There is no place like home, just click the heals!

• Mike81's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Amsterdam

Trip Start Jun 08, 2008 Previous
Entry Trip End Dec 08, 2008

  Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
Sunday, December 7, 2008

So I am still in Lisbon but I thought I would write my final blog that I like to call a whirlwind trip. I leave tomorrow evening and spending the night in the Lisbon Airport much to the worrisome of my mother but things have to be done. I fly from Lisbon to Amsterdam, lay over there for about 4 hours and then I make the final plane ride home to Vancouver.

I have talked about Vancouver so much on this trip that I have a new appreciation for the city. The mountains, the water, the people. It can`t be beat. I have been asked so many times if I would ever move away from the city. I don't actually know, but I do know, that it will always be home to me.

So my trip, where do you even start. I canīt even believe that I am sitting here tonight writing this. I remember way back when I started, that it seemed like such a long ways away. I didn't even have to think about when I was coming home. I had so much time to experience, see things, live a life that so many people want. Now sitting here, I have done all that, but unfortunately time has run out.

I don't think that words can explain the things that I have done, the people that I have met, and the things that I have seen. If I sat and wrote page after page about this trip, I still couldn't explain what I have done over here for the past 6 months. On top of seeing the amazing things, I have experienced the most diverse cultures, tasted the most amazing foods, spoken (sometimes very poorly) to the most amazing people and still I can`t put into word how much this trip has meant to me.

So many people are surprised that I am traveling alone. There are a ton of travelers that have made the decision to do it on their own, but the bulk of people have a tag along. Being a husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, or best friend. Being a "solo" traveler forces you to open your mind in ways like none other. The solitary at times, the forcefulness of having to put yourself out there, if not, you will be one lonely person on a very long trip. Then there is the independence of it all. I always knew that I was a pretty independent person. Spending time by oneself is not a bad thing, but knowing that you are the only person in a big world that you can rely on, is another. I craved that one person that could watch my bags, help me with a train schedule or make a quick decision on places to stay. Knowing that you are the be all and end all of all decisions made for one incredible learning experience. Now don't get me wrong, seeing the world by yourself is not a bad thing, where to eat, when to eat, what to see. I rarely had to ask these questions to anyone. This is what made this trip "My trip".

Looking back, way back and I mean way back. So far back that I had to read some of my blogs to actually remember what I had done. I personally can`t believe that I did it. I know for a fact that "some" people at home didn't think that I would last the entire 6 months. I have to be honest with you, I had my doubts too. My hardest week by far was my first week, Amsterdam. I felt my loneliest I have ever felt in my entire life. My people were gone, my comfort was gone and I was on my own, no one to rely on except for poor little me. It wasn't till I headed over to London that I got into my groove. I have to thank a now good friend, Michelle, for the help. Her meeting me in London was the boost I needed.

Ireland was incredible, touring the country was my first time in Europe that I made some true friends. At that point I realized that seeing the sights was incredible but it was more the experience of traveling that was going to have the long lasting memories. I met up with another friend in Paris and after being gone for just over a month, a familiar face was a warm welcome.

It is really interesting and really amazing that so many things can change by one decision. I don't know if I made all the right or even the best decisions on this trip, but I know throughout the entire time I made some really good ones. Paris, was by far one of the best. This is where I met the most amazing Swiss family. Did we have to choose that cafe to sit at? Did we have to see that church so badly that we stopped just to kill time? Either way, I had the opportunity to meet and experience a wonderful family later in my trip. Stockholm is where I met some of the best friends a guy could ask for on a strange continent. Two guys from just outside Munich, Germany, that befriended me and later on in my trip showed me the best time a person could ask for. The graciousness of people, gave me a new understanding and a new perspective on how sometimes we are too censored to even think about opening our doors to perfect strangers. A cultural difference that I know will change the way I look at people at home.

I had a few mishaps on the way. I am sure that everyone remembers at this point my little problem is Brussels. Bags getting snatched off subways. That was probably the most in your face reminder that I really was on my own and no one was going to help me in sticky situations. I changed the game plan after that night to say the least. I realized that there were going to be some bad experiences and some good. I also came to the conclusion that the worse the experience, the better the story it was. If someone told me that everything was going to peaches and roses, I never would have believed them. The bad experiences taught me things and the good experiences made me appreciate things.

I knew that I was going to meet a ton of people on this trip. What I really wasn't expecting was meeting some of the greatest friends one could ask for. I don't know how many people I have met, all I know is that for the amount of people that you tell your story to, share a glass of wine with or walk a busy city with, you will only pick out a few that really made a difference in your experience. I had the opportunity to meet an amazing couple from, I know, Australia. Two people that shared my interests, and I felt really connected to. We traveled Croatia together and I have to put it on the top when it come to good times had. These are the kind of people that help a guy out when he crashes a scooter or has one too many beers and leads him home through strange new streets. Manny in Switzerland was another friend that can`t be beat. Watching a guy`s eyes light up at the sight of snow was so cool. Sharing in experiences with other people was sometimes better then the ones that I was having myself. These are the people that memories are made from.

I could go on and on but I think you get it. The sight seeing was overwhelming, amazing and sometimes breathtaking, but it was everything else that made this adventure what it was. It is sad that I am using the past tense already.

I will miss it for sure. I know that I have to come home, but I also know that I am ready to come home. I am ready to jump out of this fantasy world and head back to a small amount of reality. I just can`t wait to do it again...........................

Share

Previous Entry