And so the journey begins…….

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Out of my comfort zone!

Every single day leading up to my great big adventure had been firmly filled with fear, anticipation, and the constant question of “what am I doing?” I was leaving my family behind, the stability of a job, and good old familiarity. But there was a great big world out there being offered to me on a plate and I wanted devour it all.

I have obsessively planned every single step of the journey.  I’ve made sure I have somewhere to lay my head each and every night, but what if somehing doesn’t go to plan? Will that little anxious gremlin inside me rear it’s ugly head and completely freak out? Or will a new me emerge with a just get on with it attitude, tackle the situition head on and finally grow some major balls. Balls so big they’re swinging like those of an alpha, chest banging muscle clad Gorilla. That’s the thing about traveling, not everything will go to plan and you have to be alright with that in your head otherwise you’ll end up talking yourself out of carrying out such a major life changing journey.

When I arrived T the airport on Monday 6th June I stood there an absolute mess. Having said goodbye to my Dad, I wanted to turn around, get back in the car, run back to familiarity and be firmly back in the bosom of the life I was living.  I actually wept to the point where I couldn’t get my breath. Yes I have a major soft side and I have no issues with showing it at times of serious vulnerability. I’m human, and I think emotions are a standard part of the journey any of us undertake. To show emotion is to care.

Being at the airport is a strange experience as a solo traveller. You’re excited for what lies ahead, but there’s a certain part that wishes there was someone by your side to experience every step of the way with you. Seeing couples, families and groups of people all unaware of the security they have in each other during their travel experience, whether it’s for a few days or longer, is somehow a given unwritten code. If you fall ill, have an accident, along a multitude of things that COULD go wrong, you have someone to help take the burden away, offer advice and just generally be there for a hug and a “it’s all going to be ok”. But chosing to travel alone still somehow makes you one heck of a badass mo fo. You’ve found the balls to do it on your own without the security of other people, or the ties of having to make decisions with someone else in mind. SO LET’S DO THIS JOHNNY BIG BOLLOCKS,  LET’S FACE THIS EXPERIENCE WITH A GROWL, A CHEST THUMP AND A FIST UP TO THE SKY.

 

Solo travel cliches

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As I’ve started the planning process of my great impending adventure, there appears to be so many myths and cliches surrounding why people decide to take the bull by the horns and travel solo. It isn’t to go find themselves, it isn’t to find the love of their lives, it isn’t because they can’t find anyone to go with, or because they’re lonely. It’s often down to the simple fact that people feel confident enough in their own skin and lives to just go out there and do it without having to rely on anyone else. Just getting out there and sampling all the world has to offer without having to factor in planning for someone else’s needs and desires to me is somewhat freeing and life affirming.

When I’ve told people I’m travelling solo (and this has happened in so many cases), they’ve tipped their head slightly, looked at me in a pitiful manner, taken in a long breath then used the words “You’re so brave”. BRAVE, BRAVE, it’s not bloody brave, it’s about taking the opportunity to go beyond the garden gate and take in every single opportunity the great big wide world out there has to offer. I want to be challenged in Countries I’ve never visited before, and navigate my way around cities so vast and exciting. I want to meet strangers who have stories to tell, I want to live as part of another Family for those short few days I’m visiting each destination. I want to challenge just how far I can take my comfort zone. I want butterflies every single step of the way with the concept of not knowing what’s coming next. Imagine all those wonderful people out there that I haven’t had the opportunity to meet, yet at the same time each and every single one of them have the ability to change the course of my life in just a short space of time. I want to sit with strangers (or people I just haven’t had the pleasure to meet yet), have a cider, chew the fat, and be part of their wonderful and interesting World just for that moment in time. I cannot wait to experience Cultures I’ve never been exposed to before. I want to go off the beaten track, get lost in the moment, making the most of life, and sitting back and enjoying the challenge I’ve lucky enough to create. This solo adventure cannot come soon enough.

 

The journey planned so far

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I will be starting off in Holland for a month where my main base will be Leidschendam. From there I will be about 15 to 20 minutes from the beach so I’m hoping the weather is going to be kind. I will be stopping by Amsterdam, Utrecht, Amersfoort, Arnhem, Gouda, Leiden, Zandvoort,  The Hague, Delft, Rotterdam, Rijswijk, Haarlem, Zoetermeer, Dordrecht, and anything else that takes my fancy once I’m there. I’ve decided not to plan too much as I think the pressure can be overwhelming and you lose sight of just being spontaneous. Being so central to everything is going to be an absolute bonus. Alot of the places I want to visit don’t seem to be more than an hours train journey away which will also keep travel costs down.

From Holland I’m heading over to Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges, Liege, and Maastricht. Then the biggest leg of my adventure will see me head to Germany starting off in Cologne, then I’m off to Bonn, Dusseldorf, Koblenz, Frankfurt, Mannheim, Stuttgart, and Nuremburg.  From Nuremburg I will head to the Czech Republic starting in Plzen, onto Prague, then Liberec. Then back into Germany taking in Dresden, Leipzig,  Potsdam and Berlin. From my final Germany tour I will head over to Poland but as of yet I haven’t decided  exactly where. I think I’m going to need a holiday to recover. I haven’t even planned France yet, but maybe I should go with the flow and get further out of the old comfort zone by just not knowing and see where the wind blows me.

First blog post

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Travelling on a budget!

Obviously when thinking about travelling people are often put off by what they think the initial cost is going to be, but this doesn’t have to be the case. I actually gave myself a budget of £600 a month for accommodation and believe me it can be done. There are lots of options out there for cheap and more than cheerful places to rest your head for the night. You have to put the initial leg work in and be prepared to trawl the internet but it’s really worth it in the long term for all the great options that are out there.

Airbnb.com has to be one of the best go to sites of the 21st Centuryn. With people renting out varying types of accommodation, ranging from a comfy sofa, to a treehouse at the bottom of a garden. It gives you options from quirky to simplistic, cheap to pricey, but every budget is catered for via varying different filter options on the site. Theses guys have really tapped into the niche market and are making travelling on a budget so much more than Hostel accommodation.

I decided that I wanted to spend my first month seeing the sites that the wonderful Country of Holland has to offer. I went through every option on AirBnB and decided to go with a log cabin at the bottom of someone’s garden in Leidschendam, close to Den Haag and Rotterdam, and just 45 minutes from Amsterdam. This has cost me a total of just £600, an absolute bargain and it’s so close to everything I want to see and do whilst I’m there. The fact that is offers something different than just a generic hotel room makes the trip somewhat more exciting.

I have also found that the other great option for accommodation is booking.com The site  offers daily deals and secret deals and again it offers deals for those that are on a budget too. If you are also prepared to stay slightly out of the city you are visiting you tend to get quite a decent daily rate. You don’t have to stay out further than 3 to 5 miles in order to get a considerably better rate. Always consider that travel links are far more accommodating in Europe and things tend to run later into the night.