Before I left for abroad, I wrote a list of all the places I dreamt of going to while I was in Europe. I listed places I knew little about, places that I heard were incredible and places that were a little off my radar but looked amazing. My list consisted of: Rome, Cinque Terre, Prague, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Interlaken, Budapest, Florence, Vienna, Tarifa, and a couple others.
Since I started traveling aborad, I’ve learned that it is impossible to use Google to decide if a place is worthy of visiting. The only way to truly know is to talk with people and then book your tickets. So that’s exactly what I did, I talked to friends and family members that had visited parts of eastern Europe, and made the decision to take a week off of school to go.
I planned an eleven day trip, by myself, starting in Vienna, moving to Budapest and ending in Prague. I left for Vienna on October 31st and planned to meet and stay with my friend, Katharina, who was a foreign exchange student during my junior year of high school. She is from Vienna and when I learned I would be studying abroad in Europe, I knew that I had to see her during my time here.
After four years of being apart, we found each other at the train station and and embraced in loving “hello” hug then headed into the city. The afternoon was spent exploring the streets of Vienna, and then for dinner she taught me how to make dumplings, a traditional Viennese meal.
Vienna dumplings.
That night, since it was Halloween, she took me out on the town and introduced me to all of her friends who spoke little English, but a lot of German. I thought I was confused in Spain, but it turns out when you have no background or knowledge about a language you feel completely lost and confused.
The following days in Vienna were spent catching up over decadent lattes and pastries and exploring the famous landmarks of Vienna.
Authentic Vienna Meal with Kate’s family.
On my final night, Katharina had 4 free tickets to see Lady Gaga, so we (plus two friends) went to the biggest concert spot in Vienna and watched as Lady Gaga performed with the most bizarre costumes, but surprisingly a very talented voice. The weekend in Vienna was absolutely lovely. It felt like a piece of home, catching up with an old friend and staying in a warm cozy home.
Tuesday, November 4th, was the day I started my real solo travels. I boarded my train early that morning and was on my way to Budapest. I planned to be in Budapest for three nights. My parents didn’t seem to have a problem with their 20 year old daughter touring around the streets of Eastern Europe, so I stayed in the middle of the city in a cool, modern hostel.
On my first night, I had no agenda, but after sitting on a train all morning I was ready to start walking. I walked until the sun set over the Danube River and my feet were tired. I’d only been in Budapest for a couple hours but I was already obsessed with it’s charm and relaxed vibes.
For dinner, I cooked and enjoyed an American-like tasting meal for the first time in awhile.
The following day, I went running. I ran to their central park, past the Budapest bathes and along busy pedestrian streets passing Hero’s Square and Saint Stephen’s Basilica.
The rest of the day, I had no agenda so I used my feet and a crinkled up map to guide me to the different sites of Budapest. I walked to the Hungarian Parliament Building, across the Chain Bridge that connects Buda to Pest, then climbed up Gellért Hill. During that night, I met up with a girl from DU, studying abroad in Budapest, and grabbed dinner with her and all her friends.
Thursday was my last day to explore, so I went on another run, this time along the river. Afterwards, I went to Budapest’s famous market where I tried some different cheesy pastries and bought Hungarian paprika.
I knew I couldn’t visit Budapest without going to the bathes, so the rest of the day I joined the locals and several other tourists at one of the most famous baths in Budapest. I stayed for an hour or so, enjoying the beautiful, unique setting and watching as some local men challenged each other in a game of chess on a table in the pool.
I left relaxed and content as I headed back to my hostel and prepared for my solo date night. I wanted to experience true Hungarian cuisine, so I decided to treat myself to a solo dinner date. I found an authentic Hungarian restaurant and walked in and was welcomed by an enormous man, who had to have been 6’10, and gave me questioning looks as I asked for a table for one. Continuing with my date night plans, I bought a ticket to ride the ferris wheel, and gazed over the sparkling city of Budapest. To add to my perfect day, I found a cute gelato shop and enjoyed some of the best gelato I’d ever tasted.
Solo travels= a couple too many selfies
Prague: the next stop on my eleven day journey. I left Budapest midmorning and found my train. It was an eight hour train ride through the countryside of Hungary, through Slovenia and ending in the Czech Republic. That night, I met up with a good friend of mine, Kaylee who was studying abroad in the UK.
One of the many train stations.
Along with the hundreds of other tourists that were visiting Prague that weekend, we made our way to the famous Praha Castle. The day was beautiful and the city was glowing under the radiant sun.
Without a real plan, we wandered through the streets and found a cute Shakespeare book store then stumbled upon the John Lennon wall. We indulged ourselves in the holiday dessert, a trdelnik, as we walked through the old Jewish quarters.
To end the day, we met up with a good friend of mine from DU, Andrew, who was studying abroad in Prague, who took us to a rooftop bar for sunset.
On my last day of exploring on my great adventure, we took a long stroll to the Petrin Hill to overlook the city. It was a hazy day, but the city still had it’s cozy, homey feel. We climbed to the top of the tower on top of Petrin Hill and looked over the city. Embracing the cozy, homey feel we spent the day enjoying coffee and eating more trdelnik, to rest up before our long travel days to come.
Eleven days flew by, but it was an incredible experience to plan and travel alone. Throughout my adventure, I made every train and every flight, found every hostel and saw all the main sites of these three impeccable cities. I proved to myself that I was independent and could survive on my own. I learned to be patient, to not stress when plans change or your lost. This experience was more than just a trip to see places, it gave me the courage and confidence to be a solo traveler.
living unbound. 
