reflecting on my first solo trip abroad

Goodness! I can't believe it has been exactly one year since I set off on my first solo trip abroad. If you know me, it should be no shock that it has taken me this long to write this...As you are reading this, it is my one year anniversary of quitting my job to pursue a life of full (ish) time travel and doing what charges my soul! I wrote most of this blog post over the course of the last year and have just been sitting on all of it!

I think I have put off writing this because I made so many memories on this trip and how can I possibly write about all of them? 2 months of travel can start to feel like years because of all the new memories you're making. This blog post will detail way too much, but also barely anything, about my first solo trip abroad! I think this post will be quite different from ones I will typically be writing for my blog, but I hope you enjoy this one as well.

As more time has passed since this trip, I am continuing to feel the gravity of its impact. I think about this trip daily. It truly changed my life, and yes, I am one of those dramatic people that overthinks the significance and meaning of everything.

I genuinely believe solo travel is the most divine spiritual experience that I am so thankful to have the resources to do. I reminisce on the most beautiful memories in cities I have always dreamed of and crossing paths with people who have lasting impressions and I did it all on my own! To look back at this trip, with the hindsight of how much can change in a year, it is just so special to me.

ROME

I started my 10 week trip off in ROME! I mean, come on, it is such an iconic city, I was absolutely thrilled to be there. There is SO much to do here and I feel like it would have been better if I had planned more than 3/4 days here. Don't get me wrong, I feel like I saw everything I wanted to see in that time, but I barely had any time to breath!! Granted, this was my first stop on my trip and pure adrenaline was keeping me going, but it was still a jammed pack first few days.

During my time in Rome, I did pretty much all the touristy things that everyone should do while visiting the city. I got an early start my first day and went to the Trevi Fountain at 7am. I cannot speak for the summer months, but if you go in February, there was less than 20 other people there with me and I was able to get pictures without anyone in them! I definitely recommend getting an early start if you want to avoid the crowds.

That same morning, I also visited the Spanish Steps and was seriously one of the only people on them! This really shocked me because they were packed when I came back later that night. It was such a cool experience to have them all to myself.

The rest of my first day was spent walking to the Trastevere neighborhood to visit a childhood friend attending university in the area, seeing the Pantheon, and getting as much gelato as I possibly could. I ended up walking 19 MILES!! Rookie mistake... I desperately needed to figure out how to use public transport, because as much as I love how accessible the cities are for walking, 19 miles is simply way too much!

My second day, I got to visit the infamous COLOSSIEUM. It was an insane experience to see in person. I am someone who believes in reincarnation and past lives and one time, I got a past life reading done and the lady told me I was a gladiator in ancient Rome. Whether or not that is actually true, I don't care! I felt the gravity of being there instantly

and I cannot believe that people just casually grew up with the Colosseum in their backyard. It is a iconic piece of history and it was just really special to witness in person instead of a textbook.

The downside to visiting Rome first on my backpacking trip was that I saw the most beautiful sights, all within my first week. Of course, I saw so many other amazing countries, but nowhere can compare to the architecture in Rome. The churches are extraordinary and the Vatican museum? Absolutely insane. It was hands down my favorite thing to see in Rome. Every room had the most beautiful ceilings I had ever seen and granite statues carved by God himself. It is a must if you are visiting Rome. I was in awe that entire day.

Finished off my time in Rome, with a night out at this popular club, the Qube. Now, this was a culture shock to me! I went to a state university in America. I am not a huge club person, so this was just such a unique experience for me. I am definitely not cut out for staying up until 4am. It was fun though! Was I really hungover for my bus to Florence? Yep! But that is the life of backpacking Europe, I guess.

FLORENCE

After Rome, I took a Flixbus up to Florence and this is when I already made my first travel mistake. I knew this trip was going to be quick and I wanted to see as much as possible for this first trip abroad, but my advice is you need AT LEAST 2 full days in every city. Obviously 2 full days is never going to be enough to see an entire city, but definitely don't give yourself one full day. That is just stupid.

My time in Rome was so exhausting that I just did not feel like exploring Florence that much when I got there. On top of that, everything I did want to see in Florence, was closed the Monday that I was there... I did not even see Michaelangelo's David while I was there. My time in Florence was honestly a bust.

I got an early start to my first day, and went to see the Duomo Cathedral. It was a beautiful church, but after some walking around, I went back to the hostel to sleep. This was definitely not in my plan and I honestly felt really guilty about it. Why was I napping when I was in Florence? As I have gotten older though, I recognize the importance of slowing down and acknowledging my needs. My needs might be different than a lot of people's, but I know myself best, and I know when I need to rest or I will burn myself out.

