours.

I had IbProfen in my bag. I did not want to spend the rest of my time in Berlin sitting in a dentist’s waiting room.

Instead, I spent the rest of my time sitting in a nice hotel room. As a graduation gift, my lovely parents had offered to pay for a hotel at a destination of my choice. I decided to be practical and stay at a nice place close to the airport with a 24 hour shuttle.

The bed was massive and super comfy. After my first non-communal shower in weeks, I made my way down to the restaurant. I got salad and french fries and veggies. It was basically a meal of sides because the hotel had 0 vegan main courses. I’m not complaining because I love all of those things.

I went back upstairs to finish Stranger Things in the hotel room. It was my first time truly being alone in weeks. No matter where I was – eating, sleeping, reading, watching Netflix, sight-seeing, shopping – I was surrounded by people. The silence was almost uncomfortable.

My alarm was set for 5 the next morning. I woke up excited. I was traveling to a new continent that day. In 24 hours, I would be on the other side of the world.

The shuttle took me to the Berlin Tegel Airport. I checked in easily for my flight and then chose a seat near my gate. It wasn’t long before my Scoot Airline flight was boarding (more on Scoot Airlines in another post- basically it’s a budget long-haul airline with no TVs and you have to pay for the meals).

I felt tears in my eyes as I said my final goodbye to Europe.

I began this trip anxious and full of doubt. But it turned out to be my biggest accomplishment. I spent 6 weeks backpacking Europe by myself. Me! And I didn’t get lost or kidnapped or hurt or depressed. I made the most amazing friends that I still talk to today. I had beautiful experiences that I will remember forever.

I thought I’d feel a sense of completion at the end of this trip. I thought I would be ready to return home to the people I know and the things I am familiar with.

I felt the total opposite. I think I could have spent another 2 months traveling around Europe. The list of places I want to see has only gotten longer since traveling.

If you want to travel solo, you have to be able to love yourself because you spend all of your time with, well, you. When you find that unconditional love for who you truly are, it allows you to open yourself up to accept love from other people.

I felt like my truest self on this trip. I never once felt “fake” or like I had to pretend I was somebody else to please someone. For 6 weeks, I was 100% me and nothing else. All of the people I met liked me for me. And if they didn’t, who cares. I was going to be in a completely different country 2 days later.

I left Europe comfortable with who I am. I left Europe brave. I left Europe completely in love with this Earth.

And that is what I love about solo travel.

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