Travel - I miss you
Four months have passed since my New Zealand/Australia trip. A lot of things happened in the last time. After all the university entrance exams I finally got a university place. But something was bothering me...
I missed traveling incredibly. I knew that I wouldn't really have much time to travel at the beginning of my studies, so I spontaneously decided to follow my heart and travel somewhere for the last two weeks of my holidays. I was in the middle of a holiday job, but I was able to agree with my boss to end the employment relationship earlier.
Full of excitement, I scrolled in the Internet for cheap flights. And there it was: Vienna - Edinburgh and return for only 50€. And booked! My heart beat like crazy. Finally I could travel again and this time I travelled by myself. I had only 300€ as a travel budget available. So I had to plan the trip a little to not be surprised by spontaneous high costs. But in the meantime I was a pro in low budget travel planning.
To keep my travel costs as low as possible, I decided to travel only with hand luggage and work in a hostel for a couple of days. This way I could save the cost of accommodation and food for a few days. On the Wwoofing website I found a cute little hostel in Inverness, where I got the job after a short time.
I packed my backpack excitedly and then I headed to the airport. And there it was again: the unknown. I neither knew what to expect on the trip nor whether I would like the trip.
But I knew: I won't regret it!
Edinburgh
I arrived late at night in Edingburgh . I took my phone out of my backpack and wanted to use Google Maps to find the way to my booked hostel. But my phone did not work. It always turned off as soon as I opened the app. Edingburgh, alone in the dark and without a plan where I had to go. And in such a moment, a city like Edinburgh can seem quite creepy.
I wanted to arrive at the hostel before midnight. So I had no choice but to ask people on the street for directions to my hostel. I was lucky, a man knew the street and told me the way. Good thing, because otherwise I might have wandered around for hours. An hour later I finally arrived at the hostel.
I went into the room, lay down in my bed, closed my eyes and asked myself for a brief moment: "Why do I always have to do trips like this alone? Was it the right decision? Couldn't I have just stayed at home?". These questions always follow me at the beginning of my trips...But in the end it always turned out that the worries were all for nothing...
The next morning i decided to go for a Free Walking Tour in Edinburgh. I was not the only one from my hostel who had this idea. After a short time we were a group of four solo travelers who had decided to explore Edinburgh together. And that's what I love about traveling alone.
Edinburgh is Scotland's capital and has a beautiful old town with a lot of history.
Recommendations for an Edinburgh walking tour:
Edinburgh Castle
Royal Mile
St. Giles Cathedral
Scott Monument
Princess Street Gardens
Dean Village
After the free walking tour we hiked together to the local mountain of Edingburgh, the Arthur’s Seat. From there you have a beautiful view of the city and you can even see the southern Highlands!
We spent the evening in a typical Scottish bar, where a live band was playing. I had to pinch myself again, what luck I had in life.
New people arrived at our hostel. It was crazy how quickly we made friends and how many great travel stories we got to hear.
I only had two full days in Edinburgh, so I really wanted to take the chance to see the sea. And yes it's not that far away! Portobello Beach was only a half-hour bus ride away from the capital.
Once there, the wind blew in my face.
It was already pretty cold for September. But I didn't mind, because I felt at home. At home by the sea.
I sat down in the cold sand, watched the waves and dreamed of a life full of travel adventures. I had my life in my own hands and at that moment I made a promise to myself: I will never stop traveling.
It was already my last day in Edinburgh, so we decided to spend the evening on the Calton Hill for sunset . We walked from Edingburgh and reached the hill after a short time. The sunset was just magical. Bye Edinburgh, I have already taken you into my heart after a short time.
Calton Hill – Dugald Stewart Monument
Up to the north
Early in the morning my bus headed up north. Next stop - Inverness. Inverness is a city on the northeast coast of Scotland and is known as the cultural center of the Highlands. The city is located at the mouth of the River Ness, which flows from Loch Ness. And we all know about Loch Ness and the famous Nessi...
