Introvert Abroad subscribers -

Prior to beginning the European expedition, I'd been camping. Twice. The first was for a single night. My brother and I headed to the Peak District, borrowing my parents' campervan, where we stayed in the rural town of Great Longstone, just outside of Bakewell. It was a refreshing opportunity to spend some time reading and writing in natural greenery, where the bustle of the city is replaced by a few sheep which somehow manage to make just as much noise.

And the second time, I was accompanied by 30 others, consisting additionally of 3 babies, and 4 dogs. We camped - again in the Peak District - at Bamford. Although the days were hot, temperatures would drop faster than the Eurostar, and I started craving for yet another unusual UK summer heatwave. Haunted by a previous experience where I had slept less than 2 hours due to not having sufficient blankets, this time I slept with 4 blankets, woolly socks, and a beanie. We fit 27 people onto a small bridge by a picturesque mill. We played endless games of spike ball. We had a sports day that involved a dog race (Billie, my dog, won... by blatantly cheating).

A week later, in Sheffield, for my friend's birthday, we played custom-made version of Jet Lag: The Game. It involved a series of challenges themed around the Sheffield Tram network, including the challenge of trying to build a lego set blindfolded in the middle of a shopping centre.

And after trams, it was trains. They became the centre of my life. After an incredibly busy wait in St Pancras station, I boarded the Eurostar heading to Brussels. The seats were somewhat more comfortable than the usual Northern train experience I was used to; my knees not evening touching the seat in front. I traveled in the evening, and arrived in France just as the sun set, casting it's genuinely "oranger" than usual rays across the flat fields of Calais, as though to heal the stress of not being able to find a seat in the waiting room earlier on. Here are some of the experiences that seem to have planted themselves into my mind.

Brussels
The first stop was Brussels: home to Belgian chocolate and waffles. Although daily temperatures were over 30 degrees, walking around Brussels feels like you are the main character in a fairytale. With it's gothic and medieval yet modern architecture, and frequent comic-style street art, my camera's attention span exponentially decayed. I sought refuge in one of the best museums I've visited: the Musical Instruments Museum. They had just about every instrument imaginable ranging from ancient bone whistles (with not the most pleasant sound), to modern digital keyboards.

Cologne
I saw my first ever eclipse. Apparently the next "good" one won't occur for another 50 years. Though I didn't have eclipse glasses, I walked to a viewpoint bustling with locals and their hand-made tools for observing the spectacle. One of the kids kindly let me borrow his eclipse glasses. I saw the inverse of the night. A thin crescent orange surrounded by total darkness. The kid then proceeded to find every other person awkwardly squinting to offer them an improved experience. Towards midnight, I headed out again in search for the meteor shower, but the lights were unfortunately too intense for me to see anything notable. Cologne is also home to an enormous gothic cathedral, and the best “malatang” hot pot I've ever tried.

Nuremberg
I stayed one night here. The highlight of this German city was the old town. After climbing up what feels like a small mountain, you are rewarded with an incredible view over the city. I also tried the traditional meal of sausages and sauerkraut, before heading on the train to Salzburg.

Salzburg
The home to the musical genius Mozart. I thought I would fall in love with city, but instead of the slightly overpriced and museum of Mozart's birthplace without a piano(!), I fell in love with the surrounding countryside. I stayed a bus-ride away from the centre, in the rural area of Fürstenbrunn, at an old-fashioned Austrian inn, with a balcony facing the mountains. My days here began by sipping coffee from my balcony, watching in awe as the bus to this small village both arrived and departed perfectly on time every 31 minutes.

Ljubljana
My first challenge was pronouncing Ljubljana - "loo-bee-aa-nuh" as Google taught me. Slovenia was significantly cheaper than everywhere prior; I managed to find a huge beef pastry for breakfast that cost 2 euros. Ljubljana felt like a different side to Europe. Slightly less polished, yet still culturally very rich. I visited Ljubljana castle, the famed pink church, and took a tour of the various bridges through the city.

I waited over an hour for a bus headed towards the supposedly scenic Lake Bled, to find myself being turned away with "bus full, please wait another hour". Instead of taking my chances, I walked through the city. I was soon met by a series of suited men straight out of Men in Black, and a crowd of media reporters. Feeling a little confused, I asked the closest people what was happening, who mentioned that the entire NBA Lakers team were about to arrive to their hotel here for a trip to Ljubljana. The players ducked and dodged as the army of reporters (now including me) frantically raised their arguably oversized cameras as high as they could go.

Vienna
Vienna felt like a more grandiose yet possibly less exciting version of Madrid. There are enough museums here to entertain you for weeks. Palaces. Gardens. Old-fashioned coffee shops. And the Viennese people have a strong coffee tradition, where they will spend hours sipping coffee whilst reading an entire newspaper.

As I traveled through Europe, I realised that I had been meeting a countless series of seemingly inconsequential strangers. The Argentinian man running a small coffee shop, the couple serving the best bubble tea I've ever tried, the German kid desperate for everyone to see the eclipse. Whilst the interactions were short and apparently fleeting, they are meaningful in retrospect. I think there's something about meeting people whilst traveling that makes the connections more authentic. Paradoxically, the short amount of time I spent with these people should have made the connection weaker, but instead I find myself being more honest and less self-conscious, as I was removed from previous social contexts and roles.

Also - I know, I know... I haven't updated this for a while! I look forward to sharing more reflections next week:)