After an afternoon of relaxation, I mustered up the energy to leave my hostel. I mean, I was in Florence! I googled the best place to watch the sunset and I made my way up there. I grabbed a gelato on my way and just enjoyed a nice solo sunset date overlooking Florence. It felt at least somewhat redeeming for me.

While my time in Florence was not ideal, I do believe it taught me something. It taught me that I need to be okay with slowing down. I learned this in hindsight, because I still traveled pretty quickly the rest of the trip. Listen, a girl was on a mission to see as much as she could in 10 weeks!

VENICE

If you happen to be in Europe during the off season, specifically during Carnival season, you absolutely must visit Venice in Italy. This was my stop after Florence and the reason why I cruised through Florence way too quickly, I was just ready to get to Venice alright! It gets really crowded in Venice this time of year, but it is special because people are dressed in extravagant costumes and masks. It was just such a unique, bucket list item experience.

I bought a little mask, that I could still fit into my backpack, to blend in and walk around admiring everyone else's masks. I spent my time wandering the tiny streets and definitely getting lost in them. It is such an intricate series of islands. It is something out of a fairytale.

It has been on my bucket list for years to take a gondola ride in Venice and I finally got to cross that off as well. I decided to take a shared ride, I did not care enough about privacy to pay for the individual tour. I booked mine through GetYourGuide, my favorite resource to booking all my tours.

I loved Venice this time of year, even though it was a bit cold and really foggy a couple of the days. I took a day trip to the neighboring islands of Murano, Burano, and Torcello. Even though it was really foggy this day, it was so cool to see all of the colorful buildings of Burano; another place that has been on my Pinterest board for awhile. I bought a ticket at the end of the boardwalk for 25 euros and it included those 3 stops. The boat ticket I bought also included a tour of a glass making factory on Murano and that was amazing to see. Those guys are unbelievably talented and I loved watching them show their craft.

All in all, I don't believe Venice is overhyped, like a lot of people I have met said. I think they are being cynical because Venice is magical and otherworldly. To each their own though, I also have been places that I think are overhyped, but they are someone else's favorite city. Being able to attend the carnival in this marvelous city was one of the highlights of my trip.

LJUBLJANA

From Venice, I made my way to Ljubljana, Slovenia. For whatever reason, I just knew that I was going to love this place. With absolutely zero logic and to the confusion of most people, I booked 7 nights in Ljubljana and I did not regret it one bit.

This city is lovely, and it felt so great to slow down a bit and spend more time in one place. You definitely do not need a week to see Ljubljana though. If you are short on time and are looking to see as much as you can on your tour through Europe, I would say 2-3 days is plenty of time. The city itself, specifically the old town/no vehicle area, is rather small. You can see it all in one day. I took a "free" walking tour from a local guide, and it was very informative and you see pretty much the whole city. I booked this through Guru Walk. I loved how I could easily navigate everything without having to use Google Maps.

I walked up to the castle 3 times while I was there and if you have been to Ljubljana, you know that walk up is no joke! My calves were burning so bad. It is such a great view of the city and I loved just going up there and reflecting on my travels thus far. I felt such a strong connection with Ljubljana and when you find places like that, you really never want to leave. It reminds me how relocation can really impact my outlook on things. Yes, I am me everywhere I go and I can never outrun that, but a new environment can really make a difference sometimes.

Ljubljana was also a perfect place to be to take day trips from. I booked a tour through GetYourGuide that took me to Postonja Cave and Predjama Castle. This was such a beautiful day, I highly recommend. Postonja Cave is one of the largest caves in Europe and it has a lovely little train that takes you through it. After the cave, we were driven to Predjama Castle, a beautiful castle located in the side of the mountain. I was here mid February and this was a great time because there were hardly any people around. Of course, it was a bit chilly and the trees were missing their leaves, so maybe Slovenia was not in its peak beauty, but I personally loved the quiet, peacefulness. I still think it is one of the most beautiful countries I have been to.

I also took a day trip to Bled, it was about an hour bus ride. Lake Bled is beautiful and worth the visit. During this time of year, it was rather quiet with not many tourists. I would love to visit again in the summer! I just can imagine it is such a serene place to be.

Slovenia is a country where I cannot wait until I can return and explore more of what it has to offer. I really would like to come back and do more hiking in this area.

