Fin

Well, here I am on the train from Salzburg back to Munich, where I spent a lovely day with some Aussies exploring the town. It was the perfect way to end this euro trip for a lot of reasons, but mainly because it epitomized the experience of traveling in Europe. In the sense that you met people you never would have before and suddenly, due to circumstances, a bit of luck, and the occasional pint you wind up becoming friends and casually driving to another country for the day. Just. Like. That.

The past six months cannot be summarized in a blog post, they cannot fit neatly into the constraints of a postcard or letter, they can't be measured by the number of likes on a Facebook photo, and they definitely cannot compare to anything else I have experienced before. From the beginning days "studying" in Leicester (and I use the term here loosely, and in the best ways possible), to the final days spent in train stations, trying desperately to catch up on sleep, walking through sore feet, and juggling bags of luggage on the tube, I wouldn't change a moment.

There is a quote that says, "the point of traveling is not to step foot onto foreign land, but to eventually set foot onto ones homeland as a foreign country". As the day to my flight home draws nearer and nearer I can't help but feel this quotation gets it all right. Sure, I'll know the bus routes and the street names back home by heart, but I'll be experiencing my hometown in a whole new light. I'll be visiting the same places and seeing the same wonderful friends I have had for ages, but with a new perspective. A new perspective that incorporates all of the cultures, histories and traditions I have learned about while being abroad.

Those perspectives will also incorporate my own personal moments. Moments that include, getting lost in Brussels, wandering around Stirling in the pouring rain, watching a bullfight in Spain, eating pizza in Italy, swimming in the Mediterranean sea, walking alongside the Berlin Wall, drinking the worlds first lager in Prague, visiting the Dachau concentration camp in Munich, and so much more. And these will be the experiences that no matter how much I try to talk about them in stories or share them through photos, will be uniquely mine and shape the course of my travel. Not all are good, some are stressful, others lonely, others complicated, or messy; but all are a part of it.

And for the opportunity to experience these moments, good and bad and entirely indescribable, I am eternally grateful to the family and friends I have back home, and to those who I have met along the way. Near or far, you were a part of every smile, cry, laugh, cheer, chant, scream, whisper and awe inspired sigh I had along the way. See you all soon! 

Cheers,

Alison