Travelling alone was something I’ve always wanted to do, to find new experiences and to prove to myself that I am capable of surviving on my own. After university, I decided to travel Europe for about 3 weeks. I didn’t end up doing the typical “backpacking” trip as I had wanted to do as there was still a little bit of fear around the idea. I honestly think I played it a little too safe on this trip because I didn’t do enough research on what I could do on my own. I would go on day trips around the city of Munich, Germany and I met some cool people in Austria who were pro kayakers. I visited a friend in London, did some walking tours and explored on my own every place I went. It was a little boring at times because I wasn’t sure where to go or what to spend my money on, but I was young and just wanted to go and try it out.

I had some family and friends that I was able to stay with, but I made sure to plan a trip alone to Prague, to truly get the experience I was looking for. This trip is what I would like to share with you as it turned out to be a good learning experience.

Alone in Prague

I decided to buy a bus ticket to Prague and just go for 4 days. I found a hostel to stay at after doing some research with my cousins. My expectations were to meet people around my age at the hostel and have a good time in Prague and explore together. It turned out to be a very mellow trip, but I learned a lot about myself while I was there.

Again, I failed to do very much research before heading to the Czech Republic because I just wanted to figure it out once I got there. It was at the point on my trip that I realized I wasn’t challenging myself enough, and was starting to feel disappointed that I wasn’t able to “find myself” through different experiences. When I arrived to Prague, I had no idea what type of currency they used and where to get it from. I also didn’t know where I was supposed to get off – thinking about it now kind of makes me laugh… with my level of anxiety that I have now there would be no way I wouldn’t do my full research before heading out on a trip. I ended up getting off at a train station and was VERY lost. It was the biggest most confusing building I’ve ever been in. Eventually, I found a currency exchange kiosk so I could get some Czech Crowns – I’m sure I got completely ripped off.

Once I found my way out of the building, I decided to completely avoid taxis as I knew I would for sure get ripped off from them. I had arrived in Prague at about 4pm so I needed to figure out where my hostel was before it got dark. I also wanted to make sure I found some food as I didn’t know when restaurants would close. I began walking through the city and got overly excited about everything. The streets and alleys are mapped out like a spider web, which didn’t make sense at all, but it was cool to see the old buildings and cobblestone streets. I walked through some sort of fair that had all kinds of food being made like pretzels and pork roast etc. so naturally I grabbed some for my journey to the hostel.

A couple of hours later, I arrived where the map said my hostel should be only to find that it wasn’t there… no signs anywhere. I went into the stores around the area and asked where it was, and no one seemed to know. A wave of panic set in as I could only think that is was some sort of scam that I fell for. I accepted defeat and began looking for a nearby hotel. As I was speaking to the front desk, the automatic glass door opened up and a stranger walking by overheard what I was saying. He came in and said “hey! I know where that hostel is!” So without thinking twice I decided to trust that he knew what he was talking about. He brought me to a set of doors that led to a store of some sort and told me to keep walking through to the back. I thanked him and with some hesitation I walked in. I went out the back, up some stairs in the alleyway and through a hallway. At last, I saw the sign and a beautiful lobby for the hostel I was seeking. How could anyone ever find this place?! I stayed in a female-only room and had a key to a drawer where I could keep all of my belongings. I was so relieved to find my hostel and finally be safe after a 5 hour bus ride and 3 hours of walking. I didn’t want to get lost or explore in the dark so I ended up going to bed at about 8:30pm.

I met a few American girls in my room and we decided to go do a walking tour together. We learned about the city and took some pictures of the beautiful scenery. It was so interesting to hear where we all came from and why we were in Prague at the exact moment as we were all travelling solo. I had a wonderful time getting to know them and I am still friends with them to this day. I did some shopping around the town, tried all different kinds of food, and eventually it was time to head back to Germany. I didn’t stay up late and have drinks with a bunch of new friends as I had thought, but I am glad I met those two girls and explored the city together.

What I learned

I realized that I cannot rely on other people to have fun or to give me the experience of a life time. This is what I was looking for during my trip – someone else to make my solo travelling adventure absolutely amazing and life-changing. Not only that, but learning to accept that I don’t need a crazy adventure to learn about myself. I am still proud that I went on this trip, especially now that my views of the world are a bit more tainted and I would have a hard time making the move to travel solo again. I also learned that I am a lot more capable than I thought I was to make decisions, navigate, solve problems and stay safe. I think it was a really good idea for me to first travel to Europe alone, but also to force myself to have a completely solo trip to a country I knew nothing about.

Now that I have a boyfriend, who has never traveled alone, I am motivated to go with him to explore the world as I think everyone should be able to have that experience. I think it would be more fun to have someone there with me to enjoy the experiences with too. If you are scared of doing something on your own, I highly recommend going for it as long as you are smart and do your research, you will have no problem surviving in a different country.