Last semester I was studying abroad in Germany. It was an experience that I will never forget, and while I was abroad, I learned a lot about myself. I learned lessons as simple as trusting my instincts and as complex as how to navigate not only public transportation, but how to navigate at all. Because of all the time I spent abroad, I feel comfortable in my ability to take care of myself—even in a foreign city.
About a month before I left Germany to come home, I realized that there were so many places that I still wanted to go to that I had not yet traveled to. I had a long list of places that I have always wanted to see, and I had barely dented the list. I decided to crack down and travel to all of my top travel destinations. At the very top of my list was Prague. All of my friends in my program had already been there, and I had always heard how beautiful it was, but no one wanted to go again (they were busy with exams and traveling to other places that they had not yet seen).
Now, who wouldn't want to see a city this beautiful?
I was enchanted by a city I had never even been to. I had only read stories set in Prague and hoped that one day, one day I would be able to see the city for myself.
So I had my destination picked. Now it was only a matter of convincing myself to go alone. I booked my hostel and my bus ticket (only a seven hour bus ride!), packed a backpack and set off alone.
My friend MariaPaz saw me off, and I made sure she had all of my contact and travel information—just in case. I was so excited and nervous on the bus that I could not sit still or concentrate on the homework I had brought. This was the first time I was really traveling alone—I didn't know anyone who lived in Prague.
When I got to Prague, I had no plan, so I decided to just wander around the city to grab dinner and just explore a bit.
I remember walking by this building (which is across the street from the river Vltava) and thinking how curious it looked. As I wandered around, I felt a little uncomfortable. Without a plan, I wasn't sure what to do with myself: it was the first time in my life I truly felt I could do whatever I wanted.
The next morning, I woke up bright and early to head to the center of the city. I had no plans other than to buy cool artwork and see as much of Prague as I could.
I ended up at the astrological clock in Prague in the town center—the oldest part of the city, and it was everything I imagined it to be.
I spent the whole day exploring the city: I went on tours, I drank Czech beer with strangers, and I ate typical Czech food with some friends I made. It was magical. And I'm not sure that it is something that would have happened if I had gone with anyone else. Alone I was free to do whatever I wanted—and what was really cool about that was that I finally figured out what I wanted to do. Before when I had traveled, I always did what everyone else wanted to do. Alone, I had no choice but to do whatever caught my fancy. And because of this I made some pretty cool friends who were tourists to the city as well!
We only spent one day together, but I'm struck by how much sense it made to hang out with them. Two were teachers about to get their masters in teaching Spanish as well as one of their cousins, and I learned a lot from them. We had conversations about life and love, and just enjoyed each others company. When we parted that night, it was as friends who had met by complete circumstance.
And I suppose that is what I learned in my travels: that having no plan, is sometimes the best plan, because along the way you can have experiences that are so amazing that I don't think that they can be made deliberately—they come along naturally, and when they do I learned to truly appreciate them. I am so glad I learned to travel alone. I learned a lot about myself, and I was able to enjoy the city of Prague in its enchanting wonder and in exactly the way I wanted to.
(Panoramic photo taken by myself of Prague's Old Town Square)
