“Does anyone want to come to dinner with me?”
This question is asked often. I’m not against inviting people to go out for some nice social time, but sometimes I have to ask—why can’t you just go by yourself?
Personally I love going places by myself, whether it’s a museum (where I actually prefer to go by myself) or for a nice cup of tea. I don’t like to be limited just because I can’t find anyone to come with me.
This is especially true when travelling. It can be difficult and sometimes more trouble than it’s worth to try to organize other people on an excursion. Since being abroad, I have had many lovely adventures that were just me, myself, and I.
Back in mid-March, I planned a trip to Scotland. I was visiting a friend, but she was busy one of the days. So I planned a solo day trip to Edinburgh. If there is one thing I can recommend, it’s that you do a solo trip—even if it’s just for a day.
My day had two simple goals: see the city, and eat good food. Which meant I spent my day in intervals of walking and eating. This is pretty much how all of my solo trips go. In Edinburgh, after hours of walking I came across the Elephant House, the famous café where J.K. Rowling wrote some of the Harry Potter books. Because there was only one of me, finding a place to sit in the busy café was a cinch. I was able to sit and enjoy my marzipan almond cake and a pot of Earl Grey tea for an hour.
Tea in the U.K. is amazing pretty much everywhere. Even the local versions of Tim Hortons have stellar tea. With a nice view of Greyfriars cemetery where Tom Riddle is buried, (not that Tom Riddle), I was pretty darn happy.
I took a similar approach while in Berlin on a class trip. The profs had already planned the mornings, but afternoons were all mine. My mission in Germany was to have as much local beer as possible because, first of all, it’s delicious; secondly, it’s cheap; and finally, you can get a lot of it. While just finishing up some shopping, I came across a café that had a sign boasting craft beer. I sat my butt down and had a sampler and capped it off with a lovely barley wine.
On my final day, I sat by one of the canals with a nice Hefeweizen and strudel, taking it all in. With no one but myself to keep happy, I sat by the canal until the wind became too chilly and my beer was done.
So if no one wants to go with you, I say go anyways. There are tons of adventures to be had solo. When it comes to travel, going solo opens up so many possibilities, such as meeting other travellers—and you don’t want to miss out on a great beer just because no one else is around.
