Train Rider

Welcome to my travel blog.

The following entires were written during the three months I spent backpacking solo across Europe. I visited London, Manchester, Birmingham, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Amsterdam, Prague, Vienna, Venice, Florence, Rome, Cinque Terre, Naples, Sorrento, Nice, Monaco, Hamburg, and Frankfurt. I stayed in youth hostels and crashed on the couches of friends I made along the way. Clutching my Eurailpass, I took trains from country to country and spent the majority of my days on foot, exploring cities with nothing more than a free map and a couple of travel guides.

My life changed over the course of my three months abroad. I started my trip full of anxiety and fear. I'd never left America before. Never been on a train. Never had to speak a foreign language. Never been alone for three months. It was overwhelming, to say the least. But over time, I grew to love the freedom that comes with traveling. I fell in love with the people, the land, and the culture. I felt like life had been holding out on me; a veil had been lifted and the entire world came into focus, if only for a brief moment.

To read my story from the beginning, click on March 2006 in the Archives and start reading from the bottom of the page. Feel free to leave a comment if anything I've written strikes a chord. I must warn you that some entries contain unnecessary cursing, cheesy romance and crybaby self-pitying. But without all of that it wouldn't have been nearly as fun.