VIENNA

Vienna was a perfect reminder for me that not every place you visit is going to be your favorite. I had really high expectations for Vienna, as everyone was telling me that it was their favorite European city. Well... It definitely was not my favorite.

There could be a lot of factors, not relating to the city, that might have contributed to this negative experience. For starters, it was exactly 3 weeks into my trip. As much as I wish I did not struggle with my mental health, I do. Because of this, I am subject to times of extreme burnout. Whether that be from the logistics of traveling solo or my social battery being drained, I was at a pretty low point while I was in Vienna.

Not to mention, it was absolutely freezing and it just felt like another large city to me. I am from a small town, so big cities are just never going to be my favorite places, and that is okay! We all are allowed to have our own experiences and opinions of places.

To be fair to Vienna, I almost not a huge music person either and I opted to skip the opera because I did not wish to wait in line for standing only tickets during a massive rain storm. I did visit the the Alberta museum, and that was lovely.

Since I was feeling pretty down and sad, I headed back to my hostel early. It was cold and rainy and as I just mentioned, I did not care enough about the Opera to force myself to stand in the rain for tickets that were not even guaranteed. I truly believe everything happens as it should though because 5 minutes after I finished drying my tears in my hostel bed, a girl came in and we ended up talking for 5 hours. We just instantly clicked and I knew we were going to be great friends. Unfortunately, I was leaving the next day and booked a nonrefundable hostel so I said my goodbyes, and left with a glimmer of hope that the Universe will bring people into my life when I need it he most. I thought we would not keep in contact, but since this one night in Vienna, we have been to 5 different cities together. Traveling is so unpredictable and I will never get over how impactful the friendships you make during these times truly are.

BRATISLAVA

After saying I didn't enjoy Vienna, I think I might be ruining my credibility by saying, Bratislava was one of my favorite places I visited on this entire trip. I have been told this an unpopular opinion, but I don't care!

At my core, I am someone who loves smaller cities. Bratislava was adorable and really easy to maneuver without Google Maps, which is definitely a bonus to any city. I felt like the capital city of Slovakia had such an authentic European city feel. I am not even sure what that means, I am an American, but if you know, you know!

Like Ljubljana, I spent way more time here than one really needs to properly explore the city. For most people, I would only recommend one day here. There is not a ton to see and is a perfect day trip from Vienna, as it is only an hour away.

I spent my days here frequenting the same coffee shop and reading books. I just loved being able to slow down and be present. I find the cities with less to do are the perfect places to spend more time actually, if you are wanting to rest and recover without feeling guilty for missing out on things. The lady at the coffee chop even remembered my order the following day, so that was fun.

I loved the colorful buildings and the quietness to the city around this time of year. I also took a day trip to Devin Castle and wow! There was only 5 other people there with me and it was wonderful. It was so peaceful. If you are in Bratislava for longer than a day, don't miss out on visiting Devin!

BUDAPEST

My time in Budapest was an absolute blast. The first day that I arrived in Budapest, I met two American girls in my hostel that invited me to join them at a thermal bath. I had really wanted to go to a thermal bath, because DUH, they are so iconic, but I was truthfully hesitant to go by myself. I just really wanted someone else to go with. I truly enjoy my alone time, but some experiences are just better with people.

The best part about Budapest in my opinion is the nightlife. During my time here, I visited two ruin bars/clubs. Instant Fogas and Szimpla Kert. I went to Instant Fogas with my two American friends and we had such a fun night. This night, I met a guy and he took me out to Szimpla Kert the next night. As a girl solo traveling in another country, it is scary to go on dates with men. Who am I kidding? It is scary to go on dates with men PERIOD. I told a couple girls at my hostel and hoped for the best. We ended up having a fun time and I really just wanted to have an excuse to go to this ruin bar because I am in freaking Budapest!

My time here was short and sweet and I would love to go back already!

PRAGUE

Prague is a bucket list city and I am so thankful that I got to visit. It is just one of those places that I never thought I would get the chance to visit. I mean, its PRAGUE. It is a place that I have always pinned on vision boards and dreamed of visiting someday.

When I arrived at my hostel, it was clear that I would be exploring this city mainly alone. Of course, I am typically open to meeting new people, but sometimes you can just tell that the vibe of the hostel is not very social. The hostel I was at was in a good location, but it was not full! I chatted with an older lady that was in my room for a couple nights, and that is the extent of my socializing in Prague, which was fine!

