As my friends started telling me of their plans to travel to Croatia, Italy, Sweden or Berlin for our “spring” break, I realized that I had put off buying an affordable plane ticket anywhere for a bit too long and prepared to spend the break alone in Tubingen. 

After a few days of receiving pictures of Stockholm, the Adriatic Sea and various other travel destinations, I pulled out my laptop, googled “what to do in Germany” and decided on the third destination that popped up: visiting Konstanz. 

Within an hour I had booked bus tickets to the southern town on Lake Constance as well as a few nights at a local hostel and prepared to take off. As I left, I was both nervous and excited about going on my little vacation completely alone, despite coming to Germany with no classmates, friends or family to make sure everything was going to work out fine. 

When I first left for Tubingen, I knew that I would be met at the airport by the family of a student we once hosted at my home, and that upon arrival in Tubingen I would find countless international student groups and points of support. In Konstanz, I would have none of that. 

However, as the bus pulled up and I saw the lake and mountains in the distance, I knew that I was in for a great trip. The idea of traveling alone initially scared me, but after a few hours of walking around the city with the freedom to do whatever I wanted rather than find attractions a whole group could agree on, I fell in love with traveling alone. 

Throughout my few days there I was free to stop anywhere that drew my attention and change my plans numerous times throughout the day, a freedom I never knew I was missing out on when traveling with groups. 

I started the trip nervous and afraid, but by being able to explore the city on my own and make stops anywhere that seemed worthwhile, I learned that traveling alone is nothing to be afraid of, rather something to embrace. 

— Shannon Rabotski is a 2016 graduate of Monroe High School and is a junior at Drake University. She is spending the year studying abroad in Tubingen, Germany. She can be reached at shannon.rabotski@drake.edu.