I spent the next days in the Inverness Student Hotel, where I also worked for a few hours over the next few days. In return, I got four free nights with breakfast. The hostel owner was incredibly nice and so I felt very comfortable . The living room was colorfully decorated and in the middle was a large cozy fireplace. Since it was raining, I decided to spend the day with a book in the hostel.
But I was not alone for a long time. Two American women joined me with a cup of tea and asked me excitedly about my Scotland trip. One of the Americans was a nurse. I started soon my nursing studies therefore I asked her many questions about the profession. After the conversation, I realized that I had chosen one of the most difficult professions in the world....
Inverness Student Hostel
In the evening we had dinner, cooked by a hostel guest, a German vet. He told us that he was just living his dream and traveled the wordl. His eyes were glowing like crazy. The fire in him was literally burning. I found his story inspiring. He did everything for his dream and in every hostel he stayed, he cooked for the other hostel guests. How lucky for me that he stayed a few more days.
The next morning I started the work, I cleaned the hostel rooms, did shopping and prepared the breakfast for the guests. The four hours passed quickly. I decided to spend the afternoon alone and go to the Chanonry Point. It was said that you could see dolphins from there. I took the next bus towards Fortrose and from there I walked to the lighthouse. It started raining, the waves whipped against the shore. But unfortunately I couldn't see any dolphins that day. I spent two more hours at this place and stared towards the ocean.
Slowly, I made my way back towards Inverness. At the bus stop I found out that I had already missed the last bus. I couldn't afford a cab, so I decided to go back to the lighthouse and ask the two old fishermen, with whom I had a conversation shortly before, in which direction they were going later. And yes, they were going to Inverness. They only had a two-seater, so I made myself comfortable with the fishing routes on the loading area behind.
Arrived at the hostel, the freshly cooked dinner was already waiting for me, which I was really looking forward to after the cold hours. We all ate together, told each other stories and decided to end the evening in a small pub in Inverness with live music.
Isle of Skye
The next morning I started my last work shift. As I was preparing breakfast for the guests, the hostel owner came up to me. He told me about his second hostel. He said that a few beds had spontaneously become free and I could also take advantage of the outstanding "free night" there. Sounded good! I packed my backpack and got on the next bus to Kyleakin.
The two-hour drive was mystical, the landscape was beautiful and I saw countless abandoned castles. When I arrived, I decided to take another little walk to explore the area a bit. The wind was blowing hard and it started to rain again. But the beautiful landscape made up for everything.
Kyleakin is a small village in the southeast of the Isle of Skye in the Highlands
In the evening, I was invited to dinner by my roommate, an Indian woman. She was probably 20 years older than me, but the age difference didn't matter. We got along very well and she told me a lot of interesting things about the Indian culture. She was impressed that I had already seen so much of the world with my young 20 years. And yes, she was right, it really was a privilege.
The next morning I joined an excursion to the Highlands organized by the hostel. We visited the pretty coastal town Portree, admired the impressive ruins of Eilean Donan Castle and hiked to the famous Old Man of Storr. The guide told us a lot about the history of the Isle of Skye, including many scary. But despite the bad weather and the low-hanging fog, the landscape was breathtaking. I was in love with the beauty of Scotland and not without reason.
Isle of Skye is mystical - the landscape, the stories and also the people.
After the excursion I made my way back to Inverness, where I spent my last days. I was very happy to see all my new friends again and telling them about my wonderful experiences. They also had experienced a lot in the meantime, and a young traveler even had the luck to see dolphins at the Chanonry Point !
Goodbye
You only spend a few days together, sometimes only a few hours, but still it was hard for me to say goodbye to my new friends. But I knew that we would all stay in touch. And yes, we mostly did! I found out that the young American girl was now working as a nurse in New Zealand. I apparently inspired her with my stories about New Zealand. That still makes me happy.