I loved the main center of Prague , where the astronomical clock is located. All of the buildings in the surrounding area are so fun. Like always, I enjoyed walking around and exploring the city alone. I honestly just like listening to my music and pretending I am the main character in some really dramatic coming of age film, even though I am 25. Prague was a fun place to do this.

One afternoon, I accidentally got drunk at 2pm because I was told to try this specific type of beer. With the language barrier, I somehow go 4 beers instead of my intended one! Crazy! I spent that afternoon visiting the castle and eating my weight in chimney cakes. It was a solid day.

I was lucky enough to visit Prague during the holiday season, just 6 months after this initial visit. To get to experience Prague once was a privilege, but twice?? Wow. If you have the opportunity to see Prague at Christmas time, you must visit. It is magical. It was not my favorite European Christmas Market, mainly because of the crowds, but it was really special to see the city during two different times of the year.

CESKY KRUMLOV

This random little village in the Czech Republic has been on my bucket list for awhile. I remember hearing about it for the first time when I searched on Pinterest for the cutest small towns in Europe. Well, every Pinterest article was right, this place was adorable and very charming! I loved how quiet it was this time of year, it felt like I was the only one there.

It is the perfect day trip from Prague, even though it was a few hour bus ride.

I bought my first piece of moldavite here. I had wanted to buy some for ages, but it never felt like the right timing. It is an expensive crystal/glass so I did not want to buy it just for the sake of buying it. I am so glad I bought it here because this area is where moldavite is mined, due to the meteorite that struck in the area 15 million years ago. Most moldavite on the market is fake, so it feels like a flex to have bought it right from the source.

While it might not be the closest day trip from Prague, I definitely think it is worth it and I really enjoyed my time wandering through the quiet streets of this small village.

KRAKOW

I actually had no plan to come to Poland, but I am so so glad I did because I love this country. My mom's family is from Poland, so maybe it is in my DNA to love this country, but I highly recommend to anyone who has never been.

Krakow is a beautiful city that is rich in history. When visiting, I think it is imperative to really engage with this history, despite the difficulty.

A visit to Auschwitz and Birkenau is something that everyone should make a priority when visiting the area. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to witness. I have never been in a place where the energy was that heavy. I think it is really important that we keep history alive and continue to educate ourselves so we do not repeat history. Unfortunately, we are repeating history and everyday, I am disgusted by the actions of my country. Free Palestine.

I spent 6 days in Krakow and that was plenty of time to see what you "need" to see, but I could have stayed longer. For starters, the hostel I stayed at was incredible. They had free breakfast and free dinner, which is such an amazing opportunity to meet people. It was definitely one of my favorite hostel experiences.

I want it to be noted that I am super interested in astrology and recently started dabbling in astrocartography, which is how astrology applies to your location on earth. Going directly through Krakow I have a Uranus trine my ascendant line, and this energy can bring unlikely friendships into your life. From what I read, this line was to bring in people that were going to change my life because of how similar our lifestyles were. While similar on many levels, it also emphasized how different these people would be from the people I normally have surrounded myself with.

When you are traveling at such a fast pace, you just never know if you are actually going to see any of that come to fruition. Like it could be one of those things where you need to stay at the line for months to see that energy manifest, but for whatever reason, I felt this energy within the first day that I arrived.

Immediately I befriend another American, who happened to also be autistic, and we just became such good friends. Had we met in America, I don think we would have been friends because we are just so vastly different. He said a lot of things I definitely did not agree with, but he also taught me a lot and allowed me to see things from a new perspective.

I also met a guy who does Youtube and travels full time, which is exactly what I would like to be doing. It felt really cool to meet someone who is living that life and making it feel more attainable. He encouraged me to start my Youtube channel and just vlog my life. Now a year later, I am finally starting to release vlogs and I am proud of myself for making that first step. It feels really embarrassing sometimes to be seen trying something new and outside of my comfort zone.

WARSAW

After Krakow, I made my way up to Warsaw. This was another city I really enjoyed.

I stayed at a hostel right in the Old Town and that was so lovely. I just love all the old buildings and walking around and admiring them . Warsaw was a perfect mix of old and modern.

I was in Warsaw for a week and thankfully I was because I was feeling pretty sick my first few days. Once I started feeling better, I reentered the world and immediately was invited for roof top drinks with a girl in my hostel. Meeting friends while traveling can be surprisingly easy! I mean, sometimes it is not, but in those moments, my introverted self is thankful to have some space for myself.

