Why travel alone?  I get asked that question alot.  Traveling alone has many positive points, primarily for an introvert.

Ever since I took the bold move to take that job exchange to live in Nuremberg for 2.5 months in the summer of 2010, I have caught that travel bug everyone talks about.  Even further in on the 2nd weekend I was living in Nuremberg I found myself traveling alone to Munich armed with only a Rick Steves book as a guide.  I found myself slightly nervous throughout the day and I’m not even sure when / how I got myself back to the train station.

In the weeks and months that followed I found myself traveling to various cities surrounding Nuremberg and beyond.  Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Bamberg, Wurtzberg, Rome….and a week in London.  I learned to navigate, to take public transport on my own to get to various tourist attractions and hotels.  Since then I have traveled alone twice.  I had a business trip to Lisbon which really reignited my love for travel.  Last year I vacationed in beautiful Budapest.

Traveling alone helps me experience the world without necessarily fulfilling anyone else’s requirements for food, sights, or lodging.  I can retreat into my own little world.  I can spend more time at a tourist attraction I really like while skipping the ones I could care less about.  Sometimes I do long for companionship or someone to share my unique experiences.  Fight Club calls them “Single Serving Friends,” i.e. those people you sit next to on an airplane…or those fellow tourists you ask to take your picture with your camera.  It could be those Americans you run across in obscure places. These very brief encounters provide minimal companionship throughout the trip.  I never get tired of my single serving friends, and if I do, they’re easy to get away from.

Next month I’ve got a trip planned to probably the most unique destination I’ve been to yet.  The trip is ambitious, but not impossible.  Of course I’ll be stressed, but hopefully I can calm down enough to experience life.