Traveling has been fun so far! I haven’t done a huge amount of solo traveling surprisingly enough. Though I guess that’s why I’ve wanted to stay in hostels so much, it’s allowed me to meet people to have fun with. I ended up with a weirdly American group of friends in Tilburg, but I guess it makes sense since it’s easy to communicate with fellow English speakers (see my Redhead Days Travel Tales post for details!) But I do hope to make a bit more of a well rounded group of friends as I continue traveling.
I’ve really enjoyed my time! I honestly can’t really picture myself being back in the states right now. The only time I’ve missed my time there has been when I want to sleep in and do nothing all day but I know that I have to get up and do things. That’s not to say I don’t have some rest days planned – I definitely do – but there’s a difference between not working and being a couch potato (which is what I was doing in the states) and not working and traveling.
I still have to use my brain, but I think the weirdest part is that I don’t find myself reading quite as much besides while I’m on trains or right before I go to bed. In the states, I would finish a book a day, maybe two. I’ve been traveling for 3 weeks and only finished 4 books (yes I know that’s a lot for most people, but it really is pretty low for me), one of which I had previously started on the plane over here (hours of uninterrupted reading) and another I spent much of my travel time to Tilburg reading. I’m glad though – I had given myself the goal of reading less and experiencing more for this year, and I really didn’t follow through with that in the months leading up to when I left.
It’s been nice to get back to me though and not just living in the fictional world. I love reading, but I’m not blind to the fact it’s been a bit of an escape for me for the last couple of years. Especially with the small number of friends that I had in Virginia and the almost complete lack of a social life I had. My life there was work and Enki with a few friends spattered in – and as Enk was getting older, we spent a lot of time cuddling on the couch while I read and occasionally watched TV.
Now I’m out and about again. I feel energized, even when I’m tired. I look forward to what I’ll do next and while I still love reading – I don’t hate the fact it’s not all I do anymore.
So while I travel – I take the time to write for my blog, work on my blog, meet and hang out with new people, and just enjoy the sights. I also at least somewhat contemplate what I want to do next. The money will eventually run out as much as I hate to admit it and while I’m not there yet – eventually I’ll have to decide what I want to do for work (though I’ll fully admit to hoping I’ll fall into something while traveling).
And all of that doesn’t stop me from visiting libraries and bookstores. I’ve been to two in the Netherlands – and I’m writing this from a bookstore that used to be a church! It’s so cool! I’ll write about it in a bit more detail when I post about my Netherlands journey.
Now then. I’ve been here for a bit and I think it’s time for me to explore this gorgeous town a bit more before I check into my hostel, get some dinner, and some sleep. I’m off to Hamburg for two days (one of which is a true rest day / blog day) and then to Copenhagen for the rest of the week!
