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Hello fellow wanderlusters!
I just felt the urge to share with other tribesmen my little travel story.
In November, and through some bizarre initial circumstances, I begun talking with a Dutch girl, not much younger than me, through the internet. I am Greek and 18 years old, by the way. For months, we talked and talked, webcams, letters, e-mails, lots of passion in it too.. waiting for the day that we would meet. As you can see, there was a certain mutual attraction from the get go, even if we had never met before. We had promised that we would meet in summer no matter what!
As that time grew nearer, more and more problems turned up, however. The time we had agreed for me to go visit her coincided with her school (July... damn!) and she couldn't come visit me in Greece for other reasons, like parents, money, and others. She did come to Greece in the end, but nowhere near a place we could meet, and with parents too. Eventually, our foreseeable time together dwindled into a mere couple of days at best, so her decision was for us to stay friends during this time. I didn't agree with this, because I am more of the "never waste any chance, you might not be given a second" school... But she persisted. Nevertheless, I decided that I would meet her anyway, so I planned my trip to Holland. 10 days it would be, couchsurfing in Rotterdam, Delft, and Amsterdam. If you don't know of couchsurfing, have a look: www.couchsurfing.com
Even if my original reason of going was the girl (and that story didn't go very well), in the end the places I visited and all the things I did there overshadowed the disappointment of the pretty awkward meetings (and always with her friends! Can you imagine?!) I stayed in Rotterdam for 8 days total, because I couldn't find a host in Amsterdam, and got to know the city somewhat. It's truly gorgeous. Rotterdam is really a place I'd like to visit again sometime soon. It's modern architecture, product of battered and virtually fateless citizens with an amazing will to live on, the parks, bikes (which is a trademark of holland anyway), the city's history... It was a breathtaking experience. My host was really cool too. I had adventures on bike during heavy rain, visits to museums and the zoo... If only I wasn't somewhat lonely, then it would have been even better. Yes, it was my first such adventure travelling alone, and it didn't help that the person I really had on my mind the most couldn't be with me most of the time. I decided that while travelling alone might be an enlightening experience for personal evolution, I would far prefer having someone next to me with whom I can share everything. I truly longed for being close to my friends during those days.
Delft was also cool, Hague too. My host there was really helpful and giving. Delft was different than Rotterdam of course, it had the vibe of Ye Olde Holland. Really picturesque town, with the canals appearing everywhere and the typical dutch houses. It was all such a treat!
I don't know why or how, but that country had a certain effect on me. It's so different than Greece, it's like the complete opposite in more ways than one. Even if I never get to meet the girl again, I'm sure I'll visit that country again... Even just for giving another proper chance to Amsterdam, to which I only went for a couple of hours and don't have a real opinion on.
That was my really shortened story... Share with us your own tales of first time travelling abroad, alone! :)
I just felt the urge to share with other tribesmen my little travel story.
In November, and through some bizarre initial circumstances, I begun talking with a Dutch girl, not much younger than me, through the internet. I am Greek and 18 years old, by the way. For months, we talked and talked, webcams, letters, e-mails, lots of passion in it too.. waiting for the day that we would meet. As you can see, there was a certain mutual attraction from the get go, even if we had never met before. We had promised that we would meet in summer no matter what!
As that time grew nearer, more and more problems turned up, however. The time we had agreed for me to go visit her coincided with her school (July... damn!) and she couldn't come visit me in Greece for other reasons, like parents, money, and others. She did come to Greece in the end, but nowhere near a place we could meet, and with parents too. Eventually, our foreseeable time together dwindled into a mere couple of days at best, so her decision was for us to stay friends during this time. I didn't agree with this, because I am more of the "never waste any chance, you might not be given a second" school... But she persisted. Nevertheless, I decided that I would meet her anyway, so I planned my trip to Holland. 10 days it would be, couchsurfing in Rotterdam, Delft, and Amsterdam. If you don't know of couchsurfing, have a look: www.couchsurfing.com
Even if my original reason of going was the girl (and that story didn't go very well), in the end the places I visited and all the things I did there overshadowed the disappointment of the pretty awkward meetings (and always with her friends! Can you imagine?!) I stayed in Rotterdam for 8 days total, because I couldn't find a host in Amsterdam, and got to know the city somewhat. It's truly gorgeous. Rotterdam is really a place I'd like to visit again sometime soon. It's modern architecture, product of battered and virtually fateless citizens with an amazing will to live on, the parks, bikes (which is a trademark of holland anyway), the city's history... It was a breathtaking experience. My host was really cool too. I had adventures on bike during heavy rain, visits to museums and the zoo... If only I wasn't somewhat lonely, then it would have been even better. Yes, it was my first such adventure travelling alone, and it didn't help that the person I really had on my mind the most couldn't be with me most of the time. I decided that while travelling alone might be an enlightening experience for personal evolution, I would far prefer having someone next to me with whom I can share everything. I truly longed for being close to my friends during those days.
Delft was also cool, Hague too. My host there was really helpful and giving. Delft was different than Rotterdam of course, it had the vibe of Ye Olde Holland. Really picturesque town, with the canals appearing everywhere and the typical dutch houses. It was all such a treat!
I don't know why or how, but that country had a certain effect on me. It's so different than Greece, it's like the complete opposite in more ways than one. Even if I never get to meet the girl again, I'm sure I'll visit that country again... Even just for giving another proper chance to Amsterdam, to which I only went for a couple of hours and don't have a real opinion on.
That was my really shortened story... Share with us your own tales of first time travelling abroad, alone! :)
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