Flying solo, flying free.

Well folks, I'm on my own now! And this marks the half-way point of the trip for me.

Becca and I spent a few days in beautiful Krakow, Poland before she headed back home to the states. It was bittersweet to say goodbye to her. It's a little scary to be traveling on my own, but also really exhilarating. It will be nice to go at my own pace (and a little slower the second half of the trip too). And even though I'll be traveling alone, for the rest of my trip I will mostly be staying with friends, so I won't even really be alone at all. Starting with my friend Barbara, who picked me up in Krakow and took me to her town, Wroclaw. I didn't know what to expect in Poland at all, but it's actually really cool her. Despite not knowing a word of Polish, it has been really great to explore here.


My first night on my own was one of the best nights of my life, for no real reason at all. Barbara was busy, so I took the night to explore Wroclaw on my own. I walked past the Cathedral, which was hauntingly beautiful at night and then came to some small islands that are all connected by bridges. The first bridge I crossed is covered in locks. It is also completely COVERED with spider webs and huge spiders! Since the bridge was lit up at night, I could see all of the webs glistening in the light. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Maybe it wasn't anything special, but the fact that I discovered it on my own and found beauty in it just made it really special to me, like I was catching a secret glimpse of something that no one had discovered before. I felt alive and empowered in that moment, and excited for the next month ahead of traveling on my own. I walked a little further, past the hoards of college students, hanging out on the lawn by the university (the whole city is a college town), and then to the city center and hung out there for a little bit before meeting up with some of Barbara's friends for the night. Maybe it wasn't anything crazy or exceptional, but it was an awesome night.


Spent the next few days exploring Wroclaw some more, and now I'm off to the train station to head to Gdansk, a cute little seaside town on the northern coast of Poland. I'll spend a day there before taking a ferry to Finland on Friday. It's exhausting to think I still have another month left, and yesterday I did get a little lonely and homesick feeling, missing my family and friends. I think it was mostly because I've been able to slow down and take some down time, which is really nice and also necessary. However, when I'm not as busy, I don't have the excitment to distract me from home. But today, I was already excited again to be on the move. Feeling energetic and empowered again to keep trekking!