Kira's solo romp (pt 2)
Hello and welcome to the highly anticipated follow-up guest post by your second favourite blogger!
Summary
From Salzburg I took a bus to Munich where I spent 4 days and got to explore the city. After, I went south back into Italy! I was in Bolzano, a city in the South Tyrol Dolomites region to do some hiking for a few nights, then I had a quick stop in Verona before heading to Venice. From Venice I flew to Paris which was my final stop.
Munich
When I was in Munich, I was super grateful to be able to stay at my parents’ friend from university (Ben) and his family! It was really nice to have people to show me around, give me recommendations, and also a great break from the hostel life. Jutta was really kind and took me downtown my first day to show me around Marienplatz. Munich was hosting the opening game of Euros 2024 that night (Germany vs Scotland) and so the whole area was packed with fans! I at first was disappointed that my Munich visit overlapped with them hosting Euros because of the crowds, but then I decided to lean into the energy and enjoy the experience! I went to the fan zone festival and watched a game with tons of fans which was super fun!
Also, upon my dad’s recommendation I went to the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site. Dachau was one of the first, and longest running concentration camps build by Nazi Germany. It’s hard to describe how it felt being there but it was a bit surreal.
Bolzano
After the city touring in Munich it was super fun to be back in the mountains! I did two long day trips where I hiked around the Val Gardena region and Alpe de Susie, a large alpine meadow. The views were incredible! Both hikes, the entire time I was surrounded by mountains in any direction I looked. It was also cool seeing mountains that looked different than the rockies.
Verona
Verona was meant to be a quick 1 night stop on the way to Venice and I didn’t have many expectations, but it ended up being one of my favourite places! As soon as I got to my hostel, before I even put my bags down, I met a group of people and decided to go to a cafe with them! I had already eaten, but I went anyways, and after we walked around the city for a bit and saw some of the classic sights.
One of my new friends then convinced me to go to the opera with him that night. Definitely not normally my thing and also it was from 9:30pm-1:00am so I imagined being bored and tired but he said we could be bored together. The selling point was that it was held in the Verona Arena, which is a Roman amphitheatre from 30AD that was built to watch gladiator fights. I napped before to prepare myself and ended up really really enjoying it. Being in the arena was super cool, and I got into the story (Aida). Also I think having to look between the screen (to read the lyric translations to follow story), the stage, and the band helped keep my brain engaged.
Venice
I had heard all about how crowded Venice was so I got up at 6am to beat the rush. It was definitely worth it as I got to see the main sights before the crowd and cruise ships came in. I also took a Vaporetto, which is their public transport boats as there are no roads. I spent the afternoon just wandering around the streets. I thought it was really cool because it was so different than any other city I had been in. It also felt a bit like walking in a maze since the paths often turn, don’t all connect, and I frequently got stuck at a canal and then had to backtrack to find a bridge. Walking around the city not in the main tourist plazas, I couldn’t believe how empty it was. I would be the only one on a path, and at times almost forgot about the mass of people just 2 blocks over. At my hostel I met Luna, a girl my age from Japan. We went for dinner together and ended up sitting there chatting for over 3 hours! It turns out we had a lot in common, and it was nice to have conversations that weren’t just related to travelling. It was a great last night in Italy
Paris
Similar to Jaryd, I had a quick stop in Paris before flying home. I saw lots of similar things, and also had an extra day to explore. I also really enjoyed my time in Paris! It definitely felt a lot cleaner and safer than people made it sound. Also, it was fun to see some of the stuff they had set up for the olympics!
Final thoughts
Overall, it took a bit to get into the rhythm of solo travel but in the end I loved it. I was learning how to see how I’m feeling and do what I want to do in the moment. Multiple times a day when I was walking around a city, I would find a place and just sit down until I felt like walking again. Sometimes I would sit for 5 minutes and sometimes it would be an hour. I usually had a rough plan of things I wanted to see but allowing myself to be flexible and change plans if I saw a street I wanted to walk down helped me be more relaxed.
I have made it safely back home to Calgary. Thanks for reading along and thanks to Jaryd for letting me post on your blog.
until next time 🫡
So glad you enjoyed your solo adventure and got to meet new people/friends! The mountains in Bolzano look amazing! Thanks so much for sharing all the fantastic city and hiking pictures! Happy you had some yummy pizza too! Loved seeing the Olympics logo on the Eiffel Tower! So glad you had an awesome adventure and made it home safely! Thanks for sharing your experiences Kira!
ReplyDeleteReally enjoyed seeing the wonderful pictures and your comments. So glad you had a great time going to all the places and meeting people.
ReplyDeleteLook forward to hearing more when we see you.
Love A. Do
Great pictures. I loved reading and hearing about your trip! You fit in a good mix of different activities, from historical sights, city lights, and mountain delights. The opera in a Roman amphitheatre and Mozart concert were a pure bonus.
ReplyDeleteWhat amazing sights you have been seeing. The mountain are incredible so different from Sandia Mountains that I live near. Thanks for sharing your journey!
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