While here, I also met up with my unlikely match of an American friend and we spent a couple days consuming way too many pierogis and one too many shots of polish vodka, but when in Poland, right?? We each ordered a vodka flight at the restaurant, to which the waitress was confused why we weren't splitting one.

We continued our history lessons from Krakow and went to a couple different museums about World War 2.

I also went and saw All Those Voices, which is a documentary about Louis Tomlinson. That was a really fun experience, and thankfully it was in English!

WROCLAW

I had never heard of Wroclaw before visiting, and this ended up being one of my favorite cities. It was full of bright, colorful buildings that possessed that perfect European charm that I love. I don't totally know what I mean when I talk about European charm, but as an American, you can just kind of tell when something feels like it is out of a fairytale. Maybe it is the walkability or access to universal healthcare?

In Wroclaw, I FINALLY got my first private room of my trip and it was a dream, so I did spend a lot of my time just enjoying my privacy in my room, plus it snowed while I was there.

When I did leave my room, I spent my time wandering the streets and keeping my eyes peeled for the little gnomes that are hidden all over the city. They were such a fun aspect of the area.

This was another city that I had the privilege to see again for their Christmas market. Coming back to Poland was wonderful and I cannot wait to go back and eat all the pierogis I possibly can.

AMSTERDAM

My time in Amsterdam was a perfect example of what can happen when you go with the flow while traveling. I had ZERO intention to visit Amsterdam. For starters, it was further west than I had planned to go on this trip. Not only that, but it was far outside of my desired budget.

While I was in Krakow, I had met another American who happened to live in Amsterdam. We only had two days together in Krakow and she had casually offered me a place to sleep on her couch if I was ever wanting to visit Amsterdam. I took the chance and decided to message her and see if that offer still stood... and it did!

Now since this was such a last minute visit, I definitely did not see all I would have liked to see in Amsterdam. The city offers so much and truthfully, I just got high and ate a lot of food. I am sorry!! That is the honest truth though.

My friend was a tour guide though so I did get to go on a free canal tour and that was dope. She was super knowledgeable about the city and I learned so much from her. I thought it was really interesting how the buildings are built to lean forward so they can move their furniture up with a pulley system. They do this because the stairs in their houses are so narrow and steep. The more you know!!

NUREMBERG

I don't have too much to say about my time in Nuremberg. I had honestly never really heard of Nuremberg. I mean yes, in history books, but I never really registered it as a place that I would actually visit one day. I was starting to feel burnt out and ready to go home.

I spent a total of 2 full days there and that was plenty of time. It has a beautiful center with a market that happens daily, except for Sundays.

I spent my time here reading in the castle grounds, walking around, and eating more bratwursts than I could count. This city was nothing too special to me, but I did enjoy it. It has that German charm and the colorful buildings, on the street in the picture I included, were my favorite part.

MUNICH

I finished off this amazing first solo trip in Munich, Germany. Like most places I visited, I really had no plans to visit Munich. It just so happened to be the cheapest one way ticket back to the states for me, so that is why I ended up there as my final destination.

I stayed a total of 6 nights in Munich. If you are visiting and you are short on time, you definitely don't need that long to see Munich. I had such a fun time, but that much time is not necessary. I would suggest 3 days, and one of those days should be dedicated to drinking your body weight in beer.

I had a great time in Munich due to the company I kept. I met up with one of my American friends that I had met in Poland. We spent 8 hours drinking beers at a German beer house; the most stereotypical German activity. After he left Munich, my Slovenian friend that I met in Vienna met me for a few days. Isn't that just so fun having friends from all over the world?! It seriously was my favorite part of this trip.

We spent a day exploring Munich, just googling all of the touristy things that are a must see in the city. As we quickly saw so much of Munich in one day, we decided to also take some time to explore the surrounding area. We went to Neuschwanstein castle, which was BEAUTIFUL. This is the castle that sleeping beauty's castle is based on. Of course, we booked this tour through GetYourGuide and it also included a visit to Linderhof Castle. We were not allowed to take pictures in either of these castles, but WOW. The inside of Linderhof was truly so unreal, if you are in the area, this is a must! I took this day trip with my Slovenia friends and a couple friends that I met at the hostel. It was really fun to get to experience this with others!

and that wraps up 10 weeks of adventures in 9 countries in Europe for my first solo trip abroad! Cheers to the start of my love for solo travel! It is impossible to fully incapsulate every experience of this trip, and no one would want to read anymore than this! I hope you enjoyed reading about my adventures as much as I enjoyed reminiscing on them.

Remember to a live a life that charges your soul <3

with love,

Jordan Leo